PhD from University of Minnesota
Graduate fields: Animal Science, Nutrition
Area(s) of interest: management of highly productive sheep, growth and development, ruminant nutrition, skeletal growth
Teaching:
Professional Organizations:
- American Society of Animal Science
- British Society of Animal Science
- Council for Agricultural Science and Technology
- American Sheep Industry Association
- Dairy Sheep Association of North America
- Alpha Zeta
- Gamma Sigma Delta
- Phi Kappa Phi
Email:
mlt2@cornell.edu
Website(s): www.sheep.cornell.edu
Current Research:
Research is conducted on management, health, nutrition, and genetics of highly productive sheep.
About 500 ewes in purebred Dorset and Finnsheep flocks and a commercial Finnsheep x Dorset flock are managed under the Cornell STAR system to provide animals to evaluate strategies to make efficient use of labor and to better control health problems. Selection in the Dorset and Finnsheep flocks is for aseasonality and fertility. In recent years, the whole flock has been used to evaluate vaccines against Johne’s Disease, lamb pneumonia and abomasal hemorrhage.
A long-term genetic experiment is being conducted in collaboration with Dr. Raluca Mateescu at Oklahoma State University to identify genetic markers associated with out-of-season and accelerated lambing.
Experiments are underway to document a new approach for balancing ruminant diets based upon proportions of nonstructural carbohydrates and fermentable NDF, rather than limiting animal production to a predefined intake of energy. These are based upon observations of D.E. Hogue over the past 20 years about the effect of indigestible NDF and digestible NDF on feed intake (Figure 1).
A new initiative will examine selection and management for low-input lambing. This research and extension project addresses the labor, stress and expense of intensive management associated with lambing time, a major limitation for expansion of sheep farming in the United States.
The Cornell Sheep Program web site (http://www.sheep.cornell.edu/) provides access to research results and management and marketing information for farmers in New York, the Northeast, and the world. It includes information about free software for formulating diets, budgeting flocks, managing ewe data, and calculating feeder and bonus lamb profitability.
Recent Publications:
de la Rosa, C., D.E. Hogue, and M.L. Thonney. 1997. Vaccination schedules to raise antibody concentrations against -toxin of Clostridium perfringens in ewes and their triplet lambs. J. Anim. Sci. 75:2328-2334.
Lee, G.H.Y., M.L. Thonney, and H.M. Richards. 1998. Rapid communication: Partial clone and sequence of an ovine glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate dehydrogenase cDNA. J. Anim. Sci. 76:917-917.
Nelson, K.E., M.L. Thonney, T.K. Woolston, S.H. Zinder, and A.N. Pell. 1998. Phenotypic and phylogenetic characterization of ruminal tannin-tolerant bacteria. Applied and Environmental Microbiology 64:3824-3830
Mateescu, R.G. and M.L. Thonney. 2002. Gene expression in sexually dimorphic muscles in sheep. J. Anim. Sci. 80:1879-1887.
Arcuri, P.B., M.L. Thonney, P. Schofield and A.N. Pell. 2003. Polyethylene glycol and polyvinylpyrrolidone effects on bacterial rRNA extraction and hybridization from cells exposed to tannins. Brazilian Journal of Agricultural Research (Pesquisa Agropecuía Brasileira) 38:1073-1081.
Thonney, M. L. 2003. Letter to the Editor: Consideration of fat thickness in models to predict beef carcass cutability. J. Anim. Sci. 81:2103-2105.
Dabiri, N. and M. L. Thonney. 2004. Source and level of supplemental protein for growing lambs. J. Anim. Sci. 82:3237-3244.
Thonney, M. L. 2004. Lamb: U.S. Marketing. Page 575-577 in Encyclopedia of Animal Science. W. G. Pond and A. W. Bell, eds. Marcel Dekker, New York.
Thonney, M. L. 2004. Body composition: Breed and species effects. Page 155-158 in Encyclopedia of Animal Science. W. G. Pond and A. W. Bell, eds. Marcel Dekker, New York.
Abdelsamei, A. H., D. G. Fox, L. O. Tedeschi, M. L. Thonney, D. J. Ketchen, and J. R. Stouffer. 2005. The effect of milk intake on forage intake and growth of nursing calves. J. Anim. Sci. 83:940-947.
Mateescu, R. G. and M. L. Thonney. 2005. Effect of testosterone on insulin-like growth factor-I, androgen receptor, and myostatin gene expression in splenius and semitendinosus muscles in sheep. J. Anim. Sci. 83:803-809.
Thonney, M. L. Sheep reproduction: accelerated lambing systems. In: Encyclopedia of Animal Science, edited by W. G. Pond and A. W. Bell, New York:Marcel Dekker, 2007, p. 1-4.
Nedrow, A. J., J. Gavalchin, M. C. Smith, S. M. Stehman, J. K. Maul, S. P. McDonough, and M. L. Thonney. 2007. Antibody and skin-test responses of sheep vaccinated against Johne's disease. Vet. Immunol. Immunopathol. 116:109-112.
Thonney, M. L., M. C. Smith, R. G. Mateescu, and C. Heuer. 2008. Vaccination of ewes and lambs against parainfluenza3 to prevent lamb pneumonia. Small Ruminant Research 74 (1-3):30-36, 2008.
Mateescu, R. G., A. K. Lunsford, and M. L. Thonney. 2009. Association between Melatonin Receptor 1A Gene Polymorphism and Reproductive Performance in Dorset Ewes. J. Anim. Sci. 87:2485-2488.
Staiger, E. A., M. L. Thonney, J. W. Buchanan, E. R. Rogers, P. A. Oltenacu, and R. G. Mateescu. 2010. Effect of prolactin, -lactoglobulin, and -casein genotype on milk yield in East Friesian sheep. J. Dairy Sci. 93:1736-1742.
Mateescu, R. G. and M. L. Thonney. 2010. Genetic mapping of quantitative trait loci for aseasonal reproduction in sheep. Animal Genetics doi:10.1111/j.1365-2052.2010.02023.x .
Mateescu, R. G. and M. L. Thonney. 2010. Genetic mapping of quantitative trait loci for milk production in sheep. Animal Genetics doi:10.1111/j.1365-2052.2010.02045.x .