A study was carried out at Mwea Rice Irrigation Scheme, Kenya, to assess the impact of rice husbandry on mosquito breeding and identify indigenous biocontrol agents with potential for controlling mosquito breeding in the scheme. The study established a close relationship between the schedule of the farming practices (particularly the flooding phase) and mosquito breeding. Two groups of agents, ...

The timing and location of reproduction are fundamental elements of reproductive success for all organisms. Understanding why animals choose to reproduce at particular times and in particular places is also important for our understanding of other aspects of organismal ecology, such as their habitat requirements, movement strategies, and biogeography. Although breeding patterns in waterfowl are...

Improvement programmes for small ruminants in the tropics face several constraints that have hampered the establishment and sustainability of such programmes. One major shortfall has been weak planning, particularly poor involvement of livestock owners and other stakeholders in the design and implementation of the programmes. In sub-Saharan Africa, low productivity, high density of animals in r...

Animal populations occurring at high elevations are often assumed to be in peril of extinctions or local extirpations due to elevational-dispersal limitations and thermoregulatory constraints as habitats change and warm. However, long-term monitoring of high-elevation populations is uncommon relative to those occurring at lower elevations, and evidence supporting this assumption is limited. We ...

The avianuncoupling protein (avUCP) is a member of the mitochondrial transporter superfamily that uncouples proton entry in the mitochondrial matrix from ATP synthesis. The polymerase chain reaction restriction fragment length polymorphism (PCR-RFLP) method was used to estimate the allele and genotype frequencies of the UCP/HhaI polymorphisms and to determine associations between these polymorp...

Arctic peoples today find themselves on the front line of rapid environmental change brought about by globalizing forces, shifting climates, and destabilizing physical conditions. The weather is not the only thing undergoing rapid change here. Social climates are intrinsically connected to physical climates, and changes within each have profound effects on the daily life, health, and well-being...