Animal Sciences Commons^™

Diet Reconstruction Of Wild Rio-Grande Turkey Of Central Utah Using Stable Isotope Analysis, Benjamin D. Stearns

Theses and Dissertations

The wild turkey is endemic to North America and has played a role in human cultures past and present. However, with the turkey's elusive behavior some aspects of its ecology are challenging to understand. Diet is one of these difficult aspects to study. The purpose of this study was to determine the diet selection of wild turkeys in central Utah using non invasive stable isotope technology. We hypothesize that turkey diet is highly specific, that consumption of specific plant species correlates with the needs of the individual turkey, and that stable isotope analysis will reveal patterns in annual dietary intake. …

Diversity And Abundance Of The Dark Kangaroo Mouse, Microdipodops Megacephalus, In Communities Of Nocturnal Granivorous Rodents In Western North America, Ashley Sagers Haug

Theses and Dissertations

The dark kangaroo mouse, Microdipodops megacephalus, is a sensitive species in the Great Basin Desert. This thesis explores the structure of desert rodent communities of the Great Basin to better understand M. megacephalus' place in the community and the conditions that promote large and stable populations. To determine community structure, I used nestedness analysis to evaluate 99 communities of nocturnal granivorous rodents. I found that the community structure was non-random, indicating the existence of assembly rules and ecological constraints. I also found that M. megacephalus was the second most vulnerable species in the community. To explore the correlation …

Historic Fire Regimes On Eastern Great Basin (Usa) Mountains Reconstructed From Tree Rings, Stanley G. Kitchen

Theses and Dissertations

Management of natural landscapes requires knowledge of key disturbance processes and their effects. Fire and forest histories provide valuable insight into how fire and vegetation varied and interacted in the past. I constructed multi-century fire chronologies for 10 sites on six mountain ranges representative of the eastern Great Basin (USA), a region in which historic fire information was lacking. I also constructed tree recruitment chronologies for two sites. I use these chronologies to address three research foci. First, using fire-scar data from four heterogeneous sites, I assert that mean fire interval (MFI) values calculated from composite chronologies provide suitable estimates …

Changes In Area Affect Figure–Ground Assignment In Pigeons, Leyre Castro, Olga F. Lazareva, Shaun P. Vecera, Edward A. Wasserman

Perception Collection

A critical cue for figure–ground assignment in humans is area: smaller regions are more likely to be perceived as figures than are larger regions. To see if pigeons are similarly sensitive to this cue, we trained birds to report whether a target appeared on a colored figure or on a differently colored background. The initial training figure was either smaller than (Experiments 1 and 2) or the same area as (Experiment 2) the background. After training, we increased or decreased the size of the figure. When the original training shape was smaller than the background, pigeons’ performance improved with smaller …

Part I: Evaluation Of Student Assessment Of Learning Gains (Salg)In Two Different Biology 100 Classes Part 2: What Biology Concepts Are Important In General Education?: Analysis Of Seventeen Core Concepts, Jessica Marie Rosenvall Howelle

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this two-part study is to examine how to improve introductory level non-majors biology courses to improve student attitude and learning gains in the sciences. The first part of this study examines the collective effect of three different pedagogies (service learning, concept mapping and guest lectures) on student attitude and learning gains in a freshman, non-majors biology course. Two classes, one with the three pedagogies, and one without, were compared. Data were collected from two classes in Fall 2008 (one treatment and one control) and two similar classes replicated in Fall 2009. Learning and attitude gains were measured …

Wa Native Fish Strategy: Freshwater Fish Distribution Database And Website: Prepared For The Natural Resource Management (Nrm) Office – Nrm Project No. 063059, Roy Melville-Smith, Renae Larsen, Martin De Graaf, Craig Lawrence

Fisheries Research Reports

No abstract provided.

Measures Of Weight Distribution Of Dairy Cows To Detect Lameness And The Presence Of Hoof Lesions, M. Pastell, L. Hänninen, A. M. De Passillé, J. Rushen

Farm Animal Welfare Collection

There is increasing interest in automated methods of detecting lame cows. Hoof lesion data and measures of weight distribution from 61 lactating cows were examined in this study. Lame cows were identified with different numerical rating scores (NRS) used as thresholds (NRS >3 and NRS ≥3.5) for lameness. The ratio of weight applied to a pair of legs (LWR) when the cow was standing was calculated using a special weigh scale, and the cows were gait scored using a 1 to 5 NRS. Hoof lesions were scored and the cows placed into 1 of 4 mutually exclusive categories of hoof …

Assessment Of Lameness Prevalence And Associated Risk Factors In Dairy Herds In England And Wales, Z. E. Barker, K. A. Leach, H. R. Whay, N. J. Bell, D. C. J. Main

Farm Animal Welfare Collection

Visits were made to 205 dairy farms in England and Wales between October 2006 and May 2007 by 1 or more of 4 researchers. At each visit, all milking cows were locomotion scored (lameness scored) using a 4-point scale (0 = sound locomotion, 1 = imperfect locomotion, 2 = lame, 3 = severely lame). The mean prevalence of lameness (scores 2 and 3) across the study farms was 36.8% (range = 0–79.2%). On each farm, the presence within the housing and grazing environments of commonly reported risks for increased lameness was recorded. Each farmer was interviewed to gauge the ability …

Western Rock Lobster Fishery Harvest Strategy And Decision Rules Framework Proposals. A Discussion Paper., Department Of Fisheries Western Australia

Fisheries Management Papers

This paper outlines proposals designed to be used in an updated and improved Harvest Strategy and Decision Rules Framework (referred to as the ‘Decision Rules’) that has been developed to meet the short and long term sustainability and economic needs of the West Coast Rock Lobster Managed Fishery. This approach represents international ‘best practice’ for fisheries management and is consistent with the Commonwealth Government’s Fisheries Harvest Strategy Policy1 .

Western Rock Lobster Fishery Harvest Strategy And Decision Rules Framework Proposals - A Discussion Paper, Western Australian Department Of Fisheries

Fisheries Management Papers

This paper outlines proposals designed to be used in an updated and improved Harvest Strategy and Decision Rules Framework (referred to as the ‘Decision Rules’) that has been developed to meet the short and long term sustainability and economic needs of the West Coast Rock Lobster Managed Fishery. This approach represents international ‘best practice’ for fisheries management and is consistent with the Commonwealth Government’s Fisheries Harvest Strategy Policy.

Western Rock Lobster Fishery Harvest Strategy And Decision Rules Framework Proposals, Department Of Fisheries

Fisheries Management Papers

No abstract provided.

A Survey Of The Management And Development Of Captive African Elephant (Loxodonta Africana) Calves: Birth To Three Months Of Age, Nicole L. Kowalski, Robert H.I. Dale, Christa L. H. Mazur

Scholarship and Professional Work - LAS

We used four surveys to collect information about the birth, physical growth, and behavioral development of 12 African elephant calves born in captivity. The management of the birth process and neonatal care involved a variety of standard procedures. All of the calves were born at night, between 7PM and 7AM. The calves showed a systematic progression in behavioral and physical development, attaining developmental milestones at least a quickly as calves in situ. This study emphasized birth-related events, changes in the ways that calves used their trunks, first instances of behaviors, and interactions of the calves with other, usually adult, elephants. …

The Mayfly Newsletter, Peter M. Grant

The Mayfly Newsletter

The Mayfly Newsletter is the official newsletter of the Permanent Committee of the International Conferences on Ephemeroptera.

2010 Nebraska Swine Report

Nebraska Swine Reports

Contents:

Nutrition

Production Through Four Parities of Prolific Females Developed With and Without Energy Restriction

An Economic Analysis of Energy Restriction during Pre-Pubescence in Gilts

Effects of Distillers Grain with Solubles (DDGS) and Paylean® Supplementation on Carcass Quality, Color Stability, and Sensory Characteristics of Pork

The Effect of Corn Distillers Dried Grains With Solubles (DDGS) on Carcass Quality, Color Stability, and Sensory Characteristics of Pork

Utilizing Dried Distillers Grains With Solubles and Phytase to Alleviate Phosphorus Costs in Finishing Swine

Effects of Distillers Dried Grains With Solubles and Lactose on Growth Performance of Nursery Pigs

Lysine Requirement for Barrows Fed …

Identifying Alternative Waste Conversion Technologies For Use At California Polytechnic State University San Luis Obispo, Matthew R. Bono

BioResource and Agricultural Engineering

This project was undertaken to identify and study alternative technologies for converting waste streams available on the Cal Poly San Luis Obispo campus into energy. As a large campus on the Central Coast of California Cal Poly not only produces lots of waste, but has limited options for its disposal. Furthermore, the campus is in the midst of an on-going green initiative, and more efficient use of its waste products would be a welcome development for the entire campus community. This report gathers information on waste streams originating at Cal Poly and information about waste to energy conversion technologies. The …

Winter Field Report, December 2009 To February 2010, W. Ross Silcock

Nebraska Bird Review

This was a long, cold winter, but effects on birds were not particularly noticeable. Perhaps the relative blandness of the reports reflected the "normal" behavior of most birds when confronted with a cold winter and the seriousness of survival: birds were in places they should have been. Carolina Wrens may have been hit (more on that in the Spring Report), but a few species were present in higher numbers than might have been expected. Rusty and Red-winged Blackbirds and Brown-headed Cowbird were notable for higher winter numbers, as were Snow Buntings. Even more so, there were lots of Fox Sparrows, …

Nebraska Ornithologists’ Union Treasurer’S Report, December 31, 2009

Nebraska Bird Review

One-page spreadsheet constituting the Nebraska Ornithologists' Union treasurer's report at year end (December 31) of 2009. The grand total is $56,791.88.

Nebraska Bird Review (March 2010) 78(1), Whole Issue

Nebraska Bird Review

Nebraska Ornithologists’ Union Treasurer's Report, December 31, 2009 ... 2

Winter Field Report, December 2009 to February 2010 ... 3

2009-2010 Christmas Bird Counts ... 17

Observations of Piping Plovers (Charadrius melodus) Color Banded in Nebraska and Re-sighted on the United States Gulf Coast ... 30

Subscription and Organization Information ... 35

Observations Of Piping Plovers (Charadrius Melodus) Color Banded In Nebraska And Re-Sighted On The United States Gulf Coast, Mary Bomberger Brown, Joel G. Jorgensen

Nebraska Bird Review

Threatened and endangered migratory birds present a challenge to conservation efforts because they use different habitats during different times of the year. As a result, successful efforts in one part of their range may be nullified by negative events taking place in other parts of their range. In many cases, information that links individual birds or populations to specific breeding, non-breeding, and migratory areas across the species' range is not available. Without these links, it can be difficult to coordinate conservation efforts across the species' range, and species recovery efforts may be less effective. The observation of uniquely marked individuals …

2009–2010 Christmas Bird Counts

Nebraska Bird Review

Fourteen Christmas Bird Counts were held in Nebraska in the 2009–2010 season. The Ames count was cancelled due to weather, the Beaver Valley count returned after a year's absence, and the North Platte count was reinstated after not being officially run since the 1985–86 season. Although the average high and low temperatures were not exceptional, heavy snow cover affected most, if not all, of the counts. Roads were closed due to snow drifts, open water was limited, and at least three counts had to be rescheduled. The total number of species (116) was the lowest since 103 in 1997.

Interesting …