Animal Sciences Commons^™

Genetic Status Of Isolated Populations Of Colorado River Cutthroat Trout (Oncorhynchus Clarkii Pleuriticus) In The North Fork Little Snake River Drainage, Wyoming, Rachel Van Horne

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Over the last century native cutthroat trout populations have declined in the western United States. Habitat fragmentation is one of the main causes for this decline. Human actions such as the construction of roads, weirs, dams, and water diversions intersect streams and prevent the natural movement of fish. In many cases native cutthroat trout are now confined to headwater streams above human-created barriers. These barriers not only fragment the populations but also increase the risk of individual population extinction.

This study established a baseline genetic structure for nine isolated populations of Colorado River cutthroat trout in the North Fork Little …

Effects Of Supplementing Propionibacteria In Lactation Dairy Diets On Ruminal Fermentation In Continuous Cultures, Karmella Ann Dolecheck

Undergraduate Honors Capstone Projects

The aim of the present study was to assess characteristics of in vitro ruminal fermentation when mixed cultures were offered lactation dairy diets supplemented with the direct-fed microorganism, Propionibacterium P63 in continuous cultures. The design of the experiment was a 2 × 2 factorial with 4 replications. Diets based on corn silage and alfalfa hay as the forage sources were formulated; high forage (HF) or low forage (LF) diet with a forage-to-concentrate ratio of 60:40 or 40:60 (DM basis), respectively, was combined without or with P63 to form 4 treatments: HF without P63, HF with P63, LF without P63, and …

Buying And Feeding The Family Milk Cow, Allen Young

All Current Publications

This publication lists characteristics of cow breeds, how to choose the right breed for your needs, how to maintain the animal, and how to control and monitor milk production.

Winterizing Your Horse's Feet, Scott Mckendrick, James Keyes, Karmella Dolecheck

All Current Publications

This publication gives tips and instructions on winterizing horse's feet in order to keep them safe and healthy.

Low Stress Weaning Alternatives For Cow-Calf Producers: Fenceline-Weaning, Kerry A. Rood

All Current Publications

This publication explains fenceline weaning for calves as a low stress weaning option.

Utilization Of Heterosis In A Beef Cow Herd, D. R. Zobell, J. Severe

All Current Publications

This publication defines heterosis in cows and gives information on the fundamentals, needs, and types of heterosis.

Mercury In The Pelagic And Benthic Food Webs Of The Great Salt Lake, Wayne A. Wurtsbaugh, Erin Fleming, Caleb Izdepski, Jodi Gardberg

Watershed Sciences Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Tips For Synchronizing Cattle Using Progesterone Infused Vaginal Inserts, Kerry A. Rood, Rusty Stott, Kevin Heaton

All Current Publications

This publication provides tips for cattle producers for synchronizing cattle using progesterone infused vaginal inserts.

Synchronizing Cattle Using Progesterone Infused Vaginal Inserts, Kerry A. Rood, Kevin Heaton, Rusty Stott

All Current Publications

This publication provides tips for cattle producers for synchronizing cattle using progesterone infused vaginal inserts.

Sand Colic: Risk Factors, Detection, Treatment, And Prevention, Kerry A. Rood, Colette Tebeau

All Current Publications

This publication explains factors, detection, treatment and prevention for sand colic in horses.

Major Factors Or Inputs Affecting Profitability Of Beef Cow Herds In The Western United States, J. Severe, D. R. Zobell

All Current Publications

This publication discusses issues and areas that affect profitability of beef cow herds in the western United States.

Bovine Viral Diarrhea Beef-Herd Risk Assessment, Kerry A. Rood, C Kim Chapman

All Current Publications

This publication gives insite into understanding where the greatest risk to a herd is, relative to the introduction of bovine viral diarrhea (BVD).

Climate Change And Community Dynamics: A Hierarchical Bayesian Model Of Resource-Driven Changes In A Desert Rodent Community, Glenda M. Yenni

All Graduate Plan B and other Reports, Spring 1920 to Spring 2023

Predicting effects of climate change on species persistence often assumes that those species are responding to abiotic effects alone. However, biotic interactions between community members may affect species’ ability to respond to abiotic changes. Latent Gaussian models of resource availability using precipitation and NDVI and accounting for spatial autocorrelation and rodent group-level uncertainty in the process are developed to detect differences in seasons, groups, and the experimental removal of one group. Precipitation and NDVI have overall positive effects on rodent energy use as expected, but meaningful differences were detected. Differences in the importance of seasonality when the dominant group was …

Do Fee-Access Hunting Programs Conserve Wildlife Habitat? A Case Study Of Utah's Cooperative Wildlife Management Unit Program, Adam L. Perschon

All Graduate Plan B and other Reports, Spring 1920 to Spring 2023

Landscapes in the American West are undergoing dramatic changes as land-use patterns shift to accommodate the region’s explosive population growth. Trends toward low-density settlement patterns, or exurban development, compound the problem by consuming a disproportionately large amount of land compared to the population they support. The result is the rapid conversion of the West’s most highly productive agricultural and range lands, many of which provide benefits to biodiversity that surpass those found in permanently protected areas. Ruralists, ranchers, and conservationists alike are seeking ways to protect these ecologically important private lands from future development. One method purported to mitigate rural …

2010 Annual Report, Various Authors

Annual Reports

No abstract provided.

Causes, Extent, And Consequences Of Lead-Pellet Ingestion By Chukars (Alectoris Chukar) In Western Utah: Examining Habitat, Search Images, And Toxicology, R. Justin Bingham

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Lead ingestion adversely affects humans and over 130 species of wildlife. Wild chukars (Alectoris chukar) are documented to ingest lead, but the causes and consequences of this ingestion are poorly understood. The objectives of this research were to 1) examine the influence of habitat use, the hunting season, and seasonal climate on the extent and severity of lead ingestion by chukars in western Utah, 2) assess the effects of habitat use, feeding behaviors, and lead density on the causes of lead-pellet ingestion in captive and wild chukars, and 3) investigate the consequences of lead-pellet ingestion in captive chukars as a …

Habitat Characteristics And Occupancy Rates Of Lewis's Woodpecker In Aspen, Amy M. Vande Voort

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Lewis‘ woodpeckers (Melanerpes lewis) are generally associated with open ponderosa pine (Pinus ponderosa), open riparian, and burned pine habitats in the West; however, this species has recently been found to nest in aspen (Populus tremuloides) stands in Utah. This study describes the habitat characteristics of Lewis‘ woodpecker nest sites in aspen and investigates how well aspen stand characteristics predict Lewis‘ woodpecker occupancy. I surveyed for Lewis‘ woodpeckers at previously occupied nesting locations in aspen and took habitat measurements at nest sites. In addition, nest-centered Forest Inventory and Analysis (FIA)-type plots provided stand-level habitat characteristics. I used logistic regression to …

An Evaluation Of State-And-Transition Model Development For Ecological Sites In Northern Utah, Jamin K. Johanson

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Ecological sites and state-transition models (STMs) have become the preferred means of summarizing plant community dynamics on distinctive types of rangeland. Ecological sites classify rangeland types based on soil-geomorphic and climatic conditions capable of producing a known plant community, while a STM depicts the vegetation dynamics of an ecological site. STMs are usually based on expert opinion rather than site-specific data; however, if they are to gain credibility, STMs must accurately describe the processes that drive plant community dynamics. This study examined three ways of developing process-based STMs using three levels of commonly collected field data. We began by taking …

Grass-Fed Vs. Conventionally Fed Beef, D. R. Zobell, J. Severe

All Current Publications

This publication defines grass-fed and conventionally fed beef and discusses the advantages and disadvantages to both.

Application Of Habitat And Occupancy Modeling To A Wood Duck Next Box Program, Jason D. Carlisle

Undergraduate Honors Capstone Projects

Programs to augment wood duck (Aix sponsa) nesting habitat by providing artificial nest boxes are commonly implemented. In northern Utah, where such programs are relatively new, I proposed a method to identify sites suitable for deployment of next boxes through a combination of habitat and occupancy modeling using site-specific, biotic, and abiotic, data collected from 105 next boxes over one nesting season in Cache County, Utah. An inductive habitat model was first developed which identified possibly suitable habitat (8.74% of county) based on proximity to hydrologic features. Next, based on comparing competing single-species, single-season, occupancy models using a modified Akaike's …

Quantitative Genetic Analysis Of Reproduction Traits In Ball Pythons, Benson H. Morrill

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Although the captive reproduction of non-avian reptiles has increased steadily since the 1970’s, a dearth of information exists on successful management practices for large captive populations of these species. The data reported here come from a captive population of ball pythons (Python regius) maintained by a commercial breeding company, The Snake Keeper, Inc. (Spanish Fork, UT). Reproductive data are available for 6,480 eggs from 937 ball python clutches. The data presented suggest that proper management practices should include the use of palpation and/or ultrasound to ensure breeding occurs during the proper time of the female reproductive cycle, and …

Benefits Of Dna-Based Technology In Beef Production, Kerry A. Rood, Lynn R. Barton, Lee F. Rickords

All Current Publications

This publication discusses how emerging genetic technology coupled with traditional production practice can help beef producers provide high quality products demanded by consumers.

Beef Cattle Vaccination Principles And Recommendations, Kerry A. Rood, Rusty Stott

All Current Publications

This publication provides details and recommendations on vaccinations for beef cattle.

Mercury And Selenium Bioaccumulation In The Stromatolite Community Of The Great Salt Lake, Utah, Usa, Wayne A. Wurtsbaugh

Watershed Sciences Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Assessment Of Genome Integrity With Array Cgh Of Cattle Transgenic Cell Lines Produced By Homologous Recombination And Somatic Cell Cloning, G. E. Liu, Y. Hou, J. M. Robl, Y. Kuroiwa, Zhongde Wang

Animal, Dairy, and Veterinary Science Faculty Publications

Transgenic cattle carrying multiple genomic modifications have been produced by serial rounds of somatic cell chromatin transfer (cloning) of sequentially genetically targeted somatic cells. However, cloning efficiency tends to decline with the increase of rounds of cloning. It is possible that multiple rounds of cloning compromise the genome integrity or/and introduce epigenetic errors in the resulting cell lines, rendering a decline in cloning. To test these possibilities, we performed 9 high density array Comparative Genomic Hybridization (CGH) experiments to test the genome integrity in 3 independent bovine transgenic cell lineages generated from genetic modification and cloning. Our plan included the …

Temperature Increase Effects On Sagebrush Ecosystem Forbs: Exprimental Evidence And Range Manager Perspectives, Hilary Louise Whitcomb

Green Canyon Environmental Research Area, Logan Utah

No abstract provided.

Commentary Wildlife Habituation: Advances In Understanding And Management Application, Valerius Geist

Human–Wildlife Interactions

No abstract provided.

Survival Analysis And Computer Simulations Of Lethal And Contraceptive Management Strategies For Urban Deer, Marrett D. Grund

Human–Wildlife Interactions

I monitored survival of 34 female white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus) in Bloomington, Minnesota, from October 1996 to December 1999. Twenty deer died: nineteen were killed by vehicles, and one was killed in a deer-removal program conducted by an adjacent suburb. Summer survival was high and varied little over the 3 years of study (range = 0.93 to 0.95). Fall survival ranged from 0.84 to 1.00, and winter survival was generally high during the 3 years of study, except during a severe winter (range = 0.72 to 0.95). I calculated population growth rates (λ) from Leslie matrix projections, using …

A Rat-Resistant Artificial Nest Box For Cavity-Nesting Birds, William C. Pitt, Laura C. Driscoll, Eric A. Vanderwerf

Human–Wildlife Interactions

The puaiohi or small Kauai thrush (Myadestes palmeri) is an endangered bird endemic to the island of Kauai, Hawaii. The sole population of about 500 birds is currently restricted to remote, higher elevation areas of the Alakai Plateau. Puaiohi nest primarily on steep streamside cliffs, and their distribution and abundance are limited by availability of suitable nesting sites. Black rats (Rattus rattus) cause nest failure and mortality of nesting female puaiohis, and ground-based rodent control has not been effective at reducing nest predation. In 2007, we investigated whether artificial nest structures might be a viable alternative …

Lakes As Buffers Of Stream Dissolved Organic Matter (Dom) Variability: Temporal Patterns Of Dom Characteristics In Mountain Stream-Lake Systems, K. J. Goodman, Michelle A. Baker, Wayne A. Wurtsbaugh

Watershed Sciences Faculty Publications

Lakes within fluvial networks may affect dissolved organic matter (DOM) dynamics in streams by dampening spring DOM snowmelt flushing responses and/or by increasing summer DOM production. We assessed the temporal variability of dissolved organic carbon (DOC) concentration and DOM characteristics (specific ultraviolet absorbance (SUVA254); DOC:dissolved organic nitrogen (DOC:DON)), as well as DOC export in seven paired lake inflows and outflows in the Sawtooth Mountain lake district, Idaho. We hypothesized that lakes would decrease stream DOM temporal variability and increase DOM export as a result of autotrophic production. We correlated DOM variability with landscape factors to evaluate potential drivers of DOM …