In 2013 I worked with the team at the Australian Bureau of Agricultural and Resource Economics and Sciences (ABARES) to profile winners of the 2013 Science and Innovation Awards for Young People in Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry.
I profiled six scientists who had won the awards, with these stories being compiled into a booklet for the awards dinner. Three of these articles are copied below.
Dr Abdul Jabbar
The Australian cattle industry is facing a new and growing threat, the spread of the disease bovine theileriosis. In 2012 alone there were more than 70 outbreaks of bovine theileriosis in Victoria, and there have been more than 250 outbreaks in NSW over the past five years. Despite an increase in the outbreaks though, we still know very little about its spread.
This is something Dr. Abdul Jabbar is trying to address.
Abdul says the disease has a terrible impact on infected cattle.
“Theileriosis of cattle is like malaria of humans, although it is transmitted by ticks rather than mosquitoes,” Abdul explained. “The disease is characterised by fever, anaemia, anorexia, abortion and potentially death.”
Abdul says that despite the growing spread of the disease, detection and treatment options are limited.
“Despite recent outbreaks, no vaccines or treatments are available in Australia, and no accurate diagnostic tests are accessible to livestock producers. Urgent action is required to develop tests for the rapid and accurate diagnosis of the disease and to understand the reasons for its spread.”
It is this diagnostic test Abdul’s research is aiming to develop.
“My research is aiming to develop a rapid and cost-effective molecular tool for the diagnosis and surveillance of bovine theileriosis in Australia. The aim will be for diagnostic laboratories to be able to use this test to provide services to the dairy and beef cattle producers, so that farmers can identify and manage the disease in their cattle.”
Abdul said his research was essential to ensure the welfare of Australian cattle, and the profitability of the industry.
“The rapid development of accurate diagnostic and analytical tools is crucial for investigations into the theileriosis problem in Australia, and will underpin disease surveillance and control of the disease as it spreads.”
Kate Plush
The death of a pig before it can be sent to market is a major loss for any farmer. In many circumstances this is outside a farmer’s control. But, as Kate Plush from the University of Adelaide explains, piglet mortality is a major issue that can be addressed.
“Pre-weaning pig mortality is a major constraint to the profitability of the pig industry. Conservative reports of pre-weaning mortality state that between 10 – 20% of pigs are lost during this initial period,” Kate says.
“One of the major reasons is that sows give birth to large litter sizes, meaning that the last piglets to be born often experience some degree of oxygen deprivation. If the oxygen deprivation is severe enough, piglets may be born as stillbirths. Alternatively, some suffer a moderate amount of oxygen deprivation and may be slightly brain damaged.”
Kate says she is investigating a simple nutritional supplement for pigs to help solve this problem.
“In this project I am aiming to identify if providing sows with magnesium sulphate reduces the incidence of piglet mortality. Magnesium sulphate acts as a ‘neuro-protector’, meaning it protects the brain from damage that can occur during oxygen deprivation. My research is looking to see if it can do this during long births. If so, piglets that experience oxygen deprivation would be more viable”
Kate says that this would provide a lost cost, easy solution to a massive problem for the pig industry.
“Current methods of reducing pre-weaning mortality include increased supervision and the culling of older sows that are more likely to display higher stillbirth rates. These options both result in decreased profitability.
“If the dietary manipulation proves to be effective in protecting the piglets it would provide a low cost, easily implemented strategy for pig producers to improve reproductive output.”
Jesse Leland
‘Knowledge is power’. For Jesse Leland from Southern Cross University that statement applies particularly to fisheries management. Jesse’s research is aimed at increasing the ecological and economical sustainability of Australia’s crustacean fisheries.
“Knowledge of age, growth rates and lifespan is critical for understanding important events in a species life history such as reproductive maturity, entry into the fishery and natural mortality,” Jesse explains.
Until recently however, Jesse says that our ability to obtain this information has been extremely limited.
“In the past, direct age determination for crustaceans was impossible, because it was presumed that growth by moulting excluded the possibility of a permanent growth record in their exoskeleton. Only indirect, and somewhat imprecise, methods for age estimation were available.”
However, Jesse says that his research has identified a way to address to this problem.
“In a previous study, I reported a novel approach to crustacean age determination. I used cross-sectional analysis of gastric ossicles (i.e. stomach bones) to identify clearly defined growth marks that are of value to ageing crustaceans. Last year another researcher validated this method, proving that direct determination of crustacean ages is now possible.”
Jesse said that his research will build on those earlier works, by applying this method to commercially important Australian crustaceans.
“This project will provide validated age and growth parameters for two crustacean species. Perhaps more importantly, it will develop ageing protocols that can be extended to other Australian crustaceans and overseas, especially long-lived and deep-water species for which even indirect ageing methods are impractical.”
“The knowledge obtained from this research will facilitate sustainable management of Australia’s crustacean fisheries – which is of utmost importance to the entire industry.”