Animal Sciences Commons^™

Nesting Birds Of The Crescent Lake National Wildlife Refuge, Roger S. Sharpe, Raphael Richard Payne

Nebraska Bird Review

The Crescent Lake National Wildlife Refuge is located in Garden County near the heart of the Nebraska Sandhill Lakes Region. This country is principally rolling mid-grass prairie, the hills reaching a height of as much as 200 feet above the wet meadows. A good portion of the refuge's 46,000 acres consists of these lush meadows which are pocked by marshes, potholes and small lakes. Natural drainage from the surrounding sandhills and springs in the basins feed these water bodies.

The lakes are quite shallow, reaching a depth of perhaps 15 feet. They are alkaline yet are not so highly basic …

Voluntary Intake Of Forage By Holstein Cows As Influenced By Lactation, Gestation, Body Weight, And Frequency Of Feeding, W. L. Johnston, G. W. Trimberger, M. J. Wright, L. Dale Van Vleck, C. R. Henderson

Department of Animal Science: Faculty Publications

Relationships involving forage appetite and frequency of feeding forage were studied with high-producing Holstein cows, including 60 complete cow lactations and 49 records of the dry period. Significant correlation (r= .59) was obtained between forage dry matter intake and 4% FCM yield in the lactation period. Patterns of forage DM intake were affected strongly by different stages of the lactation and dry periods. Infrequent periods of hot summer weather decreased intake and milk yield by about 10%. Individual cow differences, however, were the most important source of variation in forage DM intake. Age, body weight changes, body condition, and stage …

Behavior Of The Australian Musk Duck And Blue-Billed Duck, Paul A. Johnsgard

Papers in Ornithology

Sexual displays of the Musk Duck and Blue-billed Duck are described and illustrated. The displays of male Musk Ducks comprise a series of three forms exhibiting increasing ritualization, complexity, and time-interval constancy. All of them have conspicuous auditory characteristics as well as variously conspicuous visual features. Displays in the species appear to have evolved under the influence of intense sexual selection resulting from what is probably a more completely promiscuous mating system than occurs in any other species of Anatidae. These selective pressures have also probably promoted the evolution of such features as large size and extreme sexual dimorphism that …

1966 Beef Cattle Progress Report Of Research Activities, E. F. Frolik, H. H. Kramer

Nebraska Beef Cattle Reports

Many beef cattle breeders in the United States and other countries are following the progress of the selection experiment at the Fort Robinson Beef Cattle Research Station, Crawford, Nebraska. Three lines of Hereford cattle from the same genetic foundation are under selection. Line 21 is selected for 200-day weight. Line 22 is selected for yearling weight. Line 23 is selected for an index combining yearling weight and a score for muscling and fat thickness.

Each line is operated as a closed herd so it will be possible to determine how much improvement in economic traits can be made by selecting …

Relationships Among Some Physical And Chemical Parameters Of Full- Versus Limited-Fed Yorkshire Pigs Slaughtered At Different Live Weights, G. M. Babatunde, W. G. Pond, L. Dale Van Vleck, G. H. Kroening, J. T. Reid, J. R. Stouffer, G. H. Wellington

Department of Animal Science: Faculty Publications

An experiment was designed using 30 Yorkshire pigs to study the influence of slaughter weight and feed restriction on carcass cut-out data and to relate these physical measurements to the chemically-determined proximate components. As slaughter weight increased from 79 to 102 kg., the percent of all lean cuts decreased significantly, while that of fat cuts and back-fat thickness increased significantly. Absolute amounts of both fat and lean cuts increased with slaughter weight. Feed restriction significantly increased most of the lean parameters studied and reduced the fat measurements. It increased percent of head and reduced the percent of offal (gastrointestinal tract …

Trichinosis, Usda

United States Department of Agriculture-Agricultural Research Service / University of Nebraska-Lincoln: Faculty Publications

Trichinosis is a disease that is caused by small threadlike worms called trichinae. I It is not catching. People get trichinosis when they eat raw or underdone pork that contains trichinae. Few of the millions of hogs killed each year for food have living trichinae in their muscles, but, since there are some, you should never eat pork that is not properly cooked. Cooking pork throughout kills the worms.

Review Of Key To Parasites Of Freshwater Fish Of The U.S.S.R., Glenn L. Hoffman

United States Fish and Wildlife Service: Publications

This is a translation of the Russian book, Opredelitely Parazitov Presnovodnykh Ryb SSSR, by the above authors, Izdatel'stvo Akademii Nauk SSSR, Moscow-Leningrad, 1962. It is essentially a key to the identification of the species of parasites of the freshwater fishes of Russia including longer descriptions of the higher taxa.

Symposium O Koroptvi / Symposium On Partridge: Výzkumný Űstav Lesniho Hospodářství A Myslivosti Československý Myslivecký Svaz, Czechoslovak Forestry And Game Management Research Institute, Czechoslovak Hunting Union

Galliformes Specialist Group and Affiliated Societies: Conference Proceedings

English abstract

The Symposium on Partridge was organized by the Forestry and Czechoslovak Game Management Research Institute and the Czechoslovak Hunting Union and held in Prague, Czechoslovakia in October 1965. Participants in the symposium were specialists and scientific workers from Czechoslovakia and some scientists from abroad. There were two major themes: 1. the present state of partridge research and 2. conservation issues, including the problems and prospects of partridge stocks.

Papers concerned biology of partridges, ecology, population dynamics, migration, nestng, food, influence of predators, health, helminths, gapes, hemogram, rearing of partridges, rearing of chicks, penning, wintering in pens, protection during …

Whole Issue Nebraska Bird Review (January 1966) 34(1)

Nebraska Bird Review

Table of Contents

Some Observations of Vertebrate Fauna of the Nebraska Sandhills, 1941 through 1943 ..................2

Fall Field Day ..................15

Correction to 1965 Spring Report ..................16

Book Reviews ..................16

General Notes ..................16

Excerpts From· Letters ..................17

Some Spring Migrant and Breeding Records from Northern Nebraska ..................18

August Eiche ..................20

Edgar D. Wieder ..................20

Inheritance Of Behavioral Characters In F2 Mallard X Pintail (Anas Platyrhynchos L. X Anas Acutas L.) Hybrids, Roger S. Sharpe, Paul A. Johnsgard

Paul Johnsgard Collection

The present study was undertaken to compare the inheritance of behavioral and morphological features of two closely related species of Anas, and to attempt to establish whether any significant degree of behavioral variation occurs in the second generation which could be attributed to these genetic processes.

Two closely related species of Anas, the Common Mallard (A. p. platyrhynchos) and the Common Pintail (A. a. acuta), were selected for study. Both species have been repeatedly hybridized in captivity (GRAY, 1958; PHILLIPS, 1915, 1921), and occasionally hybrids occur in the wild. MAYR (1963) has commented on the …

Factors Affecting Nesting Success Of The Canvasback In The Aspen Parklands, Jerome H. Stoudt

United States Geological Survey, Northern Prairie Wildlife Research Center: Publications

The Minnedosa study area is located in the southwestern portion of Manitoba just south of the town of Minnedosa. It is 90 square miles in size and roughly square in shape. The Aspen Parkland, in which the study area is located, is characterized by gently rolling terrain and black soils. Mixed farming is the rule with emphasis on small grain production consisting of wheat, barley, and oats. Roughly 50 percent of the water areas in the parkland are ringed with aspen, Populus tremuloides, and large blocks of aspen are interspersed throughout the area. The Minnedosa area differs because of …

Relationship Between Measures Of Semen Quality And Fertility In Bulls Mated Under Natural Conditions, J. N. Wiltbank, W. W. Rowden, J. E. Ingalls

Nebraska Agricultural Experiment Station: Historical Research Bulletins

An evaluation of the relationship between several measures of semen quality and fertility of bulls mated under natural conditions has been conducted over a three-year period. Semen was collected three different times with an electro-ejaculator from bulls used in the fertility tests. Collections were made at weekly intervals. Fertility was evaluated by mating bulls to heifers starting about three days after the last collection. Semen quality refers to the percent abnormals and the percent motility evaluated at the time of collection. Fertility was measured by the proportion of heifers that settled at natural service. Several multiple regression equations were calculated. …

The Elusive Musk Ducks, Paul A. Johnsgard

Papers in Ornithology

If one were to try to choose the most remarkable duck in the world, serious consideration would have to be given the Australian Musk Duck (Biziura lobata) of the family Anatidae. Among its unusual features are the great dimorphism of the sexes (males weigh eight pounds or more and are about three feet from bill to tail; females weigh two to three pounds and measure about two feet), the leathery pendent lobe that is located on the lower mandible, the strong odor of musk that is prominent in males during the breeding season, and the remarkably large eggs (averaging one-half …

Nebraska Bird Review (October 1965) 33(4), Whole Issue

Nebraska Bird Review

Table of Contents

1965 (Fortieth) Spring Migration and Occurrence Report ......................54

Two Unusual Birds Reported ......................65

Correction to 1964 Spring Report ......................65

Honorary Member - Harold J. D. Turner ......................66

Excerpts from Letters ...................... 66

M. A. Carriker, Jr. ...................... 68

A Parasitized Prairie Chicken Nest ......................68

Book Reviews ...................... 69

Index of Volume XXXIII ...................... 70

Ultrasonic Tracking Of Migratory Fishes With An Internal Tag, Ross M. Horrall, H. F. Henderson, A. D. Hasler

School of Natural Resources: Faculty Publications

First paragraph:

A small ultrasonic tag, 9 mm by 40 mm in size, has been developed by members of the fish orientation group at the University of Wisconsin. The tag emits a continuous signal at approximately 65 kc/sec. The signal is received via a directional hydrophone and a high quality communications receiver. Tracking ranges of up to 1 km have been obtained. The placement of the tag is internal: either into the stomach or into the body cavity of the fish. The tags and tracking equipment have been successfully employed in studies on the open water movements and orientation of …

The Coccidian Parasites (Protozoa, Sporozoa) Of Rodents, Norman D. Levine, Virginia Ivens

Harold W. Manter Laboratory of Parasitology: Library Materials

This monograph summarizes the known information on taxonomy, morphology, life cycle, hosts, location in the host, pathogenicity, geographic distribution, and cross-transmission studies of the 196 named species of coccidia of rodents. These include 176 species of Eimeria, 9 of Isospora, 3 of Wenyonella, 2 each of Cryptosporidium and Klossiella, and 1 each of Dorisiella, Caryospora, Tyzzeria, and Klossia. In addition, similar data are given for those forms for which insufficient information is available to justify assigning them names.

Eimeria, which is the most common genus, has been described from only 15% …

Paternal Half-Sib Correlations Between Pairs In The Same And Different Herds, L. Dale Van Vleck

Department of Animal Science: Faculty Publications

Correlations were computed between first lactation milk records expressed as deviations from herd-mate averages of pairs of Holstein paternal half-sibs in the same and in different herds. These were compared to the comparable daughter-dam regressions. After correcting the daughter-dam regression for environmental correlation and change in variance from the dam to the daughter generation, both the daughter- dam and paternal half-sib estimates of heritability were about .34, which suggests that maternal genetic variance is. unimportant. This estimate is, however, higher than the .25 found from the paternal half-sib estimate from an analysis for variance components.

The comparison of the half-sib …

The Breeding Population Of Waterfowl On The Chippewa National Forest, John Mathiesen

United States Department of Agriculture, Forest Service / University of Nebraska-Lincoln: Faculty Publications

The purpose of this paper is to describe the characteristics of the breeding waterfowl population on the Chippewa National Forest in north central Minnesota.

Genetic Covariances Among Relatives For Dairy Lactation Records, L. Dale Van Vleck, G. E. Bradford

Department of Animal Science: Faculty Publications

Trios of first lactation records of a cow, her dam, and her granddam were analyzed in an attempt to distinguish between additive by additive genetic effects and maternal genetic effects as possible explanations of much higher heritability estimates from daughter-dam regression than from paternal half-sib correlations. The results based on first lactation records expressed as deviations from herdmate averages suggest that additive by additive effects, and probably environmental correlation contribute little or nothing to covariance between daughter and dam records. Genetic maternal effects may account for about 20% and direct additive genetic effects for 23% of within-herd variance for first …

Changes In Milk Production In Relation To Changes In Feeding And Management Practices In Dairy Herd Improvement Association Herds, J. B. Stone, J. D. Burke, H. R. Ainslie, L. Dale Van Vleck

Department of Animal Science: Faculty Publications

All Holstein herds of over 20 cows which had automated data processed dairy herd improvement association (DHIA) records from Cornell laboratory for two consecutive years from 1960 to 1964 were used to determine production, feeding, and management changes. The average number of herds for the four 2-yr comparisons was 2,688, 60% in New York and the remainder in neighboring states. Results in the two locations agreed. The yearly changes and standard deviations of changes per cow for the New York herds were milk production, + 157 ± 400 kg; grain feeding, + 88 ± 241 kg; succulent forage, + 0.13 …

Change In Variance Components Associated With Milk Records With Time And Increase In Mean Production, L. Dale Van Vleck

Department of Animal Science: Faculty Publications

First-lactation milk records of artificially sired Holstein cows in New York were analyzed by a sire-by-herd variance component analysis separately for each year from 1954 to 1962. The two variables analyzed were 305-day, 2 ×, mature equivalent records and the mature equivalent records expressed as deviations from the average of their herd-mates. The total variance steadily increased with change in time. Most of the increase (r = .97) was accounted for by increase in mean production. The relative increase in the sire component of variance was slightly faster than the increase in residual variance. Thus, heritability estimated from the paternal …

Correlations Among Records Of Unrelated Cows In The Same Herd And The Same And Different Year-Seasons, L. Dale Van Vleck

Department of Animal Science: Faculty Publications

Correlations were computed between pairs of first-lactation milk records of unrelated Holstein cows in New York, where the records were made in the same herd and same year-season of freshening, and in the same herd but different year-seasons of freshening. Records were expressed as deviations from herd-mate averages. The average correlation between pairs in the same herd-year-season was .01. The average correlation when the pair of records was made one season apart was .08, and two seasons apart was .06. The pattern of correlations between a pair of records made more than 3 or 2 yr apart appears to be …

Heritability Estimates Of Milk Production With Different Numbers Of Records Per Sire By Herd Subclass, L. Dale Van Vleck

Department of Animal Science: Faculty Publications

The first-lactation milk records of 20,850 artificially sired Holstein cows and their darns were analyzed by a sire-by-herd, variance components model to determine if unequal numbers of records in the filled subclasses had any effect on the paternal half-sib correlation or the daughter-dam regression. The variance components were estimated with the number per subclass held constant at 1, 2, 3, 4, or 5. The records were also analyzed as deviations from herdmate averages. The analysis of deviations with one observation per subclass gave the highest heritability estimate from daughter-dam regression, .40, and the lowest from paternal half-sib correlation, .23. Analyses …

Environmental Correlations In Sire Evaluation, L. Dale Van Vleck

Department of Animal Science: Faculty Publications

Correlations were computed among averages of first lactation deviations from herdmate averages of groups of artificially sired daughters of the same Holstein bulls. The groups were constructed by specifying the time interval between animals in the different groups. Comparison of the actual correlations with the expected correlations suggests that environmental correlations are small or nil among artificially sired halfsibs in New York. The correlations between initial and later groups of 20 or 40 daughter records at different time intervals are so close to the expected correlations that there is no support for the view that accuracy of prediction in sire …

Nebraska Bird Review (July 1965) 33(3), Whole Issue

Nebraska Bird Review

Table of Contents

1964 (Seventh) Fall Record Report ...........................34

The Sixty-Fourth Annual Meeting ...........................47

Book Review........................... 48

In Memoriam- Miss Mary A. Towne........................... 48

Mississippi Kite Seen in Fontenelle Forest........................... 49

General Notes ...........................49

Excerpts from Letters ...........................50

Treasurer's Report- 1964 ...........................52

Genetic And Maternal Influence On The First Three Lactations Of Holstein Cows, L. Dale Van Vleck, G. E. Bradford

Department of Animal Science: Faculty Publications

Milk records of up to the first three lactations of artificially sired Holstein daughters and their dams were used to estimate heritability from both daughter-dam regression and paternal half-sib correlation. The within-herd estimates from records expressed as deviations from herd-mate averages were .37, .30, and .24 from daughter-dam regression for the first three lactations ; and the corresponding estimates from half-sib correlation were .24, .21, and .23. These results suggest a large maternal effect in the first lactation, a small amount in the second, and little in the third lactation. Analysis of the records not as deviations gave the same …

Linearity Of Heritability Of Holstein First-Lactation Milk Production, L. Dale Van Vleck, C. L. Hart

Department of Animal Science: Faculty Publications

The regression of daughter on dam first-lactation milk deviations from herd-mate averages was found to be linear from an analysis of 47,400 Holstein pairs. The linear equation was y=-25.6 + .210 (x -27.6) and the quadratic equation was y=-25.6 + .208 (x -27.6) + .0000222 (x²-44131.4) with correlation coefficients, .18258 and .18268, respectively. These results suggest that selection response can be predicted adequately even with very large selection differentials.

Nebraska Bird Review (April 1965) 33(2), Whole Issue

Nebraska Bird Review

Table of Contents

A Study of Nesting Dickcissels in Nebraska ......................... 22

Honorary Members-Leroy M. Gates ......................... 25

Miss Doris B. Gates ......................... 26

In Memoriam-Frederick Ira Day ......................... 26

Book Reviews ......................... 27

Wintering Sandhill Cranes in Lincoln County ......................... 28

1964 Christmas Count ......................... 29

Comments ......................... 32

Production Differences Between Registered Cows And Their Nonregistered Herd-Mates, L. Dale Van Vleck, J. D. Burke

Department of Animal Science: Faculty Publications

Within-herd contemporary comparisons of the first-lactation production of registered and nonregistered cows in herds enrolled in the New York Dairy Herd Improvement Associations suggest only small genetic differences between registered and nonregistered cows. In general, the registered Holsteins exceeded in production their nonregistered herd-mates, whereas the nonregistered cows had a slight advantage over their registered herd-mates for the Ayrshire, Guernsey, and Jersey breeds.

Artificially sired cows had consistently higher production than their naturally sired herd-mates for all breeds. A definite increase in this advantage was noted for Holsteins in more recent years. No trend was apparent in the comparison of …

Kill And Migration Patterns Of The Seney Goose Flock, Glen A. Sherwood

United States Fish and Wildlife Service: Publications

An intensive investigation into the limiting factors and behavior of the Seney Canada goose (Branta canadensis maxima -- Hanson, 1965) flock was conducted from June, 1962 to August, 1965. A portion of the study findings, concerning kill and migration patterns, is reported here.

The 95,500 acre Seney National Wildlife Refuge is situated in the east-central sector of Michigan's upper peninsula, in the southwest quadrant of land formed by the junction of state highways M-77 and M-28. It is composed of four broad habitat types of which approximately 400 acres are cropland, 26,900 acres upland brush and timber, 61, 000 …