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“Adopt-A-Tissue” Initiative Advances Efforts To Identify Tissue-Specific Histone Marks In The Mare, N B. Kingsley, Natasha A. Hamilton, Gabriella Lindgren, Ludovic Orlando, Ernie Bailey, Samantha Brooks, Molly Mccue, T S. Kalbfleisch, James N. Macleod, Jessica L. Petersen, Carrie J. Finno, Rebecca R. Bellone

Department of Animal Science: Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Life Line March 2021, Otterbein Biology And Earth Science Department

Life Line - The Biology Department Newsletter

In this issue:

A Note from the Chair; The Department Welcomes Dr. Rich; Senior Research Symposium Goes Virtual; Three Department Faculty Members Win Teaching Awards; Svitana Helps NGWA Go Online; Carter '15 Earns Ph.D. in Nuclear Forensics; Revamping a Campus to Return to our Cardinal Community; Professor Uses Novel Teaching Practices During Pandemic; Otterbein Introduces Signature STEM Series to Increase Connection; Young Receives Career Award; Malacogy in a Time of COVID; COVID Conversations; Canine Rabies Vaccination in Ethiopia; The Cardinal Science Scholar Program; Bird Anatomy.

Monitoring For Wolves, Jeff Hansen, Cat Urbigkit

Wildlife Damage Management Technical Series

Gray wolves (Canis lupus) and Mexican wolves (Canis lupus baileyi) once again roam across landscapes where they have been absent for decades (Figure 1). With wolf range expansion comes increased opportunities for conflicts when wolves harass or prey on domestic livestock or other animals. Wolves have relatively high reproductive and dispersal rates but detecting individual animals in low-density populations is difficult without a concerted monitoring effort. In fact, wolf presence in an area often is not known until there is a confirmed livestock depredation. Ranchers and wildlife damage management experts need not wait for livestock depredations to occur before wolves …

Toxicity Of Sodium Nitrite-Based Vertebrate Pesticides For European Starlings (Sturnus Vulgaris), Scott J. Werner, Shelagh T. Deliberto, Hailey E. Mclean, Katherine E. Horak, Kirt C. Vercauteren

United States Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

In the 21st century, invasive animals rank second only to habitat destruction as the greatest threat to global biodiversity. Socially-acceptable and cost-effective strategies are needed to reduce the negative economic and environmental impacts of invasive animals. We investigated the potential for sodium nitrite (SN; CAS 7632-00-0) to serve as an avian toxicant for European starlings (Sturnus vulgaris L.). We also assessed the non-target hazard of an experimental formulation of SN that is being developed as a toxicant for invasive wild pigs (Sus scrofa L.). In gavage experiments with European starlings, we identified a lowest observed adverse effect level …

Avian Visual Ecologists Should Consider Uv Absorbance And All Sensory Modalities: A Response To Wisenden Et Al. (2020), Sean T. O'Daniels, Scott J. Werner, Ken Yasukawa

United States Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

In a recent publication, Wisenden et al. (2020) examined responses of territorial male Red-winged Blackbirds (Agelaius phoeniceus) to models constructed with ultraviolet (UV)-reflective red epaulets for the purpose of determining if the addition of UV reflectance to epaulets ("UV+") changed the effectiveness of signals to receivers relative to "control" epaulets under field conditions. The authors hypothesized that "UV+epaulet coloration represents a visual signal with increased efficacy in territorial interactions." They presented behavioral data but no visual modeling data. Our aims in this commentary are to suggest alternative terms to those used by the authors, to express concern about the use …

Phytogenic Water Additives Improve Broiler Growth Performance Via Modulation Of Intermediary Metabolism-Related Signaling Pathways, Joshua J. Flees, Nima K. Emami, Elizabeth Greene, Bhaskar Ganguly, Sami Dridi

Poultry Science Faculty Publications and Presentations

A ban on the use of antibiotic growth promoters (AGPs) has fueled and promoted scientific research towards the identification of reliable and effective alternatives. The supplementation of phytogenics AV/SSL12 (AVSSL) and Superliv Gold (SG) in water has been shown to improve broiler feed efficiency (FE) via modulation of hypothalamic neuropeptides. However, their effects on peripheral metabolic pathways are still unknown. The present study was undertaken to determine the effects of AVSSL and SG on lipid and protein metabolism-associated pathways in various tissues. Day-old male Cobb 500 chicks (n = 288) were randomly assigned to 3 treatment groups, with 8 …

Research Note: Phytobiotics Modulate The Expression Profile Of Circulating Inflammasome And Cyto(Chemo)Kine In Whole Blood Of Broilers Exposed To Cyclic Heat Stress, Elizabeth S. Greene, Nima K. Emami, Sami Dridi

Poultry Science Faculty Publications and Presentations

Heat stress (HS) is a critical concern to the poultry industry as it affects both productivity and well-being. Various managerial and nutritional strategies have been proposed to mitigate the negative effects of HS in chickens, with plant-based additives showing promise. Recently, we reported the positive effect of a phytogenic feed additive (PFA) on growth performance in HS birds. Owing to the antioxidant nature of these compounds, we sought to further explore the effect of PFA on whole blood circulating chemokines, cytokines, and inflammasomes in HS broilers. Broilers (600 males, 1 d) were randomly assigned to 12 …

Using Acoustic Telemetry To Analyze The Impacts Of Common Carp On Wild Rice Restoration, Franklin Zomer

All NMU Master's Theses

Wild rice (Zizania palustris) is an important cultural, spiritual, and dietary resource to Lake Superior Ojibwe. Common Carp (Cyprinus carpio) are an introduced species that negatively impact aquatic vegetation through changes in water quality, uprooting of plants, and consumption of seed. Acoustic telemetry was used to document Common Carp movements in Waishkey Bay in the upper St. Marys River, MI where wild rice habitat is present. Exclosures were established to measure the influence of carp presence on wild rice seeding success. Common Carp were observed to spend much of their time in Waishkey Bay but also …

Mosaic Agriculture: A Guide To Irrigated Crop And Forage Production In Northern Wa, Geoff A. Moore Mr, Clinton K. Revell Dr, Christopher Schelfhout Dr, Christopher Ham Mr, Samuel Crouch Mr, Meredith M. Guthrie

Bulletins 4000 -

The Bulletin is a comprehensive guide for pastoralists, agronomists, agribusiness and the broader community on the growing of irrigated crops and pastures within a rangeland pastoral setting.

Dispersed irrigation developments on stations throughout the northern rangelands (sometimes referred to as mosaic agriculture) has created opportunities for the introduction of more productive forage species and pastoralists can now grow high quality forage for 12 months of the year. This can help to overcome the key constraint of traditional pastoral systems, the low quality of the feed over the dry season that typically results in stock losing condition.

Geographic Distribution: Eleutherodactylus Coqui (Common Coqui). Usa: Florida., Louis A. Somma

Papers in Herpetology

A geographic interception record for Eleutherodactylus coqui in Suwanee County, Florida.

Geographic Distribution: Iguana Iguana (Green Iguana): Usa: Florida., Louis A. Somma, Mark T. Bailey

Papers in Herpetology

A geographic distribution record for Iguana iguana in Marion County, Florida.

Great Expectations: Deconstructing The Process Pathways Underlying Beaver-Related Restoration, Caroline S. Nash, Gordon E. Grant, Susan Charnley, Jason B. Dunham, Hannah Gosnell, Mark B. Hausner, David S. Pilliod, Jimmy Taylor

United States Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

Beaver-related restoration is a process-based strategy that seeks to address wide-ranging ecological objectives by reestablishing dam building in degraded stream systems. Although the beaver-related restoration has broad appeal, especially in water-limited systems, its effectiveness is not yet well documented. In this article, we present a process-expectation framework that links beaver-related restoration tactics to commonly expected outcomes by identifying the set of process pathways that must occur to achieve those expected outcomes. We explore the contingency implicit within this framework using social and biophysical data from project and research sites. This analysis reveals that outcomes are often predicated on complex process …

Mice Pups Breastfed By Foster Mothers Whose Breast Milk Contains Plasmodium Falciparum Recombinant Se36 Antigen Develop Specific Antibodies, Margaret Mendi Njoroge, Victor Irungu Mwangi, Tonny Jimmy Owalla, Hastings Ozwara, Thomas G. Egwang

All Peer-Reviewed Publications

Intranasal instillation of SE36, a malaria vaccine candidate antigen, in lactating BALB/c strain (derived from the Bagg and albino laboratory inbred mice) female mice resulted in the appearance of the antigen in breast milk as demonstrated by sandwich ELISA and Western blot. Pups born of immunologically naive mice and breastfed on lactating foster mothers exposed intranasally to SE36 developed IgG anti-SE36 antibodies. These data demonstrate that maternal immunization in mice by this route in lactating mothers can result in active immunization of offspring via ingestion of breast milk containing antigen. If confirmed in a nonhuman primate model and in human …

Are The Current Animal Trypanosomiasis Management Methods In Kenya Complementary Or Substitutes? Evidence From Kwale County, Arnold Lumumbah Musungu, David Jakinda Otieno, Beatrice Wambui Muriithi, Rose Nyikal, Daniel Masiga, Michael Nyanganga Okal

All Peer-Reviewed Publications

African animal trypanosomiasis (AAT) and its vectors, mainly tsetse, are a major constraint to livestock production in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA). Control efforts have been ongoing for decades, but finding a sustainable solution remains a major concern. This paper assessed the complementarity and substitutability of existing AAT management methods to inform policies toward an integrated approach. A multivariate probit (MVP) analytical technique was used to model interrelationships in the control methods from 308 randomly selected livestock keepers. The results show that the current AAT control methods are complementary and not substitutes. Furthermore, the number of years of formal education, household size, …

Push-Pull Strategy Combined With Net Houses For Controlling Cowpea Insect Pests And Enhancing Crop Yields, Seydou Diabate, Thibaud Martin, Lucy Kananu Murungi, Komi K.M. Fiaboe, John Wesonga, John M. Kimani, Emilie Deletre

All Peer-Reviewed Publications

Net houses can be used in tropical environments to protect crops such as cowpea against large insect pests, thereby avoiding pesticide treatments while sustainably mitigating the effects of climate change. We investigated a push-pull strategy to prevent small insect pest outbreaks in a net house. The push component consisted of two stimulus plants, i.e. Cymbopogon citratus and Tagetes minuta, and the pull stimuli consisted of visual cues from blue and yellow sticky traps. Field experiments were set up in central Kenya and conducted during a rainy and a dry season, involving an open field control treatment, and three management treatments …

Migration Phenology And Patterns Of American Woodcock In Central North America Derived Using Satellite Telemetry, Joseph D. Moore, David E. Andersen, Tom Cooper, Jeffrey P. Duguay, Shaun L. Oldenburger, C. Al Stewart, David G. Krementz

Biological Sciences Faculty Publications and Presentations

American woodcock Scolopax minor (hereafter woodcock) migration ecology is poorly understood, but has implications for population ecology and management, especially related to harvest. To describe woodcock migration patterns and phenology, we captured and equipped 73 woodcock with satellite tracking devices in the Central Management Region (analogous to the Mississippi Flyway) of North America and documented migration paths of 60 individual woodcock and 87 autumn or spring woodcock migrations during 2014-2016. Woodcock migration at the scale of the Central Management Region was more synchronous in spring than in autumn, but unlike most other migratory birds, average duration of autumn migration (31 …

Identification Of Snps Associated With Stress Response Traits Within High Stress And Low Stress Lines Of Japanese Quail, Steven Shumaker, Bhuwan Khatri, Stephanie Shouse, Dongwon Seo, Seong Kang, Wayne Kuenzel, Byungwhi C. Kong

Poultry Science Faculty Publications and Presentations

Mitigation of stress is of great importance in poultry production, as chronic stress can affect the efficiency of production traits. Selective breeding with a focus on stress responses can be used to combat the effects of stress. To better understand the genetic mechanisms driving differences in stress responses of a selectively bred population of Japanese quail, we performed genomic resequencing on 24 birds from High Stress (HS) and Low Stress (LS) lines of Japanese quail using Illumina HiSeq 2 × 150 bp paired end read technology in order to analyze Single Nucleotide Polymorphisms (SNPs) within the genome of each line. …

Development Of A Wild-Type Escherichia Coli Environmental Bloom Model To Evaluate Alternatives To Formaldehyde Fumigation In Broiler Chicken Hatch Cabinets, B. D. Graham, C. M. Selby, L. E. Graham, K. D. Teague, G. Tellez-Isaias, B. M. Hargis, C. N. Vuong

Poultry Science Faculty Publications and Presentations

Horizontal transmission of opportunistic Escherichia coli during hatch can have detrimental effects on early performance, particularly as pioneer colonizers. Commercially, formaldehyde is often applied in the United States to combat the bacterial bloom that occurs inside of the hatching environment. The purpose of these experiments was to develop a replicable E. coli horizontal challenge model to evaluate alternatives to formaldehyde sanitation applied to the hatching environment. In experiment 1, two trials were conducted for 2 wild-type (WT) E. coli isolates (isolate 1 [I1] or isolate 2 [I2]) to determine the appropriate in ovo challenge …

Effects Of Dietary Energy Levels On Performance And Carcass Yield Of 2 Meat-Type Broiler Lines Housed In Hot And Cool Ambient Temperatures, Pramir Maharjan, Katie M. Hilton, Garrett Mullenix, Jordan Weil, Antonio Beitia, Nawin Suesuttajit, Cole Umberson, Diego A. Martinez, Justina Caldas, Antonio Kalinowski, Nadia Yacoubi, Victor Naranjo, Judith A. England, Craig N. Coon

Poultry Science Faculty Publications and Presentations

Two meat-type broiler lines, line A and line B were fed experimental diets from 22-42 d with objectives to determine the effects of dietary metabolizable energy (ME) levels on feed intake (FI), performance, body composition, and processing yield as affected by environmental grow-out temperatures. Two thousand fifty male chicks from line A and 2,050 male chicks from line B were reared in 90-floor pens, 45 chicks per pen utilizing primary breeder nutrition and husbandry guidelines for starter (110 d) and grower (11-21 d) phases. Experimental finisher diets consisted of 5 increasing levels of apparent nitrogen corrected …

Phytogenic Feed Additives Improve Broiler Feed Efficiency Via Modulation Of Intermediary Lipid And Protein Metabolism-Related Signaling Pathways, Joshua J. Flees, Bhaskar Ganguly, Sami Dridi

Poultry Science Faculty Publications and Presentations

Diets enriched with phytogenic feed additives (PFA) such as AV/HGP/16 premix (AVHGP), Superliv concentrate premix (SCP), and bacteriostatic herbal growth promotor (BHGP) with essential oils have been shown to improve feed efficiency (FE) in broilers. This FE improvement was achieved via modulation of hypothalamic neuropeptides, which results despite feed intake reduction, in increased breast yield without changes in body weight compared to the control group. To gain further insights into the mode of action of these PFA, the present study aimed to determine the potential involvement of signaling pathways associated …

Coccidia Vaccine Challenge And Exogenous Enzyme Supplementation In Broiler Chicken 1. Effect On Digesta Viscosity, Diet Energy Utilization, And Apparent Metabolizable Energy Value Of Wheat, Andrew E. Dunaway, Sunday A. Adedokun

Animal and Food Sciences Faculty Publications

This study examined the effect of exogenous mixed-enzyme supplementation (xylanase, β-glucanase, and pectinase) to a corn-SBM (CS) and a wheat-CS-based (WCS) diet in birds challenged with coccidia vaccine (Coccivac B-52™). The WCS-based diet was produced by replacing 30% of the energy-yielding portions of the CS-based diet with wheat. On day 14, 448 (n = 7) Cobb by-product breeder male broilers were assigned to a 2 (diet types) × 2 (with or without enzyme supplementation) × 2 (0 or 20 × coccidia vaccine challenge; CVC) factorial arrangement of treatments in a completely randomized design for the determination of the apparent …

Estimating The Size Of Georgia's Resident Canada Goose Population, Gregory D. Balkcom

Georgia Journal of Science

Canada geese (Branta canadensis) are an important waterfowl species in Georgia, and are hunted across the state. To meet management objectives, managers need to understand the impacts of hunting regulations on the population of interest. Therefore, reliable population estimates are necessary. Population size can be estimated by various methods, including aerial surveys, ground surveys, or population indices such as the Lincoln Estimator. I used annual estimates of resident Canada goose harvest in Georgia from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s Harvest Information Program along with banding and recovery data from the Bird Banding Laboratory in a bias-adjusted version …

Factors Leading To Successful Island Rodent Eradications Following Initial Failure, Araceli Samaniego, Peter Kappes, Keith Broome, Steve Cranwell, Richard Griffiths, Grant Harper, Pete Mcclelland, Russell Palmer, Gerard Rocamora, Keith Springer, David Will, Shane Siers

United States Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

Island rodent eradications are increasingly conducted to eliminate the negative impacts of invasive rodents. The success rate in the tropics has been lower than in temperate regions, triggering research and reviews. Environmental factors unique to the tropics (e.g., land crabs and year-round rodent breeding) have been associated with eradication failure. Operational factors have also been important, but these have not been comprehensively assessed. The environmental and operational factors using global cases where rodent eradication initially failed and subsequent attempts occurred were compared. It was determined whether operational factors explained the initial failures, whether operational improvements explained subsequent successes, and whether …

Transcriptomic Profiling Of Fibropapillomatosis In Green Sea Turtles (Chelonia Mydas) From South Texas, Nicholas B. Blackburn, Ana C. Leandro, Nina Nahvi, Mariana A. Devlin, Marcelo Leandro, Ignacio Martinez Escobedo, Juan M. Peralta, Jeff George, Thomas W. Demaar, John Blangero, Megan Keniry, Joanne E. Curran

School of Medicine Publications

Sea turtle fibropapillomatosis (FP) is a tumor promoting disease that is one of several threats globally to endangered sea turtle populations. The prevalence of FP is highest in green sea turtle (Chelonia mydas) populations, and historically has shown considerable temporal growth. FP tumors can significantly affect the ability of turtles to forage for food and avoid predation and can grow to debilitating sizes. In the current study, based in South Texas, we have applied transcriptome sequencing to FP tumors and healthy control tissue to study the gene expression profiles of FP. By identifying differentially expressed turtle genes in …

Behavioral Analysis Of The Cryptoprocta Ferox In An Ex-Situ Condition, Emilie Alfonso

The Pegasus Review: UCF Undergraduate Research Journal

Fossas (Cryptoprocta ferox) are the top, endemic predators of Madagascar. Their populations are dwindling and are reported as “Vulnerable” by IUCN. In an effort to combat this, zoological facilities have placed the species on a captive breeding program. This study focuses on concerns one of those zoos had about their captive C. ferox. The purpose of this study was to collect activity budgets on the C. ferox to determine if there is a change in behavior due to construction occurring around the C. ferox’s habitat, analyze behavior changes during estrus, determine any behavior changes, as well …

Recent Advances In The Application Of Crispr/Cas9 Gene Editing System In Poultry Species, Collins N. Khwatenge, Samuel N. Nahashon

Agricultural and Environmental Sciences Faculty Research

CRISPR/Cas9 system genome editing is revolutionizing genetics research in a wide spectrum of animal models in the genetic era. Among these animals, is the poultry species. CRISPR technology is the newest and most advanced gene-editing tool that allows researchers to modify and alter gene functions for transcriptional regulation, gene targeting, epigenetic modification, gene therapy, and drug delivery in the animal genome. The applicability of the CRISPR/Cas9 system in gene editing and modification of genomes in the avian species is still emerging. Up to date, substantial progress in using CRISPR/Cas9 technology has been made in only two poultry species (chicken and …

Sensitivity Of Wild-Type And Rifampicin-Resistant O157 And Non-O157 Shiga Toxin-Producing Escherichia Coli To Elevated Hydrostatic Pressure And Lactic Acid In Ground Meat And Meat Homogenate, Abimbola Allison, Aliyar Cyrus Fouladkhah

Agricultural and Environmental Sciences Faculty Research

Various serogroups of Shiga toxin-producing Escherichia coli have been epidemiologically associated with foodborne disease episodes in the United States and around the globe, with E. coli O157: H7 as the dominant serogroup of public health concern. Serogroups other than O157 are currently associated with about 60% of Shiga toxin-producing E. coli related foodborne illness episodes. Current study evaluated sensitivity of the O157 and epidemiologically important non-O157 serogroups of the pathogen to elevated hydrostatic pressure and 1% lactic acid. Pressure intensity of 250 to 650 MPa were applied for 0 to 7 min for inactivation of strain mixtures of …

Occurrence Of Ticks (Acari: Ixodidae) On Birds In Northwestern Lower Michigan, 2011-2019, William C. Scharf, Lisa Aukland, Gary W. Shugart, Sarah A. Hamer

The Great Lakes Entomologist

Abstract

Monitoring tick infestation of wildlife provides baseline tick

occurrence data that may have human or animal health implications. We collected 312 ticks of four species from 5,122 birds of 93 species while monitoring bird migration during 15 fall and spring seasons between 2011 and 2019 in the northern Lower Peninsula of Michigan. Twenty-seven of 93 bird species hosted ticks with an overall prevalence (=at least one tick) of 3.6% (185/5,122). Median burden was one tick/per infested bird with a range of 1-16 ticks per infested bird. Tick species collected were primarily Haemaphysalis leporispalustris (Packard) and Ixodes scapularis Say, with …

Observational Study Of Two Ex Situ North American River Otters (Lontra Canadensis), Julia Rifenberg

The Pegasus Review: UCF Undergraduate Research Journal

Zoos enable the ability to study how captive conditions impact the behaviors of animals. In this study, I observed two North American river otters housed at the Central Florida Zoo to evaluate behavioral changes after the male had been removed from the female for a month-long medical examination. The aim of this study was to 1) determine if mating behaviors were still occurring between the two river otters following the male’s removal and 2) to assess the welfare of the male and female river otters in captivity by observing their interactions and individual behaviors. Observed behaviors were compared to documented …

Generation Of A Biobank From Two Adult Thoroughbred Stallions For The Functional Annotation Of Animal Genomes Initiative, Callum G. Donnelly, Rebecca R. Bellone, Erin N. Hales, Annee Nguyen, Scott A. Katzman, Ghislaine A. Dujovne, Kelly E. Knickelbein, Felipe Avila, Ted S. Kalbfleisch, Elena Giulotto, Nicole B. Kingsley, Jocelyn Tanaka, Elizabeth Esdaile, Sichong Peng, Anna Dahlgren, Anna Fuller, Michael J. Mienaltowski, Terje Raudsepp, Verena K. Affolter, Jessica L. Petersen, Carrie J. Finno

Department of Animal Science: Faculty Publications

Following the successful creation of a biobank from two adult Thoroughbred mares, this study aimed to recapitulate sample collection in two adult Thoroughbred stallions as part of the Functional Annotation of the Animal Genome (FAANG) initiative. Both stallions underwent thorough physical, lameness, neurologic, and ophthalmic (including electroretinography) examinations prior to humane euthanasia. Epididymal sperm was recovered from both stallions immediately postmortem and cryopreserved. Aseptically collected full thickness skin biopsies were used to isolate, culture and cryopreserve dermal fibroblasts. Serum, plasma, cerebrospinal fluid, urine, and gastrointestinal content from various locations were collected and cryopreserved. Under guidance of a board-certified veterinary anatomic …