Life Sciences Commons^™

Recent Decline Of Lowland Populations Of The Western Gray Squirrel In The Los Angeles Area Of Southern California, Daniel S. Cooper, Alan Muchlinski

Bulletin of the Southern California Academy of Sciences

We provide an overview of the distribution of lowland and otherwise isolated populations of the western gray squirrel (Sciurus griseus) in the Los Angeles area of southern California, an area that has experienced a recent and ongoing invasion by the non-native eastern fox squirrel (Sciurus niger), an urban-adapted species introduced a century ago. Away from its strongholds in the western Santa Monica Mountains, San Gabriel Mountains, and Santa Ana Mountains, the western gray squirrel is resident locally in both the Santa Susana and the Verdugo Mountains, in Griffith Park, in low hills at the eastern periphery of the San Gabriel ...

Effects Of Slope Upon Hind Limb Kinematics In Chukar Partridge (Alectoris Chukar), Anna T. Kenney

Undergraduate Theses and Professional Papers

Ground dwelling birds must scale all kinds of complex terrain in order to survive in their natural environments. For instance, Alectoris chukar live on steep hillsides with slopes of up to 60° or 172.3% slope. We undertook the present study to improve understanding of how birds successfully traverse such complex terrain. Using a high speed camera, we analyzed the hind limb kinematics of chukars during normal locomotion on a 10° and 35° incline, decline, and level slope. We compared the data collected from the video recordings, which we had used to identify and digitize the bony landmarks, between all ...

Messy Eating, Samantha King, R Scott Carey, Isabel Macquarie, Victoria Millious, Elaine Power

Environmental Studies

Literature on the ethics and politics of food and that on animal-human relationships have infrequently converged. Representing an initial step towards bridging this divide, Messy Eating features interviews with thirteen prominent and emerging scholars about the connections between their academic work and their approach to consuming animals as food. The collection explores how authors working across a range of perspectives—postcolonial, Indigenous, Black, queer, trans, feminist, disability, poststructuralist, posthumanist, and multispecies—weave their theoretical and political orientations with daily, intimate, and visceral practices of food consumption, preparation, and ingestion.

Contributors: Neel Ahuja, Billy Ray Belcourt, Matthew Calarco, Lauren Corman, Naisargi ...

Changes In Spring Arrival Times: Climate Change And The Phenology Of Spring Bird Migration, Aaron Svedlow

Student Scholarship

Climate change and weather affect the phenology of bird migration; however, specific climatological factors associated with these observed effects have only recently been described. The relationship between local, regional, and global climate patterns and avian migration are increasingly important to understand due to the widespread, and potentially negative, implications (such as reduced fecundity) of rapid human induced climate change on bird populations. Migratory birds are under selective pressure to arrive at breeding areas at the optimal time to set up nesting territories and exploit seasonally abundant food resources, and because climate change has the potential to occur more rapidly than ...

Estimating Relative Abundance Of Young-Of-The-Year American Eel, Anguilla Rostrata, In The Virginia Tributaries Of Chesapeake Bay, Spring 2018, Troy D. Tuckey, Mary C. Fabrizio

Reports

American Eel (Anguilla rostrata) is a valuable commercial species along the Atlantic coast of North America from New Brunswick to Florida. In the U.S., harvests have declined, with similar patterns occurring in the Canadian Maritime Provinces (Meister and Flagg 1997). An average of 62% of the annual landings of U.S. commercial harvest since 1993 have come from the Chesapeake Bay (personal communication from the National Marine Fisheries Service, Fisheries Statistics Division, 9 February 2015). In 2013, Virginia commercial landings were approximately 100,298 lbs; since mandatory reporting began in 1993, average annual landings in Virginia have been 193 ...

Evaluation Of Two Implants For Steers On Early-Intensively Grazed Tallgrass Native Range, J. K. Farney, M. E. Corrigan

Kansas Agricultural Experiment Station Research Reports

Objective: To evaluate the effect of two implants that have different lengths of effective use on stocker cattle gains within an intensive early double-stocked native tallgrass prairie grazing system.

Study Description: Stocker steers (n = 281) were implanted with Revalor-G (Merck Animal Health, Madison, NJ) or Synovex One Grass (Zoetis, Inc., Kalamazoo, MI) and grazed on tallgrass native range for 90 days during the summer. The steers were individually weighed, after an overnight shrink, on the day of implanting, at midpoint of grazing, and the end of the grazing period. Total gains and average daily gain were evaluated.

The Bottom Line ...

Scorpions Of The Horn Of Africa (Arachnida: Scorpiones). Part Xix. Pandiborellius Meidensis (Karsch, 1879) And Pandinurus Fulvipes Sp. N. (Scorpionidae) From Somaliland., František Kovařík, Graeme Lowe, Tomáš Mazuch

Euscorpius

The male of Pandiborellius meidensis (Karsch, 1879) is introduced for the first time and illustrated in detail with color photos, and sexual dimorphism and occurrence of the species are discussed. Pandinurus fulvipes sp. n. from Somaliland is described and fully complemented with color photos of live and preserved specimens, as well as of its habitat.

Chaerilus Alberti Sp. N. From Malaysia (Scorpiones: Chaerilidae), František Kovařík

Euscorpius

Chaerilus alberti sp. n. from Malaysia (Cameron Highlands) is described and fully illustrated with color photographs of preserved specimens, as well as of their habitat. Males of C. alberti sp. n. have a unique shape of chela which is stout with the manus swollen anteriorly. They are compared to other species from Southeast Asia, from all of which C. alberti sp. n. differs by the shape of pedipalp chela parallel or swollen posteriorly or medially. Pedipalp chela is illustrated with color photographs of 21 of these species.

Fishing Technologies: Specification And Estimation, Quinn Weninger, Larry Perruso, Helle Bunzel

Economics Working Papers

This paper consistently estimates the structural properties of a multiple-species fishing technology. Our approach overcomes two ubiquitous features of fisheries data generating processes that invalidate classical estimators: (1) unobservability, by the researcher, of the in situ fish stock, and (2) endogenous production decisions that vary with fishermen’s private information about stock abundance and other economic vari- ables. Our estimations obtain consistency by exploiting the timing of production de- cisions and the information available to fishermen when endogenous production scale and scope, i.e., targeting of individual species’, decisions are made. Our estimator adopts methods used in fisheries stock assessment ...

Forage News [2019-02], University Of Kentucky Department Of Plant And Soil Sciences

Forage News

• Anne Bay Wins Second in National Contest
• Looks Like I need that Hay after all
• My Permanent Pastures Aren't
• Converting to Novel Entophyte Tall Fescue
• The Importance of Forage Analysis
• Chewing some Cud on Mud
• Insects in Livestock Feed and Hay

A Global Reassessment Of Solitary-Sociable Dolphins, Laetitia Nunny, Mark P. Simmonds

Personality

Dolphins are typically regarded as highly social animals. However, some individuals live apart from their own species and may come to socialize with people through a recognized series of stages which are presented and expanded on in this paper. The term “solitary-sociable dolphins” has been used to describe these animals and such individuals have been identified from several different species and reported in many parts of the world. In many instances, the interactions with people that may follow their original isolation, and which typically become more intense over time, have created situations where the welfare of the animal has been ...

A New Semidesert Microtityus Kjellesvig-Waering, 1966 (Scorpiones: Buthidae) From Southeast Cuba, Greater Antilles., Rolando Teruel

Euscorpius

A new species of the buthid scorpion genus Microtityus Kjellesvig-Waering, 1966, is herein described from specimens of both sexes collected at three nearby localities in the western part of the Guantánamo Bay Area, southeast Cuba. It belongs in the "jaumei" species-group of the subgenus Microtityus (Parvabsonus) Armas, 1974 and is very peculiar not only by its external morphology (very distinct from its other Cuban congeners), but also by the unusual habitat where it occurs in and seems to be restricted to (dry and hot cactus scrub on volcanic sandy plain). The present contribution reinforces the position of this genus as ...

Grazing Myths That Reduce Profitability, Greg S. Halich

Forage Symposium at the Kentucky Cattlemen’s Convention

Many cattle farms have moved to rotational grazing in the past decade, and there are significant benefits associated with this grazing technique. However, one thing that I have noticed is that costs are not always accounted for when it comes to recommended rotational grazing practices. If you ignore costs, partially or fully, you will invariably do too much of whatever you are considering. In this light, I will highlight four grazing recommendations (myths) that many folks are often taking to extremes related to rotational grazing, and one additional myth (generic to grazing style) that is reducing the overall profitability of ...

Profitability At Eldon Farms: Guiding Principles, John Genho

Forage Symposium at the Kentucky Cattlemen’s Convention

Eldon Farms is a 7,000-acre farm in the Northern Piedmont of Virginia. Over the past 15 years, we have adopted a grazing program based on three principles. While the specifics of each operation are different, I believe these principles can be applied across a host of situations.

Forages At Kca Foreword [2019], Christopher D. Teutsch, Christi L. Forsythe, Rehanon Pampell

Forage Symposium at the Kentucky Cattlemen’s Convention

No abstract provided.

An Annotated Genome For Haliotis Rufescens (Red Abalone) And Resequenced Green, Pink, Pinto, Black And White Abalone Species, Rick E. Masonbrink, Catherine Purcell, Sara Boles, Andrew Whitehead, John Hyde, Arun S. Seetharam, Andrew J. Severin

Genome Informatics Facility Publications

Abalone are one of the few marine taxa where aquaculture production dominates the global market as a result of increasing demand and declining natural stocks from overexploitation and disease. To better understand abalone biology, aid in conservation efforts for endangered abalone species, and gain insight into sustainable aquaculture, we created a draft genome of the red abalone (Haliotis rufescens). The approach to this genome draft included initial assembly using raw Illumina and PacBio sequencing data with MaSuRCA, before scaffolding using sequencing data generated from Chicago library preparations with HiRise2. This assembly approach resulted in 8,371 scaffolds and total length ...

Scorpions Of The Horn Of Africa (Arachnida, Scorpiones). Part Xviii. Gint Banfasae Sp. N. From Somaliland (Buthidae), František Kovařík, Graeme Lowe

Euscorpius

Gint banfasae sp. n. from Somaliland is described and compared with other species of the genus. Additional information is provided on the taxonomy and distribution of the genus Gint, fully complemented with color photos of specimens of both sexes of the new species, as well as of their habitat. Included is a key for Gint.

Automated Body Condition Scoring: Progression Across Lactation And Its Association With Disease And Reproduction In Dairy Cattle, Carissa Marie Truman

Theses and Dissertations--Animal and Food Sciences

Body condition scoring is a technique used to noninvasively assess fat reserves. It provides an objective estimate to describe the current and past nutritional status of the dairy cow and has been associated with increased disease risk and breeding success. Traditionally body condition scores are taken manually by visual appraisal on a 1 to 5 scale, in one-quarter increments. However, recent studies have shown the potential of automating the body condition scoring of cows using images. The first objective was to estimate the likelihood of disease development and breeding success, using odds ratios, associated with body condition score scored automatically ...

Fish Growth Changes Over Time In A Midwestern Usa Lake, Eric D. Katzenmeyer, Michael E. Colvin, Timothy W. Stewart, Clay L. Pierce, Scott E. Grummer

Natural Resource Ecology and Management Publications

Growth of Walleye Sander vitreus, Yellow Bass Morone mississippiensis, Common Carp Cyprinus carpio, and Black Bullhead Ameiurus melas was assessed in Clear Lake, Iowa, USA, over several decades and in relation to environmental variables. Growth of Common Carp was positively correlated with phytoplankton concentration. Recent Black Bullhead growth was faster than in the 1950s and 1990s, which may be a consequence of their recent decline in abundance. Growth of Common Carp and Yellow Bass was faster in the 1940s than in more recent time periods. Relative to their entire range, Common Carp first year growth was below average whereas length ...

Comparison Of Traditional And Alternative Curing Ingredients On Curing Reactions In A Model Meat System, Faith D. Rasmussen, Gary A. Sullivan

Nebraska Beef Cattle Reports

To meet consumer trends, alternative curing ingredients are used to replace sodium nitrite and cure accelerators. Due to the complexity of meat, it is challenging to compare traditional and alternative ingredients for curing reactions. Using a model system, sources of nitrite (traditional, sodium nitrite and alternative, cultured celery juice powder), salt, and cure accelerators (traditional, sodium erythorbate, or alternative, cherry juice powder) at ingoing sodium nitrite concentrations of 10, 50, 100, 150, or 200 ppm were evaluated for curing reactions. More complete curing reactions were indicated by a higher concentration of cured meat pigment, and lower sulfhydryl groups. Lower residual ...

Evaluation Of Lactation Demands On Nutrient Balance In Two Calving Seasons In Range Cows Grazing Sandhills Upland Range, Travis Mulliniks, Don C. Adams

Nebraska Beef Cattle Reports

A modeling study evaluated the effects of milk production level on nutrient balance in March-and May-calving cows grazing Sandhills upland range during the breeding season. Forage quality of upland range peaks in June and steadily declines in July until November. In March-calving cows, metabolizable protein (MP) and energy were deficient by July 1 in all milking potential cows, which is exacerbated in greater milking potential cows. May-calving cows with 20 to 30 lbs of milk are predicted to enter the breeding season with a deficiency in MP and energy. In an effort to match cow type to environment in the ...

Economic Analysis Of Beef Systems, Terry J. Klopfenstein, Shebly E. Loeffelholz, Karla H. Jenkins Pas, Andrea K. Watson, Galen E. Erickson

Nebraska Beef Cattle Reports

Economic analysis of complete beef production systems is important. An analysis of 5 systems was conducted. Three of the systems were based on cows calving in March, June or August and grazing Sandhills range and corn residue. The other 2 systems were based on complete confinement feeding or confinement in the summer and corn residue grazing in the winter. The range-based systems gave similar results, however, complete confinement was not competitive. Partial confinement with stalk grazing was competitive with range-based systems. Stalk grazing is very economical and important for many cow-calf systems.

The Future Of Recreational Fisheries: Advances In Science, Monitoring, Management, And Practice, Jacob W. Brownscombe, Kieran Hyder, Warren Potts, Kyle L. Wilson, Kevin L. Pope, Andy J. Danylchuk, Steven J. Cooke, Adrian Clarke, Robert Arlinghaus, John R. Post

Nebraska Cooperative Fish & Wildlife Research Unit -- Staff Publications

Recreational fisheries (RF) are complex social-ecological systems that play an important role in aquatic environments while generating significant social and economic benefits around the world. The nature of RF is diverse and rapidly evolving, including the participants, their priorities and behaviors, and the related ecological impacts and social and economic benefits. RF can lead to negative ecological impacts, particularly through overexploitation of fish populations and spread of non-native species and genotypes through stocking. Hence, careful management and monitoring of RF is essential to sustain these ecologically and socioeconomically important resources. This special issue on recreational fisheries contains diverse research, syntheses ...

Jackrabbit Dairy And Food Review, Vikram V. Mistry

The Jackrabbit Dairy & Food Review

This is the Winter 2017- 2018 Jackrabbit Dairy and Food Review. It contains the following articles and information: Message from the Department Head, 2017 Graduates, David A. Thompson Endowment, New Faculty and Visitors, information on the Dairy Club and Food Science Club, Judging Activities, Student Accomplishments, Professional Activities of Faculty and Staff, Distinguished Alumni, Dairy Facilities, a list of Scholarships and Dairy and Food Science Students, information on Departmental Outreach and Research Highlights.

Forage News [2019-01], University Of Kentucky Department Of Plant And Soil Sciences

Forage News

• Get NAFA's 2019 Alfalfa Variety Ratings
• Evaluation of the Efficacy of Various Herbicides for the Control of Broadleaf and Buckhorn Plantain in Alfalfa
• Save Hay by Reducing Feeding Waste
• Don't Miss "The Dollars and Sense of Grazing", Forages at KCA, January 18th in Owensboro
• Taking Stock
• Winter Meeting Rundown

Effects Of Supplemental Soypass In Forage-Based Diets Containing Distillers Grains On Performance Of Growing Steers, Tyler J. Spore, Zachary E. Carlson, Galen E. Erickson Erickson, Terry J. Klopfenstein, Andrea K. Watson

Nebraska Beef Cattle Reports

SoyPass was supplemented in two grass hay diets containing 20% or 35% wet distillers grains with solubles (WDGS) to analyze the effects on growing cattle performance. The SoyPass supplement replaced 0, 30, or 60% of dietary WDGS for a total of 6 treatments with a factorial design. Substituting SoyPass into the diet did not affect average daily gain (ADG) of calves; however, calves consuming the 35% WDGS diet gained 31% more than the 20% WDGS treatment calves. Dry matter intake (DMI) and feed to gain (F:G) increased linearly in the 35% WDGS diet with the inclusion of SoyPass. In ...

Evaluation Of Corn Bran Plus Solubles On Performance And Carcass Characteristics In Finishing Diets, Shelby A. Garland, Bradley M. Boyd, F. Henry Hilscher Hilscher, Galen E. Erickson, Jim C. Macdonald, Ryan A. Mass

Nebraska Beef Cattle Reports

A finishing study was conducted to determine the effect of feeding corn bran plus solubles, a new feed resulting from a pre-fermentation fiber removal process, compared to wet distillers grains plus solubles at two levels of inclusion (20% and 40% of diet DM). Intake increased with inclusion of byproduct, and steers fed 20% wet distillers had the greatest intakes numerically. Byproduct inclusion, regardless of type, increased daily gain over the corn-based control. Feed conversions were improved with increased inclusion of both Bran + Solubles and wet distillers, and both were superior to the control. Increased inclusion of both byproducts resulted in ...

A Comparison Of Synovex One® Alone To Synovex Choice® Followed By Synovex Plus® As Implant Strategies For Finishing Heifers, Elizabeth A. Schumacher, Galen E. Erickson, D. J. Jordon Jordon, Robert J. Cooper, Tony L. Scott, Sheri Bundy, Gary Sides, Ralph M. Cleale

Nebraska Beef Cattle Reports

A commercial feedlot study utilizing 1,737 crossbred heifers (initial BW 690 lb) compared the effect of two implant strategies [Synovex ONE Feedlot (day 0) or Synovex Choice (day 0) followed by Synovex Plus (day 95)] on performance and carcass characteristics. No differences were observed in carcass weight, final body weight, or gain, but heifers implanted with Synovex ONE Feedlot had slightly greater feed conversion and greater intake than heifers implanted using Synovex Choice/Synovex Plus. Heifers implanted with Synovex Choice/Synovex Plus had lower marbling score and yield grade, higher dressing percentage, and greater loin muscle area compared to ...

Impact Of Shade In Beef Feedyards On Performance, Body Temperature, And Heat Stress Measures, Brett A. Melton, Bradley M. Boyd, Casey Macken Macken, Andrea K. Watson, James C. Macdonald, Galen E. Erickson

Nebraska Beef Cattle Reports

A study using crossbred steers was conducted at a commercial feedyard to determine the effects of pen shades on cattle performance, body temperature, and cattle activity. Two heat events (Event 1 and Event 2) and one cool event were defined for the feeding period. No significant differences were observed for average daily gain, dry matter intake, feed to gain, or carcass characteristics at the end of the trial. During Event 1, cattle in pens with shade had lower panting scores than cattle in open pens. During Event 2, cattle in shade pens had greater dry matter intake, lower panting scores ...

Effects Of Maternal Late Gestation Nutrition On May-Born Steer Progeny, Alicia C. Lansford, Jacki A. Musgrave, T. L. Meyer Meyer, Rick N. Funston

Nebraska Beef Cattle Reports

May-calving dams were assigned to graze either sub-irrigated meadow or upland range with or without supplementation (1 lb/d 33% CP). Treatment began at approximately 160 d of gestation. Supplementation continued for 85 ± 2 d, while grazing system treatment continued for 116 ± 2 d. Steer progeny were backgrounded after weaning and then assigned to either a short or long yearling feedlot system. Dam supplementation tended to decrease marbling score within both feedlot systems. Short yearling steers had an increased percentage of carcasses grade USDA low Choice or greater if their dams grazed meadow in late gestation. Long yearling steers had ...