Animal Sciences Commons^™

Using Conservative And Biological Tracers To Better Understand The Transport Of Agricultural Contaminants From Soil Water Through The Epikarstic Zone, Brian Ham

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

Agriculture contamination is very common in karst systems due to the vulnerability of these aquifers. Animal waste is often spread across crop land to enrich the soil with nitrates and phosphates. Herbicides and pesticides are also applied to the crops. The transport of these pollutants through the soil and epikarst is a difficult process to monitor due to the complex, heterogeneous behavior of the groundwater as it makes its way down to the aquifer below.

An experimental site at Crumps Cave lended a unique opportunity to monitor the vadose zone at a waterfall in the cave below. A previous dye …

The Development And Role Of Peripheral Auditory Structures In Otocinclus Affinis, Sri Kiran Kumar Reddy Botta

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

Loricariidae is a very diverse family of catfishes found primarily in the Amazon River basin. These catfishes have a unique characteristic feature of having fenestrae (holes) in the skull region (compound pterotic bone) adjacent to their bi-lobed swim bladder. Since the swim bladders and the compound pterotic may act as an external ear for hearing in this taxon, I hypothesized that these swim bladders structures have an acoustical functional in the loricariid Otocinclus affinis. In order to understand the development of these structures in O. affinis, I first monitored the ontogeny of the compound pterotic bone by clearing …

Effects Of Early Spring Growth Annual Ryegrass Pasture Consumption On Parameters Associated With Laminitis In Horses, Morgan Nicole Akers

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

Ten adult Quarter Horses (5 mares and 5 geldings) were placed in dry lot for 90 days and allowed free choice access to a diet consisting of average quality orchard grass hay, salt and water. The horses were then allowed free choice access to early-growth annual ryegrass pasture, salt and water for a 28 day period. Random hay and grass samples were analyzed for nutrient content. Blood samples were collected at 6 am, 8 am, 6 pm, and 8 pm on the final day of hay consumption and on the 4th, 9th and 28th days of grass consumption. Samples were …