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Full-Text Articles in Animal Sciences

Hide And Seek: An Exploration Of Antipredator And Predator Avoidance Mechanisms In Orthopodomyia Signifera In Response To Predation From Toxorhynchites Rutilus, Nathaniel Dahlberg Apr 2023

Hide And Seek: An Exploration Of Antipredator And Predator Avoidance Mechanisms In Orthopodomyia Signifera In Response To Predation From Toxorhynchites Rutilus, Nathaniel Dahlberg

Master's Theses

There have been many observations of larval Orthopodomyia signifera coexisting with the predator Toxorhynchites rutilus. There are three hypotheses that could explain how Or. signifera resists predation from Tx. rutilus. The first hypothesis states that larvae adapt behavioral changes that limit predation. The second hypothesis states thoracic setae serve as a physical defense that prevents Tx. rutilus from grasping Or. signifera. The third hypothesis states Or. signifera possess a chemical defense indicated by aposematic coloration. To test the first hypothesis larval Or. signifera were exposed to conspecific and heterospecific predation cues and their behavior was observed. Both cues …


Intraspecific Aggression Towards Common Bottlenose Dolphin Calves, Northern Gulf Of Mexico, Errol Ronje, Sarah Piwetz, Heidi Whitehead, Keith D. Mullin Jan 2020

Intraspecific Aggression Towards Common Bottlenose Dolphin Calves, Northern Gulf Of Mexico, Errol Ronje, Sarah Piwetz, Heidi Whitehead, Keith D. Mullin

Gulf and Caribbean Research

Infanticide has been widely documented throughout the animal kingdom, and has generally been viewed as an evolved, or adaptive behavior for the perpetrators. Infanticide motivated by increased sexual access to females with calves, or the elimination of potential genetic competition in the form of calf-directed aggression or infanticide, has been proposed for delphinids including killer whales, Indo-Pacific humpback dolphins, Guiana dolphins, and bottlenose dolphins. However, reports of intraspecific aggression towards bottlenose dolphin calves are relatively infrequent, and accounts of confirmed infanticide are rarer still. Reporting instances of intraspecific calf-directed aggression aids researchers to better understand the socio-behavioral context of these …


Bottlenose Dolphin (Tursiops Truncatus) Vocal Responses To Sonar And Spectrally Pink Background Noise, Maria Zapetis May 2019

Bottlenose Dolphin (Tursiops Truncatus) Vocal Responses To Sonar And Spectrally Pink Background Noise, Maria Zapetis

Dissertations

As human populations rise, the level of man-made noise increases globally. Naval sonar and boat traffic are underwater sound sources of particular concern to marine mammal welfare. To better understand the impact of these noise increases on cetaceans, studies can explore animals’ behavioral changes in response to noise. Studies have investigated the ‘dose-response’ relationship between the received sound pressure level of sonar signals and the behavior of cetaceans in the wild, but exposure studies in controlled environments are limited. The studies in this dissertation examined bottlenose dolphin vocal modifications during various experimental noise treatments. Acoustic recordings previously obtained for bottlenose …


The Purr Of The Lionfish: Sound And Behavioral Context Of Wild Lionfish In The Greater Caribbean, Michelle T. Schärer-Umpierre, Carlos Zayas, Richard S. Appeldoorn, Evan Tuohy, Jack C. Olson, Jessica A. Keller, Alejandro Acosta Jan 2019

The Purr Of The Lionfish: Sound And Behavioral Context Of Wild Lionfish In The Greater Caribbean, Michelle T. Schärer-Umpierre, Carlos Zayas, Richard S. Appeldoorn, Evan Tuohy, Jack C. Olson, Jessica A. Keller, Alejandro Acosta

Gulf and Caribbean Research

Passive acoustic technology has become a useful and cost-effective method to collect data with very high temporal resolution that can be used to detect the presence, distribution, and remotely monitor soniferous marine biodiversity. In order to maximize the potential of bioacoustic and soundscape research in the oceans, understanding the association between the different realms of sound sources, species-specific calls and behavioral context of sound production are fundamental. A previously unknown vocalization was associated with a behavioral display of lionfish (Pterois spp.) by recordings with synchronous audio and video at deep coral reefs in both Puerto Rico and the Florida …


Personality In California Sea Lions (Zalophus Californianus) And Harbor Seals (Phoca Vitulina): Methodological Convergence And Species-Specific Emotional Repertoires, Amber De Vere May 2018

Personality In California Sea Lions (Zalophus Californianus) And Harbor Seals (Phoca Vitulina): Methodological Convergence And Species-Specific Emotional Repertoires, Amber De Vere

Dissertations

Despite the wide acceptance of animal personality as a valid area of study, research on marine mammal personality remains remarkably scarce. What literature does exist predominantly focuses on bottlenose dolphins (Frick, 2016; Highfill & Kuczaj, 2007; Kuczaj, Highfill & Byerly, 2012; Lilley, de Vere, Yeatre & Kuczaj, 2018; Moreno, Highfill & Kuczaj, 2017). There is also strong evidence for individual differences in grey seals (Robinson et al., 2015; Twiss & Franklin, 2010; Twiss, Culloch & Pomeroy, 2011; Twiss, Cairns, Culloch, Richards & Pomeroy, 2012), and preliminary research has provided evidence of broad personality factors in pinniped species using behavioral coding …


Description Of A New Sound Produced By Nassau Grouper At Spawning Aggregation Sites, Timothy J. Rowell, Michelle T. Schärer, Richard S. Appeldoorn Jan 2018

Description Of A New Sound Produced By Nassau Grouper At Spawning Aggregation Sites, Timothy J. Rowell, Michelle T. Schärer, Richard S. Appeldoorn

Gulf and Caribbean Research

This study identified a new sound produced by Nassau Grouper in association with, although potentially not exclusive to, an agonistic interaction at a spawning aggregation. We have also provided a behavioral and acoustic description for identification of this sound in future studies. The discovery of a third type of sound produced by Nassau Grouper further highlights the importance of acoustic communication coupled with visual displays in fishes. Furthermore, identification of a new sound increases the ability to document the presence of this endangered species at spawning sites. Future efforts may reveal that the sound is produced within additional behavioral contexts …


The Effect Of Boat Type On Bottlenose Dolphin (Tursiops Trucatus) Behavior In The Mississippi Sound, Maria Zapetis May 2017

The Effect Of Boat Type On Bottlenose Dolphin (Tursiops Trucatus) Behavior In The Mississippi Sound, Maria Zapetis

Master's Theses

Increases in oceanic shipping are a global phenomenon, and a leading cause of concern for marine animal welfare. While it may be difficult to assess the effect of boat traffic on all species in all contexts, it is vital to report anthropogenic impacts where longitudinal data is available, and doubly so where a dearth of information exists. The purpose of this study is to describe how dolphin behavior changed in the presence of boats in the Mississippi Sound between 2006 and 2012, and more specifically, to detail how different boat types impacted dolphins’ behavioral states. This study is unique in …


Stopover Ecology Of Ruby-Throated Hummingbirds (Archilochus Colubris) During Autumn Migration, Theodore Joseph Zenzal Jr May 2016

Stopover Ecology Of Ruby-Throated Hummingbirds (Archilochus Colubris) During Autumn Migration, Theodore Joseph Zenzal Jr

Dissertations

The Ruby-throated Hummingbird (Archilochus colubris) is one of the smallest Nearctic-Neotropical migrants and the only species of hummingbird that breeds in Eastern North America, yet few studies have investigated the biology of Ruby-throated Hummingbirds when they stopover during migration. Given their small size, high metabolism, aggression, and specialized diet, hummingbirds may represent a migrant that operates on the physiological edge. Therefore it is important to understand the factors that influence their stopover as well as the decision to resume migration. Towards this end, Ruby-throated Hummingbirds were captured during autumn migration along the northern coast of the Gulf of Mexico to …


Territorial Defense Strategies In The Northern Cardinal (Cardinalis Cardinalis): Who Is The Bigger Threat?, Kaylee M. Gentry Dec 2015

Territorial Defense Strategies In The Northern Cardinal (Cardinalis Cardinalis): Who Is The Bigger Threat?, Kaylee M. Gentry

Master's Theses

This thesis examines the use of defensive strategies in relation to territories year round in the northern cardinal (Cardinalis cardinalis). Responses to recorded neighbor song and stranger song playback from the middle of a focal male’s territory were measured. This allowed for an estimation of aggression in both the winter and spring seasons. Each focal male was subjected to both treatments (stranger song and neighbor song). Males were more responsive over-all to neighbor song playback, however in the winter months, persistence of response to neighbor song playback increased. It was also shown that southeastern United States cardinals show …