A5080640333- Rangeland and Wildlife Management
- Wildlife Ecology and Conservation
- Rangeland Management and Livestock Ecology
- Ecology and Vegetation Dynamics Studies
- Ruminant Nutrition and Digestive Physiology
- Avian ecology and behavior
- Fire effects on ecosystems
- Effects of Environmental Stressors on Livestock
- Genetic and phenotypic traits in livestock
- Animal Vocal Communication and Behavior
- Species Distribution and Climate Change
- Animal Behavior and Welfare Studies
- Odor and Emission Control Technologies
- Plant Ecology and Soil Science
- Agriculture, Soil, Plant Science
- Animal Behavior and Reproduction
- Marine animal studies overview
- Plant and fungal interactions
- Wildlife-Road Interactions and Conservation
- Plant and animal studies
- High Altitude and Hypoxia
- Vehicle emissions and performance
- Agriculture Sustainability and Environmental Impact
- Bird parasitology and diseases
- Flowering Plant Growth and Cultivation
Colorado State University
2023-2025
Agricultural Research Service - Plains Area
2019-2022
United States Department of Agriculture
2021-2022
Agricultural Research Service
2021-2022
Waters (United States)
2022
University of Nebraska–Lincoln
2017-2021
Kansas State University
2012-2019
Nicholls State University
2012-2013
Adaptive multi-paddock (AMP) grazing is hypothesised to improve livestock diet quality by allowing managers move among paddocks in a manner that tracks phenological variation forage growth related plant community composition. We compared yearling steer (Bos taurus) dietary crude protein (CP), digestible organic matter (DOM), and composition on ranch-scale (2600 ha, 10 pairs of 130 ha paddocks) experiment shortgrass steppe for 6 years (2014–2019) contrasting treatments: Collaborative...
Abstract Recent models suggest that herbivores optimize nutrient intake by selecting patches of low to intermediate vegetation biomass. We assessed the application this hypothesis plains bison ( Bison ) in an experimental grassland managed with fire estimating daily rates relation grass biomass and measuring patch selection watersheds which was manipulated prescribed burning. Digestible crude protein content declined linearly increasing biomass, mean digestible relative greater burned than...
Understanding the spatial distribution of forage quality is important to address critical research questions in grassland science. Due its efficiency and accuracy, there has been a widespread interest mapping canopy vegetation characteristics using remote sensing methods. In this study, foliar chlorophylls, carotenoids, nutritional elements across multiple tallgrass prairie functional groups were quantified at leaf level hyperspectral analysis region 470-800 nm, which was expected be...
Automated head chamber systems (AHCS) are increasingly deployed to measure enteric emissions in vivo. However, guidance for AHCS-derived data analyses pertains confined settings, such as feedlots, with less instruction grazing systems. Accordingly, our first objective this experiment was determine the utility of two preprocessing approaches grazing-based analyses. Using Pearson’s correlation, we compared “simple arithmetic” and “time-bin” averaging arrive at a single estimate daily gas flux....
Foraging decisions by native grazers in fire‐dependent landscapes modulate the fire–grazing interaction. Uncovering behavioral mechanisms associated with attraction of to recently burned areas requires understanding at multiple spatial scales ecological foraging hierarchy. This study focused on feeding area between steps a bout, station, as forage chemistry and vegetation architecture play central roles these fine‐scale, feeding‐station decisions. The maturation hypothesis (FMH) uses...
Enteric methane (CH4) emissions from cattle grazing extensive semiarid rangelands are largely unknown and represent a considerable knowledge gap for the beef industry. Knowledge of baseline enteric CH4 is beneficial understanding range variability in individual animal emission production (g head [hd]−1 d−1) intensity kg−1 average daily gain [ADG]−1). Here, we used field-based technology to determine yearling steers North American shortgrass steppe northeastern Colorado midsummer 2022....
Abstract Land use, climate change, and their interaction each have great potential to affect grazing systems. With anticipated more frequent extensive future drought, a complete understanding of the mechanisms that determine large grazer landscape‐level distribution under varying climatic conditions is integral ecosystem management. Using an experimental setting with contrasting fire treatments, we describe inter‐annual variability effect landscape topography disturbance from prescribed...
Abstract Understanding behavioral strategies employed by animals to maximize fitness in the face of environmental heterogeneity, variability, and uncertainty is a central aim animal ecology. Flexibility behavior may be key how respond climate change. Using mechanistic modeling framework for simultaneously quantifying effects habitat preference intrinsic movement on space use at landscape scale, we investigate selection vary among individuals years response forage quality–quantity tradeoffs,...
Response of breeding waterbird communities to the effects hurricanes remains poorly understood. The impact two 2008 on community was investigated at Isles Dernieres Barrier Island Refuge in southern Louisiana using pre- and post-hurricane survey data. After hurricanes, reduced from 44,042 pairs 27,977 2009 23,544 2010. Populations five most abundant species, Brown Pelican (Pelecanus occidentalis), Laughing Gull (Leucophaeus atricilla), Royal Tern (Thallasseus maximus), Sandwich...
Context Technologies are now available to continuously monitor livestock foraging behaviours, but it remains unclear whether such measurements can meaningfully inform grazing management decisions. Empirical studies in extensive rangelands needed quantify relationships between short-term behaviours (e.g. minutes days) and longer-term measures of animal performance. Aims The objective this study was examine four different ways measuring daily behaviour (grazing-bout duration, time per day,...
The placement of wind energy facilities on the landscape is a potential source direct mortality for wildlife, but indirect effects natural communities are less well known. An anthropogenically altered acoustic environment may render habitat unsuitable species that use vocalizations to communicate. We listened sound recordings identify assemblage common breeding birds in an unfragmented grassland Nebraska Sandhills (USA) vicinity facility. From recordings, we calculated Acoustic Complexity...
Abstract Rangeland ecosystems worldwide are characterized by a high degree of uncertainty in precipitation, both within and across years. Such creates challenges for livestock managers seeking to match herbivore numbers with forage availability prevent vegetation degradation optimize production. Here, we assess variation annual large production ( LHP , kg/ha) multiple densities over 78‐yr period (1940–2018) semiarid rangeland ecosystem (shortgrass steppe eastern Colorado, USA ) that has...
Rangelands are the dominant land use across a broad swath of central North America where they span wide gradient, from <350 to >900 mm, in mean annual precipitation. Substantial efforts have examined temporal and spatial variation aboveground net primary production (ANPP) precipitation (PPT) this gradient. In contrast, secondary productivity (NSP, e.g., consumer production) has not been evaluated analogously. However, livestock production, which is form NSP or supported by non-cultivated an...
Abstract The primary objective of this experiment was to evaluate the effects a growth-hormone implant (Revalor-G, Merck Animal Health., Rahway, NJ, USA) and tannin supplementation (Silvafeed BX, Silva Team, San Michele Mondovi CN, Italy) on enteric methane (CH4) emissions estimated nitrogen (N) excretion in grazing steers. Steers (n = 20; initial body weight [IBW] 343 ± 14 kg) were acclimated use portable automated head-chamber system (AHCS) measure CH4 SmartFeed Pro feeder for dietary...
Ruminants produce one-third of the anthropogenic methane (
Restoration and maintenance of barrier islands to preserve structural integrity protect against erosional forces is a common goal coastal protection. An assessment restored for their suitability as wildlife habitat crucial improvement restoration methods conservation barrier-island-dwelling species, especially ground-nesting waterbirds. During the 2008 2009 breeding periods, we conducted quantitative colonial waterbird use Isles Dernieres Barrier Island Refuge (IDBIR), Louisiana, which has...
Abstract Invasion of riparian habitats by non‐native plants is a global problem that requires an understanding community‐level responses native and animals. In the Great Plains, resource managers have initiated efforts to control eastward incursion Tamarix as bottomland plant ( ramosissima ) along Cimarron River in southwestern Kansas, United States. To understand how avifauna interact with plants, we studied effects removal on bird communities. We compared avian site occupancy three...
Raynor, E. J., C. Whalen, M. Bomberger Brown, and L. A. Powell. 2017. Location matters: evaluating Greater Prairie-Chicken (Tympanuchus cupido) boom chorus propagation. Avian Conservation Ecology 12(2):17. https://doi.org/10.5751/ACE-01126-120217