Seasonal Home Ranges of Raccoons, Procyon lotor, Using a Common Feeding Site in Rural Eastern Ontario: Rabies Management Implications

Thirteen adult Raccoons (Procyon lotor) (six females, seven males) that fed at a garbage dump north of Kingston, Ontario were radio-tracked from 21 June to 16 October 1995 to assess their seasonal home ranges and movements. Average Minimum Convex Polygon (MCP) summer and fall home ranges for the collared Raccoons were 78.4 ha (SD=46.2 ha) and 45.6 ha (SD=29.7 ha), respectively. Average grid cell summer and fall home ranges for the collared Raccoons were 143.3 ha (SD=40.0 ha) and 116.9 ha (SD=24.9 ha), respectively. Summer ranges of the Raccoons were significantly larger than fall ranges using both the MCP method (P=0.05) and the grid cell method (P=0.073). Yearling Raccoons travelled an average summer maximum distance from the dump of 2608 m (SD=1964, n=3), more than double the distance of adults (≥2 yr) at 1239 m (SD=547, n=10). The population density for the study area in late August 1995 was estimated at 1 Raccoon/12 ha based on an effective area surrounding the dump of 234 ha. Home range and movement data may be useful to design a strategy to control Raccoon rabies in Ontario

Postexposure Treatment and Animal Rabies, Ontario, 1958-2000

This paper investigates the relationship between animal rabies and postexposure treatment (PET) in Ontario by examining the introduction of human diploid cell vaccine (HDCV) in 1980 and the initiation of an oral rabies vaccination program for wildlife in 1989. Introducing HDCV led to an immediate doubling of treatments. Both animal rabies and human treatments declined rapidly after the vaccination program was introduced, but human treatments have leveled off at approximately 1,000 per year

Comparative genome structure, secondary metabolite, and effector coding capacity across Cochliobolus pathogens.

The genomes of five Cochliobolus heterostrophus strains, two Cochliobolus sativus strains, three additional Cochliobolus species (Cochliobolus victoriae, Cochliobolus carbonum, Cochliobolus miyabeanus), and closely related Setosphaeria turcica were sequenced at the Joint Genome Institute (JGI). The datasets were used to identify SNPs between strains and species, unique genomic regions, core secondary metabolism genes, and small secreted protein (SSP) candidate effector encoding genes with a view towards pinpointing structural elements and gene content associated with specificity of these closely related fungi to different cereal hosts. Whole-genome alignment shows that three to five percent of each genome differs between strains of the same species, while a quarter of each genome differs between species. On average, SNP counts among field isolates of the same C. heterostrophus species are more than 25× higher than those between inbred lines and 50× lower than SNPs between Cochliobolus species. The suites of nonribosomal peptide synthetase (NRPS), polyketide synthase (PKS), and SSP-encoding genes are astoundingly diverse among species but remarkably conserved among isolates of the same species, whether inbred or field strains, except for defining examples that map to unique genomic regions. Functional analysis of several strain-unique PKSs and NRPSs reveal a strong correlation with a role in virulence

Studies on the 1967–68 foot and mouth disease epidemic: incubation period and herd serial interval

SummaryThe incubation period during this epidemic was studied using both a spectral analysis-cum-filtering method and analysis of case histories. Using spectral analysis, the modal herd serial interval was estimated to be 8–10 days based on the record of the daily number of outbreaks and an adjusted cattle series. The case histories tended to confirm these estimates but indicated that the serial interval varied considerably between species. The filtering method revealed that the herd serial interval apparently changed during the epidemic. For the first 4 weeks the interval was 8 days, while in the latter stages it was about 2 weeks.</jats:p

YIELD LOSSES IN WHEAT AND BARLEY CULTIVARS FROM COMMON ROOT ROT IN FIELD TESTS

Intensity of and losses from common root rot in wheat and barley cultivars in field tests were estimated. Disease intensity was based upon the severity and prevalence of lesions on the subcrown internodes of plants. Losses were calculated relative to the potential yield of clean plants. Disease intensities and losses usually were highly correlated in wheat; the most resistant cultivars incurred the lowest losses. In barley the association was variable; some of the cultivars intermediate in disease reaction frequently showed the least reductions in yield. Differences in tolerance may account for these results. The frequent lack of a correlation between grain yield and disease is discussed. </jats:p

COMMON ROOTROT AND PLANT DEVELOPMENT FOLLOWING TREATMENTS OF WHEAT SEED WITH ALDRIN, GAMMA BHC, AND HEPTACHLOR, WITH AND WITHOUT MERCURY FUNGICIDES

Common rootrot in Chinook wheat seedlings was more pronounced after seed treatments with gamma BHC at 1 oz. per bu. than after aldrin or heptachlor at the same rate or no insecticide, in soils inoculated with Cochliobolus sativus (Ito and Kurib.) Drechs. ex Dastur in greenhouse and field tests. In one of four tests rootrot was greater after heptachlor than after aldrin seed treatments. Disease increased progressively with an increase in rate of application of gamma BHC, but not of heptachlor, from [Formula: see text] to 1 oz. per bu. Reduced emergence and seedling weight following the higher rates of gamma BHC apparently were caused by phytotoxicity of the seed dressings rather than by the increases in rootrot. In field tests rootrot frequently was greater, and emergence less, without insecticides than with most insecticides, possibly because of damage to the plants by wireworms.The inclusion of a mercury fungicide with the insecticide, except gamma BHC at [Formula: see text] and 1 oz. per bu., usually reduced rootrot and increased emergence and seedling weight in inoculated soils.Wheat plants apparently recovered from early stunting associated with phytotoxicity and rootrot as there were no differences in grain yield per plant between seed treatments or between inoculated and uninoculated soils. </jats:p