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August 2022

Scarlett Burron's MSc Defence

Due to the growing population and depletion of resources, the demand for economically and environ-mentally sustainable ingredient alternatives has increased. As a result, this thesis sought to investigate the health impacts of supplementing of an alternative plant-based oil, Camelina sativa oil, to the diets of healthy adult dogs and horses to determine whether it is safe for inclusion in commercial feeds formulation for these animals.

MSc Defence Maria Lagounova

Probiotics are a common supplement used in the equine industry despite lack of evidence for their efficacy. Probiotics are often provided to horses receiving antibiotics to protect against adverse effects such as a gut microbiome disturbance that can lead to gastrointestinal diseases. The purpose of this thesis was to evaluate the effect of probiotics in horses receiving concurrent antibiotic treatment. Sixteen horses were used in a four-way crossover design and given either 10 days of antibiotics, 28 days of probiotics, a combination of both, or none.

Jocelyn Lambie MSc Defence

Phenylalanine is an indispensable amino acid for cats and is the precursor for tyrosine, melanin, catecholamines, and thyroid hor-mones. However, a minimum requirement for phenylalanine has not been defined for adult cats. Additionally, phenylalanine is speculated to stimulate the satiety hormone, cholecystokinin, and delay gastric emptying, but this has not been explored in cats.

Emily Croft's MSc Defence

These studies evaluated the effects of metabolizable energy (ME) intake and parity of Angus-Simmental cows during late gestation on cow and calf performance and metabolism. Primiparous (n = 47) and multiparous (n = 109) pregnant Angus-Simmental beef cows were allocated to dietary treatments providing 80 (LME; n = 54), 100 (CME; n = 51) or 120% (HME; n = 51) of their predicted ME requirements 53 days prior to calving. Diets were formulated to meet or exceeded metabolizable protein requirements. After parturition, a common ration was fed.

Abstract Deadline for ABSc-OMAFRA Graduate Student Symposium

Are you doing some cool Animal Biosciences research?  Come share your great work and enthusiasm at the FIRST ANNUAL OMAFRA ABSc Graduate Student SYMPOSIUM! There will be opportunities for 15-minute oral podium presentation, 5-minute oral poster presentations, and posters without presentations. There will be prizes for oral and poster presentations, and opportunities to network with OMAFRA staff, UofG faculty, and your fellow graduate students. 

Audrey Martin's PhD Defence

For decades, animal breeding programs have allowed the dairy industry to select highly productive cows, however, at the same time, reproductive performance has declined. The challenge of selecting fertility-related traits is their low heritability and selection accuracy. Traits that are closer to the biology of the animal, combined with a better understanding of the biological mechanisms and genetic architecture of fertility, could enhance the efficiency of genetic selection.
Retirement celebration

Retirement Celebration for Gail Costigan

Gail’s last day in the office will be Friday August 26, 2022. Effective Monday August 29 she will be on vacation until September 30th. The main office staff would like to invite you to celebrate Gail’s achievements over the years, as well as her upcoming retirement October 1, 2022. The celebration will take place Friday August 26 at 2:30 PM in ANNU 141. We look forward to seeing you there!

Vicki Brisson's MSc Defence

B vitamins are co-enzymes involved in key metabolic reactions, and mathematical models can support the development of their better-defined adequate intake, supply and requirements for dairy cows. The objective of this thesis was to develop empirical models to describe B-vitamin apparent ruminal synthesis and supply to the cow and develop a mechanistic cobalamin sub-model to follow cobalamin (B12) in the rumen of the dairy cow. Both models were developed based on a unique database where B vita-mins were not supplemented, and B-vitamin concentrations were analyzed post-hoc.

CNM SEMINAR: Diet and the gut microbiome of fish

Get ready for the August Installment of the 2022 ‘Virtual’ Nutrition Seminar Series hosted by the Centre for Nutrition Modelling (Animal Biosciences Department)!