Animal Sciences Commons^™

Does A Bumblebee’S Size Influence Foraging Behavior?, Alametta Thompson-Hinton, Becky Hansis-O'Neill, Aimee Dunlap Dr

Undergraduate Research Symposium

Current studies of Bumblebees (Bombus impatiens) have shown that they prefer plants that have a higher concentration of sugar over those that are of a lower concentration. However, there is little research analyzing the impact of the size difference amongst bumblebee foragers. During our experiment, we tested if larger bumblebees demonstrate a propensity to pursue nectar rewards more frequently compared to smaller bees. We hypothesized that the smaller bumblebees would forage less than the larger ones under a fixed ratio and three different sugar concentrations. We found that our hypothesis was partly correct: smaller bees initially earned fewer rewards, …

Anthelmintic Resistance And The Use Of Diatomaceous Earth As An Alternative Anthelmintic In E. Caballus, Brandy Spoor

Honors Theses

No abstract provided.

Physiological, Temporal, And Environmental Determinants Of Forage Fish Caloric Content In The Gulf Of Mexico, Rebecca R. Walsh

Honors Theses

Within the Gulf of Mexico, forage fish species serve as an important link between lower trophic levels and higher trophic levels, supporting economically valuable predator fish, birds, and mammals. Despite the key ecological role of forage fish, fisheries management efforts are often directed elsewhere; as a result, input data for fisheries models is unavailable for many forage fish species. To fill this knowledge gap, we sought to produce species-specific caloric content values for four forage fish species in the Gulf of Mexico: Atlantic croaker (Micropogonias undulatus), white trout (Cynoscion arenarius), bay anchovy (Anchoa mitchilli), …

Nesting Success Of American Robins (Turdus Migratorius) In Suburban Areas Of The Arkansas River Valley, Brandon Maiersperger

ATU Scholars Symposium

The American Robin (Turdus migratorius) is an abundant North American songbird species that thrives in suburban areas. Estimates of robin nesting success in suburban areas range from 31% to 90%. Robin nest site selection and success have not received much attention in the past few decades. Most passerines have a balanced sex ratio at fledging, but little is known about the fledgling sex ratio of robins. We located 44 robin nests in six public parks around Russellville, AR and on the Arkansas Tech University campus. Nest success was low; 27% (12/44) of nests fledged at least one young. Robins nested …

Acoustic Sampling Of Arkansas Bat Species Richness Across Different Seasons And Habitats, Lark E. Sybrant

ATU Scholars Symposium

Arkansas is home to sixteen bat species belonging to the Vespertilionidae and Molossidae families. Bats are keystone species and provide numerous ecosystem services that also benefit people. This study explores factors that impact species richness between the spring and fall seasons in a wooded rural site (Washburn Park) and an urban field site (Arkansas Tech University campus), Russellville, AR. The non-invasive Echo Meter Touch 2 Pro, from Wildlife Acoustics, was used to record calls and identify bat species from these locations. Nearly 1,050 calls were recorded from 11 different species across the spring and fall between both sites. Results showed …

White Blood Cell Make Up In Kellback Snake Offspring Of Varying Maternal Size, Angelica Mccoy

Symposium of Student Scholars

The immune system is composed of various organs, systems, and other components with one of the most important being white blood cells. White blood cells are commonly separated into two scientific varieties, granulocytes and agranulocytes, which can be differentiated by the presence or absence of granules in the cytoplasm once stained on a slide. There are three granulocytes and two agranulocytes, each with a distinct function and shape. The ratio of these may impact the effectiveness of this portion of the immune system, and multiple factors could play a role in this ratio, an example being the size of an …

Spatial Assessment Of Aquatic Macroinvertebrate Communities In Tributaries Of Lake Dardanelle, Brendon K. Mitchell

ATU Scholars Symposium

Aquatic macroinvertebrates are key bioindicators of water/habitat quality and can be used to catch changes in the health of the aquatic systems that they live within. They can also be used to determine a fish community as many fish species require macroinvertebrates as a key part of their diet. These macroinvertebrate communities can change significantly due to varying land-use practices on surrounding riparian area. This is especially in places like Arkansas with lots of agriculture and an increasing population. We assessed 6 tributaries of Lake Dardanelle (Bakers Creek, Shoal Creek, Spadra Creek, Middle Fork Illinois Bayou, Hurricane Creek, and Mill …

Environmental And Agricultural Effects On Waterfowl Population In Arkansas, Caleb Sipes, Ellison Stephens, Marissa Young

ATU Scholars Symposium

This paper discusses some of the positive and negative effects of environmental and agricultural influences on the waterfowl population in the state of Arkansas. Waterfowl hunting has been a prominent source of revenue to the state of Arkansas for many decades. Waterfowl hunting will continue to be prominent in this state in future as long as Arkansans maintain and preserve the natural resources here as well as use our own to further progress the waterfowl industry in Arkansas. Through aerial surveying, requiring hunters to purchase licenses and stamps to legally hunt waterfowl, and conservation efforts from the Arkansas Game and …

Medicinal Use Of Cannabis In Canines, Claire Manns, Hannah Horst, Tailor Kimbriel

ATU Scholars Symposium

Medicinal cannabis continues to gain popularity for treating a variety of health issues for both humans and animals. This paper examines this growing trend and looks closer at the benefits canine cannabis offers in veterinary care. Cannabis carries a negative connotation due to legal and safety concerns. However, research has shown medicinal cannabis offers multiple benefits, such as chronic pain relief, epilepsy management, and anti-inflammatory properties. Despite the increased availability of cannabis products for dogs, community and veterinary education remain stagnant. Surveys were created to gain both veterinary and community opinions on the use of cannabis for canine health. The …

Comparison Of Redfin Darter (Etheostoma Whipplei) Diets From Two Spatially Distinct Streams In The Arkansas River Valley, Ben S. Johnson, Ethan H. Dodson

ATU Scholars Symposium

SPATIOTEMPORAL COMPARISON OF REDFIN DARTER (ETHEOSTOMA WHIPPLEI) DIETS FROM TWO SPATIALLY-DISTINCT STREAMS IN THE ARKANSAS RIVER VALLEY.

Ben S. Johnson1^*, Ethan H. Dodson1,2, and Kyler B. Hecke1, 1Arkansas Tech University, Department of Biological Sciences, Russellville, AR [email protected], 2Arkansas Game and Fish Commission, 213 AR-89, Mayflower, AR

Diet-data collection is increasingly difficult for darters, as most methods require the dissection of each specimen and the removal of the digestive tract, which is fatal. As a result, the diets of many darter species have been relatively understudied. The Redfin Darter (Etheostoma whipplei) is one species where …

Getting Started With Inquiry-Based Teaching And Learning, Raelynn M. Hall, Avery Farmer, Madison Howerton

ATU Scholars Symposium

Inquiry-based instruction refers to different ways we study the natural world, practice to ask and try to answer a scientific question, and propose explanations based on the evidence derived from conducting experiments. For this study, we engaged in developing science process skills by actively conducting research using Drosophila, the fruit fly as a model organism for studying the phenomenon that animals have traits inherited from parents. The phenomenon is a performance expectation in the Next Generation Science Standards (3-LS3-1). We observed the phenomenon, developed hypotheses, conducted experiments, collected data, analyzed and communicated our findings through discussions and presentations. We developed …

Developing Understanding Of Science Process Skills Through Research And Practices, Faith Ebling, Savannah Cessna, Adria Lindemann, Noelia Lopez, Charleen Sawin, Kyndal Smith

ATU Scholars Symposium

The research examines out first-hand experience of conducting experiments in science and conceptualizing the experimental design process for teaching science concepts in elementary grades. We used Drosophila, the fruit fly as a model organism for studying the phenomenon that animals have traits inherited from parents. The phenomenon is a performance expectation in the Next Generation Science Standards (3-LS3-1). We observed the phenomenon, developed hypothesis, conducted experiments , collected data, analyzed and communicated our findings through discussions and presentations. We utilized our knowledge acquired from the process in developing lesson plans for teaching in elementary grades. In this presentation we will …

Assessing The Dynamics Of The Southeast Florida Shark Community From 2013-2019 Via Catch Per Unit Effort And Stable Isotope Analysis, Alexandra Barth

All HCAS Student Capstones, Theses, and Dissertations

Sharks, as well as other top predators, are in drastic decline worldwide. As apex and near-apex predators, species such as nurse, lemon, and tiger sharks maintain balanced marine ecosystems by enacting top-down trophic control. However, this cascading effect is diminished with exploitation via commercial and recreational fishing. Sharks are generally long-lived, mature late, have long reproductive cycles, and produce few offspring. Much remains to be learned about the community structure, population trends and conservation statuses of shark populations worldwide. Comprehensive studies on the composition of the shark community in Southeast Florida north of Miami have been limited. This study assessed …

Integrating Germplasm Repositories Into Oyster Aquaculture Systems At The Pathway, Center, And Network Levels, Sarah R. Bodenstein

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Germplasm repositories offer many potential benefits to commercial farm operations, including preserving genetic resources and increasing production capabilities. Aquaculture industries have yet to take advantage of repository storage despite decades of research evaluating cryopreservation protocols. Eastern oysters (Crassostrea virginica), for example, are a useful research species when addressing this problem. Oysters are an economically important aquaculture species and a high-throughput cryopreservation method for oysters already exists. To address the gap between protocol research and commercial application a different approach is necessary that can analyze the requirements of repository development at multiple organizational levels. The goal of this dissertation was to …

Dataset Of Rna-Seq Transcriptome Of The Fetal Liver At Day 83 Of Gestation Associated With Periconceptual Maternal Nutrition In Beef Heifers, Wellison J.S. Diniz, Alison K. Ward, Kacie L. Mccathy, Cierrah J. Kassetas, Friederike Baumgaertner, Lawrence P. Reynolds, Pawel P. Borowicz, Kevin K. Sedivec, James D. Kirsch, Sheri T. Dorsam, Tammi L. Neville, J. Chris Forcherio, Ronald Scott, Joel S. Caton, Carl R. Dahlen

Department of Animal Science: Faculty Publications

Herein, we present a dataset based on the RNA-Seq analysis of liver tissue from bovine female fetuses at day 83 of gestation. The findings were reported in the main article, “Periconceptual maternal nutrition affects fetal liver programming of energy- and lipid-related genes”[1] . These data were generated to investigate the effects of periconceptual maternal vitamin and mineral supplementation and rates of body weight gain on the transcript abundance of genes associated with fetal hepatic metabolism and function. To this end, crossbred Angus beef heifers ( n = 35) were randomly assigned to 1 of 4 treatments in a 2 × …

Plant Sentience: A Hypothesis Based On Shaky Premises, Carel Ten Cate

Animal Sentience

Plants may produce fascinating behavioural phenomena for which the label ‘cognitive process’ may be applicable, at least by some definitions. Segundo-Ortin & Calvo (2023) base their hypothesis that plants might be sentient on the premise of demonstrated presence of cognitive complexity. However, the way phenomena are ascribed, and how the term ‘cognitive’ is used by Segundo-Ortin & Calvo, deviates from the common practice in studies of animal cognition, implying greater complexity than seems justified. It thus provides a questionable basis for attributing sentience to plants.

Cats Of Unl: An Investigation Into The Human-Feral Cat Relationships On A University Campus In Nebraska, Jacey Skoda

Honors Program: Senior Projects (Public)

At the University of Nebraska-Lincoln (UNL), there exists a population of feral cats that is monitored and cared for by a group known as Husker Cats. As the cats wander the sidewalks and gardens of the university, they may appear non-threatening and pleasant to have around. However, a feral cat presence could have detrimental impacts on the surrounding ecosystem, property, and community. The first component of this project, a survey of individuals on UNL campus, ultimately seeks to understand what those in the UNL community know about the feral cats, how they feel about the feral cats, and how they …

Implementation Of Seasonal Diets Through Seasonal Diet Surveys In Sloth Bears (Melursus Ursinus): A Case Study At Idaho Falls Zoo, Noah Clever

Undergraduate Honors Thesis Projects

Wild sloth bears (Melursus ursinus) display seasonal diet preferences for insects and fruit during the dry and monsoon season respectively. To potentially utilize as a method for reducing abnormal behaviors and improving animal welfare, the purpose of the study is to survey zoos with captive sloth bears and determine if zoo-housed individuals display seasonal diet preferences. From May 18th, 2022 to March 2nd, 2023 data was collected on Priya, a sloth bear from Idaho Falls Zoo, and her preference for fruit and insects. Temperature, season, fruit choice based on sugar levels, and insect choice based on texture of …

Influence Of Ambient Water Coloration On Habitat And Conspecific Choice In The Female Lake Malawi Cichlid, Metriaclima Zebra, Noori Choi, Nicolas Mathevon, Eileen A. Hebets, Marilyn Beauchaud

Eileen Hebets Publications

Female cichlid fish living in African great lakes are known to have sensory systems that are adapted to ambient light environments. These sensory system adaptations are hypothesized to have influenced the evolution of the diverse male nuptial coloration. In rock-dwelling Lake Malawi mbuna cichlids, however, the extent to which ambient light environments influence female sensory systems and potentially associated male nuptial coloration remains unknown. Yet, the ubiquitous blue flank coloration and UV reflection of male mbuna cichlids suggest the potential impacts of the blue-shifted ambient light environment on these cichlid’s visual perception and male nuptial coloration in the shallow water …

Age And Growth For Three Members Of The Family Gempylidae: Escolar (Lepidocybium Flavobrunnuem), Oilfish (Ruvettus Pretiosus), And Snake Mackerel (Gempylus Serpens), Sydney N. Daniels

All HCAS Student Capstones, Theses, and Dissertations

Escolar, Lepidocybium flavobrunnuem (Smith, 1849), Oilfish, Ruvettus pretiosus (Cocco, 1829), and Snake Mackerel, Gempylus serpens (Cuvier, 1829) belong to the family Gempylidae and are bycatch of the tuna-targeting pelagic longline fishery. There is limited know life-history information on these mesopelagic fishes, especially regarding growth rates. Age estimates were assigned by counting pairs of increment bands formed on the sagittal otoliths of Escolar (n = 133), Oilfish (n = 49), and Snake Mackerel (n = 46) collected between 2007 and 2022. Marginal increment analyses were used to validate age estimates and periodicity of increment formation, but no significant trends were observed …

The History And Significance Of Taxidermy Bird Collections In North America: Bgsu's Own Undervalued Collection And Its Future, Kristin Burnside

Honors Projects

Taxidermy, despite its association with the bizarre and outlandish, has a rich history and culture that helped to define post-Civil War America and its pursuit of knowledge and reconnection with nature. With the widespread publication and availability of how-to guides, natural history collecting and taxidermy became accessible to any individual regardless of age, gender, or class. The hobby required physicality and courage to collect unique and interesting specimens, and intellect and creativity to conserve and display them, all of which inherently connected the avocation with respect. With varying levels of success, hobbyists experimented with different chemicals, such as arsenic, in …

Implementing Bos Indicus-Influenced Cattle In Utah For Hybrid Vigor, Reganne K. Briggs, Matthew D. Garcia

All Current Publications

Crossbreeding is a tool that cattle producers have used for decades. Hybrid vigor is one of the products of crossing breeding. One way to maximize hybrid vigor is by introducing Bos indicus genetics in a herd. Santa Gertrudis cattle are a great option for introducing Bos indicus genetics.

Unusual Bird Reports From The Trans-Pecos District Of Chihuahua, Mexico, Including Five New Additions To The State Of Chihuahua, Israel Moreno-Contreras, Fernando Mondaca-Fernández, Daniel Enrique Pérez-Carrillo, José Manuel Jurado-Ruiz, María Cristina Pérez-Amezola, Marisa Tirado-Madrid, William H. Howe

Western North American Naturalist

We present new distributional information on 21 species of birds from the state of Chihuahua, Mexico, 5 of which represent the first documented records for this state. Several observations are of birds normally associated with the Sierra Madre Occidental province, suggesting that these species may be regular wanderers to the Trans-Pecos district of Chihuahua.


Presentamos nueva información sobre 21 especies de aves del estado de Chihuahua, México. Cinco de ellas representan el primer registro documentado para Chihuahua. Nuestras observaciones adicionales son de aves asoci­adas con la provincia de la Sierra Madre Occidental, sin embargo, estos registros sugieren que estas especies …

Dataset Of Rna-Seq Transcriptome Of The Fetal Liver At Day 83 Of Gestation Associated With Periconceptual Maternal Nutrition In Beef Heifers, Wellison J.S. Diniz, Alison K. Ward, Kacie L. Mccathy, Cierrah J. Kassetas, Friederike Baumgaertner, Lawrence P. Reynolds, Pawel P. Borowicz, Kevin K. Sedivec, James D. Kirsch, Sheri T. Dorsam, Tammi L. Neville, J. Chris Forcherio, Ronald Scott, Joel S. Caton, Carl R. Dahlen

Department of Animal Science: Faculty Publications

Herein, we present a dataset based on the RNA-Seq analysis of liver tissue from bovine female fetuses at day 83 of gestation. The findings were reported in the main article, “Periconceptual maternal nutrition affects fetal liver programming of energy- and lipid-related genes”[1] . These data were generated to investigate the effects of periconceptual maternal vitamin and mineral supplementation and rates of body weight gain on the transcript abundance of genes associated with fetal hepatic metabolism and function. To this end, crossbred Angus beef heifers ( n = 35) were randomly assigned to 1 of 4 treatments in a 2 ×2 …

Fatty Acid, Carotenoid And Fat-Soluble Vitamin Composition Of Multispecies Swards Grown In Ireland—Implications For A Sustainable Feed In Dairy Farming, Samuel Rapisarda, Graham O'Neill, Nissreen Abu-Ghannam

Articles

Although traditional ryegrass pastures are still commonly used, they require intense management and input and do not perform well during the summer months. Multispecies systems have been recognised as more sustainable, needing less fertiliser and being tolerant to drought and heat. While data on monoculture system fat composition exist, information for multispecies is scarce. The present study compared the fatty acid (FA), carotenoid and fat-soluble composition of a multispecies system (consisting of perennial ryegrass, timothy, white clover, red clover, chicory and plantain) (MULTI) with two other conventional grazing systems (monoculture perennial ryegrass (PRG) and a binary mixture of perennial ryegrass …

Effects Of Benzyl Isothiocyanate And Papain On Parascaris Spp. Larval Embryonation, Moriah Wood

Undergraduate Distinction Papers

Ascarids (Parascaris equorum and Parascaris univalens) are a common type of intestinal parasite found in foals. By the age of one year, most horses have built a natural immunity to Parascaris spp. However, Parascaris spp. are known to be the most pathogenic type of parasite in foals and can cause poor growth, weight loss, colic, and even death. Unfortunately, Parascaris spp. have developed resistance to most anthelmintic drugs. Prior studies have found promising results for the use of ground papaya seeds as a short-term anthelmintic. Further research has shown similar results when determining the effectiveness of compounds found in papayas, …

Stress: An Adaptive Problem Common To Plant And Animal Science, Özlem Yilmaz

Animal Sentience

It is very hard to determine whether plants have “felt states,” but they do have specific states, such as stress, that depend on sensory input from their environment. Plants do not have neurons or brains, but they do have xylem and phloem, as well as many signalling molecules that are dynamically distributed in their bodies, enabling them to produce systemic responses to environmental stimuli. One common topic in plant and animal science that may or may not prove to involve sentience but that does involve the same molecules is stress.

A New Monotypic Genus And Species From China, Langxie Feti Gen. Et Sp. N. (Scorpiones: Buthidae), Victoria Tang, Qingquan Jia, Leonhard Liu

Euscorpius

A new monotypic genus, Langxie gen. n., is described from Xizang (Tibet), China. The new genus shares an important morphological character with Afrolychas Kovařík, 2019: absence of external accessory denticles (EADs) along the sixth row of median denticles (MDs) on the pedipalp movable finger. Langxie gen. n. is different from Afrolychas in the following aspects: loss of EAD near the proximally enlarged MD within each row (i. e., loss of all EAD on the movable finger; this also distinguishes the new genus from other related genera in the “(Ananteris + Isometrus)” clade (Štundlová et …

The Role Of Extracellular Vesicles In Immunomodulation During Bovine Pregnancy, Amber Thornton

Student Research Symposium

During pregnancy, the maternal immune system must be altered to allow the tolerance of a semi-allogeneic fetus. Our previous studies show a strong inflammatory response in the uterus of cows carrying somatic cell nuclear transfer (SCNT) pregnancies due to dysregulation in the proteins expressed by trophoblast cells. Between 30 and 90 days the rate of pregnancy loss is 50-100% for SCNT compared to 2-10% for artificial insemination (AI) pregnancies. Abnormal immunological crosstalk during placentation is a major cause of this loss in SCNT pregnancies. The trafficking of extracellular vesicles (EVs), membrane-bound cargo carriers, potentially represents a key form of crosstalk …

Benthic Beasts: The Ecological Significance Of Lake Sturgeon And Blue Catfish In Eastern Appalachian Waterways, Stewart Thacker

Research Day

East Tennessee freshwater ecosystems comprise an abundance of an extremely diverse selection of species. This presentation examines Acipenser fulvescens and Ictalurus furcatus, two of the largest freshwater fish in the Appalachian area, which play significant ecological roles within the benthic dimension of our freshwater environments. Commonly known as “bottom-feeders,” Benthivorous species enjoy a broad range of food sources including other fish, detritus, crustaceans, and more. The extensive variety of food consumed by A. fulvescens and I. furcatus permits population control of other, denser, aquatic populations inhabiting other regions of the water column, as well as other organisms included …