Life Sciences Commons^™

The Reproductive Cycle Of Male Uinta Ground Squirrels And Its Relationship To Pineal N-Acetyltransferase And Monoamine Oxidase In The Testes, Hypothalamus And Pituitary, Robert Alexander Palmer

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

A study was made of the reproductive cycle of male Uinta ground squirrels (Spermophilus armatus) during the activity seasons of 1973 and 1974 and during the aestivation/hibernation (A/H) period of 1973-1974. Physiological data collected were compared to changes in monoamine oxidase (MAO) activity of the testes, pituitary and hypothalamus and to pineal N-acetyltransferase activity.

Male Uinta ground squirrels began emerging from their burrows on April 12, 1973, and April 8, 1974, with average body weights of 302 g and 301 g, respectively. Body weight did not increase greatly during breeding, but rose rapidly to over a 500 g …

An Analysis Of Sound Communication In The Water Vole, Microtus Richardsoni (Rodentia: Microtinae), Dane R. Tang

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Adult members of the species Microtus richardsoni were used to study the importance of acoustic communication in these voles. Tests were run with single individuals and nonbreeding pairs of voles to obtain recordings and sonagraphs of sounds emitted during exploration of a new cage, agonistic encounters, encounters with a potential predator and in response to miscellaneous aversive stimuli. Of the four groups of tests conducted, sounds were used by M. richardsoni during the last three. The results of this study showed that the water vole emitted ten different call types or sounds. These sounds were separated by similarity into Group …

Relationships Between Teat Shape, Teat Erosion, California Mastitis Test, And Milk Production In A Large Dairy Herd, John Sephen Malan

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Data were collected from a 1,000 cow commercial dairy unit during three different time periods to determine the interrelationships between teat shape, teat erosion, mastitis (as measured by the California Mastitis Test and somatic cell counts), and milk production.

Results showed no relationship between teat shape or teat end erosion and milk or fat production. The relationship between teat end erosion and mastitis appeared to be masked by the high level of teat erosion. There was an indication that cows with flat and cone shaped teat ends were prone to higher California Mastitis Test scores than cows with pointed, round, …

A Comparison Of Three Methods Used To Analyze Pronghorn Antelope Diets, Leonard J. Shandruk

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

An increasing interest in fecal analysis as a method of determining diets of herbivores prompted research to determine if this method could be used successfully to determine diets of pronghorn antelope found in Utah's cold desert rangelands. In addition to fecal analysis, quantitative estimates of pronghorn diets were derived from rumen analysis and feeding site observations. Rumen samples were analyzed by three different methods: (1) microscopic, (2) gravimetric, and (3) point frame. In addition to field experiments, samples from a feeding trial with a diet of known composition were used to determine whether or not differential digestion of plant epidermis …