Age and sex differences in pharmaceutical contamination in a keystone scavenger

Pharmaceutical contaminants have a recognized negative impact on wildlife health. However, there are still many knowledge gaps on the factors influencing exposure and metabolic processing of compound mixtures as a function of season and individual characteristics such as age and sex. We evaluated age and sex differences in a set of seventeen compounds, including eleven antibiotics, five NSAIDs and caffeine, evaluated by HPLC-MS-TOF analysis in griffon vultures (Gyps fulvus) from central Spain. Pharmaceutical cocktails (up to 10 compounds simultaneously) were found in all individuals. Lincomycin was detected in all individuals, and fluoroquinolones were found at high frequencies, while NSAIDs were at low frequencies and concentrations, including flumixin meglumine, which can be lethal to vultures. A higher total number of compounds and sum of concentrations, as well as prevalence and concentration of several of the pharmaceuticals tested was found in females than in males for both nestlings and adults. This is the first study to present evidence of sex differences in the pharmacokinetics of dietary drug contaminants in a vulture species. Chronic exposure to "medications" in entire populations can potentially have sub-lethal health effects that affect fitness differently according to age and sex, with demographic implications for population viability. Specifically, if females have higher mortality after fledging due to high pharmaceutical contamination, this should be considered when modelling the population dynamic of this species for conservation purposes.

Effects of the Addition of Trichoderma reesei Cellulase to Broiler Chicken Diets for a 21-Day Period

The cellulose present in the cell wall of vegetables prevents the greater release of nutrients to the animal. Therefore, the use of the cellulase enzyme is a viable strategy as it is capable of breaking cellulose bonds, releasing nutrients such as glucose, increasing dietary energy, and thus improving the productive performance of birds. Trichoderma reesei is efficient in the production of cellulase, which is produced via submerged fermentation followed by purification, formulation, and drying. Therefore, an experiment was carried out using 240 male broilers of the Cobb-500® lineage to verify the effects resulting from the addition of powdered (500 g/t and 1000 g/t) and liquid (500 mL/t) cellulase over a period of 1 to 21 days. A completely randomized experimental design was used, consisting of four treatments with six replications and ten birds per replication that were housed in an experimental cage. It was observed that performance and digestibility results were significantly different with cellulase supplementation. Also, the relative weight of the large intestine in the period between one and seven days increased when cellulase was added at 1000 g/t. In the period of between eight and 14 days of life, the birds that consumed only the basal diet obtained higher levels of liver protein than those that received the treatments with the addition of the enzyme. However, 15 and 21 days, the consumed feed effect did not occur between thus, it is not conclusive whether hepatotoxicity occurs with the addition of cellulase. For the blood parameters, at 21 days, the diets with added cellulase were not significantly different regarding electrolytes. It was concluded that this cellulase produced by Trichoderma reesei can be included in the animals' diet.

COMPARISON OF THREE MIDAZOLAM-BASED SEDATION PROTOCOLS IN BUDGERIGARS (MELOPSITTACUS UNDULATUS) AND BLACK-CHEEKED LOVEBIRDS (AGAPORNIS NIGRIGENIS)

This randomized, crossover study evaluated three sedation protocols administered subcutaneously in nine budgerigars (Melopsittacus undulatus) and nine black-cheeked lovebirds (Agapornis nigrigenis). All protocols included midazolam (5 mg/kg), combined with butorphanol (5 mg/kg) (BM), medetomidine (20 lg/kg) (MM), or alfaxalone (13 mg/kg) (AM). Mortalities from suspected cardiorespiratory arrest were observed when AM was used in lovebirds, even after reduction of alfaxalone dosage to 3 mg/kg, and therefore this protocol was excluded from further use in this species. Induction and recovery times were recorded and their quality assessed. Sedation depth and heart and respiratory rates were measured every 5 min and radiographic positioning was attempted at 10 and 20 min. At 30 min, midazolam and medetomidine were reversed with flumazenil (0.05 mg/kg, SC), and atipamezole (0.2 mg/kg, SC), respectively. MM consistently provided deep sedation in both species, with successful radiographic positioning at every attempt. As expected, heart rate was often lower with MM than with other protocols, but no associated complications were noted. In budgerigars, BM had the lowest radiographic positioning success rate (10 min: 5/9, 20 min: 3/9), whereas in lovebirds it provided significantly deeper sedation (P < 0.001), allowing radiographic positioning in all subjects. In both species, BM provided the shortest recovery times. AM resulted in reliable radiographic positioning of all budgerigars at 10 min, but not at 20 min (5/ 9), and provided consistently poor recoveries. This study highlights how differently two psittacine species of similar size may react to the same sedation protocols. AM sedation cannot be fully reversed and produced significant undesirable effects, several of which have been previously reported with alfaxalone administration to avian species. The authors therefore caution against using alfaxalone-midazolam combinations in budgerigars and black-cheeked lovebirds. Both BM and MM provided reliable sedation in these species, and appear to be suitable alternatives to AM.