Effects of Different Rearing Strategies and Ages on Levels of Natural Antibodies in Saliva of the Philippine Crocodile

The endemic Philippine crocodile （Crocodylus mindorensis） is a relatively small, critically endangered fresh-water crocodile. In a head start program, crocodile hatchlings are caught in the wild, reared in captivity, and released back into the wild after two years. The current study aimed to determine optimal rearing strategies of Philippine crocodile hatchlings, including identification of possible diseases during rearing, and studying the effect of ages on natural antibody （NAb） levels. Thirty Philippine crocodiles were divided into two groups, half were reared with a hiding board, and half without the hiding board. Both groups received three different kinds of diets： meat, shrimp, or a combination of both. Saliva samples of the crocodiles were taken three times over a period of three months to test for NAb levels. Saliva samples were also taken from older crocodiles and crocodiles from different locations. NAb titres were compared to sheep red blood cells. Each time saliva samples were taken, a health check was done. The results showed that crocodiles would prefer the hiding board, and neither housing nor diet could affect the level of NAb titres in saliva. A positive correlation was found between NAb titres and body size, weight and age. Wild hatchlings had higher NAb titres than the hatchlings born in captivity, but the difference diminished with ageing. Five different diseases were found.

Effects of nanofertilizer and nano-plant hormone on soil chemical properties and microbial community in two different soil types

Application of nanotechnology in agriculture has been expanded to improve crop production.The impact of nanomaterials(NMs)on factors that influence the survival and function of beneficial microorganisms is a less studied aspect that needs to be better understood.Only a few studies have assessed the effects of NMs on beneficial soil microorganisms.This study was conducted to assess the effects of nanofertilizer FertiGroe?N(FG-N)and nano-plant hormone HormoGroe?auxin(HG-A)on the chemical properties and microbial communities of two contrasting soils,Lipa clay loam(CL)and Sariaya sandy loam(SL),over a 35-d incubation period in the laboratory.Bacterial and fungal communities were evaluated using amplicon sequencing analysis within the 16S and internal transcribed spacer regions,respectively.The application of FG-N significantly decreased soil pH,but did not affect total N and available P for both soil types.A significant increase in exchangeable K was observed only in Lipa CL.The application of HG-A had no significant effect on soil chemical properties.Regarding the bacterial community after incubation,the relative abundances of Acidobacteriia,Chthonomonadetes,and Saccharimonadia decreased,whereas Acidimicrobiia,Chloroflexia,and Gemmatimonadetes increased with FG-N application in Lipa CL.The application of HG-A increased the relative abundance of Rubrobacteria,Chthonomonadetes,and Chloroflexia in Lipa CL.For the fungal community,FG-N application increased the relative abundance of Sordariomycetes,Agaricomycetes,and Eurotiomycetes,whereas Dothideomycetes and Mortierellomycetes decreased in Lipa CL after incubation.In Sariaya SL,FG-N application increased the relative abundance of Dothideomycetes,Eurotiomycetes,and Mortierellomycetes,but decreased that of Sordariomycetes and Agaricomycetes.Fungal classes observed in the control samples were not detected in the HG-A treatment,but were recovered after incubation in Lipa CL.The microbial diversity in both soil types showed slight changes with FG-N and HG-A application.Principal coordinate analysis illustrated the clustering of bacterial and fungal taxa between Lipa CL and Sariaya SL.Pearson correlation analysis showed that several bacterial and fungal communities were positively or negatively correlated with soil pH.The results suggest that FG-N can be safely used in crop production and HG-A may be used mainly for vegetative propagation.