Animal Sciences Commons^™

Pantomime In Great Apes: Evidence And Implications, Ann E. Russon, Kristin Andrews

Sentience Collection

We recently demonstrated, by mining observational data, that forest-living orangutans can communicate using gestures that qualify as Pantomime. Pantomimes, like other iconic gestures, physically resemble their referents. More elaborately, pantomimes involve enacting their referents. Holding thumb and finger together at the lips and blowing between them to mean balloon is one example. Here we sketch evidence of pantomime in other great apes, methodological concerns, and sophisticated cognitive capabilities that great ape pantomimes suggest.

Social Knowledge, Keith Jensen, Joan B. Silk, Kristin Andrews, Redouan Bshary, Dorothy L. Cheney, Nathan Emery, Charlotte K. Hemelrijk, Kay Holekamp, Derek C. Penn, Josef Perner, Christoph Teufel

Sentience Collection

The social milieus of animals can be complex, ranging from almost completely asocial to monogamous pairs (no mean feat) to entire societies. To adapt to a constantly shifting environment of individuals striving toward their own goals, animals appear to have evolved specialized cognitive abilities. As appealing and intuitive as the idea of social cognition is, just defi ning it is diffi cult. We attempted to delineate social cognition, speculate on its adaptive value, and come to an understanding of what we mean when we talk about complexity. Transitive inference was often brought up as an example of a cognitive ability …

Pain Perception In Fish: Evidence And Implications For The Use Of Fish, Lynne U. Sneddon

Veterinary Science and Medicine Collection

Pain assessment in fish is particularly challenging due to their evolutionary distance from humans, their lack of audible vocalization, and apparently expressionless demeanour. However, there are criteria that can be used to gauge whether pain perception occurs using carefully executed scientific approaches. Here, the standards for pain in fish are discussed and can be considered in three ways: neural detection and processing of pain; adverse responses to pain; and consciously experiencing pain. Many procedures that we subject fish to cause tissue damage and may give rise to the sensation of pain. Fish are popular as pets, in animal exhibits, and …

Physiological And Genetic Correlates Of Boldness: Characterising The Mechanisms Of Behavioural Variation In Rainbow Trout, Oncorhynchus Mykiss, Jack S. Thomson, Phillip C. Watts, T. G. Pottinger, Lynne U. Sneddon

Ethology Collection

Bold, risk-taking animals have previously been putatively linked with a proactive stress coping style whereas it is suggested shyer, risk-averse animals exhibit a reactive coping style. The aim of this study was to investigate whether differences in the expression of bold-type behaviour were evident within and between two lines of rainbow trout, Oncorhynchus mykiss, selectively bred for a low (LR) or high (HR) endocrine response to stress, and to link boldness and stress responsiveness with the expression of related candidate genes. Boldness was determined in individual fish over two trials by measuring the latency to approach a novel object. Differences …

Physiological And Genetic Correlates Of Boldness: Characterising The Mechanisms Of Behavioural Variation In Rainbow Trout, Oncorhynchus Mykiss, Jack S. Thomson, Phillip C. Watts, Tom G. Pottinger, Lynne U. Sneddon

Aquaculture Collection

Bold, risk-taking animals have previously been putatively linked with a proactive stress coping style whereas it is suggested shyer, risk-averse animals exhibit a reactive coping style. The aim of this study was to investigate whether differences in the expression of bold-type behaviour were evident within and between two lines of rainbow trout, Oncorhynchus mykiss, selectively bred for a low (LR) or high (HR) endocrine response to stress, and to link boldness and stress responsiveness with the expression of related candidate genes. Boldness was determined in individual fish over two trials by measuring the latency to approach a novel object. Differences …

Measurement Of Particle Size Distribution In A Swine Building, Sheryll B. Jerez, Yuanhui Zhang, X Wang

Faculty Publications

The majority of the research in animal buildings has been on measured concentrations of contaminants that the workers and animals are exposed to; emission measurements have only gained attention in recent years due to potential federal regulations on air quality emissions from animal feeding operations (AFOs). The contribution of AFOs to ambient PM10 and PM2.5 entails reliable measurement of particle size distribution. The objective of this study was to measure and compare the size distribution of particulate matter (PM) at multiple locations inside and at the exhausts of a wean‐to‐finish commercial swine building. The particle size distribution was measured by …

Spatial And Temporal Distributions Of Dust And Ammonia Concentrations In A Swine Building, Sheryll B. Jerez, Yuanhui Zhang, X Wang

Faculty Publications

Pollutants, especially dust, are rarely uniformly distributed within ventilated air spaces due to non‐uniform flow fields, particle inertia, gravitational settling, and diffusion. Thus, selecting suitable sampling locations for representative sampling is a challenge. The objective of this study was to determine the spatial and temporal distributions of dust and ammonia concentrations(NH3) in a swine building. Results of this study are useful in the design of sampling strategies that require limited sampling locations and in studying pollutant transport. This study was conducted in a commercial swine building in Illinois. The total suspended particulate (TSP) matter and ammonia concentrations were measured at …

Land/Enterprise And Ownership Transfer, Lucy C. Meyring

Range Beef Cow Symposium

YOUR ESTATE PLAN MAY BETHE DEATH OF YOU YETI!!!

*****The average age of America's farmers and ranchers is SS

*****There are twice as many farmers over the age of 6S as under the age of 35

*** **Half of agricultural land is owned by folks older than 75

*****69% want to pass their farms or ranches on to their children

*****Only 3-5% of farm and ranch families in Colorado have a complete estate plan

*****The Family Farm Institute reports that only a third of all family businesses succeed in the second generation and a mere 15% survive to the third …

Calculating Unit Costs Of Production And Using The Information For Enterprise Analysis And Decision Making On The Ranch, Aaron L. Berger

Range Beef Cow Symposium

INTRODUCTION

Unit Cost of Production (UCOP) and Enterprise Analysis are tools that ranch managers have been encouraged to utilize in making decisions to improve profit. Managers who have adopted these tools have found them to be valuable in identifying opportunities and problem areas in enterprises on the ranch.

HISTORY OF THE DEVELOPMENT OF UNIT COSTS OF PRODUCTION FOR USE IN RANCH MANAGEMENT DECISIONS

The late 1970s and 1980s were challenging times financially for farm and ranch businesses, forcing many to exit the industry. In the early 1990s, the National Cattlemen’s Association Integrated Resource Management (IRM) subcommittee developed Standardized Performance Analysis …

The Changing Structure Of Beef Production: Stockers, Calf Feds And Yearlings, Tom Brink

Range Beef Cow Symposium

Beef production is always in a state of flux. Nothing in this business stays the same for very long. The current situation is truly unique compared to anything we have experienced in the past. Demand is growing. Supply is shrinking. Cattle prices are rising and show no sign of stopping, despite reaching record highs this year. Production costs are also increasing. There are some very real opportunities in the cow-calf business and other producer segments. But financial risks exist as well. My belief is that the good outweighs the bad. Cow-calf producers could see some of the best profits during …

Importance Of Steak Origin To Restaurant Customers, Kimberly A. Varnold, Chris R. Calkins, B. Lynn Gordon, Wendy J. Umberger

Range Beef Cow Symposium

Introduction

Today, consumers are more informed about the origin of their food due to the desire to have confidence in the safety of their food. This need for information has lead to an increase in demand for even higher levels of safety and quality (Unnevehr, 2003). Currently, traceability and source-verification are considered indicators of beef quality and safety by consumers. Mennecke et al. (2007) found that consumers place a high precedence on any information that can relate to the origin and production of their food. Research also indicates there could be preference for U.S. beef, especially beef from the Midwest …

Cow Side Of Producing A 1,000 Lb. Feeder, Cow Size And Expenses, Ken Olson, Justin Waggoner, John Jaeger

Range Beef Cow Symposium

Introduction

Do relationships exist between cow size, nutrient requirements, and production capability? We can assume that a bigger cow will require more nutrients. What are the characteristics of that relationship? Is it a direct response wherein a cow that is 10% bigger than another will require 10% more nutrients, or is there economy of scale, so to speak? Can we assume that a bigger cow will be more productive? Is it automatic that bigger size means faster growth so we can expect the calves of bigger cows to grow faster? We will explore these relationships.

Cow Size

It is commonly …

Genomics For The Rancher: How Does It Work And What Does It Mean?, Jack C. Whittier

Range Beef Cow Symposium

Introduction

I am continually amazed at the tools we have in today’s world to assist in making better and better decisions. This is true in most aspects of our lives – from communications to computers; from entertainment to eating; from politics to travel; and many, many more components of what we do and how we live. The digital age has created an information explosion, and livestock production has not been left out of this progress.

Another amazing aspect of today’s world is the vast knowledge being uncovered and refined in the world of biology and science. Gregor Mendel, an Austrian …

Range Beef Cow Symposium Xxii, Ted Schroeder, Jim Robb, Aaron Berger

Range Beef Cow Symposium

Presented by Cooperative Extension Services and the Animal Science Departments of The University of Wyoming, Colorado State University, South Dakota State University, University of Nebraska.

Contents NOTE: All links below are to PDF files. (Links to UNL Beef site active as of May 2012; files are also permanently archived in the UNL DigitalCommons site)

Industry Issues

Policy Affecting the Cattle Industry

Senator Mike Johanns, Nebraska

Public Issues (PDF 78KB)

Trent Loos, LoosTales

Positioning the Range Beef Herd for the Next 25 Years

Implications of the Ethanol Industry for Cow-Calf Producers (PDF 317KB)

Ted Schroeder, Agricultural Economics, KSU

Current Inventory - …

Implementation Of Marker Assisted Epds, Matt Spangler

Range Beef Cow Symposium

INTRODUCTION

Genomic information, in the form of Single Nucleotide Polymorphisms, has always held the promise to increase the accuracy of Expected Progeny Differences (EPD). This promise has finally been realized for those breeds that incorporate this information into their EPD calculations. For those breeds that have not, genomic information for complex traits (those controlled by many genes) is available to producers in a disjoined context and is published separately from EPD. Depending on the accuracy of the genomic test (as measured by the proportion of genetic variation explained) Marker-Assisted (or genomic enhanced) EPD can increase the accuracy of animals and …

Implications Of The Ethanol Industry For Cow-Calf Producers, Ted C. Schroeder

Range Beef Cow Symposium

Introduction

The ethanol industry in the United States has expanded very rapidly and is a major user of feed grain, especially corn. In 2011, some 40% of US corn production is expected to be used for ethanol production. At the same time as the ethanol industry was expanding, other market events were also occurring that collectively resulted in corn prices more than doubling from 2006 to 2010. Corn price increases, all else constant, directly reduce calf and yearling prices as these animals become more expensive for feedlots to feed. The result, cow-calf producers realize lower returns on their cow enterprise. …

Vaccination: What The Heck Am I Doing?, G. L. Stokka

Range Beef Cow Symposium

The use of vaccines and vaccination in general can be a very confusing topic. There are literally hundreds of different vaccines available for use by beef producers, with multiple antigens and differing levels of effectiveness and safety. Veterinarians serve a critical function in making proper recommendations based on individual herd objectives and assessment of risk of exposure and economic loss. However, there is a lack of objective peer reviewed literature to assist the practitioner and beef producer in this area. The purpose of this paper is to bring some sense of philosophy, science and logic to this topic. Management keys …

Making Safe, Affordable And Abundant Food A Global Reality, Jeff Simmons

Range Beef Cow Symposium

Introduction

A growing wave of food insecurity threatens more than 1 billion people around the world.1 Global food costs are growing to dangerous levels, reaching record highs in January 2011. And these prices are expected to persist, according to the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO).

We are at a crossroads. In the past two years, the global economic recession has decreased consumer buying power and increased food insecurity. In the next two years, tight supplies and rising food prices may stretch an already extended system to the breaking point. No longer is the number of hungry people steadily …

Planning Ahead To Save Aums And The Cow Herd In Times Of Forage Shortage, Jerry D. Volesky, Don C. Adams

Range Beef Cow Symposium

Introduction

Drought is a recurring phenomenon with potential to significantly impact the livestock industry. During the past 14 years, the majority of livestock producers in the Great Plains and western states have experienced some level of drought ranging from moderate to extreme or even exceptional. Many grazing experts recommend developing a ranch drought plan to reduce their drought risk (Nagler et al. 2007). Most of these plans are specifically customized to an individual operation and include both short-term and long-term strategies and objectives. Producers with a drought plan actively monitor resources; build ecological, financial, and social resilience into their operations; …

Wolves, Canis Lupus, Carry And Cache The Collars Of Radio-Collared White-Tailed Deer, Odocoileus Virginianus, They Killed, Michael E. Nelson, L. David Mech

USGS Northern Prairie Wildlife Research Center

Wolves (Canis lupus) in northeastern Minnesota cached six radio-collars (four in winter, two in spring-summer) of 202 radio-collared White-tailed Deer (Odocoileus virginianus) they killed or consumed from 1975 to 2010. A Wolf bedded on top of one collar cached in snow. We found one collar each at a Wolf den and Wolf rendezvous site, 2.5 km and 0.5 km respectively, from each deer’s previous locations.