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Full-Text Articles in Life Sciences
Boxed In: Hinge Closing Performance Of Ornate Box Turtles (Terrapene Ornata), Gina L. Buelow
Boxed In: Hinge Closing Performance Of Ornate Box Turtles (Terrapene Ornata), Gina L. Buelow
MSU Graduate Theses
Turtles are perhaps best known for the bony shells that encase them, a unique morphological trait that provides protection against predators. Many taxa have even evolved the ability to enclose themselves using hinges that can be used to create a seal between the carapace and plastron. I measured the hinge closing force of Ornate Box Turtles (Terrapene ornata) to assess the performance of this unusual yet ecologically important trait. I sampled head-started turtles from Thomson Sand Prairie in the Upper Mississippi River National Wildlife and Fish Refuge and wild turtles collected in northern Oklahoma. To assess the effects of head-starting …
From Psychology To Phylogeny: Bridging Levels Of Analysis In Cultural Evolution, Mason Youngblood
From Psychology To Phylogeny: Bridging Levels Of Analysis In Cultural Evolution, Mason Youngblood
Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects
Cultural evolution, or change in the socially learned behavior of a population over time, is a fascinating phenomenon that is widespread in humans and present in some non-human animals. In this dissertation, I present an array of cultural evolutionary studies that bridge pattern and process in a wide range of research models including music, extremism, and birdsong. The first chapter is an introduction to the field of cultural evolution, including a bibliometric analysis of its structure. The second and third chapters are studies on the cultural dynamics of music sampling traditions in hip-hop and electronic music communities and far-right extremism …
Density Of Free-Roaming Cats Related To Feeding Stations On Hayden Island, Oregon, Olivia Helback, Joe Liebezeit
Density Of Free-Roaming Cats Related To Feeding Stations On Hayden Island, Oregon, Olivia Helback, Joe Liebezeit
University Honors Theses
Free-roaming cats have a devastating impact on wildlife populations with stray/feral cats being the most problematic. In some areas, community members provide these cats with food, water, and shelter often in conjunction with a trap, neuter, return (TNR) program. Hayden Island located north of Portland, Oregon is home to a managed colony of feral and stray cats. Some island residents provide feeding stations for the cats and actively participate in population management. To determine how feeding stations might affect cat spatial distribution, camera traps were placed at 19 different stations in urban and natural areas on Hayden island. Additional annual …
Body States Of Asian Elephants Within And Around Protected Areas In The Salakpra Wildlife Sanctuary, Kanchanaburi, Thailand, Caitlyn Thai
Body States Of Asian Elephants Within And Around Protected Areas In The Salakpra Wildlife Sanctuary, Kanchanaburi, Thailand, Caitlyn Thai
Theses and Dissertations
Researchers are becoming increasingly aware that studying a species’ landscape of fear or, more broadly, their emotional states, can better inform cognitive questions about how animals navigate their environments. Vigilance behaviors are one way to determine how certain species perceive and respond to risky situations. Due to rapid environmental change, large animals such as elephants are experiencing risky encounters with humans more often than ever before. This study aims to investigate Asian elephants’ expressions of body states and how they might regulate their behavior based on perceived environmental risk or change. Specifically, we investigated the behavioral responses of Asian elephants …