Animal Sciences Commons^™

The Effects Of Androgens On Bovine And Human Granulosa Cells, Katelyn C. Griger, Sarah Romereim, Renata Spuri-Gomes, Mohamed A. Abedal-Majed, Mariah Hart, Scott G. Kurz, Robert A. Cushman, John S. Davis, Jennifer R. Wood, Andrea S. Cupp

UCARE: Research Products

A subpopulation of cows in the Physiology herd has been identified as subfertile due to sporadic or chronic anovulation. This decrease in fertility could be lost profits for farmers and raises questions about ovulation disorders in women. Granulosa cells, a type of cell that is essential to ovarian follicle development, was investigated to determine if high concentrations of a hormone, androstenedione, could impact the follicular environment enough to cause anovulation disorders. Previous studies suggested that excess androgen may decrease the number of functioning granulosa cells by preventing them from proliferating within the follicle. Fewer granulosa cells mean fewer cells that …

Examining Maternal Obesity Effects On Oogenesis, Follicular Development, And Embryonic Myogenesis, Chris Lindeman, Jennifer Wood

UCARE: Research Products

The CDC estimates that more than one-third of U.S. adults (approximately 78.6 million) are obese. Despite national efforts to combat this with diet and exercise, the number of obese adults and children continues to climb. It is critical to emphasize that obesity can lead to lifelong, chronic complications and health risks including hypertension, heart disease, and diabetes.

Diet and obesity also have important impacts on the reproductive health of female including the ability to become pregnant (fertility) and risk for complications during pregnancy. Furthermore, for women who do become pregnant, obesity can affect the development of the embryo and fetus, …

Patterns Of Olfactory Neurogenesis And Immune Response In Adult Zebrafish Following Damage Of The Olfactory Bulb, Darcy M. Trimpe

Dissertations

The adult zebrafish olfactory system, with its persistent neuronal turnover and abundant regenerative capacity, is an excellent model system for studies of adult brain plasticity. Reversible deafferentation, achieved by repeated intranasal irrigation with detergent, reduces bulbar innervation and affects bulb structure and function, while cessation of treatment permits reinnervation and recovery of bulb volume. Alterations in cell genesis may account for this phenomenon. This study focuses on adult neurogenesis in the zebrafish olfactory system following reversible deafferentation and direct olfactory bulb injury.

Potential alterations in cell proliferation, differentiation, migration, and survival in the olfactory bulb following single and repeated intranasal …

Assessing Temporal Genetic Variation In A Cougar Population: Influence Of Harvest And Neighboring Populations, Rebeca L. Juarez, Michael K. Schwartz, Kristine L. Pilgrim, Daniel J. Thompson, Stephanie A. Tucker, Joshua B. Smith, Jonathan A. Jenks

Natural Resource Management Faculty Publications

The geography of the Black Hills region of South Dakota and Wyoming may limit connectivity for many species. For species with large energetic demands and large home ranges or species at low densities this can create viability concerns. Carnivores in this region, such as cougars (Puma concolor), have the additive effect of natural and human-induced mortality; this may act to decrease long-term viability. In this study we set out to explore genetic diversity among cougar populations in the Black Hills and surrounding areas. Specifically, our objectives were to first compare genetic variation and effective number of breeders of …

Growing South Dakota (Winter 2016), College Of Agriculture &. Biological Sciences

Growing South Dakota (Publication of the College of Agriculture, Food and Environmental Sciences)

This issue includes the 2015 SDSU Extension Annual Report.

[Page] 2 Contours Program Launched: Aims to Provide Insights & Prompt Discussions
[Page] 4 Local Momentum: Formation of State's First “Food Hub” Comes To Fruition [Page] 6 Spotlight On Soil Health: New Coalition Formed
[Page] 8 Exploring A Range Of Options: Youth Programs Cultivate Interest In Natural Resource Careers
[Page] 9 Profiles In Leadership: Our Mission Continues… Ensuring All Citizens Have Access To Education & Emerging Innovation
[Page] 10 Encouraging Animal Well-Being Workshops & Trainings Help Livestock Producers Become Better Stewards
[Page] 12 Wellness Wisdom: Variety Of Efforts Available To Encourage …

Avifaunal Community Composition In A Tropical Forest Corridor: A Case Study From The Atherton Tableland, North Queensland, Don Jones

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

Bird communities in tropical forest ecosystems are highly threatened by habitat loss and fragmentation. Replanted corridors connecting isolated forest remnants are a popular method of ameliorating certain negative impacts of habitat fragmentation. Such linkages can theoretically facilitate greater dispersal, increase gene flow, and reduce the risk of local extinctions in forest birds. However, relatively few studies have examined the utilization of reforested corridors by birds, and little hard data exists to support claims that this type of resource and time intensive project is the best use of often scarce funding for conservation. This study examined the avifaunal community present in …

Molecular Analysis Confirming The Introduction Of Nile Crocodiles, Crocodylus Niloticus Laurenti 1768 (Crocodylidae), In Southern Florida, With An Assessment Of Potential For Establishment, Spread, And Impacts., Michael R. Rochford, Kenneth L. Krysko, Frank J. Mazzotti, Matthew W. Shirley, Mark W. Parry, Joseph A. Wasilewski, Jeffrey S. Beauchamp, Christpher R. Gillette, Edward F. Metzger Iii, Michiko A. Squires, Louis A. Somma

Papers in Herpetology

The state of Florida, USA, has more introduced herpetofauna than any other governmental region on Earth. Four species of nonnative crocodilians have been introduced to Florida (all since 1960), one of which is established. Between 2000–2014 we field-collected three nonnative crocodilians in Miami-Dade County, Florida, and one in Hendry County, Florida. We used DNA barcoding and molecular phylogenetics to determine species identification and native range origin. Also, we described diet, movement, and growth for one crocodile. Our molecular analyses illustrated that two of the crocodiles we collected are most closely related to Nile Crocodiles (Crocodylus niloticus) from South Africa, suggesting …

Lens On Habitat Destruction: A Photo Essay In Double Exposure, Bethany Holtz

Student Publications

Human greed and ignorance bulldoze through nature, leaving behind scarred landscapes and broken ecosystems. Within the world’s aquatic environments, human actions have irreversibly fragmented and shattered habitats of countless animals. Voiceless, these displaced animals suffer largely in silence—their stories untold and invisible. Using my lens to expose their cries, my photography uncovers the narrative of habitat destruction.

In this photo essay, I juxtapose the pristine and degraded habitats of five threatened aquatic species using double exposure techniques, a method where two disconnected images are merged to create one unified work. By balancing light, opacity, color, and transparency, I focus attention …

Acoustic Detection Reveals Fine-Scale Distributions Of Myotis Lucifugus, Myotis Septentrionalis, And Perimyotis Subflavus In Eastern Nebraska, Jeremy A. White, Cliff Lemen, Patricia Freeman

School of Natural Resources: Faculty Publications

ABSTRACT.—Before white-nose syndrome arrives in Nebraska, it is important to document the preexposure distributions of cave bats in the state. We examined the distributions of Myotis lucifugus (little brown myotis), Myotis septentrionalis (northern long-eared myotis), and Perimyotis subflavus (tri-colored bat) in eastern Nebraska by setting acoustic detectors for a single night at 105 sites in wooded habitats during summers of 2012 and 2014. We compared 2 methods of determining presence at each site. Results of our analyses are fine-scale distributional maps for these bats and some range extensions from published records. Results for M. septentrionalis and P. subflavus are largely …

How Microbial Communities Differ In Ruminants On A Glycerin Vs Common Diet, Makala Muller, Nirosh D. Aluthge, Allison L. Knoell, Morgan Kaiser, Samodha C. Fernando

UCARE: Research Products

Can we reduce methane by using dietary interventions to reduce carbon footprint and increase feed efficiency? Ruminant livestock account for a significant amount of the anthropogenic methane produced in the U.S. All ruminant livestock produce 28% of the earth’s methane emissions. The methane within ruminants is produced by a microbial fermentation, especially by a group of bacteria known as the methanogens. However, the different species of methanogens and their pathways of methane production within ruminants are not fully understood. Cattle are considered one of the main producers of methane. They produce 20% of the U.S. methane emissions. Methane absorbs more …

Impact Of Stress Hormones And Iugr Fetal Conditions On Myoblast Function, Hannah E. Riley, Kristin A. Beede, Dustin T. Yates

UCARE: Research Products

Chronic fetal stress causes adaptive responses that result in intrauterine growth restriction (IUGR). Maternal stressors including heat stress, illness, and obesity cause placental dysfunction that harshens the intrauterine environment by inducing hypoxia and nutrient restriction. IUGR fetuses have restricted growth through the last trimester and after birth. The objective of this study was to test the effects of stress hormones on myoblast proliferation rates. L6 cells and primary myoblasts that were isolated from IUGR fetal sheep in a previous study were used to study the effects of stress hormones on myoblast proliferation and myoblast gene expression. Incubation in epinephrine-spiked media …

Diversity-Dependent Cladogenesis Throughout Western Mexico: Evolutionary Biogeography Of Rattlesnakes (Viperidae: Crotalinae: Crotalus And Sistrurus), Christopher Blair, Santiago Sánchez-Ramírez

Publications and Research

Rattlesnakes (Crotalus and Sistrurus) represent a radiation of approximately 42 species distributed throughout the New World from southern Canada to Argentina. Interest in this enigmatic group of snakes continues to accrue due, in part, to their ecomorphological diversity, contributions to global envenomations, and potential medicinal importance. Although the group has garnered substantial attention from systematists and evolutionary biologists for decades, little is still known regarding patterns of lineage diversification. In addition, few studies have statistically quantified broad-scale biogeographic patterns in rattlesnakes to ascertain how dispersal occurred throughout the New World, particularly among the different major biomes of the …

New Clues To A Mass Extinction: Colby Geologist Robert Gastaldo And Student Researchers Unearth Evidence That Contradicts Prevailing Models About Ancient Die-Offs, Stephen Collins

Colby Magazine

Colby geologists are rewriting deep time history, altering the script of how scientists understand the mother of all mass extinctions—the End-Permian event that occurred approximately 252 million years ago. Or to suggest that they don’t, in fact, understand it.

The Line Drawn On Pain Still Holds, Bjorn H. Merker

Animal Sentience

The many substantive criticisms raised against Key by me and by many of the other commentators will not disappear by ignoring or waving them aside with meta-discourse about anthropomorphism, just-so stories, or celestial teapots. The conceptual edifice Key inhabits and defends with such gusto may look like an impregnable fortress from the inside – and Key behaves as if it were. From the outside, however, it looks more like a ramshackle structure gaping with holes and pieced together from imperfectly understood neuroscience and often faulty literature citations.

Slavery, Welfare And The Sixth Extinction, Stephen R. Clark

Animal Sentience

Ng’s laudable concern for animal welfare would be welcome to any sensible slave-owner wishing to preserve his investment. What welfarism – for slave-owners and animal husbandmen – fails to call into question is whether we have the right to breed, hold captive and kill animals at all: If it matters, as the widely recognized slogan of ‘Five Freedoms’ suggests, that animals have the chance to live a ‘normal’ life, then more matters than keeping them ‘happy’ in subjection. Their lives – and also the lives of wild things – also deserve respect.

Intrauterine Growth-Restricted Sheep Fetuses Exhibit Smaller Hindlimb Muscle Fibers And Lower Proportions Of Insulin-Sensitive Type I Fibers Near Term, Dustin T. Yates, Caitlin N. Cadaret, Kristin A. Beede, Hannah E. Riley, Antoni R. Macko, Miranda J. Anderson, Leticia E. Camacho, Sean W. Limesand

Department of Animal Science: Faculty Publications

Intrauterine growthrestricted sheep fetuses exhibit smaller hindlimb muscle fibers and lower proportions of insulin-sensitive Type I fibers near term. Am J Physiol Regul Integr Comp Physiol 310: R1020–R1029, 2016. First published April 6, 2016; doi:10.1152/ajpregu.00528.2015.—Intrauterine growth restriction (IUGR) reduces muscle mass and insulin sensitivity in offspring. Insulin sensitivity varies among muscle fiber types, with Type I fibers being most sensitive. Differences in fibertype ratios are associated with insulin resistance in adults, and thus we hypothesized that near-term IUGR sheep fetuses exhibit reduced size and proportions of Type I fibers. Placental insufficiency-induced IUGR fetuses were 54% smaller (P < 0.05) than controls and exhibited hypoxemia and hypoglycemia, which contributed to 6.9- fold greater (P < 0.05) plasma norepinephrine and 53% lower (P < 0.05) plasma insulin concentrations. IUGR semitendinosus muscles contained less (P < 0.05) myosin heavy chain-I protein (MyHC-I) and proportionally fewer (P < 0.05) Type I and Type I/IIa fibers than controls, but MyHC-II protein concentrations, Type II fibers, and Type IIx fibers were not different. IUGR biceps femoris muscles exhibited similar albeit less dramatic differences in fiber type proportions. Type I and IIa fibers are more responsive to adrenergic and insulin regulation than Type IIx and may be more profoundly impaired by the high catecholamines and low insulin in our IUGR fetuses, leading to their proportional reduction. In both muscles, fibers of each type were uniformly smaller (P < 0.05) in IUGR fetuses than controls, which indicates that fiber hypertrophy is not dependent on type but rather on other factors such as myoblast differentiation or protein synthesis. Together, our findings show that IUGR fetal muscles develop smaller fibers and have proportionally fewer Type I fibers, which is indicative of developmental adaptations that may help explain the link between IUGR and adulthood insulin resistance

Scorpions Of Sri Lanka (Scorpiones: Buthidae, Chaerilidae, Scorpionidae) With Description Of Four New Species Of The Genera Charmus Karsch, 1879 And Reddyanus Vachon, 1972, Stat. N., František Kovařík, Graeme Lowe, Kithsiri B. Ranawana, David Hoferek, V. A. Sanjeewa Jayarathne, Jana Plíšková, František Šťáhlavský

Euscorpius

Data about all 18 known scorpion species of Sri Lanka are summarized. All previously known species were newly collected and four new species discovered during a scorpiological expedition in 2015. Information is provided about their taxonomy, distribution, ecology, and reproductive biology, fully complemented with color photos of live and preserved specimens, as well as their habitat. Subgenus Isometrus (Reddyanus) Vachon, 1972 is elevated to genus level, Reddyanus stat. n., supported by new characters of setation on leg tarsomere II and hemi-spermatophore morphology. Charmus saradieli sp. n., Reddyanus ceylonensis sp. n., R. jayarathnei …

Acropora Habitat Evaluation And Restoration Site Selection Using A Species Distribution Modeling Approach, Katherine Wirt Ames

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

While populations of nearly all stony coral species along the Florida reef tract have exhibited decline, the most notable decline has occurred in the once-dominant acroporid species (Acropora cervicornis, A. palmata). Both species were listed in 2006 as threatened under the Endangered Species Act. This listing, combined with their continued decline, has resulted in large-scale restoration efforts throughout Florida and the Western Caribbean. Currently, there is little to no information regarding spatial prioritization of sites for these restoration efforts. The primary objective of this dissertation was to utilize species distribution modeling, informed by existing data from the …

Analysis Of Mammalian Carboxypeptidase O Expression Patterns, Christian Bardan

Honors Theses

Carboxypeptidase 0 (CPO) is a protease that cuts acidic amino acids from the carboxy termini of substrate proteins. This study aims to describe the expression patterns of CPO in small mammals. We have sampled tissue from four different species: thirteen-lined ground squirrel, eastern chipmunk, eastern mole, and northern short-tailed shrew. Samples were analyzed via Western blot using two CPO antibodies. Immunoreactive bands likely to be CPO, with molecular weights approximately 42 kDa, were seen predominantly in kidney, liver, and intestinal tissue samples. This suggests CPO could play a specific physiological function in these organs.

A Compartmental Model Of Animal Behavior, Saharsh Dass

Honors Theses

Animal behavior is integral to fitness and arises from complex interactions between internal and external factors. An understanding of how external environmental factors drive animal behavior is important for understanding the way organisms adapt to environmental perturbations such as climate change. Glaucous-winged gulls (Larus glaucescens) at Protection Island, Strait of Juan de Fuca, Washington display a variety of behaviors on the colony during the breeding season. The most common gull behaviors are sleeping, preening, and resting. I used a system of four differential equations to predict numbers of sleeping, preening, and resting gulls on the colony as a function of …

Interactions Of A Captive Maturing Female Hamadryas Baboon, Jordyn Kessler, Janice L. Chism Ph.D.

The Winthrop McNair Research Bulletin

In the wild, hamadryas baboons (Papio hamadryas hamadryas) typically practice male philopatry, where females transfer out of natal units to avoid inbreeding (Swedell et al. 2011). However, little is known about hamadryas female transfer in captivity. In this study, we used focal animal sampling (Altmann 1974) to observe female transfer in a captive group comprised of two one-male units. The group includes a subadult female, whom we expected to transfer to the non-natal unit soon after reaching sexual maturity. We recorded the proximity between the subadult female and all other individuals, as well as affiliative and agonistic behavior …

Wild Animal Suffering And Vegan Outreach, Eze Paez

Animal Sentience

Ng’s strategic proposal seems to downplay the potential benefits of advocacy for wild animals and omit what may be the most effective strategy to reduce the harms farmed animals suffer: vegan outreach.

Declining Frequency Of Road-Killed Rabbits In Central Georgia, Anna M. Bosch, Katelyn J. Benson, Alfred J. Mead

Georgia Journal of Science

Cottontail rabbits (Sylvilagus floridanus, Sylvilagus aquaticus, Sylvilagus palustris) are a common component of the mammal fauna of the southeastern United States, yet their numbers have been in decline for at least the past 40 years. Urban sprawl, land use changes, forest maturation, and increased predation have contributed to the decline in Georgia. In the current study we explore the proposition that long-term changes in roadkill frequency track changes in wildlife populations as a whole. Using comparisons of historical data collected by Georgia Department of Natural Resources personnel and recent roadkill census data from Baldwin County, it appears that the overall …

Low-Intensity, Stocker-Based Channel Catfish Culture, Bartholomew W. Green, Carole R. Engle, Rebecca Lochmann, Harold Phillips

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

Low-intensity production of Channel Catfish Ictalurus punctatus is characterized by low stocking rates, low installed aeration capacity, and no automated dissolved oxygen monitoring. Two studies conducted in nine 0.25-acre ponds quantified production characteristics of stocker Channel Catfish stocked for low-intensity food-fish production in single- or multiple-batch culture. In the multiple-batch study, 0.5-lb stockers (carryover fish) were stocked at 4,500 fish/acre and 0.044-lb fingerlings at 6,000 fish/acre. Stockers were grown to mean individual weights of 1.25, 1.75, or 2.25 lb. In the single-batch study, 0.5-lb stockers were stocked at 3,500, 4,500, and 5,500 fish/acre. All fish were fed a feed containing …

Mitigation Of Ergot Vasoconstriction By Clover Isoflavones In Goats (Capra Hircus), Glen E. Aiken, Michael D. Flythe, Isabelle A. Kagan, Huihua Ji, Lowell P. Bush

Kentucky Tobacco Research and Development Center Faculty Publications

Ergot alkaloids produced by a fungal endophyte (Epichloë coenophiala; formerly Neotyphodium coenophialum) that infects tall fescue (Lolium arundinaceum) can induce persistent constriction of the vasculature in ruminants, hindering their capability to thermo-regulate core body temperature. There is evidence that isoflavones produced by legumes can relax the vasculature, which suggests that they could relieve ergot alkaloid-induced vasoconstriction and mitigate the vulnerability to severe heat stress in ruminants that graze tall fescue. To test if isoflavones can relieve alkaloid-induced vasoconstriction, two pen experiments were conducted with rumen-fistulated goats (Capra hircus) to determine with ultrasonograpy if …

Adrenal Demedullation And Oxygen Supplementation Independently Increase Glucose-Stimulated Insulin Concentrations In Fetal Sheep With Intrauterine Growth Restriction, Antoni R. Macko, Dustin T. Yates, Xiaochuan Chen, Leslie A. Shelton, Amy C. Kelly, Melissa A. Davis, Leticia E. Camacho, Miranda J. Anderson, Sean W. Limesand

Department of Animal Science: Faculty Publications

In pregnancies complicated by placental insufficiency and intrauterine growth restriction (IUGR), fetal glucose and oxygen concentrations are reduced, whereas plasma norepinephrine and epinephrine concentrations are elevated throughout the final third of gestation. Here we study the effects of chronic hypoxemia and hypercatecholaminemia on β-cell function in fetal sheep with placental insufficiency-induced IUGR that is produced by maternal hyperthermia. IUGR and control fetuses underwent a sham (intact) or bilateral adrenal demedullation (AD) surgical procedure at 0.65 gestation. As expected, AD-IUGR fetuses had lower norepinephrine concentrations than intact-IUGR fetuses despite being hypoxemic and hypoglycemic. Placental insufficiency reduced fetal weights, but the severity …

Use Of The Mitochondrial Control Region As A Potential Dna Mini-Barcoding Target For The Identification Of Canned Tuna Species, Jacquelyn K. Mitchell, Rosalee S. Hellberg

Food Science Faculty Articles and Research

In this study, a DNA mini-barcoding methodology was developed for the differentiation of species commonly found in canned tuna. Primers were designed to target a 236-base pair (bp) fragment of the mitochondrial control region (CR) and a 179-bp fragment of the first internal transcribed spacer region (ITS1). Phylogenetic analysis revealed the ability to differentiate 13 tuna species on the basis of the CR mini-barcode, except in a few cases of species introgression. Supplementary use of ITS1 allowed for differentiation of introgressed Atlantic bluefin tuna (Thunnus thynnus) and albacore tuna (Thunnus alalunga), while differentiation of introgressed Atlantic …

Analysis Of Johne's Disease Elisa Status And Associated Performance Parameters In Irish Dairy Cows, A. E. Kennedy, N. Byrne, A. B. Garcia, Jim O'Mahony, R. G. Sayers

Department of Biological Sciences Publications

Background

Infection with Mycobacterium avium subspecies paratuberculosis (MAP) has been associated with reductions in milk production in dairy cows and sub optimal fertility. The aim of this study was to highlight the production losses associated with testing MAP ELISA positive in Irish dairy cows. Secondary objectives included investigation of risk factors associated with testing MAP ELISA positive. A survey of management practices on study farms was also conducted, with examination of associations between management practices and herd MAP status.

Blood samples were collected from 4188 breeding animals on 22 farms. Samples were ELISA tested using the ID Screen Paratuberculosis Indirect …

Analysis Of Johne’S Disease Elisa Status And Associated Performance Parameters In Irish Dairy Cows, A. E. Kennedy, N. Byrne, A. B. Garcia, Jim O'Mahony, R. G. Sayers

Department of Biological Sciences Publications

Infection with Mycobacterium avium subspecies paratuberculosis (MAP) has been associated with reductions in milk production in dairy cows and sub optimal fertility. The aim of this study was to highlight the production losses associated with testing MAP ELISA positive in Irish dairy cows. Secondary objectives included investigation of risk factors associated with testing MAP ELISA positive. A survey of management practices on study farms was also conducted, with examination of associations between management practices and herd MAP status.

Blood samples were collected from 4188 breeding animals on 22 farms. Samples were ELISA tested using the ID Screen Paratuberculosis Indirect Screening …

New Data On The Distribution Of Butheoloides Littoralis Lourenço, Touloun Et Boumezzough, 2011 (Scorpiones: Buthidae) Oulaid, Oulaid Touloun, Moulay Abdelmonaim El Hidan, Ali Boumezzough

Euscorpius

Morocco is the region in Africa with the highest diversity of Butheoloides Hirst, 1925 species. Until now, the total number of species of this genus known from Morocco is raised to five. A field study conducted in southern Morocco discovered a new specimen of Butheloides littoralis in the Tighmi region (southeast of Tiznit), the most continental site of this species in Morocco. This specimen is the third of this endemic species of Morocco but it is the first male discovered.