The fruit-feeding guild of nymphalid butterflies was sampled at the Firestone Center for Restoration Ecology (FCRE) in southwestern Costa Rica to investigate the effects of four habitat types on species-richness. Species-richness was expected to differ among riparian forest, secondary forest, bamboo forest and pastureland. Over two years and 53 sampling days, 1456 fruit-feeding nymphalid butter...

Recent discussion about pasture persistence concentrates on pastures based on perennial ryegrass, the most commonly used grass species. This paper raises the question as to whether some of the causes of poor pasture persistence are due to perennial ryegrass being used in environments to which it is not suited. The adaptation to environmental stresses, particularly water, temperature and nutrien...

This study aimed to investigate the bone development of two mountain sheep breeds during natural summer grazing either in the lowlands or on different characteristic alpine pastures. Pasture types differed in topographic slope, plant species composition, general nutritional feeding value, Ca and P content, and Ca:P ratio of herbage. Twenty-seven Engadine sheep (ES) lambs and 27 Valaisian Black ...

The objectives of this study were to determine and compare the chemical composition and ruminal degradability of dry matter (DM), crude protein (CP), neutral detergent fiber (NDF) and acid detergent fiber (ADF) of ten pasture forage species dominant in the west provinces of Iran. Duplicate nylon bags of pasture samples were suspended in the rumen of four wethers for up to 96 h. The chemical com...

The arthropod species richness of pastures in three Azorean islands was used to examine the relationship between local and regional species richness over two years. Two groups of arthropods, spiders and sucking insects, representing two functionally different but common groups of pasture invertebrates were investigated. The local-regional species richness relationship was assessed over relative...

Two experiments were carried out during summer and winter conditions to determine if Dictyocaulus vivipams infective larvae could survive on pasture during these seasons in Louisiana. Pairs of tracer calves were grazed in August and September on a pasture that was heavily contaminated in May and then left free of cattle during June-July. These tracers were not infected with D. vivipams, indicat...

The analysis of mixed pasture species has proven to be a useful guide to plant and animal nutrition. Fourteen or more elements can be analysed in plants and the results used to correct any potential problem. In Southland low Ca MQ. Co and Se are the main problems in animal nutrition, with low Sand MO the main deficiencies in plant nutrition. Most elements in pasture vary with soil temperature i...

Driscoll et al. (1) have recently drawn attention to the risk of new pasture plants becoming invasive, because the same biological traits that promote pasture productivity may also facilitate the invasion of natural areas. The authors indicate some aspects that could mitigate the risk of invasion: namely, the use of native species to develop new pasture plants, the avoidance of new characterist...

Scarabaeinae are sensitive to structural habitat changes caused by disturbance. We compared copronecrophagous beetle (Scarabaeinae) community structure in three differently managed zones within an agroeco-system of the northern Yucatan Peninsula, Mexico. We placed dung and carrion traps once a month from June 2004 through May 2005. The beetle community included 17 species from the genera Cantho...

We studied the distribution of sandflies (Diptera: Phlebotominae)--insect vectors of several diseases, including leishmaniasis--at the interface between primary forest and cattle pasture and between primary forest and secondary forest (< 15 yr old) in Southern Brazilian Amazonia. Sandflies were collected by using a combination of light traps and traps having vertebrates as baits. Strong differe...