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Table S1: Total activity counts per light cycle, and the % activity compared to the control cycle, and Table S2: Activity counts (± SE) for males and females during the dark, twilight and light phases of each experimental cycle. The activity during the experimental LAN cycles is depicted as a percentage of the control cycle counts.

Western Cape agriculture's strong TFP growth over the second half of the twentieth century is explained by access to irrigation water. Drier conditions are predicted for the western escarpment, a region severely affected by the current drought. The SA wine industry is not flourishing for many reasons that potentially include climate change. This study examines longitudinal data for twenty West Coast farms to establish if there has been an invisible drying trend prior to the current drought which could explain these farms' performance. The two models fitted agree on falling productivity over the period 2005-2015. Battese and Coelli's (1992) error components model cannot distinguish between general Hicks neutral technical collapse and specific farms falling behind. Battese and Coelli's (1995) technical efficiency effects model confirms technical collapse and the contribution of water to productivity. Dryland production is most vulnerable and although regions differ, there is no evidence of specific farms falling behind. The dataset is limited in scope and the frontier preliminary, but this study demonstrates how easily climate change effects can be monitored. One of the most important responses to the current drought will be to systematically evaluate study group data to quantify its impact on productivity. Keywords: Wine industry, climate change mitigation, stochastic production frontier, convergence

Highly protective effect of co-infections on mortality due to East Coast fever and consequences for disease epidemiology and control., Many individual hosts are infected with multiple parasite species, and this may increase or decrease the pathogenicity of the infections. This phenomenon is termed heterologous reactivity and is potentially an important determinant of both patterns of morbidity and mortality and of the impact of disease control measures at the population level. Using infections with Theileria parva (a tick-borne protozoan, related to Plasmodium) in indigenous African cattle [where it causes East Coast fever (ECF)] as a model system, we obtain the first quantitative estimate of the effects of heterologous reactivity for any parasitic disease. In individual calves, concurrent co-infection with less pathogenic species of Theileria resulted in an 89% reduction in mortality associated with T. parva infection. Across our study population, this corresponds to a net reduction in mortality due to ECF of greater than 40%. Using a mathematical model, we demonstrate that this degree of heterologous protection provides a unifying explanation for apparently disparate epidemiological patterns: variable disease-induced mortality rates, age-mortality profiles, weak correlations between the incidence of infection and disease (known as endemic stability), and poor efficacy of interventions that reduce exposure to multiple parasite species. These findings can be generalized to many other infectious diseases, including human malaria, and illustrate how co-infections can play a key role in determining population-level patterns of morbidity and mortality due to parasite infections.

Copyright 2014 by the American Association for the Advancement of Science; all rights reserved.Longer lives and fertility far below the replacement level of 2.1 births per woman are leading to rapid population aging in many countries. Many observers are concerned that aging will adversely affect public finances and standards of living. Analysis of newly available National Transfer Accounts data for 40 countries shows that fertility well above replacement would typically be most beneficial for government budgets. However, fertility near replacement would be most beneficial for standards of living when the analysis includes the effects of age structure on families as well as governments. And fertility below replacement would maximize per capita consumption when the cost of providing capital for a growing labor force is taken into account. Although low fertility will indeed challenge government programs and very low fertility undermines living standards, we find that moderately low fertility and population decline favor the broader material standard of living.

Theileria parva causes widespread morbidity and mortality in cattle in endemic regions. An outbreak of theileriosis occurred on a farm near Ladysmith in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa, which is not a declared Corridor disease-infected area. A survey of Red Brangus cattle from all age groups and areas of the farm was performed. Transmission of the parasite from infected animals on the farm to susceptible animals by tick transmission and tick-stabilate injection, was attempted. The survey indicated high numbers of animals with antibody titres to T. parva but only 6 infected animals, based on real-time PCR and RLB analysis. The transmission experiments failed to transmit the parasite. The study shows the difficulty in elucidating a source of infection and determining the dynamics of new infections in a herd where multiple possible sources are present and treatment with tetracyclines has taken place.