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Blood pressure adaptation in vertebrates: Comparative biology

With evolution from water to land, the osmotic regulation of body fluids and cardiovascular systems of vertebrates evolved to cope with dryness and gravity. While aquatic vertebrates can use buoyancy to compensate for the effects of gravity, terrestrial vertebrates cannot, and must circulate blood throughout their body – a necessity that likely led to the development of strong hearts and high blood pressure. These changes may be supported by anatomical evolution of the cardiovascular system and by functional evolution, with

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COVID-19 impacts, opportunities and challenges for wildlife farms in Binh Duong and Ba Ria Vung Tau, Vietnam

The wildlife trade is a major cause of species loss and can trigger disease transmission. While the COVID-19 pandemic sparked public interest in eliminating the wildlife trade, a better understanding is needed of the economic repercussions of COVID-19 on those who rely on wildlife farming for their livelihoods. Using the case studies of Ba Ria Vung Tau and Binh Duong provinces in Vietnam – a country seen as Asia’s wildlife trade hotspot – this paper explores COVID-19’s impacts on wildlife

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Wild herbivores enhance resistance to invasion by exotic cacti in an African savanna

Whether wild herbivores confer biotic resistance to invasion by exotic plants remains a key question in ecology. There is evidence that wild herbivores can impede invasion by exotic plants, but it is unclear whether and how this generalises across ecosystems with varying wild herbivore diversity and functional groups of plants, particularly over long-term (decadal) time frames. Using data from three long-term (13- to 26-year) exclosure experiments in central Kenya, we tested the effects of wild herbivores on the density of

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Refining prey selection for cheetahs and lions: The influence of prey demography and season

Traditional prey preference models use a coarse species-specific prey body mass of three-quarters of adult female body mass, assumed to reflect the average mass across the prey population. This ignores demographic-specific prey preferences, potentially biasing estimates of preferred prey sizes. We refined prey selection models for two model predators with contrasting hunting strategies, by including seasonal consumption and availability of prey demographic classes. We predicted that cheetahs would select for smaller neonate and juvenile prey, while lions would select for

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Detection and differentiation of Trichuris in giraffe (Giraffa camelopardalis) under human care

Trichuris spp. are nematode parasites infecting many species, including domestic and wild ruminants in zoological and wildlife parks worldwide. These nematodes cause significant morbidity in giraffes (Giraffa camelopardalis) and other hoofstock. Parasite transmission between ruminant species is well reported; however, relative to domestic species, little is known about Trichuris infections in giraffes under human care. We hypothesized that Trichuris spp. differ between individual giraffes in different US regions, suggesting giraffes are susceptible to Trichuris from other ruminant hosts. The study

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Assessing Trophy Hunting in South Africa by Comparing Hunting and Exporting Databases

Trophy hunting constitutes a major part of the global wildlife tourism industry and is connected through the export of kills to international wildlife trade. Inconsistencies between kills and exports can contribute to identifying illegal trophy hunting that constitutes a major threat to biodiversity conservation. This paper quantitatively analyses to what extent the data of trophy hunting kills and of trophy exports are consistent using the example of South Africa. Data was extracted from two different sources for the year 2018.

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Viability analysis of Kordofan giraffe (Giraffa camelopardalis antiquorum) in a protected area in Cameroon

Representing one of the last populations of an IUCN Critically Endangered subspecies, estimates suggest the Kordofan giraffe of Cameroon’s Bénoué Complex number fewer than 300 individuals, threatened by poaching and habitat degradation. This study investigated the viability of Bénoué National Park’s Kordofan giraffe and efficacy of available interventions through a population viability analysis using VORTEX. The relative impacts of anti-poaching activity, population supplementation, habitat protection and vaccination were explored, alongside a sensitivity analysis investigating parameter uncertainty. The baseline model projects

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The current state of Wildlife Captive Facilities in Tanzania

Wildlife captive facilities (WCFs) are accommodations for ex-situ conservation of wild animals, they include wildlife ranches, farms, breeding facilities, orphanage centers, sanctuaries and zoos. Tanzania harbours a number of these facilities, however, information on exact number, types, functioning status, size, composition and health is limited. This study employed key informant interviews, participatory observations and counts to generate information on the status of WCFs in Tanzania. Descriptive statistics and Gross Profit Margin were used to analyze data on WCF status and

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Trypanosomes infection, endosymbionts, and host preferences in tsetse flies (Glossina spp.) collected from Akagera park region, Rwanda: A correlational xenomonitoring study

Akagera National Park and its surroundings are home to tsetse flies and a number of their mammalian hosts in Rwanda. A One-health approach is being used in the control and surveillance of both animal and human trypanosomosis in Rwanda. Determination of the infection level in tsetse flies, species of trypanosomes circulating in vectors, the source of tsetse blood meal and endosymbionts is crucial in understanding the epidemiology of the disease in animals and humans in the region. Tsetse flies (n

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