Domesticated animals experienced profound changes in diet, environment, and social interactions that likely shaped their gut microbiota and were potentially analogous to ecological changes experienced by humans during industrialization. Comparing the gut microbiota of wild and domesticated mammals plus chimpanzees and humans, we found a strong signal of domestication in overall gut microbial community composition and similar changes in composition with domestication and industrialization. Reciprocal diet switches within mouse and canid dyads demonstrated the critical role of diet in shaping the domesticated gut microbiota.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFUnmanned aircraft systems (UAS; i.e. 'drones') provide new opportunities for data collection in ecology, wildlife biology and conservation.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFStable isotope analysis of diet has become a common tool in conservation research. However, the multiple sources of uncertainty inherent in this analysis framework involve consequences that have not been thoroughly addressed. Uncertainty arises from the choice of trophic discrimination factors, and for Bayesian stable isotope mixing models (SIMMs), the specification of prior information; the combined effect of these aspects has not been explicitly tested.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFObjectives: Standard white light colonoscopy has limited ability to differentiate between polyp types (adenomatous vs. hyperplastic). Narrow band imaging (NBI) highlights the superficial mucosal/vascular patterns on polyps and may facilitate real-time characterization of polyp histology.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: The 2 main types of colon polyps are adenomas and hyperplastic. Pit patterns on the surface of polyps have been described by using magnification chromoendoscopy, which can help differentiate between polyp types. Narrow band imaging (NBI) is a novel technology that enhances the visualization of surface mucosal and vascular patterns on the polyp surface.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: Colonoscopy is the preferred screening method for colorectal cancer. However, it has a substantial miss rate for colon polyps, and several techniques have been attempted to improve this limitation. Narrow-band imaging (NBI) is a novel technology that enhances the visualization of surface mucosal and vascular patterns.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFAlthough captive populations of endangered species such as the Mexican gray wolf (Canis lupus baileyi) can benefit from artificial insemination to accomplish genetic exchange, reliable techniques for timing insemination are lacking. We used the generic gray wolf (C. lupus) to test the efficacy of a short-acting GnRH-agonist implant, deslorelin, for inducing estrus.
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