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Full-Text Articles in Life Sciences

Anticipatory Behaviors And Vocal Expression In A Group Of Captive African Elephants (Loxodonta Africana), Matthew B. Rios May 2024

Anticipatory Behaviors And Vocal Expression In A Group Of Captive African Elephants (Loxodonta Africana), Matthew B. Rios

Theses and Dissertations

Animal vocalizations convey motivational and affective properties. Using passive acoustic monitoring and behavioral observations, this study investigated the relationship between vocal communication and anticipatory behaviors within a group of captive African elephants (Loxodonta africana) to inquire whether bioacoustic monitoring has the potential to be used for assessing captive animal welfare.


Deep Transfer Learning-Based Bird Species Classification Using Mel Spectrogram Images, Mrinal Kanti Baowaly, Bisnu Chandra Sarkar, Md.Abul Ala Walid, Md. Martuza Ahamad, Bikash Chandra Singh, Eduardo Silva Alvarado, Imran Ashraf, Md. Abdus Samad Jan 2024

Deep Transfer Learning-Based Bird Species Classification Using Mel Spectrogram Images, Mrinal Kanti Baowaly, Bisnu Chandra Sarkar, Md.Abul Ala Walid, Md. Martuza Ahamad, Bikash Chandra Singh, Eduardo Silva Alvarado, Imran Ashraf, Md. Abdus Samad

School of Cybersecurity Faculty Publications

The classification of bird species is of significant importance in the field of ornithology, as it plays an important role in assessing and monitoring environmental dynamics, including habitat modifications, migratory behaviors, levels of pollution, and disease occurrences. Traditional methods of bird classification, such as visual identification, were time-intensive and required a high level of expertise. However, audio-based bird species classification is a promising approach that can be used to automate bird species identification. This study aims to establish an audio-based bird species classification system for 264 Eastern African bird species employing modified deep transfer learning. In particular, the pre-trained EfficientNet …


Who Is The Good Boy/Girl? Perspectives Of French Handlers In Aai On The Selection Of Their Dogs, Alice Mignot, Gérard Leboucher, Véronique J. Servais, Karelle De Luca Aug 2023

Who Is The Good Boy/Girl? Perspectives Of French Handlers In Aai On The Selection Of Their Dogs, Alice Mignot, Gérard Leboucher, Véronique J. Servais, Karelle De Luca

People and Animals: The International Journal of Research and Practice

Animal-assisted interventions (AAI) are well implemented in various health care settings; however, there is little data on the characteristics of the mediation dogs and their selection, which can influence the well-being of both the dogs and the beneficiaries. This study aims to gain a better understanding of the characteristics of French mediation dogs and the context in which they are selected to guide future research working on behavioral criteria for mediation dogs and help provide a basis for better selection of dogs in the field. To this end, we interviewed 111 French handlers in AAI, who work with at least …


A Survey Of Captive Wild And Exotic Animal Training Programs In The Eastern United States, Savannah Atchison Apr 2023

A Survey Of Captive Wild And Exotic Animal Training Programs In The Eastern United States, Savannah Atchison

Senior Honors Theses

Methods of positive reinforcement as a successful means for animal training are the result of many years of research into operant conditioning and learning. However, current literature is unclear on the extent to which these methods are utilized in captive wild and exotic animal populations in the United States. Through phone interviews with animal trainers employed at zoos and wildlife rehabilitation centers in the eastern United States, the author determined that these facilities are currently utilizing positive reinforcement training methods which are proving to be a great benefit for all parties involved. They are enabling a variety of voluntary health …


Familiarity And Its Impacts On Male Mate Preference The Sailfin Molly, Poecilia Latipinna, Abigail Doza, Alyssa Back Apr 2022

Familiarity And Its Impacts On Male Mate Preference The Sailfin Molly, Poecilia Latipinna, Abigail Doza, Alyssa Back

Student Symposium

Mating behaviors are an integral part of the life history and ecology of many species. Male mate preferences are an especially understudied area of research. We examined male mate preference for familiar and unfamiliar female fish in the sailfin molly Poecilia latipinna. We hypothesized that males would prefer familiar females as they may have been able to gather additional information concerning the female’s reproductive status. Males were isolated for a minimum of four days and then tested in a choice tank with two females of similar size. After the experiment, each male was randomly assigned to be with one of …


Boxed In: Hinge Closing Performance Of Ornate Box Turtles (Terrapene Ornata), Gina L. Buelow Dec 2021

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 …


Effects Of Early Corticosterone Treatment On Vocal Babbling In Wild Green-Rumped Parrotlets (Forpus Passerinus), Celia Rose Mclean Aug 2021

Effects Of Early Corticosterone Treatment On Vocal Babbling In Wild Green-Rumped Parrotlets (Forpus Passerinus), Celia Rose Mclean

Theses and Dissertations

The stress axis of the endocrine system allows for animals to respond to environmental stressors in contextually appropriate ways. Elevated levels of the stress hormone corticosterone (CORT) in male songbirds can result in compromised song learning ability. Parrots form a sister group to songbirds, but it is unknown whether CORT affects vocal development in parrots. The goal of this study was to assess the effects of CORT supplements in green-rumped parrotlets (Forpus passerinus), a free-ranging parrot species in Venezuela. Bouts of vocal babbling were extracted from nest box videos and analyzed. CORT supplementation resulted in differences in babbling …


Is The Dewlap An Honest Signal Of Fighting Ability In The Male Green Anole (Anolis Carolinensis)?, Alexia Hughes May 2021

Is The Dewlap An Honest Signal Of Fighting Ability In The Male Green Anole (Anolis Carolinensis)?, Alexia Hughes

Graduate Theses

Signals are morphological or behavioral traits that an individual uses to influence the behavior or actions of another. These signals can be used in male-male competition, in which male secondary sexual traits act as a signal of his fighting ability. Animal signals are considered honest when the signal reliably indicates a specific trait or condition of the individual. The genus Anolis, comprised of over 400 species that occupy the tropics and the southeastern United States, utilize aggressive signaling prior to physical combat. Research on several tropical species of anole indicates that the size of their dewlap can act as an …


Effects Of Varying Heat Indexes On Habitat Utilization And Behavior On Captive Red-Ruffed Lemurs (Varecia Rubra), Jeffrey Gammon Mar 2021

Effects Of Varying Heat Indexes On Habitat Utilization And Behavior On Captive Red-Ruffed Lemurs (Varecia Rubra), Jeffrey Gammon

The Pegasus Review: UCF Undergraduate Research Journal

The two captive red-ruffed lemurs (Varecia rubra) at the Central Florida Zoo experienced a more temperate climate and utilized a differing habitat than they would in their native range, Madagascar. Proper management of the species in captivity is crucial for its long-term survival as they are critically endangered. Over a four month period, heat index temperature, lemur behavior, and habitat utilization data were collected via an instantaneous scan sample. Variables were analyzed to characterize how variations in heat index alter habitat utilization and behavior of the captive lemurs. As the heat index increased, habitat use became more restricted …


Change In The Behaviors And Spatial Use Of Canada Lynx (Lynx Canadensis) Over Time At John Ball Zoo, Hailee Cederquist Jan 2021

Change In The Behaviors And Spatial Use Of Canada Lynx (Lynx Canadensis) Over Time At John Ball Zoo, Hailee Cederquist

Student Summer Scholars Manuscripts

Felines are popular attractions at zoos across the country, even more so when young animals are involved. As such caretakers strive to ensure that their animal’s needs are met, and individuals display healthy behaviors and activity levels in comparison to their wild counterparts (Mcphee & Carlstead, 2010). However, cats, being wide-ranging carnivores, are known to be prone to stereotypical behaviors which can be detrimental to an animal’s health (Clubb & Mason, 2003). At John Ball Zoo in Grand Rapids, Michigan, we observed the behaviors and spatial use of 3 Canada lynx (Lynx canadensis) during the summer of 2020; an adult …


Evaluating Potential Effects Of Solar Power Facilities On Wildlife From An Animal Behavior Perspective, Rachel Y. Chock, Barbara Clucas, Elizabeth K. Peterson, Bradley Blackwell, Daniel T. Blumstein, Kathleen Church, Esteban Fernández-Juricic, Gabriel Francescoli, Alison L. Greggor, Paul Kemp, Gabriela M. Pinho, Peter M. Sanzenbacher, Bruce A. Schulte, Pauline Toni Jan 2021

Evaluating Potential Effects Of Solar Power Facilities On Wildlife From An Animal Behavior Perspective, Rachel Y. Chock, Barbara Clucas, Elizabeth K. Peterson, Bradley Blackwell, Daniel T. Blumstein, Kathleen Church, Esteban Fernández-Juricic, Gabriel Francescoli, Alison L. Greggor, Paul Kemp, Gabriela M. Pinho, Peter M. Sanzenbacher, Bruce A. Schulte, Pauline Toni

United States Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

Solar power is a renewable energy source with great potential to help meet increasing global energy demands and reduce our reliance on fossil fuels. However, research is scarce on how solar facilities affect wildlife. With input from professionals in ecology, conservation, and energy, we conducted a research-prioritization process and identified key questions needed to better understand impacts of solar facilities on wildlife. We focused on animal behavior, which can be used to identify population responses before mortality or other fitness consequences are documented. Behavioral studies can also offer approaches to understand the mechanisms leading to negative interactions (e.g., collision, singeing, …


Surgical Sterilization Impacts On Behavior Of Coyote Pairs, Tyler Leary, Jeffrey T. Schultz, Julie K. Young Jan 2021

Surgical Sterilization Impacts On Behavior Of Coyote Pairs, Tyler Leary, Jeffrey T. Schultz, Julie K. Young

United States Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

Coyotes (Canis latrans) involved in depredation of livestock, an act frequently resulting in human-wildlife conflict, often do so out of necessity for provisioning pups. Surgical sterilization methods such as vasectomy that preserve gonadal hormones have been successful in reducing depredation by free-ranging coyotes while allowing individuals to maintain territoriality and mate fidelity. However, use of these methods remain costly and ineffective for wide-scale use. Given the alternative proposal of using chemical sterilization techniques, we investigated whether the use of hormone-altering sterilization methods impacted behavior of captive coyote pairs (i.e., male-female pair bonds). Our objective was to evaluate behavior …


Thing 1 And Thing 2 Are In A New Zoo: Changes In Behavior Of Amur Tigers Following Introduction To John Ball Zoo, Caitlin Gerke, Faith Hensley Apr 2020

Thing 1 And Thing 2 Are In A New Zoo: Changes In Behavior Of Amur Tigers Following Introduction To John Ball Zoo, Caitlin Gerke, Faith Hensley

Student Scholars Day Posters

Animals alter their behavior in response to changes in their environment such as alterations to their enclosure, social group, or husbandry routine. In 2018, two related, young adult Amur tigers (Panthera tigris altaica) were transferred to the John Ball Zoo (JBZ). The male siblings were given access to a spacious, wooded outdoor enclosure (area = 920 m²). We used Zoomonitor in 2018 and 2019 to conduct focal-animal sampling of the two males. We recorded state behaviors in 30 sec intervals of scan sampling, and all occurrences of event behaviors, both during 30 min sampling sessions. Our study objective …


The Orientation Of Earthworms Is Influenced By Magnetic Fields, Fehi̇me Sevi̇l Yalçin, Şükran Yalçin Özdi̇lek, Ruki̇ye Altaş Jan 2020

The Orientation Of Earthworms Is Influenced By Magnetic Fields, Fehi̇me Sevi̇l Yalçin, Şükran Yalçin Özdi̇lek, Ruki̇ye Altaş

Turkish Journal of Zoology

Earth has a natural magnetic field that many animals use for orientation and navigation. With the development of technology, these natural systems have been exposed to high levels of man-made electromagnetism from the heavy usage of electric devices. This study aims to understand the possible effects of artificial magnetic fields on the behavioral responses of the earthworm, which is used in this study as a model organism in laboratory conditions. The 3 experimental groups, each composed of 20 earthworms, were exposed to 190?520 ?T magnetic fields using a 1.5 V current for 1-h durations in a wire-wrapped vivarium. The experimental …


Ecological And Evolutionary Dynamics Of Elephant Rewilding, Lysanne Snijders Jan 2020

Ecological And Evolutionary Dynamics Of Elephant Rewilding, Lysanne Snijders

Animal Sentience

Baker & Winkler make a thought-provoking contribution to the discussion of what role captive animals could play in nature conservation and how we could get there through rewilding. There certainly is potential for captive Asian elephants, Elephas maximus, to become targets of conservation efforts, but there are also many questions: (1) How much do (behavioral) traits of captive-origin animals differ from their free conspecifics? (2) What predicts the likelihood and strength of social reintegration of captive animals into free populations? (3) How much of an Asian elephant’s functional role in the environment can captive animals still fulfill and how …


A Troop, A Raft, A Bed, Hanna Jane Guendel Jan 2020

A Troop, A Raft, A Bed, Hanna Jane Guendel

Senior Projects Spring 2020

A Troop, a Raft, a Bed tells the interwoven fictional stories of three major animals (the mountain gorilla, the Adélie penguin, and the American eel) and four transitional animals (the white stork, the humpback whale, the common octopus, and the great white shark). The stories are told from the animals' perspectives, and are written with language that considers each animal's unique intelligence, mind, and behavior. These stories seek to communicate how animals around the world may be experiencing the various effects of climate change and global warming.


Investigating Crayfish (Orconectes Rusticus) Aggression And How It Varies With Resource Availability, Allie Smith, Rebecca Lipster Apr 2019

Investigating Crayfish (Orconectes Rusticus) Aggression And How It Varies With Resource Availability, Allie Smith, Rebecca Lipster

Student Symposium

Animals that express agonistic behavior toward one another are prone to recognizing hierarchical status among individuals. Recognizing status has proven to be evolutionarily advantageous for crayfish (Orconectes rusticus) because it allows dominant individuals to maximize resources and permits subordinate individuals to steer clear of potentially costly battles. More specifically, two crayfish experiencing aggression can generally determine who the dominant and subordinate individuals are in a fight. A higher social status within a social hierarchy can allow for increased access to differing resources, such as food, mates, and shelter. In this experiment, we want to see if limiting resources will affect …


Applied Cognition Research To Improve Sheep Welfare, Kristina Horback Jan 2019

Applied Cognition Research To Improve Sheep Welfare, Kristina Horback

Animal Sentience

If a change is going to occur in the care and management of domestic sheep, there needs to be a collaborative effort across many disciplines. This review by Marino & Merskin of the literature on cognitive processing in domestic sheep is limited by the inherent bias of the authors, including the impracticable goal of eliminating sheep production. Animal welfare concerns about the management of commercial sheep are valid; however, in order to make a difference, we need to develop an application for this knowledge about cognitive abilities in sheep.


The Population Ecology And Behavior Of The Cave Salamander, Eurycea Lucifuga (Rafinesque, 1822)., Joseph Gavin Bradley Aug 2018

The Population Ecology And Behavior Of The Cave Salamander, Eurycea Lucifuga (Rafinesque, 1822)., Joseph Gavin Bradley

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The Cave Salamander, Eurycea lucifuga (Rafinesque, 1822), is a little-known species, yet a common inhabitant of caves in the eastern United States. Salamanders are often important components of ecological communities and ecosystems, influencing critical processes such as nutrient cycling and community composition through their predation on invertebrates. Cave-dwelling salamanders such as E. lucifuga may thus appreciably influence the relatively simple ecosystems and communities of caves. Any such influence may be particularly important because these habitats and the organisms that reside in them are often of conservation concern. I used non-invasive methods to study the demographics, movements, and habitat selection of …


Ms Environmental Biology Capstone Project, Taylor Readyhough Jan 2018

Ms Environmental Biology Capstone Project, Taylor Readyhough

Regis University Student Publications (comprehensive collection)

Life in a zoo brings a score of stressors into the lives of captive animals, including artificial light, crowds of visitors, and increased noise levels. Stress especially impacts captive birds, and continued exposure to these stressors can negatively affect birds’ reproductive success and overall well-being. Staff at the Denver Zoo noticed increased aggression between a male and female pair of great Indian hornbills during the winter of 2016. This behavioral shift coincided with Zoo Lights, a holiday event that results in the hornbills’ exhibit remaining open to the public for approximately four extra hours through the entire month of December. …


A Study Of The Urban Red Fox (Vulpes Vulpes) Population In Baton Rouge, Louisiana Using Social Media, Ahsennur Soysal Nov 2017

A Study Of The Urban Red Fox (Vulpes Vulpes) Population In Baton Rouge, Louisiana Using Social Media, Ahsennur Soysal

LSU Master's Theses

Foxes are timid yet resourceful animals that are integrated into many urban environments. Because they are elusive, collecting information about the number of urban foxes, their diet and spatial distribution, their interactions with the ecological community in their urban habitat, as well as residents’ response to them, is difficult. Involving stakeholders to participate in the data collection on wildlife via citizen science on social media is one way to overcome this complication, while simultaneously engaging residents in the ecology happening around them. Therefore, we used social media as the platform to engage the public to document and map the foxes …


Influence Of Sex And Ambient Temperature On Asian Elephant (Elephas Maximus) Dusting Behavior, Kelly Summers Apr 2017

Influence Of Sex And Ambient Temperature On Asian Elephant (Elephas Maximus) Dusting Behavior, Kelly Summers

Student Symposium

Previous studies indicate that elephant dusting behavior can be promoted by several factors including environmental temperature and social interaction. We hypothesized that (1) if dusting serves as a voluntary thermoregulatory function, then increased ambient temperature would result in increased dusting performance, and (2) if dusting is influenced by social interactions, then male and female elephants will exhibit dusting at similar rates in a group setting. Preliminary data indicated no significant relationship between temperature and the rate of dustings performed. Contrary to our predictions, females exhibited a greater rate of dusting than males in a social environment. The current study reexamines …


Evolutionary Continuity, Anne Benvenuti Jan 2017

Evolutionary Continuity, Anne Benvenuti

Animal Sentience

The principle of evolutionary continuity states that all animal capacities and behaviors exist — with variations in degree — in continuity with other species. Rather than assuming discontinuity, we should ask why any behavior observed in humans would not be found in at least some other sentient animals under similar conditions. In the case of suicide, the more pertinent issue might be the ethical one: our human responsibility for creating conditions under which other animals might deliberately seek to end their own lives.


Do Female Western Mosquitofish, Gambusia Affinis, Prefer Ornaments That Males Lack?, Scott L. Kight, Olga Degtyareva, Heather Fackelman, Ariel Casner Oct 2016

Do Female Western Mosquitofish, Gambusia Affinis, Prefer Ornaments That Males Lack?, Scott L. Kight, Olga Degtyareva, Heather Fackelman, Ariel Casner

Department of Biology Faculty Scholarship and Creative Works

Some species in the family Poeciliidae are known for extravagant male ornaments and courtship behavior (e.g. guppies), but the majority of poeciliids are characterized by coercive male copulation attempts that seem to circumvent female choice. In some lineages with male ornaments, female sensory bias may have preceded the evolution of corresponding male signals. We examined female preferences for colorful ornaments in Western mosquitofish, Gambusia affinis, in which males lack ornamentation and reproduce primarily through coercive mating attempts. We found that females exhibited a positional affinity for males that were artificially ornamented with blue coloration over males that had been …


Provisioning And Its Effects On The Social Interactions Of Tibetan Macaques (Macaca Thibetana) At Mt. Huangshan, China, Brianna I. Schnepel Jan 2015

Provisioning And Its Effects On The Social Interactions Of Tibetan Macaques (Macaca Thibetana) At Mt. Huangshan, China, Brianna I. Schnepel

All Master's Theses

The dispersal patterns of food resources has a significant effect on the composition of primate groups and social interactions within those groups. Humans often alter the dispersal of food. Non-humans often use affiliative behaviors to elicit tolerance or support from other group members. I investigated whether provisioned food resources alter the social interactions and group dynamics of Macaca thibetana. All-occurrence sampling and scan sampling were used for data recorded by camera traps. Trail-cameras were placed at six locations that contain natural and human food resources and recorded 60-second videos. Social behavior and proximity of the monkeys were recorded. I …


Immunocontraception In Wild Horses (Equus Caballus) Extends Reproductive Cycling Beyond The Normal Breeding Season, Cassandra M.V. Nuñez, James S. Adelman, Daniel I. Rubenstein Oct 2010

Immunocontraception In Wild Horses (Equus Caballus) Extends Reproductive Cycling Beyond The Normal Breeding Season, Cassandra M.V. Nuñez, James S. Adelman, Daniel I. Rubenstein

Cassandra M.V. Nuñez

Although the physiological effects of immunocontraceptive treatment with porcine zona pellucida (PZP) have been well studied, little is known about PZP's effects on the scheduling of reproductive cycling. Recent behavioral research has suggested that recipients of PZP extend the receptive breeding period into what is normally the non-breeding season. To determine if this is the case, we compiled foaling data from wild horses (Equus caballus) living on Shackleford Banks, North Carolina for 4 years pre- and 8 years post-contraception management with PZP (pre-contraception, n = 65 births from 45 mares; post-contraception, n = 97 births from 46 mares). Gestation lasts …


Summer Home Range Size Of The Eastern Cascade Mountain Beaver (Aplodontia Rufa Rainieri) In Relation To Availability Of Preferred Food, Robert Julian Stagg Jan 1997

Summer Home Range Size Of The Eastern Cascade Mountain Beaver (Aplodontia Rufa Rainieri) In Relation To Availability Of Preferred Food, Robert Julian Stagg

All Master's Theses

Optimal foraging theories relate food preference to nutrient content and nutrient availability to home range size. After synthesizing these theories, I hypothesized that the availability of preferred food plants influences the home range size of generalist herbivores. I also hypothesized that the availability of preferred foods does not affect weight gain of time-minimizing generalist herbivores, but should affect the weight gain of energy-maximizing generalist herbivores. To test these hypotheses, I studied the home ranges, weights, weight gains, food habits, and habitats of six adult female mountain beavers (Aplodontia rufa) from six separate sites where bracken fern was either …


Rest Site Selection By Radio-Tagged Raccoons, Jay H. Schnell Jan 1969

Rest Site Selection By Radio-Tagged Raccoons, Jay H. Schnell

Journal of the Minnesota Academy of Science

Daytime resting sites and behavior of 14 radio-tagged raccoons were studied from April 18 to November 27, 1965, with types and use of the sites, daytime activity and shifts at the sites, and approach movements previous to resting being analyzed. The radio system pinpointed 173 rest sites, 7 4 per cent in swamps, 17 per cent in hollow trees, and 9 per cent in squirrel or bird nests. Use of the rest sites did not correlate with habitat type or size of the home range or with distances which animals traveled during their active nightly period. Behavioral influences in selection …


Some Factors Affecting The Utilization Of Space By Mice Of The Genus Peromyscus, Howard D. Orr Jan 1957

Some Factors Affecting The Utilization Of Space By Mice Of The Genus Peromyscus, Howard D. Orr

Journal of the Minnesota Academy of Science

No abstract provided.


A Six Year Study Of Big Brown Bat Survival, Harry H. Goehring Jan 1957

A Six Year Study Of Big Brown Bat Survival, Harry H. Goehring

Journal of the Minnesota Academy of Science

No abstract provided.