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The dry weight of zooplankton is an important parameter conventionally used to estimate secondary production in aquatic ecosystems. Estimates of zooplankton weight vary considerably across studies. This study examines various factors that contribute to differences in the individual dry weight of freshwater herbivorous zooplankton. In the first chapter, I quantified and compared the individual length and weight changes of Daphnia catawba and Diaptomus minutus resulting from preservation in either 4% sugar-formalin, 70% ethanol solution or freezing over dry ice. The results indicate that the dry weight of both animals was significantly altered by chemical preservatives. The length of Diaptomus was also significantly reduced due to preservation. Site-specific differences in lakes, such as available food and the presence of predators, introduce another potential source of variation in herbivore dry weight. In Chapter 2, the food available to several herbivorous zooplankton in two softwater lakes was estimated using various methods. An index of "edible" phytoplankton biomass based on stomach content analyses was developed and compared to the traditional techniques used to estimate available food. The results indicate that the available was food different for each herbivore and that estimates of food available based on stomach content analyses were not significantly related to the traditional techniques used to estimate available food. In Chapter 3, I evaluate the relative impacts of "topdown" (predation) versus "bottom-up" (food) effects on the dry weight of several herbivores in two softwater lakes with contrasting food-web structures. The length-specific dry weights of Daphnia catawba, Diaptomus minutus and Holopedium gibberum varied seasonally and these changes were taxa-specific and unique to each lake. Herbivore weights were regressed against length, available food, clutch size, population density and temperature to determine if "bottom-up" effects could explain between-lake differences in herbivore weight. Length and population density were the prominent predictor variables in the resulting regression models for the herbivores in these lakes. Predator effects were determined by comparing if the between-lake differences in herbivore weight were consistent with the presence or absence of planktivores. Holopedium dry weight was lower in the presence of planktivores, while Diaptomus dry-weight differences exhibited no consistent trend with the presence or absence of planktivores. / Thesis / Master of Science (MS)

The effect of intracerebroventricular (ICV) injection of corticotrophin releasing hormone (CRH) and related compounds on appetite, behavior, and gastric motility in lines of chickens, one selected for low body weight (LWS) and the other high body weight (HWS), was determined. Nucleotide sequence and expression patterns of the CRHr2 receptor, involved in appetite regulation, were also determined. Some individuals of the LWS line are anorexics and many die simply from not eating while some individuals in the HWS line are compulsive eaters and exhibit obesity. CRH is a 41 residue peptide that initiates an organism's stress response and is a potent inhibitor of appetite. An ICV injection of CRH dose-dependently decreased feed intake in both lines but did not effect water intake. When CRH receptor antagonists were ICV injected an increase in feed intake in the LWS line but not in the HWS line was observed, however the appetite reducing effect of CRH was attenuated in the HWS line but not in the LWS line. The LWS line has higher concentration of corticosterone than does the HWS line. In both lines at all times treatment with CRH caused an increase in locomotion and no CRH-treated chicks from either line slept post injection. Chicks from the LWS line that were treated with CRH exhibited other anxiety related behaviors sooner than the HWS line. The LWS line showed a liner increase in crop emptying time as the dose of ICV CRH increased. The HWS line responded with a quadratic dose response to CRH treatment. Polymorphisms in the CRHr2 receptor were found in both lines in the same positions, thus we concluded these differences do not significantly contribute to body weight differences. However, differences detected in expression patterns between lines for the CRHr2 receptor may contribute to their different body weights. We conclude that differences in the CRH system, its concentrations and differential receptor action, of these two lines may be partly responsible for their altered body weight phenotype. / Ph. D.

The objective of this study was to characterize genetic relationships between growth and carcass traits measured in commercial feedlot and purebred cattle that would aid in determining the effectiveness of combined crossbred and purebred selection (CCPS) strategies for sire selection. Data included 2,183 steers and 418 heifers enrolled in the Tri-County Steer Carcass Futurity (TC). Feedlot traits evaluated were initial body weight at time of delivery (IBW) and final BW at time of harvest (FBW) and carcass backfat thickness at the 12th rib (CFAT), marbling score at the 12th rib (CMAR) and ribeye area at the12th rib (CREA). Purebred data from the American Angus Association (AAA) included records of 139,602 bulls, 130,944 heifers and 6,656 steers for weaning weight (WW); 85,702 bulls, 76,603 heifers and 1,908 steers for yearling weight (YW); and 62,752 bulls and 45,958 heifers for ultrasound measures of backfat thickness at the 12th rib (UFAT), intramuscular fat percentage at the 12th rib (UMAR) and ribeye area at the 12th rib (UREA). The genetic correlations between IBW and WW, FBW and YW, CFAT and UFAT, CMAR and UMAR, and CREA and UREA were 0.01 ° 0.21, 0.43 ° 0.22, 0.66 ° 0.19, 0.65 ° 0.17, and 0.92 ° 0.12, respectively. Regressions of TC traits on corresponding sire EPD resulted in coefficients of 0.23 ° 0.19, 0.57 ° 0.16, 0.67 ° 0.19, 93.3 ° 12.3, and 1.08 ° 0.17 for IBW, FBW, CFAT, CMAR, and CREA, respectively. Three selection indices were evaluated on the basis of relative efficiency of genetic progress toward TC goal traits. The index including AAA records on an individual sire with TC records on his progeny was most effective, thus indicating the benefit of CCPS. / Master of Science

This study examines the effect of varying injectant molecular weight on the penetration of transverse injection jets into a supersonic crossflow. The injectants considered here are methane (W=16.04), air (W=28.97) and carbon dioxide, (W=44.01). These results augment the previous results obtained at Virginia Tech for helium (W=4.00) injection under the same test conditions to provide a very wide range of molecular weights. Second, since shocks are ubiquitous in scramjet combustors, their influence on penetration and mixing was also studied by arranging for an oblique shock to impinge near the injection station. The cases of a shock impinging upstream and downstream of the injector were both examined. One can anticipate an important influence of molecular weight here also because of the importance of density gradients on the generation of vorticity by baroclinic torque. Increasing molecular weight was found to increase penetration in general, as well as increase the lateral spreading of the plume. The majority of the data shows a weak dependency of the jet size on molecular weight, but there are indications that under certain circumstances large changes in the flow structure may occur due to molecular weight effects. The addition of an impinging shock is found to increase mixing and decrease penetration and plume size, especially with the shock impinging downstream of the injector. / Master of Science