Digital Commons Network^™

The Nesting Ecology Of Woodpeckers In The Eastern Cascades And Their Interactions With Nest Competitors And Predators, Samuel D. Cowell

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Woodpeckers create nesting cavities for other birds and animals in forests. This creates dynamic interactions between both woodpeckers and these other animals. Using video cameras, we documented direct behavioral interactions between nesting woodpeckers and other animals in the Eastern Washington Cascades during the 2015 and 2016 breeding seasons. Additionally, we offered 937 students in a General Biology laboratory course to participate in this original research opportunity and described and the impact the experience had on the participants as well as the researchers.

In 2015, Western Blubebirds took over two active Black-backed Woodpecker nests by physically attacking the woodpeckers. In 2016, …

Justice And The River: Community Connections To An Impaired Urban River In Salt Lake City, Taya L. Carothers

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Local communities have the right to participate in decision-making about environmental resources near where they live. Local governments have tried to gather feedback from communities to help improve the decisions they make, but have not always done a good job getting feedback from minority or urban communities. This dissertation provides one step toward obtaining this kind of public input in a majority minority community surrounding the Jordan River in Salt Lake City. Children and adults participated in this research. I present findings from two surveys, from work with children, and from adult interviews to understand how this community relates to …

“I Really Don’T Look For Certifications, It All Has To Do With Personal Relationships”: The Construction Of A Meat Philosophy And Innovation Adoption By Culinary Professionals In The Rocky Mountain Region, Kailie B. Leggett

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Demand for new methods of beef production is rising due to concern over potential impacts on human health, animal welfare, and the environment. Researchers at Utah State University have developed a method of beef production from cattle finished on tannin-containing legume forages in the Rocky Mountain Region in order to address those concerns. To ensure success of this product, the demand and marketability needed to be assessed. Food values addressed through new production standards and certifications are communicated through labeling by culinary professionals in the kitchen and behind service counters. This research study utilized qualitative methods to understand how culinary …

Carbon Monoxide On Demand: Light-Induced Co Release Of Flavonols, Stacey N. Anderson

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Carbon monoxide (CO) is an extremely useful molecule with applications in industrial manufacturing, synthetic procedures as a C1 building block, and as a potential pharmaceutical to produce anti-inflammatory effects and vasodilation. However, the toxicity associated with CO has prevented its full utilization. In order to safely handle CO, compounds and molecules have been developed that act as storage materials for the gas. Ideal storage platforms only release CO upon stimulation via a trigger. Light activation is the most desirable trigger as it can be regulated in terms of the intensity and the wavelength of light used. The majority of light-induced …

The Macroinvertebrate And Fish Communities Of In-Stream Beaver Ponds In Northeastern Utah, Susan Washko

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Beavers were virtually extirpated from North America during the fur trade, but populations have since recovered. Dams built by recolonizing beaver alter stream habitat by forming deep, slow ponds within the streams. Such changes to the habitat is likely to have consequences for organisms such as macroinvertebrates and fish. The objective of this study was to identify the differences in the macroinvertebrate and trout community in beaver ponds and lotic (e.g. flowing reaches of a stream) reaches in tributaries to the Logan River in northeastern Utah. The macroinvertebrate community of beaver ponds had fewer species, fewer numbers, and lower biomass …

Efficacy Of Translocation As A Management Tool For Urban Mule Deer In Utah, Channing R. Howard

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

An increase in urbanization in the United States has led to an increase in human-wildlife interactions with deer (Odocoileus spp.) which have been able to adapt and thrive in these urban environments. In Utah, urbanization has occurred along the Wasatch Front which was once traditional mule deer (Odocoileus hemionus) winter range habitat. This urban expansion coupled with an increasing use of these urban areas by mule deer, have led to increasing conflicts with deer. Overabundant urban deer have led to increased concerns over safety from deer-vehicle collisions, and damage to personal property including gardens and landscaping. …

A Simple Metabolic Switch May Activate Apomixis In Arabidopsis Thaliana, David Alan Sherwood

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Apomixis, asexual or clonal seed production in plants, can decrease the cost of producing hybrid seed and enable currently open pollinated crops to be converted to more vigorous and higher yielding hybrids that can reproduce themselves through their own seed. Sexual reproduction may be triggered by a programmed stress signaling event that occurs in both the meiocyte, just prior to meiosis, and later in the egg just prior to embryo sac maturation. The prevention of stress signaling and the activation of a pro-growth signal prior to meiosis triggered apomeiosis, the first half of apomixis. The same approach was used prior …

Influence Of Environmental Variables On Survival Rates Of Pronghorn (Antilocapra Americana) Neonates Across Idaho, Brett R. Panting

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

This study was completed to better understand pronghorn antelope (Antilocapra americana) populations found throughout Idaho. Antelope were studied in three separate and distinct study areas. The Big Desert, Camas Prairie, and Little Lost and Pahsimeroi valleys were all selected as study sites. Idaho Department of Fish and Game (IDFG) is concerned with current pronghorn populations found throughout Idaho. Pronghorn are a valued big game species found in Idaho. Increasing pronghorn populations in Idaho is a focus of IDFG.

We captured and VHF-collared pronghorn fawns found in our three study areas. Fawns were monitored daily with telemetry equipment for …

Size And Scope Of Box Elder County Agriculture 2018, Michael Pace, Joshua Dallin, Ryan Larsen

All Current Publications

This fact sheet describes agriculture in Box Elder County, Utah, and includes location, land ownership, growing season, crop production, irrigation water, livestock production, disease and health concerns, marketing, farm income, and demographics.

A Requiem Of Retribution At A Black Mass: Whitey Bulger And Prisoner Welfare, Rachel Robinson-Greene

Languages, Philosophy, and Communication Studies Faculty Publications

On October 31, 2018, crime boss Whitey Bulger was found beaten to death in a West Virginia prison. Bulger was infamous for racketeering, committing murder, and evading capture for 16 years. His place on the FBI’s most wanted list was second only to Osama Bin Laden. He was finally captured in 2011 at the age of 81. He was convicted for his crimes and sentenced to two consecutive life sentences, but served only six years before more than one fellow inmate beat him to death with a padlock stuffed inside a sock. Bulger was infamous for his crimes and was …

The Bear, Brittany Fitzgerald

USU Student Folklore Fieldwork

"My father‘s family the Butler‘s were all great hunters. Probably out of necessity during the depression. My great grandfather broke his back in a mining accident and was never able to hold a full-time job after that. There is a family story documented by newspaper article of how he and my grandfather Frank shot a bear up Spanish Fork Canyon. Not only do I know this is a true story because of the article, but also because the decades later, while my husband and I were staying with my grandmother we found the carefully saved their skin. In a drawer …

Usu Careers In Agriculture, Forestry, Natural Resources, Grades 9-12, Tyson Sorensen, Olivia Horning, Joshua Dallin

Browse all Datasets

These are brochures (three currently have been completed) that were developed as part of this grant to promote AFNR careers among high school-aged students. These brochures were developed with a focus on careers related to Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology. The brochures were distributed to participants of the workshop and with invitations for them to also distribute the brochures to their school's career/guidance counselors. The goal of the brochures is to help students learn about and see the pathway to get to their agriculture, forestry, or natural resources career of interest.

Brochure titles:

Animal, Dairy and Veterinary Sciences (BS): Biotechnology Emphasis …

Raspberry Bars, Glen Wright

USU Student Folklore Fieldwork

Great Grandma Nielsen, hardworking, petite little Grandma. (This is the relative that Jessica {Tara’s daughter} inherited all her petite-ness from, lol) She's been a farmer her entire life. Grew up in a tiny Idaho town, retired to Payson. Never eats sugar. No desserts. Ever. Has always said it upsets her stomach. BUT one time for her daughter's birthday she decides to make a special dessert. Her daughter is Dora May, Mark's {Tara’s husband} mom. Dora may is probably turning about 50ish. So Grandma Nielsen is a grown adult, just never made desserts before. Dora May gives her a favorite recipe, …

Broken Pelvis - According To Her, Rebecca Smith

USU Student Folklore Fieldwork

RS: This is with Rachel on whatever Thanksgiving day is.

RP: [enthusiastically] So, as the story goes, Zeke and I were dating, and, I don’t I, I think it was in January.

RS: I think so too.

RP: Yeah because I think we had gone back up to school after Christmas break.

RS: Cause I remember-

RP: It was January [RS: yeah] now that I think about it, yeah and uhh, we were looking for something to do you know you want to go on a date but you’re college kids and you don’t have a lot of money and …

Comparison Of Space-Plant Versus Sward Plot Selection In Thickspike Wheatgrass (Elymus Lanceolatus), Joseph G. Robins, Kevin B. Jensen

Forage and Range Research Laboratory Publications

Thickspike wheatgrass (Elymus lanceolatus [Scribn. & J.G. Sm.] Gould) is an important native perennial grass species used for rangeland revegetation in North America. Plant breeding efforts relying on space‐plant evaluations have resulted in limited improvement in this species. The purpose of this study was to characterize the performance of thickspike wheatgrass half‐sib families under space‐plant and sward plot evaluations, estimate the correlation between measured traits in both evaluation settings, and determine the validity of selecting thickspike wheatgrass for rangeland revegetation in the nontarget environment space‐plant plots. The study included 50 thickspike wheatgrass half‐sib families and five commercial cultivars and experimental …

Genetic Engineering In Agriculture Curricula For Grades 9-12, Tyson Sorensen, Olivia Horning, Kelsey Hall, David Francis, Joshua Dallin

Browse all Datasets

This is a curriculum package that was developed for teachers to be able to integrate genetic engineering and biotechnology concepts, skills, and career applications into their classrooms. This package was developed as part of the LEARN workshop entitled "Genetic Engineering: Workshop for Teachers." This curriculum package includes five full units of instructions with lesson plans, presentation resources, and other resources for teachers. This package is intended for students in grades 9-12.

Each unit is complete with the corresponding slides found in the main Genetic Engineering PowerPoint. Teachers have the liberty to cover the material on an as-needed bases based on …

Miss Susie Song, Sierra Mackelprang

USU Student Folklore Fieldwork

Miss Susie had a steamboat,

The steamboat had a bell, DING DING!

Miss Susie went to heaven,

The steam boat went to-

HELLo operator please give me number nine,

And if you disconnect me,

I’ll chop of your-

BEHIND the ‘fridgerator,

There lay a piece of glass,

Miss Susie sat upon it,

And cut her little-

ASK me no more questions’

Tell me no more lies,

The boys are in the bathroom,

Zipping up their-

FLIES are in the meadow,

The bees are in the park,

Miss Susie and her boyfriend are kissing in the,

D-A-R-K

D-A-R-K

DARK! DARK! DARK! …

Pathogenesis Of Rift Valley Fever Virus Aerosol Infection In Stat2 Knockout Hamsters, Brady T. Hickerson, Jonna B. Westover, Arnaud J. Van Wettere, Johanna D. Rigas, Jinxin Miao, Bettina L. Conrad, Neil E. Motter, Zhongde Wang, Brian B. Gowen

Animal, Dairy, and Veterinary Science Faculty Publications

Rift Valley fever virus (RVFV) is an emerging pathogen capable of causing severe disease in livestock and humans and can be transmitted by multiple routes including aerosol exposure. Several animal models have been developed to gain insight into the pathogenesis associated with aerosolized RVFV infection, but work with these models is restricted to high containment biosafety level (BSL) laboratories limiting their use for antiviral and vaccine development studies. Here, we report on a new RVFV inhalation infection model in STAT2 KO hamsters exposed to aerosolized MP-12 vaccine virus by nose-only inhalation that enables a more accurate delivery and measurement of …

Grandma's Shaking Ghost, Amber Utterback

USU Student Folklore Fieldwork

My grandparents moved a mobile home onto our property when my dad got sick. They now permanently live on the bottom of our hill. My cousins, my brother and I would spend the night almost every weekend in the summer. My grandparents have a coveted guestroom that we would all fight over because one of my cousins snored and we didn’t want to share the living room with her. One night, I was the lucky one so I got to sleep in the room by myself. It was at the end of the house and the twin bed was set …

Meow Meow, Amber Utterback

USU Student Folklore Fieldwork

A couple of years ago, I was getting home late from a church activity. We live on a farm in the middle of nowhere, our barn is across the driveway from our house, far enough away that the light from the front porch can’t reach the entrance to the barn. We never shut the large barn door--this door is big enough for tractors and stuff to pull through and at night it is pitch black in there. We always enter in through the garage so the garage door is always open too, but my parents never remember to turn the …

Does Experience With Sagebrush In Utero And Early In Life Influence Use Of Sagebrush By Sheep?, Juan J. Villalba, Fred Provenza, Ashley Longmore

Poisonous Plant Research (PPR)

Learning from mother begins early in the developmental process and can have lifelong effects when it comes to foraging behavior. Pregnancy is not just an incubation period but a starting point for animal well-being and disease later in life. A better understanding of the effects that early exposure to unpalatable feeds impinges on their use later in life may help create management plans that utilize grazing animals to their full potential as landscape manipulators.

Thus, the objective of this research was to explore how experience in utero and early in life with sagebrush (Artemesia tridentata spp. tridentata) -a …

Imagining Across Disciplines For A Sustainable Future, Emily James

Writing Center Analysis Papers

At present, the words sustainable and sustainability tend to be associated with environmental issues. Yet, the word sustain comes from the Old French sostenier meaning, “hold up, bear; suffer, endure” and Latin’s sustinere that adds, “hold upright; furnish with means of support; undergo.” Latin’s sustinere can further be broken down into the elements sub and tenere, the root of which, ten, means, “to stretch” (Harper). This paper reflects upon the ways in which the concept of sustainability affects my role as a writing tutor and composition instructor as I seek to help students stretch their abilities to develop ideas …

Meatfest, Brittany Fitzgerald

USU Student Folklore Fieldwork

No abstract provided.

The Utah Statesman, November 13, 2018, Utah State University

The Utah Statesman

Weekly student newspaper of Utah State University in Logan.

Habitat Segregation Between Brown Bears And Gray Wolves In A Human-Dominated Landscape, Cyril Milleret, Andrés Ordiz, Guillaume Chapron, Harry Peter Andreassen, Jonas Kindberg, Johan Månsson, Aimee Tallian, Petter Wabakken, Camilla Wikenros, Barbara Zimmermann, Jon E. Swenson, Håkan Sand

Ecology Center Publications

Identifying how sympatric species belonging to the same guild coexist is a major question of community ecology and conservation. Habitat segregation between two species might help reduce the effects of interspecific competition and apex predators are of special interest in this context, because their interactions can have consequences for lower trophic levels. However, habitat segregation between sympatric large carnivores has seldom been studied. Based on monitoring of 53 brown bears (Ursus arctos) and seven sympatric adult gray wolves (Canis lupus) equipped with GPS collars in Sweden, we analyzed the degree of interspecific segregation in habitat selection …

Curriculum Subcommittee Agenda, November 1, 2018, Utah State University

Educational Policies Committee

Program Proposals

• Adding School Based and Community Based Emphases in Family and Consumer Sciences Education
• Offering an Emphasis in Farm and Ranch Operations
• Changing the name from Agricultural Communication and Journalism to Agricultural Communication
• Offering an Elementary Mathematics Specialist Graduate Certificate
• Establishing an I-System Institute for Transdisciplinary Studies
• Offering an Associate of Applied Science degree in Surgical Technology

Semester Course Approval Reviews

Educational Policies Committee Minutes, November 1, 2018, Utah State University

Educational Policies Committee

• Curriculum Subcommittee report
• Academic Standards Subcommittee report
• General Education Subcommittee report

Riparian Research And Management: Past, Present, Future: Volume 1, Steven W. Carothers, Hisham El Waer, Helen C. Fairley, Deborah M. Finch, Suzanne C. Fouty, Jonathan M. Friedman, Jennifer K. Frey, Stanley V. Gregory, Robert H. Hamre, Annie Henry, Osvel Hinojosa-Huerta, Elaine E. Johnson, R. Roy Johnson, Kenneth J. Kingsley, Mary Anne Mcleod, Eric Mellink, Katie Merewether, Duncan T. Patten, John S. Richardson, Anne Sands, Michael L. Scott, Bo Shelby, Anna A. Sher, D. Max Smith, John T. Stanley, Frederick J. Swanson, Raymond M. Turner, Robert H. Webb, William E. Werner

Watershed Sciences Faculty Publications

Fifty years ago, riparian habitats were not recognized for their extensive and critical contributions to wildlife and the ecosystem function of watersheds. This changed as riparian values were identified and documented, and the science of riparian ecology developed steadily. Papers in this volume range from the more mesic northwestern United States to the arid Southwest and Mexico. More than two dozen authors—most with decades of experience—review the origins of riparian science in the western United States, document what is currently known about riparian ecosystems, and project future needs. Topics are widespread and include: interactions with fire, climate change, and declining …

Curriculum Subcommittee Minutes, November 1, 2018, Utah State University

Educational Policies Committee

Program Proposals

• Adding School Based and Community Based Emphases in Family and Consumer Sciences Education
• Offering an Emphasis in Farm and Ranch Operations
• Changing the name from Agricultural Communication and Journalism to Agricultural Communication
• Offering an Elementary Mathematics Specialist Graduate Certificate
• Establishing an I-System Institute for Transdisciplinary Studies
• Offering an Associate of Applied Science degree in Surgical Technology

Semester Course Approval Reviews

Chinese New Year, Lily Ward

USU Student Folklore Fieldwork

The Chinese New Year is by far the most important holiday in China. Millions of Factory Workers leave their homes and live in dormitories by the factories they work in and they never see their families except for the Chinese New Year and the Fall Harvest celebration. Factories close, many restaurants and small businesses close and all those who have families go back to their “home towns” and stay for a few weeks. The trains are so jammed full that folks are standing in the aisles. If for any reason trains are delayed, chaos immediately erupts. If the delay is …