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Full-Text Articles in Plant Sciences
Animal Husbandry In The 21st Century: Application Of Ecological Theory And Precision Technology To Inform Understanding Of Modern Grazing Systems, Ira Lloyd Parsons
Animal Husbandry In The 21st Century: Application Of Ecological Theory And Precision Technology To Inform Understanding Of Modern Grazing Systems, Ira Lloyd Parsons
Theses and Dissertations
Ruminant animals comprise the greatest proportion of herbivores around the world, provide essential ecosystem services and human consumable protein by consuming grass and human inedible dietary fiber. Herbivory pressure alters plant communities and species diversity, effectively making grazing animals ecosystem engineers in dynamic ecosystems. Development of advanced computer processing power coupled with biometric and ecosystem sensors may be employed in the internet of things framework to create an integrated information system designed to inform understanding of grazing system function and animal energy balance. Towards this end, I utilized Bos indicus / Bos taurus crossbred steers (n = 20) across two …
Songbird-Mediated Insect Pest Control In Low Intensity New England Agriculture, Samuel J. Mayne
Songbird-Mediated Insect Pest Control In Low Intensity New England Agriculture, Samuel J. Mayne
Masters Theses
Global agricultural intensification has caused large-scale wildlife declines, but agricultural lands that maintain natural habitats can support healthy wildlife populations and receive significant ecosystem services from these natural communities. However, how on-farm biodiversity results in beneficial ecosystem services is highly variable and is reported to differ among taxa and guilds. One group that has attracted attention for their potential beneficial role in reducing pest abundance are birds. Understanding the role of bird communities and individual species in pest control could be important for managing farms under a low intensity agroecological framework. In New England, farmers are increasingly applying low intensity …