The three subspecies of Spotted Owl (Northern, Strix occidentalis caurina; California, S. o. occidentalis; and Mexican, S. o. lucida) are all threatened by habitat loss and range expansion of the Barred Owl (S. varia). An unaddressed threat is whether Barred Owls could be a source of novel strains of disease such as avian malaria (Plasmodium spp.) or other blood parasites potentially harmful fo...

BACKGROUND There are few references of allergic reaction to beans in childhood. We report the case of a seven years old boy who suffered from angioedema associated to inhalation of vapours from cooked white bean. METHODS skin prick tests (SPT) were performed by prick-by-prick with cooked white bean and legumes. It was also determined total IgE and specific IgE antibodies to bean and legumes w...

This article makes use of digitized historic newspapers to analyze Newfoundland dog fur colour genetics, and fur colour variations over time. The results indicate that contrary to the accepted view, the 'Solid' gene was introduced into the British population of Newfoundland dogs in the 1840s. Prior to that time, the dogs were white and black (Landseer) or white and brown, and thus spotted/spott...

The occurrence of viral co-infection is a common phenomenon in cultivated and native plant species and can alter the dynamics of virus infection. In this study, disease progress was examined in single and mixed infections of Cucumber mosaic virus (CMV) and Bean yellow mosaic virus (BYMV) by measuring the rate of symptom development, disease severity and area under disease progress curve on infe...

Tomato spotted wilt caused by thrips-vectored tomato spotted wilt virus (TSWV) is a very serious problem in peanut (Arachis hypogaea L.) production. TSWV and the thrips Frankliniella fusca and Frankliniella occidentalis, which vector the virus, present a difficult and complicated challenge from the perspectives of both epidemiology and disease management. Simply controlling the vector typically...

State and federal actions to conserve northern spotted owl (Strix occidentalis caurina) habitat are largely initiated by establishing habitat occupancy. Northern spotted owl occupancy is typically assessed by eliciting their response to simulated conspecific vocalizations. However, proximity of barred owls (Strix varia)-a significant threat to northern spotted owls-can suppress northern spotted...

We used multi-season occupancy analyses to model 2 fates of northern spotted owl territories in relation to habitat amount, habitat fragmentation, and the presence of barred owls in Washington State, USA, 1989-2005. Local colonization is the probability a territory unoccupied by a spotted owl in year i would be occupied in year i + 1, and local extinction is the probability a territory that was...

Spotted fevers, which are caused by Rickettsia spp. in the spotted fever group (SFG), have been recognized in people for more than a hundred years. The clinical signs are broadly similar in all of these diseases, but the course ranges from mild and self-limited to severe and life-threatening. For a long time, spotted fevers were thought to be caused by only a few organisms, including Rickettsia...

The occurrence of parasites in the digestive tract of the lesser-spotted dogfish (Scyliorhinus canicula) caught in the north western Mediterranean was analysed and the results compared with infestation levels in samples of the same species caught in the Atlantic (off the south west coast of Ireland). The relationships between parasite levels and the scavenger habits of the lesser-spotted dogfis...

Spotted hyaenas Crocuta crocuta were once considered mere scavengers; however, detailed research revealed that they are very efficient predators. Information on what spotted hyaenas actually prefer to prey on and what they avoid is lacking, as well as the factors that influence prey selection. Data from 14 published and one unpublished study from six countries throughout the distribution of the...