Number Of Sheep Research Articles

A network-based approach to modelling bluetongue spread in France

Bluetongue virus serotype 8 (BTV-8) was reported for the first time in Europe in 2006, causing the largest bluetongue outbreak ever recorded. France was mostly impacted in 2007/09. Trade restrictions were implemented all along. Vaccination became available from 2008: a limited number of doses was first administered in an emergency vaccination campaign, followed by two nationwide compulsory vaccination campaigns in 2009 and 2010. France regained a disease-free status in December 2012, but BTV may have kept circulating undetected as infected herds have been reported again since August 2015. We developed a stochastic dynamic compartmental model of BTV transmission in cattle and sheep to analyze the relative importance of vector active flight and host movements in disease spread, and assess the effectiveness of control measures. We represented BTV transmission both within and between French administrative subdivisions called cantons, during the 2007/09 outbreak and until the end of 2010, when compulsory vaccination was interrupted. Within-canton transmission was vector-borne, and between canton transmission could occur through three contact networks that accounted for movements of: (i) vectors between pastures located at close distance; (ii) cattle and sheep between pastures of the same farm; (iii) traded cattle. We estimated the model parameters by approximate Bayesian computation, using data from the 2007 French outbreak. With this framework, we were able to reproduce the BTV-8 epizootic wave. Host movements between distant pastures of the same farm were found to have a major contribution to BTV spread to disease-free areas, thus raising practical questions about herd management during outbreaks. We found that cattle trade restrictions had been well complied with; without them, the whole French territory would have been infected by winter 2007. The 2008 emergency vaccination campaign had little impact on disease spread as almost half vaccine doses had likely been administered to already immune cattle. Alternatively, establishing a vaccination buffer zone would have allowed a better control of BTV in 2008: limiting its spatial expansion and decreasing the number of infected cattle and sheep. We also showed a major role of compulsory vaccination in controlling the outbreak in 2009 and 2010, though we predicted a possible low-level circulation after the last detection.

Livestock ownership, household food security and childhood anaemia in rural Ghana.

The mechanisms through which livestock ownership is associated with childhood anaemia are contested. Using a cross-sectional, community-based survey of 300 households in southern Ghana, we determined the associations of household livestock ownership with anaemia among children aged 2–5 years. Potential mediating effects of animal-source food (ASF) consumption, microbial infections, and household food security were investigated. Data on each child's anaemia, malaria, and intestinal infections were collected for a subset of 221 households. Anaemia was defined as a haemoglobin (Hb) concentration <110 g/L. ASF consumption was measured as a count of the number of different ASF types consumed by each child in the week prior to the interview. Household food security was measured with a 15-item, pre-tested tool adapted from the USDA Household Food Security Core Module. The number of sheep and goats in aggregate was associated with higher odds of a child being anaemic (aOR (95% CI) = 1.10 (1.03, 1.17)). Households owning more free-range poultry had greater diversity of consumed ASFs among children (Coef. (95% C) = 0.02 (0.01, 0.03)). Owning more pigs was associated with higher odds that a household was food secure (1.05 (0.99, 1.12). We found no evidence that the child's ASF consumption mediated the association of livestock ownership with child anaemia, however,household food security mediated the association between household pig ownership and child anaemia. Overall, household ownership of livestock was associated with higher ASF consumption among children and improved household-level food security, yet also a higher odd of anaemia among those young children. The mechanisms leading to these seemingly counterintuitive relationships require further investigation.

Determination of Effective Factors on Natural Regeneration of Persian Oak in Kohgiluyeh and Boyer-Ahmad, Sothern Zagros, Iran

Understanding the factors that allow the successful regeneration of species is a key step toward the conservation and management of forests. This study was conducted to model and compare the impacts of some important influential factors on the presence and absence of two sources of natural regeneration of Persian oak (Quercus brantii Lind) – seedling recruitment and stump sprouts – in a less degraded forest in Southern Zagros in West of Iran. These models potentially result to reduce both management and plantation costs as well as providing cost and time effective decisions to reach the goals of forest preservation. The data were taken from nested sample plots with circular shapes. In addition to the number of instances of natural regeneration, consisting of seedlings and stump sprouts of Persian oak, within each main sample plot, the general characteristics of the forest stand, percent of crown cover closure, number of oak trees, dbh, crown diameter, and number of shoots in each tree stump were measured, counted, and or estimated. In each of the inner subplots within the main sample plots, features including litter depth, number of gravels and sheep and goat dungs were recorded. Using factor analysis and two logit models, the relationships between the presence and absence of recruitment seedlings and stump sprouts against the recorded factors were compared. Results showed that the presence of stump sprouts depends on the density of woody cover of the forest stand while among the recorded variables, absence of gravel had more influence on sprouting. Presence of gravels could be a metric/proxy for soil erosion. Synthesis and applications. For promoting the conservation and rehabilitation of these forests to accomplish their determined preservation objectives, it is recommended that the forest authority should prohibit animal grazing in the areas experiencing severe soil erosion as well as plant seeds— and even saplings—to conserve soil and limit soil erosion in the area.

Long‐term impacts of changed grazing regimes on the vegetation of heterogeneous upland grasslands

Abstract Marginal agricultural land, which in the UK refers to upland grazings in particular, is going to see changes in management driven by markets, subsidies, grants and environmental change with implications for biodiversity. Using a large‐scale, long‐term grazing experiment in the UK uplands we assessed the impact of intensification (tripling sheep numbers), abandonment (removal of sheep) and grazer diversification (partial replacement of sheep by cattle) on vegetation composition in a heterogenous area of grassland. Species benefiting from increased grazing included sweet vernal grass (Anthoxanthum odoratum), mat grass (Nardus stricta) and deer grass (Trichophorum cespitosum). Species that benefitted from the removal of grazing included bog asphodel (Narthecium ossifragum), bracken (Pteridium aquilinum) and blaeberry (Vaccinium myrtillus). Responses differed between vegetation communities; more productive acid grassland communities showed little change when grazing was removed, whilst less productive mire communities contained species, capable of increasing after grazing removal. Increased grazing and, to a lesser extent, the introduction of cattle increased species diversity. Synthesis and applications. Marginal agricultural grassland will likely see management change driven by markets, subsidies and environmental change. Vegetation change in these relatively infertile grasslands is slow and features shuffling dominance amongst species in the initial vegetation. Initial structural changes affect other trophic levels in this experiment; the slow change in composition will affect the system over longer timescales. Management decisions in the uplands encompass complex trade‐offs between production, biodiversity and a range of ecosystem services. Predicting the consequences of decisions is difficult given the slow dynamics of unproductive habitats.

Insights into Sheep Genetic Improvement Practices Through Crossbreeding in Ethiopia: Achievements, Challenges and Future Prospects

Crossbreeding is one of the genetic improvement methods that enables to utilize between breed genetic variations. It is one of the main sheep genetic improvement strategies practiced for decades in Ethiopia. This review assessed achievements, challenges and future prospects of sheep genetic improvement through crossbreeding in Ethiopia. The crossbreeding scheme involves crossing of exotic breeds with indigenous as well as between indigenous sheep breeds. To improve growth performance of indigenous sheep, a number of exotic sheep breeds were imported from abroad although literature sources about the performance of crossbreeds is available only for Awassi and Dorper sheep crosses. Promising results have been reported in few areas where crossbreeding has been performed effectively. An evidence for this is the realization of up to 10kg yearling live weight superiority of crossbreeds with 50% and above Awassi and Dorper sheep blood levels over the indigenous sheep. As a national genetic improvement strategy, however, crossbreeding achievement in terms of improving productivity of indigenous sheep is generally minimal. Notably, Absence of well-deigned crossbreeding program, miss-match between genotypes and the environment, and resource limitation to maintain and multiply adequate number of exotic sheep and crossbreeds are the major challenges hindering the success of indigenous sheep genetic improvement through crossbreeding. In the future, the use of crossbreeding as a potential strategy for indigenous sheep genetic improvement relies on bringing long lasting solutions to the current problems. In general, implementing well-designed crossbreeding program, particularly between improved exotic sheep and indigenous sheep, should be the primary focus to improve productivity of indigenous sheep. In this way, the contribution of indigenous sheep resources for the smallholder farmers in particular and the country’s economic growth in general can be maximized. At the same time, protecting the valuable genetic resources of indigenous sheep should be an integral part of the crossbreeding program. Keywords: genetic improvement, indigenous sheep of Ethiopia, sheep crossbreeding DOI : 10.7176/ALST/75-01 Publication date :June 30 th 2019

Clinical and laboratory prognostic indicators for fertility in sheep

With the use of technology of artificial insemination in sheep farms are not yet defined criteria for assessing the full value of the preparation of females for insemination, and hence – the possibility of prediction and correction of their fertilization, which prevents the rational use of cryopreserved semen and ensuring the maximum reception of the offspring. We have proved the prognostic importance of fertilization of the morphofunctional state of the vulva and the vagina and the quality of mucus in sheep breeds during estrus. The material of the study was 327 sheep of ascanian breeding, which during the sexual intercourse before insemination examined the vulva, vagina and evaluated the estrus slime (number, color, consistency, presence of impurities, elasticity, electrical resistance, type of crystallization, protein content). The results of ultrasound diagnosis of pregnancy were determined by the fertility of sheep with different integral compositions of clinical and laboratory parameters. It has been established that in sheep, in which fertility in the first sexual cycle reached 65.1%, most often found a pink, moderately edematous vulva with clear mucus. In females with pale mucous membrane and insignificant amount of mucus, the effectiveness of inseminates declined to 53.3-58.0%. In a significant amount of estral mucus, the proportion of infertile animals increased twofold. At the same time, the selection of liquid, but cloudy, or thick mucus is a sign of an unfavorable prognosis, in which fertility decreases by 1.8-2.1 times (p &lt;0.001). Dense, white, paste-like isolates were observed in a small number of sheep, mostly bright at the beginning of the anestral season. Low fertility in the first sexual hunting (35.5%) and a high multiplicity of repeated inseminations (29.0%) indicate that sheep with thick estral slime are only beginning to enter the sexual season, and this quality of secrecy indicates an inadequate estrogenization of the body. It was also found that in the infertile sheep during sexual hunting, the protein content of cervical mucus was 4.8 times higher, and the elasticity of mucus was reduced by 2.9 times. The most prevalent was the prognosis of average fertilization (53.3-58.0%), which was recorded in 62.9% of experimental sheep. The prognosis of high fertilization, which resulted in 62.5-65.1% of oseminins, was found in 27.8% of females. At the same time, the number of females with a fertility forecast at 40% was only 3.1%, and the prevalence of an unfavorable prognosis, in which fertility was the smallest (30.0-35.5%), reached 6.2%. Key words: sheep, askanian breeding, estrus, fertility prognosis, estral mucus, vulva, vagina, artificial insemination.

The Marin County Livestock Protection Program: 15 Years in Review

Author(s): Larson, Stephanie; McGranahan, Devan A.; Timm, Robert M. | Abstract: In 2001, Marin County, California, replaced its USDA Wildlife Services (WS) cooperative predator damage management program with a county-run program that emphasized non-lethal methods for preventing and controlling coyote predation on sheep. This new “Livestock Protection Program” cost-shared with livestock producers’ efforts to improve fencing, obtain and maintain guard animals, and other such non-lethal methods, and initially it compensated producers for documented losses to predators. We surveyed sheep producers in Marin County in an effort to review the program over the past 15 years, evaluating the program in relation to livestock production, economics, predation management, and other measures of producer satisfaction. Lack of standardized data collection during the current program complicates its evaluation; however, from available information, we conclude the number of sheep and lambs are being produced in Marin County has continued to decline; some producers left the sheep business and other who remain graze less acreage with smaller flocks; predation by coyotes remains a high concern to producers; and most producers are dissatisfied with the Livestock Protection Program.

PERSPECTIVENESS OF INDUSTRIAL ISSUES OF ANTI-CELLULAR VACCINES FOR THE HEAD-BREEDING INDUSTRY

This article provides data on the distribution of coenurosis, the impact of this disease on the world economic status of sheep. Today this invasion is registered in many continents of the globe. According to the regions, where the sheep's number of head is up to 70% (Southern FD and North Caucasus FD), annual losses from a coenurosis reach 5–15%, which, on average, is about 1 million heads. Each head is 20 kg of meat and 3–4 kg of wool and, besides all, unaccounted expenses. A kilogram of mutton averages 300 rubles, and wool is about 200–250 rubles. These impressive figures amount to several billion rubles across the industry. At the present stage, according to many scientists and authors, the only way to solve this problem is vaccination with subsequent revaccination. Scientists in many countries around the world, such as China, Italy, Turkey, tried to tackle this problem, but studies have shown that the selected protective antigen is ineffective, which the scientists themselves do not deny. A method for immunoprophylaxis of lambs of the first year of life is proposed. Our experiments, carried out for 25–30 years on the prevention of this disease, gave positive and hopeful results. According to the results of testing an inactivated formulated vaccine obtained in the laboratory from oncospheric components, data are presented on the decrease in the number of diseased animals. There is a question about the sequencing of antigen with its subsequent use in the industrial production of vaccines at one of the biofactories under the Ministry of Agriculture of the Russian Federation.

To Eat or Not to Eat Kangaroo: Bargaining over Food Choice in the Anthropocene

To Eat or Not to Eat Kangaroo: Bargaining over Food Choice in the Anthropocene

Животноводство в Туве и Калмыкии: основные изменения по категориям хозяйств

Livestock breeding is the leading agricultural sector in the republics of Tuva and Kalmykia. Currently, there is an increase in the number of farm animals and a change in the structure of the livestock in all categories of farms. Cattle breeding is being successfully implemented in two national republics. In all categories of economies, an increase in the number of cattle is observed, most actively - in households and agricultural enterprises, among individual entrepreneurs. The specificity can be distinguished in each region: in the Republic of Tuva, the number of cattle is concentrated in the households of the population, and in the Republic of Kalmykia in two categories of economies: agricultural enterprises / individual entrepreneurs and households. Sheep breeding in two regions is characterized by general trends: a decrease in the number of sheep in agricultural organizations, and their increase in peasant farms and among individual entrepreneurs.

Impacts of the Grassland Ecological Compensation Policy on Household Livestock Production in China: An Empirical Study in Inner Mongolia

Grassland Ecological Compensation Policy (GECP) is a large-scale program in which China has invested since 2011 to alleviate grassland degradation and increase herders' income. Although the amount invested in the program has increased each year, little research has been conducted to evaluate the impacts of the program; as such, this study examines such impacts on livestock production, grazing intensity, and structure using panel data from a herders' field survey conducted in 2015 in Inner Mongolia, China. Results from the econometric models show that the forage-livestock balance, which is one sub-policy of the GECP, had incentivized large farms to reduce their total number of sheep, but the implementation of the GECP could not greatly influence the reduction in the number of cattle present on any farm size. This study also reveals that herders made their livestock production and grazing decisions in response to market prices and that herder households that also had off-farm jobs raised fewer livestock and grazed lighter. Several policy implications are discussed in this paper.

Seroprevalence and spreading of Brucella ovis in South Bačka and Srem District

Ovine brucellosis can cause epididymitis and reduce fertility in rams and therefore is an important disease in sheep and rams from economic point of view. Sometimes it causes abortions and increased perinatal mortality in sheep as well, but it primarily affects male animals. Brucella ovis was first identified in northern region of Serbia, in 2008-2009 during a research study. Specific antibodies against Brucella ovis were detected in the sheep that originated from Becej and Titel municipalities in the South Bačka district. The prevalence was low, only 0.89%. For the purpose of this study, a total number of 6,407 serum samples from rams and sheep were used. All of the samples were from the northern part of Serbia, belonging to South Bačka and Srem districts. Serological test was performed in order to determine the presence of specific antibodies against Brucella ovis in rams and sheep, by ELISA test (indirect ELISA - iELISA). The prevalence varied from 0% - 19.3% during the years. If we look into the municipalities of South Bačka and Srem district, we can see that the numbers of positive samples are different, and the number of analyzed samples varies. The overall seroprevalence from 2014-2018 in South Bačka and Srem district is 6.15%, but it varies significantly among different municipalities from 0 to 26%. The majority of analyzed sample were from rams and all of the positive findings are in rams. Only a small number of sheep (female) has been examined so far, so the prevalence among females is still unknown.

REVIEW OF THE SHEEP SECTOR IN THE REPUBLIC OF NORTH MACEDONIA: DISTRIBUTION, FARM SIZE, BREED STRUCTURE AND MILK PRODUCTION CAPACITIES

Sheep breeding has an important role in the country even if changes are present in the sector. The majority of the national farms in the country are farms with a size up to 50 heads (35.75%), the second most present farms (35.12%) are farms between 301-500 heads. The highest number of sheep are bred in the Polog region (20.04 %), the second most dominant regions are Eastern (15.97%) and Pelagonia region (15.35%), while in the rest of the country regions sheep are present with less than 15%. Highly represented in the breed structure of the sheep population in the country are the Ovcepolka (26.96%) and Sharplaninska pramenka (26.42%), highly dairy productive sheep breeds are present with less than 1% of the national flock. A high presence of different types of crosses is present in the national flock. Favourable structure of breeding categories is present in the national flock even if decreasing trend in a total number of sheep is detected. Variation in the number of milking sheep and average raw milk per milking sheep is noticed. Future activities in the sector should be oriented towards the improvement of genetic capacities, improvement of breeding and feeding strategies.

Prevalence of Subclinical Mastitis in Small Ruminants and Role of Staphylococcus Species in Such Infection

The current study was carried out on a number of sheep and goats farms during the period extended from January 2016 till the end of December 2017 in order to estimate the prevalence of subclinical mastitis in small ruminants and highlight the role of Staphylococcus species in inducing such infection. For this aim, about 940 milk samples collected from sheep and goats' farms (455 samples/ sheep and 485 samples/ goats) were subjected to California Mastitis test (CMT) to detect the prevalence of subclinical mastitis, then positive CMT samples in addition to; 100 bedding samples (50 samples / each species) collected from different sites of animal's yards particularly from wetted areas with high moisture and organic matter load and 100 water samples collected from different sites of animal's yards (50 samples / each species) were subjected to the ordinary bacterial culturing steps for isolation and identification of Staphylococcus species. The results revealed prevalence of subclinical mastitis estimated by 32.96% and 30.92% in sheep and Goat farms, respectively. The total prevalence of Staphylococci in Sheep farms was 27.2% where S. aureus accounted for 12.4% and Coagulase Negative Staphylococci (CNS) represented the highest percentage (14.8%). The highest isolation rate recorded in bedding samples (34.0%) followed by milk samples (26.0%) and water samples (24.0%), while in goats farms the prevalence of Staphylococci species was 32.0% (16.8% S. aureus and 15.2% CNS) with highest rate of isolation from bedding samples (36.0%) followed by milk samples (34.0%) then water samples (22.0%). In addition, the isolated Staphylococcus strains where tested for their sensitivity to certain commercial antibiotics using disc diffusion method. The results revealed complete resistant of isolated S. aureus to Enrofloxacin (5 µg) and Oxytetracycline (30 µg) and moderate sensitivity to Amoxicillin (10 µg) and Erythromycin (15 µg). While CNS showed complete resistant to Flumequine (30 µg), Doxycycline (30 µg) and Sulpha.-Trimethoprim (25 µg), in contrary, they were highly sensitive to Amoxicillin (10 µg) and Erythromycin (15 µg) antibiotics. At last, molecular detection of clfA gene specific for coagulase positive Staphylococci were performed.

ÇANAKKALE İLİNDE SAĞILAN KOYUN SAYISI, SÜT ÜRETİMİ, DOLAR KURU VE ALTIN FİYATI İLİŞKİSİ: ARDL BOUND TESTİ YAKLAŞIMI

In this study, the relationships among number of sheep, sheep milk production, dollar exchange rate and gold price in the period of 1991-2017 in Canakkale province were analyzed. In the analysis, it was determined that the number of sheep, milk production and dollar exchange rate series were stationary in the first order and stationary in the second order in gold price series. For this reason, the relationship between the mentioned series was investigated by the Bound test. The lag length in the study was 4. The long-term predicted model was ARDL (4,4,2,4). According to the results of the Bound test, the relationship between sheep milk production and number of sheep, dollar exchange rate and gold price was found as a long-term and statistically significant. The coefficient of the error correction variable was estimated as -1,496. There was a positive relationship between milk production and the number of sheep and dollar exchange rate in the long term, and a negative and statistically significant relationship was found between milk production and gold price in the long term. As a result of the diagnostic tests, the coefficient of determination (R2) and adjusted determination coefficient (Adj. R2) and Akaike info criterion (AIC) were estimated as 0.999, 0.998 and 10.177, respectively. Because heteroscedasticity test showed that nR2 test statistic was 18.151 and p = 0.379>0.05, it was understood that there was no variance problem in the model and the model was established correctly.

The Actual Situation of Sheep’s Wool Capitalization in Romania

Sheep farming always made a special contribution to the development of practicing people, improving the standard of living, effects also known by Romanians, even if the number of sheep and implicitly the amount of wool had fluctuations over time. After the 90s, demand for wool in the textile industry began to decline and the wool has not been widely capitalized in Romania, being abandoned by farmers, even burned. The aim of this study is to provide solutions for wool collection in an organized manner and as profitable as possible for Romanians at national level, avoiding wool waste and chaotic export. The collection centers are unevenly distributed accros the country and there are some counties where sheep wool is not collected. With the proposed solution of locating other collection centers or distributing the authorized ones, it is possible to capitalize the entire wool resource available in Romania.

Predicting agronomical and ecological effects of shifting from sheep to cattle grazing in highly dynamic Mediterranean dry grasslands

AbstractIn the recent decades, cattle numbers strongly increased whereas sheep numbers decreased in south Portugal. This paper aims to predict the potential agronomical and ecological effects of these trends and clarify about the versatility of cattle and sheep systems in adapting to climate changes in the Mediterranean basin. We monitored livestock management in the dry grasslands of Évora (2012 to 2016) and investigated for the effect of livestock type (TLivest) on (a) sward's characteristics, (b) vegetation taxonomic diversity, and (c) in conforming vegetation communities and promoting species of agronomical interests (SAIs). Generalized linear mixed models were used to link management descriptors and vegetation parameters with TLivest. Redundancy analysis was used to analyse the changes due to TLivest on floristic composition and SAIs. Sheep fields presented (a) higher number of days under grazing and lower instantaneous stocking rates than cattle or mixed fields and (b) lower vegetation height in April in wet years and higher green vegetation cover in May; α‐ and γ‐diversity were poorly related with TLivest, but β‐diversity was lower under mixed grazing than under sheep or cattle grazing. The highest richness of legume species was found in permanent grasslands grazed by sheep. Redundancy analysis provided a good discrimination of TLivest but a poor segregation of vegetation communities. As a conclusion, sheep grazing can be seen as a more powerful tool to increase sward heterogeneity, and thus, a loss of grassland heterogeneity can be expected under cattle grazing. The lower versatility of cattle systems suggests narrower opportunities in adapting to climate change.

Evaluation of eco-economic effects in relation to resettlement policy in Shulehe River Basin

In the Shulehe River Basin, policy of resettlement was very effective in handling agricultural development and livelihood problems in regions of poverty limited by topography, climate, or infrastructure. Thus, since 1996–1997, the Shulehe River Basin resettlement project transferred roughly 7.5×104 people from areas of Dingxi, Longxi or Minxian which could not offer sufficient resources for the residents. Meanwhile, construction facilities such as the reservoir, which underpins the resettlement project, also triggered an internal migration of people away from the reservoir to other parts of the Shulehe River Basin. This large scale migration derived apparent effects in water resources, land use and cover change, agricultural structure as well as landscapes. Results show that total arable land expanded by 3.1×108 m2, cattle numbers maintained a stable level of 1×104, pigs declined to a low level due to market trends, and sheep numbers soared from 17.44×104 to 73.57×104. However, greening and afforestation increased while croplands maintained a rational tendency accompanying with greening area expansion. From the standpoint of integration, the Shulehe River Basin resettlement policy fulfilled its previous goals of improving the inhabitants’ livelihood and the capacity of environment when spatial residues including environmental capacity and resources consumption for sustainable development are still positive conditions.

Delayed spring onset drives declines in abundance and recruitment in a mountain ungulate

AbstractChanges in climate are driving widespread landscape changes in northern ecosystems, altering the size and distribution of wildlife populations over multi‐decadal time scales. Extreme weather events are also expected to become more common over time, affecting a variety of species, and mountain ungulates may be particularly susceptible because they occupy habitats with particularly harsh winter weather conditions. To explore the impacts of weather conditions and adverse weather events as population drivers, we surveyed Dall's sheep throughout their latitudinal range in Alaska and assessed lamb production and population trend in relation to end of the continuous snow season (CSS) as a measure of spring onset. In 2013, spring onset was extraordinarily late, providing an opportunity to directly assess the impacts of variability in weather on sheep population dynamics. We hypothesized that the timing of the end of the CSS would have greater impacts in arctic areas where conditions are presumably most limiting. We found that lamb production was negatively related to the annual timing of the end of the CSS and was near 0 in arctic areas in 2013. The 2013 event was also associated with ~40–70% declines in overall sheep numbers in arctic areas, indicating adult survival was also impacted. Overall, our results suggest that expected increases in adverse weather events may have direct, lasting impacts on mountain ungulate populations and that these impacts can be expected to be most extreme for populations occurring at northern range limits where growing season conditions are most restricted.

Effects of removing sheep grazing on soil chemistry, plant nutrition and forage digestibility: Lessons for rewilding the British uplands

Rewilding is currently being proposed as a means of enhancing the conservation value of marginal land in many parts of the world. This is especially true in the British uplands where rewilding will almost certainly involve either a reduction in livestock grazing, or its complete removal. The aim of reducing stock numbers would be to reverse the degradation of these ecosystems that has been caused by past over‐grazing. However, little is known about the likely outcomes, or the time‐scales over which such ecosystem recovery might occur. Here, we report preliminary results from a recent study of eight sites at Moor House NNR in the north‐Pennines, where permanent plots with‐ and without‐sheep grazing were established between 1954 and 1967 on a range of typical upland plant communities. Soils and vegetation were sampled, and their chemical properties analysed; for vegetation an assessment of the herbage quality for animal nutrition was also made. No significant differences in soil properties, above‐ground biomass and nutritional status of the vegetation was detected that could be attributed to sheep grazing removal. The only significant effect associated with grazing removal was a reduced digestibility of the vegetation (greater acid detergent fibre concentration) where sheep were removed. These results show that a rewilding strategy that relies only on reducing sheep numbers will have very little impact on ecosystem recovery in terms of soil or herbage chemistry over short‐ to medium‐term time‐scales. Rewilding policies, therefore, attempting to restore ecosystems degraded by over‐grazing must, therefore, be viewed as long‐term (&gt;50 y).