Digital Commons Network^™

Potential Productivity Of Temperate And Tropical Grassland Systems, G O. Mott

IGC Proceedings (1977-2023)

Grasses of temperate regions of the world belong primarily to the subfamily Festucoideae, whereas tropical regions are populated by tribes of the Panicoideae subfamily. Temperate grasses have a C3 biochemical pathway of photosynthesis in con­trast to tropical grasses, which have a C4 photosynthetic mechan-ism. Both tropical and temperate legumes are C3 plants. Com­patible mixtures of legumes and grasses have long been successful in many temperate regions, but combining C4 grasses and C3 legumes as mixtures in the tropics has been only moderately successful. Maximum net primary productions of temperate and tropical grasslands are in the order of 25 and 80 …

Use Of Genetic Resources For Improvement Of Forage Species, J R. Harlan

IGC Proceedings (1977-2023)

The use of genetic resources of forage species poses some special problems because of the number of species involved, the in­adequacy of our knowledge about them, the fact that they are often used in combination and should be evaluated in terms of livestock product, and so on. Collections should be as comprehensive as possible at the outset of improvement programs; other­wise, there may be much use of inferior material and much waste of time and effort. Most of the forage species in use come from (1) Europe (excluding Mediterranean zones), (2) Mediterranean Basin and Near East, (3) African savannas (mostly …

Forage Quality: Assessing The Plant-Animal Complex, D J. Minson

IGC Proceedings (1977-2023)

At the VI International Grassland Congress held at Pennsylvania State College in 1952, the late Dr. C.P. McMeekan re­viewed the many problems associated with the plant-animal complex. Great stress was placed on the need to measure forage in­take accurately as a prerequisite to an under-standing of the plant-animal complex. Progress in the development of more accurate :methods of estimating the forage intake of grazing animals is reviewed, in­cluding the introduction of different methods of administering chromic oxide, the esophageal fistula for obtaining samples of selectively grazed material, the in-vitro technique for estimating the digestibility of the forage eaten, and the …

Competitive, Adaptive, And Evolutionary Process In Grassland Ecosystems, B D. Patil

IGC Proceedings (1977-2023)

In the tropics, grasslands or grazing lands are found where the forest vegetation climax has been subjected to fire, grazing, felling, or other disturbances. Grazing lands in the tropics form various ecosystems under the major climatic types. Delineation of such ecosystems is possible through remnants of the climax vegetation of undisturbed or least-disturbed areas. Several subecosystems exist as seral stages under each ecosystem, the floristic composition of which is a reflection of the edaphic and soil­moisture-fertility conditions. Biological production in terms of energy for grazing animals varies among these ecosystems and subecosystems. Reconstruction of the adaptable competitive flora with woody …

Growth And Development Of Two Echinochloa Millet Species In A Warm Temperate Climate, D K. Muldoon

IGC Proceedings (1977-2023)

Most summer forage crops fall into either the sorghum or the millet species group. Included in the millet group are two species, Echinochloa utilis and Echinochloa frumentacea, commonly known as Japanese barnyard millet and Indian barnyard millet, respectively. These species have a negligible HCN potential and higher nutritive value than Sorghum species. However, they generally flower early, yield less than forage sorghum , and lack vigor in regrowth. In this study the pattern of growth and development of two Echinochloa millets was examined as part of a larger program of improving the production of these forage species. E. utilis …

Test Adaptation And Evaluation Trials Of Forage Plants In Major Ecological Regions Of Ethiopia And Kenya, K M. Ibrahim, A Orodho

IGC Proceedings (1977-2023)

Kenyan and Ethiopian natural grazing Ian.cl. support more than 20% of the cattle population of the African continent. Many of the natural pastures of these countries are severely overgrazed, as unfavorable grazing conditions prevail for over half the year. Objectives of adaptation trials were to evaluate and identify introduced or indigenous forage and fodder species or ecotypes having genetic potential for high production of digestible dry matter for direct pasture and range improvement and for future use in breeding programs. Over 4,000 indigenous and 3,000 introduced ecotypes were evaluated for 24 vegetative characters in six ecological regions between 1971 and …

Neutral Detergent Fiber And Protein Levels In Diploid And Tetraploid Ryegrass Forage, L R. Nelson, F M. Rouquette Jr

IGC Proceedings (1977-2023)

Nutritive value of 18 ryegrass (Lolium multifloriumLam.) cultivars was studied at Overton, Te1

0.42-mm screen. Plots were harvested four times during each of the first 2 years and five times in the third year. In 1977-1978 and 1978-1979, NDF and protein analyses were run on samples from 2 replications. All forage samples were analyzed for pro­tein via the micro-Kjeldahl technique. Percentages of NDF were obtained via Van Soest extraction procedures. A seasonal increase in neutral detergent fiber (NDF) content and a decrease in protein percentage was observed. Differences in NDF were observed among cultivars and were most apparent during …

Forage Quality Of Barley Straw As Influenced By Genotype, D W. Meyer, D O. Erickson, A E. Foster

IGC Proceedings (1977-2023)

Cereal straw is an untapped carbohydrate source for ruminant animal feeds, but little information is available on genotypic differences in the feeding value of barleys (Hordeum vulgare L.) commonly grown in the northern Great Plains of the U.S.A. Our objective was to determine if barley genotypes differ in straw forage quality and if straw-quality parameters are associated with agronomic characters. Straw from 37 and 31 barley genotypes was sampled in 1977 and 1978, respectively. Straw from 10 barley genotypes grown at four locations was sampled in 1979. Standard laboratory procedures were used to determine the quality parameters measured. Correlations …

Development Of Gama Medic {Medicago Rugosa Desr.) As An Annual Leguminous Species For Dryland Farming Systems In Southern Australia, E J. Crawford

IGC Proceedings (1977-2023)

Annual medics (Medicago spp.) are the basic legume for nitrogen fixation in the alkaline soils of southern Australia. Not all in­dividual species are well adapted to all soil types, one difficult soil being the highly alkaline clay loam where annual rainfall is less than 500 mm. The first gama medic (M. rugosa) cultivar, Paragosa, was well adapted to the clay-loam soil type but proved to be susceptible to germination after summer thunderstorms, and seedlings died in the following drought. Many gama medic accessions were then grown in an attempt to select a genotype capable of maintaining seedcoat impermeability during …

Evolution Of Selection Techniques In Breeding For Bloat-Safe Alfalfa, B P. Goplen, R E. Howarth, G L. Lees, W Majak, J P. Fay, K J. Cheng

IGC Proceedings (1977-2023)

This report summarizes the Canadian breeding program to develop a bloat-safe alfalfa (Medicago sativa L.). This program has experienced an evolution of selection methods in attempting to identify bloat-safe alfalfa genotypes. In chronological order, the methods involved selection for fraction I (18S) protein, soluble proteins, foam volume, tannins (flavolans), saponins, initial rate of digestion (IRD), sonication, purified enzymes, gas production, and leaching. Although soluble herbage protein is correlated with the occurrence of pasture bloat, we have experienced slow progress in a selection program to reduce soluble-protein concentration in alfalfa. We have found that foam volume is not correlated with …

Value Of White Sweet Lupin In Production Of Protein Fodder And Feeding Of Animals, O Saric, I Ramosevac

IGC Proceedings (1977-2023)

The potential of white sweet lupin (Lupinus albus L.) as a grain or forage feed for livestock was investigated in a series of ex­periments. Grain yield of lupin was greater than or equal to that of soybeans (Glycine max [L.] Merrill) in most evaluations. The quality of lupin seed compared favorably with that of soybean meal and fishmeal. Lupin is capable of producing large amounts of forage in a short period, making it a good prospect for forage production in regions that have a short growing season.

White Clover: An Olde Crop With A Promising Future, P B. Gibson, W E. Knight, G W. Barnett, W A. Cope, J D. Miller

IGC Proceedings (1977-2023)

White clover (Trifolium repens L.) is a widely adapted, important forage legume for grazing in the U.S. The palatability and quality of the forage, the wide adaptation of the plants to growth in different climates and under various grazing conditions and the role it plays in supplying nitrogen to pastures make white clover our finest pasture legume. The use of adapted white clover cultivars should result in large economic gains to the livestock industry in the U.S .A. Beef and dairy farmers would profit from reduced need for nitrogen fertilizer, an extended grazing season, increased forage pro­duction and quality, better …

Performance And Variability Of Agronomic Characters In Populations Of Stylosanthes Guianensis (Aubl.) Sw., P S. Martins, N A. Vello

IGC Proceedings (1977-2023)

Stylosanthes guianens-is (Aubl.) Sw. shows wide variations in morphological and physiological characteristics, and basic infor­mation on genetic variability is needed for future breeding programs. The objectives of this paper were to evaluate 25 native Brazilian populations of S. guianensis for forage characteristics · • ;10,d • to estimate genetic and phenotypic parameters for these characters. The experiment was conducted in a duplicated 5 x 5 balanced lattice design with plots that contained 4 individuals spaced on 2-m centers. The following characters were evaluated after the beginning of flowering period: days to flowering (DF), mean diameter (MD), basal area (BA), growth …

Hedysarum Mongolicum Turcz.: An Important Protein Resource Legume On Dry Sandy Land, Li Min, A W. Hovin

IGC Proceedings (1977-2023)

In searching for plants that can both increase the protein production and improve the sandy-soil conservation of the grassland in the arid, windy regions of North China, so far, from among many native plants, we have identified Hedysarum mongolicum Turcz. as the best species to fulfill our dual purposes. We investigated its distribution, planted its native seeds in the Maowusu desert, and studied it under its native and cultivated growing conditions from 1957 to 1964. Chinese farmers call this perennial subbrush legume of the sweetvetcb genus "Yang Cai," meaning "sheep like to eat." It can thrive in the stable or …

Adaptation And Utilization Of Three Legume In China, Huang Wenhui

IGC Proceedings (1977-2023)

China is a vast territory with extremely varied climates, soil, and topography, and it is very rich in pasture grass resources. The main legumes for forage are Alfalfa (Medicago sativa L.), yellow alfalfa (Medicago folcata L.) and shadawang (Astragalis adsurgent Pall.)

Preliminary Evaluation Of Legume Germ Plasm In The Cerrados Of Brazil, D Thomas, R P. De Andrade

IGC Proceedings (1977-2023)

In 1978 an evaluation program was initiated to select legumes that (1) grow and produce seed on acid soils under aluminum and water stress, (2) persist under grazing, and (3) tolerate pests and diseases. The work is being conducted at the Cerrados Agricultural Research Center, near Brasilia, at lat 15°S and altitude 1,000 to 1, 100 m . Annual rainfall is 1,500 mm, mostly distributed in a 6-month wet season, and mean annual temperature is 21°C. Nine hundred legume accessions from thirteen genera have now been established as spaced plants on the 2 major soil types of the region. The …

Du Undergraduate Showcase Abstracts: Research, Scholarship, And Creative Works, Sophia Wismar, Henry Staats, Allison Metzler, Chloe Puckett, Rachel Levine, Christa Kilpatrick, Scott Wolf, Joe Walsh, Grace Doolittle, John Engebreston, Zoe Lopez, Christopher Aaby, Audrey Duff, Timothy Sisk, Katelyn Lamberton, Angela Narayan, Gilkah Argueta, Habiba Samir, Girena Tesfazghi, Genet Kenore, Sinit Tesfamariam, Effley Brooks, Abi Newell, Megan Doherty, Natalie Baer, Lexi Blood, Talya Riciputi, Jessica Jimenez, Devin Hernandez, Lynn Clark, Taj Kumar, Sunil Kumar, Allen Rutman, Mira Pronobis, Tess Carson, Anna Sher, Frankie Stroud, Tamra Pearson D'Estree, Alyssa Wilson, Emily Melnick, Jenalee Doom, Yihang Gao, Gwendolyn Geiger, Noah Gettle, Scott Nichols, Clare Ayoub, Cara Dienno, Sunny Walker, Zoe Hansen, Maya Wheeler, Addison Rice, Patrick Martin, Sanjana Acharya, Daniel Mcintosh, Amanda Mckellips, Calli Cain, Justin Blake, Peter Sokol-Hessner, Natalie Miller, Max Weisbuch, Sophia Dellota, John Macikas, Charlotte Snow, Mark Siemens, Zoe Lynch, Alex Huffman, Prachi Shah, Jason Roney, Halcyon Levi, Nicole Herzog, Andrea Koly, Daniel Linseman, Annie London, Xi Yang, Avery Zwisler, Jane Smith, Chaz Contag, Michael Kerwin, Lucy Rand, Grace Schroeder, Michelle Rozenman, Nissa Tapper, Guiming Zhang, Mateo Mazariego-Halpern, Keith Meyer, Julie Do, Dakota Park-Ozee, Travis Herink, Kara Neu, Jonathan Plomin, Eve-Odine Duchaufour, Debbie Gale Mitchell, Tennyson Anderson-Stricklin, Lily Treitz, Samantha Rosenberger, Sierra Griffith, Finley Joseph, Daniel Sampson, Emmy Davis, Skyler Kasnoff, Evon Lopez, Vivian Nguyen, Cassy Young, Franklin Sellner, Martin Tobon, Ila Graham, Zach Billings, Holden Hedit, Decatur Boland, Paul Kosempel, Cory Chandler, Jay Mahoney, Sam Dragan, Susan Dagget, Yarrow Ator, Heidi Vuletich, Owen Weber, Andrew Kloeppel, Petersen Gray, Mandi Schaeffer-Fry, Razleen Bassra, Bryanna Rodriguez, Christina Blue, Taubie Sanders, Rachel Epstein, Luke Milburn, Camryn Evans, Ezra Martinez, Mary Westwood, Gabri Notov, Robin Tinghitella, Lilou Cabrol, Eli Barbour, Juliet Mendik, Selma Myers, Zac Wise, Noah Fahlin, Michelle Knowles, Abigail Hopper, Michael Greenberger, Romi Laclair, Sarah Watamura, Sabrina Efroymson, Casey Barker, Sydney Seltzer, Bryn Yehle, Jennifer Hoffman, Sara Garcia, Ryuka Nagamine, Trevor Briggs, Remy Le Boeuf, Elena Krone, Eileen Farrell, Regan O'Rourke, Elena Roel, Greg Mortimer, Ali Ayoub, Stefani Langehennig, Caitlin Turk, Logan Scmid, Stefan Chavez-Norgaard, Karen Kim, Tatiana Peccedi, Courtney Cassidy, John Sebesta, Rhianna Lewis, Janice Bening-Lacek, Vivian Lawless, Mckenna Hanson, Jeffrey Amidon, Riya Joshi, Ram Ambre, Brady Worrell, Perrin Schneider, Ali Azadani, Brooke Agulnek, Lyndsie Salvagio, Elise Siemanowki, Yan Qin, Andre Allen, Melodie Nguyen, Megan Livengood, Abby Reams, Saffron Hartreeve, Bri Wylie, Sarah Brookman, Mariah Loiacono, Green Russo, Abhia Lodhi, Gabrielle Welsh, Nika Spehar, Shahked Levin, Evrim Baykal, Kimberly Chiew, Jocelyn Torres, Kailey Hicks, Mykaela Tanino-Springsteen, Audrey Bellows, Akam Chahal, Madeline Tepper, Shannon Murphy, Alexa Fonseca, Deborah Han, Cassandra Perez, Oluwatoyin Alaba, Julia Roncoroni, Vy Nguyen, Nana Burn, Sarah Sasse, Rubin Tuder, Anthony Gerber, Nancy Lorenzon, Christine Vohwinkel, Camryn Gunter, Tristan Weber, Sam Rommel, Brian Michel, Muskan Fatima, Alannah Oleson, Kira Frey, Edward Garrido, Beckett Morris, Kerstin Haring, Drew Middleton, Abigail Walpert, Liam Dee, Gabby Ishaw, Cole Carnes, Maddie Weiser, Claire Fox, Valeriia Vlasenko, Kateri Mcrae, Riley Smith, Abigail Templin, Kushani Rajapaksha

DU Undergraduate Research Journal Archive

Abstracts from the DU Undergraduate Research Showcase.

Evaluating Soil Health And Crop Yield In Louisiana Agricultural Systems: Impacts Of Best Management Practices And Prediction Models, Hector J. Mendoza Lagos

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

The adoption of conservation management practices is critical for improving soil health, enhancing nutrient use efficiency, and sustaining crop productivity in row crop systems in Louisiana. This study evaluated the role of conservation agronomic practices, soil biochemical indicators, and machine learning predictive models to improve soil nutrient dynamics, soil health indicators, microbial communities (MC), and crop productivity on a corn (Zea mays L.) research plot scale and in a commercial forty-hectare cotton (Gassypium hirsutum L.)-corn-soybean (Glycine max L.) rotation system in northeast Louisiana. The objectives of the study were to evaluate soil nutrient dynamics and MCs under …

Somatic Prosthetics For Planetary Resonance, Disha Dharesh Kumar R

Masters Theses

This thesis investigates how industrial design can transcend extractive technological paradigms in favor of relational interfaces that foster planetary attunement. Framing the climate crisis as a 'crisis of imagination', the research challenges the Western bifurcation of nature and culture by drawing on Indic cosmologies- which recognize stones, plants, and ecosystems as conscious at different levels and participants in a shared cosmic field. By synthesizing research in Biosemiotics, Quantum Information Pansycishm, and Neuroscience, the project redefines intelligence as a distributed, more-than-human phenomenon.

The research materializes as a speculative design artifact: a device that functions as a somatic prosthetic for planetary resonance. …

Assessing The Relationship Between Subsurface Geology And Surficial Geomorphology: Remotely Predicting Geologic Features And Geohazards Using An Elevation-Trained Machine Learning Algorithm In The Northern Gulf Of Mexico, Allison L. Wing

Theses and Dissertations

This thesis evaluates the capacity to predict subsurface geologic features and submarine landslide susceptibility using surficial geomorphology derived from bathymetric elevation data in the Northern Gulf of Mexico. Quantitative geomorphic variables including slope, curvature, aspect, rugosity, geomorphons, and Bathymetric Position Index were generated from 30-meter digital elevation models and used as explanatory variables in presence-only Maximum Entropy models. Known locations of faults, pockmarks, mud volcanoes, hydrocarbon seeps, and landslides (particularly intact scarps) were used to train and validate predictive models through k-fold cross validation. Model performance was assessed using omission rates and AUC values. Results demonstrate that specific geomorphic signatures, …

Digging Deep Into Curation: A Guide To Creating A Local Fossil Museum, Syd Joheim, René Shroat-Lewis

Research and Creative Works Expo

In Arkansas, the dissemination of educational content related to evolution and natural history is often constrained by prevailing cultural dynamics. This has resulted in a significant gap in the exposure of primary and secondary school students to foundational concepts in natural history and physical sciences. Even the state’s most popular science and history museums often intentionally exclude exhibits that risk upsetting a large portion of their visitors, further exacerbating the issue. As a consequence, many children do not receive proper education on natural history and physical sciences.  To address this educational deficiency, researchers identified and cataloged specimens from a collection …

Badlands And Bison, Andrew Ressler

The Cicadian

“Badlands and Bison” is a fragmentary travel-fiction hybrid set in the mythic badlands of North Dakota. It merges reportage with invention, parody with elegy: a narrator half pilgrim, half comedian drifts from piano keys to prairie herds, searching for sincerity in a landscape that resists it. The form bends between essay and story, using humor, lyric observation, and shifting registers to question how we mythologize place.

Riki&Dolphin: Real Time Data Transmission From The Bottom Of A Cave To A Website, Luca Tringali, Giacomo Canciani Dr., Tecla Tripari, Alexander Debenjak, Caterina Bearzotti

International Journal of Speleology

Coming from over 10 years of experience in cave monitoring in northeast Italy, Gruppo Speleologico Talpe del Carso, has designed Riki and Dolphin: customizable, low cost, and easy to assemble tools for getting real time data transmission from the bottom of a cave, even underwater, to a webserver. Their use has been tested to monitor air temperature inside the Abisso Bonetti Cave (Classical Karst, Italy), proving for the first time that a cave in Gorizian Karst can systematically be colder than the outdoor temperature even in winter, recording an internal temperature even lower than 0°C. The Dolphin device can be …

Estimating Body Size And Biogeography In The Genus Alligator, Madelyn M. Turala

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Several studies have examined correlations between total body length (TL) and skeletal measurements in the American alligator (Alligator mississippiensis), with some measurements serving as stronger predictors of TL than others. Femur length (FL) has been found to be tightly correlated with TL in A. mississippiensis, and this relationship has been used to estimate body size of extinct crocodilians. This thesis demonstrates that the humerus, radius, ulna, and tibia are also strongly correlated with TL and useful for body size estimation in A. mississippiensis, and thus, can be applied to related extinct crocodilians. Additionally, species distribution modeling …

Soil Moisture Regime Effects On Near-Surface Soil Chemical Properties In Alfisols Under Native Tallgrass Prairie In Arkansas, Sydney M. Talley

Crop, Soil and Environmental Sciences Undergraduate Honors Theses

Tallgrass prairie ecosystems provide many crucial ecosystem services, including nutrient cycling and storage, organism habitat, and soil and water conservation. However, tallgrass prairies are considered an endangered ecosystem, particularly in the Ozark Highlands and Grand Prairie regions of Arkansas, where less than 0.05% of Arkansas’ original prairie land area remains. Understanding soil nutrient supplies over time in native tallgrass prairie ecosystems is critical for quantifying the success of restoration and rehabilitation activities. The objective of this study was to evaluate the effects of soil moisture regime (SMR) (i.e., aquic and udic), region (i.e., Ozark Highlands and Grand Prairie), and their …

Ecological Insights And Management Implications Of The Global Migratory Connectivity Of Green Turtles, Jaime Restrepo, Dina Nisthar, Harris Wei-Khang Heng, Lily K. Bentley, Corrie Curtice, Sarah Deland, Ei Fujioka, Patrick N. Halpin, Sarah K. Poulin, Roldán A. Valverde

School of Earth, Environmental, & Marine Sciences Faculty Publications

Aim

Green turtles are a widely distributed and highly migratory species; despite extensive data on their movement, there is no species-specific global synthesis on the subject. Based on three decades of published literature and building on previous global analyses, we developed a global network model of migratory connectivity for green turtles to better understand their spatial biology.

Location

Global.

Time Period

1990–2022.

Major Taxa Studied

Green Sea Turtle (Chelonia mydas).

Methods

We conducted a structured literature review extracting georeferenced information on the movement of green turtles from 1990 to 2022, aggregating this information into a single connectivity model, …

The Hitchhiker's Guide To The Host: Fleas And The History Of Pikas In North America, Josh Pletcher

All NMU Master's Theses

Parasite phylogenetics can offer windows into the cryptic evolutionary history of hosts, often highlighting events that are not recorded by the phylogenetics of the host. Pikas (small lagomorphs) host a diverse parasite community comprising endoparasites (e.g., coccidians, nematodes, and cestodes) and ectoparasites (e.g., fleas and mites). Phylogenetic analysis of pika endoparasites has revealed pikas evolved in Asia and colonized North America in two waves, and that contact between these two pika lineages allowed parasites to be transferred from one lineage to another and to survive the extinction of their original host. To uncover these cryptic histories, understanding the biogeography of …

Gaining Mussel: Evaluating Reintroduction Success Of Native Freshwater Mussels In Nebraska And Eastern Wyoming, Travis A. Moore

School of Natural Resources: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

Freshwater mussels are one of the most imperiled groups of organisms in North America, with over two-thirds of species considered threatened, endangered, or of special concern. These long-lived bivalves are essential to stream ecosystems, acting as filter feeders that improve water quality and as indicators of aquatic health. In Nebraska and Wyoming, native mussel populations have declined sharply due to habitat modification, pollution, and reduced connectivity. Two species of particular concern are the Plain Pocketbook Lampsilis cardium, listed as Tier I at-risk in Nebraska, and the Fatmucket Lampsilis siliquoidea, a Tier II at-risk species. In response, state agencies …

On The Paleontology Of Belize, Alson Ovando

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Paleontology can be considered an underrepresented and emerging area of science in Belize. A primary aim of this thesis is to provide a background of paleontology in Belize and present the first comprehensive study of Quaternary vertebrate fossils known from the country. Quaternary fossil sites across Belize include caves, rivers, and sinkholes. In addition to reviewing and assessing material from known sites, this thesis presents new information and discoveries that were made while investigating Belize’s Quaternary fossil record. This thesis also includes a geospatial model depicting ecoregions in Belize during the last glacial maximum. Overall, the results presented here demonstrate …

Ontogeny And The Effects Of Perinatal Stress In The First Immature Skeleton Of Teleoceras Aepysoma (Perissodactyla, Rhinocerotidae), Joe Gajewski

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Recovery of an immature fossil rhinoceros (Teleoceras aepysoma) skeleton (ETMNH 32999) from the Gray Fossil Site in Tennessee offers the first insights into the ontogeny of the species. ETMNH 32999 is interpreted to be a subadult male in an age class equivalent to ~17-20% of potential lifespan. Comparative analyses support the hypothesis that subadults of related taxa are typically ~91% of average adult size in most dimensions. However, certain cranial dimensions are substantially lower than expected in ETMNH 32999, averaging only ~74% of the average conspecific adult. Such departure from typical growth rates is suggested to be attributable …