Perception of the CTA workshop

                       Introduction

The stage of the development in technology, there is need to communicate or collaborate with people that are scattered around the world which require that the teams establish agreements as well as clear goals and roles using the social networking. The work shop is out to orient the people on the latest tools required to achieve the goals using the free or low-cost interactive web-based services that help people share information and collaborate online more easily than with earlier tools. It emphasizes the possibility for many people to share and collaborate, not just the “webmasters” or people with advanced technical skills.

                       The CTA workshop

This course looked at how development stakeholders can take advantage of Web 2.0 tools and applications to more effectively network, collaborate and exchange knowledge.

Web 2.0 is a term that people loosely apply to these new, easier to use web-based tools for content creation (also known as user generated content), connecting with people (also known as social networking), collaboration and many other forms of people to people interaction. These tools are often called “social media” because they go beyond content, to our connection to that content and to each other.

The social media makes it easy for us to connecting with other people via social networks; collaborating and doing things with other people; creating and sharing content; and finding, using, organizing and reusing content. These social media allow organizations and communities to maintain small group communications even when they are geographically distributed. They can also give you potential access to a massive, international audience.

                        Conclusion

The workshop has actually exposed me to an advance level of communicating and collaboration with other research in my area of specification that indeed will enhance my research work greatly. It is an important tool required in Agriculture to convey  the result of our research findings to the end users which is the farmers.

Effect Of aestivation Duration and the Post Aestivation Egg laying performance of Archachatina marginata

Effect Of aestivation Duration and  the Post Aestivation Egg laying performance of Archachatina marginata

O.G Sodipe^* and O. A. osinowo.

Department of Animal Physiology, University of Agriculture, P.M.B. 2240, Abeokuta, Nigeria.

                                                e-mail: bunmigraphics@yahoo.com

                 Abstract

The study focused on the evaluation of the effect of aestivation duration and the post aestivation egg laying performance of Archachatina marginata using a total number of 40 Archachatina marginata snails weighing between 150 -250 g.  The experiment was conducted at the Snail Research Unit of the College of Animal Science and Livestock Production, University of Agriculture, Abeokuta.  Archachatina marginata were exposed to different period of aestivation with 10 snails per replicate over a period of 6 weeks between February and March. Result shows that the egg laying performance decrease were significantly (P<0.001) with weeks of aestivation. A sharp increase in egg laying performance was observed two weeks after the aestivation treatment imposed was withdrawn. The number of clutches of egg laid decrease were significantly (P<0.001) with weeks of aestivation.

                         Introduction

Aestivation is a natural phenomenon is known to interrupt the normal physiological process of the snails leading to the slow growth rate (Odiette, 1999). Metabolic depression is a reduction in metabolic rate to below the normal resting value (Guppy and Withers, 1999). The impact of stressful environmental condition on snails, are been reduced by the behavioural and physiological responses to dormancy which enhances the preservation of their body fluids. Snails survive many months without food and water under aestivation (Akinnusi, 1998). Snail population have declined considerably, basically because of the impact of human interference with the snails’ natural habitat.

Aestivation may be regarded as an important phase of the snail’s life cycle because it is a survival mechanism. The crucial elements for survival during aestivation are water retention and sufficient energy reserves (Storey, 2001). The aestivation in snail is synonymous to ‘fasting’ in other animal and this fasting exhibit benefits like clearance of the gut, healing, rejuvenation and fertility. Hence, it posses the question that does aestivation have such physiological benefits? Could the long term effects of aestivation enhance the post aestivation egg laying performance of Archachatina marginata.

              Materials and Method

Experimental Animals and Management

The experiment was conducted at the Snail Research Unit of the College of Animal Science and Livestock Production, University of Agriculture, Abeokuta. A total of 40 Archachatina marginata snails weighing between 150 and 250g were used. The snails were obtained from the neighbouring market and were acclimatized for 2 weeks to normalize the previous treatment they have been exposed to. The Archachatina marginata were grouped into 4 groups and were exposed to different period of 6 weeks.

Factors investigated are:

Duration of Aestivation: 0 vs 2 vs 4 vs 6 weeks

Replicate: 10 snails (later paired into 5 after aestivation)

Treatment:       A – Control (No aestivation)

                        B – 2 weeks of aestivation

                        C – 4 weeks of aestivation

                        D – 6 weeks of aestivation

Snails in treatment A were placed in basket that have damp top humus soil oven dried  1.65 kg and sprinkled with 400 ml of water initially. The soil was subsequently sprinkled with 50 ml of water once week. The snails were fed a mixture of layers mash and dried grounded pawpaw leaves (ratio 1:1) daily. The feed and water were provided in plastic troughs. Snails in treatment B, C and D were placed in basket oven dried soil without feed and water. The egg laying pattern relative to the experimental treatments was monitored. Data collected were analysed using SPSS, 1999.

                       Result and Discussion

Deprivation of food and water deprivation in snails resulted in aestivation by (Odiete, 1999; Storey, 2001; Omoyakhi, 2007) was confirmed in this study as the snails withdraw into their shells and covering the aperture with epiphragms, although the epiphragm was continuously  replaced at intervals. The aestivation and post aestivation egg laying performance of Archachatina marginata are presented in Figure 1. The egg laying performance decrease were significantly (P<0.001) with weeks of aestivation. A sharp increase in egg laying performance was observed two weeks after the aestivation treatment imposed was withdrawn. The aestivation and post aestivation number of clutches of egg laid by Archachatina marginata are presented in Figure 2.  The number of clutches of egg laid decrease were significantly (P<0.001) with weeks of aestivation. The number of clutches did not increase with the duration of post – aestivation. 

                             REFERENCES

Akinnusi, O.1998.  Introduction to snail and snail farming. Omega Science

Publishers Lagos .Pp 70

Guppy, M., Keeves, D. C., Bishop, T., Withers, P., Buckingham, J.A., and Brand,

M.D. 2000. Intrinsic metabolic depression in cells isolated from hepatopancreas of aestivating snails. FASEB J. 14: 999 – 1004.

Odiette, W. O. 1999. Basic Animal Physiology. Diversified Resources Ltd., Lagos.

257pp.

Omoyakhi, J. M. 2007. Effect of aestivation on growth, body composition and

reproductive performance of Giant African Land Snails, Archachatina marginata and Achatina achatina. Ph.D thesis, Department of Animal Physiology, University of Agriculture, Abeokuta. 195pp.

Storey, K. B. 2001. Molecular mechanism of metabolic arrest: Life in Lumb. Bio

            Scientific Publishers Ltd. Oxford UK, 216pp.

SPSS 1999. Statistical Package for Social Sciences. SPSS for Microsoft Windows

            Release 6.0 User’s Manual