Life Sciences Commons^™

Arkansas Soybean Research Studies 2017, Jeremy Ross

Arkansas Agricultural Experiment Station Research Series

No abstract provided.

Imperfect Produce Pricing: Relationships Between Price Percent Discount And Demographic Traits Of Customers, April Foster

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This research sought to understand the impact of price reductions on consumer spending behaviors related to the purchase of imperfect produce. Additionally, the correlation between consumers’ demographics and their willingness to purchase imperfect produce at various price points was evaluated. The data was viewed with mindfulness toward reducing food loss as a function of the world food crisis. More specifically, the purpose of this study was to describe the relationship between Washington County, Arkansas consumers’ demographic traits and the percent discount at which they are willing to alter their behavior to purchase specific imperfect produce items. Using the Theory of …

Where Are All Of Arkansas' Chinquapins? An Ecological Assessment Of Castanea Throughout The State, Logan Pierce Estes

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Around the turn of the twentieth-century, the chestnut blight fungus (Cryphonectria parasitica) was accidentally introduced into North America. This strong pathogen, which specializes on trees of the genus Castanea, spread rapidly and within half a century had nearly extirpated North America’s Castanea natives from their ranges. During this catastrophe, the American chestnut (Castanea dentata) garnered much of the scientific attention, pushing the other Castanea natives – the chinquapins – to the wayside. More than a century following the spread of the blight, little research into the ecology of North America’s chinquapins had been performed, leaving these trees significantly underrepresented. The …

Risk And Return Comparisons Of Pre-Harvest Marketing Strategies, John Leander Turner V

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This paper analyzes risk and returns associated with pre-harvest corn grain marketing strategies for the state of Arkansas. Farming is characterized by a volatile environment. Numerous risks are taken by producers in order to provide commodities that are bought and sold by various parties in the supply chain. Price, yield, and production costs vary daily and can have large variation between years. Risk and Return Comparisons of Pre-harvest Marketing Strategies examines the effectiveness of using pre-harvest marketing strategies to enhance returns and to mitigate inherent price risk in the Memphis cash corn market. Thirteen strategies are compared to the October …

Arkansas Corn And Grain Sorghum Performance Tests 2018, R. D. Bond, J. A. Still, J. F. Carlin

Arkansas Agricultural Experiment Station Research Series

Corn and grain sorghum performance tests are conducted each year in Arkansas by the University of Arkansas System Division of Agriculture. The tests provide information to companies marketing seed within the state, and aid the Arkansas Cooperative Extension Service in formulating recommendations for producers.

Summaries Of Arkansas Cotton Research 2017, Fred Bourland

Arkansas Agricultural Experiment Station Research Series

No abstract provided.

B. R. Wells Arkansas Rice Research Studies 2017, R. J. Norman, K. A. K. Moldenhauer

Arkansas Agricultural Experiment Station Research Series

No abstract provided.

Aiding Growers’ Decisions: Describing Arkansas Blackberry Growers’ Resources And Needs Regarding Blackberry Production, Lesley Marie Smith

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This study was a census of blackberry growers who attended the Blackberry Growers Association informal interest meetings held throughout the state during the month of April. The purpose of this study was to describe blackberry operations in Arkansas, describe the ideal blackberry cultivar growers want to produce, describe resources they use to research production information, and describe what changes to current resources growers would like to have. Questionnaire responses regarding blackberry production of 18 blackberry growers in the state of Arkansas were analyzed. Three growers elected to not participate resulting in an 86% response rate. The researcher hopes that this …

Arkansas Wheat Cultivar Performance Tests 2017-2018, R. E. Mason, R. G. Miller, D. E. Moon, J. P. Kelley

Arkansas Agricultural Experiment Station Research Series

Wheat cultivar performance tests are conducted each year in Arkansas by the University of Arkansas System Division of Agriculture’s Arkansas Agricultural Experiment Station, Department of Crop, Soil and Environmental Sciences. The tests provide information to companies developing cultivars and marketing seed within the state and aid the Arkansas Cooperative Extension Service in formulating cultivar recommendations for small-grain producers.

Movements And Capture Efficiency Of The Blue Catfish Ictalurus Furcatus,In Lake Dardanelle, Zachary S. Moran

Theses and Dissertations from 2018

Standardizing low-frequency electrofishing procedures for sampling Blue Catfish Ictalurus furcatus has become a recent focus of fisheries biologists. Information on habitat use, value of chase boats, and duration and timing of samples could increase sampling efficiency. To asses these variables in Lake Dardanelle, Arkansas, I divided this reservoir into lacustrine, transition, and riverine zones. I used a systematic random sample design, and electrofisher, to collect 8,067 Blue Catfish from 458 samples between May and September 2016. I found: (1) The most efficient season to sample was the summer season when water temperatures were >25°C; (2) CPUE was highest on channel …

Checklist Of Bees (Hymenoptera: Apoidea) From Managed Emergent Wetlands In The Lower Mississippi Alluvial Valley Of Arkansas, Phillip L. Stephenson, Terry Griswold, Michael S. Arduser, Ashley P. G. Dowling, David G. Krementz

All PIRU Publications

Background

Here we present the results from a two-year bee survey conducted on 18 managed emergent wetlands in the lower Mississippi Alluvial Valley of Arkansas, USA. Sample methods included pan traps, sweep netting and blue-vane traps. We document 83 bee species and morphospecies in 5 families and 31 genera, of which 37 species represent first published state records for Arkansas. The majority of species were opportunistic wetland species; only a small number were wetland-dependent species or species largely restricted to alluvial plains.

New information

We present new distributional records for bee species not previously recorded in managed emergent wetlands and …

Nitrous Oxide Emissions From Rice Production On A Silt-Loam Soil In Arkansas, Casey Rector

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Rice (Oryza sativa L.) is a common crop grown in Arkansas under flooded-soil conditions. The saturated to nearly saturated soil makes rice production an ideal environment for the production of potent greenhouse gases, such as nitrous oxide (N2O). The objectives of this study were to i) evaluate the impact of water management practice (full-season-flood and intermittent-flood) and cultivar (pure-line and hybrid) on N2O fluxes, season-long N2O emissions, and global warming potential (GWP; 2016) and ii) evaluate the impact of tillage practice [conventional tillage and no-tillage (NT)] and type of urea fertilizer [ N-(n-butyl) thiosphosphoric triamide (NBPT)-coated and non-coated urea] on …

Barriers To Local Food Producers In Arkansas, Courtney Cooper, Zola Moon

Horticulture Undergraduate Honors Theses

The purpose of this study is to identify and describe the barriers that prevent local food producers from selling their food in a mainstream market. This study utilized both qualitative and quantitative analysis through a mixed-methods survey. Information collected through the study had a two-fold focus: barriers that producers face (or that they are providing assistance for) and what are consumers looking for in products that these producers are supplying. The major barriers found for local food producers in Arkansas were lack of capital and obtaining infrastructure for packaging, processing, and storing products. Qualitative analysis of textual interviews was done …

Arkansas Soybean Research Studies 2016, Jeremy Ross

Arkansas Agricultural Experiment Station Research Series

Arkansas is the leading soybean-producing state in the mid-southern United States. Arkansas ranked 11th in soybean production in 2016 when compared to the other soybean-producing states in the U.S. The state represents 3.4% of the total U.S. soybean production and 3.8% of the total acres planted to soybean in 2016. The 2016 state soybean average was 47 bushels per acre, 2.5 bushels per acre less than the state record soybean yield set in 2014. The top five soybean-producing counties in 2016 were Mississippi, Phillips, Poinsett, Crittenden, Arkansas Counties. These five counties accounted for 34.7% of soybean production in Arkansas in …

Wayne E. Sabbe Arkansas Soil Fertility Studies 2017, Nathan A. Slaton

Arkansas Agricultural Experiment Station Research Series

Rapid technological changes in crop management and production require that the research efforts be presented in an expeditious manner. The contributions of soil fertility and fertilizers are major production factors in all Arkansas crops. The studies described within will allow producers to compare their practices with the university’s research efforts. Additionally, soil-test data and fertilizer sales are presented to allow comparisons among years, crops, and other areas within Arkansas.

Arkansas Cotton Variety Test 2017, Fred Bourland, W. Barnett, C. Kennedy, L. Martin, A. Rouse, B. Robertson

Arkansas Agricultural Experiment Station Research Series

The primary goal of the Arkansas Cotton Variety Test is to provide unbiased data regarding the agronomic performance of cotton varieties and advanced breeding lines in the major cotton-growing areas of Arkansas.

New Applications Of Radio Frequency Identification Stations For Monitoring Fish Passage Through Headwater Road Crossings And Natural Reaches, Ian R. Macleod, Charles J. Gagen

Faculty Publications - Biological Sciences

Within the Ouachita National Forest, roads and streams intersect each other thousands of times. Many of these road crossings alter stream hydrology and potentially limit longitudinal fish movement. To investigate the potential impacts of these road crossings on fish passage, we monitored movements of 3 native fish species (n = 2,171) individually tagged with radio frequency identification (RFID) tags in 2012 and 2013. We installed solar-powered RFID stations in 2 streams with road crossings and 2 reference streams without road crossings. Each of the 4 monitoring stations included a pair of antennas bracketing a road crossing (or similarly-sized natural reach) …

Distribution Of Dracunculus Sp. Infection In River Otters (Lontra Canadensis) In Arkansas, Renn Tumlison, Allison Surf, Heather May

Journal of the Arkansas Academy of Science

No abstract provided.

Parasites Of The Spotted Sucker, Minytrema Melanops (Cypriniformes: Catostomidae) From Arkansas And Oklahoma, Chris T. Mcallister, Donald G. Cloutman, Anindo Choudhury, Tomas Scholz, Stanley E. Trauth, Thomas J. Fayton, Henry W. Robison

Journal of the Arkansas Academy of Science

During October 2015, March and April 2016 and again between March and April 2017, 15 Spotted Sucker (Minytrema melanops) were collected from sites in the Ouachita (n = 5), Red (n = 1), and St. Francis (n = 5) river drainages, Arkansas, and the Arkansas River drainage, Oklahoma (n = 4), and examined for protozoan and metazoan parasites. Found were Calyptospora sp., Myxobolus sp., Pseudomurraytrema alabarrum, Biacetabulum banghami, Penarchigetes oklensis, and Acanthocephalus sp. New host and distributional records are documented for these parasites.

Incidental Captures Of Plains Spotted Skunks (Spilogale Putorius Interrupta) By Arkansas Trappers, 2012-2017, D. Blake Sasse

Journal of the Arkansas Academy of Science

Arkansas trappers were surveyed following the 2012 and four subsequent trapping seasons regarding accidental captures of spotted skunks while attempting to trap other species. A total of 132 trappers reported capturing spotted skunks although further investigation confirmed the validity of only 42 reports from trappers that caught a total of 60 spotted skunks. Incidental captures were rare; only 0.35-1.29% of trappers each year caught spotted skunks and came primarily from the Ozark and Ouachita regions of the state.

Additional County Records Of Invertebrates From Arkansas, Chris T. Mcallister, Henry W. Robison, Renn Tumlison

Journal of the Arkansas Academy of Science

No abstract provided.

Additional Records Of Acanthocephalan Parasites From Arkansas Fishes, With New Records From Missouri Fishes, Chris T. Mcallister, Michael A. Barger, Henry W. Robison

Journal of the Arkansas Academy of Science

Over the last decade, our research consortium has provided information on acanthocephalan parasites of Arkansas vertebrates, including records from some of the state’s fishes. Here, we continue to provide data on new geographic and new host records of acanthocephalans from Arkansas fishes. In addition, for the first time, we report records of acanthocephalans for some Missouri fishes. We document 2 new state records as well as 10 new host records for some fish acanthocephalans.

Observations Of Townsend’S Solitaires (Myadestes Townsendi) On Mount Magazine In Logan County, Arkansas, Don R. Simons, Kimberly G. Smith

Journal of the Arkansas Academy of Science

No abstract provided.

New Records Of The American Badger (Taxidea Taxus) In Arkansas, With An Updated Distribution Map, Renn Tumlison, D. Blake Sasse

Journal of the Arkansas Academy of Science

No abstract provided.

Distribution Of The Highland Stoneroller (Campostoma Spadiceum) In Southern Arkansas, Renn Tumlison, Henry W. Robison

Journal of the Arkansas Academy of Science

No abstract provided.

A Preliminary Checklist Of The Stoneflies (Arthropoda: Insecta: Plecoptera) Of Arkansas, Henry W. Robison, Chris T. Mcallister

Journal of the Arkansas Academy of Science

Seventy-seven species of stoneflies representing 8 families and 24 genera are herein reported from Arkansas. The most diverse families of state stoneflies were Perlidae (26 species), Capniidae (14 species), and Perlodidae (12 species) while Pteronarcyidae had only a single representative species. Additional taxa will surely be added to the list with future taxonomic studies incorporating molecular analyses.

Primeness In Early Season Arkansas Raccoon Pelts, D. Blake Sasse

Journal of the Arkansas Academy of Science

Trapping seasons in the United States are generally set around the time of the year when pelts are in “prime” condition and are in their most valuable state. In order to assess whether the start of the Arkansas trapping season is at an appropriate date 122 raccoons were captured during the month of November in 2014 and 2015. Based on the evaluation of experienced fur dealers, the percentage of pelts in prime condition was then assessed on weekly and half-monthly basis. This study indicates that starting the trapping season in the last half of the month may maximize the percentage …

House Finch (Haemorhous Mexicanus) Nesting In December In Arkansas, Kimberly G. Smith

Journal of the Arkansas Academy of Science

No abstract provided.