Comparison of Sheep and Goats to the Acute Toxic Effects of Foothill Death Camas

Death camas (Zigadenus spp) is a perennial forb found throughout the western United States, which is known to kill both sheep and cattle. In a previous study, goats appeared to be somewhat resistant to the adverse effects of death camas. Therefore, the objective of this study was to directly compare the susceptibility of goats and sheep to the acute toxic effects of death camas. Sheep and goats were dosed at 0.5, 1.0, 2.0, 4.0, and 6.0 g death camas per kg BW. The data presented in this manuscript suggest that goats are more susceptible to death camas than sheep. There were no differences in the serum concentrations of zygadenine in sheep versus goats. There was a difference between goats and sheep in the severity of observed clinical signs of poisoning. This is highlighted by the fact that five goats from the two highest doses died, whereas none of the sheep died. Consequently, when grazing goats in death camas infested pastures as much caution, if not more, should be taken than one would with sheep. Additionally, the data presented in the study suggests that goats can be used as a small ruminant model to study the toxic effects of death camas

An Evaluation of the Susceptibility of Goats to Larkspur Toxicosis

Larkspurs (Delphinium spp.) are a major cause of cattle losses in western North America, whereas sheep have been shown to be resistant to larkspur toxicosis. Goats are often used as a small ruminant model to study poisonous plants, even though they can be more resistant to some poisonous plants. It is not known how susceptible goats are to the adverse effects of larkspurs. In this study, we evaluated the susceptibility of goats to larkspur toxicosis by performing a dose-response study. We dosed goats with D. barbeyi collected near Cedar City, Utah at 3.3, 4.4, 6.6, 8.8 and 10.0 g plant material per kg body weight. None of the goats, at any of the doses, exhibited clinical signs typical of larkspur poisoning, including no observable muscle weakness. We conclude that goats are resistant to larkspur toxicosis, and thus it is very unlikely that goats would be poisoned by larkspur

The effects of conflict role and intensity on preschoolers’ expectations about peer conflict

Using a puppet procedure depicting hypothetical conflict involving the participant and a peer, 96 preschoolers’ (48 boys and 48 girls; M 1/4 5.14 years, SD 1/4 0.78 years) expectations about peer conflict were assessed as a function of their role in the conflict (i.e., initiator of or responder to initial provocation) and the intensity level of the conflict. Initiators of conflict expected less conflict escalation and subsequent problems with the same peer from the conflict than did responders, particularly following low-intensity conflict. Findings also indicated that, for low-intensity but not high-intensity conflict, girls expected the same peer to provoke them during a subsequent interaction more often than did boys. Results provide further support for assessing preschoolers’ understanding of conflict and are consistent with previous work demonstrating a self-serving bias in young children’s perceptions and reports of their conflicts with other children. Moreover, findings are discussed in terms of their implications for the development of peer relations.Yeshttps://us.sagepub.com/en-us/nam/manuscript-submission-guideline

Global Roadkill Data: a dataset on terrestrial vertebrate mortality caused by collision with vehicles

Roadkill is widely recognized as one of the primary negative effects of roads on many wildlife species and also has socioeconomic impacts when they result in accidents. A comprehensive dataset of roadkill locations is essential to evaluate the factors contributing to roadkill risk and to enhance our comprehension of its impact on wildlife populations and socioeconomic dimensions. We undertook a compilation of roadkill records, encompassing both published and unpublished data gathered from road surveys or opportunistic sources. GLOBAL ROADKILL DATA includes 208,570 roadkill records of terrestrial vertebrates from 54 countries across six continents, encompassing data collected between 1971 and 2024. This dataset serves to minimise the collection of redundant data and acts as a valuable resource for local and macro scale analysis regarding rates of roadkill, road- and landscape-related features associated with risk of roadkill, vulnerability of species to road traffic, and populations at risk of local extinction. The objective of this dataset is to promote scientific progress in infrastructure ecology and terrestrial vertebrate conservation while limiting the socio-economic costs

Anticipating Growth in the Texas Hill Country: Exploration of Potential for Land Application of Treated Wastewater

The Texas Hill Country is an iconic landscape known for its unique beauty, including clear-running rivers and streams, and numerous springs both large and small. Given the rapid population growth along the I-35 corridor and west into the Hill Country, water-resource planning and management challenges are emerging that provide opportunity for an integrated or “One Water” approach to problem solving. First, there is growing demand for drinking water in a region that is also known to be drought-prone and home to many threatened or endangered species that need water too. Secondly, with increased water use comes a proportional increase in treated wastewater effluent production. Absent strong nutrient standards in permitted discharges to prevent cultural eutrophication of Hill Country streams, alternative uses of treated wastewater effluent are available that can reduce withdrawals of surface and groundwater and create new economic opportunities by using wastewater effluent as a resource rather than disposing it as a waste product. From a larger set of Texas Hill Country cities that were based on their location relative to the Edwards Aquifer, nine were selected in a first phase analysis using a geographic information system and based on weighted criteria including population growth rate, potential site distance from a wastewater treatment plant (WWTP), and a set of land uses deemed suitable for land application of treated wastewater. These nine cities were then evaluated based on their ability to meet four criteria: 1) the target city’s WWTP is located within or upstream of either the contributing or recharge zones of the Edwards Aquifer regulatory boundary, 2) the city’s WTTP has a current or near future need to expand their WWTP based on reported average daily discharge being 75 percent or more of permitted maximum daily discharge, 3) it being early enough in their planning development cycle, either hypothetically or in actual practice, that reuse infrastructure can be carefully examined and planned for at the most efficient time, and 4) having land-use scenarios suitable for land application that are within a 3-mile (maximum) radius of the WWTP. From this analysis, three cities emerged for study: Blanco, Boerne, and Leander. A second phase of site analysis given to the three study cities is based on weighted criteria that include land use, location relative to the Edwards Aquifer regulatory boundary, distance from WWTP, and percent slope. Among results, the City of Blanco can meet 100 percent of both current and future needs for land application of TWW effluent on highest-quality sites (scores of ten) within a one-mile radius of its WWTP. The City of Boerne, can also meet both current and future needs for land application within a one-mile radius, but will need to include some sites with scores less than a ten and act with a greater sense of urgency given the current/projected growth rate. The City of Leander presents a particular challenge given its current/projected growth rate, large effluent volume expected in the future, and location and will require other reuse strategies to ensure efficient use of water and protection of local/regional water quality. By applying a replicable methodology using publicly available data, this study shows promise for land application of treated wastewater effluent in the Texas Hill Country. While infrastructure and other cost considerations need to be analyzed in a future study along with refinement of site selection and a collaborative process for its execution, this study highlights the need for community officials and residents to develop a shared vision for their community’s water future. The promise of reusing effluent via land application to help solve growing demand for water must also account for an equal need to protect surface and groundwater quality. Thus, an appropriate level of wastewater treatment must be engineered that fully accounts for specific site characteristics such that land application as a reuse strategy fulfills its promise while avoiding negative impacts on surface and groundwater.The Meadows Center for Water and the Environmen

Exploring the Potential and Feasibility of Water-Use Conservation for Houston Water, Houston, Texas

This is the fourth quarterly report submitted by the Texas State Team and it will additionally serve as the final report for the water conservation potential study that began in May 2020. This report will include new information about the analyses since the last quarterly report was submitted, using Version 3 of the Alliance for Water Efficiency’s (AWE) Conservation Tracking Tool. Additionally, this report will feature the final water conservation program scenario that has been evolving during the past year. This project was initiated with three primary goals: 1) Estimate residential water use conservation potential, 2) Estimate commercial/institutional water use by sector/subsector and water use conservation potential, and 3) Develop new data and estimate outdoor water use conservation potential for residential accounts; and explore feasibility of doing the same for commercial/institutional accounts. The report begins with a summary of new work that was undertaken during the last three months.The Meadows Center for Water and the Environmen