Digital Commons Network^™

Positive Bias In Bird Strikes To Engines On Left Side Of Aircraft, Richard A. Dolbeer, William J. Barnes

Human–Wildlife Interactions

Previous studies have indicated more birds collide with communication towers equipped with red warning lights than with towers equipped with lights of shorter wavelengths. We used the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration’s National Wildlife Strike Database to determine if a similar relationship exists for turbine-powered jet aircraft with 2 underwing- or fuselage-mounted engines and bird strikes. We compared bird strikes reported to engine #1 (left side = red lighting) or to engine #2 (right side = green lighting) using chi-square tests (α = 0.05). For both underwing- and fuselage-mounted engines, more (P ≤ 0.04) strikes were reported for engine #1 compared …

Comparing Urban And Wildland Bear Densities With A Dna-Based Capture-Mark-Recapture Approach, Jonathan L. Fusaro, Mary M. Conner, Michael R. Conover, Timothy J. Taylor, Marc W. Kenyon Jr., Jamie R. Sherman, Holly B. Ernest

Human–Wildlife Interactions

California’s black bear (Ursus americanus) population has tripled over the last 3 decades, causing an increased incidence of human–bear conflicts, many of which now occur in urban areas. Consequently, it is imperative that bear managers have the ability to monitor population parameters in both wildland and urban environments to help manage bears. Capture-mark-recapture (CMR) methods using uniquely typed genetic samples (DNA) collected via hair-snares have been widely used to monitor bears in wildland areas. However, we are unaware of researchers applying this technique to bears occupying urban areas. We implemented a multi-year DNA-based CMR study to compare bear densities between …

Public Geospatial Datasets As An Approach To Maximizing Efficiency In The Collection Of Site Covariates In Wildlife–Vehicle Collision Studies, James A. Vance, Walter H. Smith, Gabrielle L. Smith

Human–Wildlife Interactions

Wildlife–vehicle collisions (WVCs) are a major research focus because of increasing human health and safety concerns and the potential for biological impacts on wildlife. A key component of both understanding the causes of WVCs and designing mitigation measures is the collection and analysis of environmental and roadway data at WVC sites. However, collecting these site data can be logistically challenging and potentially dangerous to researchers. We studied the feasibility and accuracy of using public geospatial datasets, particularly Google Earth and Street View, as an alternative approach to assessing WVC onsite covariates. We randomly selected 50 sites from a larger WVC …

Achieving And Maintaining Sustainable White-Tailed Deer Density With Adaptive Management, David S. Decalesta

Human–Wildlife Interactions

A leadership team developed an adaptive management program to reduce deer density and impact on a 29,642-ha forested demonstration area in northwest Pennsylvania incorporating goal setting, monitoring, and communicating with and motivating hunters. We linked reduction of deer density to environmentally sustainable levels with an appeal to the values of hunters (improving deer and habitat quality). The communication program educated and involved hunters as active participants in all phases of the management plan. We monitored deer density, deer impact, deer health, and hunter satisfaction to adjust numbers of permits for harvesting antlerless deer and to improve hunter access and use …

Seasonal And Regional Animal Use Of Drainage Structures To Cross Under Roadways, James L. Sparks, J. Edward Gates

Human–Wildlife Interactions

Road drainage structures, hereafter designated culverts, are often used by wildlife and other animals to cross under roadways. However, crossings may vary by species, culvert design, different environmental factors, and land-use and land-cover (LULC) at culvert sites. We monitored 265 culverts located throughout Maryland, USA, with motion-detecting game cameras to assess seasonal and regional effects on culvert crossing rates by wildlife and other animal species considered common to the areas. Northern raccoon (Procyon lotor) and Virginia opossum (Didelphis virginiana) exhibited lower crossing rates in culverts during winter than at other times of the year. We did not detect any difference …

Awards And Scholarships, Terry A. Messmer

Human–Wildlife Interactions

Dr. Michael Kuhns, Department Head for Utah State University Wildland Resources (left) presents Dr. Michael R. Conover (right) with a U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Special Recognition Award at a recent Department of Wildland Resources meeting at Utah State University. Dr. Conover was recognized by USDA for his lifelong commitment and contributions to the fi eld of wildlife damage management. The award citation stated: The U.S. Department of Agriculture Special Commendation Awarded to Dr. Michael R. Conover—For your significant years of service and exemplary contributions in enhancing the professionalism and science of the fi eld of wildlife damage management as …

A Computational Study Of Vegf Production By Patterned Retinal Epithelial Cell Colonies As A Model For Neovascular Macular Degeneration, Qanita Bani Baker, Gregory J. Podgorski, Elizabeth Vargis, Nicholas Flann

Biology Faculty Publications

Background: The configuration of necrotic areas within the retinal pigmented epithelium is an important element in the progression of age-related macular degeneration (AMD). In the exudative (wet) and non-exudative (dry) forms of the disease, retinal pigment epithelial (RPE) cells respond to adjacent atrophied regions by secreting vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) that in turn recruits new blood vessels which lead to a further reduction in retinal function and vision. In vitro models exist for studying VEGF expression in wet AMD (Vargis et al., Biomaterials 35(13):3999–4004, 2014), but are limited in the patterns of necrotic and intact RPE epithelium they can …

Milk Spoilage Detection Using Ion-Sensitive Field-Effect Transistors, Luke Jarvis, Timothy Kerns, Jacob King

Biological Engineering

Background

• Americans throw away roughly 3.9 billion gallons of milk annually [1].

• Over 30 million tons of CO2 was emitted to produce this wasted milk [2].

• Much of this waste is the result of consumer reliance on inaccurate or misleading expiration labels [3].

• Manufacturers label milk with expiration dates prior to actual spoilage times to avoid lawsuits related to food poisoning.

Problem Statement

• Expiration dates provided to consumers are unreliable. Currently, there are no consumer products that assist consumers in determining actual spoilage of milk.

Planned Solution

• Develop an apparatus to accurately and reliably …

Dynamic Acquisition And Loss Of Dual-Obligate Symbionts In The Plant-Sap-Feeding Adelgidae (Hemiptera: Sternorrhyncha: Aphidoidea), Carol D. Von Dohlen, Usha Spaulding, Kistie B. Patch, Ethan P. White, Robert G. Foottit, Nathan P. Havill, Gaelen R. Burke

Biology Faculty Publications

Sap-sucking insects typically engage in obligate relationships with symbiotic bacteria that play nutritional roles in synthesizing nutrients unavailable or in scarce supply from the plant-sap diets of their hosts. Adelgids are sap-sucking insects with complex life cycles that involve alternation between conifer tree species. While all adelgid species feed on spruce during the sexual phase of their life cycle, each adelgid species belongs to a major lineage that feeds on a distinct genus of conifers as their alternate host. Previous work on adelgid symbionts had discovered pairs of symbionts within each host species, and unusual diversity across the insect family, …

Assessment Of Usda-Nrcs Rangeland Conservation Programs: Recommendation For An Evidence-Based Conservation Platform, David D. Briske, Brandon T. Bestelmeyer, Joel R. Brown, Mark W. Brunson, Thomas L. Thurow, John Tanaka

Environment and Society Faculty Publications

The Conservation Effects Assessment Project (CEAP) was created in response to a request from the Office of Management and Budget that the U.S. Department of Agriculture, Natural Resource Conservation Service (USDA- NRCS) document the societal benefits anticipated to accrue from a major increase in conservation funding authorized by the 2002 Farm Bill. A comprehensive evaluation of the efficacy of rangeland conservation practices cost- shared with private landowners was unable to evaluate conservation benefits because outcomes were seldom documented. Four interrelated suppositions are presented to examine the causes underlying minimal documentation of conservations outcomes. These suppositions are (1) the benefits of …

Payments For Carbon Sequestration To Alleviate Development Pressure In A Rapidly Urbanizing Region, Jordan Smith, Monica A. Dorning, Douglas A. Shoemaker, Andréanne Méley, Lauren Nicole Dupéy, Ross K. Meentemeyer

Environment and Society Faculty Publications

The purpose of this study was to determine individuals’ willingness to enroll in voluntary payments for carbon sequestration programs through the use of a discrete choice experiment delivered to forest owners living in the rapidly urbanizing region surrounding Charlotte, North Carolina. We examined forest owners’ willingness to enroll in payments for carbon sequestration policies under different levels of financial incentives (annual revenue), different contract lengths and different program administrators (e.g., private companies versus a state or federal agency). We also examined the influence forest owners’ sense of place had on their willingness to enroll in hypothetical programs. Our results showed …

Equine Infectious Anemia, Karl H. Hoopes

All Current Publications

This fact sheet gives information on equine infectious anemia, a blood-borne infectious viral disease of horses, donkeys, and mules. It describes transmission, clinical disease, diagnosis and control.

Caseous Lymphadenitis Management In Goats, C. Kim Chapman, Matthew J. Kennedy

All Current Publications

This fact sheet describes Caseous Lymphadenitis, an infectious disease of sheep and goats and gives information on managing the disease.

Weaning Strategies In Beef Cattle To Reduce Stress, Matthew Garcia, Kerry Rood, Clark Israelsen

All Current Publications

This fact sheet considers weaning strategies for beef cattle, including the advantages and disadvantages of fenceline weaning, and twostep weaning.

Equivalent Representations Of Non-Exponential Discounting Models, James A. Feigenbaum

Economics and Finance Faculty Publications

I characterize the entire class of consumption rules for finite-horizon models in which consumption is proportional to lifetime wealth. Any such rule can be obtained from a preference model with CRRA period utility. In a steady state with constant interest rates, a proportional consumption rule can be derived from a model with time-consistent preferences or from a model with possibly time-inconsistent preferences in which a household continually reoptimizes future utility discounted relative to the present instant. These two preference models will only coincide for the special case when the discount function is exponential. More generally, there will be two distinct …

Diet And Lifetyle Factors Associated With Mirna Expression In Colorectal Tissue, Martha L. Slattery, Jennifer S. Herrick, Lila E. Mullany, John R. Stevens, Roger K. Wolff

Mathematics and Statistics Faculty Publications

MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are small non-protein-coding RNA molecules that regulate gene expression. Diet and lifestyle factors have been hypothesized to be involved in the regulation of miRNA expression. In this study it was hypothesized that diet and lifestyle factors are associated with miRNA expression. Data from 1,447 cases of colorectal cancer to evaluate 34 diet and lifestyle variables using miRNA expression in normal colorectal mucosa as well as for differential expression between paired carcinoma and normal tissue were used. miRNA data were obtained using an Agilent platform. Multiple comparisons were adjusted for using the false discovery rate q-value. There were 250 …

Death Row Dilemmas: The Sentencing And Execution Of Ronald Smith Jr., Rachel Robinson-Greene

Languages, Philosophy, and Communication Studies Faculty Publications

In the early hours of the morning, on November 8th, 1994, Casey Wilson was working his shift at a Circle K in Huntsville, Alabama. That morning, 23-year-old Ronald Bert Smith Jr. came into the station with the intention to rob it. He pistol-whipped Wilson and forced him to the convenience store restroom where he shot him. Wilson died of his wounds. To avoid detection and identification, Smith removed the store’s surveillance videotape from that night and brought it with him.

Influence Of Cattle On Browsing And Grazing Wildlife Varies With Rainfall And Presence Of Megaherbivores, Duncan M. Kimuyu, Kari E. Veblen, Corinna Riginos, Robert M. Chira, John M. Githaiga, Truman P. Young

Wildland Resources Faculty Publications

In many savanna ecosystems worldwide, livestock share the landscape and its resources with wildlife. The nature of interactions between livestock and wildlife is a subject of considerable interest and speculation, yet little controlled experimental research has been carried out. Since 1995, we have been manipulating the presence and absence of cattle and large mammalian herbivore wildlife in a Kenyan savanna in order to better understand how different herbivore guilds influence habitat use by specific wildlife species. Using dung counts as a relative assay of herbivore use of the different experimental plots, we found that cattle had a range of effects, …

Winter Songs, Usu Combined Choirs, Cory Evans, Luke Shepherd, Usu Women's Choir, Usu Chorale, Usu Chamber Singers

All Music Department Programs

Concert featuring the USU Combined Choirs, and directors Cory Evans and Luke Shepherd.

Winter Songs, Usu Combined Choirs, Cory Evans, Luke Shepherd

All Music Department Programs

Winter Songs featuring the USU Combined Choirs directed by Cory Evans and Luke Shepherd.

Faculty Senate Agenda, December 5, 2016, Utah State University

Faculty Senate & Faculty Senate Executive Committee

• Retention and Student Success
• EPC Items (November)
• USUSA Annual Report
• 402.12 Senate Standing Committees (Second Reading)

Interactions Among Climate, Topography And Herbivory Control Greenhouse Gas (Co2, Ch4 And N2o) Fluxes In A Subarctic Coastal Wetland, Kathy C. Kelsey, A. Joshua Leffler, Karen H. Beard, Joel A. Schmutz, Ryan T. Choi, J. M. Welker

Wildland Resources Faculty Publications

High-latitude ecosystems are experiencing the most rapid climate changes globally, and in many areas these changes are concurrent with shifts in patterns of herbivory. Individually, climate and herbivory are known to influence biosphere-atmosphere greenhouse gas (GHG) exchange; however, the interactive effects of climate and herbivory in driving GHG fluxes have been poorly quantified, especially in coastal systems that support large populations of migratory waterfowl. We investigated the magnitude and the climatic and physical controls of GHG exchange within the Yukon-Kuskokwim Delta in western Alaska across four distinct vegetation communities formed by herbivory and local microtopography. Net CO2 flux was greatest …

Multitaxon Distribution Models Reveal Severe Alteration In The Regional Biodiversity Of Freshwater Invertebrates, Charles P. Hawkins, Lester L. Yuan

Watershed Sciences Faculty Publications

Knowledge of current and historical conditions is needed to guide conservation and restoration policies, but such information is lacking for most taxa. This problem is especially severe for small, inconspicuous taxa, such as the thousands of invertebrate species that inhabit stream and other freshwater ecosystems. We describe a novel application of River Invertebrate Prediction and Classification System (RIVPACS)-type multitaxon distribution models that, when applied to the biological survey data routinely collected in support of water-quality monitoring programs, can quantify the regional biodiversity status of hundreds of taxa. We used models developed for 2 stream data sets (North Carolina and the …

Curriculum Subcommittee Agenda, December 1, 2016, Utah State University

Educational Policies Committee

Program Proposals

• Offering a Sociology-Criminal Justice Major with emphases
• Changing the name from PhD in Sociology; doctoral specialization in States & Markets to PhD in Sociology; doctoral specialization in Social Inequality
• Offering a Master of Science in Data Science
• Offering a Computer Science Teaching Minor
• Offering a PhD in Landscape Architecture
• Offering a Bachelor of Science in Technology Systems

Semester Course Approval Reviews

Other

• Curriculog updates

The Tarascan (Purépecha) Empire, Anna S. Cohen, Christopher T. Fisher

Sociology, Social Work and Anthropology Faculty Publications

At the time of European contact, western Mexico was dominated by the Tarascos, who spoke a language called Purépecha. Never defeated by the bordering Aztec Empire, the Purépecha Empire instituted a bureaucratic system that was designed to extract tribute from subjects and to control political, economic, and social life throughout their territory. Archaeological research shows that existing societies in west Mexico were quickly co-opted by Purépecha tribute-based and ideological systems. This chapter reviews the traditional model of Purépecha development by incorporating archaeological research from both the Pátzcuaro Basin imperial core region and elsewhere in the empire. Recent work indicates that …

Creating Tomorrow, Fall 2016, College Of Engineering

College of Engineering Magazines

Annual magazine for the College of Engineering at Utah State University.

Diet And Foraging Behaviors Of Timber Rattlesnakes, Crotalus Horridus, In Eastern Virginia, Scott M. Goetz, Christopher E. Petersen, Robert K. Rose, John D. Kleopfer, Alan H. Savitzky

Biology Faculty Publications

During a 17-yr telemetry study, we examined the diet and ambush behavior of a population of Crotalus horridus in southeastern Virginia. Forty dietary items were identified from 37 fecal samples. We documented 722 instances of snakes in an ambush posture, 61% of which were in a vertical-tree posture, as if hunting arboreal prey at the base of a tree. The most common prey items were Eastern Gray Squirrels (Sciurus carolinensis), which accounted for 45% of all dietary items and represented an estimated 78% of total biomass consumed by C. horridus. Prey was not consumed in proportion to availability, based on …

Educational Policies Committee Agenda, December 1, 2016, Utah State University

Educational Policies Committee

• Subcommittee Reports
• Curriculum Subcommittee
• Course Approvals
• Program Proposals
• Academic Standards Subcommittee
• General Education Subcommittee

Temporal Foraging Patterns Of Nonnative Frogs (Eleutherodactylus Coqui) In Hawaii, Arthur C. Wallis, Robyn L. Smith, Karen H. Beard

Wildland Resources Faculty Publications

The Puerto Rican Coqui Frog (Eleutherodactylus coqui) is a nocturnal, invasive species that was introduced into Hawaii in the 1980s. Because they reach extremely high densities (up to 90,000 frogs/ha), they have the potential to affect invertebrate prey communities. Previously, researchers used frogs collected only at night to characterize their prey. Because Coquis use retreat sites near the forest floor during the day and understory perch sites at night, frogs collected at night might show different amounts and types of prey than would frogs collected in the morning. We analyzed stomach contents of 435 frogs collected in the morning (0300–0600 …

Measuring The Effects Of High-Altitude Flight And Upper Atmospheric Radiation On Muscle Cells, Annelise Dykes

Undergraduate Honors Capstone Projects

There are several physiological barriers to long-term space travel, including the effects of launch, landing, and microgravity on muscle cells. A payload capsule was designed to maintain cell growth during a high altitude balloon flight to model some of these physiological processes. Murine muscle cells (strain C2C12) were cultured and launched in a capsule on a balloon satellite in November 2016. Cells were monitored for changes due to temperature, flight motion, radiation, and gravity differences by quantifying cell characteristics before and after the flight using physical measurements and cell viability. Instruments were selected to monitor flight data, and a payload …