Digital Commons Network^™

Brood Parasitism Of Eastern Kingbirds By Brown-Headed Cowbirds, Michael T. Murphy

Biology Faculty Publications and Presentations

Understanding why brood parasites lay eggs in the nests of hosts that reject eggs is hampered by insuf-ficient data on the frequency with which parasites lay in rejecter nests, and by ignorance of which in-dividuals practice this seemingly inappropriate be-havior. Parasitism rates of rejecters can be deter-mined only when host nests are observed during egg laying because most parasite eggs are rejected rapidly (e.g. Scott 1977). Even then, however, a certain per-centage of parasitized nests may go undetected. De-termining the selective value of host defense mech-anisms also depends on knowledge of the frequency of parasitism, and the amount of reproductive …

The Incidence Of Cryptosporidial Infections In Nebraska Dairy Calves, Douglas Lee Varner

School of Veterinary and Biomedical Sciences: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

Within the last decade a new etiologic agent has been identified as a possible cause of diarrhea in humans and domestic animals—that being the protozoan parasite Cryptosporidium. The purpose of this study was to determine the incidence and distribution of Cryptosporidium in the state of Nebraska, to determine if Cryptosporidium occurs more frequently in association with other enteropathogens and to determine about the relation of scouring in the calves to infection with Cryptosporidium. A total of 620 fecal samples from 334 dairy calves from 71 herds in Nebraska were examined for cyptosporidial oocysts using the Sheather’s sugar flotation …

Relationship Between Snow Depth And Gray Wolf Predation On White-Tailed Deer, Michael E. Nelson, L. David Mech

United States Geological Survey, Northern Prairie Wildlife Research Center: Publications

Abstract: Survival of 203 yearling and adult white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus) was monitored for 23,441 deer days from January through April 1975-85 in northeastern Minnesota. Gray wolf (Canis lupus)predation was the primary mortality cause, and from year to year during this period, the mean predation rate ranged from 0.00 to 0.29. The sum of weekly snow depths/month explained 51% of the variation in annual wolf predation rate, with the highest predation during the deepest snow.

Body Size And Condition, Timing Of Breeding, And Aspects Of Egg Production In Eastern Kingbirds, Michael T. Murphy

Biology Faculty Publications and Presentations

Variation in timing of breeding in Eastern Kingbirds (Tyrannus tyrannus) was correlated only weakly with external morphological characters, but was correlated positively and significantly with estimates of body size based on measurements of skeletons and muscle weights. Small females apparently held a reproductive advantage in being able to mobilize resources for reproduction before large females. Egg weight was independent of all measures of female size, but was directly and significantly (P = 0.03) correlated with standard flight muscle weight, a relative index of body condition. Egg size was thus a function more of female body condition than size. On average, …

Environmental Factors Affecting Nocturnal Migrations Of Macrobenthos, C. Timothy Morris

Biological Sciences Theses & Dissertations

Nocturnally dispersing macrobenthic invertebrates of the Lafayette River, Norfolk, Virginia were collected from September 4 to October 4, 1982 to determine environmental factors affecting migrations. A total of 55 taxa were identified from 325 surface and bottom nocturnal plankton tows. Peracaridan crustaceans were the dominant (99.0% of the total density) group collected. Six of the commonly collected species showed a significant (P

Blarina Brevicauda, Sarah B. George, Jerry R. Choate, Hugh H. Genoways

University of Nebraska State Museum: Mammalogy Papers

Blarina Gray, 1838
Blarina Gray, 1838: 124. Type species Corsira (Blarina) talpoides Gray (=Sorex talpoides Gapper = Sorex brevicaudus Say), by original designation. Elevated to generic rank by Lesson, 1842:89.
Brachysorex Duvernoy, 1842:37-41. Type species Brachysorex brevicaudus Duvernoy (=Sorex brevicaudus Say), by original designation.
Talposorex Pomel, 1848:248. Type species Talposorex platyurus Pomel (=Sorex brevicaudus Say), by original designation. Anotus Wagner, 1855:550-55 1. Type species Sorex carolinensis Bachman, by original designation.

Joan Staats Oral History, Joan Staats

Personal Papers Collection

No abstract provided.

Leroy Stevens Oral History, Leroy Stevens

Oral History Collection

Dr. Stevens seemed remarkably nervous throughout our taping, commenting several times that he felt he had nothing to say. In fact, he did, but only in a corroborating way: his tape confirms much said by Russell, Snell and other old-timers. Interestingly, Stevens represents an age group, or "generation" with few members left at Jax: the immediate post-World War II group hired by C.C. Little just as federal funding began to be a feature of American science. Stevens makes reference to five or six scientists hired when he was, who are no longer at Jax. In terms of anecdote, or vignette, …

Variation In Piglet Weights: Development Of Within-Litter Variation Over A 5-Week Lactation And Effect Of Farrowing Crate Design, B. K. Thompson, D. Fraser

Ontogeny Collection

Piglets from 51 litters were weighed weekly over a 5-wk lactation in an experiment that studied the effects of farrowing crate design and other factors on variation in piglet weight. Of two farrowing crates used, one had low horizontal bars that tended to impede access to the upper row of teats, while the other had angled vertical bars which permitted freer access. Fourteen-day weights were more uniform in the vertical-bar crates than in the horizontal-bar crates (P < 0.025), but the difference waned by day 35 (P > 0.05). There were no significant differences in mean body weight owing to crate type (P < 0.05) for any of the weekly measurements but, by day 14, there was a significant linear trend (P < 0.05) at decreasing main body weight with increasing litter size. The interaction between crate type and litter size was significant at the later ages (P < 0.01 at day 35) because the linear trend was more pronounced for horizontal-bar crates than for vertical. Litters differed greatly in the uniformity of their body weights. Much of the variation became established in the first and, to a lesser extent, the second week after birth. In those weeks, weight gains were highly variable and were not closely related to weight at the beginning of the week. Thereafter, the established differences tended to be perpetuated to 35 d, because weight gains were largely proportional to body weight. Within-litter competition appeared to influence weight gain considerably.

Whooping Crane Roost Site Characteristics On The Platte River, Buffalo County, Nebraska, Gary R. Lingle, Kenneth J. Strom, Jerry W. Ziewitz

Nebraska Bird Review

Whooping Crane (Grus americana) use of the Platte River in Nebraska has been a controversial topic, especially in the last decade. Pressures from water development interests seeking Platte River water conflict with the needs of wildlife and interests from the conservation community. Between spring 1942 and fall 1984 there were 13 confirmed Whooping Crane sightings on or near the Platte River (US Fish and Wildlife Service, 1985). Lingle et al. (1984) described physical characteristics of a Platte River roost site used in 1983. This report describes the physical characteristics of the most recent known roost site on the …

Nebraska Bird Review (June 1986) 54(2), Whole Issue

Nebraska Bird Review

The Eighty-fifth (1986) Annual Meeting … 30

1985 Nebraska Nesting Survey … 31

Book Reviews … 36

Whooping Crane Roost Site Characteristics on the Platte River, Buffalo County, Nebraska … 36

Mottled Duck in Nebraska … 39

Notes … 40

Kentucky Warbler (Vol. 62, No. 2), Kentucky Library Research Collections

The Kentucky Warbler

No abstract provided.

Descriptive Ethology And Activity Patterns Of Black-Footed Ferrets, Tim W. Clark, Louise Richardson, Steven C. Forrest, Denise E. Casey, Thomas M. Campbell Iii

Great Basin Naturalist Memoirs

Aspects of the aboveground ethology and activity patterns of the black-footed ferrets (Mustela nigipes) are described for a population in northwestern Wyoming as a first step in building a descriptive ethogram and quantification of activity patterns. We observed at least 237 individual ferrets for 208 hr on 441 occasions from 2 December 1981 through 25 September 1984. Mainenance behaviors (locomotion, alert, grooming, and sunning, defecation and urination, digging, and predation) and social behavior (reproduction, ontogeny, maternal, play, agonistic) are described as well as some ferret-human interactions. Ferret vocalizations are subjectively described. We located ferrets during most months including …

Description And History Of The Meeteetse Black-Footed Ferret Environment, Tim W. Clark, Steven C. Forrest, Louise Richardson, Denise E. Casey, Thomas M. Campbell Iii

Great Basin Naturalist Memoirs

The black-footed ferret (Mustela nigripes) occupied area lies in the western Big Horn Basin, Park County, Wyoming. Cody, a nearby town, shows a record high temperature of 40.5 C and a low of -43.3 C, with 173 days each year below 0 C. Area geology is dominated by Absaroka volcanics. Soils are shallow (0.5 m) and underlain by unconsolidated gravels; well-drained, medium-textured clay-loams (ca 1 m in depth); or clays derived from shale parent materials. Vegetation is characterized by a wheatgrass-needlegrass shrubsteppe type (Agropyron/Stipa/Artemisia). Prior to white settlement, the area hosted a diverse large mammal community. …

Vulnerability Of Cougars To Hunting, Dan Barnhurst

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Forty radio-collared cougars (Felis concolor) were monitored for 630 cougar months. Track searches were conducted and tracking information was gathered over a 20-month period. Vulnerability was estimated to be greatest for 0 to 6-month-old kittens. This age class is the most susceptible to starvation after being orphaned, or being killed by hounds when the hunter is unaware of their presence, since their tracks were found with their mother's tracks only 19 percent of the time. Tracks of 7 to 12-month old kittens were found with their mother's tracks 43 percent of the time. Relative road-crossing frequencies of seven …

Aspects Of The Feeding Ecology Of The Bonneville Cisco Of Bear Lake, Utah-Idaho, David C. Lentz

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

The Bonneville cisco (Prospium gemmiferum), a small planktivorous whitefish, is an important part of the distinctive fish community of Bear Lake, Utah-Idaho. The Bonneville cisco plays a key role in the trophic structure by converting zooplankton to fish biomass and providing a major forage source for cutthroat and lake trout. Aspects of cisco feeding ecology studied include characterization of the zooplankton community composition and dynamics and cisco feeding habits and prey selection.

Composition and seasonal dynamics of the zooplankton community were determined for a fifteen month period during 1981-1982. The community was dominated by a calanoid copepod, Epischura …

Manganese Toxicity In Mice: Evaluation Of Neruochemical And Immunologial Alteration, Benjamart Srisuchart

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Neurochemical and immunological effects of manganese chloride (MnCl₂) were evaluated using young male CD-1 mice as the animal model. Intraperitoneal (i.p.) injection of MnCl₂ (1, 3 and 10 mg/kg) daily for 4 weeks did not produce mortality or overt signs of toxicity in any of the treated animals. Manganese treatment increased the thymidine uptake of cultured splenic cells and the selective lymphoproliferative response to T-cell mitogens, phytohaemagglutinin and concanavalin A, in all the treated groups. No difference in the response to B-cell mitogen, lipopolysaccharide was observed. A dose of 10 mg/kg MnCl₂ increased the mixed lymphocyte …

Effect Of Spring Grazing By Cattle On Growth And Survival Of Shrub Seedlings Interplanted In Crested Wheatgrass, Lynn M. Mcconville

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

A short duration-high intensity grazing trial was conducted in spring of 1985 to determine whether shrub establishment in crested wheatgrass pastures could be enhanced through spring grazing by cattle, or by fertilization of shrub seedlings. Data was collected on diet selection by cattle during spring grazing, and on subsequent shrub growth and survival. Shrubs studied were transplants of sagebrush, Artemisia tridentata, fourwing saltbush, Atriplex canescens, bitterbrush, Purshia tridentata, and one year old bitterbrush seedlings.

Cattle did not browse sagebrush or fourwing saltbush transplants, but utilization of bitterbrush transplants and seedlings averaged 15 and 42 percent, respectively. Shrub …

The Diet Of The Gopher Tortoise, Gopherus Polyphemus, In A Sandhill Habitat In Central Florida, Laurie Ann Macdonald

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Scat analysis and foraging observations were used to determine the diet of a gopher tortoise, Gopherus polyphemus, population in a sandhill community in west central Florida. Live vegetation was assessed to determine plant availability. The bulk of the gopher tortoise diet was composed of the dominant plant species in the habitat while the tortoises were selective with respect to most plant genera. Tortoises ingested many plant taxa with Poaceae, Asteraceae, Fabaceae, Pinaceae and Fagaceae being the most frequent components of the diet. Sixty-eight genera from 26 families were identified in the tortoise diet. In the scat the most common …

The Report Of The Southern Western Australian Shark Working Group., P. Millington

Fisheries Management Papers

The southern Western Australian Shark Working Group was formed to investigate the southern shark fishery and advise the Minister for Fisheries on options for future management. Membership comprised six fishermen from regional professional fishermen's associations and two Fisheries Department officers. The Working Group considered that each shark fisherman obtaining an entitlement should then be restricted in the length of fishing gear he can use and the number of months he can fish. The individual's time and gear entitlement would be approximately that length of gear being used and time spent fishing in a period shortly before the bench mark date. …

Wpa News 12 (1986), World Pheasant Association

Galliformes Specialist Group and Affiliated Societies: Newsletters

WPA News (April 1986), number 12

Published by the World Pheasant Association

1986 Little International Agricultural Exposition Catalog, Little International Agricultural Exposition South Dakota State University

Little International "Little I" Agricultural Exposition Catalogs

No abstract provided.

Variation In Piglet Weights: Relationship To Suckling Behavior, Parity Number And Farrowing Crate Design, David Fraser, B. K. Thompson

Ontogeny Collection

Suckling behavior and weight change of piglets were studied during the first 2 wk after birth. Thirty-six litters comprised a balanced comparison of parity number (first or second), litter size (8, 10 or 12), and two farrowing crate designs, one of which had a low horizontal bar that tended to impede the piglets' access to the udder. Piglets showed the expected preference for the anterior teats although the preference was more apparent in the second parity than in the first. Teat fidelity was most pronounced at the two ends of the udder; piglets occupying the middle positions did more fighting …

Variations In Radial Maze Performance Under Different Levels Of Food And Water Deprivation, Robert H.I. Dale, William A. Roberts

Scholarship and Professional Work - LAS

Four groups of rats were tested on an eight-arm radial maze under a free-choice procedure. The subjects were maintained at either 80% or 100% of their preexperimental free-feeding weights through restricted access to either food or water. Water-deprived subjects received water in the maze; food-deprived subjects received food. Water-deprived subjects learned the task faster than food-deprived subjects. The four groups developed different response patterns. These were measured by the mean transition size, the average angular distance (in 45° units) between consecutively chosen arms. Rats foraging for food and water developed different search strategies, with water-deprived subjects exhibiting lower mean transition …

Kentucky Warbler (Vol. 62, No. 1), Kentucky Library Research Collections

The Kentucky Warbler

No abstract provided.

Development Of An In Vivo Model To Determine The Biological Value Of Microbial Protein, T. Fritz, R.H. Pritchard

South Dakota Beef Report, 1986

A semi-purified diet (SPD) was fed to 12 wether lambs and one fistulated wether and evaluated for acceptability and ability to support growth. Ruminal pH and NH3 were monitored throughout the diet adaptation period. Treatments included three levels of dry matter intake; low intake (LI) 750 g-hd-l. d-l, medium intake (MI) 1125 g-hd-l..d-l and high intake (HI) 1500 g-hd-l.d-l. Digestibility of dry matter (DM, 70.6%), acid detergent fiber (ADF, 62.8%), nitrogen (N, 72.8%) and percentage digestible nitrogen retained (33.2%) were not different across intake levels. Indigestible ADF of the semi-purified diet appears to be a suitable solid phase marker for …

Breeding Objectives And Selection Traits For Extensive Beef Cattle Production In The Tropics, D. J. S. Hetzel, G. W. Seifert

World Congress on Genetics Applied to Livestock Production: 3rd (1986)

Breeding objectives are largely determined by market requirements. In the tropics the overall breeding objective can be considered in terms of growth, reproductive rate, carcass quality, adaption and temperament. Growth rate is a simple efficient selection trait. Reasons why potential increases in mature size are not as disadvantageous as in temperate areas are discussed. Reproductive performance has been less important in harsh than benign environments because of the later age of turnoff and higher drought risk of fertile cows. Current market trends towards younger slaughter stock highlight the need to identify marker traits in bulls for cow fertility. Adaptive traits …

Comparison Of Five Dam Breeds Under Two Nutritional Environments, C. E. Thompson, S. G. Woods, S. E. Meadows

World Congress on Genetics Applied to Livestock Production: 3rd (1986)

Crossbreeding has become an accepted practice for beef cattle production. Hybrid vigor or heterosis of crosses among breed of English origin, such as Angus, Hereford and Shorthorn have been well documented. Crosses utilizing breeds of European and dairy breeding have not been well documented for beef production, particularly in the Southeastern part of the United States. As most of the Southeastern U.S. is heavily involved in one-calf programs an evaluation of crossbreds involving the use of British, European and dairy breeding is needed. This study is a portion of a comprehensive research project evaluating the performance of 5 dam breed …

Economic Evaluation Of Breeding Objectives For Milk And Beef Production In Tropical Environments, F. E. Madalena

World Congress on Genetics Applied to Livestock Production: 3rd (1986)

The influence of some elements of tropical milk production systems on breeding objectives is discussed. Expansion of demand for milk and meat should be expected from increased population and income growth. Relative commercial value of milk fat may be strongly influenced by government policies regulating to proportion of liquid milk consumed. Calf production is an integral part of cow performance under the common practices of hand milking and suckling. Milk letdown may be an important trait for milking in modern dairy parlours. Experimental economic evaluations have referred mainly to comparisons of breeds and crosses, indicating that European × zebu crosses …

Evaluation And Utilization Of Tropical Breeds For Efficient Beef Production In The Tropics: Challenges And Opportunities, Assefaw Tewolde

World Congress on Genetics Applied to Livestock Production: 3rd (1986)

Crossbreeding results between tropical breeds and European beef breeds as well as within breed (mainly Zebu) genetic variability for some economically important traits is reviewed. Heterosis of between 9% to 11% has been reported for preweaning growth rate, 2% to 11% for postweaning and carcass traits as well as up to 15% for reproduction related traits in crosses involving Bos indicus and Bos taurus cattle. Maximum heterosis was observed in crosses involving Zebu and Criollo cattle, both well adapted to the tropics. Within breed genetic parameter estimates under tropical conditions are still scanty. Based on the production environment and after …