Digital Commons Network^™

Nigella Sative As An Antibiotic Alternative To Promote Growth And Enhance Health Of Broilers Challenged With Eimeria Maxima And Clostridium Perfringens, Vishal Manjunatha, Julian E. Nixon, Greg F. Mathis, Brett S. Lumpkins, Zeynep B. Guzel-Seydim, Atif C. Seydim, Annel K. Greene, Xiuping Jiang

Publications

The poultry industry has significant coccidiosis and necrotic enteritis (NE) challenges, leading to high mortality and unacceptable growth without antibiotic treatment. This research explored supplementing Nigella sativa (black cumin) seed oil in poultry feed to mitigate coccidiosis and prevent or lessen NE in broilers. In vivo studies consisted of 384 and 320 Cobb 500 male broiler chicks distributed in a randomized complete block experimental design for trials 1 and 2, respectively. The first trial compared 3 concentrations (1, 2, and 5 mL/kg) of black cumin seed oil (BCSO), and trial 2 compared 2 concentrations (2 and 5 mL/kg) BCSO, with …

Inhibiting Survival Of Salmonella During Desiccation Through The Use Of Naturally Occurring Signals, Joseph Headrick

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

A rising problem in agriculture is the increase of antibiotic-resistant Salmonella cases associated with chicken eggs, which transmit infection to humans. To counter this, new approaches to combat Salmonella in chickens and desiccated on eggshells are vital in the prevention of human foodborne illness. Disrupting signaling pathways with naturally occurring compounds provides a potential novel avenue for prevention of Salmonella infections, as this would disrupt sensing of these environments and inhibit subsequent optimal gene expression. Starting with signals identified in previous studies, salicylic acid was found to inhibit Salmonella desiccation survival on both eggshells and plastic. To expand upon this, …

Urbanization Affects Web Abundance And Aggregation Of A Funnel‑Weaving Spider, Agelenopsis Pennsylvanica (Agelenidae), Brandi J. Pessman, Madison Hays, Earl Agpawa, Eileen Hebets

Eileen Hebets Publications

Animals distribute themselves within habitats based on a variety of environmental conditions, including those impacted by urbanization. Suspected global declines in urban arthropod biodiversity have required that we examine how urban conditions affect the distribution of this ecologically important group. Throughout North America, funnel-weaving spiders (Agelenidae) are prevalent across urban habitats and actively choose sites to build webs. We compared Agelenopsis pennsylvanica abundance and distribution between two distinct urban habitats: an urban center (university campus) and an urban forest (city park). These urban habitats differed significantly in features like plant diversity and proximity to roads and highways. We searched along …

Optimal R&D Investment In The Management Of Invasive Species, William Haden Chomphosy, Dale T. Manning, Stephanie A. Shwiff, Stephan Weiler

United States Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

Invasive alien species (IAS) threaten world biodiversity, ecosystem services, and economic welfare. While existing literature has characterized the optimal control of an established IAS, it has not considered how research and development (R&D) into new removal methods or technologies can affect management decisions and costs over time. R&D can lower the costs of control in a management plan and creates an intertemporal trade-off between quick but costly control and gradual but cheaper removal over time. In this paper, we develop and solve a continuous time dynamic optimization model to study how investment in R&D influences the optimal control of an …

Growth, Mortality, And Movement Of Endemic Bartram's Bass And Invasive Alabama Bass In Upper Savannah River Basin Tributaries, Tyler Zumwalt

All Theses

Bartram’s Bass are an endemic to the Upper Savannah River basin in North Carolina, South Carolina, and Georgia. Bartram’s Bass are facing many risks, primary among them being hybridization with nonnative Alabama Bass. More recently, nonnative Alabama Bass and their hybrid congeners have been observed moving from reservoirs into tributaries where the remaining Bartram’s Bass populations exist. Thus, for Chapter 1 we sought to better understand the threat of nonnative gene spreading in tributary systems. To do this, we 1) quantified the movement of pure Alabama Bass, Bartram’s Bass, and their hybrids, 2) assessed correlations between movement and abiotic variables, …

Characterizing And Evaluating Growth Performance And Poultry Production Efficiencies Using Conventional And Novel Monitoring Methods On Modern Broilers And Japanese Quail, Travis Tabler

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The poultry industry is integral to the global agricultural system as consumption rates continue to rise worldwide. With the global population projected to reach 10 billion by 2050, there is an increasing need for efficient and sustainable animal protein sources. Feed efficiency is a significant factor in poultry production costs, as feed accounts for 50 to 70% of total production costs. Given increasing concerns surrounding feed efficiency improvements, there is a focus on the genetic improvement of broiler digestibility to improve nutrient utilization and reduce production costs. Water availability is also of critical concern for the poultry industry, as estimates …

New Reports Of Smilodon And Panthera From North American Cave Sites With Reviews Of Taxonomy, Biogeography, And History, Matthew Bushell

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

In this study, three new reports of large felids from the Pleistocene are presented and discussed. A single partial left dentary from Jawbone Cave represents the first confirmed presence of S. fatalis in east Tennessee and was sampled for radiocarbon dating. Wind Tunnel and Chilly Bowl Cave are among the first records of P. onca to be identified confidently from Arkansas. Chilly Bowl Cave also produced two trackways attributable to Panthera sp., one set potentially belonging to P. atrox. In addition to the description of these remains and the caves they were found in, taxonomic histories for both S. fatalis …

Determination Of Cadmium Uptake In Crassostrea Virginica Shell Under Controlled Conditions, Joseph John Pavelites Ii

Graduate Theses and Dissertations (2019 - present)

The objective of this thesis was to meet growing demand for the development of environmental biomonitors that protect ecosystems and public health. To do this, I determined the potential of oyster shell as a bioindicator of cadmium (Cd) in the environment by determining the mode of Cd uptake and relationships between Cd concentrations in the environment, shell, and soft tissues of juvenile eastern oysters (Crassostrea virginica Gmelin). I performed a review of the literature on the ability of oyster shell to retain metal contaminants and the factors that could affect this process (Chapter 2). I then reared C. virginica …

Evaluation Of The Effect Of Enterococcus Cecorum Exposure During Late Embryogenesis On Systemic Disease And Early Performance In Broiler Chickens, Marcela Arango

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The objective of this thesis was to investigate the effects of Enterococcus cecorum (EC) administration into the amnion at day 18 of embryogenesis on performance and septicemia development in broiler chickens. Chapter I consists of a brief overview of the thesis. Chapter II provides a literature review on EC-related disease in broiler chickens and methods to isolate, detect, and differentiate between commensal and pathogenic strains of EC. Chapter III consists of a study conducted to determine if different EC strains isolated from field cases that exhibited septicemia and high mortality impacted hatchability, livability, organ colonization, and early performance in broiler …

The Effects Of Essential Oil From Lippia Origanoides And Herbal Betaine On Performance, Intestinal Integrity, Bone Mineralization And Meat Quality In Broiler Chickens Subjected To Cyclic Heat Stress, Roberto Señas-Cuesta, Andressa Stein, Juan D. Latorre, Clay J. Maynard, Xochitl Hernandez-Velasco, Victor Petrone-Garcia, Elizabeth Greene, Makenly Coles, Latasha Gray, Lauren Laverty, Kristen Martin, Ileana Loeza, Alvaro J. Uribe, Blanca C. Martinez, Jaime A. Angel-Isaza, Danielle Graham, Casey M. Owens, Billy M. Hargis, Guillermo Tellez-Isaias

Poultry Science Faculty Publications and Presentations

Essential oils (EO) affect performance, intestinal integrity, bone mineralization, and meat quality in broiler chickens subjected to cyclic heat stress (HS). Day-of-hatch Cobb 500 male broiler chicks (n = 475) were randomly divided into four groups. Group 1: No heat stress (Thermoneutral) + control diets with no antibiotics; Group 2: heat stress control + control diets; Group 3: heat stress + control diets supplemented with thymol chemotype (45 ppm) and herbal betaine (150 ppm) formulation EO1; Group 4: heat stress + control diets supplemented with phellandrene (45 ppm) and herbal betaine (150 ppm) formulation EO2. From day 10–42, the …

How Animals Affect Us: Examining The Relationship Between Human-Animal Interactions And Human Well-Being, Elizabeth A. Johnson

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

This dissertation utilized a mixed-methods approach which illustrated the potential benefits of HAI in addressing human health concerns, focusing on specific populations within the United States. The chapters presented in this dissertation provide insight into the complex relationships between humans and animals, including the roles of companion animals in promoting human well-being. Chapter three surveys 234 Americans observing COVID-19 stay at home isolation orders and findings suggest that the presence of companion animals alleviates stress and isolation by providing attachment figures and activities on which to focus one’s energy. Chapter four explores women’s oxytocin levels after interacting with their cat …

Disruption Of Play Behavior Influences Development Of Caution In Juvenile Ground Squirrels, William Ryan

Master's Theses

Play behavior is ubiquitous among young mammals and has a variety of important influences on early development. I evaluated possible influences of social play behavior on the development of temperament in juvenile Belding’s ground squirrels (Urocitellus beldingi), using the caution/boldness spectrum as a measure of temperament. I disrupted the play behavior of juvenile U. beldingi by walking toward juveniles at play until the play interactions stopped. I used undisrupted juveniles and juveniles whose non-play behavior was disrupted at regular intervals as controls. Caution was measured with behavioral tests during which a human intruder walked toward a squirrel and recorded the …

Fulfilling Koch’S Postulates And Evaluation Of Different Administration Routes In Poults Challenged With Streptococcus Gallolyticus, Latasha Gray

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Streptococcus gallolyticus (SG) is a Gram-positive found as commensal gut flora in animals and humans. SG has been associated with acute mortality in poults 2 to 3 weeks of age, with lesions mainly consisting of splenomegaly, hepatomegaly, and pericarditis. The objective of this thesis was to reproduce disease in poults caused by SG recovered from clinical field isolates and evaluate different routes of administration. Three field isolates from geographically disparate areas in Arkansas and Missouri were used for the experiments contained in this thesis. Antibiotic sensitives of the three field isolates revealed sensitivity to penicillin as well as a wide …

Early Solid Diet Supplementation Influences The Proteomics Of Rumen Epithelium In Goat Kids, Yimin Zhuang, Xiaokang Lv, Kai Cui, Jianmin Chai, Naifeng Zhang

Animal Science Faculty Publications and Presentations

It is well known that solid diet supplementation in early life can significantly promote rumen development and metabolic function in young ruminants. However, the changes in the expressed proteome and related metabolism in rumen epithelium in response to a supplemented solid diet remain unclear. In this study, rumen epithelial tissue from goats in three diet regimes including milk replacer only (MRO), milk replacer supplemented concentrate (MRC), and milk replacer supplemented concentrate plus alfalfa pellets (MCA) were collected for measurement of the expression of epithelial proteins using proteomic technology (six per group). The results showed that solid diet significantly improved the …

Bone Metabolite Profile Differs Between Normal And Femur Head Necrosis (Fhn/Bco)-Affected Broilers: Implications For Dysregulated Metabolic Cascades In Fhn Pathophysiology, Alison Ramser, Rachel Hawken, Elizabeth Greene, Ron Okimoto, Brenda Flack, Courtney J. Christopher, Shawn R. Campagna, Sami Dridi

Poultry Science Faculty Publications and Presentations

Femur head necrosis (FHN), also known as bacterial chondronecrosis with osteomyelitis (BCO), has remained an animal welfare and production concern for modern broilers regardless of efforts to select against it in primary breeder flocks. Characterized by the bacterial infection of weak bone, FHN has been found in birds without clinical lameness and remains only detectable via necropsy. This presents an opportunity to utilize untargeted metabolomics to elucidate potential non-invasive biomarkers and key causative pathways involved in FHN pathology. The current study used ultra-performance liquid chromatography coupled with high-resolution mass spectrometry (UPLC–HRMS) and identified a total of 152 metabolites. Mean intensity …

Assessing Illegal Shooting Of Birds Along Power Lines, Eve C. Thomason

Boise State University Theses and Dissertations

Birds found dead near power lines typically are assumed to have died from electrocution. However, birds die from many causes, and inaccurate diagnosis of cause of death undermines law enforcement, management, threat assessment, and mitigation. We used field and necropsy data from dead birds collected along 196 km of power lines in four western USA states in 2019 – 2022 to test the assumption that electrocution is the leading cause of death of birds on power lines. Of 175 birds with a known cause of death, 66% died from gunshot, whereas only 17% died from electrocution or by trauma. To …

Monitoring The Birds And The Bees: Environmental Dna Metabarcoding Of Flowers Detects Plant–Animal Interactions, Joshua P. Newton, Philip W. Bateman, Matthew J. Heydenrych, Joshua H. Kestel, Kingsley W. Dixon, Kit S. Prendergast, Nicole E. White, Paul Nevill

Research outputs 2022 to 2026

Animal pollinators are vital for the reproduction of ~90% of flowering plants. However, many of these pollinating species are experiencing declines globally, making effective pollinator monitoring methods more important than ever before. Pollinators can leave DNA on the flowers they visit, and metabarcoding of these environmental DNA (eDNA) traces provides an opportunity to detect the presence of flower visitors. Our study, collecting flowers from seven plant species with diverse floral morphologies, for eDNA metabarcoding analysis, illustrated the value of this novel survey tool. eDNA metabarcoding using three assays, including one developed in this study to target common bush birds, recorded …

Habitat Selection By Desert Carnivores: How Water, Intraguild Predation, And Prey Impact Animal Space Use, Nadine A. Pershyn

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Across North America large carnivores have lost nearly half of their historic range, creating openings for smaller (< 15 kg) carnivores to take over their ecological roles. Coyotes (Canis latrans) have seen a significant range expansion, including into arid deserts. It was believed that the addition of artificial water sources by humans allowed coyotes to expand into desert ecosystems where they were previously unable to survive. The kit fox (Vulpes macrotis) is a small, desert-adapted carnivore with declining populations that faces threats from coyotes of intraguild predation. This is when carnivores compete over the same prey, and the larger carnivore (intraguild predator) kills the smaller carnivore (intraguild …

Social Factors Driving Grouping Dynamics In Bighorn Sheep Ewe, Toni Proescholdt

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Understanding and predicting movement is critical for conservation planning and disease risk mitigation, and important environmental drivers of animal movement have received extensive attention in the ecological literature. Social factors surrounding group fission and fusion events also directly affect movement. However, these events are infrequently measured in the wild and rarely linked to underlying mechanisms such as relatedness, agreement in reproductive status, or shared life stage. While some social factors cannot be directly observed in the field, individual animals congregating in groups and moving about a landscape can. In animal societies, groups may merge together in a fusion event, and …

Does A Bumblebee’S Size Influence Foraging Behavior?, Alametta Thompson-Hinton, Becky Hansis-O'Neill, Aimee Dunlap Dr

Undergraduate Research Symposium

Current studies of Bumblebees (Bombus impatiens) have shown that they prefer plants that have a higher concentration of sugar over those that are of a lower concentration. However, there is little research analyzing the impact of the size difference amongst bumblebee foragers. During our experiment, we tested if larger bumblebees demonstrate a propensity to pursue nectar rewards more frequently compared to smaller bees. We hypothesized that the smaller bumblebees would forage less than the larger ones under a fixed ratio and three different sugar concentrations. We found that our hypothesis was partly correct: smaller bees initially earned fewer rewards, …

Physiological, Temporal, And Environmental Determinants Of Forage Fish Caloric Content In The Gulf Of Mexico, Rebecca R. Walsh

Honors Theses

Within the Gulf of Mexico, forage fish species serve as an important link between lower trophic levels and higher trophic levels, supporting economically valuable predator fish, birds, and mammals. Despite the key ecological role of forage fish, fisheries management efforts are often directed elsewhere; as a result, input data for fisheries models is unavailable for many forage fish species. To fill this knowledge gap, we sought to produce species-specific caloric content values for four forage fish species in the Gulf of Mexico: Atlantic croaker (Micropogonias undulatus), white trout (Cynoscion arenarius), bay anchovy (Anchoa mitchilli), …

Nesting Success Of American Robins (Turdus Migratorius) In Suburban Areas Of The Arkansas River Valley, Brandon Maiersperger

ATU Scholars Symposium

The American Robin (Turdus migratorius) is an abundant North American songbird species that thrives in suburban areas. Estimates of robin nesting success in suburban areas range from 31% to 90%. Robin nest site selection and success have not received much attention in the past few decades. Most passerines have a balanced sex ratio at fledging, but little is known about the fledgling sex ratio of robins. We located 44 robin nests in six public parks around Russellville, AR and on the Arkansas Tech University campus. Nest success was low; 27% (12/44) of nests fledged at least one young. Robins nested …

Acoustic Sampling Of Arkansas Bat Species Richness Across Different Seasons And Habitats, Lark E. Sybrant

ATU Scholars Symposium

Arkansas is home to sixteen bat species belonging to the Vespertilionidae and Molossidae families. Bats are keystone species and provide numerous ecosystem services that also benefit people. This study explores factors that impact species richness between the spring and fall seasons in a wooded rural site (Washburn Park) and an urban field site (Arkansas Tech University campus), Russellville, AR. The non-invasive Echo Meter Touch 2 Pro, from Wildlife Acoustics, was used to record calls and identify bat species from these locations. Nearly 1,050 calls were recorded from 11 different species across the spring and fall between both sites. Results showed …

Comparison Of Redfin Darter (Etheostoma Whipplei) Diets From Two Spatially Distinct Streams In The Arkansas River Valley, Ben S. Johnson, Ethan H. Dodson

ATU Scholars Symposium

SPATIOTEMPORAL COMPARISON OF REDFIN DARTER (ETHEOSTOMA WHIPPLEI) DIETS FROM TWO SPATIALLY-DISTINCT STREAMS IN THE ARKANSAS RIVER VALLEY.

Ben S. Johnson1^*, Ethan H. Dodson1,2, and Kyler B. Hecke1, 1Arkansas Tech University, Department of Biological Sciences, Russellville, AR [email protected], 2Arkansas Game and Fish Commission, 213 AR-89, Mayflower, AR

Diet-data collection is increasingly difficult for darters, as most methods require the dissection of each specimen and the removal of the digestive tract, which is fatal. As a result, the diets of many darter species have been relatively understudied. The Redfin Darter (Etheostoma whipplei) is one species where …

Developing Understanding Of Science Process Skills Through Research And Practices, Faith Ebling, Savannah Cessna, Adria Lindemann, Noelia Lopez, Charleen Sawin, Kyndal Smith

ATU Scholars Symposium

The research examines out first-hand experience of conducting experiments in science and conceptualizing the experimental design process for teaching science concepts in elementary grades. We used Drosophila, the fruit fly as a model organism for studying the phenomenon that animals have traits inherited from parents. The phenomenon is a performance expectation in the Next Generation Science Standards (3-LS3-1). We observed the phenomenon, developed hypothesis, conducted experiments , collected data, analyzed and communicated our findings through discussions and presentations. We utilized our knowledge acquired from the process in developing lesson plans for teaching in elementary grades. In this presentation we will …

Assessing The Dynamics Of The Southeast Florida Shark Community From 2013-2019 Via Catch Per Unit Effort And Stable Isotope Analysis, Alexandra Barth

All HCAS Student Capstones, Theses, and Dissertations

Sharks, as well as other top predators, are in drastic decline worldwide. As apex and near-apex predators, species such as nurse, lemon, and tiger sharks maintain balanced marine ecosystems by enacting top-down trophic control. However, this cascading effect is diminished with exploitation via commercial and recreational fishing. Sharks are generally long-lived, mature late, have long reproductive cycles, and produce few offspring. Much remains to be learned about the community structure, population trends and conservation statuses of shark populations worldwide. Comprehensive studies on the composition of the shark community in Southeast Florida north of Miami have been limited. This study assessed …

Integrating Germplasm Repositories Into Oyster Aquaculture Systems At The Pathway, Center, And Network Levels, Sarah R. Bodenstein

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Germplasm repositories offer many potential benefits to commercial farm operations, including preserving genetic resources and increasing production capabilities. Aquaculture industries have yet to take advantage of repository storage despite decades of research evaluating cryopreservation protocols. Eastern oysters (Crassostrea virginica), for example, are a useful research species when addressing this problem. Oysters are an economically important aquaculture species and a high-throughput cryopreservation method for oysters already exists. To address the gap between protocol research and commercial application a different approach is necessary that can analyze the requirements of repository development at multiple organizational levels. The goal of this dissertation was to …

Dataset Of Rna-Seq Transcriptome Of The Fetal Liver At Day 83 Of Gestation Associated With Periconceptual Maternal Nutrition In Beef Heifers, Wellison J.S. Diniz, Alison K. Ward, Kacie L. Mccathy, Cierrah J. Kassetas, Friederike Baumgaertner, Lawrence P. Reynolds, Pawel P. Borowicz, Kevin K. Sedivec, James D. Kirsch, Sheri T. Dorsam, Tammi L. Neville, J. Chris Forcherio, Ronald Scott, Joel S. Caton, Carl R. Dahlen

Department of Animal Science: Faculty Publications

Herein, we present a dataset based on the RNA-Seq analysis of liver tissue from bovine female fetuses at day 83 of gestation. The findings were reported in the main article, “Periconceptual maternal nutrition affects fetal liver programming of energy- and lipid-related genes”[1] . These data were generated to investigate the effects of periconceptual maternal vitamin and mineral supplementation and rates of body weight gain on the transcript abundance of genes associated with fetal hepatic metabolism and function. To this end, crossbred Angus beef heifers ( n = 35) were randomly assigned to 1 of 4 treatments in a 2 × …

Plant Sentience: A Hypothesis Based On Shaky Premises, Carel Ten Cate

Animal Sentience

Plants may produce fascinating behavioural phenomena for which the label ‘cognitive process’ may be applicable, at least by some definitions. Segundo-Ortin & Calvo (2023) base their hypothesis that plants might be sentient on the premise of demonstrated presence of cognitive complexity. However, the way phenomena are ascribed, and how the term ‘cognitive’ is used by Segundo-Ortin & Calvo, deviates from the common practice in studies of animal cognition, implying greater complexity than seems justified. It thus provides a questionable basis for attributing sentience to plants.

Cats Of Unl: An Investigation Into The Human-Feral Cat Relationships On A University Campus In Nebraska, Jacey Skoda

Honors Program: Senior Projects (Public)

At the University of Nebraska-Lincoln (UNL), there exists a population of feral cats that is monitored and cared for by a group known as Husker Cats. As the cats wander the sidewalks and gardens of the university, they may appear non-threatening and pleasant to have around. However, a feral cat presence could have detrimental impacts on the surrounding ecosystem, property, and community. The first component of this project, a survey of individuals on UNL campus, ultimately seeks to understand what those in the UNL community know about the feral cats, how they feel about the feral cats, and how they …