Digital Commons Network^™

The First Record Of Raccoon Dog (Nyctereutes Procyonoides) In Turkey, Morteza Naderi, Emrah Çoban, Josip Kusak, Mübeccel Çisel Kemahli Aytekin, Mark William Chynoweth, İsmail Kayahan Ağirkaya, Neslihan Güven, Ayşegül Çoban, Çağan Hakkı Şekercioğlu

Wildland Resources Faculty Publications

The raccoon dog (Nyctereutes procyonoides) was recorded for the first time in Turkey on May 10, 2019, and June 5, 2019, in the same location after 4668 nights of camera trapping in the forests of the Sarıkamış region and Allahuekber Mountains in eastern Turkey. It was recorded in a Scots pine (Pinus sylvestris) forest at 2340 m above sea level with extensive snow cover. Given that the nearest known population is in the forests of Georgia approximately 105 km away, there may already be a viable population in Turkey. As an omnivorous species with a high …

The First Gynandromorph Of The Neotropical Bee Megalopta Amoena (Spinola, 1853) (Halictidae) With Notes On Its Circadian Rhythm, Erin Krichilsky, Álvaro Vega-Hidalgo, Kate Hunter, Callum Kingwell, Chelsey Ritner, William Wcislo, Adam Smith

All PIRU Publications

Gynandromorphy is an anomaly that results in an organism phenotypically expressing both male and female characteristics. Here we describe the first gynandromorph of the bee species Megalopta amoena (Spinola, 1853) (Halictidae, Augochlorini) and the second record of this anomaly within the genus Megalopta. Additionally, we analyzed the bee’s circadian rhythm, which has never before been quantified for a gynandromorph. The gynandromorph showed a deviant activity pattern; it was intermediate between that of the male and female M. amoena. Our results imply that the brains of bilateral gynandromorphs may have mixed sex-specific signaling. Based on four days of recording, …

Food Matrix And The Microbiome: Considerations For Preclinical Chronic Disease Studies, Robert E. Ward, Abby D. Benninghoff, Korry J. Hintze

Nutrition, Dietetics, and Food Sciences Faculty Publications

Animal models of chronic disease are continuously being refined and have evolved with the goal of increasing the translation of results to human populations. Examples of this progress include transgenic models and germ-free animals conventionalized with human microbiota. The gut microbiome is involved in the etiology of several chronic diseases. Therefore, consideration of the experimental conditions that may affect the gut microbiome in preclinical disease is very important. Of note, diet plays a large role in shaping the gut microbiome and can be a source of variation between animal models and human populations. Traditionally, nutrition researchers have focused on manipulating …

Individual Behavior Drives Ecosystem Function And The Impacts Of Harvest, Jacob E. Allgeier, Timothy J. Cline, Timothy E. Walsworth, Gus Wathen, Craig A. Layman, Daniel E. Schindler

Watershed Sciences Faculty Publications

Current approaches for biodiversity conservation and management focus on sustaining high levels of diversity among species to maintain ecosystem function. We show that the diversity among individuals within a single population drives function at the ecosystem scale. Specifically, nutrient supply from individual fish differs from the population average >80% of the time, and accounting for this individual variation nearly doubles estimates of nutrients supplied to the ecosystem. We test how management (i.e., selective harvest regimes) can alter ecosystem function and find that strategies targeting more active individuals reduce nutrient supply to the ecosystem up to 69%, a greater effect than …

The Utah Statesman, February 25, 2020, Utah State University

The Utah Statesman

Weekly student newspaper of Utah State University in Logan.

Consumption Of The Total Western Diet Promotes Colitis And Inflammation-Associated Colorectal Cancer In Mice, Abby D. Benninghoff, Korry J. Hintze, Stephany P. Monsanto, Daphne Michelle Rodriguez Jimenez, Ashli H. Hunter, Sumira Phatak, James J. Pestka, Arnaud J. Van Wettere, Robert E. Ward

Animal, Dairy, and Veterinary Science Faculty Publications

Consumption of a Western type diet is a known risk factor for colorectal cancer. Our group previously developed the total Western diet (TWD) for rodents with energy and nutrient profiles that emulate a typical Western diet. In this study, we tested the hypothesis that consumption of the TWD would enhance colitis, delay recovery from gut injury and promote colon tumorigenesis. In multiple experiments using the azoxymethane + dextran sodium sulfate or Apc^Min/+ mouse models of colitis-associated colorectal carcinogenesis (CAC), we determined that mice fed TWD experienced more severe and more prolonged colitis compared to their counterparts fed the standard …

Emerging Priorities For Microbiome Research, Chad M. Cullen, Kawalpreet K. Aneja, Sinem Beyhan, Clara E. Cho, Stephen Woloszynek, Matteo Convertino, Sophie J. Mccoy, Yanyan Zhang, Matthew Z. Anderson, David Alvarez-Ponce, Ekaterina Smirnova, Lisa Karstens, Pieter C. Dorrestein, Hongzhe Li, Ananya Sen Gupta, Et Al.

Nutrition, Dietetics, and Food Sciences Faculty Publications

Microbiome research has increased dramatically in recent years, driven by advances in technology and significant reductions in the cost of analysis. Such research has unlocked a wealth of data, which has yielded tremendous insight into the nature of the microbial communities, including their interactions and effects, both within a host and in an external environment as part of an ecological community. Understanding the role of microbiota, including their dynamic interactions with their hosts and other microbes, can enable the engineering of new diagnostic techniques and interventional strategies that can be used in a diverse spectrum of fields, spanning from ecology …

Invasive Vegetation Affects Amphibian Skin Microbiota And Body Condition, Obed HernáNdez-GóMez, Allison Q. Byrne, Alex R. Gunderson, Thomas S. Jenkinson, Clay F. Noss, Andrew P. Rothstein, Molly C. Womack, Erica B. Rosenblum

Biology Faculty Publications

Invasive plants are major drivers of habitat modification and the scale of their impact is increasing globally as anthropogenic activities facilitate their spread. In California, an invasive plant genus of great concern is Eucalyptus. Eucalyptus leaves can alter soil chemistry and negatively affect underground macro- and microbial communities. Amphibians serve as excellent models to evaluate the effect of Eucalyptus invasion on ground-dwelling species as they predate on soil arthropods and incorporate soil microbes into their microbiotas. The skin microbiota is particularly important to amphibian health, suggesting that invasive plant species could ultimately affect amphibian populations. To investigate the potential for …

The Utah Statesman, February 18, 2020, Utah State University

The Utah Statesman

Weekly student newspaper of Utah State University in Logan.

Ethical Messages At The Academy Awards, Rachel Robinson-Greene

Languages, Philosophy, and Communication Studies Faculty Publications

During the Academy Awards this year, many artists, as they often do, took the opportunity to advocate for various social, ethical, and political positions. Perhaps the most noteworthy instance occurred during Joaquin Pheonix’s acceptance speech for best actor for his performance in the movie Joker. At its heart, Joker is a movie about marginalized and underserved groups. It uses an only nominally comic book vehicle to drive a narrative about poverty, mental illness, and political and social responsibility. It is not surprising, then, that Pheonix, a famous lifelong vegan, took a brief moment to talk about a marginalized group that …

Heavenly Mother In The Vernacular Religion Of Latter-Day Saint Women, Charlotte Shurtz

Intermountain West Journal of Religious Studies

Creativity is one of the few culturally appropriate ways that Latter- day Saint women seek for and learn about Heavenly Mother. In my research, I draw on twenty-six interviews with women ages 21 to 55 from around the world who self-identified as members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, or “Mormon.” According to their interviews, these women seek Heavenly Mother because She is the manifestation of their potential, a topic I will discuss in more detail. Their beliefs and practices—which I define as vernacular beliefs, that is, personal rather than official expressions of religion—are centered around the …

Stoichiometric And Stable Isotope Ratios Of Wild Lizards In An Urban Landscape Vary With Reproduction, Physiology, Space And Time, Andrew M. Durso, Geoffrey David Smith, Spencer B. Hudson, Susannah S. French

Ecology Center Publications

Spatial and temporal variation in stoichiometric and stable isotope ratios of animals contains ecological information that we are just beginning to understand. In both field and lab studies, stoichiometric or isotopic ratios are related to physiological mechanisms underlying nutrition or stress. Conservation and ecosystem ecology may be informed by isotopic data that can be rapidly and non-lethally collected from wild animals, especially where human activity leaves an isotopic signature (e.g. via introduction of chemical fertilizers, ornamental or other non-native plants or organic detritus). We examined spatial and temporal variation in stoichiometric and stable isotope ratios of the toes of Uta …

Socio-Psychological Impacts Of Hydraulic Fracturing On Community Health And Well-Being, Mehmet Soyer, Kylen Kaminski, Sebahattin Ziyanak

Sociology, Social Work and Anthropology Faculty Publications

At the core of the hydraulic fracturing (fracking) debate is the level of perceived risk involved with extractive industries, such as the release of toxic and carcinogenic chemicals, increased population growth, and truck traffic. However, industry supporters of fracking acclaim the benefits of oil and gas drilling, such as energy independence and economic gains. In this study, we examine the perceived impacts of hydraulic fracturing (fracking) on community health and well-being based on interviews with anti-fracking activists in Denton, Texas who were active in the “anti-fracking” community organization, Frack Free Denton (FFD). Emergent from the interviews, we discuss the socio-psychological …

Anthropogenic Disturbance And Population Viability Of Woodland Caribou In Ontario, John M. Fryxell, Tal Avgar, Boyan Liu, James A. Baker, Arthur R. Rodgers, Jennifer Shuter, Ian D. Thompson, Douglas E. B. Reid, Andrew M. Kittle, Anna Mosser, Steven G. Newmaster, Tom D. Nudds, Garrett M. Street, Glen S. Brown, Brent Patterson

Wildland Resources Faculty Publications

One of the most challenging tasks in wildlife conservation and management is to clarify how spatial variation in land cover due to anthropogenic disturbance influences wildlife demography and long‐term viability. To evaluate this, we compared rates of survival and population growth by woodland caribou (Rangifer tarandus caribou) from 2 study sites in northern Ontario, Canada that differed in the degree of anthropogenic disturbance because of commercial logging and road development, resulting in differences in predation risk due to gray wolves (Canis lupus). We used an individual‐based model for population viability analysis (PVA) that incorporated adaptive patterns …

The Utah Statesman, February 4, 2020, Utah State University

The Utah Statesman

Weekly student newspaper of Utah State University in Logan.

Faculty Senate Minutes, February 3, 2020, Utah State University

Faculty Senate & Faculty Senate Executive Committee

Call to Order - Patrick Belmont

University Business

• Utah State Legislature
• Student Enrollment Management Planning
• Marketing Plan
• School of Graduate Studies

Information

• EPC Monthly Report
• Four General Education
• Academic Standards Subcommittee
• Curriculum Subcommittee
• Human Resources

Reports

• Professional Responsibilities and Procedures Committee
• Office of Research
• School of Graduate Studies

Old Business

• 401.3.3 Tenured and Tenure-Eligible Faculty
• 405.3.1 Tenure and Promotion
• Faculty Code Updates

Faculty Senate Agenda, February 3, 2020, Utah State University

Faculty Senate & Faculty Senate Executive Committee

Call to Order

• Approval of Minutes - January 6, 2020

University Business

Information

• EPC Monthly Report
• Human Resources Current and Proposed Code 321

Reports

• Professional Responsibilities and Procedures Committee
• Office of Research
• School of Graduate Studies

Old Business

• 401.3.3 Tenured and Tenure-Eligible Faculty
• 405.3.1 Tenure and Promotion
• Faculty Code Updates

New Business

Consequences Of Didymo Blooms In The Transnational Kootenay River Basin, Niall G. Clancy, Janice Brahney, Jeff Curtis, Phaedra E. Budy

Watershed Sciences Faculty Publications

Stream habitat changes that affect primary consumers often indirectly impact secondary consumers such as fishes. Blooms of the benthic algae Didymosphenia geminata (Didymo) represent one such habitat change known to affect stream macroinvertebrates. However, the potential indirect trophic impacts on fish consumers via modifications to their diet are poorly understood. The overall goal of this project was to determine if Didymo blooms in streams of the Kootenay River basin of British Columbia and Montana affect the condition and growth of fishes, and to see whether trophic mechanisms were responsible for any observed changes. We therefore quantified the diet, condition, and …

Child Helpers: A Multidisciplinary Perspective, David F. Lancy

Sociology, Social Work and Anthropology Faculty Publications

This essay was greatly inspired by a 15" film titled Tiny Katerina, which shows glimpses of Katerina from two- to four-and-a-half years of age. She lives with her parents and older brother in Northwestern Siberia in the taiga. The Khanty-speaking people live by foraging (berries, for example), fishing and herding reindeer; they are semi-nomadic. In their camp and the vicinity, there is no evidence of electricity or any other public service. These people are very much “off the grid.” From the first, as a wobbly toddler, Katerina is shown being helpful. She carries (and drops and picks up) firewood …

Tremblings, February 2020, Western Aspen Alliance

Tremblings

Walt Mueggler: Aspen Scientist Extraordinaire

Dale L. Bartos

Walter F. Mueggler passed away in Logan, Utah on September 4, 2019 at the age of 93. Most of his long and successful career was spent working for Forest Service Research in the Intermountain West. He epitomized the ethos of Forest Service Research, where he spent most of his career. In 1987 he retired after spending approximately 40 years with the agency. This long and productive career focused mainly on the ecology of mountain grasslands and aspen ecosystems. In addition, as Emeritus Scientist with the Rocky Mountain (formerly Intermountain) Research Station he …

Ten Reasons Why Alfalfa Is Highly Suitable For The West, Matt Yost, Niel Allen, Earl Creech, Dan Putnam, Jody Gale, Glenn Shewmaker

All Current Publications

This fact sheet gives ten key reasons why alfalfa is suitable in western regions.

Controlling Piute Ground Squirrels In Southwest Utah, Mark Nelson, S. Nicole Frey

All Current Publications

The Piute ground squirrel, (Spermophilus mollis), populations on agricultural lands in Beaver County, Utah are increasing. It is a small gray squirrel found in Nevada and western Utah. It eats grasses, alfalfa and other agronomic crops. High populations of ground squirrels can compete with livestock for forage; destroy food crops, golf courses, and lawns; and can be reservoirs for diseases such as plague. Their burrowing activities alter irrigation systems. Burrow mounds not only cover and kill vegetation, but can damage haying machinery. These squirrels are currently costing farmers in western Utah hundreds of thousands of dollars in lost crops and …

Guinea Pig Transferrin Receptor 1 Mediates Cellular Entry Of Junín Virus And Other Pathogenic New World Arenaviruses, Brady T. Hickerson, Jonna B. Westover, Zhongde Wang, Young-Min Lee, Brian B. Gowen

Animal, Dairy, and Veterinary Science Faculty Publications

Several clade B New World arenaviruses (NWAs) can cause severe and often fatal hemorrhagic fever, for which preventive and therapeutic measures are severely limited. These NWAs use human transferrin receptor 1 (hTfR1) as a host cell receptor for virus entry. The most prevalent of the pathogenic NWAs is Junín virus (JUNV), the etiological agent of Argentine hemorrhagic fever. Small animal models of JUNV infection are limited because most laboratory rodent species are refractory to disease. Only guinea pigs are known to develop disease following JUNV infection, but the underlying mechanisms are not well characterized. In the present study, we demonstrate …

The Utah Statesman, January 28, 2020, Utah State University

The Utah Statesman

Weekly student newspaper of Utah State University in Logan.

Periodic Bouncing Modes For Two Uniformly Magnetized Spheres. I. Trajectories, Boyd F. Edwards, Bo A. Johnson, John M. Edwards

All Physics Faculty Publications

We consider a uniformly magnetized sphere that moves without friction in a plane in response to the field of a second, identical, fixed sphere, making elastic hard-sphere collisions with this sphere. We seek periodic solutions to the associated nonlinear equations of motion. We find closed-form mathematical solutions for small-amplitude modes and use these to characterize and validate our large-amplitude modes, which we find numerically. Our Runge-Kutta integration approach allows us to find 1243 distinct periodic modes with the free sphere located initially at its stable equilibrium position. Each of these modes bifurcates from the finite-amplitude radial bouncing mode with infinitesimal-amplitude …

Visual Feedback Is Not Important For Bimanual Human Interval Timing, Breanna E. Studenka, Daisha L. Cummins, Kodey Myer

Kinesiology and Health Science Faculty Publications

The clock variance of intervals produced by one finger is reduced when that finger taps along with another finger (termed the bimanual advantage). The multiple-timekeeper model proposes a coupling of internal clocks, leading to reduced clock variance for bimanual timing. Alternatively, reduced variance for bimanual timing could result from additional sensory feedback from two fingers as opposed to one. We aimed to test the role of visual feedback in reducing temporal variability. Participants tapped unimanually and bimanually (with no table contact) in three conditions: full vision, blindfolded, and with additional visual feedback provided via a mirror reflecting the right hand. …

Faculty Senate Executive Committee Minutes, January 21, 2020, Utah State University

Faculty Senate & Faculty Senate Executive Committee

Call to Order

• Approval of Minutes - December 16, 2019

University Business

• Strategic Enrollment Management Plan
• Compliance Review
• Legislature

Information

• EPC Monthly Report
• Human Resources Current and Proposed Code 321

Reports

• Professional Responsibilities and Procedures Committee Annual Report
• Office of Research Annual Report
• School of Graduate Studies Annual Report

Old Business

• 401.3.3 Tenured and Tenure-Eligible Faculty
• 405.3.1 Tenure and Promotion: Criteria for Librarians
• Faculty Code Updates

Faculty Senate Executive Committee Agenda, January 21, 2020, Utah State University

Faculty Senate & Faculty Senate Executive Committee

Call to Order

• Approval of Minutes - December 16, 2019

University Business

Information

• EPC Monthly Report - January 9, 2020
• Human Resources Current and Proposed Code 321

Reports

• Professional Responsibilities and Procedures Committee - Annual Report
• Office of Research - Annual Report
• School of Graduate Studies - Annual Report

Old Business

• 401.3.3 Tenured and Tenure-Eligible Faculty
• 405.3.1 Tenure and Promotion: Criteria for Librarians
• Faculty Code Updates

Investigating The Relationship Between Corticosterone And Glucose In A Reptile, Lorin A. Neuman-Lee, Spencer B. Hudson, Alison C. Webb, Susannah S. French

Biology Faculty Publications

The glucocorticoid hormone corticosterone (CORT) has classically been used in ecophysiological studies as a proxy for stress and energy mobilization, but rarely are CORT and the energy metabolites themselves concurrently measured. To examine CORT's role in mobilizing glucose in a wild reptile, we conducted two studies. The first study measured natural baseline and stress-induced blood-borne CORT and glucose levels in snakes during spring emergence and again when snakes return to the denning sites in autumn. The second study manipulated the hypothalamic–pituitary–adrenal (HPA) axis in male snakes in the autumn by taking a baseline blood sample, then subjecting individuals to one …

Ecological Response To Altered Rainfall Differs Across The Neotropics, Diane S. Srivastava, Régis Céréghino, M. Kurtis Trzcinski, A. Andrew M. Macdonald, Nicholas A. C. Marino, Dimaris Acosta Mercado, Céline Leroy, Bruno Corbara, Gustavo Q. Romero, Vinicius F. Farjalla, Ignacio M. Barberis, Olivier Dézerald, Edd Hammill, Trisha B. Atwood, Gustavo C. O. Piccoli, Et Al.

Ecology Center Publications

There is growing recognition that ecosystems may be more impacted by infrequent extreme climatic events than by changes in mean climatic conditions. This has led to calls for experiments that explore the sensitivity of ecosystems over broad ranges of climatic parameter space. However, because such response surface experiments have so far been limited in geographic and biological scope, it is not clear if differences between studies reflect geographic location or the ecosystem component considered. In this study, we manipulated rainfall entering tank bromeliads in seven sites across the Neotropics, and characterized the response of the aquatic ecosystem in terms of …