Behavioral Adaptations of Nursing Brangus Cows to Virtual Fencing: Insights from a Training Deployment Phase

Virtual fencing systems have emerged as a promising technology for managing the distribution of livestock in extensive grazing environments. This study provides comprehensive documentation of the learning process involving two conditional behavioral mechanisms and the documentation of efficient, effective, and safe animal training for virtual fence applications on nursing Brangus cows. Two hypotheses were examined: (1) animals would learn to avoid restricted zones by increasing their use of containment zones within a virtual fence polygon, and (2) animals would progressively receive fewer audio-electric cues over time and increasingly rely on auditory cues for behavioral modification. Data from GPS coordinates, behavioral metrics derived from the collar data, and cueing events were analyzed to evaluate these hypotheses. The results supported hypothesis 1, revealing that virtual fence activation significantly increased the time spent in containment zones and reduced time in restricted zones compared to when the virtual fence was deactivated. Concurrently, behavioral metrics mirrored these findings, with cows adjusting their daily travel distances, exploration area, and cumulative activity counts in response to the allocation of areas with different virtual fence configurations. Hypothesis 2 was also supported by the results, with a decrease in cueing events over time and increased reliance with animals on audio cueing to avert receiving the mild electric pulse. These outcomes underscore the rapid learning capabilities of groups of nursing cows in responding to virtual fence boundaries

Chapter 3 - Distinctive Dryland Soil Carbon Transformations

This chapter focuses on soil carbon dynamics, the soil carbon is inextricably linked with the ecosystem carbon dynamics which differ in significant ways in arid rangelands compared to more humid regions. The objectives of the chapter are to provide insight into carbon dynamics in semiarid to arid rangelands, highlight contrasts between key processes in dryland compared to more humid regions, and identify management practices to adapt to and sustain the natural resource base in rangeland systems. Despite mounting evidence that biocrusts are critical for maintaining environmental stability of arid rangelands, local and regional estimates of their contribution to rangeland carbon stocks and fluxes are sparse and have large uncertainties. Soil aggregation is also driven by biological mechanisms and dryland plants and microbes can indirectly contribute to carbon cycling due to their essential role in soil aggregate stability

Adapting to climate change on desert rangelands: A multi-site comparison of grazing behavior plasticity of heritage and improved beef cattle

Climate change is amplifying the spatiotemporal heterogeneity of desert rangeland forages through its impact on precipitation variability. Foraging behavior plasticity (an animal's ability to alter its behavior to cope with environmental variation) could be a key trait for climate adaptation of beef cattle in arid environments. We analyzed GPS-derived movement and activity data of Criollo and commercial beef cattle from eight studies conducted at sites in North and South America to determine whether seasonal and year-to-year behavior plasticity varied significantly between breeds. We calculated dormant/brown season or driest year percent change in foraging behavior relative to growing/green season or wettest year. Compared to commercial beef breeds, Criollo cattle exhibited significantly greater seasonal adjustment in daily distance traveled (20% increase vs. 2% decrease, P ≤ 0.02) and daily grazing effort (25% vs. 1.5% increase, P = 0.01) during the dormant/brown vs. growing/green season. Increase in daily area explored during the dormant/brown season was almost three times greater in Criollo vs. commercial beef cattle (P = 0.09). Seasonal adjustment in daily time spent grazing was similar for Criollo and commercial beef breeds. Increase in daily area explored during the dormant/brown season of dry vs. wet years was three times greater for Criollo vs. commercial beef breeds (P = 0.03). Criollo cattle tended (P = 0.09) to exhibit greater behavior adjustment than commercial beef counterparts in daily distance traveled during the dormant/brown season of dry vs. wet years (22% vs. 4% increase, respectively). No breed differences in adjustment of time spent grazing (P = 0.36) or grazing effort (P = 0.20) during dormant/brown season of dry vs. wet years were observed. Dry vs. wet year grazing behavior adjustments during the growing/green season were similar for both breeds. Grazing behavior plasticity observed in Criollo cows could be a critical trait for desert beef herds in the face of increasingly variable rainfall patterns occurring as a result of climate change.EEA CatamarcaFil: Cibils, Andrés Francisco. USDA ARS Oklahoma and Central Plains Agricultural Research Center. USDA Southern Plains Climate Hub; Estados UnidosFil: Estell, Richard E. United States Department of Agriculture. Agricultural Research Service. Jornada Experimental Range; Estados UnidosFil: Spiegal, Sheri. United States Department of Agriculture. Agricultural Research Service. Jornada Experimental Range; Estados UnidosFil: Nyamuryekung'e, Shelemia. New Mexico State University. Department of Animal and Range Sciences; Estados UnidosFil: McIntosh, Matthew. United States Department of Agriculture. Agricultural Research Service. Jornada Experimental Range; Estados UnidosFil: Duni, Danielle M. New Mexico State University. Department of Animal and Range Sciences; Estados UnidosFil: Herrera Conegliano, Oscar Ariel. Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria (INTA). Estación Experimental Agropecuaria Catamarca; ArgentinaFil: Rodriguez Almeida, Felipe A. Universidad Autónoma de Chihuahua. Facultad de Zootecnia y Ecología; MéxicoFil: Roacho Estrada, Octavio. Universidad Autónoma de Chihuahua. Facultad de Zootecnia y Ecología; MéxicoFil: Blanco, Lisandro Javier. Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria (INTA). Estación Experimental Agropecuaria La Rioja; ArgentinaFil: Duniway, Michael C. Southwest Biological Science Center. US Geological Survey; Estados UnidosFil: Utsumi, Santiago A. New Mexico State University. Department of Animal and Range Sciences; Estados UnidosFil: Gonzalez, Alfredo L. United States Department of Agriculture. Agricultural Research Service. Jornada Experimental Range; Estados Unido