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The Garden Oasis: Observations In A Southern California Garden, Chris Tankersley

Department of Entomology: Distance Master of Science Projects

A garden can be a special place of relaxation and a corridor from which one can connect with the natural world and observe the complex relationships among the many organisms that make it their home. These organisms include a vast array of insects that contribute to the diversity of even the smallest garden. We purchased an unassuming house in a quiet Southern California suburban neighborhood that included about half an acre of property made up of mostly lawn and a dense menagerie of backyard shrubs and trees on a steep hillside, along with a pond that was in desperate need …

Overview Of The Insect Food And Feed Industry, Daniel J. Seckman

Department of Entomology: Distance Master of Science Projects

The entomophagy field is one that when you immerse yourself in it, you will feel like the entire world is talking about insects as food and feed. Yet, from the outside, the industry is virtually nonexistent. In the United States, the North American Coalition for Insect Agriculture (NACIA) is the leading organization dedicated to growing the insect food and feed sector. While the organization has grown extensively in recent years, most individuals in the food, feed, and entomological industry have never heard of the organization. The Wall Street Journal presents the annual Food Forum, which aims to “tackle the critical …

Forensic Entomology: Insect Succession, Northern Colorado, Thomas Nissen

Department of Entomology: Distance Master of Science Projects

Forensic entomology is considered a relatively new field of entomology yet insects have been around for millions of years. Insects have been associated with dead animals and humans for centuries. The remains of insects have been recorded from Ancient Egypt to the present time. Recent advancements have been with data presented to the courts that show that there is a specific order to insects arriving on a corpse and that order helps to determine time of death. This study investigates the order of insect succession in the northern front range area of Colorado.

Long-Term Impacts Of 2019 Flood Experiences On Nebraskans’ Climate Change Perceptions, Caitlin Kingsley

Department of Environmental Studies: Undergraduate Student Theses

This study examines climate change perceptions in Nebraskans who experienced or witnessed flooding in March 2019. The purpose is to determine the impacts of 2019 flood experiences on Nebraskans’ climate change perceptions. The objectives are to determine the influence of flood proximity on changes in climate change perceptions, determine whether 2019 flooding had long-term impacts on Nebraskans’ climate change perceptions, and determine the influence of personal background factors on perceptions. A three-phase interview was utilized to collect background information, climate change perceptions, 2019 flood experiences, and relationships between 2019 flood experiences and climate change perceptions. Background information and climate change …

Designing A Mobile App And Online Directory To Increase The Visibility Of Environmental Organizations In A Community, Kayla Vondracek

Department of Environmental Studies: Undergraduate Student Theses

Concern for environmental degradation, natural resource depletion, and public health has long been a necessary part of a strongly developed and sophisticated society. Humans are primarily responsible for the depletion of the natural environment as it supplies the commodities required to ensure the long-term survival of civilizations. As cultures continue to evolve, so does the practice of land stewardship and protection of resources. With the necessary expansion of industry and housing needed to support a rising human population, the management of natural resources, pollution control, and the environment has become increasingly important to people worldwide. Bernstein and Szuster (2019) suggest …

Precipitation Impact On Crop Yield, Ian Ritchie

Department of Environmental Studies: Undergraduate Student Theses

Climate change is a massive force impacting and changing many weather trends, including precipitation rates. This thesis will study the relationship between crop yield and changes in precipitation. Understanding crop yield is important in determining overall crop supply every year as well as crop prices. Many factors can have either a negative or a positive impact on crop yields. One of these many factors is precipitation. This thesis looks directly at the impacts of changes in precipitation on corn yield in Iowa from 1991-2020. To do this, a regression analysis was performed to compare changes in yearly precipitation rates for …

Masthead And Table Of Contents, Vol. 100, No. 1

Nebraska Law Review

No abstract provided.

Reconstruction Of Ancient Microbial Genomes From The Human Gut, M. C. Wibowo, Z. Yang, M. Borry, A. Hubner, K. D. Huang, B. T. Tierney, S. Zimmerman, F. Barajas-Olmos, C. Contreras-Cubas, H. Garcia-Ortiz, A. Martinez-Hernandez, J. M. Luber, K. Reinhard Et Al.

School of Natural Resources: Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

The Nebraska Water Leaders Academy Graduates’ Influence On Community Capitals And Community Capacity, Dakota W. Staggs, Mark E. Burbach, Gina S. Matkin, Cheryl Burkhart-Kriesel

School of Natural Resources: Faculty Publications

An overarching goal of the Nebraska Water Leaders Academy is to prepare a diverse group of Nebraskans from across the state to impact change in their communities by working together to solve wicked water problems. With 136 graduates from across Nebraska there is potential for graduates to effect change and impact their communities’ capitals (i.e., Built, Financial, Political, Social, Human, Cultural, and Natural). This study explored the impact of Academy graduates on their communities’ capitals and community capacity to prepare for future challenges from the perspective of graduates and community members. Findings show that Academy graduates are impacting their communities …

High-Mast Tower Foundation, Chungwook Sim, Chung R. Song, Brandon Kreiling, Jay Puckett

Nebraska Department of Transportation: Research Reports

High-Mast Tower (HMT) foundations have been traditionally designed and constructed using cast-in-place foundation with anchor bolts that are used to secure the tower to the foundation. This type of design requires a base plate that is welded to the tower shaft. The Nebraska Department of Transportation (NDOT) has recently experienced issues with stresses that this type of design presents at the anchor bolt/foundation or base plate/tower shaft interface. This issue in worst cases may lead to a premature failure due to high-cycle fatigue as one of the towers at Milford, Nebraska that fell down during a winter snow storm event …

Three New Species Of South American Checkered Beetles (Coleoptera: Cleridae: Clerinae), Weston Opitz

Insecta Mundi

Three new species of Enoclerus Gahan (Coleoptera: Cleridae) are described and illustrated. They are: Enoclerus minas Opitz from Colombia and Brazil, E. salta Opitz from Argentina, and E. thomasi Opitz from Bolivia.

Corporaal (1950: 14) lists 185 species of Enoclerus Gahan (Coleoptera: Cleridae: Clerinae). I know of over 60 undescribed species. It is a daunting task to organize such a high number of species into some sort of taxonomic revision, which cannot be provided at this time. However, some of these new species can be described that will be added to a larger work at a later date. Such descriptive …

Description Of Two New Genera And A Taxonomic Key To The World Genera Of Cybocephalidae (Coleoptera), Trevor Randall Smith

Insecta Mundi

Abstract. The sixteen genera of Cybocephalidae (Coleoptera) occurring worldwide are listed and keyed. The genera included are Amedissia Kirejtshuk and Mantič, Apastillus Kirejtshuk and Mantič, Cybocepha­lus Erichson, Endrodiellus Endrödy-Younga, Eupastillus Lawrence, Hierronius Endrödy-Younga, Horadion Endrödy-Younga, Pacicephalus Kirejtshuk and Mantič, Pastillocenicus Kirejtshuk and Nel, Pastillodes En­drödy-Younga, Pastillus Endrödy-Younga, Pycnocephalus Sharp, Taxicephomerus Kirejtshuk, Theticephalus Kirejtshuk, a description of a new genus, Microthomas T. R. Smith, with one new species, M. brevicornis T. R. Smith, from Bolivia, and a new genus, Conglobatus T. R. Smith, with two …

Phyllobaenus Thomasi And P. Turnbowi, Two New Species From Mexico And Belize (Coleoptera: Cleridae: Hydnocerinae: Hydnocerini), John M. Leavengood, Jr.

Insecta Mundi

The two new species Phyllobaenus thomasi (Campeche, Oaxaca, Quintana Roo and Yucatán, Mexico, and Belize) and P. turnbowi (San Luis Potosi, Mexico), are described (Coleoptera: Cleridae: Hydnocerinae: Hydnocerini). The primary types are photographed and intrageneric relationships of the species are discussed.

Recent nomenclatural and descriptive work by Leavengood (2014), Leavengood and Garner (2014), Barr (2018) and Leavengood and Rifkind (2020) have made changes to the approximately 120 described species of New World Hydnocerini (i.e., Phyllobaenus Dejean, Isohydnocera Chapin and Wolcottia Chapin). Over 100 of these species comprise the genus Phyllobaenus. Mexico and Central America are home to about half …

Ogre-Faced, Net-Casting Spiders Use Auditory Cues To Detect Airborne Prey, Jay A. Stafstrom, Gil Menda, Eya I. Nitzany, Eileen A. Hebets, Ronald R. Hoy

Eileen Hebets Publications

Prey-capture behavior among spiders varies greatly from passive entrapment in webs to running down prey items on foot. Somewhere in the middle are the ogre-faced, net-casting spiders (Deinopidae: Deinopis) that actively capture prey while being suspended within a frame web. Using a net held between their front four legs, these spiders lunge downward to ensnare prey from off the ground beneath them. This “forward strike” is sensorially mediated by a massive pair of hypersensitive, night-vision eyes. Deinopids can also intercept flying insects with a “backward strike,” a ballistically rapid, overhead back-twist, that seems not to rely on visual cues. Past …

Organic Production Of Livestock And Livestock Products In Nebraska, Elliott James Dennis

Extension Farm and Ranch Management News

First paragraph:

USDA “Certified Organic” is a form of production that has received considerable public attention in the last 10 years, particularly among small, beginning and/or minority farmers. Spiking retail prices for red meat and poultry have seemingly accelerated consumer’s interest in organic locally produced products. Consumers demonstrate their desire for these products by paying premiums when purchasing meat products. Producers receive premiums by either directly marketing live animals to consumers that are custom harvested or marketing animals to meat wholesalers. The primary difference is the way premiums are captured. Producers doing custom harvesting capture the full premium whereas producers …

Core Commitments For Field Trials Of Gene Drive Organisms, Kanya C. Long, Luke Alphey, George J. Annas, Cinnamon S. Bloss, Karl J. Campbell, Jackson Champer, Chun-Hong Chen, Amit Choudhary, George M. Church, James P. Collins, Kimberly L. Cooper, Jason A. Delborne, Owain R. Edwards, Claudia I. Emerson, Kevin Esvelt, Sam Weiss Evans, Robert M. Friedman, Valentino M. Gantz, Fred Gould, Sarah Hartley, Elizabeth Heitman, Janet Hemingway, Hirotaka Kanuka, Jennifer Kuzma, James V. Lavery, Yoosook Lee, Marce Lorenzen, Jeantine E. Lunshof, John M. Marshall, Philipp W. Messer, Craig Montell, Kenneth A. Oye, Megan J. Palmer, Philippos Aris Papathanos, Prasad N. Paradkar, Antoinette J. Piaggio, Jason L. Rasgon, Gordana Rašić, Larisa Rudenko, J. Royden Saah, Maxwell J. Scott, Jolene T. Sutton, Adam E, Vorsino, Omar S. Akbari

United States Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

We must ensure that trials are scientifically, politically, and socially robust, publicly accountable, and widely transparent.

Gene drive organisms (GDOs), whose genomes have been genetically engineered to spread a desired allele through a population, have the potential to transform the way societies address a wide range of daunting public health and environmental challenges. The development, testing, and release of GDOs, however, are complex and often controversial. A key challenge is to clarify the appropriate roles of developers and others actively engaged in work with GDOs in decision-making processes, and, in particular, how to establish partnerships with relevant authorities and other …

Primer Registro Del Pequeño Escarabajo De La Colmena Aethina Tumida Murray (Coleoptera: Nitidulidae) En Colmenas De Abejas Africanizadas En Guatemala, José Francisco García Ochaeta

Insecta Mundi

Se registra por primera vez la presencia del pequeño escarabajo de la colmena (PEC), Aethina tumida Murray (Coleoptera: Nitidulidae), en colmenas de abejas africanizadas en el departamento de Petén, Guatemala, alimentándose de miel y polen. Se presenta información básica sobre la especie, su distribución conocida actual e ilustraciones para ayudar en su identificación.

The presence of the small hive beetle (SHB), Aethina tumida Murray (Coleoptera: Nitidulidae), is recorded for the first time in Africanized beehives from Petén department, Guatemala, feeding on honey and pollen. Basic information about the species, including its currently known distribution, and illustrations, are presented to aid …

Brain Α-Tocopherol Concentration Is Inversely Associated With Neurofibrillary Tangle Counts In Brain Regions Affected In Earlier Braak Stages: A Cross-Sectional Finding In The Oldest Old, J. Tanprasertsuk, T.M. Scott, M.A. Johnson, L.W. Poon, P.T. Nelson, A. Davey, J.L. Woodard, R. Vishwanathan, A.K. Barbey, K. Barger, X.-D. Wang, E.J. Johnson

Department of Nutrition and Health Sciences: Faculty Publications

Objectives: Higher vitamin E status has been associated with lower risk of Alzheimer’s disease (AD). However, evidence of the association of vitamin E concentration in neural tissue with AD pathologies is limited. Design: The cross-sectional relationship between the human brain concentrations of α- and γ-tocopherol and the severity of AD pathologies – neurofibrillary tangle (NFT) and neuritic plaque (NP) – was investigated. Setting & Participants: Brains from 43 centenarians (≥ 98 years at death) enrolled in the Phase III of the Georgia Centenarian Study were collected at autopsy. Measurements: Brain α- and γ-tocopherol concentrations (previously reported) …

Simulated Winter Incubation Of Soil With Swine Manure Differentially Affects Multiple Antimicrobial Resistance Elements, Daniel N. Miller, Madison E. Jurgens, Lisa M. Durso, Amy Schmidt

United States Department of Agriculture-Agricultural Research Service / University of Nebraska-Lincoln: Faculty Publications

Gastrointestinal bacteria that harbor antibiotic resistance genes (ARG) become enriched with antibiotic use. Livestock manure application to cropland for soil fertility presents a concern that ARG and bacteria may proliferate and be transported in the environment. In the United States, manure applications typically occur during autumn with slow mineralization until spring planting season. A laboratory soil incubation study was conducted mimicking autumn swine manure application to soils with concentrations of selected ARG monitored during simulated 120-day winter incubation with multiple freeze-thaw events. Additionally, the effects of two soil moistures [10 and 30% water holding capacity (WHC)] and two manure treatments …

Decline Of Novel Ecosystems Used By Endangered Species: The Case Of Piping Plovers, Least Terns, And Aggregate Mines, Joel G. Jorgensen, Stephen J. Brenner, Lauren R. Greenwalt, Mark P. Vrtiska

School of Natural Resources: Faculty Publications

Sand and gravel mining creates novel ecosystems along the Platte, Loup, and Elkhorn rivers in Nebraska, USA. Piping plovers and least terns are state and/or federally threatened and endangered species, respectively, that nest and raise young at these sites and their derivatives. Despite hosting relatively large numbers of piping plovers and least terns for decades, an important question that has largely gone unaddressed is whether the industry that has produced these novel ecosystems is stable and will continue to produce habitat consistently in the future. We evaluated how the number, size, and spatial distribution of different site types hosting different …

Operationalizing Niche Construction Theory With Stone Tools, Radu Lovita, David R. Braun, Matthew J. Douglass, Simon J. Holdaway, Sam C. Lin, Deborah I. Olsezewski, Zeljko Rezek

School of Natural Resources: Faculty Publications

One of the greatest difficulties with evolutionary approaches in the study of stone tools (lithics) has been finding a mechanism for tying culture and biology in a way that preserves human agency and operates at scales that are visible in the archaeological record. The concept of niche construction, whereby organisms actively construct their environments and change the conditions for selection, could provide a solution to this problem. In this review, we evaluate the utility of niche construction theory (NCT) for stone tool archaeology. We apply NCT to lithics both as part of the “extended phenotype” and as residuals or precipitates …

Classification Of Small Ruminant Lentivirus Subtype A2, Subgroups 1 And 2 Based On Whole Genome Comparisons And Complex Recombination Patterns, Aaron M. Dickey, Timothy P.L. Smith, Michael L. Clawson, Michael P. Heaton, Aspen M. Workman

Roman L. Hruska U.S. Meat Animal Research Center: Reports

Background: Small ruminant lentiviruses (SRLVs) cause a multisystemic chronic wasting disease in sheep across much of the world. SRLV subtype A2 is prevalent in North America and further classified into multiple subgroups based on variation in the group antigens gene (gag) and envelope (env) genes. In sheep, the ovine transmembrane protein 154 (TMEM154) gene is associated with SRLV susceptibility. Ewes with at least one copy of TMEM154 encoding a fulllength protein with glutamate at position 35 (E35; haplotypes 2 and 3), are highly susceptible to SRLV infection while ewes with any combination of TMEM154 …

Top 30 Full Text Downloads By Series For Fy 2020 (7/1/19‐06/30/20) Digitalcommons@University Of Nebraska‐Lincoln, Paul Royster

Institutional Repository Information

Top 30 downloaded series, UNL Digital Commons FY 2020 (7/1/19—6/30/20)

Library Philosophy and Practice (e-journal) • Historical Materials from University of Nebraska-Lincoln Extension • Robert Katz Publications • Nebraska Law Review • Nebraska Tractor Tests • Management Department Faculty Publications • Publications from USDA-ARS / UNL Faculty • Faculty Publications, Department of Psychology • USDA National Wildlife Research Center - Staff Publications • Textile Society of America Symposium Proceedings • Educational Administration: Theses, Dissertations, and Student Research • Electronic Texts in American Studies • Great Plains Quarterly • Public Access Theses, Dissertations, and Student Research from the College of Education …

Livestock Indemnity Program: A Case For Managing Risk With Good Recordkeeping, Jay Parsons

Cornhusker Economics

Keeping good records is an important risk management tool for agricultural producers. Good records provide accurate, complete and consistent information that leads to better decision making. Good records also keep the farm or ranch operation in a good position to participate in USDA programs when those opportunities are available.

The Livestock Indemnity Program (LIP), one of the USDA disaster assistance programs administered by the Farm Service Agency (FSA), is an example of how good recordkeeping can be rewarded. LIP provides compensation to eligible livestock producers who have suffered livestock death losses in excess of normal mortality due to adverse weather, …

Genome-Wide Association Mapping And Genomic Prediction Of Anther Extrusion In Cimmyt Hybrid Wheat Breeding Program Via Modeling Pedigree, Genomic Relationship, And Interaction With The Environment, Anil Adhikari, Bhoja Raj Basnet, Jose Crossa, Susanne Dreisigacker, Fatima Camarillo, Pradeep Kumar Bhati, Diego Jarquin, Yann Manes, Amir M.H. Ibrahim

Department of Agronomy and Horticulture: Faculty Publications

Anther extrusion (AE) is the most important male floral trait for hybrid wheat seed production. AE is a complex quantitative trait that is difficult to phenotype reliably in field experiments not only due to high genotype-by-environment effects but also due to the short expression window in the field condition. In this study, we conducted a genome-wide association scan (GWAS) and explored the possibility of applying genomic prediction (GP) for AE in the CIMMYT hybrid wheat breeding program. An elite set of male lines (n = 603) were phenotype for anther count (AC) and anther visual score (VS) across three field …

Food System Resilience In Nigeria: Farmers Perspective, Azariah Lawal

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

Disturbances are inherent in every socio-ecological system (SES). However, the spate and scope of upheavals in contemporary SES has increased dramatically in recent years. Agricultural systems are perhaps the most impacted when disasters occur because different aspects of agricultural production are directly affected. The burgeoning farmers-Fulani herdsmen conflict in West Africa is a manifestation of these challenges. When faced with events like these, contemporary food systems are faced with two options: collapse or transform. It is essential to have resilient agricultural systems because these systems lie at the nexus of resolving emerging global issues.

Nigeria is an important country in …

Building An Improved Drought Climatology Using Updated Drought Tools: A New Mexico Food-Energy-Water (Few) Systems Focus, Lindsay E. Johnson, Hatim M.E. Geli, Michael J. Hayes, Kelly Helm Smith

National Drought Mitigation Center: Faculty Publications

Drought is a familiar climatic phenomenon in the United States Southwest, with complex human-environment interactions that extend beyond just the physical drought events. Due to continued climate variability and change, droughts are expected to become more frequent and/or severe in the future. Decision-makers are charged with mitigating and adapting to these more extreme conditions and to do that they need to understand the specific impacts drought has on regional and local scales, and how these impacts compare to historical conditions. Tremendous progress in drought monitoring strategies has occurred over the past several decades, with more tools providing greater spatial and …

A Novel Spatiotemporal Prediction Method Of Cumulative Covid-19 Cases, Junzhe Cai

School of Computing: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

Prediction methods are important for many applications. In particular, an accurate prediction for the total number of cases for pandemics such as the Covid-19 pandemic could help medical preparedness by providing in time a sufficient supply of testing kits, hospital beds and medical personnel. This thesis experimentally compares the accuracy of ten prediction methods for the cumulative number of Covid-19 pandemic cases. These ten methods include two types of neural networks and extrapolation methods based on best fit linear, best fit quadratic, best fit cubic and Lagrange interpolation, as well as an extrapolation method from Revesz. We also consider the …

Suffix Tree, Minwise Hashing And Streaming Algorithms For Big Data Analysis In Bioinformatics, Sairam Behera

School of Computing: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

In this dissertation, we worked on several algorithmic problems in bioinformatics using mainly three approaches: (a) a streaming model, (b) sux-tree based indexing, and (c) minwise-hashing (minhash) and locality-sensitive hashing (LSH). The streaming models are useful for large data problems where a good approximation needs to be achieved with limited space usage. We developed an approximation algorithm (Kmer-Estimate) using the streaming approach to obtain a better estimation of the frequency of k-mer counts. A k-mer, a subsequence of length k, plays an important role in many bioinformatics analyses such as genome distance estimation. We also developed new methods that use …

Evaluation Of Listeria Innocua Transfer From Personal Protective Equipment (Ppe) To The Plant Environment And Effective Sanitation Procedures To Control It In Dairy Processing Facilities, Karen Nieto

Department of Food Science and Technology: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

Listeria monocytogenes can survive and grow under wet environmental conditions encountered in dairy facilities. Pasteurization of milk kills L. monocytogenes; however, recent listeriosis outbreaks have linked post-pasteurization contamination from the food environment to the final product. One of the sources of microbial contamination may include employees and their personal protective equipment (PPE), which often become in contact with equipment and food contact surfaces. To understand this issue, this study evaluates Listeria innocua, as a surrogate for Listeria monocytogenes, transfer from PPE to food products and surfaces encountered in dairy plants. Gloves, aprons, and boots were inoculated with L. …