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The Black Dump Fly: A Larval Predator Of House Flies, J.A. Hogsette, R.D. Jacobs

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

The black dump fly ( Figure 1 ) is a shiny, black fly similar in size and appearance to the house fly. It is currently regaining popularity as a biological control agent for controlling house flies on poultry farms without the use of pesticides. The fly is native to the U.S., and Central and South America. The current scientific name of the fly is Hydrotaea aenescens, however it is sometimes referred to by its former name, Ophyra aenescens. The purpose of this document is to provide some general information about this fly, its biology and behavior, and how …

Increasing Co2 From Subambient To Superambient Concentrations Alters Species Composition And Increases Above-Ground Biomass In A C3/C4 Grassland, H. W. Polley, Hyrum B. Johnson, Justin D. Derner

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

The glacial-to-present increase in atmospheric CO₂ concentration is likely to have stimulated plant production, but experimental tests in natural ecosystems are lacking.

Site-Specific Management Zones Based On Soil Electrical Conductivity In A Semiarid Cropping System, Cinthia K. Johnson, David A. Mortensen, Brian J. Wienhold, J.F. Shanahan, John Doran

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

Site-specific management (SSM) can potentially improve both economic and ecological outcomes in agriculture. Effective SSM requires strong and temporally consistent relationships among identified management zones; underlying soil physical, chemical, and biological parameters; and crop yields. In the central Great Plains, a 250-ha dryland experiment was mapped for apparent electrical conductivity (EC_a). Eight fields were individually partitioned into four management zones based on equal ranges of deep (EC_DP) and shallow (EC_SH) EC_a (approximately 0–30 and 0–90 cm depths, respectively). Previous experiments documented negative correlations between EC_SH and soil properties indicative of productivity. The …

Potential Relationships Between Physical Traits And Male Broiler Breeder Fertility, S. Mcgary, I. Estevez, M. R. Bakst

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

Genetic selection in primary broiler breeders may modify skeletal structure, possibly impeding semen transfer, and could alter the size and degree of fluctuating asymmetry (FA) of bilateral traits associated with fertility. Hence, we hypothesized specific morphometric traits could predict differential fertility. Sixty primary broiler breeder males from Strains A and B (n = 30/strain) were individually housed with an average of 10 females per male. Male fertility and sperm penetration (SP) through the perivitelline layer were estimated on fresh eggs. At 50 wk, BW, keel length (KL), posterior pelvic width and length (PPW, PPL), dorsal pelvic width and length (DPW, …

To Be Or Not To Be A Locust? A Comparative Analysis Of Behavioral Phase Change In Nymphs Of Schistocerca Americana And S. Gregaria, Gregory A. Sword

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

Phenotypic plasticity in behavior induced by high rearing density is often part of a migratory syndrome in insects called phase polyphenism. Among locust species, swarming and the expression of phase polyphenism are highly correlated. The american grasshopper, Schistocerca americana, rarely swarms even though it is closely related to the swarming Old World desert locust, S. gregaria, as well as two swarming New World locusts. Anecdotal field observations of locust-like behavior in S. americana indicate that it may express behavioral phase polyphenism, but empirical investigations are lacking. In this study, I tested the hypothesis that S. americana expresses locust-like …

Susceptibility Of Commercial Oat Cultivars To Cryptolestes Pusillus And Oryzaephilus Surinamensis, James E. Throne, Douglas C. Doehlert, Michael S. Mcmullen

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

Susceptibility to two storage insect pests [(Cryptolestes pusillus (Schonherr) and Oryzaephilus surinamensis (L.)] of eight commercial oat cultivars from the United States was determined in laboratory studies. Duration of insect development was shorter and number of progeny produced was greater on cracked than on whole oats. Simulations based on data from the study showed that insect populations would reach the threshold level for treatment in 2–3 months of storage at 30°C on cracked oats. Insect population development was slowest on the hulless cultivar Paul when the oat kernels were cracked. Simulations also indicated that all cultivars of whole oats …

Automated Detection Of Single Wheat Kernels Containing Live Or Dead Insects Using Near–Infrared Reflectance Spectroscopy, Elizabeth B. Maghirang, F. E. Dowell, J. E. Baker, James E. Throne

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

An automated near–infrared (NIR) reflectance system was used over a two–month storage period to detect single wheat kernels that contained live or dead internal rice weevils at various stages of growth. Correct classification of sound kernels plus kernels containing live pupae, large larvae, medium–sized larvae, and small larvae averaged 94%, 93%, 84%, and 63%, respectively. Pupae + large larvae calibrations were developed for live (day 1) and dead (days 7, 14, 28, 42, and 56) internal insects. Validation results showed that the live pupae +live large larvae calibration correctly classified 86% to 96% of dead pupae + dead large larvae …

Remote Sensing For Crop Management, Paul J. Pinter Jr., Jerry L. Hatfield, James S. Schepers, Edward M. Barnes, M. Susan Moran, Craig S. T. Daughtry, Dan R. Upchurch

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

Scientists with the Agricultural Research Service (ARS) and various government agencies and private institutions have provided a great deal of fundamental information relating spectral reflectance and thermal emittance properties of soils and crops to their agronomic and biophysical characteristics. This knowledge has facilitated the development and use of various remote sensing methods for non-destructive monitoring of plant growth and development and for the detection of many environmental stresses which limit plant productivity. Coupled with rapid advances in computing and positionlocating technologies, remote sensing from ground-, air-, and space-based platforms is now capable of providing detailed spatial and temporal information on …

Nebraska Summary 441: Fendt 714 Vario Diesel, Nebraska Tractor Test Lab

Nebraska Tractor Tests

ABOUT THE TEST REPORT AND USE OF THE DATA

The test data contained in this report are a tabulation of the results of a series of tests. Due to the restricted format of these pages, only a limited amount of data and not all of the tractor specifications are included. The full OECD report contains usually about 30 pages of data and specifications. The test data were obtained for each tractor under similar conditions and therefore, provide a means of comparison of performance based on a limited set of reported data.

EXPLANATION OF THE TEST PROCEDURES

Purpose

The purpose of …

Nebraska Summary S278a: Challenger Mt 455, Nebraska Tractor Test Lab

Nebraska Tractor Tests

ABOUT THE TEST REPORT AND USE OF THE DATA The test data contained in this report are a tabulation of the results of a series of tests. Due to the restricted format of these pages, only a limited amount of data and not all of the tractor specifications are included. The full OECD report contains usually about 30 pages of data and specifications. The test data were obtained for each tractor under similar conditions and therefore, provide a means of comparison of performance based on a limited set of reported data. EXPLANATION OF THE TEST PROCEDURES Purpose The purpose of …

Imported Longhorned Weevil (Coleoptera: Curculionidae) Injury To Soybean: Physiological Response And Injury Guild-Level Economic Injury Levels, Thomas E. Hunt, Leon G. Higley, Fikru J. Haile

Department of Entomology: Faculty Publications

The imported longhorned weevil, Calomycterus setarius Roelofs, is an occasional pest of soybean, Glycine max (L.), and can cause substantial defoliation of seedling soybean when the weevil is present in large numbers. Because weevil populations can reach high levels, the potential exists for significant seedling injury, so economic injury levels (EILs) are needed for imported longhorned weevil on seedling soybean. Because the bean leaf beetle, Cerotoma trifurcata (Forster), also is present on seedling soybean, injury by this insect should be included in EIL calculations. This study was conducted to (1) determine daily soybean consumption rates of imported longhorned weevil; (2) …

American Society Of Parasitologists Newsletter, V. 25, No. 4, Winter 2003, Scott Lyell Gardner

American Society of Parasitologists: Newsletter

An issue of the American Society of Parasitologists' quarterly newsletter, also called the Journal of Parasitology Newsletter.

Genetic Variation Among Isolates Of The Web Blight Pathogen Of Common Bean Based On Pcr-Rflp Of The Its-Rdna Region, G. Godoy-Lutz, J. R. Steadman, B. Higgins, K. Powers

Department of Plant Pathology: Faculty Publications

Variability of 45 isolates of Rhizoctonia solani (teleomorph Thanatephorus cucumeris) causing web blight (WB) of common bean, Phaseolus vulgaris, was examined by polymerase chain reaction-restriction fragment length polymorphism (PCR-RFLP) analysis of the internal transcribed spacer regions (ITS1 and ITS2) and the 5.8S subunit (5.8S) of the nuclear ribosomal DNA repeat (ITS-5.8S-rDNA). Isolates were collected from diseased bean leaves from Argentina, Costa Rica, Cuba, Dominican Republic, Honduras, Panama, and Puerto Rico. These WB isolates belong to AG-1 and AG-2 based on anastomosis reaction. Isolates of AG-1 that cause WB were separated into three distinct groups of RFLP patterns from …

Transcription Strategy In A Closterovirus: A Novel 5'-Proximal Controller Element Of Citrus Tristeza Virus Produces 5'- And 3'-Terminal Subgenomic Rnas And Differs From 3' Open Reading Frame Controller Elements, Siddarame Gowda, Maria A. Ayllon, Satyanarayana Tatineni, Moshe Bar-Joseph, William O. Dawson

Department of Plant Pathology: Faculty Publications

Citrus tristeza virus (CTV) produces more than thirty 3'- or 5'-terminal subgenomic RNAs (sgRNAs) that accumulate to various extents during replication in protoplasts and plants. Among the most unusual species are two abundant populations of small 5'-terminal sgRNAs of approximately 800 nucleotides (nt) termed low-molecular-weight tristeza (LMT1 and LMT2) RNAs. Remarkably, CTV replicons with all 10 3' genes deleted produce only the larger LMT1 RNAs. These 5'-terminal positive-sense sgRNAs do not have corresponding negative strands and were hypothesized to be produced by premature termination during plus-strand genomic RNA synthesis. We characterized a cis-acting element that controls the production …

Scwds Briefs: Volume 18, Number 4 (January 2003)

Southeastern Cooperative Wildlife Disease Study: Publications

• The Latest on chronic wasting disease (CWD): Wisconsin, Illinois, Colorado, South Dakota, Wyoming, Nebraska, Saskatchewan
• The Wildlife Society (TWS) recently published a technical review and draft position statement on the confinement of wild ungulates within fenced enclosures--"Biological and Social Issues Related to Confinement of Wild Ungulates."
• Exotic Newcastle disease (END) was confirmed in backyard poultry flocks in southern California on October 1, 2002.
• Southern Tick-Associated Rash Illness (STARI): In the northeastern United States, Borrelia burgdorferi, the causative agent of Lyme disease, is maintained in nature through a cycle involving the white-footed mouse and other rodents …

Nebline, January 2003

NEBLINE Newsletter Archive from Nebraska Extension in Lancaster County

Family Leadership Key to Community Leadership
Gardening Resolutions
Garden Guide
Humidity and Plants in the Home Environment
Horticulture Information Center
What Do Birds Like to Eat?
Dealing with Roosting Birds
Chicken Feathers Can Now be Used in Air Purifying Filters
Creepy-Crawlies in your Cereal
Put Farm Leases in Writing for Legal Protection
Private Pesticide Applicator Training Jan. 25, 29 & Feb 10
Check and Aerate Stored Grain
Computerized Financial Record Keeping Workshop March 18
Add Lime Now for Next Spring’s Alfalfa
Protecting Water from Freezing
Fire Safety in the Home
Latest U.S. Drought Monitor Map
Sizing Up Food Portion Sizes …

General Guidelines For The Establishment & Evaluation Of Invasive Species Early Detection & Rapid Response Systems

National Invasive Species Council

Preventing the introduction of invasive species is the first line of defense against invasions. However, even the best prevention efforts will not stop all invasive species introductions. Early detection and rapid response (ED&RR) efforts increase the likelihood that invasions will be addressed successfully while populations are still localized and population levels are not beyond that which can be contained and eradicated. Once populations are widely established, all that might be possible is the partial mitigation of negative impacts. In addition, the costs associated with ED&RR efforts are typically far less than those of long-term invasive species management programs.

The charge …

The Home Of The Bison : An Ethnographic And Ethnohistorical Study Of Traditional Cultural Affiliations To Wind Cave National Park, Patricia C. Albers, Christina Berndt, Elizabeth Brown, Yvonne Kelly, Vanessa Kittelson, Kim Rossina, Stacy Schlegel, Andrea Yardley

United States National Park Service: Publications

When Wind Cave National Park celebrated its Fiftieth Anniversary in 1953, a Lakota delegation from the Pine Ridge Reservation was invited to attend the festivities. As a way of honoring the event, the Lakotas adopted the park s superintendent, Earl M. Semingsen and named him Tatanka Tokahe [First Bison Bull]. Two things are significant about this name. On the one hand, it associates the park with bison, a culturally important connection for the Lakotas, who have long believed that Wind Cave is the home of the Buffalo Nation; and on the other, it refers to the name of the first …

Yellow Jackets May Be An Underestimated Component Of An Ant-Seed Mutualism, Megan T. Bale, Jennifer A. Zettler, Bradford A. Robinson, Timothy P. Spira, Craig R. Allen

Nebraska Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit: Staff Publications

Yellow jackets (Hymenoptera: Vespidae) are attracted to the typically ant-dispersed seeds of trilliums and will take seeds from ants in the genus Aphaeogaster.  To determine if yellow jacket, Vespulla maculifrons (Buysson), presence interferes with seed foraging by ants, we presented seeds of Trillium discolor Wray to three species (A. texana carolinesis Wheeler, Formica schaufussi Mayr, and Solenopsis invicta Buren) of seed-carrying ants in areas where vespids were present or excluded.  We found that interspecific aggression between yellow jackets and ants is species specific.  Vespid presence decreased average foraging time and increased foraging efficiency of two of the three …

Variation In Spotted Gar (Lepisosteus Oculatus) Mass-Length Relationships In Texas Reservoirs, Kevin L. Pope, Gene R. Wilde

Nebraska Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit: Staff Publications

Total length and mass were measured on 883 spotted gar, Lepisosteus oculatus, collected between 1984 and 1996 from 49 Texas reservoirs. Spotted gar mass was positively related to length (r² = 0.92, p < 0.0001). Mass-length relationships differed significantly (P < 0.0001) among reservoirs, explaining an additional 2% of the variation in spotted gar mass.

Michigan Bovine Tuberculosis Eradication Project: Activities Report 2003, Bridget Patrick

Michigan Bovine Tuberculosis Bibliography and Database

Bovine tuberculosis (TB) is an infectious bacterial disease and poses a risk to domestic livestock, wildlife and public health in the United States (U.S). In 1917, the U.S. government began a comprehensive national bovine TB eradication program. The disease has been nearly eradicated from livestock in the U.S., but areas of infection resurface periodically. Michigan was declared free of bovine TB in 1975 and received Disease Free status in 1979. In 1975 a free-ranging white-tailed deer in Alcona County was confirmed to be bovine TB positive. It was thought to be an anomaly, and no policy was adopted to look …

The Risk Of Disease Transmission To Livestock Posed By Contamination Of Farm Stored Feed By Wildlife Excreta, M. J. Daniels, M. R. Hutchings, A. Greig

Michigan Bovine Tuberculosis Bibliography and Database

Livestock feed is susceptible to contamination from wildlife excreta during on farm storage. Pathogens associated with diseases such as paratuberculosis, salmonella and cryptosporidiosis are present in wild rodent and bird excreta. Feed stores on four farms in the east of Scotland were monitored monthly over the winter of 1998/9 to quantify the levels of wildlife faecal contamination. A mean of 79.9 rodent (95% confidence interval: 37.5–165.9) and 24.9 (14.3–41.7) bird faeces were deposited per m² of stored feed per month. It was estimated that individual cattle and sheep could encounter 1,626 and 814 wildlife faeces over the winter.

A …

Aerosol Exposure Of White-Tailed Deer (Odocoileus Virginianus) To Mycobacterium Bovis, Mitchell V. Palmer, W. Ray Waters, Diana L. Whipple

Michigan Bovine Tuberculosis Bibliography and Database

Tuberculosis due to Mycobacterium bovis affects both captive and free-ranging Cervidae in the United States. Various animal models have been developed to study tuberculosis of both humans and animals. Generally, tuberculosis is transmitted by aerosol and oral routes. Models of aerosol exposure of large animals to M. bovis are uncommon. In order to develop a reliable method of aerosol exposure of white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus) to M. bovis, 12 healthy white-tailed deer, aged 8–10 mo, were infected by aerosol exposure to 2x10⁵ to 1x10⁶ colony forming units (CFU) (high dose, n=4) of M. bovis or …

Feral Swine - Are They A Disease Threat To Livestock In The United States?, Gary W. Witmer, Robert B. Sanders, Arnold C. Taft

Michigan Bovine Tuberculosis Bibliography and Database

Feral swine populations provide both benefits and liabilities to citizens of the United States. Their expanding range and increasing densities, however, have raised concern over the adverse environmental and agricultural effects and the increased risk of disease transmission between feral swine and livestock. We discuss the role of feral swine in the transmission of wildlife diseases and, in particular, in diseases of national significance to the livestock industry. We also discuss available management tools and strategies for reducing feral swine populations, minimizing damage or disease occurrences and eradicating populations when deemed appropriate. Finally, we note areas of research that may …

Journal Of Women In Educational Leadership. Vol. 1. No. 1-January 2003

Journal of Women in Educational Leadership

No abstract provided.

Fleas And Lice Of Mammals In New Mexico, Paulette L. Ford, Richard Fagerlund, Donald W. Duszynski, Paul Polechla

Harold W. Manter Laboratory of Parasitology: Faculty Publications

All available records are compiled for three orders of ectoparasites of mammals in New Mexico: fleas (Siphonaptera), sucking lice (Anoplura), and chewing lice (Mallophaga). We have drawn from records at the University of New Mexico’s Museum of Southwestern Biology, the Vector Control Program of the New Mexico Environment Department, the Environmental Health Department of the City of Albuquerque, and several private collections. We list 99 species of fleas, 27 species of sucking lice, and two species of chewing lice. Included are appendices that list recorded ectoparasite species and their hosts in New Mexico and the counties …

The Blue Crab: Diseases, Parasites And Other Symbionts, Jeffrey D. Shields, Robin M. Overstreet

Harold W. Manter Laboratory of Parasitology: Faculty Publications

A critical review of the microbial diseases, parasites, and other symbionts of the blue crab, Callinectes sapidus.

Cystic Echinococcosis In The Arctic And Sub-Arctic, Robert L. Rausch

Harold W. Manter Laboratory of Parasitology: Faculty Publications

The northern biotype of Echinococcus granulosus occurs throughout the holarctic zones of tundra and taiga, from eastern Fennoscandia to the Bering Strait in Eurasia and in North America from arctic Alaska approximately to the northern border of the United States. The cycle of the cestode is complex in taiga at lower latitudes, because of the greater diversity of potential hosts. In the Arctic and Subarctic, however, four patterns of predator/prey relationships may be discerned. Two natural cycles involve the wolf and wild reindeer and the wolf and elk (moose), respectively. Where deer of the two species coexist, both are prey …

A Pcr-Elisa For The Identification Of Cyathostomin Fourth-Stage Larvae From Clinical Cases Of Larval Cyathostominosis, J. E. Hodgkinson, J. Ralph Lichtenfels, T. S. Mair, P. Cripps, K. L. Freeman, Y. H. Ramsey, S. Love, J. B. Matthews

Harold W. Manter Laboratory of Parasitology: Faculty Publications

We report the use of six oligoprobes designed from intergenic spacer region sequences to identify fourth-stage larvae (L4) of the tribe Cyathostominae. Oligoprobes were designed for identification of the following species: Cylicocyclus ashworthi, Cylicocyclus nassatus, Cylicocyclus insigne, Cyathostomum catinatum, Cylicostephanus goldi, and Cylicostephanus longibursatus. A seventh probe was designed as a positive control to identify all these members of the Cyathostominae. The intergenic spacer region was amplified by PCR using conserved primers. Initially, three oligoprobes were used in Southern blot analysis. To facilitate high-throughput identification, these and a further four oligoprobes were developed for use in a PCR–ELISA. …

Implementation Plan For The Conservation Of Nebraska’S Eastern Saline Wetlands, Ted Lagrange, Terry Genrich, Glenn Johnson, Dan Schulz, Brent Lathrop

Nebraska Game and Parks Commission: Publications

Nebraska’s Eastern Saline Wetlands are the most limited and endangered wetland type and vegetation community in the State and are considered critically imperiled in Nebraska. These wetlands provide habitat for a variety of native plant and animal species that depend on a saline environment, including two endangered species.

Because of their location in and around the city of Lincoln, saline wetlands are ideally located to provide recreational opportunities and flood protection. Past impacts have resulted in the degradation of nearly 90% of the saline wetlands and those remaining face continued threats.

Although several programs are in existence to address saline …