Golden lion tamarin metapopulation dynamics five years after heavy losses to yellow fever.

The golden lion tamarin (GLT) is an Endangered primate endemic to Brazil's lowland Atlantic Forest. After centuries of deforestation and capture for the pet trade, only a few hundred individuals survived, all in isolated forest fragments 85 km from Rio de Janeiro city. Intensive conservation actions, including reintroduction of zoo-born tamarins, increased numbers to about 3700 in 2014. The most severe yellow fever epidemic/epizootic in Brazil in 80 years reduced two of the largest GLT populations by over 90%. Herein we report the results of a 2023 survey of GLTs designed to examine the dynamics of population recovery following yellow fever. Results indicate that populations hard hit by yellow fever are recovering due in part to immigration from adjacent forest fragments. No local extirpations were observed. About 4800 GLTs live in the survey area. This represents a 31% increase since the baseline survey completed in 2014. Two factors explain most of the increase: four large areas that had no GLTs or very low-density populations in 2014 are now at moderate density (three areas) or low density (one area), explaining 71% of overall increase since 2014. Increase in forest area within our survey area may explain up to 16% of the increase in GLT numbers since 2014. Results of computer simulations suggest that strengthening forest connectivity will facilitate metapopulation resilience in the face of mortality factors such as yellow fever.

Effects of Whole Corn Germ, A Source of Linoleic Acid, on Carcass Characteristics and Meat Quality of Feedlot Lambs.

The whole corn germ (WCG), due to its desirable nutritional characteristics, has been studied as feed for ruminants. This study aimed to evaluate the effects of WCG inclusion as a linoleic acid source in diets for feedlot lambs on carcass characteristics, physicochemical composition, sensory attributes, and fatty acid profile of the meat. Forty non-castrated, crossbreed Dorper x Santa Inês lambs were distributed in a completely randomized design to evaluate the inclusion levels (0, 30, 60, 90, and 120 g/kg dry matter (DM)) of whole corn germ (WCG) in the diet. The dietary inclusion of WCG did not influence (p > 0.05) the weight gain and carcass characteristics, with the exception of the subcutaneous fat thickness (p < 0.01), which was higher in animals fed diets with higher levels of WCG. Lightness (L *; p = 0.04), yellowness (b *; p < 0.01), shear force (p = 0.04), linoleic fatty acid concentrations (p = 0.03), and total polyunsaturated fatty acids (p = 0.04) had a quadratic increase due to WCG inclusion in the diets. The use of up to 120 g/kg DM of WCG in lamb diets does not affect the carcass characteristics, physicochemical composition, and sensory attributes of the meat. Despite this, the best polyunsaturated fatty acid profile in lambs' meat is obtained using 76.7 g/kg DM of WCG.