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Androgen Diffusion Patterns in Soil: Potential Watershed Impacts

Corson et al. | Jan 24, 2019

Androgen Diffusion Patterns in Soil: Potential Watershed Impacts

Androgens are natural or synthetic steroid hormones that control secondary male sex characteristics. Androgens are excreted in cattle urine and feces, and can run off or seep into nearby waters, negatively impacting aquatic life and potentially polluting human water sources. Here, the authors investigated the effectiveness of soil as a natural barrier against androgen flow into vulnerable waterways. Their results, obtained by testing diffusion patterns of luminol, an androgen chemical analog, indicated that soil is a poor barrier to androgen diffusion.

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The association between hunting and the feeding and vigilance times of American bison in North Dakota and Montana

McCandless et al. | Mar 30, 2022

The association between hunting and the feeding and vigilance times of American bison in North Dakota and Montana

This study hypothesized that feeding times of bison in the hunted populations would be significantly shorter than that of bison in the nonhunted population and vigilance times would be significantly longer than that of bison in the nonhunted population. Notably, the results found significant differences in feeding and vigilance times of bison in the hunted and non-hunted populations. However, these differences did not support the original hypothesis; bison in hunted populations spent more time feeding and less time vigilant than bison in the non-hunted population. Future studies investigating the association between hunting and bison behaviors could use populations of bison that are hunted more frequently, which may provide different results.

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Reducing Crop Damage Caused by Folsomia candida by Providing an Alternate Food Source

Tamura et al. | May 28, 2018

Reducing Crop Damage Caused by Folsomia candida by Providing an Alternate Food Source

Tamura and Moché found that Folsomia candida, a common crop pest, prefers to consume yeast instead of lettuce seedlings. The authors confirmed that even with the availability of both lettuce seedlings and yeast in the same dish, Folsomia candida preferred to eat the yeast, thereby reducing the number of feeding injuries on the lettuce seedlings. The authors propose that using this preference for yeast may be a way to mitigate crop damage by this pest.

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How CAFOs affect Escherichia coli contents in surrounding water sources

Lieberman et al. | Feb 24, 2023

How CAFOs affect <i>Escherichia coli</i> contents in surrounding water sources
Image credit: CDC

Commercial Concentrated Animal Feeding Operations (CAFOs) produce large quantities of waste material from the animals being housed in them. These feedlots found across the United States contain livestock that produce waste that results in hazardous runoff. This study examines how CAFOs affect water sources by testing for Escherichia Coli (E. coli) content in bodies of water near CAFOs.

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Analysis of biofertilization impacts on Pisum sativum

Holden et al. | May 18, 2023

Analysis of biofertilization impacts on <i>Pisum sativum</i>
Image credit: David Boozer

This study explored the various effects of three different produce-based biofertilizers on pea plant growth, using red apple, pear, strawberry, and control treatments. It was hypothesized that the application of fruit biomatter would increase the growth of pea plants, with the application of strawberry biomatter having the most significant effect due to strawberries containing a higher nutrient content compared to pears and apples. Analysis confirmed the hypothesis. The application of strawberry biomatter could prove to be an effective way to increase plant growth in commercial agriculture.

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