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Mercury levels in pet food cause for concern, fish-based foods main culprit

New study by University scientists also shows inaccurate ingredient labeling

Mike Wolterbeek

Sarrah Dunham-Cheatham, assistant research professor with the College's Experiment Station and lead author of the paper, looks through bags of samples. Photo by Robert Moore.

While much of the cat and dog food tested in a years-long study had concentrations of mercury that are high for chronic consumption, according to a new study published in the Elsevier journal Science of the Total Environment, the majority of the pet foods tested had mercury concentrations below suggested levels. The study also discovered a high number of inaccuracies in labeling of ingredients, indicating a need for an established and enforced limit for contaminants in pet foods based on what is safe for chronic consumption, as well as policy and regulation to ensure accurate ingredient labeling in pet foods.

Based on the package ingredient labels, tuna was listed as the first ingredient for both products, with other seafood-based ingredients, such as salmon or crab, listed as top ingredients, though no single ingredient is the main source of mercury in commercial pet foods, according to the study.

4-H offering summer camps to keep youth engaged and learning

Extension continues tradition of offering overnight and day camps

Claudene Wharton

Youth at the Nevada State 4-H Camp enjoy a sunset on the shores of Lake Tahoe. Photo by Robert Moore.

In addition to the many ongoing local 4-H club and youth activities that are happening across the state, the Nevada 4-H Youth Development Program will also offer some summer day camps and overnight camps for youth this year, following a Nevada tradition that goes back 80 years.

Carrie Stark, Nevada 4-H program director with Extension said that many of the camp organizers are still finalizing details, and that additional 4-H camp and summer activities may still be added. She advises parents to check with their local Extension offices for the most up-to-date 4-H camp and summer opportunities. Here are some of the 4-H day camps and overnight camps already in the works.

Day camps

• A.D. Guy Summer Day Camp, Clark County: June 14 – July 23
• 4-H Summer Adventures, Clark County: June 7 – 11, June 14 – 18 and June 28 – July 2
• Leading the Mucc Day Camp, Humboldt County: June 15 – 17 and July 20 – 22
• Trailblazers Day Camp, Humboldt County: June 22 – 25 and July 27 – 30
• 4-H Washoe County Day Camp for Youth at the Women and Children’s Center of the Sierra: June and July

Overnight camps

• Mineral County / Native American Reservations 4-H Camp: July 8 – 11
• Northern Nevada 4-H Camp: July 11 – 17
• Central Nevada 4-H Camp: July 18 – 24
• Health Rocks! 4-H Camp: July 5 – 8

Students learn to improve and manage rangeland resources around the world

Animal & Rangeland Science Graduate Program teaches animal science and the ecology, management and restoration of rangeland

Tiffany Kozsan

The Graduate Program in Animal & Rangeland Science offers both masters and doctoral degrees in animal science and the ecology, management and restoration of rangeland and ecosystems. Photo by Robert Moore.

Rangelands, defined as areas in which lack of moisture limits crop and/or pasture production during part of the year, make up over 50% of Nevada’s land and about 41% of land around the globe. Approximately one-third of the world’s population depends on resources provided by rangelands. However, rangelands are understudied for issues such as climate change compared to other ecosystems. To prepare students to both study and manage these large land areas, our College offers a Graduate Program in Animal & Rangeland Science.

The program, taught through the Department of Agriculture, Veterinary & Rangeland Sciences, launched in 2018 and offers both master and doctorate degrees in the study of animal science and the ecology, management and restoration of rangeland ecosystems. Students in the program learn to address critical needs in animal science and rangeland ecology and management.

Students also receive hands-on training to use cutting-edge technology to better understand their disciplinary focus, such as food security screening methods, livestock nutrition crop phenotyping, artificial-intelligence-guided statistical analyses, cloud computing, and remote-sensing technologies including belowground systems and ground and airborne drone mounted systems.

Graduates of the program have found careers in many different federal and nongovernmental agencies, including the Nature Conservancy, Bureau of Land Management, U.S. Forest Service, Natural Resources Conservation Service, U.S. Geological Survey and even NASA, where they’re conducting tropical and global-level studies using remote sensing. Other graduates have become ranch managers or managers of large nature reserves.

Online Cattlemen’s Update reaches new audiences

Latest market, production and research information for producers available online now

Hannah Alfaro

This year’s Cattlemen’s update, offered via Zoom, gathered audiences from outside of Nevada. Photo by Robert Moore.

Professor and Extension Educator in Mineral County Staci Emm coordinates the program.

This year’s Cattlemen’s Update, hosted by our University, was conducted online earlier this year due to ongoing health restrictions. Participants received current research-based information about issues that may affect the efficiency, productivity, profitability and sustainability of their businesses and Nevada’s cattle industry. The sessions were also recorded and are now available online.

The event, led by our College and its Experiment Station and Extension units, offered sessions on animal health, livestock processing and slaughter, economic overview of agriculture in Nevada, and rangelands and rangeland management. Throughout the event, the sessions had audiences of 80 to 100 people via Zoom.

Since the event was held online, agriculture producers were able to join the various presentations and sessions from more locations than previous years.

Assistant professor studies water cycle in ecosystems and across landscapes

Scott Allen joins the Department of Natural Resources & Environmental Science

Hannah Alfaro

Scott Allen is studying how the water cycle impacts the ecosystem. Photo by Robert Moore.

Scott Allen has joined the College as an assistant professor who studies ecohydrology, stable-isotope hydrology and physiological ecology in the Department of Natural Resources & Environmental Science.

In the upcoming year, Allen is teaching two new courses, one of which is focused on watershed hydrology and management while the other is focused on using stable isotope ratios – atom-level chemical signatures in water, geological materials, and biological materials – to study ecological and environmental systems.

In addition to teaching these classes, he also conducts research on the processes that underlie interactions between ecosystems and the water cycle. As an ecohydrologist, Allen specializes in studying how plants in ecosystems impact the water cycle, and how water and associated physical processes structure the ecosystems themselves. Allen’s research addresses when and where plants take up water; how snowmelt and rainfall travel differently through ecosystems, hillslopes and catchments; and how ecosystem disturbances and physiological stressors affect terrestrial water and carbon balances. This research, performed as part of the College’s Experiment Station unit, helps create an understanding of how ecosystems are affected by changes to their physical environment.