Life Sciences Commons^™

Reproductive Success Of American Kestrels (Falco Sparverius) Nesting In Boxes Along An Interstate In Northeastern Tennessee., Jennifer Robertson Powers

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Nest box programs provide supplemental nest sites for American Kestrels, Falco sparverius. When the availability of nest sites is a limiting factor, the addition of nest boxes can increase local breeding populations. These programs also facilitate the collection of data on breeding kestrels.

This study focuses on an American Kestrel (Falco sparverius) nest box trail along Interstate 26 in northeastern Tennessee during the breeding seasons of 1998, 1999, 2000, 2003, 2004, 2006, and 2009. Productivity measures and reproductive success of nesting birds are provided and compared to other programs. The data are analyzed across years and by …

Influence Of Soil Water Repellency On Post-Fire Revegetation Success And Management Techniques To Improve Establishment Of Desired Species, Matthew D. Madsen

Theses and Dissertations

The influence of soil water repellency (WR) on vegetation recovery after a fire is poorly understood. This dissertation presents strategies to broaden opportunities for enhanced post-fire rangeland restoration and monitoring of burned piñon and juniper (P-J) woodlands by: 1) mapping the extent and severity of critical and subcritical WR, 2) determining the influence of WR on soil ecohydrologic properties and revegetation success, and 3) evaluating the suitability of a wetting agent composed of alkylpolyglycoside-ethylene oxide/propylene oxide block copolymers as a post-fire restoration tool for ameliorating the effects of soil WR and increasing seedling establishment. Results indicate that:

• Post-fire patterns …

Fleet Dynamic Analysis Of The Taiwan Offshore Trawl Fishery: An Application Of The Sea Surface Temperature Measures, Chin-Hwa Sun, Fu-Sung Chiang

Journal of Marine Science and Technology

The overall goal of this paper is to provide important information documenting and analyzing Taiwan’s trawl fishing fleet activities in the northeastern of Taiwan. Seasonal SST data are used to analyze different seasonal fishing patterns and the density of fleet dynamics of offshore trawl fleet is used to identify five distinct fishing areas (A, B, C, D, and E) in the northeastern of Taiwan. A Wilcoxon sign test is used to examine the variability in the percent of days spent in each fishing area from 1993 to 1996. Results show that a significant portion of trawl vessels have shifted from …

Varriation Of Growth Rates In Yellow-Bellied Marmots, Carmen M. Salsbury, K. B. Armitage

Carmen M. Salsbury

Growth rates of yellow-bellied marmot (Marmota flaviventris) populations over a 32-year period (1965 -1996) varied Significantly with sex, age, location, and year. Overall, males had higher growth rates than females and young and yearlings generally had higher growth rates compared to adults at all locations. The locations varied with respect to elevation and the relationship between elevation and growth rate was complex and likely weather dependent. Low rainfall in late summer was often associated with low growth rates at high elevations where the active season is constrained and delayed by late spring snowmelt compared to low elevations. Growth rates and …

Varriation Of Growth Rates In Yellow-Bellied Marmots, Carmen M. Salsbury, K. B. Armitage

Carmen M. Salsbury

Growth rates of yellow-bellied marmot (Marmota flaviventris) populations over a 32-year period (1965 -1996) varied Significantly with sex, age, location, and year. Overall, males had higher growth rates than females and young and yearlings generally had higher growth rates compared to adults at all locations. The locations varied with respect to elevation and the relationship between elevation and growth rate was complex and likely weather dependent. Low rainfall in late summer was often associated with low growth rates at high elevations where the active season is constrained and delayed by late spring snowmelt compared to low elevations. Growth rates and …

Laterality Enhances Cognition In Australian Parrots, Maria Magat, Culum Brown

Sentience Collection

Cerebral lateralization refers to the division of information processing in either hemisphere of the brain and is a ubiquitous trait among vertebrates and invertebrates. Given its widespread occurrence, it is likely that cerebral lateralization confers a fitness advantage. It has been hypothesized that this advantage takes the form of enhanced cognitive function, potentially via a dual processing mechanism whereby each hemisphere can be used to process specific types of information without contralateral interference. Here, we examined the influence of lateralization on problem solving by Australian parrots. The first task, a pebble-seed discrimination test, was designed for small parrot species that …

Ecophysiological Mechanisms Underlying Aspen To Conifer Succession, William J. Calder

Theses and Dissertations

This thesis includes three studies. The first study examined how reductions in light availability and changes in soil chemistry that occur as conifers establish in aspen stands, differentially affects the regeneration success of aspen and conifers. We found that aspen were more sensitive to changes in light and soil then subalpine fir. For aspen, reduced light and conifer influenced soils significantly reduced height, biomass, photosynthesis and the production of secondary defense compounds. Subalpine fir seedlings were significantly reduced in photosynthesis, biomass and R:S under lower light conditions but showed no differences in physiology or growth when grown on the contrasting …

Genetic Dissection Of Triterpenoid Saponin Production In Chenopodium Quinoa Using Microarray Analysis, Derrick James Reynolds

Theses and Dissertations

Quinoa (Chenopodium quinoa Willd.) is an important food crop for subsistence farmers in the Altiplano (high plains) of Peru, Bolivia, and Argentina. Saponins are part of a diverse family of secondary metabolites that are found in high concentrations in the pericarp of many varieties of quinoa. Due to their bitter taste and anti-nutritive properties, saponins must be removed before the quinoa grain is consumed. There are ‘sweet’ varieties of quinoa that have significantly reduced levels of saponin. Previous research suggests saponin production is controlled by a single locus. The major objective of this research was to elucidate the genetic …

Presence And Prevalence Of Viruses In Local And Migratory Honeybees (Apis Mellifera) In Massachusetts, Anna Welch, Francis Drummond, Sunil Tewari, Anne L. Averill, John P. Burand

Plant, Soil and Insect Sciences Graduate Student Publication Series

Migratory and local bees in Massachusetts were analyzed for seven viruses. three were detected: black queen cell virus (BQCV), deformed wing virus (DWV), and sacbrood virus (SBV). DWV was most common, followed closely by BQCV and then by SBV. BQCV and SBV were present at significantly higher rates in the migratory bees assayed, bringing into question the impact that these bees have on the health of local bee populations.

Concentrate Levels And Saccharomyces Cerevisiae Affect Rumen Fluid-Associated Bacteria Numbers In Dairy Heifers, G. J. Lascano, G. I. Zanton, A. J. Heinrichs

Dairy Science

Total viable rumenbacteria counts through the use of colony-unit forming assays lack accuracy because they only include culturable bacteria capable of initiating cell division. Thus, bacterial counts can be underestimated. The use of fluorescent characteristics of cell membranes allows flow cytometry to enumerate and distinguish dead from live bacteria cells. The objective of this experiment was to investigate the viable and total ruminal bacteria counts when 3 levels of forage:concentrate in diets were fed at restricted levels with the addition of Saccharomycescerevisiae (YC). Three cannulated post-pubertal Holstein heifers (age 18 ± 1.0 months) were fed corn silage (CS)-based diets in …

Culturally Speaking: Ethnic Dairy Foods, Phillip S. Tong

Dairy Science

No abstract provided.

Relationship Between Tissue Carotenoid Concentrations In The Pacific Mole Crab, Emerita Analoga, And Parasitism By The Acanthocephalan, Profilicollis Altmani, Whitney Melroy

Biological Sciences

Acanthocephalan worms infect two hosts to reach full development. Some species have been demonstrated to change their intermediate host’s behavior or coloration to increase the likelihood they will reach the final host. The pacific mole crab, Emerita analoga, is commonly parasitized by Profilicollis altmani along the Pacific coast of North and South America, but the impact of parasitism on the crab intermediate host is unclear. We investigated whether P. altmani alters the concentration of dietary carotenoids present in E. analoga tissues and if the parasite may also acquire pigments normally allocated to the host. Fifty eight gravid female crabs were …

Dairy Cow Grouping, Allison Mcmillan

Dairy Science

No abstract provided.

Relationship Of Copper, Zinc And Selenium Status With Udder Health And Mastitis Incidence In The Cal Poly Holstein Herd, Michelle Van Ryn

Dairy Science

No abstract provided.

Use Of Loading Reports To Evaluate The Accuracy Of The Total Mix Ration, Kailen Johnson

Dairy Science

No abstract provided.

Lameness And Locomotion Scoring Of Dairy Cows, Haley Lynne Aquino

Dairy Science

No abstract provided.

Algae As An Economical Protein Source For Dairy Cattle Nutrition, Brian Azevedo

Dairy Science

Dairying continues to change with economic and environmental demands of today’s fast moving society. Feed costs continue to rise and now account for a large majority of expenses on dairies; especially protein, which has become expensive to purchase. I believe that Algae can serve as a possible solution to aid in alleviating this problem. Algae grow rapidly and consume undesirable carbon dioxide to release oxygen to the environment, making it an environmentally friendly source of feed. There are particular strands of algae that are high in protein. During the course of this project, I intend to discover how effective protein …

Usage Of The Penn State Forage Separator For Evaluating Particle Size Of Tmrs, Ashley Rene Garcia

Dairy Science

Particle size has many effects on the cow. Adequate forage particle length is necessary for proper rumen function. Dairymen are also having a hard time measuring particle size. Proper particle size distribution of feeds is an important part of ration formulation. Management of forage particle size starts with harvesting forages at the proper stage of maturity. Chopping the crop at the right length helps to achieve the desired particle length in a TMR. Measuring particle length of the forages is only a portion of the solution. Analyzing the TMR particle size is the main goal in measuring the distribution of …

Training Manual And Protocol For Ultrasound At Cal Poly, Brian Andrew Waymire

Dairy Science

No abstract provided.

Where The Wild Stuff Grows: Bacteria From The Cow To The Pasture-Izer, Michael Stewart

Dairy Science

No abstract provided.

Selecting, Marketing And Rebuilding A Herd Of Genetically Superior Animals, Katherine Rector

Dairy Science

No abstract provided.

Formation Of Cull Cow Program For The Artificial Insemination Class, Brian O. Medeiros

Dairy Science

Cal Poly’s “Learn by Doing” philosophy is one of the great traits that the University holds. However it is this philosophy that is also one of the most expensive and hardest to maintain. “Production agriculture majors use more dollars per unit than any other major in the entire college,” as Dr. Golden stated during his talks about herd cut backs. Never the less the College of Agriculture prides itself on supplying knowledgeable and experienced students to the industry that supports it so much. One of the amazing classes that are offered at the university is the Dairy Science Artificial Insemination …

Sim-Plete Feeding Trial, Kelsey Johnson

Animal Science

A. An internship with ENI will offer an opportunity to work in the field with horse owners, feeds, marketing, and nutrition. I will be assisting in the placement of a product in the field and evaluating response. It is the first step in evaluating if this product is an appropriate and marketable product.

B. The responsibilities will be to place a new equine feed product with 10-15 horse owners (approximately 30-45 horses) and measure customer response and potential marketability of the product. Including:

1. Delivery of the product
2. Creation of Questionnaires (one will be given before the owners begin feeding the …

The Malawi Project: From Conventional To Holistic Decision Making, Grace Wetmore

Animal Science

How the Cal Poly Malawi Appropriate Technologies Team, and other development groups, can use Holistic Management to aid developing countries in an effort towards a sustainable future.

Conservation Genetics And Systematics Of Several Turtles Species In The Southeastern United States, Joshua Robert Ennen

Dissertations

Chelonians (i.e., turtles) are an imperiled group of reptiles with about 66% of the recognized species listed as threatened by the IUCN. Most chelonian species have a unique set of life history traits (i.e., longevity, delayed sexual maturity, and low juvenile survivorship), which makes their populations exceedingly sensitive to increases in adult and juvenile moralities. With numerous anthropogenic effects (e.g., habitat alteration, exploitation, and over harvesting) negatively influencing mortality rates, chelonians have experienced global precipitous declines and extinctions.

This dissertation focuses on species within two chelonian genera, Gopherus and Graptemys. Although these two genera are vastly different ecologically, they are …

Comparison Of Threshold Selection Methods For Microarray Gene Co-Expression Matrices, Bhavesh R. Borate, Elissa J. Chesler, Michael A. Langston, Arnold M. Saxton, Brynn H. Voy

Animal Science Publications and Other Works

Background

Network and clustering analyses of microarray co-expression correlation data often require application of a threshold to discard small correlations, thus reducing computational demands and decreasing the number of uninformative correlations. This study investigated threshold selection in the context of combinatorial network analysis of transcriptome data.

Findings

Six conceptually diverse methods - based on number of maximal cliques, correlation of control spots with expressed genes, top 1% of correlations, spectral graph clustering, Bonferroni correction of p-values, and statistical power - were used to estimate a correlation threshold for three time-series microarray datasets. The validity of thresholds was tested by comparison …

Creating A Rabbitry For A High School Agricultural Program: A Guide For The Approval Process And Materials Required, Anne Marie Katuin

Agricultural Education and Communication

The proposal for a rabbitry to be added to the campus of Liberty High School in Golden Valley Unified School District in the designated agricultural area was proposed to the agricultural teacher and site administration for the high school. A floor plan was designed to fit the needs of a small rabbit breeding operation for the use of the LHS FFA students who wished to have a breeding or meat rabbit SAE.

Guidelines and plans were created in order to help an agricultural teacher or community member go through the previously mentioned approval process if they were to want to …

Student Sample Perceptions Of Organic Food Products And Buying Habits, Alycia M. Deus

Agricultural Education and Communication

The purposes of this senior project were to identify college students’ perceptions and knowledge of organic food. This study also focuses on the respondents’ purchasing and budgeting of organic food. This information is essential to inform farmers and ranchers because it serves as an indicator of future market’s demands.

A thirteen item questionnaire was distributed to sixty-five students attending California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo, enrolled in either Agricultural Education and Communication courses or Agricultural Business courses. Both upper and lower division classes were surveyed. The questionnaires were distributed and collected from June 2, 2009 to June 4, 2009. …

Effects Of Zilpaterol Hydrochloride On Growth Rates, Feed Converstion, And Carcass Traits In Calf-Fed Holstein Steers, J. L. Beckett, R. J. Delmore, G. C. Duff, D. A. Yates, D. M. Allen, T. E. Lawrence, N. Elam

Animal Science

Two experiments were conducted to evaluate the effectiveness of zilpaterol hydrochloride (ZH) to enhance growth performance and carcass characteristics in calf-fed Holstein steers. In Exp. 1, Holstein steers (n = 2,311) were fed in a large-pen trial in 2 phases at a commercial feed yard in the desert Southwest. In Exp. 2, a total of 359 steers were fed in a small-pen university study. In Exp. 1 and 2, cattle were implanted with a combination trenbolone acetate-estradiol implant approximately 120 d before slaughter. Cattle were fed ZH for 0, 20, 30, or 40 d before slaughter at a rate of …

Looking Ahead To Spring's Returning Bounty: Natal Homing, Jason Vokoun, Benjamin Gahagan

Wrack Lines

Natal homing plays a part in fisheries restoration. This article describes research by Dr. Jason Vokoun and his students on otoliths in migratory finfish such as river herring, alewives, etc.