Life Sciences Commons^™

Something Fishy Is Going On - Aquaculture, David Berry

Journal of the Department of Agriculture, Western Australia, Series 4

Aquaculture id Australia's fastest growing primary industry. Product from fish farms is currently valued at $399 million, forecast to exceed $5oo million by 2000.

Whilst the figure pales into insignificance alongside world production (about $45 billion) it does represent a huge window of opportunity for prospective investors and for Australian primary producers who are keen to diversify.

David Berry reports on the prospects for yabbie and marron farming in Western Australia.

Weeds : A Curse For Native Plants In Farm Woodlands, Max Abensperg-Traun

Journal of the Department of Agriculture, Western Australia, Series 4

Weeds have a mJOR IMPct on native Australian plants, particularly in the tropical north and the agricultural regions of southern Australia.

Maz Abensperg-Traun, and his clooeagues from the CSIRO Division of Wildlife and Ecology, explainthe effects of weed invasion on the diversity of native herbaceous plants in faarm woodlands in the centeral wheatbelt of south-west Western Australia.

Weeds Can Poison Crops, Aik Hock Cheam

Journal of the Department of Agriculture, Western Australia, Series 4

Weeds can interfere with the growth of a crop simply by competing with the crop for nutrients, moisture and light. But some weeds also release chemicals that inhibit the germination and growth of crop plants; the technical term for this is allelopathy. Aik Cheam outlines the problems caused by two common weeds and the discusses preventative measures.

Virulent Footrot : Mild Or Severe?, Laurie Depiazzi

Journal of the Department of Agriculture, Western Australia, Series 4

The footrot eradication scheme in Western Australia has resulted in a low prevalence of severe footrot.

To appreciate the achievement, we need to understand what exactly is being eradicated. 'S' strains of Dichelorbacter nodosus, the infectious bacterium of footrot, are the target of footrot eradication. Laurie Depiazzi examines the basis for eradicating 'S' strains.

Visual Search For Natural Grains In Pigeons (Columba Livia) : Search Images And Selective Attention, Cynthia M. Langley, Donald A. Riley, Alan B. Bond, Namni Goel

Papers in Behavior in Biological Sciences

The experiments reported here were designed to test the suggestion of many researchers that selective attention to visual features of a prey can account for search-image effects. In 3 experiments pigeons ate wheat and vetch grains presented on multicolored and gray gravel trays. In Experiment 1 search-image effects were evident when grains were cryptic but not when they were conspicuous. Experiment 2 demonstrated that search images can be activated when the grains encountered are either cryptic or conspicuous but that search images affect search performance only when the grains are cryptic. Experiment 3 demonstrated that search images are short-term in …

The Phylogenetic Distribution Of A Female Preference, Alexandra Basolo

School of Biological Sciences: Faculty Publications

Robust phylogenetic information can be instrumental to the study of the evolution of female mating preferences and preferred male traits. In this paper, the evolution of a preexisting female bias favoring a sword in male swordtail fish and the evolution of the sword, a complex character, are used to demonstrate how the evolution of mating preferences and preferred traits can be examined in a phylogenetic context. Phylogenetic information suggests that a preference for a sword arose prior to the evolution of the sword in the genus Xiphophorus and that the sword was adaptive at its origin. A phylogenetic approach to …

Habitat And Courtship Behavior Of The Wolf Spider Schizocosa Retrorsa (Banks) (Araneae, Lycosidae), Eileen Hebets, Gail E. Stratton, Gary Miller

Eileen Hebets Publications

The habitat and courtship behavior of the wolf spider Schizocosa retrorsa (Banks 1911) were studied and are described here for the first time. The range of S. retrorsa was extended to include the lower peninsula of Michigan. This species is locally abundant in highly exposed habitats of sand or pine litter. Male courtship consists of chemoexploration, palpal drumming, an extended leg tap, and a "push-up" display. Female displays include a double leg arch, approaches, and orientations toward the male.

Pattern And Duration Of Copulation In Wolf Spiders (Araneae, Lycosidae), Gail E. Stratton, Eileen Hebets, Patricia R. Miller, Gary L. Miller

Eileen Hebets Publications

The temporal patterns of insertion of male palps, expansion of the hematodocha and duration of copulation are reported for 10 species of Schizocosa Chamberlin 1904, three species of Rabidosa Roewer 1955, one species of Gladicosa Brady 1986, one species of Hogna Simon 1885, two species of Isohogna Roewer 1960, one species of Trochosa C.L. Koch 1848, one species of Geolycosa Montgomery 1904, two species of Arctosn C.L. Koch 1848, three species of Alopecosa Simon 1885 and six species of Pardosa C.L. Koch 1847. In all species of Schizocosa examined so far, males showed a pattern composed of a series of …

Role Of The Escherichia Coli Fadr Regulator In Stasis Survival And Growth Phase-Dependent Expression Of The Uspa, Fad, And Fab Genes, Anne Farewell, Alfredo A. Diez, Concetta C. Dirusso, Thomas Nyström

Department of Biochemistry: Faculty Publications

The increased expression of the uspA gene of Escherichia coli is an essential part of the cell’s response to growth arrest. We demonstrate that stationary-phase activation of the uspA promoter is in part dependent on growth phase-dependent inactivation or repression of the FadR regulator. Transcription of uspA is derepressed during exponential growth in fadR null mutants or by including the fatty acid oleate in the growth medium of FadR1 cells. The results of DNA footprinting analysis show that FadR binds downstream of the uspA promoter in the noncoding region. Thus, uspA is a member of the fadR regulon. All …

Movement Of Crop Transgenes Into Wild Plants, Kathleen H. Keeler, Charles E. Turner, Margaret R. Bolick

School of Biological Sciences: Faculty Publications

Despite the great potential and increasing importance of other weed control options (Turner et al. 1992) and unwanted environmental side effects of some herbicides, herbicides constitute a very important means of weed control. The escape of herbicide resistance genes to wild, weedy plants could cause more severe weed problems, and presents a very real threat to the efficacy of herbicides as a weed control option. Therefore, management strategies that prevent, or reduce the likelihood and frequency of HRG escape through containment methods are advisable, as are mitigation plans in the event of HRG escape to wild plants.

Comparison Of The Aquatic Ecology Of Side-Canyons And The Main Channel Of Lake Powell, Wayne A. Wurtsbaugh, Kirsten L. Gallo

Watershed Sciences Faculty Publications

From 18-21 April 1996, students in a Utah State University class (Aquatic Ecology Laboratory; FW 560) measured limnological and fisheries characteristics in two side canyons (Halls Creek Bay and Moki Canyon) and the main channel of Lake Powell. Inclement weather precluded sampling of two other side canyons. Most of the sub-projects, directed by indiVIdual students, addressed the following two hypotheses: (1) productivity gradients existed from the inflows of the side canyons toward the main channel and; (2) productivity was higher in the side canyons than in the main channel of the lake. In most cases, parameters were measured at 3-5 …

Effects Of Daphnia Availability On Growth And Food Consumption Of Rainbow Trout In Two Utah Reservoirs, R. Tabor, Chris Luecke, Wayne A. Wurtsbaugh

Watershed Sciences Faculty Publications

We monitored the diet and growth of stocked rainbow trout Oncorhynchus mykiss in two Utah reservoirs during 1986 and 1989–1990. For the first month after stocking, juvenile rainbow trout in both reservoirs fed extensively on large Daphnia spp. In East Canyon Reservoir where Daphnia were abundant, this pattern continued throughout the summer, fall, and winter. Growth of rainbow trout in East Canyon Reservoir was generally good throughout 1989–1990. In Causey Reservoir, where Daphnia were less abundant and smaller, rainbow trout fed progressively less on smaller Daphnia throughout the summer, fall, and winter, while other prey items (snails, aquatic insects, and …

Birds Of The Cedar Point Biological Station Area, Keith And Garden Counties, Nebraska: Seasonal Occurrence And Breeding Data, Charles R. Brown, Mary Bomberger Brown, Paul A. Johnsgard, Josef Kren, William C. Scharf

Papers in Ornithology

The North Platte River valley (elev. ca 3300 ft/990 m) in Garden and Keith counties, Nebraska, has an avifauna of 305 species, the richest known north of Texas in the Great Plains. More than 25 years of observations, mist-netting, banding, and breeding-bird surveys by the authors and others have revealed 104 breeding, 17 probably breeding, and 184 transient, casual, and accidental species. Hybridization of eastern with western species is evidenced by intermediates between Rose-breasted and Black-headed grosbeaks, Indigo and Lazuli buntings, Eastern and Spotted towhees, Baltimore and Bullock’s orioles, and yellow- and red-shafted morphs of Northern Flicker; Eastern and Western …

Rosalyn Sussman Yalow (1921-) Endocrinologist, Medical Physicist, Margaret Sylvia

Faculty Publications

A biography of Rosalyn Yalow, Nobel Prize winner in Physiology/Medicine for the development of radioimmunoassay of peptides hormones. She was the second woman to win a Nobel Prize in Medicine and first American woman to do so.

Rosalind Elsie Franklin (1920-1958) Biologist, Margaret Sylvia

Faculty Publications

A biography of the biologist Rosalind Elsie Franklin whose work on x-ray crystallography contributed to Watson and Crick's elucidation of the structure of DNA.

Role Of Immunodominant T Cell Responses To Minor Histocompatibility Antigens In A Mouse Model Of Graft-Versus-Host Disease, Marc Adam Berger, B.S. Thomas Jefferson University

Full-Text Theses & Dissertations

Graft-versus-host-disease (GVHD) is a major complication of major histocompatibility complex (MHC) matched bone marrow transplantation. GVHD is the result of an immune-mediated attack, by T lymphocytes derived from donor bone marrow, against recipient tissues expressing minor histocompatibility antigen (miHA) differences. There is a lack of knowledge concerning the nature of in vivo immune responses to miHA during GVHD. C57BL/6By (B6/By) and BALB.B mouse strains both express the H-2B MHC haplotype but differ at more than 40 miHA loci. Both the in vitro and in vivo T cell responses to miHA expressed by BALB.B and CXB recombinant inbred (RI) strains of …

Relationship Between Morphology And Hydrodynamics During Swimming By The Hydromedusae Aequorea Victoria And Aglantha Digitale, Sean Colin, John H. Costello

Arts & Sciences Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Preliminary Maturity Group Ii Soybean Variety Trials, Colleen C. Steele, Larry J. Grabau

Agronomy Notes

On-farm research with early maturing soybean varieties in Kentucky in both 1993 and 1994 has indicated that Maturity Group (MG) II varieties yield competitively with our traditional MG IV varieties. In those tests, four MG II varieties were compared with a single, high yielding MG IV variety (Asgrow A4715) over a range of planting dates on a total of 27 farms across both years. Asgrow A4715 averaged 43 bu/A, while the best MG II variety (Jack) averaged 39 bu/A. Such on-farm strip tests are valuable for comparing varieties under true production conditions. However, strip tests can effectively compare only a …

Connective Tissueiacidic Phosphate Preblends In Low Fat, High Added-Water Frankfurters, Christi Calhoun, Scott Eilert, Roger W. Mandigo

Nebraska Beef Cattle Reports

Preblending modified beef connective tissue with an acidic phosphate has been shown to increase collagen solubility of the connective tissue. Increased collagen solubility may improve the textural properties and other characteristics of the final product to which the preblend is added. The objective of this research was to determine the effects on product quality of adding an acidic phosphate/ connective tissue preblend to low-fat, high added-water frankfurters. Product analyses included proximate composition, emulsion stability, yield, pH, collagen solubility, purge loss, color, objective texture and consumer acceptance. Preblending modified connective tissue with acidic phosphate provided few textural or yield advantages to …

Winter Temperatures May Affect Calf Birth Weights, Dave Colburn, Gene H. Deutscher, Pete Olson

Nebraska Beef Cattle Reports

Calving difficulty incurred by 2-year-old heifers is a major problem. Research has shown the basic cause is a disproportion between the calf size at birth (birth weight) and the heifer's birth canal (pelvic area). Several factors affect calf birth weight. including genetics of sire and dam, dam nutrition, calf sex and climatic conditions. Weather conditions may have a significant effect on calf birth weight. When a pregnant animal is exposed to cold temperatures, blood is concentrated internally to maintain its core body temperature. Therefore. during prolonged periods of cold weather, the fetus may receive more nutrition because more blood flows …

Mechanically Recovered Neck Bone Lean Alters Textural And Sensory Properties Of Ground Beef Patties, Brian Demos, Roger W. Mandigo

Nebraska Beef Cattle Reports

Beef neck bones are one part of a carcass that can yield a substantial quantity of lean trim. Typically, neck bones are trimmed by hand. This is a labor intensive process that can lead to high levels of ergonomic stress if performed for an extended period of time. This process can also be inefficient. leaving salvageable lean on the bone.

Mechanical systems that recover lean tissue from beef cervical vertebrae portions have been introduced. These systems allow rapid, efficient recovery of lean tissue by hydraulic pressure with minimal bone breakage. temperature rise or increase in calcium content. Lean tissue is …

Multi-Elemental Analysis Of Bovine Liver Biops And Whole Liver, David Hickok, Michael Carlson, Dennis R. Brink, Norm Schneider, Gene H. Deutscher, Pete Olson

Nebraska Beef Cattle Reports

Liver biopsies are used to assess trace element status of cattle for diagnostic and experimental purposes and generally provide better information than serum samples. Liver tissue collected at necropsy or slaughter is also used. The liver usually serves as the storage site for minerals. Serum concentrations may be maintained within adequate concentration ranges, at the sacrifice of liver mineral stores. If animals are receiving insufficient mineral, but have not yet depleted their liver stores enough to significantly lower the serum concentration, analysis of serum will be misleading. But analysis of liver biopsy samples may detect low liver trace element status. …

Multi-Elemental Analysis Of Sandhills Meadow Hay, David Hickok, Dennis Bauer, Dennis R. Brink, Michael Carlson, Norm Schneider

Nebraska Beef Cattle Reports

Traditionally, ranches in the Sandhills of Nebraska feed meadow hay to cows during the winter. Trace element composition of meadow hay varies. To determine if, when and where trace element supplementation is necessary, it is important to characterize the trace element concentrations in the hay. If the variation in trace element content of hay among location and years can be predicted ranch managers and advisors may develop appropriate strategies for sampling hay and preventing trace element deficiencies. Our objective was to develop a data base of trace element content of meadow hay from various locations over two years. The data …

Grazing: An Alternative To Haying Subirrigated Meadows In The Nebraska Sandhills, Marc Horney, Don C. Adams, Walter H. Schacht, Steven S. Waller, Terry J. Klopfenstein

Nebraska Beef Cattle Reports

Subirrigated meadow in the Nebraska Sandhills are used extensively for hay production. Hay harvest takes place in late June through July, generally after the forage has reached full maturity. Crude protein content of this hay commonly falls in the range of 6 to 8%. This is below the nutritional requirement of lactating cows that are often fed this hay until the native range is ready for grazing in late May/early June. Harvesting hay at an earlier maturity would improve its nutritive value, but is not an option on some meadows because much of the surface remains saturated well into the …

Treated Meat And Bone Meal And Rumen Protected Methionine And Tryptophan For Growing Calves, Mark Klemesrud, Terry J. Klopfenstein

Nebraska Beef Cattle Reports

To optimize production in growing calves, escape protein is often supplemented to meet the animal's metabolizable protein requirement. Meat and bone meal (MBM) is a rendered animal byproduct often used as a source of escape protein. However, previous studies have shown a lower protein efficiency for MBM relative to blood meal. This has been attributed to the escape protein and/or amino acid composition of MBM being inadequate to the specific needs of the growing calf. Collagen, which can comprise a fraction of MBM protein, contains negligible amounts of the essential amino acids methionine and tryptophan.

Recent research has identified methionine …

Use Of A Metabolizable Protein System To Predict Deficiencies In Diets Of Cattle Grazing Sandhill Native Range And Subirrigated Meadow, Greg Lardy, Don C. Adams, Terry J. Klopfenstein, Jim Lamb

Nebraska Beef Cattle Reports

Many Sandhills ranches have two distinctly different forage resource bases: native upland range and subirrigated meadow. These two sites have different grass species composition and different plant growth characteristics. Familiarity with the nutritional composition of these sites is a valuable management tool for cattle producers in the Sandhills. The grazing animal has the ability to select a diet that is higher in nutritive value than would be obtained by analyzing clipped samples of the same pasture. The use of esophageally-fistulated animals to sample pastures gives the best estimate of the animal's diet.

A metabolizable protein system (NRC, 1985) expresses protein …

Composting - A Feedlot Waste Management Alternative, Gary Lesoing, Terry J. Klopfenstein, Daniel Duncan

Nebraska Beef Cattle Reports

Implementation of nitrogen management plans by Natural Resource Districts may require feedlots to evaluate the environmental soundness of their waste management plans. Composting may be a manure management system that can provide a method of using the nutrients in feedlot manure as a resource in an environmentally sound manner. Composting is an aerobic (oxygen requiring) decomposition of organic matters. such as manure, by microorganisms. Composting has been shown to provide many benefits. Moisture content and volume of composted feedlot manure are reduced 50% compared with raw feedlot manure. This improves handling and requires fewer trips to the field when applied …

Effect Of Sorghum And Cornstalk Grazing On Crop Production, Gary Lesoing, Mark A. Schroeder, Drew Shain, Terry J. Klopfenstein, James A. Gosey

Nebraska Beef Cattle Reports

Crop residues remaining after harvest are an important feed resource for the cattle. While many of the 1.8 million head of beef cows and many calves in Nebraska graze harvested fields during the winter months, little information is available on the effect of grazing on subsequent residue cover or crop yields. Beginning in the fall of 1992, experiments were begun at several different sites on the Integrated Crop/ Livestock Farm at the Agricultural Research and Development Center to study the effect of cattle grazing crop residues on subsequent crop yields, residue cover, and soil compaction.

Manipulation Of Microbial Protein Degradation In The Rumen: Development Of The "Smugglin Concept" To Control Protein Digestion, Humberto Madeira, Mark Morrison

Nebraska Beef Cattle Reports

It has been estimated that as much as 25% of the protein fed to grazing and forage-fed animals is wasted due to its rapid degradation by the rumen microorganisms. Therefore. from an economic and environmental perspective, the nitrogen cycle of intensive livestock systems could be managed more effectively. Compounds such as ionophores can reduce ruminal ammonia production, but their anti-bacterial effects are too broad for its widespread use with grazing and forage-fed livestock. Another strategy to manipulate the activities of rumen bacteria responsible for protein degradation is the "smugglin concept". The "smugglin concept" involves the selective inhibition of microorganisms by …

Effect Of Energy Source And Escape Protein On Receiving And Finishing Performance And Health Of Calves, Rob Mccoy, Rick Stock, Terry J. Klopfenstein, Mark Klemesrud, Gene White

Nebraska Beef Cattle Reports

Large-frame calves are well suited to a production system in which finishing begins shortly after weaning. Compared with yearlings. calves are less mature and deposit more lean tissue relative to fat when placed in the feedlot. Therefore. the need for metabolizable protein is greater with calves.

Wet corn gluten feed (WCGF) has been shown to be an excellent energy source in beef cattle diets. Compared with dry rolled corn (DRC), WCGF is higher in crude protein, but the escape protein value of WCGF is substantially lower (60 vs 20%). Previous research (1995 Nebraska Beef Report, pp. 28- 30) showed supplemental …