Animal Sciences Commons^™

Egg Breakage By Captive Cranes At The International Crane Foundation, Stacy Puchta, Michael S. Putnam, Kelly Maguire

Proceedings of the North American Crane Workshop

Captive cranes can break eggs through deliberate destruction, clumsy parental behavior, or accidentally because of thin shells. We report on the frequency of egg breakage by pairs of captive cranes at the International Crane Foundation (ICF). Among the 15 species of cranes and 1 hybrid female, all except a grey-crowned crane (Balearica regulorum) have broken eggs at ICF. Some pairs broke 1/3 or more of their eggs despite efforts by aviculturists to retrieve them before breakage. We compared the proportion of broken eggs among 7 species where we have data from >5 individual females and more than 150 eggs …

West Nile Encephalitis In A Captive Florida Sandhill Crane, Cristina M. Hansen, Barry K. Hartup, Olga D. Gonzalez, Douglas E. Lyman, Howard Steinberg

Proceedings of the North American Crane Workshop

A 37 year old captive male Florida sandhill crane (Grus canadensis pratensis) housed at the International Crane Foundation exhibited abnormal neurologic signs in the fall of 2006. Despite therapy and supportive care, the neurologic signs worsened and the crane was euthanized after 6 days. Antemortem and postmortem serum was positive for flavivirus antibody, and a cloacal swab was positive for West Nile virus (WNV) by reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR). Pectoral muscle atrophy and multifocal myocardial necrosis were observed at necropsy. Histopathologic findings included inflammatory and necrotic lesions in sections of brain, spinal cord, eye, heart, blood …

Survival, Movements, Social Structure, And Reproductive Behavior During Development Of A Population Of Reintroduced, Migratory Whooping Cranes, Richard P. Urbanek, Lara E. A. Fondow

Proceedings of the North American Crane Workshop

An effort to reintroduce a migratory population of whooping cranes (Grus americana) into eastern North America began in 2001. During 2001-2004, 53 juveniles were released. All chicks were hatched at Patuxent Wildlife Research Center, Maryland, and transferred to Necedah National Wildlife Refuge (NWR), Wisconsin. Chicks were costume/isolation-reared and, with few exceptions, trained to follow ultralight aircraft, which led them to Chassahowitzka NWR, Central Gulf Coast of Florida. All individuals successfully returned to Central Wisconsin during their first spring migration except for the following: 5 individuals that were unable to navigate around Lake Michigan after taking an easterly migration …

Common Crane Management In Germany: Monitoring, Protection, And Scientific Work, Hartwig Prange

Proceedings of the North American Crane Workshop

About 200,000 common cranes (Grus grus) from northern, middle, and northeastern parts of Europe are migrating on the West-European route. In the northeast part of Germany 160,000 cranes stop over simultaneously during migration. This number has increased since the early 1980´s by 3-fold. About 60 sites with from 200 to 50,000 cranes are systematically observed from August to December by local expert groups. The overnight roosts are in ponds, swamps, and lakes, actively flooded meadows, and brown coal mines as well as in shallow backwaters of the Baltic Sea. They have been used year after year. More than …

A Landscape Perspective Of Whooping Crane Migration Through Nebraska: Conservation And Management Implications, Felipe Chavez-Ramirez, Chris Helzer, Paul Tebbel

Proceedings of the North American Crane Workshop

Past and current discussions of conservation of whooping crane (Grus americana) stopover habitat in Nebraska have long been focused on the Platte River. We evaluated the distribution of whooping crane stopover sites in Nebraska in a broader context to (a) determine the distribution of whooping crane stopover sites on the Platte River relative to other landscapes and (b) use whooping migratory behavior data to systematically define and explain patterns of stopover clusters. The distribution of stopover clusters suggests rainwater basin wetlands and the Platte River may be used interchangeably by migrating whooping cranes. The Rainwater Basin and Platte River appear …

Mississippi Sandhill Crane Conservation Update, 2003–2005, Scott G. Hereford, Tracy E. Grazia

Proceedings of the North American Crane Workshop

The Mississippi sandhill crane (Grus canadensis pulla) is an endangered non-migratory subspecies found on and near the Mississippi Sandhill Crane National Wildlife Refuge in southeastern Mississippi. From 2003 to 2005, conservation efforts for the recovery of this population included management activities such as protection and law enforcement, restocking, predator management, farming, prescribed burning, mechanical vegetation removal, hydrological restoration, pest plant management, and education. To maintain open savanna, 1842 hectares were burned annually, with 38% during the growing season. To restore open savanna, 506 hectares of woody vegetation were removed using mechanical methods. To bolster the population, we released 17-25 captive-reared …

Fish & Wildlife News: Winter 2008

Fish and Wildlife News

Contents:
Director’s Corner / 1
News / 3
Field Journal / 9
Landscape of Change / 10
Canine Companions / 18
The Battle for One House / 20
Miracle in the Berkshires / 22
Trading Places / 24
Around the Service / 28
Fish Tales / 39
Our People / 40
Transitions / 40
Honors / 41
In Memoriam / 44

An Improved Method For Predicting The Accuracy Of Genetic Stock Identification, Eric C. Anderson, Robin Waples, Steven T. Kalinowski

United States Department of Commerce: Staff Publications

Estimating the accuracy of genetic stock identification (GSI) that can be expected given a previously collected baseline requires simulation. The conventional method involves repeatedly simulating mixtures by resampling from the baseline, simulating new baselines by resampling from the baseline, and analyzing the simulated mixtures with the simulated baselines. We show that this overestimates the predicted accuracy of GSI. The bias is profound for closely related populations and increases as more genetic data (loci and (or) alleles) are added to the analysis. We develop a new method based on leave-one-out cross validation and show that it yields essentially unbiased estimates of …

Lpe Center News, January 2008

Livestock and Poultry Environmental Learning Center: Newsletters

In this issue:

• February Webcast: Impact of Ethanol Co-Products on Nutrient Planning and Manure Management

• Past Webcasts (and More!) Available at the Archive

• Nutritionists Certified in Feed Management

• Environmental Management Resources for Small Farms

• Comment Period on Exempting Animal Waste from EPCRA and CERCLA Reporting is Now Open

Estimation Of The Lysine Requirements For High-Lean Growth Pigs, Phillip S. Miller, Roman Moreno, Thomas E. Burkey, Rodger K. Johnson

Nebraska Swine Reports

An experiment was conducted to determine the lysine regime required to maximize growth performance for high-lean-growth potential barrows and gilts beginning at 45 lb and concluding at approximately 260 lb. There were four growing-finishing phases and four lys treatments within phase (Grower-1, 44 lb to 79 lb; Grower-2 79 lb to 132 lb; Finisher-1, 132 lb to 189 lb; and Finisher-2, 1891b to 260 lb). Dietary treatments were corn-soybean meal based supplemented with 0.15% crystalline lysine. The formulation of 2 dietary treatments was aimed to provide lysine below the requirement, while the other 2 dietary treatments provided lys above the …

Dietary Fiber In Sow Gestation Diets - An Updated Review, Duane Reese, Allen Prosch, Daryl A. Travnicek, Kent M. Eskridge

Nebraska Swine Reports

Twenty-four published reports dating from 1975 to 2007 were examined to determine the overall effects of feeding gestation sows additional fiber. Sow and litter traits among trials were weighted by the number of litters for each treatment within each trial. Overall, sows can successfully consume high-fiber diets during gestation with few deleterious effects. Positive effects from feeding high-fiber diets were evident in litter size (0.2 to 0.6 pigs/litter) and sow lactation feed intake (0.5 to 0.8 lb/day), but they are not largely evident until the second reproductive cycle following exposure to the diet. It's possible that to ensure sow and …

Effects Of Nutrition During Gilt Development And Genetic Line On Farrowing Rates Through Parity 3, Causes Of Culling, Sow Weights And Backfats Through Parity 4, And Factors Affecting Farrowing Rates, Rodger K. Johnson, Phillip S. Miller, Matthew W. Anderson, Jeffrey M. Perkins, Kelsey A. Rhynalds, Trevor J. Glidden, Donald R. Mcclure, Thomas E. Mcgargill, Darryl J. Barnhill, Roman Moreno

Nebraska Swine Reports

Gilts of two genetic lines were developed with either ad libitum access to feed or energy restriction (75% of ad libitum) to determine effects on subsequent sow performance and longevity. Gilts can be developed with regimens in which energy is restricted during the growing period but the proportion that express pubertal estrus may be reduced in leaner, faster growing lines. Effects on subsequent farrowing rates are small. Sow weight and buckfat at farrowing and weaning of Parity 1 litters affect the likelihood of producing a Parity 2 litter, but these effects are dependent on lean growth rate of the line …

2008 Nebraska Swine Report

Nebraska Swine Reports

Table of Contents

Pork Central's Al Prosch Retires

Nutrition
The Effect of Corn Distillers Dried Grain with Solubles (DDGS) on Growth Performance of Growing-Finishing Pigs ● The Effect of Corn Distillers Dried Grain with Solubles (DDGS) on Carcass Characteristics and Pork Quality ● Effects of Increasing Concentrations of Distillers Dried Grains with Solubles (DDGS) on Growth Performance of Weanling Pigs ● Dietary Fiber in Sow Gestation Diets—An Updated Review ● Effects of Nutrition During Gilt Development on Lifetime Productivity of Sows of Two Profile Maternal Lines: Summary Growth Characteristics and Sow Productivity—2008 ● Effects of Nutrition During Gilt Development and …

Validating The Odor Footprint Tool Using Field Data, Richard R. Stowell, Kara R. Niemeir, Dennis D. Schulte

Nebraska Swine Reports

Trained participants monitored odors around a 4,800-head finishing site in eastern Nebraska during 2005 and 2006. “Mobile odor assessors” monitored odors within the downwind odor plume and reported that odors at off-site locations (at least 200 feet away) were consequentially annoying in 20 out of 192 assessments. On-site odor levels were considered annoying in 33 of 39 instances. For the same off-site locations and times, modeling predicted 18 annoying events, resulting in 90% prediction rate (18 vs. 20) of annoying frequency. Five residents regularly monitored for odors outside their residences and made 1,007 assessments. On 42 occasions, or 4.2% of …

Pork Central's Al Prosch Retires

Nebraska Swine Reports

Al Prosch retired from his position as Pork Central Coordinator in June 2007 after 11 years at the University of Nebraska.

Association Of Odor Measures With Annoyance: Results Of An Odor-Monitoring Field Study, Richard R. Stowell, Christopher G. Henry, Richard K. Koelsch, Dennis D. Schulte

Nebraska Swine Reports

Multiple assessments of ambient odor were made by trained individuals around a swine finishing operation in eastern Nebraska. Assessor responses were analyzed to determine relationships between field odor measurements/ ratings and ratings of annoyance potential, and to identify candidate measurement threshold values for causing annoyance. The likelihood of annoyance increased as odors became more offensive, intense, and concentrated, with r² values of 0.89, 0.81, and 0.64, respectively. Candidate thresholds were sought to delineate both “any degree of stated annoyance" and "consequential annoyance," defined as likely causing a change in behavior or activity level and instilling some memory of the …

University Of Nebraska-Lincoln Agricultural Research Division 122nd Annual Report July 1, 2007 To June 30, 2008, Institute Of Agriculture And Natural Resources

Agricultural Research Division: News and Annual Reports

Our Mission ..... 4

Foreword..... 5

Faculty Awards and Recognitions.... 6

Graduate Student Awards and Recognitions...10

Undergraduate Honors Student Research Program...14

Variety and Germplasm Releases....15

Patents.....17

Administration..... 18

Administrative Personnel.... 18

Organizational Chart....19

Administrative Units....20

IANR Research Facilities.... 21

Faculty..... 22

Agricultural/Natural Resources Units... 23

Education and Human Sciences Departments...33

Off-Campus Research Centers....34

Interdisciplinary Activities....35

Visiting Scientists/Research Associates....36

Research Projects..... 43

Agricultural/Natural Resources Units... 43

Education and Human Sciences Departments...48

Off-Campus Research Centers....49

Interdisciplinary Activities ....50

Publications.....51

Agricultural/Natural Resources Units... 57

Education and Human Sciences Departments...77

Off-Campus Research Centers....80

Research Expenditures....82

Management Of Lands Along The Platte River From Elm Creek To Lexington, Nebraska, As Crane Habitat, James J. Jenniges, Mark M. Peyton

Proceedings of the North American Crane Workshop

To meet Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) license requirements for the operation of 5 hydroelectric power plants on the North Platte and Platte Rivers in Nebraska, the Nebraska Public Power District (NPPD) and The Central Nebraska Public Power and Irrigation District (Central) together have become the second largest owners and managers of lands for the conservation of endangered species and migratory waterbirds along the central reach of the Platte River. We describe here the management activities on the properties, success of the management in achieving objectives, and the response of sandhill (Grus canadensis) and whooping cranes (G. …

Terrestrial Habitat Use Of Marbled Salamanders Ambystoma Opacum: A Site Specific Approach, Frank Piccininni

Theses, Dissertations and Capstones

Habitat destruction, fragmentation and degradation have contributed heavily to the decline of amphibian populations such as Marbled Salamanders (Ambystoma opacum). Often, ambystomatid water resources are conserved without consideration for the equally important terrestrial habitat. This is partly due to a lack of information regarding the relationship between ecological succession, plant community composition, microhabitat and salamander abundance. Three sampling transects consisting of drift fence arrays, vegetation assessments and microhabitat surveys were extended 100 m into the terrestrial habitat surrounding a seasonal wetland at Beech Fork State Park in Wayne County, West Virginia. Principal components analysis was used to identify …

Ontogenetic Changes In Feeding Morphology And Diet In The Chiselmouth Minnow, Acrocheilus Alutaceus, Corrie Murray

Undergraduate Honors Theses

The chiselmouth minnow (Acrocheilus alutaceus) is an herbivorous fish endemic to freshwater systems of the Pacific Northwest and abundant in mid-reaches of the Yakima River, WA. Uncommon in temperate streams, herbivorous fish are ecologically important because they provide a direct link between primary production and fish biomass. Chiselmouth minnows undergo ontogenetic morphological changes as they transform from insectivore to herbivore, the lower jaw becomes flattened, calcified and hardened for scraping algae and the intestine grows long for digestion. The timing of these changes in relation to diet and ecological status are poorly understood. By quantifying changes in jaw …

Effect Of Food Deprivation On The Metabolic Profile Of Llamas (Lama Glama) In The Letanias Experimental Station - Viacha, Edwin Eddy Ali Quisbert

Theses and Dissertations

In the highlands, where regular agriculture and livestock are not viable, raising camelids is the only means of subsistence for rural families. While grazing during the dry season in the high Andean region, llamas face serious nutritional deficiencies due to limited forage availability. This study was done at the experimental station of the Benson Agriculture and Food Institute located in the community of Letanias which is in the municipality of Viacha. The objective was to determine the effect of food deprivation on the metabolic profile of blood plasma (concentration of urea-nitrogen, total protein, albumin, and creatinine) as well as the …

Youth Competitors Gain Benefits From Horse Show Judges' Training Program, Pat Evans, S. Mckendrick, J. Wesley, J. Smith

Animal, Dairy, and Veterinary Science Faculty Publications

This article details how youth benefit from a horse show judges’ training program. While judging is subjective, with training, judges can be more consistent in their placings, with the better horses and/or riders being placed at the top of the class. With qualified judges, youth can be more confident that they will be evaluated in a fair and consistent manner during each show all season long.

Dr. Maximillian Schmidt's 1884 Review Of The Growth Rates Of Asian Elephants, Robert H.I. Dale, Fred Yaniga

Scholarship and Professional Work - LAS

Rarely is there a scientific article of such creativity, insight and importance that it is fascinating even 125 years after it was written. The following article by Max Schmidt, translated in English for the first time, as far as we know, is one of these. As in the original article, an illustration precedes the text.

Dr. Schmidt addressed a topic of considerable interest in recent times (for example, Sukumar, 2003, Appendix 2): The growth curves of elephants. He combined data on multiple elephants from several sources to generate a table of shoulder heights from birth to the age of 34 …

Tribute: In Memoriam, Jeheskel "Hezy" Shoshani, Robert H.I. Dale

Scholarship and Professional Work - LAS

The elephant community has lost one of its great ambassadors, Dr. Jeheskel "Hezy" Shoshani, at the age of 65. A wave of condolences and testimonials from colleagues and friends around the world followed his death on May 21, 2008.

History: The Birth Of "America" In 1882, Robert H.I. Dale

Scholarship and Professional Work - LAS

This article concerns a New York Times story about the birth of the female Asian elephant calf, named America, at the winter headquarters of the "Greatest Show on Earth" in Bridgeport, Connecticut on February 2, 1882. Phineas T. Barnum, one of the owners of the show, and one prone to self-aggrandizing bluster, claimed that America was the second elephant ever born in captivity. America was born only to months before the arrival in New York of the most famous circus elephant of all time, Jumbo, on Easter Sunday, 1882, and only two years before the origin of a small wagon …

Calf Development: Most Births At Night, Robert H.I. Dale

Scholarship and Professional Work - LAS

For many years, field researchers studying both African (Loxodonta africana) and Asian (Elephas maximas) elephants have indicated that they have observed relatively few births in situ, suggesting that most elephant dams give birth at night. For example, according to Cynthia Moss, "Possibly the majority of births occur at night and perhaps those that do take place in the daytime happen in secluded places" (1988, p. 151). Others, for example, Clive Spinage, have referred to "the old beliefs that the cows retreated to 'calving grounds' or that birth took place at night." (Spinage, 1994, p. 90). Although …

Effect Of Pre-Breeding Weight And Mga Supplementation On Heifer Performance, Jeremy L. Martin, Kelly W. Creighton, Jacqueline A. Musgrave, Terry J. Klopfenstein, Richard T. Clark, Don C. Adams, Richard N. Funston

Nebraska Beef Cattle Reports

Developing heifers to reach a target weight of 50% of mature body weight at the beginning of the breeding season is an effective method for reducing heifer development cost. Net costs to produce a bred yearling heifer and 2-year-old cow were lower when heifers were developed to 50% rather than 55% of mature body weight, regardless of breeding season length. Administration of oral progestin to heifers developed to 50% mature body weight prior to breeding did not affect reproductive performance during the first breeding season when heifers were exposed to bulls 13 days after the end of progestin treatment.

Effect Of Wintering System And Nutrition Around Breeding On Gain And Reproduction In Heifers, Daniel M. Larson, Jeremy L. Martin, Richard N. Funston

Nebraska Beef Cattle Reports

Replacement heifers were developed using corn stalks (Experiments 1 and 2), winter range (Experiment 1), or a dry lot (Experiment 2) with or without a high energy supplement around breeding. Corn stalk development reduced ADG and the percentage pubertal prior to breeding; however, neither first service conception nor pregnancy rates were affected. High energy supplemental nutrition around breeding tends to improve first service conception. Corn stalk development does not appear to negatively impact reproduction, although it resulted in lighter calf birth weight compared to winter range.

Pre And Peri-Pubertal Feeding Of Melengesterol Acetate (Mga) Alters Testis Characteristics In Bulls, Racheal G. Slattery, Shantille G. Kruse, Jeremy L. Martin, Michelle M. Baltes-Breitwisch, Debra T. Clopton, Karl V. Moline, Jeffrey W. Bergman, Andrea S. Cupp

Nebraska Beef Cattle Reports

Bulls were fed 1 mg/head/day of MGA from 5.5 to 6.5 months ; 6.5 to 9; or fed a control diet. Body weight, scrotal circumference, combined testis weight, testis composition, and testosterone concentration were measured. Feeding MGA prior to puberty increased scrotal circumference and decreased testosterone concentration at 12 months compared to controls. Thus, feeding MGA prior to puberty can alter testis characteristics in bulls.

Nebraska Beef Cattle Report 2008

Nebraska Beef Cattle Reports

Contents

Cow/Calf
Effect of Pre-breeding Weight and MGA Supplementation on Heifer Performance
Effect of Wintering System and Nutrition Around Breeding on Gain and Reproduction in Heifers
Pre- and Peri-pubertal Feeding of Melengesterol Acetate (MGA) Alters Testis Characteristics in Bulls
Effects of Summer Climatic Conditions on Body Temperature in Beef Cows
Supplementing Beef Cows Grazing Cornstalk Residue with a Distillers Based Cube
Comparison of Crude Protein and Digestibility of Diets of Grazing Cattle at Different Sandhills Range Sites
Determination of Diet Protein and Digestibility of Native Sandhills Upland Range
Evaluation of Storage Methods for Wet Distillers Grains Plus Solubles with Added …