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Blood lactate is a predictor of mortality in critically ill humans and animals. Handheld lactate meters have the potential to be used in the field to evaluate the condition of severely injured rhinoceroses but have not been compared with laboratory-based methods. Agreement between a handheld lactate meter and a laboratory method was assessed, as was the stability of rhino blood lactate in the anticoagulant sodium fluoride/potassium oxalate (fluoride/oxalate). Blood samples were obtained from 53 white rhinos that had been immobilised for management reasons. Lactate was measured by means of a handheld meter using whole blood in heparin (WBHEP), whole blood in fluoride/oxalate (WBFO) and fluoride/oxalate plasma (PFO). Results were recorded in both blood (BL) and plasma (PL) modes and compared to an established laboratory method for measuring plasma lactate. To assess the stability of lactate over time, blood lactate in fluoride/oxalate was measured on the handheld meter at intervals for up to 91 h. Agreement was best using WBFO in PL mode, with small bias (-0.16), tight 95% limits of agreement (LOA) (-1.46, 1.14) and a Pc (95% CI) of 0.97 (0.92, 0.99). The agreement was improved for all sample types when using the PL mode compared to the blood lactate (BL) mode. Blood lactate was stable in fluoride/oxalate for 91 h, with a mean change from baseline of 0.15 (-0.178, 0.478) mmol/L (mean, 95% CI). The handheld meter was found to be suitable for field use in white rhinos but provided more reliable results with the device in PL mode. Furthermore, rhino blood lactate was found to be stable in fluoride/oxalate for as long as 3 days.

Catch-and-release angling is a popular recreational pastime and an essential component of many fish research programmes. Marked physiological disturbances have been documented in elasmobranchs in response to angling and handling, but skates and rays remain understudied. Here, we describe for the first time the physiological responses of the critically endangered flapper skate (Dipturus intermedius) to angling, handling and tagging in Scotland. Sixty-one skate were captured by angling as part of a tagging research programme. We assessed individual health, measured blood parameters at two time points (post-capture and prior to release) and recorded heart and respiratory rates during handling and the surgical insertion of acoustic tags. Injuries or infections were identified in 10% of individuals and attributed to prior angling in two cases. Skate generally experienced a mild metabolic acidosis characterized by decreases in blood pH and bicarbonate and increases in lactate and glucose. Respiratory acidosis characterized by limited increases in PCO2 was also observed. The degree of acidosis was greater with warmer sea temperatures and longer fight times, and worsened during the time that skate were handled on deck. Heart rates during handling were negatively associated with body size, positively associated with temperature and also linked to time on the line. Taken together, our results suggest that elevated fight times and temperatures increase the physiological stress experienced by rod and reel-caught flapper skate. Efforts to reduce fight times and minimize heat exposure (including shading, irrigation and reduced handling time) should be beneficial for skate.

The Scottish Beaver Trial (SBT) reintroduced the Eurasian beaver (Castor fiber) in 2009 using wild-caught Norwegian beavers. This included a six-month prerelease quarantine in Devon, England. The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) and government guidelines for health screening were followed, including testing for Leptospira species. Unlicensed beavers, from Germany, were also identified in Scotland (Tayside) and Devon (later forming the River Otter Beaver Trial (ROBT)) and were health-screened under licence. Due to positive Leptospira species results and lack of prerelease screening in ROBT and Tayside, beavers from Germany and Norway (range sources) were screened. One hundred and fifty-six samples from 151 beavers were analysed by Leptospira species quantitative PCR (qPCR) (n=73 kidney (postmortem)/urine samples (antemortem)) or microscopic agglutination test (MAT, Leptospira pools 1–6) (n=83 serum samples). No beavers from Norway (95 per cent confidence interval (CI) 0–5.6 per cent, n=52), Tayside or SBT postrelease (95 per cent CI 0–4.6 per cent, n=63) tested positive. Seven beavers from Germany and Devon were positive. This gives an overall 9.3 per cent (95 per cent CI 5.2-15.1 per cent) exposure level, of which 4.6 per cent (95 per cent CI 1.9-9.3 per cent) suggested infection on a positive qPCR (n=1) or MAT titre of at least 1/400 (n=6), although none had abnormal physical, biochemical or haematological changes. This study suggests that Leptospira species infection in wild Eurasian beavers occurs at a low level, has no sex bias and does not appear to cause significant morbidity or mortality.

Hantaviruses are RNA viruses (order Bunyavirales, family Hantaviridae) found in rodent, bat and insectivore reservoir-hosts and have been reported as an emerging significant zoonotic risk in Europe. As part of two native semiaquatic rodent restoration projects, tissue and urine samples were tested for hantavirus from water voles (Arvicola amphibius) (n=26, in 2015) and Eurasian beavers (Castor fiber) (n=20, covering 2010–2015) using a pan-hantavirus nested real-time PCR test. Kidney and lung samples were also analysed by light microscopy after haematoxylin and eosin staining of formalin-fixed paraffin wax sections. Individuals selected included those forming the source of release animals and from those already free-living in Britain in areas targeted for release, to identify existing reservoirs. For water voles all tested individuals were from Britain (n=26); for beavers some were from Britain (Scotland) (n=9) and some were samples from wild Norwegian (Telemark region) (n=6) and German (Bavaria region) animals (n=5) that formed the source of accepted wild populations currently present in Scotland. All samples tested from both species were negative for hantavirus RNA and showed no significant histopathological changes suggesting that reservoir infection with hantavirus in water voles in Britain and Eurasian beavers present in Britain, Norway and Bavaria, Germany, is unlikely.

Supraorbital salt-excreting glands are present in at least 10 avian orders and are largest in marine species, including penguins. Diseases of the avian salt gland have been described infrequently. From September 2015, five captive northern rockhopper penguins (Eudyptes moseleyi) were presented over a 6-wk period for unilateral or bilateral supraorbital swellings. In September 2016, two cases recurred and two additional cases were identified. Histopathology demonstrated salt gland adenitis with extensive squamous metaplasia. Blood plasma testing demonstrated marked vitamin A and E deficiencies within the colony. Prolonged frozen storage of feed-fish was implicated as a cause of vitamin depletion; reducing storage times and addition of dietary supplementation prevented recurrence.

The movements of aquatic animals affect their exposure to threats and the efficacy of conservation measures, such as Marine Protected Areas (MPAs). However, many species’ movements remain poorly understood and difficult to reconstruct from available datasets, hampering conservation efforts. This is especially the case for species that rarely surface, for which data are often limited to observations from acoustic telemetry (detections) and ancillary sensors, such as archival tags. Here, we pioneer the use of state-of-the-art particle algorithms to model animal movement, integrate datasets and assess MPA design, using a case study of the Critically Endangered flapper skate (Dipturus intermedius) in Scotland. Our algorithms led to 5-fold improvements in maps of space use and 30-fold improvements in residency estimates (lower mean error) compared to prevailing heuristic methods. By formally integrating tracking datasets, we were uniquely able to examine movements beyond receivers into fished zones, MPA-scale residency and specific habitats beyond protected areas that may warrant protection. This work showcases a probabilistically sound modelling framework that is sufficiently fast, flexible and accessible to meet the demands of modern animal-tracking datasets in acoustic telemetry systems. This represents a marked advance for analyses of animal movements and MPA efficacy worldwide.

We are dismayed at the government's response to its consultation on legal aid (Cuts will be a 'slap in the face' for families, 22 June). The government cannot have failed to recognise the impact its proposals will have on its citizens and on access to justice. We can only conclude that it has decided to abandon those who seek advice on divorce, clinical negligence, employment and debt, under the guise of economic expediency.