Digital Commons Network^™

Contributions To Karst Science And Education From The Mammoth Cave Region, Chris Groves, William B. White

Mammoth Cave Research Symposia

No abstract provided.

Frequently Asked Questions Rat Island Habitat Restoration Project

United States Fish and Wildlife Service: Publications

A conservation partnership is restoring the native ecosystem of Rat Island in the Alaska Maritime National Wildlife Refuge by eliminating introduced rats. The ecosystem, especially the bird population, was decimated by the introduction of Norway rats via a shipwreck in the 1780’s. There are virtually no seabirds and few other birds left on Rat Island. Successful rat eradication would restore habitat and allow birds to re-colonize the island. The first step in island restoration, applying rodenticide to the island, was completed in early October. Biological monitoring in the summer of 2009 and 2010 will determine if all the rats have …

Familiarity With Breeding Habitat Improves Daily Survival In Colonial Cliff Swallows, Charles R. Brown, Mary Bomberger Brown, Kathleen R. Brazeal

School of Natural Resources: Faculty Publications

One probable cost of dispersing to a new breeding habitat is unfamiliarity with local conditions such as the whereabouts of food or the habits of local predators, and consequently immigrants may have lower probabilities of survival than more experienced residents. Within a breeding season, estimated daily survival probabilities of cliff swallows, Petrochelidon pyrrhonota, at colonies in southwestern Nebraska, USA, were highest for birds that had always nested at the same site, followed by those for birds that had nested there in some (but not all) past years. Daily survival probabilities were lowest for birds that were naive immigrants to …

Got Controversy - Milk Does, Margaret Sova Mccabe

Law Faculty Scholarship

This article analyzes ongoing controversy over how to best label rBST-free milk. Recombinant bovine somatotropin is a genetically engineered drug administered by some farmers to their dairy herds to increase milk production. FDA first approved its use in 1994, despite great controversy. The FDA also issued labeling guidelines that allowed voluntary disclosure of rBST-free milk, so long as it carried the disclaimer that no difference could be detected between milk produced with rBST and rBST-free. The controversy continues today as consumers express a preference for rBST-free milk and many rBST-free producers label their milk this way. "Conventional" milk (with rBST) …

The Stallion's Mane: The Next Generation Of Horses In Mongolia, Amanda Hund

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

Horses play a central role in Mongolian history and culture, yet there has been little academic research on breeding methods, either traditional or modern in Mongolia. The goal of good horse breeding is to maintain and improve the quality of the breed. By looking at the traditional breeding, we gain a better understanding of what Mongolian culture values in their horses and what they are hoping to pass on to the next generation. We can also learn how this information is passed on in an oral tradition from generation to generation of horse trainers and herders. In traditional Mongolian horse …

Flowers And Feeders: A Comparison Of Hummingbird Feeding Activity, Caitlin A. Mchugh

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

Hummingbird feeders are the best way to see high species abundance and diversity, but few studies examine the differences in species abundance, diversity, feeding patterns, and aggression between flowering plants and artificial feeder sites within the same habitat. Are there significant affects on local hummingbird ecology by the presence of feeders? This paper explores possible answers to this question by investigating discrepancies between the two types of site and the implications of said discrepancies. A high count method was used to estimate species abundance and diversity along with qualitative observation was used to analyze aggression. The study found that, in …

Finfish Aquaculture In Western Australia. Final Esd Risk Assessment Report For Sea-Cage And Land-Based Aquaculture., Department Of Fisheries Western Australia

Fisheries Management Papers

The Western Australian Department of Fisheries is responsible for the management of aquaculture in WA and is committed to implementing ESD. These principles are contained within the objectives of the Fish Resources Management Act 1994 and the Department is keen to demonstrate both to the Government and the broader community that these principles are being achieved. The Department developed a policy statement in 2002 - “Policy for the Implementation of Ecologically Sustainable Development for Fisheries and Aquaculture within Western Australia” (Fletcher 2002) – that described its direction on incorporating ESD within fisheries and aquaculture management.

Using the ESD Framework for …

Fisheries Research Report No. 181 - Developing Long-Term Indicators For The Sub-Tidal Embayment Communities Of Cockburn Sound, Danielle Johnston, C. Wakefield, A Sampey, J Fromont, D C. Harris

Fisheries Research Reports

Swan Catchment Council Project – 01-0506 T 2006 – 2008 program

The geomorphology of Cockburn Sound is unique to the lower west coast of Australia due to the relative paucity of sheltered nearshore marine embayments along this coastline. Numerous studies on many of the commercially and/or recreationally important species that inhabit Cockburn Sound have demonstrated that for many of them this marine embayment constitutes an integral part of their life history. Since the commencement of industrial and urban development in the mid 1950s, in the waters and along the shores of Cockburn Sound, the marine fauna utilising this area have …

Black Bears On The Way Back, Christopher E. Comer

Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Evaluation Of An Oral Vaccination Program To Control Raccoon Rabies In A Suburbanized Landscape, Jason R. Boulanger, Laura L. Bigler, Paul D. Curtis, Donald H. Lein, Arthur J. Lembo Jr.

Biology Faculty Publications

We evaluated the efficacy of an oral rabies vaccination (ORV) program conducted in Erie County, New York, from July through September, 2002–2005. Ingress of the raccoon (Procyon lotor) rabies variant first occurred along the southern border of Erie County, New York, during 1992 and began to spread northward at a velocity of 31 km/year. Fixed-wing aircraft dropped ORV baits in rural landscapes; helicopters, hand baiting, and bait stations distributed baits in suburban landscapes (x̄ bait densities ranged 59–118 baits/km²). Our study objectives were to quantify rabies case densities, evaluate efficacy of intervention efforts, and determine biological, …

Animal Science Alumni Newsletter, Summer/Fall 2008

Department of Animal Science: Departmental News

Contents:

Faculty Activities From The Interim Department Head’s Desk
90 Years of Poultry Science at University of Nebraska
Judson Vasconcelos Appointed Feedlot Nutrition and Management Specialist
Bud Britton Memorial Golf Tournament
Emeriti Faculty
Dr. Mohammad Koohmaraie Changes Careers
Update on Dr. Ernie Peo
Jay Wolf 2008 Block & Bridle Honoree
SEECA: Students for Education in Exotic and Companion Animals
Scholarships
2008-2009 Block & Bridle Club Officers
2008 Livestock Judging Team
Ambassadors
Meats Judging Team
MAEC Team
Equestrian Team
Horse Judging Team
Horse Judging Team
Academic Quadrathlon
Deaths
Updates
Alumni News
Awards and Recognitions
Awards and Recognitions
The Omtvedts Visit South …

Induction Of Winter Breeding In Small Mammals By 6-Mboa, Robert K. Rose, Roger K. Everton, Gregory E. Glass

Virginia Journal of Science

A plant-derived cyclic carbamate, 6-methoxybenzoxazolinone (6-MBOA), is

known to initiate reproductive activity in Microtus montanus. We studied

overwintering populations of four other rodent species, and observed increased

reproduction in experimental populations of two herbivorous species, Microtus

pennsylvanicus and Sigmodon hispidus, but not in two omnivorous species,

Oryzomys palustris and Mus musculus. These results suggest that low

concentrations of 6-MBOA may trigger seasonal breeding primarily in

herbivorous small mammals.

Modeling The Daily Activities Of Breeding Colonial Seabirds: Dynamic Occupancy Patterns In Multiple Habitat Patches, Andrea L. Moore, Smruti P. Damania, Shandelle M. Henson, James L. Hayward

Faculty Publications

We constructed differential equation models for the diurnal abundance and distribution of breeding glaucous-winged gulls (Larus glaucescens) as they moved among nesting and non-nesting habitat patches. We used time scale techniques to reduce the differential equations to algebraic equations and connected the models to field data. The models explained the data as a function of abiotic environmental variables with R2=0.57. A primary goal of this study is to demonstrate the utility of a methodology that can be used by ecologists and wildlife managers to understand and predict daily activity patterns in breeding seabirds.

A New Species Of Lentiella (Cestoda: Anoplocephalidae) From Proechimys Simonsi (Rodentia: Echimyidae) In Bolivia = Una Especie Nueva De Lentiella (Cestoda: Anoplocephalidae) De Proechimys Simonsi (Rodentia: Echimyidae) En Bolivia, Terry R. Haverkost, Scott Lyell Gardner

Harold W. Manter Laboratory of Parasitology: Faculty Publications

During a biodiversity survey of mammals and their parasites in the Beni, Bolivia in the summer of 2000, several spiny rats, Proechimys simonsi Thomas, 1900, were collected and examined for parasites. Herein we describe Lentiella lamothei n. sp. from one of these hosts. This species is can be distinguished from L. machadoi Rêgo, 1964 by having a greater total length but smaller maximum width, a greater number of segments, a smaller cirrus sac, a smaller scolex diameter, and in the eggs, a larger pyriform apparatus. In addition, we formally validate the genus Lentiella Rêgo, 1964, that had been placed in …

Endoparasites Of Fat-Tailed Mouse Opossums (Thylamys: Didelphidae) From Northwestern Argentina And Southern Bolivia, With The Description Of A New Species Of Tapeworm, F. Agustin Jimenez Ruiz, Janet K. Braun, Mariel Campbell, Scott Lyell Gardner

Harold W. Manter Laboratory of Parasitology: Faculty Publications

The parasite fauna of two species of fat-tailed mouse opossums from northwestern Argentina is herein presented. Five species of helminths were found, i.e., Pterygodermatites kozeki, Hoineffia simplispicula, Oligacanthorhynchus sp., and a new species of tapeworm, Mathevotaenia sanmartini n. sp. (Cyclophyllidea: Anoplocephalidae). The new species is characterized by a calyciform scolex, relatively few testes (32), and a long cirrus sac; it occurs in fat-tailed mouse opossums at localities above 4,000 m. Those characters make it different from 6 species known to occur in marsupials from the New World, and from other species occurring in armadillos and bats. Didelphoxyuris thylamisis …

Inside Unlv, Diane Russell, Shane Bevell, Jennifer Vaughan

Inside UNLV

No abstract provided.

Glandular Secretions Of Male Pteropus (Flying Foxes): Preliminary Chemical Comparisons Among Species, Jamie Wagner

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

Chemosignaling – passing information by means of chemical compounds that can be detected by members of the same species – is a very important form of communication for most mammals. Flying fox males have odiferous marking secretions on their neck-ruffs that include a combination of secretion from the neck gland and from the urogenital tract; males use this substance to establish territory, especially during the mating season. The secretions of flying fox males from three Australian species – spectacled (Pteropus conspicillatus), grey-headed (P. poliocephalus), and black (P. alecto) – were compared using high pressure liquid chromatography (HPLC); two spectacled females …

Corallivorous Reef Fishes As Potential Vectors Of Coral Disease Based On A Study Of Dietary Preferences, Tanya Rogers

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

The prevalence of coral disease appears to be increasing worldwide, although little is known about how these diseases are transmitted between coral colonies. To examine whether corallivorous fishes could potentially act as disease vectors, this study examined whether and which fish species feed on diseased coral, and whether these fishes actively target diseased coral sections. Branches of Acropora muricata with brown band disease were filmed in the field, and bites taken by fishes on different sections of the coral (live tissue, tissue margin, disease band, dead skeleton, and algae) were recorded. For each fish species, electivity indices were calculated for …

Behavioral Disparities Between Two Troops Of Lemur Catta That Occupy Different Habitats, Laura Saucier

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

The present study was conducted during the early wet season at Berenty Private Reserve. It investigates behavioral disparities between two troops of Lemur catta that occupy different habitats—gallery forest and scrub. Methods included density and phenology analysis to evaluate relative food availability in each territory. Behavioral observations were collected across eleven full-day troop follows. Results show extensive, statistically significant differences between behavior in the gallery and the scrub, many of which can be explained by relative food abundance within a troop’s home range. Some trends included greater intra-troop discord and fewer inter-troop conflicts in the scrub. In addition, the troops …

Phylogeographical Structure And Evolutionary History Of Two Buggy Creek Virus Lineages In The Western Great Plains Of North America, Abinash Padhi, Amy T. Moore, Mary Bomberger Brown, Jerome E. Foster, Martin Pfeffer, Kathryn P. Gaines, Valerie A. O'Brien, Stephanie A. Strickler, Allison E. Johnson, Charles R. Brown

School of Natural Resources: Faculty Publications

Buggy Creek virus (BCRV) is an unusual arbovirus within the western equine encephalitis complex of alphaviruses. Associated with cimicid swallow bugs (Oeciacus vicarius) as its vector and the cliff swallow (Petrochelidon pyrrhonota) and house sparrow (Passer domesticus) as its amplifying hosts, this virus is found primarily in the western Great Plains of North America at spatially discrete swallow nesting colonies. For 342 isolates collected in Oklahoma, Nebraska, Colorado, and North Dakota, from 1974 to 2007, we sequenced a 2076 bp region of the 26S subgenomic RNA structural glycoprotein coding region, and analyzed phylogenetic relationships, …

Sex- And Gonad-Affecting Scent Compounds And 3 Male Pheromones In The Rat, Jian-Xu Zhang, Lixing Sun, Jin-Hua Zhang, Zhi-Yong Feng

All Faculty Scholarship for the College of the Sciences

This study was aimed at identifying sex pheromones of the rat (Rattus norvegicus). We characterized the volatiles and semivolatiles of rat preputial gland and voided urine by using gas chromatography–mass spectrometry (GC–MS) and quantified them by their GC areas (abundances) and percentage of GC areas (relative abundances). Although all the compounds other than 4-heptanone and phenol detected were shared by males and females, the quantities for some of these sex-common compounds exhibited sexual dimorphism and decreased with gonadectomy. Thus, these compounds might be sex pheromones. Among them, squalene from preputial glands and 2-heptanone and 4-ethyl phenol from urine …

2007 (19th) Report Of The Nou Records Committee, Mark A. Brogie

Nebraska Bird Review

The functions and methods of the Nebraska Ornithologists' Union (NOU) Records Committee are described in its bylaws (NOU Records Committee 1986). The committee's purpose is to provide a procedure for documenting unusual bird sightings and to establish a list of all documented birds for Nebraska. The "Official List of the Birds of Nebraska" was first published in 1988 (NOU Records Committee 1988) and has been updated two times (NOU Records Committee 1997, 2004).

The "Official List" has been appended seventeen times: (Mollhoff 1989; Grenon 1990, 1991; Gubanyi 1996a, 1996b, 1996c; Brogie 1997, 1998, 1999, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007; Jorgensen …

Nebraska Bird Review (September 2008) 76(3), Whole Issue

Nebraska Bird Review

Summer Field Report, June–July 2008 ... 94

2007 (19th) Report of the NOU Records Committee ... 111

Migration Chronology, Nesting Ecology, and Breeding Distribution of Mountain Plover (Charadrius montanus) in Nebraska ... 120

Observation of Hailstorm-Caused Mortality of Least Terns and Piping Plovers on the Niobrara River, Nebraska ... 129

Subscription and Organization Information ... 131

Migration Chronology, Nesting Ecology, And Breeding Distribution Of Mountain Plover (Charadrius Montanus) In Nebraska, Bartholomew L. Bly, Larry Snyder, Tammy Vercauteren

Nebraska Bird Review

The Mountain Plover (Charadrius montanus) is a loosely colonial (Graul 1975) upland shorebird that breeds across the xeric tablelands of the western Great Plains and shortgrass prairie ecoregion of North America (Knopf and Wunder 2006). This is a species of conservation concern throughout its range because of apparent range-wide population declines (Knopf and Wunder 2006). The U.S. Shorebird Conservation Plan (USSCP) recently classified the species as globally highly imperiled (Brown et al. 2001; USSCP 2004). Reasons for the decline of Mountain Plovers are not fully understood. Habitat destruction and the tendency of the species to nest in agricultural …

Lime For High Rainfall Pastures: Above 800mm Average Annual Rainfall, Mike Bolland, Bill Russell

Bulletins 4000 -

Conventional agriculture acidifies soil. As your soil becomes more acid, productive pasture species disappear and are replaced by species of low agricultural value. It is a waste of money to apply expensive fertiliser to pastures which are inherently poorly productive because they are growing in an acid soil.

The paper examines the types of lime available, how to select lime for quality and when and how much lime to apply. Maganese toxity and aluminum toxicity are examine, how to test your soil, and affect of soil acidity on bacteria and other microorgansims.

Equine Immunity, Vaccination Guidelines, And Recommendations, Patricia Evans, Kerry A. Rood

All Current Publications

This publication provides vaccination guidelines, recommendations, and suggestions for a healthy horse.

Understanding Animal Welfare, David Fraser

Assessment of Animal Welfare Collection

In debates about the welfare of animals, different people have tended to emphasize different concerns. Some emphasize the basic health and functioning of animals, especially freedom from disease and injury. Others emphasize the "affective states" of animals – states like pain, distress and pleasure that are experienced as positive or negative. Others emphasize the ability of animals to live reasonably natural lives by carrying out natural behaviour and having natural elements in their environment. These concerns constitute different criteria that people use to assess animal welfare. The criteria overlap substantially but are sufficiently independent that the single- minded pursuit of …

The Effects Of Circular And Linear Exercise On Articular Cartilage In Sheep, Kristine Vernon

All Dissertations

Excessive exercise may induce osteoarthritis (OA), or degeneration, of articular cartilage, which is a leading cause of lameness and decreased use in horses. The purposes of this study were to utilize a sheep model to determine the effects of circular and linear exercise on the macroscopic and microscopic characteristics of articular cartilage in the metacarpal-phalangeal (MCP) joint and to evaluate biochemical changes in serum and synovial fluid compared to non-exercised control lambs.
Twenty lambs were randomly assigned to three groups: circular exercise (C, 8.5m diameter; n = 8), straight-line exercise (S, treadmill; n = 8) and non-exercised control (CON, n …

Changes In Brain Biochemistry And Feeding Behavior In Hybrid Striped Bass Exposed To Environmental Contaminants, Kristen Gaworecki

All Dissertations

Biochemical endpoints are useful when determining contaminant exposure in aquatic organisms. However, behaviors can also be impaired by environmental contaminants. Links between changes in brain biochemistry and behavior have been made, and understanding these relationships could increase the utility of these endpoints in ecological risk assessments. The overall goal of this research was to determine relationships between an ecologically relevant fish behavior and brain biochemistry. To accomplish this goal, I developed a behavioral bioassay that quantified the time it took exposed hybrid striped bass (Morone saxatilis x M. chrysops) to capture unexposed prey, fathead minnows (Pimephales promelas). Chemically targeted brain …

Domain Duplication, Darwinian Selection, And The Origin Of The Globulin Seed Storage Proteins, Nathaniel S. Cannon

Theses and Dissertations

The seed storage globulins found among virtually all spermatophytes comprise a multi-gene family of proteins with ancient evolutionary origins. The two main groups of storage globulins include the legumins (11S) and vicilins (7S), both of which play a main role in protein deposition and storage in the seed endosperm. Composed of two cupin domains (bicupin), these proteins have been recently noted not only for their close structural relationships among the two subfamilies (7S and 11S) but also for their similarity to other proteins such as germin-like proteins (GLP's), bacterial oxalate decarboxylases, and other cupin containing proteins. Previous studies have investigated …