PSIV-5 Characterization of the Fecal Bacterial Communities of Grass-fed and Grain-fed Bison Heifers

In comparison to the rumen, the bacterial communities of the hindgut have remained largely unexplored in ruminants. They not only strongly influence host health, but also efficiency, notably by continuing fermentation of feed that escaped foregut digestion. In non-domesticated ruminants, such as the North American bison, they are thought to contribute to the higher efficiency of their host on feed of poor quality. To gain further insight on this gut microbial ecosystem, fecal bacterial community composition of bison heifers raised at two locations [Standing Butte (n=17), SD, and Blue Creek (n=17), NE] were investigated. Each animal was sampled once while on pasture, then after 100 days on a grain-based diet. Data generated from Illumina MiSeq (2×300) sequencing of PCR amplicons targeting the V1-V3 region of the 16S rRNA gene were analyzed using a combination of custom Perl scripts, and publicly available software (Mothur v.1.40, RDP classifier and NCBI Blast). A total of 26,379 and 13,294 species-level operational taxonomic units (OTUs) were identified from Standing Butte and Blue Creek samples, respectively, with 446 and 281 OTUs shared between diets at each respective location. Further analysis of the most highly represented OTUs from each ranch revealed that the abundance of six OTUs differed between diets in Standing Butte heifers compared to nine OTUs in Blue Creek heifers (Kruskal-Wallis sum-rank test; P < 0.05). These included OTUs SD_Bb-00727 (µgrass = < 0.01% vs µgrain = 13.13%) and SD_Bb-00728 (µgrass = 5.62% vs µgrain = < 0.01%) from the Standing Butte samples, as well as OTUs SD_Bb-00730 (µgrass = 0.01% vs µgrain = 10.21%) and SD_Bb-00745 (µgrass = < 0.01% vs µgrain = 3.5%) from the Blue Creek samples. Together, these results indicate that the composition of hindgut bacterial communities of the North American bison are greatly affected by changes in diet.

206 Characterization of the Rumen Bacterial Communities of Grass-fed and Grain-fed Bison Heifers

The ruminal bacterial environment of the North American bison has remained largely unexplored. The current study aimed to compare the diversity and composition of ruminal bacteria between bison heifers on two different diets. Stomach tubing was used to collect rumen fluid from lifetime grass-fed heifers between 27 and 30 months of age distributed between 2 ranches located in Standing-Butte (n = 17), SD, and Blue-Creek (n = 17), NE, respectively. A second set of samples was collected after the same individuals had been transitioned to a grain-based diet for 100 days. Bacterial composition was determined by Illumina MiSeq (2×300) sequencing of PCR amplicons generated from the V1-V3 region of the 16S rRNA gene. Next-Generation Sequence data was analyzed using a combination of custom Perl scripts, and publicly available software (Mothur v.1.40, RDP classifier and NCBI Blast). Taxonomic analysis identified Bacteroidetes and Firmicutes as the dominant phyla across all samples analyzed. A total of 61,746 and 68,437 species-level Operational Taxonomic Units (OTUs) were identified in grass-fed heifers, in contrast to 15,003 and 23,458 OTUs that were found in the same animals on a grain-based diet. A comparative analysis using the most abundant OTUs from each group was conducted using the Kruskal-Wallis sum-rank test. In the Standing Butte heifers, 24 abundant OTUs were found to be different between diets (P < 0.05), including BP_31-10446 (µ grass = 0.3% vs µ grain = 3.2%) and BP_25-00404 (µ grass = 0.4% vs µ grain = 4.1%). In the Blue Creek heifers, 20 of the most abundant OTUs were found to be different between diets (P < 0.05), including BP_18-00869 (µ grass = 1.4% vs µ grain = 0.4%) and BCRC_1-00422 (µ grass = 0.07% vs µ grain = 4.4%). Together, these results indicate that the rumen of the North American bison harbors highly diverse bacterial communities that undergo dramatic changes in response to changes in diet.

Revision of the New World genus Enderleiniella Becker, 1912 (Diptera, Chloropidae)

The genus Enderleiniella Becker, 1912 is revised. The genus is distinguished on the basis of a somewhat flattened head with the inner vertical setae located anteromedially to the outer vertical setae, three lightly incised lines on the scutum, trapezoidal or rectangular scutellum with marginal setae borne on tubercles, reduced alula and anal angle of the wing, and the structure of the male genitalia. The genus contains eleven species in the northern Neotropical and southern Nearctic Regions: E. caeruleasp. nov. (type locality: Blue Creek, Belize); E. crypticasp. nov. (type locality: 24 km W Piedras Blancas, Costa Rica); E. flavidasp. nov. (type locality: Emerald Pool, Dominica); E. longiventris (Enderlein, 1911) (type species; type locality: Costa Rica); E. maculatasp. nov. (type locality: Xilitla, San Luis Potosi, Mexico); E. marshallisp. nov. (type locality: Guanacaste, Costa Rica); E. mayasp. nov. (type locality: Las Escobas, Guatemala); E. punctatasp. nov. (type locality: Potrerillo, Bolivia); E. tripunctata (Becker, 1916) (type locality: San Mateo, Costa Rica); E. tumescenssp. nov. (type locality: San Esteban, Venezuela); and E. wheelerisp. nov. (type locality: Turrialba, Costa Rica).

Geoarchaeology and Bayesian Statistical Modeling of Radiocarbon Dates from 40CH171, a Multicomponent Shell-Bearing Site in Cheatham County, Tennessee

Using multiple lines of evidence from 40CH171, including opportunistic sampling, geoarchaeology analysis, and Bayesian radiocarbon modeling, this chapter constructs a site formation process narrative based on fieldwork conducted from 2009 to 2010 by the University of Tennessee, Middle Tennessee State University, and the Tennessee Division of Archaeology. This chapter argues that the shell-bearing strata were deposited relatively close to an active channel of the Cumberland River and/or Blue Creek during the Middle Holocene (ca. 7170–6500 cal BP). This was followed by an abrupt shift to sandier sediments, indicating that deposition after the termination of the shell-bearing deposits at the Middle Archaic/Late Archaic boundary took place in the context of decreasing distance from the site to the Cumberland River and Blue Creek.

Habitat use, activity patterns and human interactions with jaguars Panthera onca in southern Belize

Parts of southern Belize are designated as a corridor for the jaguar Panthera onca but the Maya region remains understudied. We therefore studied jaguar habitat use, activity patterns, and interactions with people in Blue Creek, a Maya village in a human-dominated tropical landscape in southern Belize. We used camera traps to detect jaguar presence, and interviews to assess local people's attitudes to and perceptions of jaguars. We recorded 28 independent photographic events during 1,200 camera-trap nights (i.e. a relative abundance index of 2.3 jaguars per 100 trap days). Seven individual jaguars were identified. Jaguars preferred lowland broad-leaf tropical forest and were detected more often during daylight, in contrast to findings from previous studies. Attitudes towards jaguars were largely positive: 88% of respondents (n = 48) did not fear jaguars living around the village, and 81% understood the positive effect that jaguars have on the ecosystem. Although 92% of respondents reported seeing a jaguar within the previous 2 years, attacks on livestock in the village were rare, with only two occurrences in the previous 3 years. Ecotourism has grown rapidly in Belize in recent years, and Blue Creek is home to several natural tourist attractions and an eco-lodge that brings tourists, school groups, and researchers to the village. Ecotourism has provided an economic incentive for village investment in conservation, and 94% of respondents stated that preservation of wildlife, including jaguars, was beneficial to their well-being.

Visualizing Maya Agriculture along the Rio Hondo

Chapter 5 draws on a broad range of evidence to develop a view of what the agricultural landscape of the Rio Hondo basin, now on the Belize-Mexican border, must have looked like in the heavily populated Classic era landscape. The authors use Contact period Spanish accounts to describe trade in agricultural products–especially cacao, but also achiote and vanilla–that were particularly prized from this region. Ten years of research on the drained field agricultural systems, such as the Chan Cahal fields near Blue Creek, identified the timespan for commercial level production, and computer assisted analysis of aerial and satellite photographs are beginning to document the massive scale of this enterprise.