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I studied wild turkey (Meleagris gallopavo) movements and range use in response to roads and vehicular road use on the George Washington National Forest, Virginia. Radio-equipped wild turkeys used areas within 150 m of state roads less than expected and areas > 450m from ail roads greater than expected. Turkeys were observed to cross state roads only in locations where the roads were bordered by woods or fields less than 80 m wide. Seasonal habitat preferences, rather than vehicular road use levels, seemed to dictate turkey use of the area surrounding Forest Service roads. Revegetated Forest Service roads were preferred habitat in the spring and summer. Turkey mortality was not closely related to road type or road use levels. / Master of Science

This study was designed to determine the effect of environmental lighting on growth, reproduction and behavior in turkeys. During the growth phase a Large White and a Medium White line of turkeys were reared on an intermittent (2L:2D) or a diurnal (12L:l2D) light regimens under white, red (650 nm) or blue (450 nm) light environments. The turkeys grew faster under blue light than under red or white light up to 16 weeks of age. However, by 24 weeks of age, the rates of gain were significantly greater under the white and red lights. Growth rates were significantly greater under the intermittent regimen as compared to the diurnal regimen for both lines and sexes. The greatest acceleration in growth rate was observed from 4 to 10 weeks of age with this advantage still evident at 24 weeks of age. There were no significant differences in feed efficiency due to regimen or color. Early mortality was highest under blue light but late mortality was greater under red and white light. Mortality was higher for the LW than MW birds. Live grades were unaffected by light regimen or color but feather condition was poorest for birds reared under white diurnal regimen. The light color and regimen had no significant effect on the histological and physiological parameters measured. However, measurements of sexual development tended to be lower in both sexes for birds reared under blue light. Turkeys growing under the blue light regimens were the most placid while those reared under the white diurnal regimen were the most nervous. In the reproductive phase, medium white turkeys from each growth phase regimen and color combination were placed into white, red and blue light pens. Mating behavior measures were higher under red and white light than under blue light. In addition, rearing of turkeys under blue lights appeared to reduce sexual behavior in Experiment 2. For most mating behavior measures, the optimum light color combination appeared to be the white growth-white reproductive light program. While all mating behavior measures were continually lower for turkeys reared under intermittent light than those reared under a diurnal regimen, these differences were not significantly different. Turkeys exhibited two types of agonistic behavior. Fights between toms and hens occurred regularly in the blue reproductive light pens and rarely in the others. The majority of the fights occurred among hens and toms reared under red light. Toms from blue growth phase pens and subsequently placed in the red reproductive light environments, exhibited a super-aggressive behavior towards any human entering those pens. Egg production and semen volume measures were significantly greater for turkeys in the red and white reproductive pens than for those under the blue light conditions. The hens in the red and white growth pens came into egg production prematurely at 27 weeks of age when maintained on an intermittent light regimen during the growth phase. / Ph. D.

Central to the application of genomics to animal agriculture are DNA markers, especially microsatellites and single nucleotide polymorphisms. These markers are the resources necessary for constructing genetic maps and for determining how improved and unimproved animal breeds are related. Here, DNA markers were developed for two avian species, the turkey, Meleagris gallopavo, and the budgerigar (budgie), Melopsittacus undulatus. Genomic libraries enriched for simple sequence repeats were used to generate about 70 budgie sequences of a total length of 38 kb. From these sequences, 9 primer pairs were designed and used to screen for informativeness in a panel of DNA samples from unrelated budgie samples. All but one of the nine primers evaluated were polymorphic with the number of alleles ranging from two to four. Comparative analysis involving the use of these budgie primers showed moderate sequence similarity to turkey and chicken. The genomic libraries and the comparative sequences provide useful genomic reagents that could be used to construct a budgie genome map. In the turkey, ten previously described microsatellites and a gene-based single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) were used to evaluate the relatedness of heritage varieties to a commercial strain. Estimates of Nei's genetic distance (D) and genetic differentiation (Rst) between populations using microsatellite markers showed that the commercial strain is genetically more closely related to the Bourbon Red and Narragansett and least related to the Royal palm and Spanish Black. Gene flow (Nm) level was highest between the commercial and Bourbon Red populations. The SNP analysis by PCR-RFLP revealed that the commercial strain was more closely related to the Spanish black and Narragansett and least related to the Bourbon red and Blue slate. Though results of the two marker systems, microsatellite and SNP, were inconsistent, they provide insights into using heritage turkeys to genetically improve commercial populations by introgression. The present thesis investigation showed that DNA markers provide a strong opportunity to develop genomic reagents needed to test hypotheses in little-studied agriculturally important and model avian species. / Master of Science

This study was conducted to determine the extent in which Campylobacter jejuni colonized live birds would survive evisceration and contaminate the processed carcasses. Birds were infected with a marker strain of Campylobacter jejuni and allowed to grow to market age. Cloacal and fecal samples were analyzed to determine the level of Campylobacter jejuni present in the live bird. Prior to slaughter, birds were selectively subjected to two different temperatures (21 and 32°C) and three different times of feed withdrawal for chickens (3, 6,and 9 hours and turkeys 0, 4, and 8 hours). Birds were then slaughtered and the carcasses were sampled to determine the level of Campylobacter jejuni that survived. Results indicated a difference between chickens and turkeys, especially regarding the infective dose and bacterial survival rates. No significant differences in carcass contamination due to feed withdrawal times at either temperature were noted. The correlation of fecal samples with cloacal samples was significant for year 2 with r = .53 (p .04). For turkeys, the correlations were not significant. A longitudinal study of turkeys showed that the percentage of birds infected with Campylobacter jejuni peaked when the birds were 5-7 weeks old. The amount of Campylobacter contamination in each turkey peaked when the birds were 5 weeks old and then dropped off quickly. / Master of Science

One hundred eight male and 206 female breeder turkeys were fed isocaloric corn-soy rations containing 8, 10 or 12, and 10, 12 or 14'% crude protein, respectively, to which 0.0, 0.1, 0.2, or 0.3% DL-methionine was added in a factorial arrangement of treatments,. With the exception of percentage hen-day egg production and egg size, dietary treatment had no significant effect on the reproduction of females or on the growth of the progeny. Egg production was higher among females fed 12 and 14% protein than among those fed 10% protein. Those fed 14% protein laid the heaviest eggs. Female serum albumin concentrations and the concentrations of blood threonine and lysine significantly increased while concentrations of blood glycine decreased with increased levels of dietary protein. Optimum semen volume and spermatozoa concentration were obtained for males fed 10% protein. For females, the significant response obtained in egg production to increased protein levels and the failure to obtain this response with increased total sulfur amino acid (TSAA) levels as a percentage of total protein, indicates that other amino acids may have been limiting. Based on these results, it appears that for optimum reproduction of Medium White breeder turkeys, a daily intake of at least 22.7 g protein and 696 mg TSAA are necessary for females, and 25.0 g protein and 1,175 mg TSAA are necessary for males. / Master of Science

Colibacillosis is considered one of the more costly diseases encountered in the production of market turkeys. It is responsible for a significant amount of mortality in birds between the ages of 6-12 weeks. Research conducted over the past 5 years has shown that within the Shenandoah Valley production area, multiple primary infectious agents are responsible for the predisposition of turkeys to colibacillosis. These agents were first identified as potential contributors through field case studies. They include hemorrhagic enteritis (HE) virus, Newcastle disease virus, and Bordetella avium. Further retrospective serologic studies affirmed the role of these primary agents and uncovered the potential involvement of Mycoplasma meleagridis. Trials were conducted to determine the reproducibility of some multiple agent interactions under laboratory conditions. It was found that Newcastle disease virus or B. avium infection followed by HE virus and Escherichia coli challenge produced clinical colibacillosis. It is believed that hemorrhagic enteritis virus is the pivotal agent in this process of predisposition. Almost all turkeys are vaccinated for hemorrhagic enteritis in the field. The virulent strains of the virus are known to be immunosuppressive. It is suspected that the vaccine strains are mildly so. Infection with HE vaccine virus was shown to cause an increase in CT8+ cells in peripheral blood. These cells are believed to be suppressor T-cells and may account for the reputed immunosuppressive effects of the virus. Thus, interactions of multiple infectious agents including Newcastle disease virus, B. avium, M. meleagridis, and HE virus appear to be involved in the predisposition of turkeys to secondary E. coli infections. / Ph. D.

Orientador: Adriano Sakai Okamoto / Banca: Raphael Lucio Andreatti filho / Banca: Guilherme Augusto Marietto Gonçalves / Resumo: O presente trabalho teve como proposta realizar a caracterização probiótica in vitro de amostras de Lactobacillus spp., provenientes de conteúdo intestinal de perus adultos e saudáveis, através do isolamento e identificação por características morfológicas, moleculares e fisiológicas. Inicialmente foram isoladas 170 amostras, as quais foram avaliadas pelo método de coloração de gram, testes de produção de catalase, hidróxido de potássio, produção de gás através da fermentação da glicose e produção de gás sulfídrico em Triple Sugar Iron (TSI). Após foram pré-selecionadas 74 amostras, que passaram por identificação molecular com a Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) e submetidas ao PCR-ARDRA com uso das enzimas Sph I, Nco I, Nhe I, Ssp I, Sfu I, Dra I, Vsp I, Eco RI, Hinc II, Hind III e Avr II. A avaliação da resistência bacteriana ocorreu através dos testes de suco gástrico artificial e sua tolerância a sais biliares, capacidade de adesão à mucosa intestinal, potencial de multiplicação, provas de antagonismo contra Salmonella Heidelberg, produção de peróxido de hidrogênio, antibiograma e avaliação dos genes de resistência antimicrobianos integrons C e submetidas ao sequenciamento genético. Concluiu-se que 11 amostras foram selecionadas, sendo uma de Lactobacillus frumenti, 9 de Lactobacillus reuteri e uma de Lactobacillus johnsonii, todas com resultados nos testes de antagonismo, resistência ao suco gástrico, resistência a sais biliares, hidrofobicidade, potencial de multiplicação, produção de peróxido de hidrogênio e com resistência a mais de 50% dos antimicrobianos testados, porém não apresentaram genes de resistência antimicrobianos na técnica que avalia genes integrons C, baseado nos resultados de todas as análises as amostras selecionadas podem vir a ser administradas in vivo. / Abstract: The aim of the present work was to characterize the in vitro probiotic characterization of Lactobacillus spp. Samples from intestinal contents of adult and healthy turkeys through isolation and identification by morphological, molecular and physiological characteristics. Initially, 170 samples were isolated, which were evaluated by gram staining method, catalase production tests, potassium hydroxide, gas production through glucose fermentation and the production of sulphide gas in Triple Sugar Iron (TSI). After being pre-selected 74 samples, which were submitted to PCR-ARDRA using the enzymes Sph I, Nco I, Nhe I, Ssp I, Sfu I, Dra I, Vsp I, Eco RI, Hinc II, Hind III and Avr II. The evaluation of bacterial resistance occurred through the tests of artificial gastric juice and its tolerance to bile salts, intestinal mucosal adhesion capacity, multiplication potential, Salmonella Heidelberg antagonism tests, hydrogen peroxide production, antibiogram and evaluation of the genes of Antimicrobial resistance and submitted to genetic sequencing. It was concluded that 11 samples were selected, one of Lactobacillus frumenti, 9 of Lactobacillus reuteri and one of Lactobacillus johnsonii, all with results in the tests of antagonism, resistance to gastric juice, resistance to bile salts, hydrophobicity, multiplication potential, Hydrogen peroxide production and resistance to more than 50% of the antimicrobials tested, but did not present antimicrobial resistance genes in the technique that evaluates integron C genes, based on the results of all the analyzes the selected samples can be administered in vivo. / Mestre

<p>Animal behavior observation is a widely used method of detecting when animals are ill or injured, but there are limitations to using behavioral observations. Behavioral observations can be labor-intensive, subjective and unreliable. The development of technologies such as accelerometers, which record acceleration and activity-based data in 3D space, enables faster, more accurate and quantitative methods of detecting changes in animal behavior. Previous research has demonstrated the utility of using accelerometers to detect changes in animals’ health and well-being. However, limited information is available on the use of accelerometers to detect changes in behavior due to heat stress, which is a major poultry welfare concern, or to detect changes in activity levels of turkeys. The overall objective of this study was to determine whether micro-acceleration data loggers (accelerometers) can be used to detect changes in turkeys’ activity levels and to identify changes in turkey behavior that are indicative of changes in turkey well-being. Two trials were conducted. Specific objectives for Trial 1 were to: 1) determine the effects of accelerometers and habituation to accelerometers on turkey gait and welfare, 2) determine age-related changes in gait and welfare, and 3) evaluate the validity of the accelerometers. Thirty-six male commercial turkeys were randomly assigned to one of five groups: accelerometer and habituation period (AH), accelerometer and no habituation (AN), VetRap bandage (no accelerometer) and habituation (VH), bandage (no accelerometer) and no habituation (VN), and nothing on either leg (C). Welfare was assessed prior to video-recording birds as they walked across a Tekscan® pressure pad at 8, 12 and 16 wk to determine effects of treatment on number of steps, cadence, gait time, gait distance, gait velocity, impulse, gait cycle time, maximum force, peak vertical pressure, single support time, contact time, step length, step time, step velocity, stride length, total double support time, and duty factor. Accelerometer validity and reliability were determined by comparing the number of steps detected with the accelerometer to the number of steps determined from video recordings. Several age-related changes in turkey gait were found regardless of habituation, including a slower cadence at 16 wk, shorter gait distance at 8 wk, and slower gait velocity at 16wk. Habituation to the accelerometer and bandage had limited effects on turkey gait: non-habituated turkeys (VN and AN) spent more time standing on two feet (total double support time) compared to C birds, but did not differ from habituated (VH and AH) birds. Accelerometer validity and reliability were affected by both age and treatment. Validity and reliability were lowest for non-habituated birds (AN). Precision and sensitivity of accelerometers decreased with age but were unaffected by treatment. False discovery rate increased, and accuracy and specificity decreased with age. Results demonstrated that micro-data loggers do not adversely affect turkey welfare, but habituation to wearing accelerometers affects accelerometer reliability and validity. Accelerometer validity and turkey gait are also greatly affected by the age of the turkeys. </p> <p> </p> <p>The second experiment used the validated accelerometers to assess changes in walking activity when turkeys were under an immune challenge or mild heat stress. Another objective of Experiment 2 was to identify changes in welfare and behavior associated with mild heat stress and a mild immune challenge. A total of 92 tom turkeys (trial 1: 51 turkeys; trial 2: 41 turkeys) were assigned to 3 different treatments in a crossover design: control (C; no heat stress or immune challenge), heat stress (HS), and immune challenge (IC). HS treatment was induced by slowly heating rooms to a peak temperature before slowly returning the rooms to normal temperatures. IC treatment was induced by a live-virus hemorrhagic enteritis vaccine which was added to the drinking water. Video (walking, sitting, standing, eating, drinking, preening, feather pecking, aggression and heat-stress related behavior) and accelerometer (steps/hr) data were recorded for 5 days at 10, 12, and 14 wk of age in order to gather behavior and walking activity data pre and post treatment, which occurred on day 3 of the 5 day period. Steps/hr decreased with age, treatments HS and IC had lower step counts compared to control groups, and each day proved to have a different step count regardless of whether a treatment was imposed. On the day of the imposed treatments, steps/hr were lower for both HS and IC turkeys. Welfare analysis indicated that tail and wing feather condition was worse at 14 wk compared to 10 and 12 wk. Behaviorally, the amount of time spent sitting increased as birds aged. Treatment also affected behavior: HS and IC turkeys performed less standing and walking compared to C birds on the day of the imposed treatment. Turkeys under a heat stress treatment performed more aggressive interactions and were observed performing heat-stress related behavior, including panting and sitting with their wings spread apart. </p> <p> </p> <p>Results from both trials indicated that accelerometers can be useful tools to assess walking activity of turkeys and that accelerometers have the potential to detect changes in behavior that may be associated with conditions that negatively impact turkey welfare. The process of wearing an accelerometer on the leg did not adversely affect turkey welfare, but habituation is important to ensure that accelerometers are accurately and reliably recording turkeys’ steps. In addition, it was determined that changes in behavior, such as decreased walking and standing, can be indicative of potential welfare issues, such as heat stress and an immune challenge in turkeys. Further research is needed to explore the best step threshold for particular turkey ages in order to get the most accurate data in future analysis of walking activity. Furthermore, sex differences were not a factor in these studies as only male turkeys were used which may differ from females in terms of gait and behavior under heat stress and an immune challenge. It may also be beneficial to further explore turkey gait as there were discrepancies in the literature and this study concerning age related differences in gait (duty factor). Future research should focus on the early detection potential accelerometers can provide to the turkey industry for welfare concerns. As shown by our results, walking activity decreases under both a mild heat stress and immune challenge, so future studies should now determine if this decrease in activity level is detectable before overt visual behavioral signs. If accelerometers can detect signs of stress more objectively, accurately, and quicker than visual inspection, then both farmers and researchers could benefit from utilizing these devices to improve animal welfare in the future.</p>

L'obbiettivo della tesi è la ricostruzione del discorso sull'identità europea. Inizialmente vengono rintracciate varie correnti di questo discorso su diversi livelli discorsivi (politico, scientifico e mass mediale). L'analisi empirica si rivolge poi sul dibattito sull'ingresso della Turchia nell'Unione Europea svoltasi nei mass media tedeschi ed italiani. A questo scopo vengono analizzati articoli di respettivamente tre grandi quotidiani per ogni area discorsiva (Germania ed Italia) che trattano la questione dell'ingresso della Turchia nell'UE. Il quadro metodologico si rifa alla analisi del discorso foucaultiano. / Gegenstand der Diplomarbeit ist die Rekonstruktion des Diskurses zur europäischen Identität untersucht am Beispiel der Türkeibeitrittsdebatte in Deutschland und in Italien. Dazu wurden Beiträge aus jeweils drei überregionalen Tageszeitungen im Zeitraum 2005 einer wissenssoziologischen Diskursanalyse unterzogen.