Life Sciences Commons^™

Vulnerability Of Pathogenic Biofilms To Micavibrio Aeruginosavorus, Daniel Kadouri, Nel C. Venzon, George A. O'Toole

Dartmouth Scholarship

The host specificity of the gram-negative exoparasitic predatory bacterium Micavibrio aeruginosavorus was examined. M. aeruginosavorus preyed on Pseudomonas aeruginosa, as previously reported, as well as Burkholderia cepacia, Klebsiella pneumoniae, and numerous clinical isolates of these species. In a static assay, a reduction in biofilm biomass was observed as early as 3 hours after exposure to M. aeruginosavorus, and an ∼100-fold reduction in biofilm cell viability was detected following a a 24-h exposure to the predator. We observed that an initial titer of Micavibrio as low as 10 PFU/well or a time of exposure to the predator as short as 30 …

The Importance Of Emerging Biobased Industries To Engineering And Technology, Kurt A. Rosentrater, R. Balamuralikrishma

Kurt A. Rosentrater

Our society has developed an insatiable demand for energy and material goods. Historically, these needs have been met primarily by fossil fuels and other non-renewable raw materials. As environmental concerns grow, however, renewable resources are gaining increased attention. This paper examines the emergence and importance that biobased industries are increasingly beginning to play. A biobased enterprise, similar in concept to a traditional refinery or factory, utilizes conversion technologies to produce various products. These operations are rapidly increasing both in number as well as in capacity throughout this country, and are poised to add significantly to the nation’s energy and material …

Sheep Updates 2006 - Part 4, K. G. Geenty, A. A. Swan, A. J. Smith, J. L. Smith, Chris Oldham, R. G. Woodgate, R. A. Love, E. Dobbe, H. M. Hoult, J. Pearson, S. Hill, A. Van Burgel, R. B. Besier, R. Warburton, L. Mathwin, D. Rogers, E. Crossley, Allan Herbert, P. Nichols, Tony Albertsen, Darryl Mcclements, Graeme Martin, Penny Hawken, Caroline Vinoles, Beth Paganoni, Dominique Blanche

Sheep Updates

This session covers seven papers from different authors:

MANAGEMENT

1. Wool and meat traits in Merino flocks in different regions, K.G. Geenty, A.A. Swan, A.J. Smith, J.L. Smith, Sheep CRC and CSIRO Livestock Industries, Armidale

2. Fat score or Condition score? - It all depends on what you want to do! Chris Oldham, Department of Agriculture and Food Western Australia

3. Sheep worm control - the latest for Western Australia, RG Woodgate, RA Love, E Dobbe, HM Hoult, J Pearson, S Hill, A van Burgel and RB Besier, Department of Agriculture and Food Western Australia

PASTURES

4. Rethinking pasture production …

Characteristics Of North American Meat & Bone Meal Relevant To The Development Of Non-Feed Applications, Rafael A. Garcia, Kurt A. Rosentrater, Rolando A. Flores

Kurt A. Rosentrater

Unmarketable animal tissues are typically processed by rendering plants, which transform them into meat & bone meal (MBM) or similar products. MBM’s traditional use as animal feed has become increasingly threatened, but MBM has potential for non-feed applications. Development of new products and processes is hindered by lack of reliable data on many of MBM’s chemical and physical properties. MBM samples as well as data on raw material and process were collected from 19 rendering facilities in the United States and Canada. A large majority of the raw material was tissue from cattle, swine and poultry. All facilities surveyed practiced …

The Global Relevance Of Bio-Based Industries To Engineering And Technology Education, Kurt A. Rosentrater, Radha Balamuralikrishma

Kurt A. Rosentrater

The society in which we live has developed an insatiable demand for energy and material goods. In particular, recent data reveals that the aggressive pursuit of improved standards of living in the highly populated countries of India and China has contributed to increased demand for fossil fuels, which has exacerbated the recent spike in energy costs. Historically, these needs have been met primarily by fossil fuels and other non-renewable raw materials. As environmental concerns grow, however, renewable resources are gaining increased attention. This paper examines the emergence and importance that bio-based industries are increasingly beginning to play. A bio-based enterprise, …

Slides: Getting Onto A Path For Stabilizing Atmospheric Co2 At 450 Ppmv With “Near-At-Hand” Energy Technologies, Robert H. Williams

Climate Change and the Future of the American West: Exploring the Legal and Policy Dimensions (Summer Conference, June 7-9)

Presenter: Robert H. Williams, Senior Research Scientist, Princeton University, Princeton, NJ.

35 slides.

Relationships Among Arthropods, Herbaceous-Shrub Layer Vegetation, And Soil In An Early Succession Pine Stand., Brent Burt, Richard N. Conner, Saenz Daniel

Faculty Publications

During spring and early summer, shrub- and herbaceous-level vegetation provides nesting and foraging habitat for many shrub-habitat birds. We examine relationships among arthropod biomass and abundance, foliage leaf surface area and weight, vegetation ground cover, soil characteristics, relative humidity, and temperature to evaluate what factors may influence arthropod food resources for birds.

Characteristics Of North American Meat And Bone Meal Relevant To The Development Of Non-Feed Applications, Rafael A. Garcia, Kurt A. Rosentrater, Rolando A. Flores

Kurt A. Rosentrater

Unmarketable animal tissues are typically processed by rendering plants, which transform them into meat and bone meal (MBM) or similar products. MBM's traditional use as animal feed has become increasingly threatened, but MBM has potential for non-feed applications. Development of new products and processes is hindered by lack of reliable data on many of MBM's chemical and physical properties. MBM samples, as well as data on raw material and process, were collected from 19 rendering facilities in the United States and Canada. A large majority of the raw material was tissue from cattle, swine, and poultry. All facilities surveyed practiced …

Winter Bird Use Of Conservation Reserve Program Fields Harvested For Biomass, Les D. Murray, Louis B. Best

Journal of the Iowa Academy of Science: JIAS

As Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) contracts expire, many fields may be returned to agricultural production. Growing switchgrass (Panicum virgatum) as a biomass fuel is an alternative to returning fields to rowcrops. CRP fields provide winter cover for birds, but the harvest of biomass would remove most of the cover and affect bird use of the fields. We estimated winter bird abundances in nonharvested, total-harvested, and partially (strip) harvested switchgrass fields in southern Iowa. Song sparrows (Melospiza melodia) were observed only in strip-harvested fields and ring-necked pheasants (Phasianus colchicus) were observed only in nonharvested fields and uncut areas of strip-harvested fields. …

Chemical Composition And Response To Dilute-Acid Pretreatment And Enzymatic Saccharification Of Alfalfa, Reed Canarygrass, And Switchgrass, Bruce S. Dien, Hans-Joachim G. Jung, Kenneth P. Vogel, Michael D. Casler, Joann F. S. Lamb, Loren Iten, Robert C. Mitchell, Gautum Sarath

Department of Agronomy and Horticulture: Faculty Publications

Alfalfa stems, reed canarygrass, and switchgrass; perennial herbaceous species that have potential as biomass energy crops in temperate regions; were evaluated for their bioconversion potential as energy crops. Each forage species was harvested at two or three maturity stages and analyzed for carbohydrates, lignin, protein, lipid, organic acids, and mineral composition. The biomass samples were also evaluated for sugar yields following pretreatment with dilute sulfuric followed by enzymatic saccharification using a commercial cellulase preparation. Total carbohydrate content of the plants varied from 518 to 655 g kg^-1 dry matter (DM) and cellulose concentration from 209 to 322 g kg …

Susceptibility Of Biofilms To Bdellovibrio Bacteriovorus Attack, Daniel Kadouri, George A. O'Toole

Dartmouth Scholarship

Biofilms are communities of microorganisms attached to a surface, and the growth of these surface attached communities is thought to provide microorganisms with protection against a range of biotic and abiotic agents. The capability of the gram-negative predatory bacterium Bdellovibrio bacteriovorus to control and reduce an existing Escherichia coli biofilm was evaluated in a static assay. A reduction in biofilm biomass was observed as early as 3 h after exposure to the predator, and an 87% reduction in crystal violet staining corresponding to a 4-log reduction in biofilm cell viability was seen after a 24-h exposure period. We observed that …

Phytoplankton Biomass And Species Composition Of Lake Gölbaşı (Hatay-Turkey), Mehmet Naz, Mustafa Türkmen

Turkish Journal of Biology

Seasonal distributions of phytoplanktonic organisms in Lake Gölbaşı were investigated in samples collected from 2 stations between May, 2001, and April, 2002. At each station, monthly sampling was performed from the surface water. The flora consisted of 41 taxa belonging to Bacillariophyta (24), Chlorophyta (12), Pyrrophyta (2), Cyanophyta (2) and Chrysophyta (1). During the 1-year study period, the most dominant group was Chrysophyta followed by Bacillariophyta, Chlorophyta, Cyanophyta and Pyrrophyta. The highest numbers of Chrysophyta were observed in both stations in May, 2001, January, 2002 and April, 2002. Bacillariophyta had the highest biomass in both stations, followed by Chrysophyta, Pyrrophyta, …

Nebraska’S Forests: Resource Bulletin Nrs-27, Dacia M. Meneguzzo, Brett J. Butler, Susan J. Crocker, David E. Haugen, W. Keith Moser, Charles H. (Hobie) Perry, Barry T. (Ty) Wilson, Christopher W. Woodall

Nebraska Forest Service: Publications

Results of the first annual inventory of Nebraska’s forests (2001-05) show an estimated 1.24 million acres of forest land; 1.17 million acres meet the definition of timberland. Softwood forest types account for one-third of all forest land area, with ponderosa pine being the most prevalent type. Hardwood forest types comprise 58 percent of Nebraska’s forest land. Elm/ash/cottonwood is the predominant forest-type group in the State, accounting for 26 percent of all forest land area. Livetree volume on timberland increased from 1.3 to 1.8 billion cubic feet between the 1994 and 2005 inventories. This report includes information on forest attributes, forest …

A Unique Seasonal Pattern In Phytoplankton Biomass In Low-Latitude Waters In The South China Sea, Chun-Mao Tseng, George T. F. Wong, I.-I. Lin, C.-R. Wu, K.-K. Liu

OES Faculty Publications

A distinctive seasonal pattern in phytoplankton biomass was observed at the South East Asian Time series Study (SEATS) station (18°N, 116°E) in the northern South China Sea (SCS). Surface chlorophyll-a, depth integrated chlorophyll-a and primary production were elevated to 0.3 mg/m³, ~35 mg/m² and 300 mg-C/m²/d, respectively, in the winter but stayed low, at 0.1 mg/m³, ~15 mg/m² and 110 mg-C/m²/d as commonly found in other low latitude waters, in the rest of the year. Concomitantly, soluble reactive phosphate and nitrate+nitrite in the mixed layer also became …

Biomass Yield Stability In Alfalfa, Joseph G. Robins, Heathcliffe Riday, Sara J. Helland, E. Charles Brummer

Journal of the Iowa Academy of Science: JIAS

In addition to biomass production, alfalfa (Medicago sativa) cultivars also need to express yield stability across diverse environments. The objective of this experiment was to analyze the nature of biomass yield stability in ten commercial alfalfa cultivars by evaluating performance of individual genotypes. Biomass yield was measured in each of five environments across two years, and the yield stability computed for the overall cultivar mean performance and the mean performance of each of the genotypes comprising the cultivars using the genotype x environment variance statistic of Shukla and the superiority statistic of Lin and Binns'. The GxE variance of the …

Converting Plant Biomass To Fuels And Commodity Chemicals In South Africa: A Third Chapter?, L R. Lynd, H H Von Blottnitz, B Tait, J De Boer, I S. Pretorius, K Rumbold, W H. Van Zyl

Dartmouth Scholarship

There have been two distinct chapters in the history of converting cellulosic biomass to fuels and commodity chemicals in South Africa. The first chapter, fromthe late 1970s to the early 1990s, involved some of the most active research and development efforts of their kind anywhere in the world. Thereafter, during the second chapter, there has been very little activity in the field in South Africa while there has been an unprecedented awakening to the potential of biomass conversion elsewhere. This paper considers the rationale and possible benefits of a potential third chapter based on a revitalized effort on biomass conversion …

Crop Updates - 2003 Weeds, Bill Roy, Peter Newman, J. R. Peirce, B. J. Rayner, Kathryn J. Steadman, Gavin P. Bignell, Amanda J. Ellery, Sandy Nedelkos, Ross Chapman, Michelle J. Owen, Simone Dudley, Robert Gallagher, Pippa J. Michael, Julie A. Plummer, Peter Newman, Glenn Adam, Catherine Borger, Abul Hashem, Nerys Wilkins, Sally Peltzer, Alex Douglas, Fran Hoyle, Paul Matson, Michael Walsh, Darren Chitty, David Ferris, Paul Neve, Art Diggle, Patrick Smith, Stephen Powles, David Archer, James Eklund, Frank Forcella, Alister Draper, Rick Llewellyn, Aik Cheam, Siew Lee, David Nicholson, Mike Clarke, Debbie Allen, Harmohinder S. Dhammu, Terry Piper, L. E. Young

Crop Updates

This session covers Thirty four papers from different authors

INTRODUCTION

INTEGRATED WEED MANAGEMENT

IWM system studies/demonstration sites

1. Six years of IWM investigation – what does it tell us? Bill Roy, Agricultural Consulting and Research Services Pty Ltd

2. Long term herbicide resistance site, the final chapter, Peter Newman and Glen Adam, Department of Agriculture

3. Management of skeleton weed (chondrilla juncea) in a cropping rotation in Western Australia, J. R. Peirce and B. J. Rayner, Department of Agriculture

WEED BIOLOGY AND COMPETITION

1. Annual ryegrass seedbanks: The good, the bad and the ugly, Kathryn J. Steadman¹, Amanda …

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Bio-Optical Properties Of The Labrador Sea, Glenn F. Cota, W. Glen Harrison, Trevor Platt, Shubha Sathyendranath, Venetia Stuart

CCPO Publications

Three cruises were conducted during fall and spring in the Labrador Sea to investigate the effects of bio-optical properties on satellite retrievals of phytoplankton chlorophyll in this important high-latitude ecosystem. Taxon-specific and regional differences were found. Diatoms had similar to 1.5 lower chlorophyll-specific absorption but significantly higher reflectance ratios than prymnesiophytes. Particulate absorption at 443 nm for total, phytoplankton, and "detrital'' fractions was related to chlorophyll, but values were lower than reported for lower latitudes. Decreased particulate absorption is attributed primarily to pigment packaging, while low backscattering to scattering ratios result from a lower relative abundance of bacteria and picophytoplankton …

Seasonal Changes In The Composition And Abundance Of Zooplankton In The Seas Of The Mediterranean Basin, A. V. Kovalev, M. G. Mazzocchi, Ahmet Erkan Kideyş, Beni̇n Toklu, V. A. Skryabin

Turkish Journal of Zoology

Seasonal changes in the composition, abundance and biomass of zooplankton in the seas of the Mediterranean basin (the Mediterranean, Black and Azov seas) have been reviewed using our own data and data from the literature. In the deep-water central regions of the seas, the seasonal cycle of zooplankton abundance is characterised by one maximum occurring in spring or summer. In the coastal regions, two to three peaks (spring, summer and autumn) exist for the zooplankton abundance. The amplitude of seasonal fluctuations in abundance for the coastal zone as a rule is much wider than for the deep-water regions. In both …

Germination, Growth And Biomass Accumulation As Influenced By Seed Size In Mesua Ferrea L., A. Arunachalam, M. L. Khan, N. D. Singh

Turkish Journal of Botany

Mesua ferrea L. was evaluated for its germination, seedling growth and biomass across four seed size classes. The production of two- and three-seeded fruits was high. The viability of the seeds was 58-81%. Germination was positively correlated with seed weight. Heavier seeds showed early and rapid germination. The contribution of leaves to total biomass yield was 27-60 % in 1-month old seedlings. Carbon content was also related with plant length and weight in the seedlings. The study concludes that the variations in seed size have a substantial influence on growth and biomass accumulation in Mesua ferrea. Such variation also helps …

Macrofungi Of Yahyalı Region (Kayseri), Giyasetti̇n Kaşik, Celaleddi̇n Öztürk, Azi̇z Türkoğlu, Hasan Hüseyi̇n Doğan

Turkish Journal of Botany

Some macrofungi specimens were collected from Yahyalı (Kayseri) province in 2000-2001. As a result of field and laboratory studies, 94 taxa belonging to 28 families were identified. Nine species belong to Ascomycotina and 85 to Basidiomycotina. The distribution, habitat and collecting numbers of the identified species are given.

A Study On The Occurrence Of Merismopedia Meyen (Cyanobacteria) Populations On The Littoral Sediments Of İzmit Bay (Turkey), Yelda Aktan, Güler Aykulu

Turkish Journal of Botany

In a previous study of epipelic diatoms on the littoral sediments of İzmit Bay (Marmara Sea, Turkey), which was carried out from March 1999 to September 2000, it was found that two Merismopedia Meyen species (Cyanobacteria) occurred frequently. In the present study, the seasonal variations of density and biomass of the Merismopedia species, which were dominant at certain times in the epipelic algal flora on the littoral sediments of İzmit Bay, were investigated. In addition, some physical and chemical parameters were measured. One of the species, Merismopedia glauca (Ehrenb.) Nägeli, was dominant in terms of cell numbers and frequency while …

Algal Blooms Reduce The Uptake Of Toxic Methylmercury In Freshwater Food Webs, Paul C. Pickhardt, Carol L. Folt, Celia Y. Chen, Bjoern Klaue, Joel D. Blum

Dartmouth Scholarship

Mercury accumulation in fish is a global public health concern, because fish are the primary source of toxic methylmercury to humans. Fish from all lakes do not pose the same level of risk to consumers. One of the most intriguing patterns is that potentially dangerous mercury concentrations can be found in fish from clear, oligotrophic lakes whereas fish from greener, eutrophic lakes often carry less mercury. In this study, we experimentally tested the hypothesis that increasing algal biomass reduces mercury accumulation at higher trophic levels through the dilution of mercury in consumed algal cells. Under bloom dilution, as algal biomass …

Seasonal Variations In The Biomass Of Macro-Algal Communities From The Gulf Of Antalya (North-Eastern Mediterranean), İsmai̇l İbrahi̇m Turna, Ö. Osman Ertan, Mario Cormaci, Giovanni Furnari

Turkish Journal of Botany

In this study, the seasonal variations in the macro-algal biomass in the Gulf of Antalya (north-eastern Mediterranean) were investigated. The seasonal variations of the macro-algal biomass were found to be related to the biology of the abundant species during less favourable seasons. These variations occurred usually as a result of a significant reduction in algal density [Padina pavonica (L.) J.V.Lamour., Dasycladus vermicularis (Scopoli) Krasser, Chondrophycus papillosus (C.Agardh) Garbay & Harper] or loss of major part of their thallus [Cystoseira spp., Liagora distenta (Mertens ex Roth) J.V.Lamour., Liagora viscida (Forssk.) C.Agardh]. The highest values of biomass were found to be in …

Fungi And Diseases Associated With Cultivated Switchgrass In Iowa, C. E. Gravert, G. P. Munkvold

Journal of the Iowa Academy of Science: JIAS

Switchgrass (Panicum virgatum L.) is a native perennial prairie grass that is now cultivated as a forage crop and a biomass crop for renewable energy. Biomass yields of switchgrass in southern Iowa have recently dropped significantly in some fields and the reduction has been attributed to disease. A disease survey was conducted in 1999 to assess the prevalence of major diseases in Chariton Valley switchgrass production. There were disease symptoms present on switchgrass plants in each field and thirteen fungal species were identified from leaf, stem, and root samples. Two pathogenic fungi, Tilletia maclaganii and Colletotrichum graminicola, were present in …

A Preliminary Study On The Population Dynamics Parameters Of Whiting (Merlangius Merlangus Euxinus) In Turkish Black Sea Coastal Waters, Ali̇ İşmen

Turkish Journal of Zoology

Some population parameters of the whiting (Merlangius merlangus euxinus) distributed along the Turkish Black Sea coast, were determined by using age-length data. The mean annual growth rate in length was found to be 3.7 cm. The maximum age group was determined as IX for females and VI for males. The seasonalized von Bertalanffy growth parameters in length were estimated to be L_o=39.1 cm, K = 0.15 year^{-1}, t_o = -1.53 year, C=0.23, t_s=0.48. There was a difference in growth rate between male and female fish. The females grow faster than males and reach a greater maximum length. Total mortality and …

Influence Of Forest Composition On Understory Cover In Boreal Mixedwood Forests Of Western Quebec, Sonia Legare, Yves Bergeron, David Pare

Aspen Bibliography

Forest overstory composition influences both light and nutrient availability in the mixed boreal forest. The influence of stand composition on understory cover and biomass was investigated on two soil types (clay and till deposits). Four forest composition types were considered in this study: aspen (Populus tremuloides Michx.), paper birch (Betula papyrifera Marsh.), jack pine (Pinus banksiana Lamb.) and a mixture of balsam-fir (Abies balsamea (L.) Mill.) and white spruce (Picea glauca (Moench) Voss). The cover of all understory species was recorded while the biomass of two important and ubiquitous species was measured: mountain maple (Acer spicatum Lam.) of the shrub …

Using Upper Boundary Constraints To Quantify Competitive Response Of Desert Annuals, Laura M. Lessin, Andrew R. Dyer, Deborah E. Goldberg

Faculty Publications

Using a target-neighborhood approach with six annual dicot species in the Negev Desert of Israel, we tested whether neighborhood biomass constrained the upper limit of plant performance and if the slope of the upper boundary was correlated to species trait means, such as relative growth rate (RGR) and seed mass. Target individuals were measured in early spring and then collected at the onset of the dry season along with all naturally occurring neighbors within a 5-cm radius of the target. Using a minimum of 50 samples for each of the six target species, we found no significant relationships between target …

Effects Of Sewage Pollution The Structure Of The Community Of Ulva Lactuca, Enteremorpha Linza And Rocky Macrofauna In Dışliman Of Sinop, Levent Bat, Mehmet Akbulut, Murat Sezgi̇n, Mehmet Çulha

Turkish Journal of Biology

Untreated sewage and domestic wastes from the Sinop outfall enter the Dışliman region. The effect of this on the distribution of Ulva lactuca, Enteromorpha linza and benthic macrofauna and on enviromental parameters was determined. Increases in the growth of opportunistic green algae such as Ulva lactuca and Enteromorpha linzain response to increased nutrient supply in the Dışliman coastal ecosystems in Sinop are reported in the present study. The results of this study show that organic enrichment also increases, with Mytilus galloprovincialis (Mollusca), Erichthonius brasiliensis, Echinogammarus olivii and Amphitoes ramondi, Idotea baltica and Sphaeroma serratum(Crustacea) being the most abundant species.

Worms, Nematoda, Scott Lyell Gardner

Harold W. Manter Laboratory of Parasitology: Faculty and Staff Publications

Nematodes are the most speciose phylum of metazoa on earth. Not only do they occur in huge numbers as parasites of all known animal groups, but also they are found in the soils, as parasites of plants, and in large numbers in the most extreme environments, from the Antarctic dry valleys to the benthos of the ocean. They are extremely variable in their morphological characteristics, with each group showing morphological adapta­tions to the environment that they inhabit. Soil-dwelling forms are extremely small; many marine species have long and complex setae; and parasitic species man­ifest amazingly great reproductive potential and large …