The distribution and reproductive success of fish were examined in Dutch soft waters of varying pH. In total, 20 fish species were encoun­ tered. The lowest pH-values at which fish species were observed varied remarkably. Umbra pygmaea and Tinea tinea appeared to be extremely acid tolerant and occurred in waters with pH-values below 4.0. Abramis brarna, Cyprinus carpio, E’sox iucius, Misgumus f...

Genetic improvement in beef and dairy cattle reproductive traits has historically been hampered by the availability and accuracy of applicable genetic predictions. Reproductive trait phenotypes are generally time-consuming to measure, categorical and/or threshold in nature, often are not collected in the context of inventory-based performance recording systems, and typically of lower relative h...

Body condition score (BCS), energy content (EC), cumulative effective energy balance (CEEB), and blood serum concentrations of glucose, beta-hydroxybutyrate (BHBA), and nonesterified fatty acids (NEFA) were measured throughout first lactation in 497 Holstein cows raised on a large commercial farm in northern Greece. All these traits are considered to be indicators of a cow's energy balance. An ...

Understanding the role of diet in the physiological condition of adults during reproduction and hence its effect on reproductive performance is fundamental to understand reproductive strategies in long-lived animals. In birds, little is known about the influence of the quality of food consumed at the beginning of the reproductive period and its short-term effects on reproductive performance. To...

Life table of Tetranychus urticae and Phytoseiulus persimilis on bean leaflets were studied under laboratory conditions in three seasons. For T. urticae the development time from egg to adult varied from 7 to 24 days and the highest immature mortality was 78.70 % in winter. Eggs laid by females were 88.1 eggs in autumn and 70.6 eggs in summer season. The gross reproductive rate (GRR) was the hi...