Life Sciences Commons^™

Evaluation Of Forage Energetics And Implications To Pasture-Based Dairy Cattle In The Northeastern United States., Miriam Allison Snider

Graduate College Dissertations and Theses

The organic, grassfed (OGF) dairy sector has been growing for the past 10 yr with expansion rapidly outpacing other dairy sectors. Unique management approaches are needed for OGF systems, but research to support said approaches is lacking. The objectives of this dissertation were to 1) survey OGF dairy producers to better understand producer knowledge and practices, as well as identify areas of needed research to support this farmer population, 2) determine in vitro rumen performance of energetic supplements commonly utilized on OGF dairy farms in the Northeastern (NE) United States (U.S.), and 3) identify and evaluate forage combinations using in …

Effects Of Late Gestation Episodic Heat Stress In The Northeastern United States On Holstein Dams And Their Calves, Emily Fread

Graduate College Dissertations and Theses

Heat stress negatively impacts dry dairy cows in subtropical climates, but impacts in moderate climates are unknown. The objective of this thesis was to determine if dry cows and their calves in Northern NY and VT are impacted by episodic heat stress and varying levels of heat exposure. Another aim of this study was to determine farmers' knowledge of heat stress, heat abatement use, and the need for future research.Chapter 2 describes a study conducted on a Northern NY farm, where dry cows were housed in moderate heat abatement, meaning fans over a bedded pack or free stalls. Surprisingly, cows …

The Effects Of Processed Seaweed Supplements On Rumen Fermentation And Methane Production In Vitro, Ashley Winter Driemel

Graduate College Dissertations and Theses

Seaweed supplementation in ruminants is not a novel practice but has recently regained popularity due to promising nutritional benefits for the animal as well as the presence of bioactive compounds that reduce methanogenesis within the rumen. It is important to broaden our assessment of different seaweed species and identify key seaweed species that have the most efficient CH4-reducing potential, do not negatively impact rumen fermentation parameters, and are abundant enough to meet consumer demand. Chapter 1 of this thesis reviews the published literature relevant to seaweed supplementation in ruminants, with a focus on the comparison of seaweed processing methods utilized …

New York Aquaculture Industry: Status, Updates And Opportunities, Emma Forbes, Michael Ciaramella, Stephen Frattini, Gregg Rivara, Theodore Willis, Eugene Won

Lake Champlain Sea Grant Institute

This 79-page report details the status of the aquaculture industry in New York State and provides recommendations for further opportunities.

Characterization And Manipulation Of O-Glcnacylation In Granulosa Cells Of Bovine Ovarian Antral Follicles, Abigail Marie Maucieri

Graduate College Dissertations and Theses

Glucose is widely recognized as the preferred energy substrate for metabolism by granulosa cells (GCs). Yet in most cells, 2-5% of glucose is shunted through the hexosamine biosynthesis pathway (HBP) for O-linked N-acetylglucosaminylation (O-GlcNAcylation). O-GlcNAcylation is an evolutionarily-conserved, post-translational process that modifies serine and threonine residues on a variety of proteins. O-GlcNAcylation is also considered a nutrient sensor that can regulate cellular processes such as metabolism, signal transduction, and proliferation. In this respect, O-GlcNAcylation may be similar to, and possibly mediate, AMP-activated protein kinase (AMPK) signaling and its nutrient-sensing actions. However, the occurrence of O-GlcNAcylation and its relative importance to …

Effect Of Long-Term Dietary Fat Quality On Metabolic Health With A Special Focus On Dairy Fat, Allison L. Unger

Graduate College Dissertations and Theses

Diet, and particularly dietary fat quality (i.e., fatty acid composition), is a significant modifiable risk factor in the development of metabolic diseases. However, whether the manipulation of long-term dietary fat quality may serve as an effective dietary strategy to mitigate metabolic disease risk during aging is not well defined. Accordingly, this work sought to investigate the role of life-long consumption of bioactive fatty acids from various food sources, and particularly dairy fat, on health maintenance and metabolic disease risk later in life. To address this issue, I assessed how long-term supplementation of dairy fat (butter oil), echium oil, or fish …

Feeding Strategies For Grazing Organic Dairy Cows And The Impact On Milk Production., Ariel Ayers

Graduate College Dissertations and Theses

Organic dairy producers rely on pasture-based diets during the grazing season to provide their lactating herd with the nutrients to support lactation. This can present challenges for producers in the Northeast US, as pasture nutrients can vary with season and weather, ultimately impacting milk productivity and animal health. There is currently limited literature outlining feeding guidelines for producers to meet dairy cattle nutrient requirements on pasture-based systems. This thesis outlines an investigation of the nutritional strategies that are utilized on organic dairy farms in Vermont, as well as a case study utilizing a modified supplement to identify the implications of …

The Agronomics Of Organically Managed Legume-Grass Mixtures For Ensiled Forage Production, Allen Wilder

Graduate College Dissertations and Theses

Legume-grass mixtures are commonly grown on livestock farms in northern New England that feed high forage diets. Such farms typically ferment stored feed into silage that can be fed throughout the year. Many legumes and grass species are available for use in temperate climates and information on the yield, forage quality, and fermentation characteristics of various legume-grass combinations would help farmers make informed decisions about species selection and optimum management for their forage programs.

One obstacle to evaluating numerous forage treatments in agronomic research is the high variability in silage dry matter content. We hypothesized that a method of artificial …

Effects Of Forage Quality And Management Decisions On Feed Intake Of Lactating Dairy Cows, Michael Miller

Graduate College Dissertations and Theses

Dry matter intake (DMI) is one of the most important factors affecting lactational performance and health of dairy cows. Control of DMI in dairy cattle is complicated and multifactorial, but we have chosen to prioritize the two main components that primarily drive farm profitability: forage quality and cow comfort. Brown midrib-3 (BM3) genetics in corn silage typically result in greater fiber digestibility and less indigestible fiber, which result in greater DMI and milk production compared to conventional, non-BM (CON) corn silage. Trace minerals may negatively affect fiber digestion by solubilizing in the rumen. Importantly, hydroxy trace minerals (HTM) are less …

Examination Of Bovine Rumen Fluid And Milk Fat Globule Membrane Proteome Dynamics, Mallory Cate Honan

Graduate College Dissertations and Theses

Proteomic technology has been increasingly incorporated into agricultural research, as characterization of proteomes can provide valuable information for potential biomarkers of health and physiological status of an animal. As dairy cattle are a dominant production animal in the USA, their biofluids such as milk, blood, urine, and rumen fluid have been examined by proteomic analysis. The research outlined herein was performed to further characterize the dynamics of specific proteomes and relate them to dairy cattle physiology.

The first experiment evaluated the diurnal dynamicity of the rumen metaproteome in Holstein dairy cattle. Rumen fluid was collected from three mid to late …

Relationships Between Undigested And Physically Effective Fiber In Lactating Dairy Cow Diets, Wyatt Alexander Smith

Graduate College Dissertations and Theses

In recent years, economic, social, and environmental factors have encouraged higher forage diets to be fed to dairy cows. Consequently, a better understanding of both the chemical and physical properties of dietary forage fiber is needed. Undigested neutral detergent fiber after 240 hours of fermentation (uNDF240) is the fiber residue remaining after 240 hours of in vitro fermentation and has only recently been defined. Physically effective neutral detergent fiber (peNDF) was defined about two decades ago and is the fraction of dietary fiber with a particle size (i.e., ≥1.18-mm screen) that stimulates chewing behavior, forms the rumen digesta mat, and …

Endotoxin Increases Oxidative Stress And Oxygen Tension While Reducing Milk Protein Gene Expression In The Mammary Gland, Alexander Jonathan Spitzer

Graduate College Dissertations and Theses

Mastitis, the inflammation of the mammary gland by bacterial infection, is one of the costliest diseases to the dairy industry primarily due to a loss in milk production. The aim of this study was to investigate the mechanisms underlying reduced milk production during mastitis. We hypothesized that bacterial endotoxin induces cell apoptosis, oxidative stress and increases hypoxia while inhibiting milk gene expression in the mammary gland. To test this hypothesis, mice were bred to pregnancy, and 3 days post-partum the left and right sides of the 4th pair of mammary glands were alternately injected with either the endotoxin liposaccharide (LPS, …

Investigation Of Transforming Growth Factor-Alpha And Its Potential Role In Promoting Ovarian Follicular Dominance, Allie Lynn Lundberg

Graduate College Dissertations and Theses

Intraovarian growth factors play a vital role in influencing the fate of ovarian follicles. They affect proliferation versus apoptosis of granulosa cells (GCs), and can influence whether small antral follicles continue their growth or undergo atresia. Transforming Growth Factor-alpha (TGFα), an oocyte-derived growth factor, is thought to regulate granulosa cell function, yet has been largely overshadowed by current interest in TGF-beta superfamily members, such as bone morphogenetic proteins (BMPs) and anti-Mullerian hormone (AMH). In the current study, effects of TGFα on bovine GC proliferation, intracellular signaling and cytokine-induced apoptosis were evaluated. Briefly, all small antral follicles (3-5mm) from bovine ovaries …

Evaluating The Resistome And Microbial Composition During Food Waste Feeding And Composting On A Vermont Poultry Farm, Korin Eckstrom

Graduate College Dissertations and Theses

While commonly thought of as a waste product, food scraps and residuals represent an important opportunity for energy and nutrient recapture within the food system. As demands on production continue to increase, conservation of these valuable resources has become a priority area. In the wake of new legislation in Vermont, Act 148, the Universal Recycling Law, the fate of microbial species in food waste, scraps and residuals is increasingly important. The presence of antimicrobial resistance genes in all types of foods calls for an increased need to estimate risk of antibiotic resistance transfer and maintenance across all segments of food …

Diversification Of Muroid Rodents Driven By The Late Miocene Global Cooling, Nelish Pradhan

Graduate College Dissertations and Theses

Late Miocene, 8 to 6 million years ago (Ma), climatic changes brought about dramatic floral and faunal changes. Cooler and drier climates that prevailed in the Late Miocene led to expansion of grasslands and retreat of forests at a global scale. Palaeogeographic studies suggest a global vegetation change causing an abrupt increase in C4 plant biomass while C3 biomass decreased between 8 and 6 Ma. Subsequent cycles of cooler and drier climatic conditions during the Mid-Pliocene (3.5–3 Ma) and Pleistocene (2.8–2.5; 1.8–1.6; 1.0–0.8 Ma) also caused forests to retreat into isolated refugia which played an important role in events that …

The Effects Of Diet On The Bovine Milk Proteome, Richard Anthony Scuderi

Graduate College Dissertations and Theses

Protein is an important fraction within bovine milk. This milk protein is not only vital for calf growth and development, but also includes bioactive proteins and peptides that have been shown to enhance the health of animals and humans. Research efforts are focusing on factors, such as nutrition, that can influence the quantity and profile of proteins within the bovine milk proteome. The research outlined herein investigated the impact of diet on the bovine milk proteome. The first experiment examined whether dietary inclusion of grape marc (GM), a condensed tannin (CT) containing by-product from the viticulture industry, could alter the …

Climate Change And Food Systems: Assessing Impacts And Opportunities, Meredith T. Niles, Richie Ahuja, Jimena M. Esquivel, Nelson Mango, Mil Duncan, Martin Heller, Cristina Tirado

College of Agriculture and Life Sciences Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Enhancing The Content Of Bioactive Fatty Acids In Bovine Milk For Human Health Promotion And Disease Prevention, Melissa Lee Bainbridge

Graduate College Dissertations and Theses

Consumer awareness of the link between dietary fats and health outcomes has led to increased demand for food products enriched with bioactive fatty acids (FA). Ruminant-derived fats, such as dairy fats, contribute significantly to the American diet and contain many unique beneficial FA, such as short- and medium-chain FA, n-3 FA, conjugated linoleic acids (CLA), vaccenic acid (VA), as well as odd-and branched-chain FA (OBCFA). Increasing these FA in dairy products by altering farm management practices, such as breed, lactation stage, and nutrition, may improve human health without a change to the diet. The overarching goal of this dissertation was …

Early Feeding In Lake Trout Fry (Salvelinus Namaycush) As A Mechanism For Ameliorating Thiamine Deficiency Complex, Carrie L. Kozel

Graduate College Dissertations and Theses

Recruitment failure of lake trout (Salvelinus namaycush) in the Great Lakes has been attributed in part to the consumption of alewife (Alosa pseudoharengus) by adult lake trout, leading to Thiamine Deficiency Complex (TDC) and early mortality in fry. The current understanding of thiamine deficiency in lake trout fry is based on information from culture and hatchery settings, which do not represent conditions fry experience in the wild and may influence the occurrence of TDC. In the wild, lake trout fry have access to zooplankton immediately following hatching; previous studies found that wild fry begin feeding before complete yolk-sac absorption. However, …

Fibrolytic Enzymes And Silage Inoculants To Improve The Nutritive Value Of Silage, Salvador Ordaz

Graduate College Dissertations and Theses

Ensiling is one of the most common processes used as a conservation method for forages on farms and plays an important role in farm economics. Therefore, with the aim to improve the conservation and the nutritive value of silage, the utilization of silage additives such as fibrolytic enzymes (FE) and lactic acid bacteria (LAB) inoculants has been a common on-farm practice. FE are enzymes capable of breaking down complex polysaccharides such as cellulose and hemicellulose. The latter results in an increased substrate availability for epiphytic and inoculated LAB during silage fermentation, thus promoting a higher production of organic acids such …

Interaction Of Stocking Density And The Feeding Environment In Lactating Holstein Dairy Cows, Mackenzie Andrew Campbell

Graduate College Dissertations and Theses

Stocking density serves as a sub-clinical stressor impacting natural behavior and affective state of dairy cows. However, cows rarely experience stocking density as an isolated stressor. Understanding the effects of stocking density with additional management stressors such as low-fiber diets or feed restriction is the next step in alleviating stress and improving the well-being of lactating dairy cows housed in freestall barns. The overall goal of this dissertation was to evaluate the interaction of stocking density and the feeding environment on short-term production, behavioral, ruminal fermentation, and stress responses of lactating dairy cattle.

The first two studies (Chapter 2 and …

Examination Of The Effects Breed And Nutrition Have On The Milk Protein Profile Produced By Lactating Dairy Cattle, Rinske Tacoma

Graduate College Dissertations and Theses

Milk is a highly nutritious natural product and research over the last 10 years has proven that these milk proteins not only provide a rich source of amino acids to the consumer but also contains many bioactive proteins and peptides known to exert biological activity benefitting human health. In this research, proteomic methods were first used to characterize the low abundance proteome within the skim milk fraction produced by Holstein and Jersey dairy cows maintained under the same diet, management and environmental conditions. Milk samples were collected over a seven day period from six Holstein and six Jersey dairy cows. …

Definition Of Bovine Leukocyte Antigen Diversity And Peptide Binding Profiles For Epitope Discovery, Mital Pandya

Graduate College Dissertations and Theses

The goal of the work presented herein was to further our understanding of Bovine Leukocyte Antigen (BoLA) class I diversity of Holstein cattle and develop tools to measure class I restricted T cell responses to intracellular pathogens such as foot and mouth disease virus (FMDV) following vaccination. BoLA is a highly polymorphic gene region that allows the bovine immune system to differentiate pathogen-infected cells from healthy cells. Immune surveillance by CD8+ T cells plays an important role in clearing viral infections. These CD8+ T cells recognize BoLA class I molecules bearing epitopes (antigenic peptides) of intracellular origin in their peptide …

Baleen Whales Host A Unique Gut Microbiome With Similarities To Both Carnivores And Herbivores, Jon G. Sanders, Annabel C. Beichman, Joe Roman, Jarrod J. Scott, David Emerson, James J. Mccarthy, Peter R. Girguis

Rubenstein School of Environment and Natural Resources Faculty Publications

Mammals host gut microbiomes of immense physiological consequence, but the determinants of diversity in these communities remain poorly understood. Diet appears to be the dominant factor, but host phylogeny also seems to be an important, if unpredictable, correlate. Here we show that baleen whales, which prey on animals (fish and crustaceans), harbor unique gut microbiomes with surprising parallels in functional capacity and higher level taxonomy to those of terrestrial herbivores. These similarities likely reflect a shared role for fermentative metabolisms despite a shift in primary carbon sources from plant-derived to animal-derived polysaccharides, such as chitin. In contrast, protein catabolism and …

The Status Of Stonecats (Noturus Flavus) In The Laplatte And Missisquoi Rivers, Vermont, Elizabeth Puchala

Graduate College Dissertations and Theses

Stonecats (Noturus flavus, Rafinesque 1818) are designated as a Vermont state-listed endangered species because their known distribution is limited to two systems, the LaPlatte and Missisquoi rivers. The restricted distribution and lack of knowledge on abundance in either river is cause for concern in the continued survival of these populations. Based on the capture numbers and large size range of individuals, we predicted that the population in the LaPlatte River, which provides quality benthic habitat, is stable. However, the Missisquoi River population has the potential for increased intermittent mortalities from two sources, lampricide (3-trifluoromethyl-4-nitrophenol) treatment every four years and dewatering …

Determinants Of Termite Species Taxonomic, Phylogenetic, And Functional Diversity In The Amazonian Forest, Cristian De Sales Dambros

Graduate College Dissertations and Theses

The distribution of species in space is determined by the species dispersal capacity, adaptation to environmental conditions, and response to predators and competitors. To determine the importance of dispersal limitation, environmental filtering, and species interactions on the distribution of species in the Brazilian Amazonian forest, I sampled termites in a large area of Brazil. I investigated patterns in species occurrence that could indicate competition and predation structuring termite communities, and analyzed the association of termite abundance and species richness with the density of ant predators. The spatial distribution of termites, and their association with climatic and edaphic conditions were also …

A Comparative Analysis Of The Moose Rumen Microbiota And The Pursuit Of Improving Fibrolytic Systems., Suzanne Ishaq Pellegrini

Graduate College Dissertations and Theses

The goal of the work presented herein was to further our understanding of the rumen microbiota and microbiome of wild moose, and to use that understanding to improve other processes. The moose has adapted to eating a diet of woody browse, which is very high in fiber, but low in digestibility due to the complexity of the plant polysaccharides, and the presence of tannins, lignin, and other plant-secondary compounds. Therefore, it was hypothesized that the moose would host novel microorganisms that would be capable of a wide variety of enzymatic functions, such as improved fiber breakdown, metabolism of digestibility-reducing or …

An Investigation Of Epigenetic Contributions To Inter-Animal And Age Dependent Variation In The Bovine Innate Immune Response., Benjamin Green

Graduate College Dissertations and Theses

Mastitis represents a major issue within the dairy industry responsible for economic loss via decreased animal productivity and associated veterinary costs. Currently, there is a push to identify a phenotypic innate immune response that will yield dairy cows with an enhanced resistance to mastitis. Bovine dermal fibroblasts were used as a cell model to measure the response of individuals to Gram-negative bacterial stimuli through the TLR4 signaling pathway. Fibroblast cultures were isolated from 15 dairy heifers at 5, 11, and 16 months of age in order to determine the variability in responsiveness to LPS as well as to monitor the …

Modeling Consumption Rates Of Atlantic Herring (Clupea Harengus), Mitchell Jones

Graduate College Dissertations and Theses

Pelagic forage fishes play critical roles in productive marine food webs by providing a link between zooplankton and piscivores and transferring energy from feeding grounds to other ecosystems. The amount of energy moved to higher trophic levels or new systems is directly linked to the consumption rate of pelagic forage fishes. In the Gulf of Maine, Atlantic herring (Clupea harengus) is the dominant forage fish; the purpose of this study is to determine their specific consumption rate (g prey/g fish/day). Using fish collected in autumn 2012 and spring 2013, we applied a mercury mass-balance model to estimate individual …

Estrogen Receptor Beta Is A Negative Regulator Of Mammary Cell Proliferation, Xiaozheng Song

Graduate College Dissertations and Theses

The mammary gland cell growth and differentiation are under the control of both systemic hormones and locally produced growth factors. Among all these important hormones and growth factors, estrogen plays a central role in mammary gland development. The biological function of estrogen is mediated by estrogen receptor α (ERα) and estrogen receptor β (ERβ). Both ERα and ERβ are expressed in the mammary gland, but with distinct expression patterns. In the mammary gland, ERα has been proved to be the estrogen receptor that mediates the mitogenic function of estrogen. However the function of ERβ in mammary cell proliferation is less …