When animals are exposed to extreme environmental conditions, the ability to maintain efficiency is then compromised. Energy put forth in areas such as feed intake, milk yield, or growth, then no longer is able to be properly maintained. The focus then reverts to sustain a healthy body temperature.
Megan Kueker has been working as the communications assistant under Sherry Hoyer at the Iowa Pork Industry Center. She has been working on social media campaigns, new releases, NEWS NOW communications, and historical document organization. She focused on communicating about programs and events to pork producers.
Zinc is one of the main minerals that aids in growth in beef cattle and also has an extensive effect on immune function. In this study, steers were fed different levels of Zinc during the receiving phase to see its affect to cope with stress and foreign pathogens/bacteria.
To observe the flower aborting effects of Ethephon on African Violets (Saintpaulia ionantha), different concentrations of the PGR were applied to three treatment groups. The treatments were 0 ppm of Ethephon, 125 ppm, and 250 ppm. Each flower had its flowering date recorded, and its final height and width recorded.
Direct fed microbial is studied in this project for its influence on broiler breeder tight junction abundance to determine if feeding DFM increases tight junction count and could be a likely indicator of decreased leaky gut syndrome and increased reproductive health, reducing the welfare and economic concern of chick mortality.
Lisianthus is a popular cut flower with problems of insufficient stem length that reduce marketability. Plant growth regulator GA3 was applied at multiple treatment levels and stem length was recorded. Cultivars treated with GA3 showed increased stem length. 250 ppm was most effective for ‘Mariachi White’ and 750 ppm was most effective for ‘Mariachi Pink’.
Studies have shown that the lmo2230 gene is upregulated in Listeria monocytogenes when exposed to lactic acid, but the function of the gene is unknown. This research tested whether the lmo2230 gene allowed bacteria to grow more under acidic conditions compared to control groups.
Spondylids and Scallops are both bivalve mollusk species. Spondylids do not swim and scallops do swim. I count eyes on both species to determine if the number of eyes differ across species.
Plant identification courses are historically challenging at the collegiate level. This human subjects, IRB-approved SoTL study evaluated low-stakes quizzing as a means to improve overall scores and retention of the plant material in Iowa State University’s horticulture woody plant identification course (HORT 240).
The purpose of this study is to determine whether brushing select containerized herbs will inhibit their overall growth. The species studied are basil, dill, parsley, and oregano. In some previously studied species, this process has been used to increase stem strength and resistance to pests. This study endeavors to expand that process to a new set of greenhouse crops.
This is the second trial of this experiment that was looking at finding the effects of weaning, removing the calf from the mother and its milk. This is one of the most stressful points in a calf’s life which can decrease the calf’s ability to fight off sickness and disease and also can reduce the amount of feed that the calf consumes.
Northern bobwhite restoration is monitored annually under the Northern Bobwhite Conservation Initiative Coordinated Implementation Program. Here, bobwhite densities were calculated from point count surveys.
Working in collaboration with Dr. James Koltes, Anna Hanson evaluated the genetic data of the Holstein herd at the Iowa State University Dairy Farm. Through this project, the animals with the lowest genetic values were identified; the number of youngstock that the farm needs to replace current animals in the milking herd was calculated, and the cost of raising youngstock to their entrance into the milking herd was estimated. With this information, the ISU Dairy can make management decisions based on the genetic data that is already collected on farm.
We used autonomous recording units (ARUs) to record data on Northern Bobwhite Quails and also to test there effectiveness at collecting data. This research will also assist in the monitoring of Northern Bobwhite populations pertaining specifically to last years harsh winter.
Coccidiosis is a species-specific parasitic disease known to affect intestinal structure and overall health in poultry. In this study, the correlation between coccidiosis infection and intestinal structure are observed at 5 different time points post-inoculation.
This semester, I have been involved in an extensive project looking at the causes behind heat stress in barrow pigs. Myself along side with Johana Mayorga, Dr. Lance Baumgard, and Dr. Joshua Selsby hypothesize that the negative cascade of events that occur during heat stress is due to muscle mitochondria dysfunction
Begonias are a popular plant found in people’s homes and gardens today. This project involved growing five, newly developed begonia and five begonia cultivars that are currently on the market. Then growing the begonias to a finishing size and evaluating each cultivar based on its height, width and flowering date to determine if the meet the requirement of the industry standard and have qualities growers want.
Climate change is having real world consequences on our planet. Antarctica loses 134 billion metric tons of ice annually, and historic weather events are the new normal.1 Its commonly known that humans must reduce our dependence on oil to mitigate future impacts of our changing climate.
My research goal has been to address how fatty acids can be harnessed to produce a variety of precursors for the emerging biorenewable chemical industry. Currently, I am independently running a project to discover novel variants within known genes in S. cerevisiae that result in the over accumulation of fatty acids.
