Animal Sciences Commons^™

Multistate Mark-Recapture Analysis Reveals No Effect Of Blood Sampling On Survival And Recapture Of Eastern Kingbirds (Tyrannus Tyrannus), Lucas J. Redmond, Michael T. Murphy

Biology Faculty Publications and Presentations

The experimentally supported and prevailing opinion is that blood sampling has few to no long-term effects on survival of birds when conducted properly, and blood sampling has become a vital addition to the toolbox of many ornithologists. However, many of the studies that concluded that blood sampling had negligible effects on birds used approaches that did not account for temporary emigration and probability of capture. To date, the only study to have done so found that blood sampling had a strong negative effect on survival. We conducted a mark–recapture analysis of 8 years of banding and bleeding data on Eastern …

The Effects Of Social Context And Cache Survival On Pinyon Jay Caching Behavior, Christine L. Keefe

School of Biological Sciences: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

I examined how pinyon jays (Gymnorhinus cyanocephalus) assess and determine the risk of pilferage to their caches. Jays were allowed to cache in an open room while alone or while being observed by a conspecific. In a counterbalanced design, jays cached in the opposite treatment once they had finished recovering their caches. I compared birds’ behaviors between treatments in order to determine whether jays consider the presence of an observer in measuring the local competitive environment. Once all jays had completed alone- and observed- treatments, I ran the experiment once more to determine if individuals were consistent in …

Exploring Sources Of Selection On The Multimodal Courtship Displays Of Two Sister Species Of Wolf Spiders: Schizocosa Crassipalpata And Schizocosa Bilineata, Mitch D. Bern

School of Biological Sciences: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

We examined multiple sources of selection on the multimodal courtship display of two sister species of wolf spiders, Schizocosa crassipalpata and Schizocosa bilineata. We first experimentally altered body condition in these two species by employing divergent diet treatments. We then tested for differences in adult male seismic courtship displays, visual courtship displays, and foreleg morphology; as well as adult female foreleg morphology. We then simultaneously examined both content and efficacy-based sources of selection on the visual and seismic multimodal courtship display of both species by conducting mate choice trials with high and low diet individuals across manipulated signaling environments …

The Complexities Of Wolf Spider Communication: Exploring Courtship Signal Function In Rabidosa Rabida, Dustin J. Wilgers

School of Biological Sciences: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

Evidence of signal complexity is seemingly pervasive across animal communication systems. Exploring signal function may provide insight into how these displays evolved and are maintained. This dissertation examines the courtship signal function in a grassland wolf spider. Rabidosa rabida lives in an extremely complex environment, and males use complex displays incorporating both visual and seismic modalities. Using several approaches I provide insight into the content and efficacy of the various signal components, as well as how variation in these displays influence female mating decisions in isolation and combined.

First, I manipulated male and female body condition using diet quantity manipulations …

Patterns Of Transience, Sex Bias, And Body Mass In Open-Habitat Rodent Populations, Stephen Edward Rice

Biological Sciences Theses & Dissertations

Rodents are assumed to live their lives in circumscribed (natal) areas with males being more prone to disperse than females and juveniles more prone to disperse than adults. To test these assumptions we examined the initial captures of geographic populations of hispid cotton rat, meadow vole, prairie vole, and marsh rice rat obtained through capture-mark-recapture methods. Capture records were obtained from Kansas and Illinois from long-term studies, and through live-trapping in Chesapeake, Virginia. I evaluated proportions of residents and transients, adults and juveniles, and males and females for significant differences among seasons, years, and geographic locations. The overall body masses …

Rats As Forest Pests In Southeastern Virginia: Girdling By The Hispid Cotton Rat Sigmodon Hispidus As A Significant Source Of Mortality Of Loblolly Pines (Pinus Taeda) In A Successional Pine Forest, Robyn M. Nadolny

Biological Sciences Theses & Dissertations

The hispid cotton rat (Sigmodon hispidus) is a common field rodent throughout the southeastern US, where volunteer loblolly pine trees (Pinus taeda) invade open space and begin the process of ecological succession from field to pine forest. Recent analysis of the diet of S. hispidus indicates that loblolly pine bark is stripped and eaten during the winter months. In this study, we explored the extent of rodent girdling on a 1.23 ha grid in a successional pine forest in southeastern Virginia. During the winter of 2005 we observed damage to 65% of trees in our study area, with 98% …

Assessment Of Genetic Diversity Among Peruvian Amaranth (Amaranthus Caudatus L.) Germplasm Using Snp Markers, Felix Ruben Jimenez Rondan

Theses and Dissertations

Amaranth (Amaranthus caudatus L.) is an important pseudocereal in the Andes. The seed has excellent nutritional value (high in protein, essential amino acids, and minerals) and ample capacity for growth in diverse, harsh Andean subsistence-production conditions such as water deficiency, salt stress, and soil mineral nutrient deficiency. The objective of this study was to characterize and quantify the genetic diversity among a series of 178 mostly Peruvian amaranth genotypes using 96 biallelic single-nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) markers. A total of 96 co-dominant, biallelic markers were developed using KASPar™ assays on a 96.96 Fluidigm EP1 array system. The 178 amaranth genotypes …

Preserving Field Notes On Songbird Biology At Indiana University, Eric Snajdr, Ellen D. Ketterson

Val Nolan Jr. (1976 Acting; 1980 Acting)

No abstract provided.

Transcriptome Characterization And Polymorphism Detection In Subspecies Of Big Sagebrush (Artemisia Tridentata), Prabin Bajgain

Theses and Dissertations

Big sagebrush (Artemisia tridentata) is one of the ecologically most important shrub species in western North America. The species serves as a major source of food and habitat for the near-threatened sage grouse and various other fauna. Habitat loss due to a combination of disturbances followed by establishment of invasive plant species is considered as a serious threat to sustainability of the big sagebrush ecosystem. Because of its importance, restoration of this species is very crucial to those dependent on big sagebrush community. However, restoration of big sagebrush carried out by using diverse seed source can lead to …

The Effect Of Calving Season And Wintering System On Cow And Calf Performance And Economics From Conception Through Finishing And The Effect Of Supplementing Dried Distillers Grains To Calves In Forage Based Systems, William Griffin

Department of Animal Science: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

Three experiments were conducted to determine the effect of calving season and cow wintering systems on cow and calf performance and economics from conception to slaughter, the effect of supplementing steers dried distillers grains while grazing cool season dominated meadow, and a meta-analysis was conducted to determine the effect supplementing dried distillers grains to cattle in forage based growing systems.  In the first experiment, cows were bred to calve in spring, summer or fall.  Calves from each system were managed as calf-feds or yearlings and followed through finishing.  Altering calving season impacted cow BW and BCS but did not affect …

Diel Distribution And Movement Of Sound Scattering Layer In Kuroshio Waters, Northeastern Taiwan, Ming-An Lee, Ming-Hsiu Chao, Jinn-Shing Weng, Yang-Chi Lan, Hsueh-Jung Lu

Journal of Marine Science and Technology–Taiwan

A 26-hr acoustic observation was carried out on board of the “Ocean Research II” in the Kuroshio waters at 123°09.027'E, 25°05.019'N from August 4 to 5, 2007. Acoustic volume scattering strengths (SVs) were collected by a scientific echo sounder (EK500, 38 kHz) and diel variations of sound scattering layer were analyzed. The maximum SV of surface scattering layers (SSL) around 20~80 m was observed after dawn, and mean SVs of SSL in nighttime was about -68 dB, 8 dB higher than that of daytime. Two deep scattering layers (DSL) were found in daytime at depth of 400~500 m and 600~700 …

Preface, Kohji Iida, Ming-An Lee, Masahiko Furusawa

Journal of Marine Science and Technology–Taiwan

No abstract provided.

Technology Evolution And Advances In Fisheries Acoustics, Dezhang Chu

Journal of Marine Science and Technology–Taiwan

Application of sonar technology to fisheries acoustics has made significant advances over recent decades. The echosounder systems evolved from the simple analog single-beam and single-frequency systems to more sophisticated digital multi-beam and multi-frequency systems. In this paper, a brief review of major technological advances in fisheries acoustics is given, as well as examples of their applications.

Echo Integration Near The Seabed, Masahiko Furusawa

Journal of Marine Science and Technology–Taiwan

The echo integration (EI) method has long been used for fish abundance estimations. The method is applicable to any type of fish distribution and the analysis is easy to perform by advanced software. For fish near the seabed, however, sometimes it is difficult to perform an analysis because of so-called dead zones. In this paper, the EI near the seabed is considered, reviewing past studies and introducing some new ideas such as an unsampled zone. For the consideration, close inspection of the EI theory is necessary and a section is devoted to the purpose. As an application of the EI …

Effect Of Depth-Dependent Target Strength On Biomass Estimation Of Japanese Anchovy, Hiroto Murase, Atsushi Kawabata, Hiroshi Kubota, Masayasu Nakagami, Kazuo Amakasu, Koki Abe, Kazushi Miyashita, Yoshioki Oozeki

Journal of Marine Science and Technology–Taiwan

Effect of the depth-dependent target strength (TS) on biomass estimation of Japanese ahcovy was examined by using following four TS models: (1) TS = 20logLt-71.9, (2) TS = 20logLt-72.5, (3) TS = 20logLt-(20/3)log(1+z/10)-67.6 and (4) TS = 20logLt-(20/3)log(1+z/10)-64.7, where Lt and z represent total length (cm) and depth (m), respectively. (1) and (2) have been used in conventional fisheries resources surveys; (3) and (4) take account of depth-dependent TS. Because (1)-(3) were based on in-situ measurement, pitch angles of individuals used in the models were not known. Pitch angle is assumed 0° (±10° std) in (4). Biomass estimated by (3) …

Fish Acoustics: Physics-Based Modeling And Measurement, Davis Benjamin Reeder

Journal of Marine Science and Technology–Taiwan

The U.S. Office of Naval Research has sponsored research in the area of marine organism acoustics for many years. The research program has included development of theoretical physics-based acoustic scattering models of single animals, high-resolution laboratory measurements of scattering by individual animals, and at-sea field experiments. The program has been focused on the backscattered signal, but has also included investigation of the forward-scattered signal. Downward-looking acoustic surveys using ship borne echosounders rely on the backscattered signal and provide non-invasive, non-destructive, rapid, high-resolution, large area survey capability compared to traditional net tows. Horizontally-oriented acoustic surveys provide the opportunity to investigate both …

Vertical Distribution Of Walleye Pollock Juveniles Before And After The Period Of Transition For Feeding In Funka Bay, Hokkaido, Japan, Yohei Kawauchi, Osamu Shida, Hiroya Okumura, Naoki Tojo, Hiroki Yasuma, Kazushi Miyashita

Journal of Marine Science and Technology–Taiwan

We examined the vertical distributions of walleye pollock Theragra chalcogramma juveniles for two size groups (smaller and larger than 30 mm) during the period of transition for feeding (PTF) and after this period in Funka Bay, Hokkaido, Japan. Samplings were conducted in May and June in 2006 and 2007, and water temperature and salinity were measured. The correlation between juvenile sizes and distributed depth was observed using net sampling. From this result, size groups were divided by depth. In addition, the distribution and abundance of juveniles were examined using acoustic data. In the PTF (May), juvenile size increased with increasing …

In Situ And Ex Situ Target Strength Measurement Of Mesopelagic Lanternfish, Diaphus Theta (Family Myctophidae), Kouichi Sawada, Kazuhisa Uchikawa, Tomohiko Matsuura, Hiroya Sugisaki, Kazuo Amakasu, Koki Abe

Journal of Marine Science and Technology–Taiwan

Acoustic target strengths (TS) of myctophid fish Diaphus theta were measured in situ at 70 kHz off the east coast of Hokkaido by tethering an acoustic-optical system (the Japanese Quantitative Echosounder and Stereo-video Camera System or J-QUESTχ) at a depth of 150 m from a research vessel. Fish length distributions were obtained from daytime hauls taken with a frame trawl after the TS measurement. Measured average TS () and a standard length (SL) in cm gave the empirical length - average TS relationship, = 20logSL70.6, assuming that the linear TS is proportional to the square of the SL. A laboratory …

Analysis Of The Me70 Multibeam Echosounder Data In Echoview??Urrent Capability And Future Directions, Myounghee Kang

Journal of Marine Science and Technology–Taiwan

The general features of the multibeam echosounder (Simrad, ME70) are covered and trends in recent research on using the sonar systems are stated. Echoview's current capability for analyzing ME70 data is precisely described in two categories: split beam data analysis and multibeam data analysis. In particular, the visualization and analysis of school in three dimensions and school tracking are illustrated using fish school echoes observed in Bering Sea during the summer of 2008 and 2009. Future software developments in Echoview may include: high resolution bathymetric algorithms to detect reliable sea bottom, advanced school detection in three dimensions even for ambiguous …

An Alignment Approach To Identify Fish With Encoding Hydroacoustic Signal To Acoustics Alphabet Squences, Shih-Yen Ku, Hsueh-Jung Lu, Chi-Ting Tseng, Ker-Chau Li, Long-Jin Wu

Journal of Marine Science and Technology–Taiwan

1D sequence homologous alignment tool, like FastA (FASTALL) [8] or BLAST (Basic Local Alignment Search Tool) [1], has been widely used in bioinformatics field and perform elegant and fast searching for the sequences developed from the same kinds of species. In other word, it can classify through determining the homologous similarity which is not totally similar in sequences of protein sequences, structure or nucleotide sequences. An approach is proposed in this paper called AA-FAST (abbreviation for Acoustics Alphabet-FAST) which takes advantage of alignment tool and significant sequence encoding method. In this experiment, it could not only determine 4 fish species …

Measurement And Modeling Of Three Dimensional Target Strength Of Fish For Horizontal Scanning Sonar, Muhammad Kurnia, Kohji Iida, Tohru Mukai

Journal of Marine Science and Technology–Taiwan

This paper discusses the three-dimensional target strength (3DTS) of fish for a horizontal scanning sonar. Experiments were conducted in a tank using a defrosted Japanese mackerel. Measurements were made by changing the horizontal incident angle of a 50 kHz acoustic beam and the pitch angle of a tethered fish. Following the experiment, morphological characteristics, including the swimbladder size and shape, were measured using soft X-ray and digitized. The theoretical 3DTS was estimated using the prolate spheroid model and compared with the measured 3DTS. Results showed that the TS strongly depended on the fish orientation. The maximum and minimum TS were …

Spatial Estimation Of Euphausiid Biomass Along The Pacific Coast Of Eastern Hokkaido, Japan In Early Summer Of 2008, Naoki Tojo, Kenji Minami, Ryuichi Matsukura, Yohei Kawauchi, Tetsuichiro Funamoto, Masayuki Chimura, Akira Nishimura, Kazushi Miyashita

Journal of Marine Science and Technology–Taiwan

This study focused on euphausiid distribution and biomass estimation over the coastal shelf of the Pacific coast of Hokkaido Japan in early summer 2008. Acoustic data were obtained in both day (6:00-18:00) and night (18:00-6:00) using a quantitative echosounder (EK60, Simrad) with two frequencies (120 and 38 kHz). Echoes of euphausiids were specified based on the ΔMVBS, calculated with seasonal theoretical target strength of Euphausia pacifica. The best-fit kriging models were used to quantitatively interpolate euphausiid distribution. The detected euphausiid biomass reached 38,278 t (> 15 gWWm-2), suggesting abundant prey for large fishes over study area. On the other hand, …

Redescription And Taxonomic Position Of Tityus Atriventer Pocock, 1897 (Scorpiones: Buthidae), Rolando Teruel, František Kovařík

Euscorpius

The largely neglected Lesser Antillean scorpion Tityus atriventer Pocock, 1897 is herein redescribed, after study of the two syntypes and one additional adult male. The latter was recently collected from Union Island (about 55 km northeast of Grenada), and it implies the first published finding of this species after its original description, and the first record of the species both outside the type-locality and from the Grenadines islands. The taxonomic position of T. atriventer is clarified (including designation of a lectotype and a paralectotype), its diagnosis is updated, a fully illustrated redescription is presented according to the current taxonomy of …

Effect Of Floor Density On Growth Performance Of Pearl Grey Guinea Fowl Replacement Pullets, Samuel N. Nahashon, Nathaniel Adefope, D. Wright

Agricultural and Environmental Sciences Faculty Research

Little is known of the optimal floor density for the Pearl Grey (PG) guinea fowl pullet. Hence, the objective of this study was to determine the effect of varying floor density on the growth performance of PG guinea fowl pullets. In 3 replicates, 1-d-old guinea keets (n = 786) were weighed individually and randomly assigned to floor pens covered with pine wood shavings at 80, 69, 60, and 53 birds/pen, equivalent to densities of 18, 15.6, 13.6, and 12 birds/m2, respectively. The birds were allowed feeder space of 2.3, 2.7, 3.1, and 3.5 cm/bird, respectively, and water space of 1.2, …

Personality Traits Predict Hierarchy Rank In Male Rainbowfish Social Groups, Mathieu Colléter, Culum Brown

Sentience Collection

Personality traits are becoming increasingly important in explaining adaptive individual differences in animal behaviour and probably represent a leading edge of the evolutionary process. Despite the newfound interest in animal personality among behavioural ecologists, fewstudies have investigated the link between personality traits and fitness measures. We examined this link using male rainbowfish, Melanotaenia duboulayi, as a model species and found that a range of personality traits (aggression, activity and boldness) covaried with a male’s position in a hierarchy, which is directly related to reproductive success in this and many other species. Dominant fish were more aggressive, active, bold and also …

Sarpy County Spring Bird Count, May 14, 2011

Nebraska Bird Review

List of the 174 bird species tallied during the annual Sarpy County Spring Bird Count, May 14, 2011.

Subscription And Organization Information [June 2011]

Nebraska Bird Review

The Nebraska Bird Review is published quarterly by the Nebraska Ornithologists' Union, Inc., as its official journal, and is sent to members not in arrears of dues. Annual subscription rates (on a calendar-year basis only): $15 in the United States, $18 in Canada, and $30 in all other countries, payable in advance. Single copies are $4 each, postpaid, in the United States, $5 in Canada, and $8 elsewhere. Send orders for back issues to Anita Breckbill, NOU Librarian, c/o Music Library, WMB 30, University of Nebraska, Lincoln, NE 68588-0101 (or at the email address listed below).

Memberships in the NOU …

Spring Field Report, March 2011 To May 2011, W. Ross Silcock

Nebraska Bird Review

There was a nice mix of interesting phenomena this spring, notably a big influx of migrant warblers. Species that are normally uncommon were reported in good numbers, 30 or more each: Chestnut-sided, Magnolia, Blackburnian, Palm, and Northern Waterthrush, and species that normally occur in very low numbers approached double digits: Blue-winged, Golden-winged, Cape May, and Baybreasted. Southeastern species continue to expand in se. Nebraska, notably Cerulean and Kentucky Warblers and Summer Tanager. A few rarities showed up, most spectacular an alternate-plumaged female Red Phalarope, the first such record for Nebraska, which was captured on video by Nebraska Non-Game TV. Other …

High Species Count At Annual Sarpy County Spring Bird Count, Clem Klaphake

Nebraska Bird Review

On May 14, 2011, participants in the Annual Sarpy County Spring Bird Count tallied 174 species, besting the previous high count of 143 (in 2006 and 2010) by 31 species. There were a few more counters this year than in most previous years, but it was just a good year for many families of birds. There were 28 warbler species seen (previous high was 23 in 2008). Also found were 4 terns, 9 flycatchers, 7 woodpeckers, 12 ducks, 14 shorebirds and 3 grebes. There are often unusual species that show up on the count, as illustrated by a Eurasian Wigeon …

Annual Meeting At Norfolk

Nebraska Bird Review

Sixty-six members and guests were in attendance for the 112th Annual Meeting of the Nebraska Ornithologists' Union, held at the Lifelong Learning Center at Northeast Community College in Norfolk. The meeting was organized by Dave Heidt.

Field trips were led by Mark Brogie, Bill Flack, Dave Heidt, Jan Johnson, Wayne Mollhoff, Don and Janis Paseka, and Duane Wolff. Destinations included the Norfolk cemeteries, Ta-Ha-Zouka Park, Yellowbanks WMA, Olson Nature Preserve, wet meadows along Beaver Creek in Boone Co., Hackberry Creek WMA, Grove Lake WMA, the Plainview sewage lagoon, northern Knox Co., Buckskin Hills WMA, Ponca SP, Elk Point Bend WMA, …