The science of turning milk into cheese

UNIVERSITY OF CÓRDOBA

Research News

 

IMAGE: RESEARCH TEAM WORKING AT THE MILK LAB view more 

CREDIT: UNIVERSITY OF CÓRDOBA

The global production of sheep's milk is one the rise, in the vast majority of cases used to produce cheese. However, a relatively large amount of milk is needed to produce it, so science is looking for ways to increase its yield; that is, to obtain more cheese using less milk.

Immersed in this task, a team from the Department of Animal Production at the University of Cordoba, led by Professor Ana Garzón, has collaborated with the University of Leon in the search for genetic parameters affecting the cheese production of milk from Churra sheep, one of the oldest and most rustic breeds on the Iberian Peninsula.

After analysing traits related to rennet and milk properties (pH, milk yield, fat and protein content) in a sample of more than 1,000 sheep, the research team found a low to moderate heritability of these traits, suggesting that their improvement can be achieved through genetic selection. In addition, the need to consider milk pH at the beginning of the coagulation process as a characteristic to be taken into accountas a selection index for the improvement of Churra quality was confirmed, as it will augment the 'cheesemaking capacity' of the milk from this breed.

The team,formed by Ana Garzón andthe researchers Antonio Figueroa and Javier Caballero-Villalobos, comprise the Dairy Laboratory, where the milk samples of this work were analysed, measuring their pH; the physical-chemical parameters of the milk, such as its proteins, fats, and lactose; and technological parameters, such as coagulation time and curd hardening speed; with the aim of providing information for the selection of values to be included in the genetic selection scheme of the Churra breed in order to obtain ewes that give milk with a higher yield in terms of cheese production.

The UCO Dairy Laboratory | The science that cares for milk

This service, part of the UCO's Department of Animal Production, has been working since 2003 on the study of the composition, quality and technological parameters of ruminant milk with the aim of transferring knowledge to the livestock sector to improve milk quality, productivity and yields.

The Dairy Laboratory specialises in the study of the Manchega breed, which is the most important class of sheep in terms of product quality and economic weight in the sector. In this regard, the search for a faster, cheaper and more efficient method to measure the quality of milk according to its composition is one of their main lines of research, as they are trying to determine whether chromaticity can provide information sufficient for the livestock sector to evaluate milk quickly and cheaply.

They are also striving to solve the problem of water retention in curd, which reduces the milk'syield, thus requiring a lot of milk to obtain cheese. In their latest work, they develop mathematical models to achieve more efficient milk for cheese production. Finally, they analyse the correlation between the health of the sheep's udder and these coagulation parameters of the milk slated for cheese production.

In short, this work directly transfers the science carried out in the Laboratory to the livestock sector, which benefits from improvements in the quality and efficiency of its dairy farms.

###

Mosel vineyards are preparing for climate change by sharing their soil with aromatic

UNIVERSITY OF CÓRDOBA

Research News

    SHARE

 PRINT  E-MAIL

IMAGE: PICTURES FROM TE CASE STUDY IN GERMANY view more 

CREDIT: DIVERFARMING

The landscape of sloping vineyards on the banks of the River Mosel in Germany is a characteristic symbol of a region, which cannot be understood without its wine: the Mosel wine region. Tourists from all over the world, especially from the neighbouring countries of Belgium, Luxembourg, and The Netherlands visit the area in search of mountains and wine. However, the lack of new generations and the increase in temperatures and short heavy summer rainfall events caused by climate change endanger the production of wine.

In this sense, the European H2020 Diverfarming Project began in 2018 the diversification of a steep-slope, very stony (up to 70%) ecological vineyard. In the majority of the vineyards, the introduction of herbaceous species for plant cover has become widespread, with herbaceous plants in the alleys between the grapevines, but beneath them, it is combated with herbicides or mechanically. With the aim of reducing soil erosion, increasing soil fertility, and mitigating the effects of greenhouse-gas emissions, a team of researchers from the Trier University (Germany) coordinated by Professor Manuel Seeger and Professor Sören Thiele-Bruhn put into practice the introduction of aromatic plants (thyme and oregano) beneath the grapevines of the 'Weingut Dr. Frey' wine-making company.

After three years of diversification the team formed by the researchers Felix Dittrich, Thomas Iserloh, Roman Hüppi, Sophie Ogan, Sören Thiele-Bruhn, Manuel Seeger, and the winemaking entrepreneur Cord Treseler have published the first results of the diversification on the productivity of the grapevines and the quality of the wine. These results show the potential possibilities that these practices have since they have not generated negative effects in the wine production.

Although a certain amount of competition was observed between the aromatic cover and the grapevines for water and nutrients, these effects far from being negative, give rise to thinking that they may have a positive effect on the quality of the wine, as the researcher Manuel Seeger comments. This is related to the reduction of certain nutrients: while the availability of nitrate had no change in the crop diversification, the ammonium, phosphorus, and potassium levels did decrease in the uppermost area of the soil (the first 10 cm). However, it is known that there is a certain relationship between available potassium and wine quality. The results of this study point out that a change in the availability of the mineral acidity of the soil would seem to generate an increase in the quality of these wines. Moreover, the principle of yield compensation was observed: although the yield of the grapevine is slightly lower, this is compensated by an increase in quality.

The study highlights the extreme events at climate level that have taken place over the three years of the diversification. In 2018, storms produced one month's volume of rainfall in the zone in just one hour; whilst in 2019 and 2020 there were record high temperatures and drought. In this way, it is clear that the availability of water and the climate conditions are the most determining factor for the productivity of the vineyard. Despite that being the case, if we take the extreme conditions into account, the diversification has had no negative effects on the yield of the crop or on the quality of the wine. In standardised situations and with the long-term stabilisation of the diversification this opens the door to an increase in profits thanks to the diversification.

The conservation of the characteristic landscape of the zone, the reduction in contaminant emissions, and the increase in biodiversity both in the soil as well as in other organisms such as insects will contribute added value to this sector, which is currently open to changes that enable it to face this lack of a generational substitution and the scenarios which the effects of climate change are expected to bring. All of this is to save the future of the Mosel wine.

###

Diverfarming is a project financed by the Horizon 2020 Programme of the European Commission, within the challenge of "Food Security, Sustainable Agriculture and Forestry, Marine, Maritime and Inland Water Research and the Bioeconomy" under agreement 728003, and which counts on the participation of the Universities of Cartagena and Córdoba (Spain), Tuscia (Italy), Exeter and Portsmouth (United Kingdom), Wageningen (Netherlands), Trier (Germany), Pecs (Hungary) and ETH Zurich (Switzerland), the research centres Consiglio per la ricerca in agricoltura e l'analisi dell'economia agraria (Italy), the Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas (Spain) and the Natural Resources Institute LUKE (Finland), the agrarian organisation ASAJA, and the companies Casalasco and Barilla (Italy), Arento, LogísticaDFM and Industrias David (Spain), Nieuw Bromo Van Tilburg and Ekoboerdeij de Lingehof (Netherlands), Weingut Dr. Frey (Germany), Nedel-Market KFT and Gere (Hungary) and Paavolan Kotijuustola and Polven Juustola (Finland).

Foetus in bishop's coffin was probably his grandson

LUND UNIVERSITY

Research News

 

Bishop Peder Winstrup died in 1679, and is one of the most well-preserved human bodies from the 1600s. Researchers at Lund University in Sweden may now have solved the mystery of why a foetus was hidden in his coffin in Lund Cathedral. DNA from the bishop and the foetus, along with kinship analyses, has shown that the child was probably the bishop's own grandson.

Something is protruding between Bishop Peder Winstrup's two calves. The X-ray reveals small bones. Could it be an animal? When the image is studied more closely, the osteologists from Lund University can see faint signs of what is to become the collarbones - it is a human foetus.

Inside the coffin they find the bundle, wrapped in a piece of linen cloth. Judging by the length of the femur, it was 5-6 months old and stillborn. The discovery raised a number of questions - one of them was why it was in the bishop's coffin.

"It was not uncommon for small children to be placed in coffins with adults. The foetus may have been placed in the coffin after the funeral, when it was in a vaulted tomb in Lund Cathedral and therefore accessible", says Torbjörn Ahlström, professor of historical osteology at Lund University, and one of the leading researchers behind the study.

The burial book from Lund Cathedral confirms that coffins of children were placed here, without them being related to the family.

"Placing a coffin in a vault is one thing, but placing the foetus in the bishop's coffin is quite another. It made us wonder if there was any relationship between the child and the bishop", says Torbjörn Ahlström.

Therefore, researchers at Stockholm University analyzed samples from Peder Winstrup and the foetus. The results show that it was a boy, and that they had a second-degree kinship, that is, they shared roughly 25% of the same genes. Since they had different mitochondrial lineages, but there was a Y-chromosome match, the relationship was determined to be on the father's side.

"Archaeogenetics can contribute to the understanding of kinship relations between buried individuals, and in this case more specifically between Winstrup and the foetus", says Maja Krzewinska at the Center for Paleogenetics at Stockholm University, who was involved in the analysis.

As is the case for second-degree relationships, the following constellations involving Winstrup and the foetus are possible: uncles, nephews, grandparents, grandchildren, half-siblings and double cousins. What is the most probable relationship in this scenario can be deduced from the knowledge that exists about the Winstrup family.

By studying this, the researchers were able to rule out a number of possible relationships, however, one remained a distinct possibility.

"It is possible that the stillborn baby boy was Peder Pedersen Winstrup's son, and therefore the bishop was his grandfather", says Maja Krzewinska.

Perhaps it is a family drama we see the contours of here. Peder Pedersen Winstrup did not follow in his father's and grandfather's footsteps and study theology, instead he became interested in the art of fortification. He lost his father's property in the Great Reduction in 1680, and probably lived on alms from relatives during the latter part of his life. With Peder Pedersen Winstrup's death, the male lineage came to an end for the noble family Winstrup. Placing the deceased foetus in the bishop's coffin must have been a heavily symbolic act: he had given birth to a son, albeit stillborn.

###

 

800-year-old medieval pottery fragments reveal Jewish dietary practices

UNIVERSITY OF BRISTOL

Research News

 

IMAGE: MAP SHOWING THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE CITY OF OXFORD FROM THE 8TH CENTURY TO C. 1292, WITH THE JEWISH QUARTER SHOWN IN BLUE view more 

CREDIT: PAM MANIX

A team of scientists, led by the University of Bristol, with archaeologists from Oxford Archaeology, have found the first evidence of a religious diet locked inside pottery fragments excavated from the early medieval Jewish community of Oxford.

Keeping kosher is one of the oldest known diets across the world and, for an observant Jew, maintaining these dietary laws (known as Kashruth) is a fundamental part of everyday life. It is a key part of what identifies them as Jews, both amongst their own communities and to the outside world.

Oxford's Jewish quarter was established around St. Aldates in the twelfth and thirteenth centuries, following William the Conqueror's invitation to Jews in Northern France to settle in England. Recent excavations by Oxford Archaeology at St Aldates, in the historic heart of Oxford, revealed evidence for two houses, which a medieval census suggested belonged to two Jewish families. One was owned by Jacob f. mag. Moses and called Jacob's Hall, and was said to be one of the most substantial private houses in Oxford and the other house was owned by an Elekin f. Bassina.

During excavations, archaeologists found a stone-built structure, identified as a latrine, and dated to the late 11th and 12th century. A remarkable animal bone assemblage was unearthed in this latrine, dominated by domestic fowl (mainly goose), and with a complete absence of pig bones, hinting at a kosher diet. Fish bones comprised only species such as herring which are kosher. This combination of species suggests a Jewish dietary signature, identified in British zooarchaeology for the first time, and just the third time in medieval Europe.

To investigate whether the inhabitants of the two houses were eating a Jewish diet, the team used a combined chemical and isotopic approach to identify and quantify the food residues absorbed into medieval vessels found at the site.

Their findings, published recently in the journal Archaeological and Anthropological Sciences, showed that the possible Jewish vessels were only used to cook meats from cattle, sheep and goat. Evidence for pig processing was entirely absent. However, the cooking and eating of pork was evident from the pottery residues and animal bones from a contemporaneous site outside of the Jewish Quarter in Oxford (The Queen's College), and from the earlier Anglo-Saxon phase at St Aldates.

Pottery (IMAGE)

UNIVERSITY OF BRISTOL

    SHARE

 PRINT  E-MAIL

CAPTION

a. jar in Medieval Oxford Ware, probably used as a cooking-pot and dated to the late 11th or 12th century and b. near-complete miniature jar in Early Brill Coarseware from structure 3.1

CREDIT

University of Bristol

Lead author, Dr Julie Dunne from the University of Bristol's School of Chemistry, said: "This is a remarkable example of how biomolecular information extracted from medieval pottery and combined with ancient documents and animal bones, has provided a unique insight into 800-year-old Jewish dietary practices."

This is the first study of its kind that has been able to identify the practice of keeping kosher, with its associated ritual food practices and taboos, using ancient food residues found in cooking pots, opening the way for similar studies in future.

Edward Biddulph, who managed the post-excavation project at Oxford Archaeology, said: "The results of the excavation at St Aldates and Queen Street have been astonishing, not only revealing rare archaeological evidence of a medieval Jewry in Britain, but also demonstrating the enormous value of carefully focused analysis that combines traditional finds and stratigraphic analysis with scientific techniques."

Dr Lucy Cramp who is a senior lecturer in the Department of Anthropology and Archaeology at Bristol, and is a co-author of the study, added: "Human dietary choices are based on far more than availability or caloric content. What's really exciting is how this evidence for dietary patterns in Medieval Oxford informs us about the diversity of cultural practices and beliefs that were present in the past, as today."

Professor Richard Evershed FRS who heads up Bristol's Organic Geochemistry Unit and is a co-author of the study, added: "This is another remarkable example of just how far we are able to go with using archaeological science to define many aspects of the lives of our ancestors."

Paper:

'Finding Oxford's medieval Jewry using organic residue analysis, faunal records and historical documents' by J. Dunne, E. Biddulph, P. Manix, T. Gillard, H. Whelton, S. Teague, C. Champness, L. Broderick, R. Nicholson, P. Blinkhorn, E. Craig-Atkins, B. Jervis, R. Madgwick, L. Cramp and R. Evershed in Archaeological and Anthropological Sciences

CAPTION

View of excavations at St Aldates, Oxford, showing Carfax Tower in the background

CREDIT

Oxford Archaeology

WHOI and NOAA release report on U.S. socio-economic effects of harmful algal blooms

WOODS HOLE OCEANOGRAPHIC INSTITUTION

Research News

 

IMAGE: WORKSHOP ON THE SOCIO-ECONOMIC EFFECTS OF MARINE AND FRESH WATER HARMFUL ALGAL BLOOMS IN THE UNITED STATES view more 

CREDIT: U.S. NATIONAL OFFICE FOR HARMFUL ALGAL BLOOMS

Harmful algal blooms (HABs) occur in all 50 U.S. states and many produce toxins that cause illness or death in humans and commercially important species. However, attempts to place a more exact dollar value on the full range of these impacts often vary widely in their methods and level of detail, which hinders understanding of the scale of their socio-economic effects.

In order to improve and harmonize estimates of HABs impacts nationwide, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) National Center for Coastal Ocean Science (NCCOS) and the U.S. National Office for Harmful Algal Blooms at the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI) convened a workshop led by WHOI Oceanographer Emeritus Porter Hoagland and NCCOS Monitoring and Event Response (MERHAB) Program Manager Marc Suddleson. Participants focused on approaches to better assess the socio-economic effects of harmful algal blooms in the marine and freshwater (primarily Great Lakes) ecosystems of the United States. The workshop proceedings report describes the group's objectives, and presents recommendations developed by 40 participants, mostly economists and social scientists from a range of universities, agencies, and U.S. regions. Their recommendations fall under two broad categories: those intended to help establish a socio-economic assessment framework, and those to help create a national agenda for HABs research.

"This has been a goal of the research and response communities for a long time, but coming up with a robust national estimate has been difficult, for a number of reasons, mainly related to the diversity of algal species and the wide variety of ways they can affect how humans use the oceans and freshwater bodies," said Hoagland. "This gives us a strong base on which to build the insight that will vastly improve our estimates."

Framework recommendations call for enhancing interagency coordination; improving research communications and coordination among research networks; integrating socioeconomic assessments into HAB forecasts and observing networks; using open-access databases to establish baselines and identify baseline departures; facilitating rapid response socio-economic studies; improving public health outcome reporting and visibility of HAB-related illnesses; fostering the use of local and traditional ecological knowledge to improve HAB responses; engaging affected communities in citizen science; and engaging graduate students in HAB socio-economic research.

Research agenda recommendations include elements necessary for addressing gaps in our understanding of the social and economic effects of HABs. They include a suggested approach for obtaining an improved national estimate of the economic effects of HABs; supporting rapid ethnographic assessments and in depth assessments of social impacts from HABs; defining socioeconomic impact thresholds for triggering more detailed studies of impacts (such as in the case of designated HAB events of significance); sponsoring research on the value of scientific research leading to improved understanding of bloom ecology; assessing the value of HAB mitigation efforts, such as forecasts, and control approaches and their respective implementation costs; and supporting research to improve HAB risk communication and tracking and to better understand the incidence, severity, and costs of HAB-related human illnesses.

"These recommendations give us a strong series of next steps to increase focus on HAB-related socio-economic research," said Don Anderson, director of the U.S. National Office for Harmful Algal Blooms. "The report is certain to spur increased collaborations that will provide a better understanding of the many complex socio-economic effects of HABs and provide the tools to increase the effectiveness of efforts to minimize impacts on society and the environment."

The detailed final proceedings report and more information about the workshop is available on the U.S. National HAB Office website.

###

About Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution

The Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI) is a private, non-profit organization on Cape Cod, Massachusetts, dedicated to marine research, engineering, and higher education. Established in 1930, its primary mission is to understand the ocean and its interaction with the Earth as a whole, and to communicate an understanding of the ocean's role in the changing global environment. WHOI's pioneering discoveries stem from an ideal combination of science and engineering--one that has made it one of the most trusted and technically advanced leaders in basic and applied ocean research and exploration anywhere. WHOI is known for its multidisciplinary approach, superior ship operations, and unparalleled deep-sea robotics capabilities. We play a leading role in ocean observation and operate the most extensive suite of data-gathering platforms in the world. Top scientists, engineers, and students collaborate on more than 800 concurrent projects worldwide--both above and below the waves--pushing the boundaries of knowledge and possibility. For more information, please visit http://www.whoi.edu

 

Researchers validate new technique for rapidly diagnosing herbicide-resistant weeds

A recent article in the journal Weed Science describes a new rapid 'leaf-disk assay' that uses chlorophyll fluorescence emissions to determine whether a weed is resistant to various systemic and contact herbicides

CAMBRIDGE UNIVERSITY PRESS

Research News

 

WESTMINSTER, Colorado - April 07, 2021 - As the number of weed populations resistant to multiple herbicides continues to soar, it is clear that better tools are needed to help growers rapidly diagnose resistance issues. With more timely access to information, they can take earlier, proactive steps to keep resistant weeds from spreading.

A recent article in the journal Weed Science describes a new rapid "leaf-disk assay" that uses chlorophyll fluorescence emissions to determine whether a weed is resistant to various systemic and contact herbicides. In contrast to time-consuming and labor-intensive greenhouse screenings and population studies, leaf-disk assay results are available in about 48 hours.

In a recent research study, scientists were able to use the fluorescence technique to rapidly detect resistance to glyphosate, dicamba and fomesafen in broadleaf and grass weeds, including Palmer amaranth, waterhemp, kochia and goosegrass.

The assay clearly separated populations susceptible to herbicides from those that are highly resistant. It exhibited less sensitivity, though, in identifying populations with lower levels of resistance.

Though further work is needed to fine-tune the new test for greater precision, researchers say it holds great promise.

"In addition to the speed, the leaf-disk assay requires fewer technical skills," says Chenxi Wu, research scientist at Bayer CropScience. "That means more weed science labs will be able to use the technique to identify multiple resistances efficiently - helping growers take more immediate and informed actions."

###

To learn more, read the article "A nondestructive leaf-disk assay for rapid diagnosis of weed resistance to multiple herbicides" online.

About Weed Science

Weed Science is a journal of the Weed Science Society of America, a nonprofit scientific society focused on weeds and their impact on the environment. The publication presents peer-reviewed original research related to all aspects of weed science, including the biology, ecology, physiology, management and control of weeds. To learn more, visit http://www.wssa.net.

 

New Forest Service assessment delivers research on invasive species

USDA FOREST SERVICE - NORTHERN RESEARCH STATION

Research News

 

IMAGE:  "INVASIVE SPECIES IN FORESTS AND RANGELANDS OF THE UNITED STATES: A COMPREHENSIVE SCIENCE SYNTHESIS FOR THE UNITED STATES FOREST SECTOR, " WAS RECENTLY RELEASED BY THE USDA FOREST SERVICE AS AN... view more 

CREDIT: USDA FOREST SERVICE

MADISON, WI, April 8, 2021 - USDA Forest Service scientists have delivered a new comprehensive assessment of the invasive species that confront America's forests and grasslands, from new arrivals to some that invaded so long ago that people are surprised to learn they are invasive.

The assessment, titled "Invasive Species in Forests and Rangelands of the United States: A Comprehensive Science Synthesis for the United States Forest Sector," serves as a one-stop resource for land managers who are looking for information on the invasive species that are already affecting the landscape, the species that may threaten the landscape, and what is known about control of invasive species.

"Understanding the ecology of invasive species, their dynamics and complex ecological, economic, and societal interactions is critical to improving management strategies and reducing impacts to native ecosystems," said Cynthia West, director of the Forest Service's Northern Research Station and the Forest Products Laboratory. "Tracking the science can be daunting, so Forest Service scientists and many partners have assembled a science synthesis that puts the latest research at land managers' fingertips."

The assessment covers invasive species of all taxonomic groups from insects and pathogens, to plants, vertebrates, and aquatic organisms that impact a diversity of habitats in forests, rangelands and grasslands of the United States. It presents the latest research on a wide range of natural science and social science fields that explore the ecology, impacts, and practical tools for management of invasive species. The scientific synthesis provides the cultural, economic, regulatory, and social context for addressing environmental challenges posed by invasive species. Geographically focused regional summaries highlight the most important invasive species and issues impacting all regions of the country.

###

Led by Therese Poland, a research entomologist and project leader with the Northern Research Station, the assessment is the product of 115 authors from the Forest Service, other federal and state agencies, and university, non-government organization and tribal land partners. The assessment is available to view or download at https://www.fs.usda.gov/treesearch/pubs/61982

Research brief: Reflecting sunlight could cool the Earth's ecosystem

UNIVERSITY OF MINNESOTA

Research News

 

Published in the Proceedings of National Academy of Sciences, researchers in the Climate Intervention Biology Working Group -- including Jessica Hellmann from the University of Minnesota Institute on the Environment -- explored the effect of solar climate interventions on ecology.

Composed of climate scientists and ecologists from leading research universities internationally, the team found that more research is needed to understand the ecological impacts of solar radiation modification (SRM) technologies that reflect small amounts of sunlight back into space. The team focused on a specific proposed SRM strategy -- referred to as stratospheric aerosol intervention (SAI)) -- to create a sulfate aerosol cloud in the stratosphere to reduce a portion of incoming sunlight and radiation. In theory, this cloud could be controlled in size and location.

SAI is like placing tiny reflective particles in the atmosphere to bounce a portion of the solar radiation back to space, so that some of the radiation does not reach -- and warm -- Earth.

The team emphasizes that greenhouse gas emissions reduction and conservation of biodiversity and ecosystem functions must be the priority.

"We are just starting to consider the risks and benefits of geoengineering, and it's critical that we include ecosystems in cost-benefit studies", said Hellmann, director at the U of M Institute on the Environment. "We should only pursue geoengineering if its benefits strongly outweigh its downsides. Because our efforts to stem climate change are modest and slow, the case for considering geoengineering is growing, and this paper represents the ecologists chiming in to the geoengineering conversation."

The complexity of cascading relationships between ecosystems and climate under SAI -- in combination with the timing, amount, length and termination of SAI scenarios -- means that SAI is not a simple thermostat that turns down the heat a couple of degrees. Other potential effects of SAI include shifts in rainfall and increases in surface UV rays. While SAI might cool an overheated Earth, it would not be able to counter all of the effects of rising atmospheric CO2, such as halting ocean acidification.

"When we approach complex questions like these, there is a broad scale, theoretical understanding of the inherent patterns of biodiversity across the surface of Earth, but this understanding is often informed by finer-scale experiments that test the biological and physical mechanisms underlying those patterns," said Phoebe Zarnetske, study co-lead and an associate professor in Michigan State University's Department of Integrative Biology and the Ecology, Evolution, and Behavior program.

"I hope the paper can convince ecologists that research about nature's responses to solar geoengineering is not just important, but also interesting -- touching on core ecological questions about topics as varied as photosynthesis and animal migration," said U of M alum Shan Kothari, who contributed to the study during his time at the College of Biological Sciences before going to the University of Montreal.

Kothari said that an example of how other scientists can consider the study's findings is to contemplate the unique conditions resulting from solar geoengineering scenarios that may aid or impede the ability for ecosystems to store carbon. He added that such research could help the international community consider solar geoengineering with a stronger awareness of the potential risks and benefits involved.

###

The study's co-lead is Jessica Gurevitch, an ecologist at Stony Brook University in New York. This research was funded by the National Science Foundation.

 

Crunching on coral

Research finds that coral predators exert a much larger influence on young coral than expected

UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA - SANTA BARBARA

Research News

IMAGE: A VARIETY OF REEF FISHES SWIM AMONG THE STAGHORN CORAL IN MO'OREA, FRENCH POLYNESIA AS A RESEARCHER SWIMS OVERHEAD. view more 

CREDIT: UC SANTA BARBARA

You might not think an animal made out of stone would have much to worry about in the way of predators, and that's largely what scientists had thought about coral. Although corallivores like parrotfish and pufferfish are well known to biologists, their impact on coral growth and survival was believed to be small compared to factors like heatwaves, ocean acidification and competition from algae.

But researchers at UC Santa Barbara have found that young corals are quite vulnerable to these predators, regardless of whether a colony finds itself alone on the reef or surrounded by others of its kind. The research, led by doctoral student Kai Kopecky, appears in the journal Coral Reefs.

Kopecky and his co-authors were curious how corals can reemerge following large disturbances like cyclones and marine heatwaves, which periodically devastate the reefs of Mo'orea, French Polynesia, where the research was conducted.

"Mo'orea is prone to big heat shocks, storm waves, cyclones and predatory sea star outbreaks," said co-author Adrian Stier, an associate professor in the Department of Ecology Evolution & Marine Biology and one of Kopecky's advisors. "It just wipes the slate clean in terms of coral death. And sometimes, just a few years later, you can swim around and see thriving life. We're still really curious about what allows these ecosystems to bounce back."

Scientists had implicated predators in shaping coral population dynamics, but there hadn't really been many direct studies. "People who study coral reefs have thought a lot about the supply of new babies coming from elsewhere, or limitation by the amount of nutrients, or competition with algae as important drivers of coral recovery," Stier continued. "But there hasn't been as much done on the importance of predators as a limiting factor."

After reviewing the literature on coral growth, mortality and predation, Kopecky decided to focus on the effects predation and density had on young coral colonies.

He planted small nubbins of Pacific staghorn coral at various locations on the reef either alone, in a group of four, or in a group of eight. Some of these groups were protected by metal cages, while others were left exposed. For the unprotected coral, Kopecky sought to determine whether high density increased or decreased predation on the staghorn. For the protected groups, he was curious how density influenced coral growth.

The researchers found that protection was key to these small corals' futures. After 30 days out on the reef, nearly all of the unprotected nubbins had been completely consumed. In fact, density had virtually no effect on this outcome.

The researchers let the experiment run for an entire year. When they returned, virtually none of the unprotected specimens remained. On the other hand, the caged corals had outgrown their accommodations by year's end.

"The corals that were protected grew all the way into the upper corners of the cages and were poking little branches out," Kopecky recalled. "They formed a cube of coral inside the cages, whereas the ones that were exposed to predators were just barely hanging on."

Coral are not typically fast-growing organisms, but staghorn coral grows quickly, giving it a competitive edge following disturbances that remove large amounts of coral. But according to Kai, staghorn coral are like the popcorn chicken of the reef: irresistible to a hungry corallivore.

The protected corals grew so quickly that Kai had to adopt a different way to measure them, because at a certain point the nubbins fused, and he could no longer unscrew their base plates to measure them in the lab.

So, if there's no protection in numbers for these tasty staghorns, how do they ever survive their infancy?

The corals benefit from the protection of fish like the Dusky farmerfish, which farms algae on the reef. These farmer fish doggedly defend their territories, offering protection to any small coral that happens to settle in their range, Kopecky explained. And while algae and coral are often considered archenemies -- with the former able to outcompete the later -- by munching on their crops, the farmer fish keep the algae in check. This enables the coral to get through the stage where they're vulnerable to predation.

In fact, researchers rarely see staghorn corals in large colonies absent the protection of these fishy farmers, Kopecky added.

The authors thought density would have some effect on predation. "I think it just turns out that this coral is so tasty that predators simply mowed everything down," Stier remarked.

The team is considering running a similar experiment with cauliflower coral, which is more robust and slower-growing than the staghorn. Hopefully it's also slightly less scrumptious, as well.

"When these pufferfish eat enough, you can see their bellies weighted down by the coral rocks that are in their stomachs," Stier said. "I mean, they're oddly shaped fish to begin with; they're already having a hard time swimming without that ballast, but this makes it extra tricky."

"It really is a cartoonish dynamic," Kopecky added.

Staghorn coral is widely used in reef restoration efforts, especially in the Caribbean where this and a related species (elkhorn coral) are endangered. In fact, before joining UC Santa Barbara, Kopecky spent several months working as a coral restoration technician on the U.S. Virgin Islands.

"I had an opportunity to see coral restoration in action, but also see some of the limitations associated with it," Kopecky said. "And then I was able to go and conduct research, like this experiment, that can feed back into and inform how restoration might be improved."

Getting out-planted coral nubbins through this vulnerable life stage presents a major bottleneck to restoration efforts, Kopecky explained. He has already received feedback on the study from people engaged in coral reef restoration expressing how relevant his findings are to their work.

"When you protect these young, vulnerable corals from predators, the amount of growth is substantially higher than when they're not protected," Kopecky said. "It's clear that coral predators can really shape whether young corals actually reach the size where they're no longer vulnerable to predation."

###

Study demonstrates the need to monitor the bit area of event horses

UNIVERSITY OF HELSINKI

Research News

 

IMAGE: THE OBJECT OF THE CURRENT STUDY WAS EVENT HORSES, THAT IS HORSES WHICH COMPETE IN EVENTS COMPOSED OF THREE PHASES: SHOW JUMPING, DRESSAGE AND A CROSS-COUNTRY TEST. view more 

CREDIT: THEOTHERKEV / PIXABAY

In a study conducted at the Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, bit-related lesions were observed in half of the event horses examined after competitions. Since most oral lesions are not accompanied by bleeding outside the mouth, the bit area should be monitored.

It was found that event horses that wear thin or thick bits in events had a greater risk of moderate or severe oral lesions compared to horses wearing medium-sized bits, while straight bits were associated with lesions in the bars of the horse's mouth.

"Our recommendation is to use a jointed bit of moderate thickness, that is 14 to 17 millimetres, if the size of the mouth is not known, paying particular attention to the handling of mares and both warmblood and coldblood event horses. They were seen to have a greater risk of mouth lesions compared to geldings and ponies," says doctoral student and veterinarian Kati Tuomola from the Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, University of Helsinki.

"Since most mouth lesions are not evidenced as bleeding outside the mouth, the bit area should be monitored, and event organisers should carry out systematic oral inspections," Tuomola adds.

The research group has previously investigated oral lesions in trotters. The object of the current study was event horses, that is horses which compete in events composed of three phases: show jumping, dressage and a cross-country test. The study was conducted in cooperation with the Equestrian Federation of Finland, and participation in it was voluntary.

"As many as 95% of the equestrians invited for the study wanted their horse to participate, for which we are thankful," says a pleased Tuomola.

For the study, 208 randomly selected horses which were 4 to 19 years old were examined in eight events organised in western Finland in 2018 and 2019. The front part of the horses' mouths was examined after a cross-country test, the last phase of the events. A total of 127 of the horses were warmbloods, 52 coldbloods and 29 ponies. Of the 208 horses examined, 52% had lesions in the bit area. Bruises were found in 39% of the horses and wounds in 19%. Among the group, 48% had no acute lesions, while 22% had mild, 26% moderate and 4% severe lesions. Blood was observed inside the mouth of one horse.

Consequently, event horses had fewer and less severe lesions than the trotters studied earlier.

"The field scoring system developed by Kati Tuomola in her doctoral thesis makes it possible to conduct comparative studies of different groups of horses, something that was previously impossible," says Professor Anna Valros from the Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, University of Helsinki.

###