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Animals, Volume 1, Issue 2 (June 2011) – 2 articles , Pages 205-255

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Review
Plague: Infections of Companion Animals and Opportunities for Intervention
by Petra C.F. Oyston and Diane Williamson
Animals 2011, 1(2), 242-255; https://doi.org/10.3390/ani1020242 - 21 Jun 2011
Cited by 8 | Viewed by 6800
Abstract
Plague is a zoonotic disease, normally circulating in rodent populations, transmitted to humans most commonly through the bite of an infected flea vector. Secondary infection of the lungs results in generation of infectious aerosols, which pose a significant hazard to close contacts. In [...] Read more.
Plague is a zoonotic disease, normally circulating in rodent populations, transmitted to humans most commonly through the bite of an infected flea vector. Secondary infection of the lungs results in generation of infectious aerosols, which pose a significant hazard to close contacts. In enzootic areas, plague infections have been reported in owners and veterinarians who come into contact with infected pets. Dogs are relatively resistant, but can import infected fleas into the home. Cats are acutely susceptible, and can present a direct hazard to health. Reducing roaming and hunting behaviours, combined with flea control measures go some way to reducing the risk to humans. Various vaccine formulations have been developed which may be suitable to protect companion animals from contracting plague, and thus preventing onward transmission to man. Since transmission has resulted in a number of fatal cases of plague, the vaccination of domestic animals such as cats would seem a low cost strategy for reducing the risk of infection by this serious disease in enzootic regions. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advances in Veterinary Vaccines)
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Article
Aquatic Biodiversity in the Amazon: Habitat Specialization and Geographic Isolation Promote Species Richness
by James S. Albert, Tiago P. Carvalho, Paulo Petry, Meghan A. Holder, Emmanuel L. Maxime, Jessica Espino, Isabel Corahua, Roberto Quispe, Blanca Rengifo, Hernan Ortega and Roberto E. Reis
Animals 2011, 1(2), 205-241; https://doi.org/10.3390/ani1020205 - 29 Apr 2011
Cited by 38 | Viewed by 15852
Abstract
The Neotropical freshwater ichthyofauna has among the highest species richness and density of any vertebrate fauna on Earth, with more than 5,600 species compressed into less than 12% of the world’s land surface area, and less than 0.002% of the world’s total liquid [...] Read more.
The Neotropical freshwater ichthyofauna has among the highest species richness and density of any vertebrate fauna on Earth, with more than 5,600 species compressed into less than 12% of the world’s land surface area, and less than 0.002% of the world’s total liquid water supply. How have so many species come to co-exist in such a small amount of total habitat space? Here we report results of an aquatic faunal survey of the Fitzcarrald region in southeastern Peru, an area of low-elevation upland (200–500 m above sea level) rainforest in the Western Amazon, that straddles the headwaters of four large Amazonian tributaries; the Juruá (Yurúa), Ucayali, Purús, and Madre de Dios rivers. All measures of fish species diversity in this region are high; there is high alpha diversity with many species coexisting in the same locality, high beta diversity with high turnover between habitats, and high gamma diversity with high turnover between adjacent tributary basins. Current data show little species endemism, and no known examples of sympatric sister species, within the Fitzcarrald region, suggesting a lack of localized or recent adaptive divergences. These results support the hypothesis that the fish species of the Fitzcarrald region are relatively ancient, predating the Late Miocene-Pliocene (c. 4 Ma) uplift that isolated its several headwater basins. The results also suggest that habitat specialization (phylogenetic niche conservatism) and geographic isolation (dispersal limitation) have contributed to the maintenance of high species richness in this region of the Amazon Basin. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Evolutionary Aspects of Taxonomic Diversity Patterns)
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