Building Educator Capacity to Address Animal Agriculture in a Changing Climate

Multi-Regional Approach. Project Support. Project Objectives • Equip Educators –ability & motivation • Provide science-based information • Coordinate state, regional and national levels. Online Course. Outcomes -ability. Outcomes -motivation. Understand worldviews. Meet people where they are. Start with local history. Framing: Focus on audience’s values & concerns. Present new information so it can be heard Science in Action: • Public wants to know how the science applies to their life. • We can point back to the basic science SciComm Lessons Learne

MICROBIAL FUEL CELL OPERATION AND USE WITH ANAEROBIC DIGESTION FOR POWER PRODUCTION FROM DAIRY MANURE

As the world's population approaches seven billion people, it is vital to find methods of livestock production, energy generation, and organic waste utilization that are sustainable for the future. Livestock manure has long been valued as a fertilizer and soil amendment, and more recently as a methane producer for heat and power via anaerobic digestion (AD). Microbial fuel cells (MFC) may offer an additional opportunity to gain value through direct electrical generation with little reduction in the manure?s soil building value, while concurrently reducing the manure's pollution potential. We demonstrate that simple lab-scale MFCs capable of electrical production can be used with dairy manure and the microorganisms needed for electrical generation are endogenously present. The MFCs had an average internal resistance of 136 ohms. The MFC system was operated with various raw manure concentrations (0-100 g/L COD at 20 oC), generating a maximum power density of 138 +- 19 mW/m2 (COD 100 g/L). Power production was proportional to manure strength over this COD range. The MFCs where tested at 20, 37, and 55 oC. Average total Coulombs (C) captured increased from 18.8+-1.3 to 40.5+-2.4 C, from 20 to 37 oC but fell to less than 1.42 C at 55 oC, indicating that the electrochemically active bacteria are possibly inhibited and killed at thermophillic temperatures. Coulombic efficiency also increased from 3.4+-1.2% to 5.8+-1.4% when the temperature was increased from 20 to 37 oC. MFCs were combined with AD. AD bottles were measured for total biogas production and composition during a 45 day period at 37 oC. Operating a MFC before AD did not have a statistically significant impact on the amount of biogas produced. However, the MFC operation did affect the timing and rate of biogas production for some of the samples. Biogas production reached a threshold of 5mL as many as 8 days sooner in the bottles that where first operated in a MFC. The maximum slope of the biogas curves was decreased by 55% from an average of 2.91 to 1.31 mL/day with prior operation in an MFC, indicating that the peak production rate was lower. The effect of AD digestion on the MFC performance was more significant with a 65% decrease in the total Coulombs captured when AD was completed prior to use in a MFC. To compare the two processes, the respective performance of the two processes was determined by Coulombic efficiency and energy captured. The MFCs reached a maximum of 7% Coulombic efficiency while the AD tests were all over 100% (indicating COD destruction was underestimated). Total energy capture for the MFCs was less than 1 Joule while with the AD tests it was 120-220 J. Both these measures indicate that AD is currently the more efficient process at converting biodegradable substrate into energy. However, with further research and development, MFCs show promise if applied in situations that fit their unique benefits, such as operation at temperatures and COD concentrations below that needed for AD. Examples include ambient temperature manure storage ponds and post-digestion substrates.Initiative for Future Agriculture and Food Systems Grant no. 2001-52104-11484 from the USDA Cooperative State Research, Education, and Extension Servic

Red Drum and Spotted Seatrout Live-Release Tournament Mortality and Dispersal

Although catch-and-release fishing tournaments undoubtedly reduce mortality of target species, postrelease mortality and fish stockpiling at release sites remain common concerns related to these tournaments. The impacts of liverelease tournaments on freshwater species have been widely studied. However, research on estuarine sport fishes is lacking even though catch-and-release tournaments targeting these species are prevalent and popular recreational fisheries exist. Therefore, we estimated the post-weigh-in mortality and dispersal of Red Drum Sciaenops ocellatus and Spotted Seatrout Cynoscion nebulosus released from the 2016–2018 Alabama Deep Sea Fishing Rodeo live-weigh-in categories using acoustic telemetry. To concurrently estimate overall post-weigh-in mortality and dispersal, we used a Bayesian multistate model. Overall Red Drum post-weigh-in mortality (median = 6.12%; posterior credible interval [CrI] = 5.67–9.24%) was lower than overall Spotted Seatrout mortality (median = 30.63%; CrI = 26.74–40.00%). These estimates were within reported catch-and-release mortality ranges; however, they were higher than recent estimates for Spotted Seatrout. Within 1 week postrelease, Spotted Seatrout dispersal estimates (median = 87.03%; CrI = 72.96–95.72%) were higher than Red Drum (median = 55.62%; CrI = 42.75–68.10%) or Micropterus spp. in coastal and inland ecosystems. Long-term stockpiling at the release site was also not present; at the end of our 8-week observation period, median dispersal estimates were 94.41% (CrI = 87.15–98.19%) and 98.54% (CrI = 93.68–99.82%) for Red Drum and Spotted Seatrout, respectively. Red Drum fisheries may benefit most from live-release tournaments given that maximum mortality was \u3c10%, but Spotted Seatrout fisheries may also benefit, especially if considerations are made to further reduce tournament mortality. Although we do not know the ratio of tournament mortality to recreational harvest for these species, live-release tournaments may be able to relieve some harvest pressure on heavily exploited inshore marine fisheries and research validating their usefulness should continue

Age Composition and Distribution of Red Drum (Sciaenops ocellatus) in Offshore Waters of the North Central Gulf of Mexico: An Evaluation of a Stock Under a Federal Harvest Moratorium

Because of a lack of fishery- dependent data, assessment of the recovery of fish stocks that undergo the most aggressive form of management, namely harvest moratoriums, remains a challenge. Large schools of red drum (Sclaenops ocellatus) were common along the northern Gulf of Mexico until the late 1980s when increased fishing effort quickly depleted the stock. After 24 years of harvest moratorium on red drum in federal waters, the stock is in need of reassessment; however, fishery dependent data are not available in federal waters and fishery-independent data are limited. We document the distribution, age composition, growth, and condition of red drum in coastal waters of the north central Gulf of Mexico, using data collected from a nearshore, randomized, bottom longline survey. Age composition of the fishery-independent catch indicates low mortality offish age 6 and above and confirms the effectiveness of the federal fishing moratorium. Bottom longline surveys may be a cost-effective method for developing fishery-independent indices for red drum provided additional effort can be added to nearshore waters (\u3c20 m depth). As with most stocks under harvest bans, effective monitoring of the recovery of red drum will require the development of fishery-independent indices. With limited economic incentive to evaluate non-exploited stocks, the most cost-effective approach to developing such monitoring is expansion of existing fishery independent surveys. We examine this possibility for red drum in the Gulf of Mexico and recommend the bottom longline survey conducted by the National Marine Fisheries Service expand effort in nearshore areas to allow for the development of long-term abundance indices for red drum

Animal Agriculture in a Changing Climate Online Course: An Effective Tool for Creating Extension Competency

There is a need to create competency among Extension professionals on the topic of climate change adaptation and mitigation in animal agriculture. The Animal Agriculture in a Changing Climate online course provides an easily accessible, user-friendly, free, and interactive experience for learning science-based information on a national and regional level. The web-based curriculum is proving to be a useful tool and valuable resource for Extension educators in gaining knowledge and being better equipped to inform and influence livestock and poultry producers regarding climate issues

Population Dynamics, Relative Abundance, and Habitat Suitability of Adult Red Drum (Sciaenops ocellatus) in Nearshore Waters of the North-Central Gulf of Mexico

In the Gulf of Mexico, the red drum (Sciaenops ocellatus) is an immensely popular sportfish, yet the Gulf of Mexico stock is currently managed as data-limited in federal waters. The results of the federal stock assessment conducted in 2016 for Gulf of Mexico red drum were not recommended for providing management advice. Consequently, we sought to address data gaps highlighted in the assessment by producing up-to- date overall and sex-specific growth models, standardized indices of relative abundance, and predictions of habitat suitability and by updating estimates of natural mortality. Using a time series for the period of 2006–2018, we assigned ages of 0–36 years to 1178 red drum. A negative binomial generalized linear model including variables for year, depth, surface temperature, dissolved oxygen, and bottom salinity was used to standardize an index of relative abundance. Examination of catch per unit of effort revealed that adult red drum were significantly more abundant in state waters than in federal waters. These findings were explained by habitat suitability models, which were used to identify surface current velocity, surface temperature, and depth as the strongest predictors of relative abundance. The results of our investigation reveal that the adult spawning stock of red drum in the Gulf of Mexico is not fully protected by the catch moratorium in federal waters

Documentation of Atlantic Tarpon (Megalops atlanticus) Space Use and Move Persistence in the Northern Gulf of Mexico Facilitated by Angler Advocates

Atlantic tarpon (Megalops atlanticus, hereafter tarpon) are facing a multitude of stressors and are considered Vulnerable by the IUCN; however, significant gaps remain in our understanding of tarpon space use and movement. From 2018 to 2019, citizen scientists facilitated tagging of 23 tarpon with SPOT tags to examine space use and movement across the northern Gulf of Mexico. Movement-based kernel densities were used to estimate simplified biased random bridge-based utilization distributions and a joint move persistence model was used to estimate a behavioral index for each fish. Tarpon showed consistent east–west movement from the Alabama/Florida border to Louisiana, and utilization distributions were highest in the Mississippi River Delta. Move persistence was highest in Alabama and Mississippi and lowest in Louisiana. Our examination of tarpon space use and movement indicates that Louisiana is a critical, yet understudied, part of their range

Building Capacity within Extension to Address Animal Agriculture in a Changing Climate

The Animal Agriculture in a Changing Climate project was formed to build capacity among Extension professionals and other livestock advisors to address climate change issues. We offer a case study of how a small team can build national capacity for new topics. We used a coordinated multiregional approach to leverage national efforts applied to locally relevant climatology, production systems, and climate issues. Key insights on overcoming challenges centered on (a) engaging audiences with local, historical trends and agricultural impacts, (b) beginning with adaptation, rather than mitigation of climate change, and (c) providing strategies for effectively communicating science during controversy. Program participants found the project valuable and substantially increased their ability and motivation to apply climate science

Regulation of Coronary Blood Flow

The heart is uniquely responsible for providing its own blood supply through the coronary circulation. Regulation of coronary blood flow is quite complex and, after over 100 years of dedicated research, is understood to be dictated through multiple mechanisms that include extravascular compressive forces (tissue pressure), coronary perfusion pressure, myogenic, local metabolic, endothelial as well as neural and hormonal influences. While each of these determinants can have profound influence over myocardial perfusion, largely through effects on end-effector ion channels, these mechanisms collectively modulate coronary vascular resistance and act to ensure that the myocardial requirements for oxygen and substrates are adequately provided by the coronary circulation. The purpose of this series of Comprehensive Physiology is to highlight current knowledge regarding the physiologic regulation of coronary blood flow, with emphasis on functional anatomy and the interplay between the physical and biological determinants of myocardial oxygen delivery. © 2017 American Physiological Society. Compr Physiol 7:321-382, 2017