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Articles 1 - 10 of 10
Full-Text Articles in Life Sciences
An Overview Of The Potential Effect Of Climate Change On American Pine Marten, Jordyn Morel
An Overview Of The Potential Effect Of Climate Change On American Pine Marten, Jordyn Morel
Honors College
The impacts of climate change are only increasing, and yet not all those impacts have been studied on certain species. The American pine marten Martes americana (Turton, 1806) is one of the species potentially vulnerable to climate change. They are an important component of biodiversity as they hunt a variety of small mammals and feed on numerous plants. Martens are also important prey to many winged and terrestrial species. In Maine, they are an umbrella species that co-occur with eleven other species and their presence is also a good indicator of a healthy forest environment. I conducted a literature review …
Using Thermography To Determine Mechanisms Of Heat Loss In The Southern Flying Squirrel (Glaucomys Volans), Colin Flynn
Using Thermography To Determine Mechanisms Of Heat Loss In The Southern Flying Squirrel (Glaucomys Volans), Colin Flynn
Honors College
Climate change is one of the biggest factors currently affecting the health and energetics of animals. Species evolve to operate optimally under certain environmental conditions and changes in those conditions can be detrimental to the species. Previous studies have shown increased evaporative cooling in flying squirrels at higher temperatures but not much is known about their ability to use other avenues of heat loss such as thermal windows; areas of the body that exchange heat with the environment via convection. For example, the patagium of southern flying squirrels may also serve as a thermal window to aid in heat dissipation. …
The Incidence Of Staphylococcus Aureus Mastitis In Maine Dairy Cattle, Morgan Belvin
The Incidence Of Staphylococcus Aureus Mastitis In Maine Dairy Cattle, Morgan Belvin
Honors College
This project investigated the factors surrounding the incidence of Staphylococcus aureus (SA) mastitis in Maine dairy cattle. This type of mastitis is driven by an antibiotic resistant pathogen that is very contagious among cattle, though farmers are often unaware of how common this type of mastitis is and that it could be present in their herds. My hypothesis was that specific farm factors, like milkers performing other tasks during milking, as well as the act of pre-dipping versus not pre-dipping, would explain the increase in SA mastitis. A thirty-seven-question IRB-approved survey was subsequently distributed to farmers in the University of …
How Weather Affects Total Mixed Rations And Why It Is Significant To Dairy Cattle, Juliana Baranowski
How Weather Affects Total Mixed Rations And Why It Is Significant To Dairy Cattle, Juliana Baranowski
Honors College
The objective of this study was to determine how weather affects the dry matter percentage of a TMR fed to dairy cattle. Daily feed samples were collected from the University of Maine’s J.F. Witter Teaching and Research Center and stored in a freezer until dry matters could be determined. The feed samples were later thawed out, then placed in an oven at 60oC for a minimum of three days. This allowed all the moisture to be evaporated so the DM could be calculated. The maximum, minimum and average temperatures, as well as the precipitation and humidity were obtained daily from …
Riders On The Storm: Using Satellite Transmitters To Quantify American Woodcock Movement Behavior Following Extreme Weather Events, Katherine Trebilcock
Riders On The Storm: Using Satellite Transmitters To Quantify American Woodcock Movement Behavior Following Extreme Weather Events, Katherine Trebilcock
Honors College
The American Woodcock (Scolopax minor) has experienced steady declines in abundance over the past fifty years, which has raised questions as to why (Sauer et al. 1991). Migration for many birds, woodcock included, is energetically intensive, and may be the cause for greater mortality compared to other times of the year (Newton 2007). Despite this, there remains uncertainty in how conditions encountered during migration affect their movements and survival. One obstacle that birds must face is extreme weather, which has been increasing in intensity and occurrence due to climate change. How these events impact a migrating woodcock has been speculated …
Leveraging The Transparent Zebrafish To Test For Conserved Gene Function Between Mammals And Fish, Lena Stasiak
Leveraging The Transparent Zebrafish To Test For Conserved Gene Function Between Mammals And Fish, Lena Stasiak
Honors College
Throughout the United States and Europe, Candida albicans remains the most clinically significant fungus. While fungi account for thousands of deaths annually, the most clinically significant bloodstream infection in ICU patients, causing as high as 50% mortality, is disseminated candidemia. This systemic infection occurs when the normally commensal and harmless fungi, Candida albicans, becomes pathogenic in immunocompromised individuals. Many factors of the immune system can be paralleled between humans and zebrafish, which can be a useful model host to understand the cellular immune responses to infection. One particular gene known as myeloid differentiation factor 88 (myd88) has been previously found …
Variations In Plumage Wear In Three Closely Related Tidal Marsh Sparrow Species, Maeve Studholme
Variations In Plumage Wear In Three Closely Related Tidal Marsh Sparrow Species, Maeve Studholme
Honors College
Tidal marsh sparrow species like Saltmarsh Sparrows (Ammospiza caudacuta), Nelson’s Sparrows (Ammospiza nelsoni) and Seaside Sparrows (Ammospiza maritima) are particularly vulnerable to the environmental stressors related to climate change and human activity like sea-level rise, warming temperatures, and increased coastal development, as they nest in the grasses of tidal marsh ecosystems where the principal mode of nest mortality is flooding. With increased sea-level rise, these species may not be equipped to adapt to changing tidal cycles, and thus have reduced fitness and population sizes. Saltmarsh Sparrows are experiencing sharp declines in population, so it is more vital than ever to …
Abundance Of Shell-Boring Polychaete Worms And Other Fouling Organisms In Aquacultured Oysters From Maine Used For Reef Restoration In Great Bay, Nh, Haleigh Wright
Honors College
Restoration projects on the oyster reefs in Great Bay, NH have been active since 2009 with the most recent involving the transfer of oysters from Maine oyster farms into the Bay. In an attempt to prevent the transfer of non-native species from oyster farms to the reefs, samples of oysters from each farm were inspected for shell-boring polychaete infestations. Polydora websteri, a common shell-boring species worldwide, was in high abundance in reference samples from oyster farms in Great Bay and in samples from the restoration grounds, themselves. A second shell-boring species, provisionally identified as P. onagawaensis, is present on oyster …
Quantifying Equine Behavior Utilizing Gps, Vanessa M. Cote
Quantifying Equine Behavior Utilizing Gps, Vanessa M. Cote
Honors College
GPS tracking systems have been around for many years and are used to track, map, determine precise locations, navigate, and get precise time measurements on a number of different animals, devices, vehicles, and much more. The use of GPS tracking systems on animals has been a huge breakthrough in the cattle industry since this means farmers no longer have to monitor their cattle manually, but can do remotely. The research that has previously been done on cattle tracking can now be applied to horses, although as horses are used in a much different manner than cattle the data will go …
The Potential Use Of Tree Leaf Silage For Livestock Nutrition, Including Willow, Drumstick, Mulberry, And Acadia Species, Jade Chin
Honors College
Leaf silage has been historically used as ruminant feed, with multiple positive attributes such as being a secure, preserved feed source that is relatively accessible. However, the digestibility, nutritive value, and potential anti-nutritive factors are not well researched or known. The goal of this review is to examine recent literature on leaf silage and its potential advantages and practical limits of being utilized as livestock feed. The scope of this study was limited to willow (Salix spp.), acacia (Acacia spp.), mulberry (Morus alba and Broussonetia papyrifera), and drumstick leaf silage (Moringa oleifera), due to …