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Identifying And Assessing Conflicts Between Future Development And Current Migratory Bird Habitat Around Farmington Bay, Utah, Aubin A. Douglas

All Graduate Plan B and other Reports, Spring 1920 to Spring 2023

Every year, the Great Salt Lake (GSL) and its associated wetlands provide critical habitat for over 250 migratory bird species from both the Pacific and Central Flyways. The GSL borders the Wasatch Front, which is the fastest growing and most populous region in Utah. To support the ever-increasing working population, the government of Utah aspires to increase the robust economic growth of the region through economic incentives and development of infrastructure. As this area continues to develop, greater pressure will be placed on the surrounding natural resources, including the GSL, its wetlands, and the open space and agricultural land that …

Development Of An Animal Model For Enterovirus For Evaluation D68 For Screening Of Antiviral Therapies, W. Joseph Evans

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Enterovirus D68 (EV-D68) virus has become more prevalent over the last 15 to 20 years. EV-D68 attacks the respiratory system and can cause severe disease in individuals who have underlying respiratory problems. There have also been reports of individuals with EV-D68 showing signs of neurological system problems and acute flaccid paralysis. Because of the increase in patients with EV-D68 and also the potential for neurological disease, an animal model is needed to study the disease and to evaluate experimental therapies for EV-D68 infection.

To develop the animal model, 4-week old AG129 mice that lack alpha and beta interferon receptors, making …

Evaluation Of Survey Methods And Development Of Species Distribution Models For Kit Foxes In The Great Basin Desert, Stephen J. Dempsey

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Historically, kit foxes (Vulpes macrotis) once occupied the desert and semi-arid regions of southwestern North America, ranging from Idaho to central Mexico. Their range-wide decline has warranted the kit fox to be designated as a state sensitive species in Utah. Once considered the most abundant carnivore in western Utah, the kit fox has been in steep decline over the past decade, creating a demand to determine kit fox presence in the Great Basin desert. Currently there is little consensus on which survey methodology is best for detecting kit fox presence. We tested 4 survey methods (scat deposition, scent …

Development Of A Bird-Avoidance Model For Naval Air Facility El Centro, California, Edward J. Zakrajsek

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Bird strikes (collisions between birds and aircraft) pose a significant threat to aviation safety. For example, Naval Air Facility El Centro, California, lost an F-18 jet to a bird strike in October 1995. To help combat the bird-strike threat at Naval Air Facility El Centro, I developed a bird-avoidance model as a risk-management tool for the installation. It can be used to schedule flights at NAF El Centro and its two associated practice-bombing ranges during times of low-bird activity. I calculated bird-strike risks and published them in web-page format on both the installation's server and the USGS/Utah State University, College …

The Influence Of Fluorescent Light On The Development Of In Vitro Fertilized Bovine Oocytes, Jared Bunch

Undergraduate Honors Capstone Projects

Advances in in vitro fertilization and in vitro culture techniques have allowed considerable progress in identifying physiological requirements of mammalian embryos. Parrish et al. (11) reported a major breakthrough on in vitro fertilization when his group identified heparin as an important factor for the capacitation of spermatozoa. Capacitation is necessary for fertilization of matured oocytes. During the precoculture era of embryos (prior to 1980), the development of early preirnplantation embryos was vary limited regardless of medium, medium supplement, gas atmosphere, osmolarity or pH used (7). Coculture techniques of fertilized oocytes using somatic cells during in vitro production, particularly of bovine …

Development Of An Ovine Genome Map With Emphasis On In Situ Hybridization, Melanie R. Heaton

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Livestock genome maps are used to identify economic trait loci and loci proximal to genes affecting economically important traits. This research contributes to the development of the ovine genome map by establishing techniques to physically map large DNA inserts to ovine chromosomes using fluorescent in situ hybridization. Fluorescent in situ hybridization techniques were established using yeast artificial chromosomes as DNA probes. Probes were as large as 1,000,000 kilobases and hybridized to fixed ovine metaphase chromosomes from a callipyge ewe. Three yeast artificial chromosome probes contained a genetic marker for the ovine callipyge gene. Probes were assigned to ovine chromosome pair …

Effects Of Antioxidants On Development Of In Vitro Fertilized Bovine Embryos, Bret L. Anderson

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Free radicals are short-lived molecules that can cause decreased embryonic development in vitro. Antioxidants are molecules that block free radical formation or guard against their harmful effects. Many studies have linked exposure of media to light and culturing of embryos in high (20%) oxygen concentrations to free radical production. Some of the antioxidants used in culture media are superoxide dismutase (SOD), catalase, zinc (II), ethylenedinitrilo tetraacetic acid (EDTA), mannitol, vitamin E, dimethyl sulfide, and taurine. Most research involving antioxidants and embryonic development has been conducted on non-farm animals, particularly mouse and rabbit. Studies have shown that antioxidants in vitro culture …