Factors Influencing Wood Turtle (Glyptemys Insculpta) Home Range Size In Iowa: A Comparison Between Suburban And Rural Populations, Joshua Gregory Otten

Dissertations and Theses @ UNI

Home range size, movement patterns, and site fidelity of wood turtles (Glyptemys insculpta) were compared between a suburban population in Black Hawk County (BH) and a rural population in Butler County (BC), Iowa. Approximately 89% of individuals captured for studies conducted in Iowa during 2014 and 2015 were >14 years old. 45 individuals (22 females, 18 males, and 5 juveniles) were used for radio telemetry surveys in 2014–2015, 24 of which were located in BC, and 21 at BH.

Home range size of male and female wood turtles was significantly different at the 100% Minimum Convex Polygon (MCP), …

The Biological Stress Response In Bluegill Sunfish (Lepomis Macrochirus) To Variations In Environmental Temperature And Dissolved Oxygen Content., Monique Kellman

Honors College Theses

With the predicted increase in global water temperature and acute hypoxic episodes, knowledge of the effects these stressors can have on local aquatic life is extremely valuable. This study thereby quantified the change in metabolic rate in Bluegill sunfish, in response to increased temperature and low dissolved oxygen concentration, by utilizing intermittent flow respirometry. Both maximum metabolic rate (MMR) and resting metabolic rate (RMR) were determined in response to variations in dissolved oxygen content, specifically > 95% O₂ and 40% O₂. Additionally, three temperature treatment groups were established, with temperatures of 20, 25 and 30°C in order to …

Severe Drought Impacts Female Pheasant Physiology In Southwest Nebraska, Jessica A. Laskowski, Gwendolyn C. Bachman, Joseph J. Fontaine

Nebraska Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit: Staff Publications

In 2012, Nebraska experienced one of the worst droughts since the 1930s, accompanied by abnormally high temperatures. We studied the impacts of the 2012 summer drought on female ring-necked pheasant (Phasianus colchicus) body condition and baseline and stress-induced corticosterone concentrations (CORT). We hypothesized that drought conditions would reduce pheasant body condition, increase chronic stress resulting in elevated baseline CORT levels, and down-regulate pheasant stress response to acute stressors, resulting in reduced stress-induced CORT concentrations. In southwestern Nebraska, we captured female pheasants in 2012 (pre-drought) and 2013 (post-drought). Pheasants had poorer body condition after the drought. Although female CORT …

Frobenius Betti Numbers And Modules Of Finite Protective Dimension, Alessandro De Stefani, Craig Huneke, Luis Nunez-Betancourt

Nebraska Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit: Staff Publications

Let (R,m,K) be a local ring, and let M be an R-module of finite length. We study asymptotic invariants, bfi (M,R), defined by twisting with Frobenius the free resolution of M. This family of invariants includes the Hilbert-Kunz multiplicity (eHK (m,R) = BF0 (K,R)). We discuss several properties of these numbers that resemble the behavior of the Hilbert-Kunz multiplicity. Furthermore, we study when the vanishing of BFI (M,R,) implies that M complete characterization of the vanishing of BFi (M,R0 for one-dimensional rings. As a consequence of our methods we give conditions for the non-existence of syzygies of finite length.

Balancing Stability And Flexibility In Adaptive Governance: An Analysis Of Tools Available In U.S. Environmental Law, Robin Kundis Craig, Ahjond S. Garmestani, Craig R. Allen, Craig Anthony (Tony) Arnold, Hannah E. Birge, Daniel A. Decaro, Alexander K. Fremier, Hannah Gosnell, Edella Schlager

Nebraska Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit: Staff Publications

Adaptive governance must work “on the ground,” that is, it must operate through structures and procedures that the people it governs perceive to be legitimate and fair, as well as incorporating processes and substantive goals that are effective in allowing social-ecological systems (SESs) to adapt to climate change and other impacts. To address the continuing and accelerating alterations that climate change is bringing to SESs, adaptive governance generally will require more flexibility than prior governance institutions have often allowed. However, to function as good governance, adaptive governance must pay real attention to the problem of how to balance this increased …

Capturing Change: The Duality Of Time-Lapse Imagery To Acquire Data And Depict Ecological Dynamics, Emma Brinley Buckley, Craig R. Allen, Michael L. Forsberg, Michael Farrell, Andrew J. Caven

Nebraska Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit: Staff Publications

We investigate the scientific and communicative value of time-lapse imagery by exploring applications for data collection and visualization. Time-lapse imagery has a myriad of possible applications to study and depict ecosystems and can operate at unique temporal and spatial scales to bridge the gap between large-scale satellite imagery projects and observational field research. Time-lapse data sequences, linking time-lapse imagery with data visualization, have the ability to make data come alive for a wider audience by connecting abstract numbers to images that root data in time and place. Utilizing imagery from the Platte Basin Timelapse Project, water inundation and vegetation phenology …

Adaptive Management Of Rangeland Systems, Craig R. Allen, David G. Angeler, Joseph J. Fontaine, Ahjond S. Garmestani, Noelle M. Chaine, Kevin L. Pope, Dirac L. Twidwell Jr.

Nebraska Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit: Staff Publications

Adaptive management is an approach to natural resource management that uses structured learning to reduce uncertainties for the improvement of management over time. The origins of adaptive management are linked to ideas of resilience theory and complex systems. Rangeland management is particularly well suited for the application of adaptive management, having sufficient controllability and reducible uncertainties. Adaptive management applies the tools of structured decision making and requires monitoring, evaluation, and adjustment of management. Adaptive governance, involving sharing of power and knowledge among relevant stakeholders, is often required to address conflict situations. Natural resource laws and regulations can present a barrier …

Network Analysis Of A Regional Fishery: Implications For Management Of Natural Resources, And Recruitment And Retention Of Anglers, Dustin R. Martin, Daizaburo Shizuka, Christopher J. Chizinski, Kevin L. Pope

Nebraska Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit: Staff Publications

Angler groups and water-body types interact to create a complex social-ecological system. Network analysis could inform detailed mechanistic models on, and provide managers better information about, basic patterns of fishing activity. Differences in behavior and reservoir selection among angler groups in a regional fishery, the Salt Valley fishery in southeastern Nebraska, USA, were assessed using a combination of cluster and network analyses. The four angler groups assessed ranged from less active, unskilled anglers (group One) to highly active, very skilled anglers (group Four). Reservoir use patterns and the resulting network communities of these four angler groups differed; the number of …

Shorebird Stopover Habitat Decisions In A Changing Landscape, Caitlyn Gillespie, Joseph J. Fontaine

Nebraska Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit: Staff Publications

To examine how habitat use by sandpipers (Calidris spp.; Baird’s sandpipers, dunlin, least sandpipers, pectoral sandpipers, semipalmated sandpipers, stilt sandpipers, and white-rumped sandpipers) varies across a broad suite of environmental conditions, we conducted surveys at wetlands throughout the spring migratory period in 2013 and 2014 in 2 important stopover regions: the Rainwater Basin (RWB) in Nebraska, USA, and the Prairie Pothole Region (PPR) in South Dakota, USA. Because providing adequate energetic resources for migratory birds is a high priority for wetland management, we also measured invertebrate abundance at managed wetlands in the RWB to determine how food abundance influences …

Species Distributions Models In Wildlife Planning: Agricultural Policy And Wildlife Management In The Great Plains, Joseph J. Fontaine, Christopher F. Jorgensen, Erica F. Stuber, Lutz F. Gruber, Andrew A. Bishop, Jeffrey J. Lusk, Eric S. Zach, Karie L. Decker

Nebraska Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit: Staff Publications

We know economic and social policy has implications for ecosystems at large, but the consequences for a given geographic area or specific wildlife population are more difficult to conceptualize and communicate. Species distribution models, which extrapolate species-habitat relationships across ecological scales, are capable of predicting population changes in distribution and abundance in response to management and policy, and thus, are an ideal means for facilitating proactive management within a larger policy framework. To illustrate the capabilities of species distribution modeling in scenario planning for wildlife populations, we projected an existing distribution model for ring-necked pheasants (Phasianus colchicus) onto …

Protected Areas As Social-Ecological Systems: Perspectives From Resilience And Social-Ecological Systems Theory, Graeme S. Cumming, Craig R. Allen

Nebraska Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit: Staff Publications

Conservation biology and applied ecology increasingly recognize that natural resource management is both an outcome and a driver of social, economic, and ecological dynamics. Protected areas offer a fundamental approach to conserving ecosystems, but they are also social-ecological systems whose ecological management and sustainability are heavily influenced by people. This editorial, and the papers in the invited feature that it introduces, discuss three emerging themes in social-ecological systems approaches to understanding protected areas: (1) the resilience and sustainability of protected areas, including analyses of their internal dynamics, their effectiveness, and the resilience of the landscapes within which they occur; (2) …

A Bayesian Method For Assessing Multi-Scale Species-Habitat Relationships, Erica F. Stuber, Lutz F. Gruber, Joseph J. Fontaine

Nebraska Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit: Staff Publications

Context Scientists face several theoretical and methodological challenges in appropriately describing fundamental wildlife-habitat relationships in models. The spatial scales of habitat relationships are often unknown, and are expected to follow a multi-scale hierarchy. Typical frequentist or information theoretic approaches often suffer under collinearity in multiscale studies, fail to converge when models are complex or represent an intractable computational burden when candidate model sets are large.

Objectives Our objective was to implement an automated, Bayesian method for inference on the spatial scales of habitat variables that best predict animal abundance.

Methods We introduce Bayesian latent indicator scale selection (BLISS), a Bayesian …

Reframing Communication About Zika And Mosquitoes To Increase Disease Prevention Behavior, Amanda E. Sorensen, Rebecca C. Jordan, Shannon Ladeau

Nebraska Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit: Staff Publications

Emergence of invasive vector species and the diseases they carry present a clear danger to the public as well as a challenge for scientists and experts to control effectively. Given the urgent need to address this phenomenon, we suggest that desired public action toward these invasive vectors can be motivated through intentional framing in science communication. In this paper, we sought to evaluate the effect of framing about ZIKV (Zika virus) on reported willingness to comply with mosquito prevention action. Post framing intervention, we found a significant increase (N = 26, p < 0.001) in individuals willing to take preventative action against mosquitoes. By methodically investigating best communication practices, this study and others can help practitioners mobilize communities to address large-scale ecological problems. Additionally, the principles outlined here may be transferrable to other communication efforts about ecological issues outside of ZIKV and mosquitoes.

Climate Science Special Report: Fourth National Climate Assessment (Nca4), Volume I

National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration: Technical Reports and Related Materials

This report is an authoritative assessment of the science of climate change, with a focus on the United States. It represents the first of two volumes of the Fourth National Climate Assessment, mandated by the Global Change Research Act of 1990.

Credits

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Writing Team

Coordinating Lead Authors

• Donald J. Wuebbles National Science Foundation and U.S. Global Change Research Program – University of Illinois
• David W. Fahey NOAA Earth System Research Lab
• Kathy A. Hibbard NASA Headquarters

Lead Authors …

Defense And Prosecuting Attorney Perceptions Of Facility Dogs In The Courtroom, Kristy Melissa Donaldson

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Attorneys must obtain evidence for purporting their position on a court case. Many factors are considered when working with witness testimony such as age, development, narrative recall, and retraumatization. Research has detailed the hardship of obtaining evidence during witness testimony and the importance of support systems to help with the process. Existing research illustrates the stressors caused by the court processes, witness fear, and difficulty for attorneys to ascertain testimony. Therapeutic animals have been well researched and shown to have an important support role in many professions and situations. Additionally, much has been written regarding the use of varying types …

Median Fin Patterning In Bony Fish: Caspase-3 Role In Fin Fold Reabsorption, Kaitlyn Ann Hammock

Undergraduate Honors Theses

Fish larvae develop a fin fold that will later be replaced by the median fins. I hypothesize that fin fold reabsorption is part of the initial patterning of the median fins, and that caspase-3, an apoptosis marker, will be expressed in the fin fold during reabsorption. I analyzed time series of larvae in the first 20-days post hatch (dph) to determine timing of median fin development in a basal bony fish - sturgeon- and in zebrafish, a derived bony fish. I am expecting the general activation pathway to be conserved in both fishes but, the timing and location of cell …

Contents, Discovery Editors

Discovery, The Student Journal of Dale Bumpers College of Agricultural, Food and Life Sciences

No abstract provided.

Discovery: The Student Journal Of Dale Bumpers College Of Agricultural, Food And Life Sciences - Volume 18 2017, Several Authors

Discovery, The Student Journal of Dale Bumpers College of Agricultural, Food and Life Sciences

No abstract provided.

Letter From The Dean, Lona Robertson

Discovery, The Student Journal of Dale Bumpers College of Agricultural, Food and Life Sciences

No abstract provided.

Message From The Faculty Editor, Mary Savin

Discovery, The Student Journal of Dale Bumpers College of Agricultural, Food and Life Sciences

No abstract provided.

The Bovine Rumen Microbiome Revealed By Different Fractions Of Rumen Contents, Ashlee Breakstone, Jiangchao Zhao

Discovery, The Student Journal of Dale Bumpers College of Agricultural, Food and Life Sciences

The bovine rumen microbiota is very important in terms of animal functionality and digestion. The fermentative capability of the rumen provides means for the digestion of complex plant material that is indigestible by humans. The rumen microbiota is made up of billions of microorganisms, primarily bacteria, that digest and ferment feed into volatile fatty acids and bacterial protein for the animal’s energy and protein needs, respectively. Changes to the rumen microbiota can have a direct measure on animal growth, health, and performance. The possibility of productivity boosts in the cattle industry make the rumen microbiome a hot topic in the …

Cost-Benefit Analysis Of A Genetic Marker On Cow-Calf Operations Differentiated By Pasture And Breed, Josh C. Crystal, Michael P. Popp, Nathan P. Kemper, Charles F. Rosenkrans Jr.

Discovery, The Student Journal of Dale Bumpers College of Agricultural, Food and Life Sciences

Genetic sequencing in beef cattle (Bos taurus L.) is expected to aid producers with selecting breeding stock. Using data from experimental trials conducted with Angus, Brahman, and their reciprocal cross, the single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) P450 C994G marker expression was investigated for use in selecting genetics suited to grazing endophyte-infected tall fescue (Festuca arundinacea Schreb. L.) compared to bermudagrass (Cynodon dactylon L.) pasture. The study is unique in the sense that actual cow-calf breeding failure rates (open cows were not culled) were tracked from 1991 to 1997 on herds that were bred to calf in spring and were either exposed …

Genetic Polymorphisms Of The Glucocorticoid Receptor And Interleulin-8 Receptor Genes And Their Relationship To Production Traits And Hair Coat Scores In Crossbred Cattle, Avery B. Deaton, Laura Meyer, Jeremy Powell, Charles F. Rosenkrans Jr.

Discovery, The Student Journal of Dale Bumpers College of Agricultural, Food and Life Sciences

Little is understood about how the diversity of genes, specifically the glucocorticoid receptor (GR) and interleukin-8 receptor (CXCR2), are related to reproductive health and how this affects physical traits in cattle. Glucocorticoid receptors have been positively associated with higher milk yields, lactose content, feed intake, and feed conversion rates. Interleukin-8 genes are part of the innate immune response and help with many aspects of female reproductive health, such as protecting the embryo from the maternal immune system during pregnancy. The objective of this research was to identify polymorphisms in the GR and CXCR2 genes and to associate genotypes between the …

Interactions Between Lake Trout And Bull Trout In The Priest Lake System, Idaho, Derek C. Entz

EWU Masters Thesis Collection

Seasonal and directional movements, and distributions of Bull Trout and Lake Trout between Priest Lake and Upper Priest Lake, Idaho, were studied from May 2015 to April 2017. Lake Trout (n=220) and Bull Trout (n=40) movements were monitored using Lotek JSATS transmitters and hydrophones both passively, using gate formations at either end of the Thorofare, and actively in both lakes. No significant difference was found between directional or seasonal movements of either species (P>0.05) and all movements were observed when water surface temperatures were below 15oC. Poisson regression analysis indicated that there were significantly more detections by the Upper …

Menageries Multiple: An Introduction To Zoological Multiplicity In The Modern American Zoo, Emily D. Gratke

Scripps Senior Theses

American zoological parks have been sites of intense consumer and scholar interest since their origination in the 20th century. Today, zoos reside at a tenacious hub of ideologies, practices, and priorities contributed to by various stakeholder groups. I propose that the foundational cause of this tension is zoological multiplicity: the theory that through human practices and perceptions, animals can embody multiple identities. Via an exploration of zoological multiplicity in American zoos with specific focus on zoo management, zoogoer, and animal activist stakeholder groups, this project proposes the widespread acknowledgment and understanding of zoological multiplicity as a method to improve animal …

Addressing Antibiotic Resistance From Farm-Raised Fish Imported To The United States, Nicholas Ali

Bard Center for Environmental Policy

Misuse of medically important antibiotics in animal production threatens the effectiveness of drugs that are vital in combating disease and infections. Recently, the FDA implemented regulations to limit the use of and access to veterinary drugs. However, these regulations only affect domestic production operations. Because over 90% of seafood consumed in the U.S. is imported from countries with different regulatory standards and because the U.S. has an import inspection rate of less than 1%, antibiotic resistance stemming from imported aquaculture is still a risk that is not sufficiently accounted for. This research investigates how the U.S. has reacted to the …

Evaluating A New Shade For Feedlot Cattle Performance And Heat Stress, Morgan D. Hayes, Tami M. Brown-Brandl, Roger A. Eigenberg, Larry A. Kuehn, R. Mark Thallman

Biosystems and Agricultural Engineering Faculty Publications

Heat stress in cattle results in decreased feed intake, lower daily gain, and potentially death in susceptible animals under intense conditions. A study was carried out during the summer of 2013 at the USDA-ARS U.S. Meat Animal Research Center feedlot evaluating the impact of shade on environmental conditions and cattle performance. A novel two-tiered shade was used in half of the 14 pens, each holding 30 animals. The shades were designed to reduce solar heat load by 40% to 60% and to provide traveling shade across the pen, providing varied amounts of shade area as well as varied solar reduction …

Precision Dairy Farming Technology Solutions For Detecting Dairy Cow Disease To Improve Dairy Cow Well-Being, Amanda Stone

Theses and Dissertations--Animal and Food Sciences

Dairy cow health is multifactorial and complex. High producing dairy cows have been described as metabolic athletes, but metabolic and infectious diseases around calving affect many cows. These diseases have drastic negative effects on dairy cow well-being, milk production, and dairy farm economics. Early disease detection could potentially improve disease management, treatment, and future prevention techniques. The first objective of this research was to evaluate the use of activity, lying behavior, reticulorumen temperature, and rumination time determined by precision dairy farming technologies to detect transition cow diseases including hypocalcemia, ketosis, and metritis. The second objective was to evaluate the ability …

Influence Of Ergot Alkaloids On Rumen Motility: Time And Concentration Of Ergovaline + Ergovalinine Required To Impact Reticulorumen Motility, Kara Riccioni

Theses and Dissertations--Animal and Food Sciences

Fescue toxicosis is problematic for ruminant livestock, causing weight loss and low productivity when fed endophyte-infected forages. Complete underlying mechanisms of toxicosis are unknown therefore; the objective of the study was to determine if ruminally dosed ergot alkaloids impact rumen motility. Cannulated steers were pair-fed a forage diet and ruminally dosed with endophyte-free (E-) or endophyte-infected (E+) tall fescue seed. An 8-h period of rumen motility collection began 4-h after feeding by monitoring pressure change via a wireless telemetry and transducer system. In experiment 1, steers were paired by weight and assigned to E- or E+ treatment. Overall, E+ steers …

Assessment Of Bovine Vascular Serotonin Receptor Populations And Transport Of Ergot Alkaloids In The Small Intestine, Miriam A. Snider

Theses and Dissertations--Animal and Food Sciences

Prior work using a contractility bioassay determined that the serotonin (5-HT) receptor subtype 5-HT_2A is present in bovine lateral saphenous veins and plays a role in ergot alkaloid-induced vascular contraction in steers grazing endophyte-infected (Epichloë coenophiala) tall fescue (Lolium arundinaceum). A study was conducted to determine what 5-HT receptors are involved in vasoconstriction of bovine gut vasculature. The findings of this study indicate that 5-HT_2A is present and may play a role in ergot alkaloid induced vasoconstriction. A second study was conducted to determine if ergot alkaloids were transported in the small intestine. The …