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Full-Text Articles in Life Sciences

Spruce Budworm Defoliation Dynamics And Its Influence On The Acadian Forest, Cen Chen Dec 2019

Spruce Budworm Defoliation Dynamics And Its Influence On The Acadian Forest, Cen Chen

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Spruce budworm (SBW; Choristoneura fumiferana (Clem.)) is the primary forest defoliator in North America. SBW defoliation has affected tens of millions ha of forests during its periodic outbreaks and caused severe growth reduction and mortality of spruce-fir (Picea-Abies) species. Evaluating these damaging effects of SBW defoliation requires understandings of the variation and dynamics of defoliation, as well as trees' variable responses to defoliation in consideration of various tree- stand-, and site-level factors. In this dissertation, we developed statistical models to 1) evaluate influences of SBW defoliation on spruce-fir stand dynamics of annual volume net growth, mortality, …


Comparison Of The Survival And Growth Of West Gulf Coastal Plain Pine In East Texas, Jamie Hooker Aug 2019

Comparison Of The Survival And Growth Of West Gulf Coastal Plain Pine In East Texas, Jamie Hooker

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

West Gulf Coastal Plain provenance loblolly (Pinus taeda L.), longleaf (Pinus palustris Mill.), shortleaf (Pinus echinata Mill.), and slash pines (Pinus elliottii Engelm.) were planted in East Texas to compare initial growth and survival. Containerized seedlings were planted in December 2015 on three study sites in Shelby, Houston, and Cherokee counties using a randomized complete block design. Seedlings were measured in January-February 2016 and again January-February 2017, January 2018, and January 2019. Three years after planting, survival was best (76.4%) in Houston County and was lowest in Cherokee County (26.4). Damage by Texas leafcutter ants (Atta …


Comparing Independent Approaches To Estimate Age At Size Of The Jonah Crab (Cancer Borealis): Corroborating Gastric Mill Band Counts As A Direct Aging Method, Carlton Huntsberger Aug 2019

Comparing Independent Approaches To Estimate Age At Size Of The Jonah Crab (Cancer Borealis): Corroborating Gastric Mill Band Counts As A Direct Aging Method, Carlton Huntsberger

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Knowing the age of an organism is essential in understanding the dynamics and management of wild populations. Age determination has been an especially long-standing challenge in the study of crustaceans, since they posed a unique challenge, shedding all calcified structures with each molt. The Jonah crab (Cancer borealis), is one of many commercially harvested crustaceans for which no absolute aging method has yet been established. It is an ecologically important species and a newly managed fishery in New England and Atlantic Canada. The recent increase of commercial fisheries for this species has highlighted the large data gap of …


Evaluation Of Flax Oil Supplementation On Performance Of Growing Dairy Heifer Calves And Lactating Cows, Chelsea Rose Schossow Jan 2019

Evaluation Of Flax Oil Supplementation On Performance Of Growing Dairy Heifer Calves And Lactating Cows, Chelsea Rose Schossow

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Utilization of flax oil is new to the livestock industry, and limited research has been done to see the benefits of feeding the highly unsaturated oil to both dairy calves and lactating cows. Two studies were conducted to evaluate the potential benefits of flax oil as a lipid supplement. The first study compared the supplementation of two plant based oils to growing dairy calves. Thirty-six female Holstein calves in individual hutches were used in a 12-wk randomized complete block design study. Treatments were: 1) control (CON) with no oil, 2) 80 g/d of flax oil (FLAX), and 3) and 80 …


Anabolic Hormone Exposure During Various Stages Of Growth: Effects On Post-Weaning Performance, Frame Size, And Carcass Characteristics Of Calf-Fed Steers, Wesley W. Gentry Jan 2019

Anabolic Hormone Exposure During Various Stages Of Growth: Effects On Post-Weaning Performance, Frame Size, And Carcass Characteristics Of Calf-Fed Steers, Wesley W. Gentry

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The growth promoting activity of implants have been documented. However, stage of growth in which the implant is administered may alter growth performance and carcass traits. An experiment was conducted to examine the effects of administering a conventional implant (Synovex C; SYN-C), or an extended-release combination implant (Synovex One Grass; ONE-G) to suckling steer calves on weaning weight, post-weaning growth performance, and carcass characteristics. Suckling steer calves were either not implanted (NONE) or were implanted with SYN-C or ONE-G. Steer calves were predominantly 30 to 60 d of age when implants were administered. Steers were weaned 176 d post-suckling implant …