COLSA scientists conduct research on a wide array of issues in areas of human and animal health, sustainable food production and nutrition, natural resource and wildlife management, and environmental quality. Learn about the research that’s pushing the scientific frontiers that will help overcome challenges and capture critical opportunities to improve the lives and livelihoods of communities in New Hampshire and beyond.
Please note: This directory launched August 2022 and it is not yet a comprehensive list of research work performed across COLSA. You can find a more complete inventory of research conducted by COLSA researchers on the COLSA FindScholars webpage and on the biography webpages of individual faculty members.
Do you have content that you'd like to publish within this directory? Fill out our Research Spotlight intake form. You can contact Nick Gosling or Sarah Schaier with any questions.
Agriculture, Nutrition, and Food Systems | Resource Category | College of Life Sciences and Agriculture, New Hampshire Agricultural Experiment Station | Resource Category | College of Life Sciences and Agriculture
Research has shown that dairy cows fed legume silages consumed more dry matter (DM) and produced more milk than those receiving grass silages. However, across northeastern U.S. dairies, legumes only contributed to 26% of grazed forage. Research to improve legume persistence while closing knowledge gaps about which legume-grass mixtures are best suitable for producing profitable milk (i.e., higher butterfat and protein) is needed to make organic and conventional dairies in New England more competitive in the long run.
Topic(s): Dairy Science, Farm Management
Agriculture, Nutrition, and Food Systems | Resource Category | College of Life Sciences and Agriculture, Natural Resources and the Environment | Resource Category | College of Life Sciences and Agriculture, New Hampshire Agricultural Experiment Station | Resource Category | College of Life Sciences and Agriculture, Peer Reviewed Journal Articles
In farming, a ‘summer slump’ refers to the periods of the growing season when traditional forage plants—eaten by livestock—don’t grow well or aren’t readily available. Scientists with the New Hampshire Agricultural Experiment Station are helping identify what forage crops could be grown to supplement traditional forages during these seasonal ‘slumps.’
Topic(s): Climate Science, Farm Management, Resilient Agriculture
Funded Proposals, Natural Resources and the Environment | Resource Category | College of Life Sciences and Agriculture, Peer Reviewed Journal Articles
A study from UNH suggests that black bears may provide a buffer to allow gray foxes to coexist with predators like coyotes, who compete with the fox for food and space.
Agriculture, Nutrition, and Food Systems | Resource Category | College of Life Sciences and Agriculture, New Hampshire Agricultural Experiment Station | Resource Category | College of Life Sciences and Agriculture, Peer Reviewed Journal Articles
Until recently, the organic grass-fed (OGF) management systems have had little research directed to identifying best practices for higher milk production. Andre Brito, a scientist with the NH Agricultural Experiment Station and associate professor in the Agriculture, Nutrition and Food Systems department, was one of several Northeast scientists to contribute to a paper in Renewable Agriculture and Food Systems journal that studied management techniques of OGF dairy farmers.
Topic(s): Dairy Science, Farm Management
Agriculture, Nutrition, and Food Systems | Resource Category | College of Life Sciences and Agriculture, Biological Sciences | Resource Category | College of Life Sciences and Agriculture, New Hampshire Agricultural Experiment Station | Resource Category | College of Life Sciences and Agriculture, Peer Reviewed Journal Articles
Aquaculture researchers at the UNH College of Life Sciences & Agriculture are investigating new and innovative methods of sustainable fishing, reducing prevalence of aquatic animal disease, and leveraging the many ecosystem services that marine life can provide.
Topic(s): Ecosystem Services, Sustainable Aquaculture
Agriculture, Nutrition, and Food Systems | Resource Category | College of Life Sciences and Agriculture, Funded Proposals, Peer Reviewed Journal Articles
In a study involving over 8,900 Hispanic/Latino adults, UNH researchers found that greater consumption of short and medium chain saturated fatty acids—primarily from milk and cheese products—was associated with better overall cognitive function.
Topic(s): Food Nutrition
Biological Sciences | Resource Category | College of Life Sciences and Agriculture, New Hampshire Agricultural Experiment Station | Resource Category | College of Life Sciences and Agriculture, Peer Reviewed Journal Articles
New research on the Eastern oyster (Crassostrea virginica) show that both farmed and wild oyster filter nitrogen from the water, processing the element in their shells and soft tissues and helping reducing cases of eutrophication. In a recent paper, scientists showed that oysters and other shellfish can help complement land-based nutrient management practices, such as upgrades to wastewater treatment plants around New Hampshire’s Great Bay estuary to reduce nitrogen output.
Topic(s): Ecosystem Services, Sustainable Aquaculture
Biological Sciences | Resource Category | College of Life Sciences and Agriculture, New Hampshire Agricultural Experiment Station | Resource Category | College of Life Sciences and Agriculture, Peer Reviewed Journal Articles
The bobcat, New Hampshire’s official state wildcat and a critical contributor to the sustainability of the state's forest ecosystem, may be being stressed out by human activity in residential and agricultural areas.
Topic(s): Ecosystem Services, Genetics and Genomics
Agriculture, Nutrition, and Food Systems | Resource Category | College of Life Sciences and Agriculture, New Hampshire Agricultural Experiment Station | Resource Category | College of Life Sciences and Agriculture
With over 700,000 pounds produced and $2.3 million in farm sales, strawberries are an important crop for New Hampshire farmers. But improving the cultivated strawberry through breeding is particularly challenging. The cultivated strawberries has four times as many chromosome sets as humans, animals and most other crops, which significantly increases its genomic complexity. Research to untangle the plant's genetic structure will enable scientists to more quickly and effectively develop cultivated strawberry varieties that help New England farmers be more resilient and successful.
Topic(s): Genetics and Genomics, Resilient Agriculture, Specialty Crops
Biological Sciences | Resource Category | College of Life Sciences and Agriculture, Natural Resources and the Environment | Resource Category | College of Life Sciences and Agriculture, New Hampshire Agricultural Experiment Station | Resource Category | College of Life Sciences and Agriculture, Peer Reviewed Journal Articles
An unintended impact of land-use changes over the past century has been a more than 86 percent decrease in the range of the New England cottontail. Ongoing habitat restoration efforts will help the survival of the New England cottontail, and new research by COLSA researchers finds that these efforts will also benefit at least 12 shrubland-obligate bird species with which the cottontail shares its habitat.
Topic(s): Ecosystem Services, Genetics and Genomics
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