Life Sciences Commons^™

A Road Map For Place Based Collaboration For Conflict Reduction, Joseph L. Zecher

Undergraduate Theses, Professional Papers, and Capstone Artifacts

No abstract provided.

A Mechanistic Examination Of Interspecific Competition Between Wild And Domestic Herbivores, Courtney Check

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Large herbivores, such as mule deer and cattle have similar life histories and likely compete for resources. However, quantifying the extent to which these species compete and the specific resources they compete for has proved challenging. My research examines if cattle influence deer abundance and behavior due to competition for forage, competition for shade, and/or by affecting the predation risk of deer. Using a grid of autonomous trail cameras, I was able to determine if cattle abundance influences local deer abundance in relation to specific resources and habitat features. Using GPS data from collared deer, I was also able to …

Spatial Risk Modeling Of Cattle Depredation By Black Vultures In The Midwestern United States, Brandon M. Quinby, Bryan M. Kluever, Grant N. Burcham, Lee Humberg, Landon R. Jones, Marian L. Wahl, Patrick A. Zollner

USDA Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

ock operations through depredation of stock are a cause of human‐wildlife conflict. Management of such conflict requires identifying environmental and non‐environmental factors specific to a wildlife species' biology and ecology that influence the potential for livestock depredation to occur. Identification of such factors can improve understanding of the conditions placing livestock at risk. Black vultures (Coragyps atratus) have expanded their historical range northward into the midwestern United States. Concomitantly, an increase in concern among agricultural producers regarding potential black vulture attacks on livestock has occurred. We estimated area with greater or lesser potential for depredation of domestic cattle by black …

Use Of Uav Imagery And Nutrient Analyses For Estimation Of The Spatial And Temporal Contributions Of Cattle Dung To Nutrient Cycling In Grazed Ecosystems, Amanda Shine

Department of Agronomy and Horticulture: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

Nutrient inputs from cattle dung are crucial drivers of nutrient cycling processes in grazed ecosystems. These inputs are important both spatially and temporally and are affected by variables such as grazing strategy, water location, and the nutritional profile of forage being grazed. Past research has attempted to map dung deposition patterns in order to more accurately estimate nutrient input, but the large spatial extent of a typical pasture and the tedious nature of identifying and mapping individual dung pats has prohibited the development of a time- and cost-effective methodology. The first objective of this research was to develop and validate …

Climate Change, Cattle, And The Challenge Of Sustainability In A Telecoupled System In Africa, Tara S. Easter, Alexander K. Killion, Neil H. Carter

Neil H. Carter

Information, energy, and materials are flowing over greater distances than in the past, changing the structure and feedbacks within and across coupled human and natural systems worldwide. The telecoupling framework was recently developed to understand the feedbacks and multidirectional flows characterizing social and environmental interactions between distant systems. We extend the application of the telecoupling framework to illustrate how flows in beef affect and are affected by social-ecological processes occurring between distant systems in Africa, and how those dynamics will likely change over the next few decades because of climate-induced shifts in a major bovine disease, trypanosomosis. The disease is …

Climate Change, Cattle, And The Challenge Of Sustainability In A Telecoupled System In Africa, Tara S. Easter, Alexander K. Killion, Neil H. Carter

Ecology, Evolution, and Behavior

Information, energy, and materials are flowing over greater distances than in the past, changing the structure and feedbacks within and across coupled human and natural systems worldwide. The telecoupling framework was recently developed to understand the feedbacks and multidirectional flows characterizing social and environmental interactions between distant systems. We extend the application of the telecoupling framework to illustrate how flows in beef affect and are affected by social-ecological processes occurring between distant systems in Africa, and how those dynamics will likely change over the next few decades because of climate-induced shifts in a major bovine disease, trypanosomosis. The disease is …

Mob Vs. Rotational Grazing: Impact On Forage Use And Artemisia Absinthium, Heidi Reed, Alexander Smart, David E. Clay, Michelle Ohrtman, Sharon A. Clay

Agronomy, Horticulture and Plant Science Faculty Publications

Short duration (≤24 h), high stocking density grazing systems (e.g., mob grazing) mimics historic prairie grazing patterns of American bison (Bison bison), and should minimize selective grazing. We compared mob [125 cow-calf pairs on either 0.65 ha for 12 h; or 1.3 ha for 24 h] vs. rotational [25 cow-calf pairs on 8.1 ha for 20 days starting in mid-May with or without 2,4-D application prior to grazing; and 15 days starting mid-April (no herbicide)] grazing systems based on forage utilization and impact to Artemisia absinthium (absinth wormwood) in a tall grass pasture of Eastern South Dakota. Grass …

The Effect Of Diet On The Bovine Rumen Microbial Community Structure And Composition And Its Effects On Methane Production In Growing And Finishing Cattle, Allison L. Knoell

Department of Animal Science: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

Methane is a potent greenhouse gas (GHG) that contributes to global warming. A natural by-product of ruminant fermentation is the production and eructation of methane. Methane is produced by a small unique group of microorganism’s called methanogens that belong to the domain Archaea. Enteric methane represents 2-12% energy loss in ruminants. It is well established that diet affects the microbial community structure and composition. Fermentative products of the mixed microbial population (bacteria, fungi, and protozoa) become the substrates for methanogens. These substrates influence which microorganisms will thrive. However, the effect of diet on the microbial community while simultaneously calculating …

Comparison Of Protein Phosphatase Inhibition Assay With Lc-Ms/Ms For Diagnosis Of Microcystin Toxicosis In Veterinary Cases, Caroline E. Moore, Jeanette Juan, Yanping Lin, Cynthia L. Gaskill, Birgit Puschner

Veterinary Diagnostic Laboratory Faculty Publications

Microcystins are acute hepatotoxins of increasing global concern in drinking and recreational waters and are a major health risk to humans and animals. Produced by cyanobacteria, microcystins inhibit serine/threonine protein phosphatase 1 (PP1). A cost-effective PP1 assay using p-nitrophenyl phosphate was developed to quickly assess water and rumen content samples. Significant inhibition was determined via a linear model, which compared increasing volumes of sample to the log-transformed ratio of the exposed rate over the control rate of PP1 activity. To test the usefulness of this model in diagnostic case investigations, samples from two veterinary cases were tested. In August …

U.S. Drought Monitor, May 26, 2015, Brad Rippey

United States Agricultural Commodities in Drought Archive

Drought map of U.S. for May 26, 2015 (5/26/15) plus: U.S. crop areas experiencing drought (map), Approximate percentage of crop located in drought, by state (bar graph), Percent of crop area located in drought, past 52 weeks (line graph) for: Corn, Soybeans, Hay, Cattle, Winter wheat.

Life Cycle Boundaries And Greenhouse Gas Emissions From Beef Cattle, Quentin M. Dudley

Department of Biological Systems Engineering: Dissertations and Theses

Beef cattle are estimated to directly contribute 26% of U.S. agricultural greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, and future climate change policy may target reducing these emissions. Life cycle assessment (LCA) of GHG emissions from U.S. feedlot beef cattle was conducted to compare methods of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) with a more complete evaluation of emissions. The inclusion of emissions from crop production for feed, associated land use change, and other minor factors nearly doubled GHG emissions associated with beef feedlots from the EPA Annual Inventory estimate of 1611 kgCO₂e hd^-1 yr^-1 to 3182 ± 167 …

Maine Learns To Love Dairying, Erin Love

Historical Ecology Atlas of New England

The transition from subsistence to commercial farming is a defining trend in Maine dairying that continues today. Technological advances that often caused large landscape scale changes were catalysts in the division between small and large farmers. The industry developed in a relatively short time period—the last thirty years of the 19th century—but the characteristic divide between large and small farmers has continued to be exacerbated.

Slides: Innovative Best Practices For The Western Slope: Stormwater Management Solutions And Philosophy For The Oil And Gas Industry, Kyle N. Schildt

Best Practices for Community and Environmental Protection (October 14)

Presenter: Kyle N. Schildt, P.E., LT Environmental, Inc.

12 slides

Streambank Erosion Associated With Grazing Practices In The Humid Region, Carmen T. Agouridis, Dwayne R. Edwards, Stephen R. Workman, José R. Bicudo, Benjamin K. Koostra, Eric S. Vanzant, Joseph L. Taraba

Biosystems and Agricultural Engineering Faculty Publications

The effects of cattle grazing on stream stability have been well documented for the western portion of the U.S., but are lacking for the east. Stream and riparian damage resulting from grazing can include alterations in watershed hydrology, changes to stream morphology, soil compaction and erosion, destruction of vegetation, and water quality impairments. However, few studies have examined the successes of best management practices (BMPs) for mitigating these effects. The objective of this project was to assess the ability of two common BMPs to reduce streambank erosion along a central Kentucky stream. The project site consisted of two replications of …

The Effect Of Seasonal Cattle Grazing On California Bighorn Sheep Habitat Use, Melanie J. Steinkamp

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

The effect of seasonal cattle grazing on a newly reintroduced population of California bighorn sheep (Ovis canadensis californiana) in Big Cottonwood Canyon, Idaho, was studied. The hypothesis that bighorn sheep avoid cattle was tested. The issue of avoidance between bighorn sheep and livestock is arguable. Some studies have found that bighorn sheep avoid cattle while others have found no response of bighorn sheep to cattle.

Evidence was found to document the avoidance of cattle by bighorn sheep. The size of the bighorn's home range and core area decreased with the movement of cattle into areas of high bighorn …

Some Morphological And Chemical Responses Of Blackbrush (Coleogyne Ramosissima) To Goat Browsing: Influences On Dietary Blackbrush Selection By Goats And Cattle, Frederick D. Provenza

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Domestic goats were used to modify the growth form of blackbrush, a spinescent shrub occurring in nearly monospecific stands on several million hectares of rangeland in the southwestern United States. The objective of this research was to evaluate goat browsing as a means of improving these rangelands for cattle. Winter goat browsing stimulated spring twig growth from basal and axillary buds which resulted in increased production.

Twig production by heavily browsed plants (>95 percent removal of current season's twigs) was a function of precipitation, soil depth, branch location on the plant, and period of rest after browsing. As precipitation …

Water For Agriculture. 5. Salt Poisoning In Livestock, J Craig

Journal of the Department of Agriculture, Western Australia, Series 4

LIVESTOCK need a plentiful supply of good, fresh drinking water for normal health and high production.

Over large areas of Western Australia the water from bores, springs and wells contains varying but appreciable amounts of salt and special care may be needed to ensure that the stock water supply is satisfactory.