Animals最新文献

For millennia, cats have been valued worldwide as biological agents for rodent control. Our previous qualitative research found that Australian dairy farmers valued cats for rodent management and companionship, while also highlighting welfare and operational challenges when populations were unmanaged. We therefore argued for a structured, humane management approach. Critics questioned our methodology and portrayed our publications as a blanket endorsement of placing cats on farms. Here, we clarify the scope and limitations of our earlier work and reaffirm that unmanaged cats can create significant risks, including disease transmission, poor welfare, environmental concerns, and psychological stress for farmers and veterinary professionals tasked with lethal control. Responsible management, through sterilization, feeding, healthcare, and formal recognition of some cats as working animals, has the potential to reduce these harms while aligning with farmer values and food safety requirements. Farmers also supported barn/working-cat programs to replace sterilized cats lost through attrition and because they recognized the wellbeing impact on shelter staff required to humanely kill healthy cats. While more research is needed to empirically examine the benefits of the humane management of farm cats, alternatives to cats suggested by critics, such as owls or dogs, lack equivalent evidence or feasibility in dairy systems. Given that cats already exist on many farms, we conclude that responsible management offers a pragmatic, humane, and One Welfare-aligned pathway while longer-term studies are undertaken.

The aim of this study was to examine the impact of the probiotics Saccharomyces cerevisiae (SC) and Pediococcus acidilactici (PA), as well as the prebiotic yeast cell wall extract (Cyberlindnera jadinii and S. cerevisiae) (YP), on the growth parameters, intestinal histomorphology, liver and gills normality, and gut microbiome of common carp (Cyprinus carpio L.). These feed supplements were subjected to a 60-day experimental period, during which 120 fish (26.4 ± 5.2 g) were distributed into four groups, with each group comprising 30 fish. The feed supplements were administered at a rate of 1 g/kg of body weight. Before the trial, the fish were acclimatized for two weeks, then injected with Passive Integrated Transponder (PIT) tags. The results showed that none of the feed supplements exhibited a significant effect (p > 0.05) on growth indices. In contrast, the villi length, villi width, muscular thickness, and crypt depth in the anterior, mid, and posterior intestine of the SC group exhibited significant (p < 0.05) improvements compared to the other groups. No alteration or abnormal growth were noticed in the gills and livers. The most dominant microbe genera in all groups, with abundances greater than 60% of the total, were Cetobacterium and Aeromonas. However, Polynucleobacter, Nordella, Mycoplasma, Romboutsia, and Staphylococcus species were present at lower abundances. The presence of Actinobacteria has been observed only in the intestine of fish that have been fed a diet supplemented with PA. It can be concluded that the tested probiotics and the yeast cell wall prebiotic have the potential to produce a remarkable improvement in intestinal morphology and a considerable change in the gut microbiome without notable effect on growth, livers, or gills of common carp.

While climate change and land-use change are known to interact in their effects on species' range shifts, most studies have only focused on their isolated and combined effects, hindering a comprehensive understanding of their effects on future species distributions. In this study, we assessed the isolated and combined effects of future climate change and land-use change on range shifts of 23 large- and medium-sized terrestrial mammals in the giant panda (Ailuropoda melanoleuca) range, as well as the impact of land-use change on climate change effects, by comparing projections for three model configurations: (1) dynamic climate and static land-use covariates, (2) static climate and dynamic land-use covariates, and (3) dynamic climate and dynamic land-use covariates. We find that all three types of models projected an average net loss of suitable habitat areas across the 23 mammalian species. Moreover, we find that although there is a large variation in individual species' responses to both the single climate change and single land-use change, climate change impacts dominate responses for most species, while land-use change impacts were nonsignificant or weak. Finally, the effect of land-use change on climate change projections reveals that land-use change could amplify or offset some of the negative effects of future climate change. These findings highlight that adopting effective land-based conservation management strategies to mitigate the impacts of future climate change on large- and medium-sized terrestrial mammals in the giant panda range is of great urgency and significance, but these strategies should take into account the large variation in individual species' responses to both climate change and land-use change.

Yersinia enterocolitica is a psychrotrophic zoonotic pathogen that causes diarrhea in animals and enteritis in humans, mainly transmitted through the food chain. This systematic review and meta-analysis estimated the prevalence, geographical distribution, and related risk factors of Y. enterocolitica in livestock throughout the Chinese Mainland. Comprehensive searches were conducted in PubMed, ScienceDirect, CNKI, Wanfang, and VIP databases for studies between 1 January 2000 and 1 August 2025. Out of 1092 identified studies, 28 met the inclusion criteria. The estimated overall prevalence of Y. enterocolitica was 9.37%. Prior to 2015, the prevalence peaked at 9.69% but declined in subsequent years. The highest prevalence was found in Southern China (25.00%). Among livestock species, pigs showed higher susceptibility (9.93%) compared to cattle (4.67%). Meat samples exhibited the highest prevalence (15.47%), while qPCR yielded the highest detection rate (10.79%). Geographical factors such as longitude, latitude, altitude, climate, temperature, rainfall, and humidity also influenced prevalence patterns. Y. enterocolitica remains widely distributed in livestock and meat products. Variability was linked to regional, species-specific, and methodological aspects, highlighting the need for One-Health-based monitoring, stricter hygiene regulations, and standardized diagnostics to protect food safety.

Rodents are significant agricultural pests in Australia and internationally. Recent proposals to address the Australian problems by allowing farmers to obtain desexed cats, at tax-deductible cost, to control rodents on their properties are, superficially, attractive, especially given enthusiastic endorsement from 15 dairy farmers from nine properties in Queensland and New South Wales. We argue that far stronger evidence is required to take this solution seriously, and for broader ethical and regulatory reasons, it may not be appropriate even if evidence was forthcoming. Evidence via direct population monitoring or indirect monitoring using bait removal is first needed to show that rodents are effectively suppressed by cats and how many cats are required. Further supportive evidence could come from monitoring the diets of cats using techniques such as analysis of stomach contents or scats, collar-mounted video cameras, or stable isotope analysis of cat tissues such as whiskers. These techniques would also quantify any predation by farm cats on wildlife. Population monitoring of cats would confirm whether there is unwanted immigration of cats into the farm cat population, while economic modeling could compare the costs of a farm cat program to other rodent control options. In the absence of such data, promotion of cats as a solution to rodent issues on Australian farms remains unsubstantiated and is premature.

Anatomical variations of the caudal ventral lamina of the sixth cervical vertebra (C6), referred to as equine caudal cervical morphologic variations (ECCMV), and radiographic modelling of the caudal cervical articular process joints (APJ) are commonly identified in sport horses, yet their interrelationship and relevance for athletic performance remain controversial. This retrospective observational study aimed to determine the prevalence of ECCMV and APJ modelling in a clinically sound warmblood sport horse population, to evaluate a potential association and to assess if ECCMV affects competition performances. Records of 200 warmbloods, presented for pre-purchase examination between 2020 and 2024 were reviewed: the predominant breed was Hanoverian (n = 131), followed by Oldenburg (n = 27) and Holsteiner (n = 22), including 127 geldings, 61 mares and 12 stallions with a median age of 5. ECCMV was diagnosed on latero-lateral radiographs if the caudal ventral lamina of C6 was uni- or bilaterally absent, and APJ modelling at C6/C7 was graded as either normal or mild or moderate to severe. Competition placings and lifetime earnings of each horse were collected from the German National Equestrian Federation database. ECCMV was found in 30% of horses and APJ modelling in 32.5% (mild 26.5%, moderate/severe 6%). There was no significant association between the presence of ECCMV, APJ alterations and competition results, but horses with ECCMV were less likely to exhibit radiographic changes in the adjacent APJ compared to those with a normal C6 morphology (23.3% vs. 36.4%). In conclusion, ECCMV is a common anatomical variation in clinically sound warmbloods, neither predisposing them to APJ modelling nor limiting athletic performance.

Dietary phytochemicals, primarily derived from grasses, legumes, and agro-industrial byproducts of plant origin, encompass distinct chemical classes such as polyphenols (including tannins, flavonoids, and other polyphenol compounds), saponins, organosulfur compounds, and essential oils (largely composed of terpenoids and phenylpropanoids). These compounds can function as rumen modifiers, antimethanogenic agents, anthelmintics, growth promoters, stress mitigators, and biopreservatives in ruminant production systems. Thus, they improve feed efficiency, nutrient utilization, and nitrogen retention while mitigating greenhouse gas emissions. In dairy systems specifically, phytogenic feedstuffs enhance milk yield and composition by enriching conjugated linoleic acids (CLAs), omega-3 fatty acids, and antioxidant compounds, leading to superior nutritional and oxidative stability. In meat production systems, they improve tenderness, flavor and shelf life through reduced oxidation and enhanced muscle metabolism. Despite these benefits, dose optimization, bio-efficacy, and species-specific responses remain critical research priorities. Use of phytogenic-based feeding strategies aligns with global sustainability goals by reducing reliance on feed additives, promoting environmentally resilient and circular food systems. This review synthesizes emerging evidence on the mechanisms, production outcomes, and functional benefits of dietary phytochemicals, providing a scientific framework for their strategic application in sustainable ruminant milk and meat production.

Pearl culture has long been a major global industry. As a significant global producer, China mainly produces pearls from the freshwater mussel (Sinohyriopsis cumingii). S. cumingii with various shell colors can produce pearls of different colors; for example, mussels with a blue-white shell can produce white pearls, while those with a purple shell can produce light-purple pearls. Therefore, investigating the molecular genetics of shell color variation in S. cumingii can advance our understanding of the mechanisms underlying differences in shell and pearl coloration in these mussels. In this study, we selected juvenile S. cumingii with four differently colored inner shells and collected tissue samples for transcriptomic analysis. The results showed that many key genes involved in the regulation of pigment metabolism (such as ADAMTS, TYR, BCDO2, and FTH1), as well as those associated with metabolism and mineral absorption (such as TRPV6, HCP1, HEPH, and Zip4), exhibited significant differences. Furthermore, these DEGs (differentially expressed genes) may influence the synthesis and metabolism of melanin, carotenoids, porphyrins, and heme, thereby affecting shell color variation; they might also be one of the potential reasons why S. cumingii produces pearls of different colors.

Cattle behavior is closely related to their health status, and monitoring cattle behavior using intelligent devices can assist herders in achieving precise and scientific livestock management. Current behavior recognition algorithms are typically executed on server platforms, resulting in increased power consumption due to data transmission from edge devices and hindering real-time computation. An edge-based cattle behavior recognition method via Graph Neural Network (GNN) compression is proposed in this paper. Firstly, this paper proposes a wearable device that integrates data acquisition and model inference. This device achieves low-power edge inference function through a high-performance embedded microcontroller. Secondly, a sequential residual model tailored for single-frame data based on Inertial Measurement Unit (IMU) and displacement information is proposed. The model incrementally extracts deep features through two Residual Blocks (Resblocks), enabling effective cattle behavior classification. Finally, a compression method based on GNNs is introduced to adapt edge devices' limited storage and computational resources. The method adopts GNNs as the backbone of the Actor-Critic model to autonomously search for an optimal pruning strategy under Floating-Point Operations (FLOPs) constraints. The experimental results demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed method in cattle behavior classification. Moreover, enabling real-time inference on edge devices significantly reduces computational latency and power consumption, thereby highlighting the proposed method's advantages for low-power, long-term operation.

In aquaculture production, manual or fixed-schedule feeding often fails to match the real-time feeding level of fish schools, and overfeeding can lead to feed wastage and water-quality deterioration, which has become a major bottleneck for both large-scale farming efficiency and environmental sustainability. During feeding, intense competition and jumping behaviors generate splashes of varying magnitudes, which can serve as an indirect visual proxy for hunger intensity. In this study, we constructed a frame-level splash-annotated dataset and performed data preprocessing. Building upon YOLO11 pretrained weights, we introduced a P2-P5 four-scale detection head to enhance small-splash recognition, injected EGMA into the backbone C3k2 blocks, and replaced stride-2 downsampling convolutions with a three-branch ADown operator. On the validation set, the proposed YOLO11-PEGA achieved a precision of 0.86 and a recall of 0.80, with mAP@0.5 exceeding 0.80 and mAP@0.5-0.95 exceeding 0.30. Compared with the baseline model, the parameter count was reduced by 72.3%. The results demonstrate that the proposed model maintains stable detection and evaluation performance under complex environmental conditions, providing actionable decision support for feeding-threshold setting, feeding-time determination, and feed-amount adjustment.