Animal Sciences Commons^™

Aquatic Invasive Species Change Ecosystem Services From The World's Largest Wild Sockeye Salmon Fisheries In Alaska, Tobias Schwoerer, Joseph M. Little, Milo D. Adkison

Journal of Ocean and Coastal Economics

This study combines a multi-method approach to structured expert judgment with market valuation to forecast fisheries damages from introduced invasive species. The method is applied to a case study of Alaska’s first submersed aquatic invasive plant, Elodea spp., threatening Alaska’s salmon fisheries. Assuming that Elodea spp. remains unmanaged, estimated mean damages to commercial sockeye fisheries aggregated across Alaska amount to a potential $159 million annually with a 5% chance of exceeding $577 million annually ($2015 USD). The associated mean loss of natural capital amounts to $5.1 billion cumulatively over the next 100 years reaching $400 million after 10 years. …

Any Port In A Storm: Vessel Activity And The Risk Of Iuu-Caught Fish Passing Through The World’S Most Important Fishing Ports, Gilles Hosch, Bradley Soule, Max Schofield, Trevor Thomas, Charles Kilgour, Tim Huntington

Journal of Ocean and Coastal Economics

This study assesses the risk of fish from illegal, unregulated and unreported (IUU) sources passing through the world’s most important fishing ports and explores the drivers of this risk.

Like previous studies it has attempted to rank ports and States based on landings and vessel visits reported by governments by using Automatic Identification System (AIS) positional data transmitted by fishing and fish carrier vessels to identify the locations of ports and rank them based on the frequency of visits by foreign-flagged and domestic-flagged vessels. It advances our thinking in that (i) the analysis includes an estimation of the hold capacity …

Ecological Effects Of Fear: How Spatiotemporal Heterogeneity In Predation Risk Influences Mule Deer Access To Forage In A Sky‐Island System, Christopher Lowrey, Kathleen M. Longshore, David M. Choate, Jyoteshwar R. Nagol, Joseph Sexton, Daniel Thompson

Life Sciences Faculty Research

Forage availability and predation risk interact to affect habitat use of ungulates across many biomes. Within sky‐island habitats of the Mojave Desert, increased availability of diverse forage and cover may provide ungulates with unique opportunities to extend nutrient uptake and/or to mitigate predation risk. We addressed whether habitat use and foraging patterns of female mule deer (Odocoileus hemionus) responded to normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI), NDVI rate of change (green‐up), or the occurrence of cougars (Puma concolor). Female mule deer used available green‐up primarily in spring, although growing vegetation was available during other seasons. Mule deer and cougar shared similar …

Creating Online Training Modules For Student Employees At The California Polytechnic State University Dairy Using Train Trac, Olivia K. Taylor

Agricultural Education and Communication

The purpose of this project was to create training modules for the Cal Poly Dairy. The author’s goal was to incorporate the safety aspect of dairy work into the modules as well. To properly obtain all the necessary information for the modules, the author first had to compile lists from the Cal Poly Dairy’s written standard operating procedures. From here, the majority of time was used to gather video and picture content using a surface tablet that would later be used in the online modules. Once the content was gathered, it had to be organized into files for each module …

The Horse's Back As Influenced By Saddle Fit, Katie Millican

Agricultural Education and Communication

Therefore, this project will use devices called the Lameness Locator and a thermal camera along with facilities at the Equine Center in San Luis Obispo, California. The objective of the project is to utilize a population of sound horses and compare the heat detection images of their backs and saddles after being ridden to provide saddle fit data. This project will provide information contributing to closing the gap of equestrians uneducated about the importance of saddle fit.

The reason for researching and conducting a study to prove this point is simple: a horse owner needs to look at the bigger …

Bird Monitoring At Homestead National Monument Of America, Nebraska, Status Report 2009–2017, David G. Peitz, Lloyd W. Morrison, Kristen L. Mecke

United States National Park Service: Publications

Executive Summary

In 2009, the Heartland Inventory Monitoring Network initiated breeding bird surveys on Homestead National Monument of America, Nebraska, to address two objectives: (1) to monitor changes in bird community composition and abundance, and (2) to improve our understanding of relationships between breeding birds and habitat, and the effects of management actions on those relationships. This report evaluates trends in the park’s breeding bird populations in the context of trends observed within the North American Bird Conservation Initiative’s (NABCI) Central Mixed Grass Prairie Bird Conservation Region, the region in which the park is located. By doing so, we can …

Bird Monitoring At Herbert Hoover National Historic Site, Iowa, Status Report 2005–2017, David G. Peitz, Lloyd W. Morrison, Kristen L. Mecke

United States National Park Service: Publications

Executive Summary

In 2005, the Heartland Inventory & Monitoring Network initiated breeding bird surveys on Herbert Hoover National Historic Site, Iowa, to address two objectives: (1) to monitor changes in bird community composition and abundance, and (2) to improve our understanding of relationships between breeding birds and habitat, and the effects of management actions on those relationships. This report evaluates trends in the park’s breeding bird populations in the context of trends observed within the North American Bird Conservation Initiative’s (NABCI) Eastern Tallgrass Prairie Bird Conservation Region , the region in which the park is located. By doing so, we …

Forage News [2019-06], Department Of Plant And Soil Sciences, University Of Kentucky

Forage News

• Managing Pastures this Summer
• 2019 Western Kentucky Summer Forage Tour: Resuscitating a Rundown Farm
• The Wonder Grass: The Story of Tall Fescue in the United States now available
• UK Weed Sceicne to Host a Pair of Field Days at UKREC in Princeton
• Grass Decline? Check Your Cutting Height
• We're Producing and Feeding Less Hay

Spring Field Report, March - May 2019, W. Ross Silcock

Nebraska Bird Review

There were many significant reports, including high and low numbers, early and late dates, out-of-range sightings including nesting, and, of course, rarities. High numbers were led by geese; an amazing 1.7 million Snows were estimated by acreage (!) and counts of 10,000 Greater White-fronted and 100,000 Canada Geese were near-record high counts for spring. A bit surprising as record spring counts were 3000 European Starlings and 3000 American White Pelicans. Nightjar surveys by Nebraska Game and Parks Commission and others yielded an amazing 40+ Chuck-will’s-widows in the southeast; Ruddy Turnstones put on a show with 85 in Platte Co; 127 …

Nou Spring Field Days And Annual Meeting, Fairbury, May 17-19, 2019, Janis Paseka

Nebraska Bird Review

The NOU Annual Meeting and Spring Field Days, organized by Jan Johnson, was held in Fairbury on May 17-19, 2019, with 64 in attendance. Our meetings and meals took place in the 4-H building at the Jefferson County Fairgrounds. Despite the forecast for rain, the weather was perfect on Saturday morning, with rain arriving only in the late afternoon. Wind made listening for nightjars difficult on both evenings and it continued to be a problem on Sunday, but the total species list for the meeting was 165. Field trips were led by Shari Schwartz, John Carlini, Bill Flack, and Ross …

The Nebraska Bird Review, Volume 87 June 2019 Number 2

Nebraska Bird Review

Spring Field Report, March - May 2019, by W. Ross Silcock …42-61

Book Review: Sparrows of North America by Rick Wright, reviewed by W. Ross Silcock …62-65

NOU Spring Field Days and Annual Meeting in Fairbury, May 17-19, 2019, by Janis Paseka … 65

Subscription and Organization Information …71

The State Of Canada’S Birds 2019, North American Bird Conservation Initiative Canada

Other Publications in Wildlife Management

BIRDS TELL US ABOUT THE HEALTH OF OUR WATER, AIR, AND LAND WE NEED TO LISTEN AND ACT

THE STATE OF CANADA’S BIRDS: Shorebirds, grassland birds, and aerial insectivores are in steep decline.

WATERFOWL AND WETLAND BIRDS CONSERVATION PARTNERSHIPS WORK

GRASSLAND BIRDS ARE RUNNING OUT OF TIME

SHOREBIRDS ARE LOSING GROUND

SEABIRDS A GLOBAL CONSERVATION CRISIS

FOREST BIRDS CONSERVATION WITHOUT BORDERS

BIRDS OF PREY AND AERIAL INSECTIVORES LEARNING FROM THE PAST

WHAT’S GOOD FOR BIRDS IS GOOD FOR US

CANADIANS ARE MONITORING THE STATE OF CANADA’S BIRDS

The Effects Of Providing Social And Nutritional Enrichment To Dairy Calves On Development, Behavior And Learning, Kendra Leigh Kutina

Master's Theses

The objective of this study was to measure the effects of both a nutritional (water nipple) and social (partner calf) enrichment on calf body weight, grain intake, water intake, behavior and learning. The enrichments included 1) water provided from a nipple vs. a bucket (nutritional) and 2) visual and tactile access to a partner vs. isolated rearing with no visual or tactile access to a partner calf (social). A total of 72 Holstein and Jersey dairy calves were pseudo-randomly distributed into 4 treatments at birth [Individual/Bucket (IB), Paired/Bucket (PB), Individual/Nipple (IN), Paired/Nipple (PN)]. Socially and nutritionally enriched calves drank more …

Beef Production Systems In The Nebraska Sandhills, Mckay Reed Erickson

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

Four studies were conducted to determine the effectiveness of improving production systems of beef cattle in the Sandhills region of Nebraska. These studies were to determine impacts of modified estrus synchronization protocols, genomic testing heifer calves for longevity, and evaluation of 2 differing calving systems (March or May) for improving biological outcome and improved production. Experiment 1 utilized 180 yearling heifers to determine the effectiveness of a second dose of prostaglandin F_2α(PGF) with those females not expressing estrus after an initial 14 d MGA-PG estrus synchronization protocol. The treatment of PGF did increase estrus expression, but did not …

Development Of A Pediatric Model Of Nafld In Neonatal Iberian Pigs, Gabriella Veronica Hernandez, Victoria Alice Smith, Morgan Coffin, Daniel Columbus, Matthew Burd, Kimberly Sprayberry, Mark Edwards, Daniel Peterson, Darin Bennett, Robert Fanter, Christopher Kitts, Michael La Frano, Margaret Rice, Douglas Burrin, Magdalena Maj, Rodrigo Manjarin

Master's Theses

The prevalence of non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) in children has increased over the past decades, creating a need for animal models that recapitulate the features of the pediatric disease. Iberian pigs have a leptin-resistant phenotype characterized by hyperleptinemia, hyperphagia, and extreme adipogenesis. We hypothesized that neonatal Iberian pigs fed a high fat high-fructose (HFF) diet will develop a pattern of liver injury resembling pediatric NAFLD. In addition, we sought to determine if a mixture of probiotics would prevent the disease. Animals were fed 1 of 4 diets containing (g/kg body weight × d) 0 g fructose, 11 g fat …

Evaluating The Epidemiology And Management Of Bovine Congestive Heart Failure, Adam Bassett

School of Veterinary and Biomedical Sciences: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

A form of congestive heart failure is increasingly reported as a cause of death in feedlot cattle located at moderate altitude (≤ 1,524 m.). Significant knowledge gaps exist in the epidemiology and management of this form of bovine congestive heart failure (BCHF) regarding frequency and timing of BCHF cases and ways in which beef cattle producers and veterinarians can mitigate this condition. These knowledge gaps present major barriers to understanding the mechanism of BCHF and mitigating the consequences of BCHF. The purpose of this thesis is to summarize current knowledge about BCHF, define gaps in knowledge for which more research …

Bird Species And Abundances In Fruit Crops And Implications For Bird Management, Melissa B. Hanney, Jason R. Boulanger, Paul D. Curtis, Rachael A. Eaton, Benjamin C. Hawes, Deanna K. Leigh, Cody A. Rossetti, Karen M. M. Sttensma, Catherine A. Lindell

Biology Faculty Publications

Fruit consumption by birds is a costly problem in North America, yet basic information about the species and abundance of fruit-eating birds in fruit crops, and factors that influence abundance, are lacking. We conducted a study of fruit-eating birds in 'Honeycrisp' apples, blueberries, grapes, and sweet cherries in Michigan, New York, and the Pacific Northwest in 2012 and 2013. We documented the most frequently observed fruit-eating birds in each crop across our study regions, and used fruit-consumption data to identify bird species for each crop and region that have a great impact via fruit consumption. We found that American Robins …

Book Review: Sparrows Of North America By Rick Wright, W. Ross Silcock

Nebraska Bird Review

This book is a tour de force.

Not only is it a comprehensive summary of field identification, range, and taxonomy of species of the New World family Passerellidae, but the introductory paragraphs for each species, which describe the provenance of the English and Latin species names we know today, read like a historical novel that is a perfect vehicle for Wright to display his well-known erudition and could quite justifiably stand alone. Wright’s extensive research into often obscure places and sources that may be penetrated and interpreted only by one with his classical literary background is clear in these historical …

Validation Of A Commercial Automated Body Condition Scoring System On A Commercial Dairy Farm, Israel L. Mullins, Carissa M. Truman, Magnus R. Campler, Jeffrey M. Bewley, Joao H. C. Costa

Animal and Food Sciences Faculty Publications

Body condition scoring (BCS) is the management practice of assessing body reserves of individual animals by visual or tactile estimation of subcutaneous fat and muscle. Both high and low BCS can negatively impact milk production, disease, and reproduction. Visual or tactile estimation of subcutaneous fat reserves in dairy cattle relies on their body shape or thickness of fat layers and muscle on key areas of the body. Although manual BCS has proven beneficial, consistent qualitative scoring can be difficult to implement. The desirable BCS range for dairy cows varies within lactation and should be monitored at multiple time points throughout …

Sensory Perception, Adrian Rodriguez-Contreras

Open Educational Resources

Different types of sensory systems with their functional modalities will be presented. The biological bases for how these functions are generated and modified will then be described. As vision is the principal means of perception, we will focus in this course most on visual processing. Scientific data will be integrated into the lectures, such that students develop critical skills in analyzing data and proposing hypotheses.

Incomplete Urethral Duplication Associated With A Dermoid Cyst Within A Vascular Hamartoma In A Female Dog, Chad S. Clancy, Gordon A. Hullinger, Arnaud J. Van Wettere

Animal, Dairy, and Veterinary Science Faculty Publications

A seven-year-old spayed female Labrador retriever presented for necropsy following an acute history of thrombocytopenia, anemia, leukocytosis and abdominal effusion. A 2 × 3 × 10 cm, cylindrical to tubular, mottled red-to-tan mass extended from the caudal pelvic cavity caudally and ventrally under the dermis along the caudal aspect of the left pelvic limb adjacent to the semimembranosus and semitendinosus musculature. Histologic examination of the mass revealed a singular central lumen lined by urothelium that multifocally transitioned into non-keratinizing, stratified squamous epithelium associated with few hair follicles and sweat glands. The lumen was surrounded by a dense collagenous stroma containing …

Rediscovery Of The Endangered Carchi Andean Toad, Rhaebo Colomai (Hoogmoed, 1985), In Ecuador, With Comments On Its Conservation Status And Extinction Risk, Carolina Reyes-Puig, Gabriela B. Bittencourt-Silva, María Torres-Sánchez, Mark Wilkinson, Jeffrey W. Streicher, Simon T. Maddock, Ramachandran Kotharambath, Hendrik Müller, Francesca Nicole Angiolani Larrera, Diego Amieda-Reinoso, Santiago R. Ron, Diego Francisco Cisneros-Heredia

Neuroscience Faculty Publications

Since 1984 there have been no records of Rhaebo colomai (Hoogmoed, 1985) within the territory of Ecuador. This species was known from 2 localities in the province of Carchi, northwestern Ecuador, and the department of Nariño, southwestern Colombia, which were reported in 1979 and 2015, respectively. We report the recent sightings of R. colomai at 3 new localities in Ecuador and discuss and evaluate this species’ extinction risk and conservation status.

Review Of Grosphus Simon, 1880, With Description Of Teruelius Gen. N., A New Buthid Genus From Madagascar (Scorpiones: Buthidae), Graeme Lowe, František Kovařík

Euscorpius

We review the taxonomy of the Madagascar endemic buthid genus Grosphus Simon, 1880. We split the genus and describe Teruelius gen. n. on the basis of nine morphological characters, six of them new for Grosphus: positions of trichobothria d₂ on pedipalp femur and Eb₃ on chela manus, number of pectine teeth, shape of female basal pectinal tooth, form of hemispermatophore capsule posterior lobe, spiracle shape, metasoma I ventromedian carination, telotarsal setation and UV fluorescence. We discuss functional and taxonomic aspects of these characters, and propose that Teruelius gen. n. is monophyletic, while Grosphus (sensu stricto) is paraphyletic. …

Scorpions Of The Horn Of Africa (Arachnida, Scorpiones). Part Xx. Barbaracurus Feti Sp. N. From Somaliland (Buthidae), František Kovařík, Graeme Lowe, František Šťáhlavský, Ali Abdi Hurre

Euscorpius

Barbaracurus feti sp. n. from Somaliland is described and compared with other species of the genus. Additional information is provided on the taxonomy and distribution of the genus Barbaracurus, fully complemented with color photos of specimens of both sexes of the new species, as well as of their habitat. In addition to morphology and hemispermatophores, we also describe the karyotypes of B. feti sp. n. (2n=23). Included is a key for Barbaracurus. Babycurus borellii Rossi, 2019 is synonymized with Barbaracurus yemenensis Kovařík et al., 2018 syn. n. as a junior synonym because the description dated in February 2018 …

Microbiome Profiles Of Ligature-Induced Periodontitis In Nonhuman Primates Across The Life Span, Sreenatha Kirakodu, Jin Chen, Janis Gonzalez Martinez, Octavio A. Gonzalez, Jeffrey Ebersole

Dental Medicine Faculty Research

This investigation compared the microbiomes colonizing teeth during the initiation, progression, and resolution of periodontitis in nonhuman primates (Macaca mulatta) at different ages. Subgingival plaque samples were collected at baseline; 0.5, 1, and 3 months following ligature-induced periodontitis; and following naturally occurring disease resolution at 5 months. Samples were analyzed using 16S amplicon sequencing to identify bacterial profiles across age groups: young ( 3 years of age), adolescent (3 to 7 years), adult (12 to 15 years), and aged (17 to 23 years).-Diversity of the microbiomes was greater in the adult/aged samples than in the young/adolescent samples.-Diversity of the samples …

Effect Of Cooled Perches On The Efficacy Of An Induced Molt In White Leghorn Laying Hens Previously Exposed To Heat Stress, J Y. Hu, P Y. Hester, Y Xiong, R S. Gates, M M. Makagon, H W. Cheng

Department of Animal Science: Faculty Publications

This study examined the effect of water chilled perches on hen production and physiological responses to induced molt during elevated temperatures. A total of 288White Leghorns at 82 wk of age were housed in 36 cages of 6 banks. Each bank was assigned to 1 of 3 treatments: cooled perches, air perches, and no perches. The hens were subjected to 2 heat episodes during their first laying cycle at week 21 to 35 and week 73 to 80, respectively. The hens were subjected to a 28 D nonfasted molting regimen starting at 85 wk of age. Cyclic heat of 32◦C …

Ecological Interventions To Prevent And Manage Zoonotic Pathogen Spillover, Susanne H. Sokolow, Nicole Nova, Kim M. Pepin, Alison J. Peel, Juliet R.C. Pulliam, Kezia Manlove, Paul C. Cross, Daniel J. Becker, Raina K. Plowright, Hamish Mccallum, Giulio A. De Leo

United States Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

Spillover of a pathogen from awildlife reservoir into a human or livestock host requires the pathogen to overcome a hierarchical series of barriers. Interventions aimed at one or more of these barriers may be able to prevent the occurrence of spillover. Here, we demonstrate how interventions that target the ecological context in which spillover occurs (i.e. ecological interventions) can complement conventional approaches like vaccination, treatment, disinfection and chemical control. Accelerating spillover owing to environmental change requires effective, affordable, durable and scalable solutions that fully harness the complex processes involved in cross-species pathogen spillover.

This article is part of the theme …

Scavenging In The Anthropocene: Human Impact Drives Vertebrate Scavenger Species Richness At A Global Scale, Esther Sebastián‐González, Jomar Magalhães Barbosa, Juan M. Pérez‐García, Zebensui Morales‐Reyes, Francisco Botella, Pedro P. Olea, Patricia Mateo‐Tomás, Marcos Moleón, Fernando Hiraldo, Eneko Arrondo, José A. Donázar, Ainara Cortés‐Avizanda, Nuria Selva, Sergio A. Lambertucci, Aishwarya Bhattacharjee, Alexis Brewer, Erin Abernethy, Olin E. Rhodes Jr., Kelsey Turner, James C. Beasley, Travis L. Devault, Andrés Ordiz, Camilla Wikenros, Barbara Zimmermann, Petter Wabakken, Christopher C. Wilmers, Justine A. Smith, Corinne J. Kendall, Darcy Ogada, Evan R. Buechley, Ethan Frehner, Maximilian L. Allen, Heiko U. Wittmer, James R.A. Butler, Johan T. Du Toit, John Read, David Wilson, Klemen Jerina, Miha Krofel, Rich Kostecke, Richard Inger, Arockianathan Samson, Lara Naves‐Alegre, José A. Sánchez‐Zapata

United States Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

Understanding the distribution of biodiversity across the Earth is one of the most challenging questions in biology. Much research has been directed at explaining the species latitudinal pattern showing that communities are richer in tropical areas; however, despite decades of research, a general consensus has not yet emerged. In addition, global biodiversity patterns are being rapidly altered by human activities. Here, we aim to describe large‐scale patterns of species richness and diversity in terrestrial vertebrate scavenger (carrion‐consuming) assemblages, which provide key ecosystem functions and services. We used a worldwide dataset comprising 43 sites, where vertebrate scavenger assemblages were identified using …

The Economic Impacts Of Blackbird (Icteridae) Damage To Sunflower In The Usa, Karina Ernst, Julie Elser, George Linz, Hans Kandel, Jason Holderieath, Samantha Degroot, Steven Shwiff, Stephanie Shwiff

United States Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

BACKGROUND: Blackbird (Icteridae) damage to ripening sunflower (Helianthus annuus L.) has been a persistent economic issue in the USA for the last five decades. To quantify losses, we surveyed blackbird damage from 2001 to 2013 (excluding 2004) to physiologically mature sunflower in eight states: North Dakota, South Dakota, Texas, Nebraska, Minnesota, Colorado, Kansas, and Vermont.

RESULTS:We pooled data gathered during the most recent 5 years (2009 to 2013) of the survey and found losses averaged $US2.5 million and $US11.3 million for confectionery and oilseed hybrids, respectively. Three states, North Dakota, South Dakota, and Nebraska, had sufficient acreage and bird damage …

A Revised Land Ethic: Sustainable And Spiritual Agriculture, Brooke Maitlan Parrett

Student Theses 2015-Present

This paper proposes a return to the land and reconnection of spiritual practices through ethical teachings. Such a land ethic would involve answering the woes of industrial agriculture and providing a framework for farmers, consumers, and policymakers based on sustainable and spiritual considerations of the land. I analyze the loss of spiritual literacy and traditional ecological knowledge in the United States and discuss the spiritual history of agriculture in order to analyze contemporary religious perspectives on farming and agricultural ethics and thereby develop my own recommendations. The land ethic I propose combines sustainability and spirituality to develop intrinsic respect for …