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Publications

NIBIOs employees contribute to several hundred scientific articles and research reports every year. You can browse or search in our collection which contains references and links to these publications as well as other research and dissemination activities. The collection is continously updated with new and historical material.

2017

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Abstract

Limited information is available on the extent to which blankets are used on horses and the owners’ reasoning behind clipping the horse’s coat. Research on the effects of those practices on horse welfare is scarce but results indicate that blanketing and clipping may not be necessary from the horse’s perspective and can interfere with the horse’s thermoregulatory capacities. Therefore, this survey collected robust, quantitative data on the housing routines and management of horses with focus on blanketing and clipping practices as reported by members of the Swedish and Norwegian equestrian community. Horse owners were approached via an online survey, which was distributed to equestrian organizations and social media. Data from 4,122 Swedish and 2,075 Norwegian respondents were collected, of which 91 and 84% of respondents, respectively, reported using blankets on horses during turnout. Almost all respondents owning warmblood riding horses used blankets outdoors (97% in Sweden and 96% in Norway) whereas owners with Icelandic horses and coldblood riding horses used blankets significantly less (P < 0.05). Blankets were mainly used during rainy, cold, or windy weather conditions and in ambient temperatures of 10°C and below. The horse’s coat was clipped by 67% of respondents in Sweden and 35% of Norwegian respondents whereby owners with warmblood horses and horses primarily used for dressage and competition reported clipping the coat most frequently. In contrast to scientific results indicating that recovery time after exercise increases with blankets and that clipped horses have a greater heat loss capacity, only around 50% of respondents agreed to these statements. This indicates that evidence-based information on all aspects of blanketing and clipping has not yet been widely distributed in practice. More research is encouraged, specifically looking at the effect of blankets on sweaty horses being turned out after intense physical exercise and the effect of blankets on social interactions such as mutual grooming. Future efforts should be tailored to disseminate knowledge more efficiently, which can ultimately stimulate thoughtful decision-making by horse owners concerning the use of blankets and clipping the horse’s coat.

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Abstract

This is the peer reviewed version of the following article: Dalmannsdottir, S., Jørgensen, M., Rapacz, M., Østrem, L., Larsen, A., Rødven, R. & Rognli, O. A. (2017). Cold acclimation in warmer extended autumns impairs freezing tolerance of perennial ryegrass (Lolium perenne) and timothy (Phleum pratense). Physiologia Plantarum: An International Journal for Plant Biology, 160(3), 266-281, which has been published in final form at <a href=http://doi.org/10.1111/ppl.12548> http://doi.org/10.1111/ppl.12548.</a> This article may be used for non-commercial purposes in accordance with Wiley Terms and Conditions for Self-Archiving.

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Abstract

Anthropogenic atmospheric emissions of CO2 are responsible for simultaneous ocean warming (OW) and ocean acidification (OA). These global events can have important impacts on marine fleshy macroalgae and coastal ecosystems. To understand the effects of OW and OA on the early life history stages of native (Macrocystis pyrifera) and invasive (Undaria pinnatifida) macroalgae, a multi-factorial experiment was performed to determine the independent and interactive effects of the drivers and the corresponding species-specific responses. Meiospores of M. pyrifera and U. pinnatifida were separately exposed to a 4 × 2 factorial design of seawater pH (pHT 7.20, extreme OA predicted for 2300; pHT 7.65, OA predicted for 2100; pHT 8.03, ambient pH; and pHT 8.40, pre-industrial pH) and temperature (12 °C, seasonal average temperature; and 16 °C, OW predicted for 2100). Over 15 days, different physiological parameters (i.e. meiospore germination, germling growth rate, gametophyte development and sex ratio) were measured. Reduced seawater pH and elevated temperature had independent and significant effects on developmental processes (germling growth rate, and male and female gametophyte sizes were independently greater under OA and OW conditions), but the interaction of the abiotic factors had no effect on any stage of meiospore development of either species. Despite some small differences between species (e.g. sex ratio), results of this experiment suggest that microscopic stages of the native M. pyrifera and the invasive U. pinnatifida will respond similarly to OA and OW.