Digital Commons Network^™

Animal Science Alumni Newsletter, Winter 2002

Department of Animal Science: Departmental News

Contents:

From the Department Head’s Desk
Faculty Retirement
New Faculty
100 Years of 4-H in Nebraska
Feedlot Internship Program and Feedlot Extension Meetings
Japanese Agricultural Training Program
Graduate Program
Animal Science Student Ambassadors
Bud Britton Animal Science Golf Classic
Masters Week
Deaths
Emeriti/Retiree Reception
Emeriti Update
Block & Bridle Activities
Animal Science Graduate Association
Recent Department Awards and Recognitions
CASNR Alumni Board
Academic Quadrathlon
Judging Team Activities
Attention — Judging Team Alumni
Alumni News
Alumni Newsletter Wins Award
Your Newsletter Committee
Call for Information for the 2003 Issue of the Animal Science Alumni Newsletter
Animal Science Trivia
Calendar of Events …

Composition And Morphology Of The Follicular Basal Lamina During Atresia Of Bovine Antral Follicles, H. F. Irving-Rodgers, M. L. Mussard, J. E. Kinder, R. J. Rodgers

Department of Animal Science: Faculty Publications

The fate of the follicular basal lamina during atresia was investigated using bovine follicles, in which different follicle phenotypes have been observed. These phenotypes include: healthy follicles with rounded basal granulosa cells with an aligned basal lamina or follicles with columnar basal granulosa cells with a basal lamina of many loops (loopy), and atretic follicles in which either the antral granulosa cells (antral atresia) or the basal cells (basal atresia) die first. Loopy lamina and basal atresia occur only in small antral follicles < 5 mm in diameter. Follicles were collected from cattle of unknown reproductive history and processed for immunohistochemistry and electron microscopy, and from animals in which follicle growth had been monitored by daily measurements of follicle diameter by ultrasonography. Electron microscopic observations of dominant follicles during the growth phase, plateau and regression showed that the basal lamina was still visible and intact upon atresia. These follicles had a conventional aligned basal lamina, which they retained, except for some degree of folding, as they progressed into antral atresia. In small follicles (2–5 mm in diameter), the basal cell shape (rounded or columnar) and appearance of the basal lamina (aligned or of many loops) did not appear to be related to the type of atresia. On atresia the follicular basal laminae retained immunoreactive laminin α1 and β2, type IV collagen a1 and nidogen. Laminin α2, which may come from the theca, was present in the follicular basal lamina of only 22% of healthy follicles, but was expressed very commonly in 71% of the atretic follicles. Laminin α2 expression was found in both phenotypes of healthy follicles, antral and basal atretic follicles, and follicles with aligned or loopy basal laminae. It is concluded that the basal lamina is not degraded upon atresia, but does undergo a variety of other changes.

Effects Of Management Practices On Grassland Birds: Eastern Meadowlark, Scott D. Hull

United States Geological Survey: Effects of Management Practices on Grassland Birds

Information on the habitat requirements and effects of habitat management on grassland birds were summarized from information in more than 4,000 published and unpublished papers. A range map is provided to indicate the relative densities of the species in North America, based on Breeding Bird Survey (BBS) data. Although birds frequently are observed outside the breeding range indicated, the maps are intended to show areas where managers might concentrate their attention. It may be ineffectual to manage habitat at a site for a species that rarely occurs in an area. The species account begins with a brief capsule statement, which …

Effects Of Management Practices On Grassland Birds: Wilson’S Phalarope, Jill A. Dechant, Douglas H. Johnson, Lawrence D. Igl, Christopher M. Goldade, Amy L. Zimmerman, Betty R. Euliss

United States Geological Survey: Effects of Management Practices on Grassland Birds

Information on the habitat requirements and effects of habitat management on grassland birds were summarized from information in more than 4,000 published and unpublished papers. A range map is provided to indicate the relative densities of the species in North America, based on Breeding Bird Survey (BBS) data. Although birds frequently are observed outside the breeding range indicated, the maps are intended to show areas where managers might concentrate their attention. It may be ineffectual to manage habitat at a site for a species that rarely occurs in an area. The species account begins with a brief capsule statement, which …

Effects Of Management Practices On Grassland Birds: Savannah Sparrow, David A. Swanson

United States Geological Survey: Effects of Management Practices on Grassland Birds

Information on the habitat requirements and effects of habitat management on grassland birds were summarized from information in more than 4,000 published and unpublished papers. A range map is provided to indicate the relative densities of the species in North America, based on Breeding Bird Survey (BBS) data. Although birds frequently are observed outside the breeding range indicated, the maps are intended to show areas where managers might concentrate their attention. It may be ineffectual to manage habitat at a site for a species that rarely occurs in an area. The species account begins with a brief capsule statement, which …

Effects Of Management Practices On Grassland Birds: Lesser Prairie-Chicken, Brent E. Jamison, Jill A. Dechant, Douglas H. Johnson, Lawrence D. Igl, Christopher M. Goldade, Betty R. Euliss

United States Geological Survey: Effects of Management Practices on Grassland Birds

Information on the habitat requirements and effects of habitat management on grassland birds were summarized from information in more than 4,000 published and unpublished papers. A range map is provided to indicate the breeding distribution of Lesser Prairie-Chicken in the United States and southern Canada. Although birds frequently are observed outside the breeding range indicated, the maps are intended to show areas where managers might concentrate their attention. It may be ineffectual to manage habitat at a site for a species that rarely occurs in an area. The species account begins with a brief capsule statement, which provides the fundamental …

Effects Of Management Practices On Grassland Birds: Henslow’S Sparrow, James R. Herkert

United States Geological Survey: Effects of Management Practices on Grassland Birds

were summarized from information in more than 4,000 published and unpublished papers. A range map is provided to indicate the relative densities of the species in North America, based on Breeding Bird Survey (BBS) data. Although birds frequently are observed outside the breeding range indicated, the maps are intended to show areas where managers might concentrate their attention. It may be ineffectual to manage habitat at a site for a species that rarely occurs in an area. The species account begins with a brief capsule statement, which provides the fundamental components or keys to management for the species. A section …

Annual Review Of The World Pheasant Association 2001/2002, World Pheasant Association

Galliformes Specialist Group and Affiliated Societies: Reports and Other Materials

Chairman of Trustees' report, Richard P. Howard

The way ahead, Dick Potts

Treasurer's report and accounts, Ian F. Hoggarth

Conservation activities in 2001/2002 (including South Asia Office), Philip J. K. McGowan and Rahul Kaul

Pheasant Specialist Group report, Peter J. Garson

Partridge, Quail and Francolin Specialist Group report, John P. Carroll

Grouse Specialist Group report, Ilse Storch

Megapode Specialist Grouse report, René W. R. J. Dekker

Cracid Specialist Group report, Daniel M. Brooks

Conservation Breeding Activities, Han Assink, John Corder, and Gary Robbins

Plight of prairie grouse in Kansas, R. J. Robel

Bruijn's brush-turkey observed in the wild for the …

Utilization Of Distillers Grains Form The Fermentation Of Sorghum Or Corn In Diets For Finishing Beef And Lactating Dairy Cattle, S. Al-Suwaiegh, K. Fanning, R. J. Grant, C. T. Milton, Terry J. Klopfenstein

Department of Animal Science: Faculty Publications

Beef finishing and dairy lactation experiments were conducted to evaluate the nutritional value of distillers grains (DG) from sorghum or corn fermentation, in both wet (35.4% DM) and dry (92.2% DM) form (dairy trial only). In the finishing experiment, 60 yearling steers were used in a completely randomized design with three diets that were fed for 127 d: 1) control diet with 86% (DM basis) dry-rolled corn and no DG; 2) 30% of ration DM as wet corn DG in place of dry-rolled corn; and 3) 30% of ration DM as wet sorghum DG in place of dry-rolled corn. All …

Distributions And Geographical Relationships Of The Polygyrid Land Snails (Mollusca, Gastropoda, Polygyridae) Of Arkansas, Gerald E. Walsh, Brian F. Coles

Journal of the Arkansas Academy of Science

The Arkansas distributions of land mollusks of the family Polygyridae are presented based on the results of a state-wide survey and a critical review of published and unpublished locality records. Six of the 45 species previously recorded for Arkansas are excluded because they were misidentified, do not have established populations in the state, or are found only as fossils. Four others are not mapped because of a lack of recent distributional data or because the specific status of a form is unclear. There is a predominant pattern of occurrence limited to the northern, northwestern, or western parts of the state. …

Length-At-Age In Juvenile Patagonian Toothfish (Dissostichus Eleginoides), J. Ashford, C. Jones, S. Bobko, I. Everson

OES Faculty Publications

We used the otoliths from a sample of Dissostichus eleginoides pre-recruits, whose length density was distinctly polymodal, to see whether ages estimated by reading otoliths were congruent with the length modes observed. Length densities by age were compared graphically with the overall length density observed. Additionally, ages were predicted for each fish based on length, and compared with ages estimated from reading otoliths in a goodness-of-fit test. The majority of the otoliths (83.6%) were estimated to be from fish 1+ or 2+ years old, with mean total lengths of 32.5 cm and 41.3 cm respectively. No difference was found between …

Colony Composition And Demographics Of Beavers In Illinois, Stanley T. Mctaggart

Masters Theses

Beavers (Castor canadensis) have been extensively studied throughout North America, but little research has been conducted on this species in Illinois and the Midwest. Beavers exhibit wide variations in colony composition and demographics over their broad geographic range, so regional research is important for sound management. The objectives of this study were to investigate the: (1) typical composition of beaver colonies in Illinois; (2) reproductive potential of female beavers in Illinois; (3) sex-age composition of beaver populations in Illinois; and (4) efficacy of night-vision surveys versus removal trapping for estimating colony size. This study was conducted during the 1999-00 and …

Mitochondrial Dna And Microsatellite Genetic Variation Of Dollar Sunfish (Lepomis Marginatus), Nancy A. Schable

Masters Theses

Dollar sunfish (Lepomis marginatus) at the Savannah River Site were sampled from two radiocesium contaminated ponds with a history of thermal elevation and from reference ponds with no history of radioactive or thermal contamination. Fluorescent sequencing of a portion of the mitochondrial control region showed no genetic variation within or between populations. Centrarchidae microsatellite loci Lma 120 (6 alleles, N=124 from 5 populations), Lma 20 (10 alleles, N=37 from 3 populations) and Rb 7 (14 alleles. N=17 from 2 populations) were variable for dollar sunfish. An additional 9 microsatellite primer pairs were designed for dollar sunfish. Testing of the designed …

Effects Of Some Dna Gyrase Inhibitors On The Survival And Development Of Pimpla Turionellae (Hymenoptera: Ichneumonidae) Larvae Reared On An Artificial Diet, Kemal Büyükgüzel

Turkish Journal of Zoology

The effects of novobiocin, nalidixic and oxolinic acids, which are potent antibacterial agents, on the survival and development of the hymenopterous endoparasitoid Pimpla turionellae L. were investigated alone by rearing the larvae aseptically on chemically defined synthetic diets. The percentage of fifth instar larvae was not significantly affected by the diets with different levels of the antibiotics used in the study. A diet containing the lowest level of novobiocin significantly increased the yields of pupae and adults. This level also significantly shortened the developmental time for fifth instar, but had no significant effect on the complete development of the larvae …

The Ostracoda (Crustacea) Fauna Of Lakes Erikli, Hamam, Mert, Pedina And Saka (İğneada, Kırklareli,Turkey), Okan Köylüoğlu, Erdoğan Usta, M. Teki̇n Babaç

Turkish Journal of Zoology

No abstract provided.

Understanding The Infectious Agent In Nvcjd: Role Of Copper, Edi̇z Demi̇rpençe, Fi̇li̇z Akbiyik

Turkish Journal of Veterinary & Animal Sciences

No abstract provided.

Nebraska's Nature Compendium, Thomas E. Labedz

University of Nebraska State Museum: Mammalogy Papers

With attrition claiming many academic organismal biologists, and many institutions failing to replace them, it can be difficult for natural history novices to obtain basic information for broad geographic areas. Johnsgard conceived The Nature of Nebraska in response to a tenacious teacher and the needs of her fourth-grade class in Elwood, Nebraska. This book will help fill the need for persons, especially teachers, struggling to find basic information on Nebraska's natural history and guidance in natural history education.

Avian Vacuolar Myelinopathy: A Newly Recognized Fatal Neurological Disease Of Eagles, Waterfowl And Other Birds, John R. Fischer, Lynn A. Lewis, Tom Augspurger, Tonie E. Rocke

United States Fish and Wildlife Service: Publications

Since 1994, wildlife biologists and wildlife health specialists have worked to determine the cause of avian vacuolar myelinopathy (AVM), a neurologic disease of bald eagles (Haliaeetus leucocephalus) and other birds. The causes of morbidity and mortality in wildlife typically are determined through both antemortem and postmortem examinations, combined with ancillary tests for microbiological organisms, toxicants and other etiologies. However, the etiology of AVM has not been determined yet, despite extensive diagnostic investigations, including examinations for common disease agents, as well as infrequent or unusual causes of mortality. With the failure of standard diagnostic testing to determine the cause …

The Influence Of Sylvatic Plague On North American Wildlife At The Landscape Level, With Special Emphasis On Black-Footed Ferret And Prairie Dog Conservation, Michael F. Antolin, Pete Gober, Bob Luce, Dean E. Biggins, William E. Van Pelt, David B. Seery, Micael Lockhart, Mark Ball

United States Fish and Wildlife Service: Publications

"Prairie-dogs are distributed over a large part of the Great Plains and Rocky Mountain regions. Their colonies often number thousands of individuals, and their destruction of grasses and other forage plants makes them of considerable economic importance. Drastic measures are frequently necessary to prevent the destruction of crops of grain and hay. The Biological Survey is exterminating these rodents in national forests and in the public domain. The information in this report, in regards to the several species and their distribution, as indicated by maps, will aid materially in efforts, national or state, to control or exterminate them," said Henry …

Bioavailability And Exposure Assessment Of Petroleum Hydrocarbons And Trace Elements In Birds Nesting Near The North Platte River, Casper, Wyoming, Kimberly Dickerson, Thomas W. Custer, Christine M. Custer, Ken Allen

United States Fish and Wildlife Service: Publications

The objectives of this study were to compare refinery-related petroleum hydrocarbon concentrations in nestling tree swallows (Tachycineta bicolor) and nestling house wrens (Troglodytes aedon) at sites along the North Platte River Casper, Wyoming in 1997 and 1998; and to determine if contaminants were present in concentrations that could adversely affect the birds. Because trace element concentrations, mixed function oxidase activity, and the variation in DNA are often associated with petroleum hydrocarbon concentrations in birds, each was measured as indicators of petroleum contamination. Sediment and aquatic invertebrates were also sampled for characterizing a possible contaminant source to …

Dietary Amino Acid Utilization For Body Protein Deposition — Current And Future Research, Janeth J. Colina, Austin Lewis, Phillip S. Miller

Nebraska Swine Reports

In modern pork production it is important to maximize the animal’s potential for daily lean gain by increasing the body protein deposition with as little wastage of the ingested amino acids as possible. Therefore, it is important to maximize the efficiency with which dietary amino acids are used for protein deposition or lean gain. This efficiency is measured by using nitrogen balance studies or comparative slaughter procedures. Supplementing swine diets with crystalline amino acids and replacing part of the dietary protein can reduce diet cost and will also reduce the amount of nitrogen excreted in manure. However, it has been …

Growth And Carcass Responses In The Ne Index Line Estimated In Pure-Line And Crossbred Litters, D. B. Petry, J. W. Holl, Rodger K. Johnson

Nebraska Swine Reports

The objective was to estimate responses in growth and carcass traits in the NE Index line (I) that was selected 19 generations for increased litter size. Responses in pure-line, F₁ and 3-way cross litters were compared. In Exp 1, 694 gilts that were retained for breeding, including 448 I and control (C) and 246 F₁ I and C by Danbred™ Landrace (L), were evaluated. Direct genetic effects of I and C did not differ for backfat or days to 230 lb; however, I had 0.24 in² smaller longissimus muscle area (LMA) than C (P < 0.05). F₁ gilts had …

Applicability Of High-Rise™ Hog Housing For Finishing Operations, Richard R. Stowell

Nebraska Swine Reports

The design of High-Rise™ swine facilities allows the generation of a solid, manure-laden material from hogs raised in confinement housing with slatted floors. The volume of manure that must be handled annually can be reduced through continuous moisture loss that takes place within the system’s drying bed and recycling of bed material. Recycling typically involves mixing material twice a year — at the end of finishing periods. Moisture contents of twice-recycled manure-laden bed material ranged between 55-65% with continuous aeration for three years of production. This moisture range makes the material acceptable directly as feedstock for composting. Ammonia emissions should …

Discovery: The Student Journal Of Dale Bumpers College Of Agricultural, Food And Life Sciences - Volume 3 2002, Several Authors

Discovery, The Student Journal of Dale Bumpers College of Agricultural, Food and Life Sciences

No abstract provided.

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 …

Evidence For Infanticide In Bottlenose Dolphins Of The Western North Atlantic, Dale G. Dunn, Susan G. Barco, D. Ann Pabst, William A. Mclellan

Biological Sciences Faculty Publications

Nine bottlenose dolphin (Tursiops truncatus) calves that stranded in Virginia in 1996 and 1997 died of severe blunt-force trauma. Injuries were concentrated on the head and chest and multiple rib fractures, lung lacerations, and soft tissue contusions were prominent. Skeletal and/or soft tissue trauma occurred bilaterally in all of the calves. One had a bite wound across the left mandible that exhibited deep punctures consistent with the tooth placement in an adult bottlenose dolphin. The lesions were not compatible with predation, boat strike, fisheries interactions, rough-surf injury, or blast injury. However, they were similar to traumatic injuries described in stranded …

Instructions For Authors, Discovery Editors

Discovery, The Student Journal of Dale Bumpers College of Agricultural, Food and Life Sciences

No abstract provided.

The Effects Of Growth Hormone Or Melatonin On The Reproductive Axis Of Stallions, William Andrew Storer

LSU Master's Theses

Two experiments were conducted to determine the effects of growth hormone (GH) or melatonin on the reproductive axis of the stallion. In Experiment 1, nine stallions were treated with GH (20 µg/kg BW) or saline for 21 d starting in January. During the last week of treatment, stallions were subjected to low and high dose injections of luteinizing hormone (LH), as well as low and high dose combined injections of gonadotropin releasing hormone (GnRH) and thyrotropin releasing hormone (TRH). Two months after the onset of GH treatment, semen was collected from all stallions every other day for 2 weeks. Treatment …

Weaning Date For Spring Calving Cows Grazing Sandhills Range, Lane Ciminski, Don C. Adams, Terry J. Klopfenstein, Dick Clark, Andy Applegarth, Jacqueline A. Musgrave, Russ Sandberg

Nebraska Beef Cattle Reports

A two-year experiment was conducted with March calving cows to determine the effect of the weaning date on cow body condition score, cow body weight, and calf body weight. Treatments were of eight weaning dates imposed at consecutive two-week intervals, beginning in mid-August and ending in late November. Cow body condition score declined linearly as weaning date was later in the fall. Calf body weight gains from August through November increased with weaning dates from August 18 through October 13; however, weaning after October 13 provided no advantage of increased calf body weight gain.

Hypoxanthine Phosphoribosyl Transferase And Early Embryo Development, Michael Gerard Collins Ii

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

The objectives of the first experiment were to ascertain if there were any differences between two mouse areola and adipose tissue cell lines. These cell lines differed only in the presence or absence of the hypoxanthine phosphoribosyl transferase (HPRT) gene. It was found that the cell lines were similar for all parameters. The objectives of the second experiment were to determine if the HPRT gene had an effect on the development of preimplantation mouse embryo. To test this transgenic mouse lines were created. The embryo sex and genotype ratio, the embryo diameter, and the embryo developmental patterns, using a Collin-Ryan …