Animal Sciences Commons^™

A Computerized Performance Record Keeping System For Beef Cattle In Utah, John J. Pierce

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

A computer program was developed at Utah State University (USU) to aid in obtaining a more complete individual performance record keeping system for beef cattle in Utah. Some computer programs for beef cattle records presently exist but a program was needed that was readily available to the USU animal science extension and resident staff.

The program was written in FORTRAN for use on the Burrogh 6700 computer located at the Utah State University Computer Center. It was designed to read input data for individual animals, perform various calculations (i. e. days of age, adjusted weaning weight and weaning weight ratio), …

Impact Of The Black-Tailed Jackrabbits (Lepus Californicus) On Vegetation In Curlew Valley, Northern Utah, Mark Westoby

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

The interrelations of black-tailed jackrabbits and the desert-shrub vegetation on which they were feeding were studied in Curlew Valley, Northern Utah. The vegetation was described as a three-cornered continuum, the corners being types dominated respectively by Artemisia tridentata, Atriplex confertifolia, and Sarcobatus vermiculatus.

Jackrabbit diet was studied by microscopic analysis of plant fragments in stomachs from shot animals. The method was inaccurate, apparently because the ratio of identifiable tissues to all ingested tissues was very low, and varied between plant taxa, and seasonally. This problem seems intractable for desert shrub vegetation.

The diet was similar to that …

Factors Affecting Feeding Habits Of Sheep Grazing Foothill Ranges Of Northern Utah, Farid D. Iskander

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

An experiment was designed to study the effects of forage availability, season and intensity of grazing, and distribution and behavior of sheep on their forage preferences. Three grazing periods of 15 days each were used to study the effect of season. Each grazing period included a heavy and a moderate stocking intensity. Pastures were divided by a grid into 30.48 m x 30.48 m compartments. Each compartment was sampled for botanical composition of available herbage prior to and after grazing. Esophageally fistulated sheep were allowed to graze freely and positions of individual sheep with respect t o compartments were recorded …

Economics Of Carry-Over Production And Increased Grazing Season Length Due To Range Fertilization, Paul W. Mccormick

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

This paper entails the economic and biological interpretation of the response of rangeland grasses to nitrogen fertilization. Six sites throughout Utah received graduated rates of fertilizer. The coefficients of the production function
Y = a + bN - cN²
were identified.

An initial production and a carry-over response were identified on sites receiving greater than ten inches of annual precipitation. Optimum fertilization rates may be identified by equating the marginal physical product to the ratio of the price of nitrogen to the price of the forage.

Forage response to nitrogen is reflected strongly in the early growth response in …

Mechanisms Of Population Regulation In Confined Colonies Of Peromyscus Maniculatus (Wagner) And The Response To Exploitation, Donna Corn Olsen

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Wild-trapped and laboratory-reared Peromyscus maniculatus (Wagner) were raised as confined colonies indoors with various stocking densities ranging from 0.026 to 0.100 mice per sq. ft. in pens of 40, 77, and 154 sq. ft. The animals were individually tagged and all pens were censused at weekly or semi-monthly intervals to record animals present, body weights, food consumption, and overt reproductive condition. At the termination of each experiment, all mice were necropsied and organ weights of gonads and adrenals recorded. Histological sections were made of the testes and ovaries. Half the colonies were subjected to density-independent exploitation by removal of 50% …

Reproduction And Hematology Of The Cache Elk Herd, Thomas B. Follis

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

The initial three years of a 10-year reproductive study of elk involved three major phases. A fourth was added because of convenience. Objective 1 was to ascertain pregnancy rates in yearling and mature elk by rectal palpation, associate these rates with subsequent fall cow/calf ratios, and to test concurrently an ultrasonic fetal heart detector. Rectally observed anatomical changes in gravid uteri of cattle were directly applicable to elk. Ultrasonic detections of pregnancies in elk and deer were unsuccessful.

Pregnancy rates in the 1969-70 winter of 100 and 0 percent, respectively, for 19 adult and five yearling elk were associated with …

Some Aspects Of Conditioning Behavior In Rainbow Trout, Salmo Gairdneri, Reed E. Harris

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Effects of exercise, social facilitation, and delayed conditioning after vi exercise on the learning behavior of 5 to 6-inch rainbow trout, Salmo gairdneri, was measured in a conditioned avoidance response apparatus. The conditioning schedule contained an intertrial interval between alternate presentations of conditioned (light) and unconditioned (shock) stimuli. This randomization eliminated learning losses found in a previous study. Mean percentage avoidance, the measurement of learning, did not decrease significantly during conditioning trials. Exercised fish learned avoidance better than did non-exercised fish. Mean percentage avoidance for fish exercised at 0.5 ft/sec was 66.3; at 1.0 ft/ sec, 1.5 ft/sec, and …

Ecology Of Aroga Websteri Clarke In Curlew Valley, Utah-Idaho, Reed L. Kirkland

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

The ecology, life history, and population dynamics of the sagebrush defoliator, Aroga websteri Clarke, were studied in the field and laboratory. The defoliator has one generation a year at the Curlew Valley site. It overwintered in the egg stage and passed through five larval instars. Ten parasite species attacked the defoliator at the study site. Four species, Orgilus ferus, Phaeogenes sp., Spilochalcis leptis, and Apanteles cacoeciae, contributed over 75 percent of the total incidence of parasitism. Parasitism ranged from 20 to 76 percent in 1971, but only ranged from 6 to 29 percent in 1972. This decrease …

An Economic Analysis Of Nitrogen And Phosphorus Fertilization On Several Utah Range And Meadow Sites, Thomas M. Quigley

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Previous research has shown that rangeland forage production can be increased through fertilization. A study was conducted to determine if fertilization of various Utah range sites was economically feasible. Six range sites were selected for analysis. The addition of nitrogen increased forage production on three sites. Phosphorus had no effect in increasing production. Production functions of the form, Y = a + bN - cN² , where Y is pounds of forage per acre and N is pounds of nitrogen per acre, were estimated for both fall and spring applications. Using current prices of Y and N the optimum …

The Effects Of Age And Induction On Cockroach Mixed Function Oxidase Activity And Cell Morphology, Richard L. Turnquist

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Female American cockroaches showed definite age-dependent changes in levels of activity of the microsomal mixed function oxidase chain. Cytochrome P-450 levels, EPN-detoxication, and p-nitroanisole O-demethylation activities were very low in young adult insects but increased steadily reaching a peak at about 100 days in fat body and at about 90 days in midgut and hindgut. The activities then declined rapidly reaching levels of young insects at about 130 to 140 days of age. NADPH-NT-reductase activity was high in young insects and declined during the first few weeks of adult life. This activity too showed a peak at about …

An Analysis Of Stock Densities And Harvest Of The Cutthroat Trout Of The Snake River, Teton County, Wyoming, John W. Kiefling

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

An intensive creel census and marking program was conducted in 1969 and 1970 to make possible population estimates and estimates of harvest of cutthroat trout in the Snake River in Teton County, Wyoming. Stock density determinations made in one of the five study areas provided an estimate of 400 and 992 cutthroat trout, eight inches or more in length, per mile of stream in 1969 and 1970 respectively.

Harvest data provide an estimate of 5,207 and 5,903 cutthroat trout harvested in 1969 and 1970 respectively. The harvest estimates obtained in this study are not comparable to those made in 1967 …

Tissue Mineral Imbalances In Cattle With Brisket Disease, Patricia H. Field

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Twenty four cattle, six each of healthy cows and calves, and cows and calves with brisket disease, were obtained, examined and slaughtered. The concentrations of calcium, chloride, cobalt, copper, iron, magnesium, molybdenum, phosphorus, potassium, sodium and zinc; and percent absolute dry matter and percent ash were determined in tissues selected from the following: cardiac, hepatic, renal, osseous, whole blood and blood serum. In addition, certain physical and biological parameters were recorded for each animal. The results were analyzed as a 2 x 2 factorial, segregating the effects of age and brisket disease, and the age-disease interaction.

The following statistically significant …

Coyotes And Sheep, Frederic H. Wagner

Faculty Honor Lectures

To many persons not in the profession, the term wildlife management largely connotes the husbandry of fish, birds, or mammals for hunting and fishing purposes. Even if we grant an implied breadth in his use of the term "recreation," Leopold's (1933:3) definition of game management in his classic book by the same name tends to foster this impression: " ... the art of making land produce sustained annual crops of wild game for recreational

Transfer Of Fr Response Rate Bias To Fi Trained Guinea Pigs By Injection Of Brain Homogenate, Lief Carlsen

Undergraduate Honors Capstone Projects

In an attempt to delineate the physiological and/or chemical nature of the memory process, some researchers have reported that by introducing all or part of the brain of a trained animal into the bloodstream of another animal, the recipient thereby "acquires a tendency" to respond as the donor was trained. However, almost as many researchers have failed to obtain significant results.

Because many of the early experiments had less than optimum designs, their results were often equivocal. Critics frequently pointed out that perhaps increased learning efficiency was due merely to a sensitizing or stimulating effect of the injection and not …

Freshwater Food Habits Of Salvelinus Malma (Walbaum) On Amchitka Island, Alaska, John F. Palmisano

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Stomach contents of 3,672 Dolly Varden char collected from September 1967 to November 1968 were examined to determine the food habits of this species. Of these, 3,100 (86%) had food in their stomachs. Aquatic invertebrates (Insecta and Crustacea) comprised over 90% of the diet. Food habits varied with habitat. Aquatic insects were most important in the diet of stream fish while aquatic insects and crustaceans were most important in the diet of lake fish. Food habits of lake fish were re- 1ated to lake bottom type and access to the sea. Fish in landlocked lakes fed primarily on aquatic insects, …

An Evaluation Of A Self-Guided Visitor Tour At Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge, Steven J. Kohler

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

In 1967 this study was initiated to evaluate the self-guided visitor tour of Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge. A 20 page visitor information booklet and tour guide was prepared and published for distribution at the refuge, and its effectiveness in telling the refuge story was evaluated. To gain a measure of the self-guided tour in terms of quality, visitor use patterns and satisfactions were critically examined.

To gather data on visitor use of the refuge, the visiting public was directly sampled by three methods: mail questionnaires, on-site interviews and candid tower observations of groups on the tour.

The information and …

Carrying Capacity Of The Key Browse Species For Moose On The North Slopes Of The Uinta Mountains, Utah, David E. Wilson

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

The Shiras moose, Alces alces shirasi, and its winter habitat on the north slopes of the Uinta Mountains in Utah were studied from August, 1969, to July, 1971 to determine the food requirement for moose, the key browse species during the winter months, the acreage, density and utilization of the key browse species, and their carrying capacity for moose.

It was determined that an average adult moose had a daily food requirement of 19,133 kilocalories. The key browse species for moose were Salix drummondiana and S. geyeriana. These two species accounted for 92.0 and 4.7 percent respectively of …

An Electrophysiological Study Of The Oral Plate Sensory Organs Of The Honey Bee (Apis Mellifera L.), Rodney R. Seeley

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

The oral plate sense organs of the honey bee, Apis mellifera L., have been investigated employing an electrophysiological technique which allows simultaneous stimulation and recording.

The results of the study present evidence that the four bipolar sense cells innervating the sensory papillae on the oral surface of the hypopharynx are chemoreceptors. The sensory papillae respond to cations, glucose, water, and amino acids. Evidence for the absence of a mechanosensory cell is presented. The data concerning the sensory structures agree with the current theories of chemoreception.

Water In Relation To The Establishment Of Chukar Partridge In Utah Deserts, James R. Messerli

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

The effects artificial watering devices (guzzlers) have on chukar (Alectoris graeca) populations were studied in Juab County, Utah.

The effect of water was determined by a comparision of chukar populations near guzzlers with water to guzzlers without water. The closure of two guzzlers had a pronounced effect on the distribution of chukars and the number of chukars decreased significantly at the two guzzlers after their closure.

Water concentrated the chukars, therefore, influencing their activities. During the water-critical period, between 1 July and 1 October, frequent, possibly daily, trips were made to water by chukars.

Reproduction and chick survival …

The Effect Of Chromosomal Position On Dosage Compensation And Ontogenic Expression Of The V+ Gene In D. Melanogaster, Jack E. Tobler

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Two manifestations of gene regulation-- dosage compensation and ontogenic regulation--were examined in normally positioned and relocated v⁺ genotypes in Drosophila melanogaster to determine the role of gene position in these control functions. Enzyme assays, used as criteria of gene activity, were performed on various genotypes containing different doses of v⁺ in normal and relocated positions in male and female flies. The results indicate that although differently positioned v⁺ genes may specify different tryptophan pyrrolase activities, they still show dosage compensation. In each case, the enzyme activity associated with each gene, either on the X, Y, or third …

A Study Of The Biology Of The Species Of Protocalliphora In The Northern Wasatch Range, Terry L. Whitworth

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

A total of 733 bird nests, representing 55 species from 23 habitats, was examined. Forty-nine percent of the nests of 39 bird species were infested with 16 species of Protocalliphora.

Infestation of bird nests by Protocalliphora is believed to be related to a number of factors, which are discussed. Loosely constructed nests, nests heavily saturated with feces, and nests occupied early in the season had low rates of infestation. Nests of colonial birds were more frequently infested than those of solitary birds. Nests of some birds were rarely or never infested.

Sixteen species of Protocalliphora are differentiated and their …

Spawning And Early Life History Of Largemouth Bass (Micropterus Salmoides) In Wahweap Bay, Lake Powell, Kent D. Miller

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Spawning time and habitat of largemouth bass, survival of embryos, and growth and food habits of fingerlings were studied in 1968 and 1969 at Wahweap Bay, Lake Powell. Spawning began in mid- to late-April, when mean daily water temperature at nesting depths was 14.4-15.0 Centigrade (58-59 Fahreheit), and continued until mid-June. Most spawning took place on the northeast shore of the bay. Sandstone rubble was the most commonly used bottom type for nesting, either at the base of ledges or around large sandstone boulders. Mean nest depth increased from 1.63 meter to 4.54 meters (5.36 feet to 14.90 feet) in …

Isolation And Characterization Of Autosomal Male Sterile Mutants In Drosophila Melanogaster, Lynn J. Romrell

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

In order to study the genetic control of spermiogenesis, recessive, male-sterile, autosomal mutants of Drosophila melanogaster were induced with ethyl methanesulfonate. A total of 31 mutants were recovered, 15 of which were located on the second chromosome and 16 on the third chromosome. Eight second- and 6 third-chromosome mutants demonstrating sterility in all homozygous males were used for further analysis.

Complementation tests showed that 2 of the 8 second chromosome mutants (and none of the 6 third chromosome mutants) were noncomplementing, indicating that two of the mutants produced were alleles of the same locus. Mapping of the second chromosome mutants …

The Effects Of Formaldehyde On The Frequency Of Reversion Of The White-Ivory Mutant Of Drosophila Melanogaster, Ruth Ellen D. Wood

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

This study is an analysis of the effects of formaldehyde, a chemical which is both recombinogenic and mutagenic, on white-ivory (wⁱ) a highly mutable allele of the white locus of Drosophila. Formaldehyde is shown to significantly increase the reversion frequency of wⁱ. The results of this investigation differ from earlier observations in three respects: (1) there is a positive correlation between RNA (ribonucleic acid) concentration and reversion frequency in the presence of formaldehyde, but reversion does not appear to be totally RNA dependent; (2) female germ cells are more sensitive than those of the male; …

Effects Of Starvation And Time At Stocking On Survival Of Stocked Rainbow Trout, Salmo Gairdneri, Marlin John Bricker

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Investigations of effects of starvation and time at stocking on the survival of catchable rainbow trout in two areas of Mammoth Creek in Dixie National Forest, Utah, were conducted from May 24 to December 6, 1969. Fish were starved for 6 days and 1 day and stocked in the morning (5:40-7:00 a.m.) and in the afternoon (1:45-5:30 p.m.). Out of 7,000 tagged fish stocked, 4,751 tags were returned by fishermen. The 6-day starved fish, stocked in the morning returned to the creel in highest numbers (1,240); followed by 1-day starved, afternoon-stocked fish (1,194); 6-day starved, afternoon-stocked fish (1,163); and 1-day …

Hereford And Holstein Steer Performance On High Grain Diets With And Without Corn Silage, Cyril Bruce Russell

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

A factorially designed experiment had 18 Hereford and 18 Holstein steers on individually fed, high-grain diets. One diet included 59% rolled barley, 30% CSF beet pulp, 5% protein, vitamin, mineral, and stilbestrol supplement, and 6% chopped hay and straw. The other diet had corn silage (11% air dry matter equivalent) substituted for the chopped roughage and 5% of the beet pulp. The Holsteins were heavier at the start, 752 lb. as compared to the Herefords 686 lb. average. The weight differential was maintained throughout the approximately 180-day trial. The Holstein's feed consumption and rate of gain, 23.4 and 2.71 lb. …

An Economic Analysis Of Contour Furrows And Gully Checks On The Frail Lands Of Southeastern Utah, Karl A. Simonson

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

The upper Colorado River drainage system yields approximately 104,000 acre-feet of silt annually to the Colorado River. In an attempt to reduce the silt load, federal land management agencies have installed numerous land surface treatments. A study was conducted to measure the economic benefits of the land treatments near Cisco, Utah, and to compare them to the treatment costs and to develop predictive criteria for estimating the optimum intensity of treatment.

The economic evaluation was done in a benefit-cost framework and the criteria for estimating optimum intensity of treatment was done in a production-function framework.

The land treatments were found …

Growth Of Eimeria Alabamensis From Cattle In Vitro And The Changes In Fine Structure Associated With Schizogony, J. Robert Sampson

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Monolayer primary cultures of cells from bovine embryonic intestine (BEint), kidney (BEK), spleen (BES), and thyroid (BET) and cell line cultures of embryonic bovine trachea ( EBTr) and synovium (BESy)as well as established cell line cultures of Madin-Darby bovine kidney (MDBK), human intestine (Int 407), and Syrian hamster kidney (BHK-21) were inoculated with freshly excysted sporozoites of Eimeria alabamensis and observed for 4 days. Sporozoites penetrated all cell types during the first 24 hours in culture. Numerous intracellular sporozoites, trophozoites, and binucleate schizonts were seen in all cell cultures except Int 407. The best development occurred in BES and MDBK …

On The Population Ecology Of Uinta Ground Squirrels, Spencer R. Amend

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

A marked population of Spermophilus armatus averaging 529 individuals per year was studied for two and a half seasons on a 22-acre tract in northern Utah. The average date of emergence from hibernation of the first squirrel was 9 April. Mating occurred as soon as animals emerged from hibernation. The average date of appearance of the first litter was 31 May. Emergence sizes of litters were from 5.2 for yearling females to 6.3 for adult females. Few instances of predation were observed. Age and sex ratios varied throughout the season and for different portions of the study area. The population …

The Development Of The Endogenous Stages Of Eimeria Ninakohlyakimovae (Yakimoff And Rastegaieff, 1930) In Domestic Sheep, Richard S. Wacha

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Forty-five mixed breed lambs, 1 to 4 months of age, were used to study the patent period and endogenous stages in the life cycle of Eimeria ninakohlyakimovae. The lambs were inoculated with oocysts of this species and killed at daily intervals from 1 through 14 days after inoculation. From all lambs of the study sections of intestinal tissue were prepared by routine methods for histological examination.

E. ninakohlyakimovaewas observed to have 2 generations of schizonts in its endogenous development. Mature, first-generation schizonts had an average diameter of about 290 μ and had many thousands of merozoites, averaging 11.9 …