The impact of three different culling regimes on a roe deer ( Capreolus capreolus) population in a Scottish commercial forest was investigated. For three years, two sites within the forest were unshot ('Unculled'). At two other sites, culling was maintained at pre-study levels ('Normal cull'), and on two further sites the deer were heavily culled ('Heavy cull'). Deer densities on the 'Unculled' sites increased while they were unshot, but on the others changes in deer densities were variable. The cull on the 'Heavy cull' sites often exceeded the deer density. However, deer numbers on the called sites never declined below approximately half the previous years' density, suggesting that the sites were rapidly recolonised. In the final study year, all sites were shot to obtain comparative data on age structure, reproductive performance and physiological indices (size, weight and condition) of the deer under the ceiling regimes. Weights of kids and male deer declined as the level of culling increased. The deer's diet also broadened with increased culling. The decline in weight was possibly due to the deer changing their foraging behaviour in response to the increased risk of being shot. Deer densities were calculated for the whole forest. These declined from 10.9 to 4.8 deer km-2, indicating the total cull exceeded the population's recruitment rate. There was no yearly variation in the reproductive performance or physiological indices, suggesting the total population was below the threshold when density-dependent effects began. There was significant variation in the density of deer between habitats. Deer numbers declined in all habitats during the study, with the greatest decline on Restock, attributable to its open nature, making deer more vulnerable there. There was significant variation in kid body weights and condition for deer living in different habitats. The different deer density and physiological indices between habitats were probably related to the decline in food availability with canopy-closure.

No description available.

Successful management of an invasive species requires in depth knowledge of the invader, the invaded ecosystem, and their interactions. The complexity of the species-system interactions can be reduced and represented in ecological models for better comprehension. In this study, a spatially explicit population model was created using the RAMAS software package to simulate the past and future invasion dynamics of the eastern grey squirrel (Sciurus carolinensis) in the fragmented habitat in case study areas in Ireland. This invasive squirrel species causes economic damage by bark stripping forest crops and is associated with the decline of its native congener (S. vulgaris). Three combinations of demographic and dispersal parameters, which best matched the distribution of the species shortly after introduction, were used to simulate invasion dynamics. Future population expansion was modeled under scenarios of no control and two different management strategies: fatal culls and immunocontraceptive vaccination programmes. In the absence of control, the grey squirrel range is predicted to expand to the south and southwest of Ireland endangering internationally important habitats, vulnerable forest crops, and the native red squirrel. The model revealed that region-wide intensive and coordinated culls would have the greatest impact on grey squirrel populations. Control strategies consisting solely of immunocontraceptive vaccines, often preferred by public interest groups, are predicted to be less effective. Complete eradication of the grey squirrel from Ireland is not economically feasible and strategic evidence-based management is required to limit further range expansion. Ecological models can be used to choose between informed management strategies based on predicted outcomes.

Thesis (M.A.)--University of Montana, 2007. / Title from title screen. Description based on contents viewed Oct. 9, 2008. Includes bibliographical references (p. 60-64).

Doctor of Philosophy / Department of Animal Sciences and Industry / Twig T. Marston / The primary study investigated the use of ractopamine HCl and implants in cull beef cows. Thirty-two cull cows were used to determine the effects of feeding ractopamine HCl and/or implanting on feedlot performance and carcass composition. Cows were individually fed a high concentrate diet for 60 days. Carcass data were collected and carcasses were fabricated. Implanted cows had greater dressing percentages and tended to have heavier hot carcass weights than non-implanted cows. Cows that had been treated with implant and ractopamine HCl tended to be fatter than those not treated. Ractopamine HCl fed cows had more marbling than their contemporaries. The data also indicated that younger cows (< 6 years of age) had greater feedlot performance than the older cows. An experiment was conducted to determine if corn and grain sorghum dried distillers grains could be effective protein supplements for growing cattle. Crossbred heifers (n = 78) were individually fed 2.72 kg·head·-1d·-1 of supplements containing corn, soybean meal, and grain sorghum; or cracked corn and corn distillers grains with solubles; or cracked corn, sorghum distillers grains with solubles, and ground grain sorghum (all formulated to equal 20% CP). Heifers grazed native-grass and were fed smooth broom hay. A digestion trial was done during the last week of the trial. No differences were noted in weight gain or total diet digestibility, however, DMI was less for heifers receiving either distiller’s based supplement. Ninety-six pregnant, mature, spring-calving cows grazing native grass pasture were used to determine if early weaning calves reduced subsequent winter supplementation cost. Previous to the feeding trial, calves had been weaned at 115 or 212 d of age. Cows were fed either 1.4 kg·hd-1·d-1 or 1.27 kg·hd-1·d-1 of a common 45% CP supplement. Cows were supplemented for an average of 110 d of pregnancy. Earlyweaned cows were heavier and had greater body condition scores than contemporaries at the commencement of supplementation. At calving the early-weaned cows fed the lesser supplemental amount had similar body weight and body condition scores as later-weaned cows fed the greater amount of supplement, thus, the early weaning routine allowed a 30% savings of winter protein supplement.

April 6, 2007 I submitted the first draft of this final project to Sabina Murray’s workshop in the fall of 2004. I was mainly concerned with narrative then. I wanted the story to move. I wasn’t interested in writing as much as providing a framework. I told myself, there’ll be time enough for writing, the creative kind—keep the flourishes to a minimum for now. The result was an outline with flimsy characters sifted in. Workshop feedback suggested the same. (Sabina also caught a malapropism I’ve not been allowed to forget: I described a character’s long legs as like those of a gelding. I meant yearling, I think. We all had a laugh. In a draft before this final project version Sabina snagged another one: ‘braying’ used when ‘rearing’ was intended. For a lobster.) I didn’t work much on that first draft for the next year, focused as I was on short stories. (During that time I planned on submitting a collection as my final project. I had six or seven that I thought were pretty fit and worth more work.) In the spring of 2006 I went at the novel more consistently. By the summer I was working on it daily, which has more or less been the case since. The basic narrative of the second attempt was the same: guy leaves corporate job to work on lobster boat on Cape Cod, meets many characters in that insular world, one of whom may be hauling other lobstermen’s pots. Guy also has love interest. Through that narrative I meant to explore the development of D.L., who saw himself as a lost, alienated 30-year-old with potential but unable to fit in anywhere. His journey from New York, the site of his two most recent failures, to Orleans would yield new and different perceptions. I like the idea that a protagonist continues to do what he/she’s always done until circumstances of the narrative prompt change. D.L. was meant to see that many of his problems existed only in his head. I read Dostoyevsky’s The Double in David Lenson’s Individualism and its Discontents course (spring 2005). It got me thinking again about self consciousness. I didn’t intend for D.L. to descend into paranoid madness like Golyadkin but The Double served as an example of how I might explore D.L. more than I had on the first go round. Changing perception was the broad theme to work through the narrative. I would fill D.L. out more, lend him more introspection. The challenge seemed to be in gauging when and how much the story should be in his head. I started doing an end around. I thought I could introduce new perceptions through other characters. Hence Jack’s early talk of cliffs moving. In previous iterations, D.L. ruminated more on that non sequitur. He was talking to himself and it seemed too obvious: Was Jack saying my problems were in my head? Another concern is that D.L.’s thoughts often felt and still do at times feel like commentary. The scene in Wellfleet, which is mostly dialogue between D.L. and Suzie, is an example. Dreamlike moments—the cliffs, high tide flowing as a river down Jack’s street, D.L.’s faux dream, Jack’s real dream, even H. erectus walking among us—are attempts to create more of D.L.’s world, to create more of a feeling. To whatever extent those moments are effective, I think there should be more. My biggest concern with this effort is that there’s still too much dialogue. I don’t know if I’ve lost some creative vigor or if the paucity of literary prose is a result of the process, particularly the initial narrative concern of wanting to keep the story moving. Or something else. But I’ve felt less natural, less like myself as a writer throughout much of the process of writing this novel. I handed over a new draft to committee this past winter. Feedback included concerns over the dialogue itself, that the characters weren’t moving while talking, weren’t described enough; missing connective tissue between chapters; problems with moving around in time rather than taking a more linear approach; and too much in the way of lobstering details. These are the areas I’ve focused on since. Switching to linear time has made a big difference, I think. I’ve worked on movement and dialogue but there are still long chunks in which characters are talking more than doing (as related to above creative concerns). Lobstering details have been a concern from the start as I didn’t want this to be Lobstering 101, but also because it can clog the narrative. I’ve often struggled with feeling the need to include information that isn’t necessary and gets in the way. It’s a tough habit to break for me but I think I’ve gotten better in that regard in my years in the program, particularly with short stories, in which more concision is a requirement because of space. The pages that follow are a considerable improvement from that first draft of 2004. I see this as the first half of the novel. I imagine the second half will be about as long. I’m not crazy about the title but I have a scene in mind at or near the end that makes sense of it. ‘Thin water’ is clear water, not turbid. - Jeremy Church

Doctor of Philosophy / Department of Animal Sciences and Industry / Michael E. Dikeman / Sixty cull cows were utilized to investigate the effects of feeding a single or sequence of β-adrenergic agonists (β-AA) on performance, mRNA expression, carcass traits, economics, meat palatability, and ground beef color. Treatments included: 1) concentrate fed for 74 d (C); 2) concentrate fed for 49 d then supplemented with ractopamine-HCl for 25 d (RH); 3) concentrate fed for 51 d then supplemented with zilpaterol-HCl for 20 d (ZH); 4), concentrate fed for 26 d then supplemented with RH for 25 d followed by ZH for 20 d (RH + ZH). No differences existed among treatments for performance or carcass characteristics. However, cows supplemented with ZH (ZH and RH + ZH treatments) had increased LM areas (P = 0.18) compared to control and RH cows. Sequential feeding of RH followed by ZH had no influence on β2-adrenergic receptor (AR) mRNA expression. However, β2-AR mRNA was increased (P < 0.05) in the RH and ZH treatments when RH or ZH was supplemented during the last 20 to 25 d of feeding. Myosin heavy chain (MHC) Type IIa mRNA decreased (P < 0.05) from d 24 to 51 in all cows, while MHC-IIx increased (P < 0.05) in the ZH and RH + ZH treatments during ZH supplementation. No differences were observed in ground beef color shelf-life among treatments. Effects of β-AA supplementation on meat palatability varied among muscles. Infraspinatus steaks had improved (P < 0.05) WBSF values with β-AA supplementation. Psoas major steaks from the RH + ZH treatment were rated as more tender than steaks from all other treatments. Non-enhanced LM steaks from ZH supplemented cows had higher (P = 0.12) WBSF values along with decreased (P < 0.0001) percentages of degraded desmin compared to control and RH cows. Collagen solubility of the LM was increased with ZH supplementation compared to RH and control cows. Enhancement of steaks with 0.1 M calcium lactate improved LM tenderness of β-AA supplemented cows. Implanting and feeding cull cows for 74 d, regardless of β-AA supplementation, added value by transiting cows from a “cull” cow to “white” cow market.

No description available.

<p>Historically, the meat industry has struggled to provide consumers with consistent beef tenderness. Various post-harvest technologies have been used in industry; however, there is still a need to develop a natural and safe post-harvest processing system that can be used to create consistently tender products for consumers. In addition to postmortem aging being a time-consuming process, literature has suggested that it is not a sufficient method to achieve tenderization in certain cull cow muscles. This has resulted in the large supply of cull cow beef to be underutilized due to its inferior quality, specifically tenderness. Applying a combination of mechanical tenderization with additional postmortem aging may be an effective strategy to overcome deficiencies in beef tenderness. Recent studies have found that tumbling without brine addition can be successful at improving instrumental tenderness and consumer liking of tenderness of fresh beef loin. The physical disruptions of muscles, which likely occur during tumbling, may enhance activity of proteolytic enzymes and thus induce more tenderization. The overall objective of this thesis was to investigate the effects of fresh beef tumbling methods and postmortem aging times on the tenderness and proteolysis of loin muscles from both A maturity cattle and cull cows.</p> <p>The first chapter of this thesis is a literature review that will address the factors affecting tenderness and the methods used by the industry to improve tenderness, specifically focusing on meat tumbling and cull cow beef. The second chapter is a study that investigated the effects of fresh beef tumbling at different postmortem times on meat quality attributes and proteolytic features of loins. The results from this study suggest that early postmortem tumbling coupled with aging can synergistically impact the improvements of beef loin tenderness and proteolysis, shortening the necessary aging period. The third and final chapter of this thesis is a study that aimed to determine the effect of fresh beef tumbling and postmortem aging on the quality and proteolysis of loins from cull cows. The results from this study indicate that aging would be effective at improving the quality and palatability of cull cow beef loins, although tumbling could improve consumer liking of tenderness at earlier postmortem times.</p>