Open Access. Powered by Scholars. Published by Universities.®
Ecology and Evolutionary Biology Commons™
Open Access. Powered by Scholars. Published by Universities.®
- Institution
- Keyword
-
- Behavior (3)
- Climate (3)
- Archaeology (2)
- Artwork (2)
- Asian elephant (2)
-
- Choosiness (2)
- Elephant (2)
- Morphology (2)
- Nesting (2)
- Tursiops truncatus (2)
- Wisconsin (2)
- Acclimation time (1)
- Africa (1)
- Agate Basin (1)
- Allomaternal care (1)
- American Robin (1)
- American oystercatcher (1)
- Animal behavior (1)
- Asian (1)
- Auk (1)
- Avian Eggs (1)
- Baboon (1)
- Badger (1)
- Behvioral ontogeny (1)
- Biocultural (1)
- Body state (1)
- Bottlenose dolphin (1)
- Breastfeeding (1)
- Brood parasitism (1)
- Camera traps (1)
Articles 1 - 30 of 33
Full-Text Articles in Ecology and Evolutionary Biology
A Four-Pronged Approach To Addressing A Wild Pig Invasion In A Bottomland And Upland Forested Landscape, Tyler Scott Evans
A Four-Pronged Approach To Addressing A Wild Pig Invasion In A Bottomland And Upland Forested Landscape, Tyler Scott Evans
Theses and Dissertations
Among exotic species that are capable of invading, establishing, and reaching pest status, few pose the range of impacts to biotic (e.g., competition with native species, predation, herbivory, introduction of other exotics) and abiotic (e.g., soil, hydrology) ecosystem components that can be attributed to the wild pig (Sus scrofa). Despite the presence of wild pigs throughout the southeastern United States for centuries, new invasions continue to occur in previously uninhabited and often under-investigated landscapes, including bottomland and upland forests. The recent invasion of the Sam D. Hamilton Noxubee National Wildlife Refuge (hereafter, NNWR) in east-central Mississippi represents an …
The Role Of Nest Location On The Reproductive Success Of Piping Plovers Breeding At Rockaway Beach, New York, Clara I.D. Arndtsen
The Role Of Nest Location On The Reproductive Success Of Piping Plovers Breeding At Rockaway Beach, New York, Clara I.D. Arndtsen
Theses and Dissertations
The study’s goal was to learn what aspects of the piping plover experience affect reproductive outcomes at Rockaway Beach Endangered Species Nesting Area. Nest location was found to help predict reproductive success. Nests further from American oystercatcher nests were likely to fledge more chicks. Reproductive success was low in 2021.
Assessing The Utility Of The Pmm And Mmc Indices Among Extant Hominoid Genera, Julie A. Strain
Assessing The Utility Of The Pmm And Mmc Indices Among Extant Hominoid Genera, Julie A. Strain
Theses and Dissertations
This thesis set out to incorporate extant hominoid genera into an analysis of PMM and MMC to assess utility in phylogeny and predicting known taxonomic groups. Based on previous claims, we expect PMM/pmm and MMC/mmc to perform better than M1/m1 shape and size, our baseline for success, but they do not.
Architecture Of Mate Choice Decisions In Enchenopa Treehoppers, Bretta Speck
Architecture Of Mate Choice Decisions In Enchenopa Treehoppers, Bretta Speck
Theses and Dissertations
Mate selection is one of the most important choices a female can make for herself and her offspring. Variation in mate choice decisions has consequences for the maintenance of and the diversity within a population and the promotion of divergence between populations. Mate choice decisions arise from the interaction of two main components: “mate preferences” (the relative attractiveness of a potential mate) and “choosiness” (the effort put into procuring a preferred mate). My dissertation analyzes the relationship between the components involved in female mate choice decisions in Enchenopa binotata treehoppers. I take a three-pronged approach. First, I investigated how E. …
Behavioral And Physiological Effects Of Heavy Metals On Fish: A Review And Preliminary Results, Diana V. Morales
Behavioral And Physiological Effects Of Heavy Metals On Fish: A Review And Preliminary Results, Diana V. Morales
Theses and Dissertations
Pollution, specifically heavy metal pollution, in various bodies of water has been a significant issue for decades. Research has been conducted on heavy metals and their effects on the environment, larger fish species, and humans since the 1970s (Skidmore, 1964; Adeniyi et al., 2007; Adeosun et al., 2015; Bawuro et al., 2018). It is known that zinc is a neurotoxin in some species and causes harm to the environment. It is also known that it causes harm to people if it is ingested or if they are exposed to it for long periods of time (Mahurpawar, 2015; Mizuno and Kawahara, …
Pushing It To The Limit: Determining Asian Elephant (Elephas Maximus) Olfactory Sensitivity And Discrimination Through A Behavioral Choice Task, Matthew S. Rudolph
Pushing It To The Limit: Determining Asian Elephant (Elephas Maximus) Olfactory Sensitivity And Discrimination Through A Behavioral Choice Task, Matthew S. Rudolph
Theses and Dissertations
Elephants have shown remarkable olfactory capabilities. Their sense of smell impacts their foraging choices, behavior, and ultimately, survival. Being able to detect a target odor can allow elephants to locate specific resources, identify threats, and find receptive conspecifics. Previous studies have shown that elephants can consistently detect target odors, but have not identified the limits of this detection. Thus, to investigate the extent of elephants’ odor detection capabilities, we tested Asian elephants in a two-step odor discrimination task. First, we investigated whether elephants could detect odors at varying levels of dilution after a training procedure, and then whether they could …
Some (Im)Material Girls, Living In (Im)Material Worlds, With Seeds, Stars, And Shit, Matthew Weiderspon
Some (Im)Material Girls, Living In (Im)Material Worlds, With Seeds, Stars, And Shit, Matthew Weiderspon
Theses and Dissertations
This writing situates material and gestural vocabularies cultivated in my artwork in relation to my lived experience; primarily my rural upbringing in Colorado. Scattered floor dispersals, calling sounds, and bodily movements desire reconsiderations of hope in precarity through a disorientation of place, association, scale, and language.
Pre- And Post-Partum Observations Of Signature Whistle Characteristics Of The Bottlenose Dolphin (Tursiops Truncatus), Robert Dutchen
Pre- And Post-Partum Observations Of Signature Whistle Characteristics Of The Bottlenose Dolphin (Tursiops Truncatus), Robert Dutchen
Theses and Dissertations
This study analyzes whistle usage in an Atlantic bottlenose dolphin during birth. Findings show the mother produces two predominant whistle contours. Congruities between the whistles were compared and showed that the type 1 contour bears structural similarity to the first component of the type 2 contour, indicating combinatorial whistle construction.
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 …
Variation In Personality Among Semi-Wild Myanmar Timber Elephants, Sateesh Venkatesh
Variation In Personality Among Semi-Wild Myanmar Timber Elephants, Sateesh Venkatesh
Theses and Dissertations
This study examines two personality traits: exploration and neophobia, which could influence human-elephant conflicts. Thirty-one semi-wild elephants were tested over two trials using a custom novel puzzle tube containing three tasks and three rewards. Our studies show that elephants do vary significantly between individuals in both exploration and neophobia.
Practical Problems And Moral Discourses: An Ethnography Of Breastfeeding, Tara Ann Gallagher
Practical Problems And Moral Discourses: An Ethnography Of Breastfeeding, Tara Ann Gallagher
Theses and Dissertations
Universal and bioactive, breastfeeding is a burgeoning biocultural topic because it incorporates biological and social determinants of human behavior. The topic has amassed media attention framed as part of a bigger imagining of motherhood as an idealized state directed at the female body’s performance. This paper questions media and public policy’s role in the dissemination of culture and the symbolic value of breastmilk. This study examines breastfeeding discourses through the lens of an American, mostly white, Midwestern middle-class social structure. Using participant observation data of two postpartum support groups and semi-structured interviews with six primiparous mothers, my data suggests that …
Prehistoric Humans And Elk (Cervus Canadensis) In The Western Great Lakes: A Zooarchaeological Perspective, Rebekah Ann Ernat
Prehistoric Humans And Elk (Cervus Canadensis) In The Western Great Lakes: A Zooarchaeological Perspective, Rebekah Ann Ernat
Theses and Dissertations
This thesis examines the relationship between humans and elk (Cervus canadensis) in the western Great Lakes region from prehistoric through early historic times, with a focus on Wisconsin archaeological sites. It takes a social zooarchaeological perspective, drawing from archaeological, ecological, biological, historical, and ethnographic sources. I also use optimal foraging theory to examine subsistence-related decisions. Based on my review of 34 Wisconsin archaeological sites or site components, elk diminished in relative dietary importance in prehistoric times as subsistence strategies shifted. The use of their bones, especially scapulae and antlers, in tool production increased. Other roles, as markers of group and …
Comparison Of Play Frequency In Four Sympatric Monkey Species In Kibale National Park, Uganda, Sara G. Lucci
Comparison Of Play Frequency In Four Sympatric Monkey Species In Kibale National Park, Uganda, Sara G. Lucci
Theses and Dissertations
This study describes play in red colobus (Procolobus rufomitratus), grey-cheeked mangabeys (Lophocebus albigena), black-and-white colobus (Colobus guereza), and redtail monkeys (Cercopithecus ascanius) to test Instinct-Practice Theory. Solitary locomotor play was different among the species. Rough-and-tumble play was different between male and female redtail monkeys. These results partially support Instinct-Practice Theory.
Contagious Yawning In The Domestic Cat (Felis Catus), Ariel M. Lombardo Aghishian
Contagious Yawning In The Domestic Cat (Felis Catus), Ariel M. Lombardo Aghishian
Theses and Dissertations
This study investigates contagious yawning in domestic cats towards their owners, looking at potential links with empathy. Results showed no significant difference in yawning between conditions. The solitary nature of wildcats and their shared ancestor, and the unique social behavior in domesticated cats may explain these findings.
Evolution Of Endurance Running Genes Across Primates, Natalia T. Grube
Evolution Of Endurance Running Genes Across Primates, Natalia T. Grube
Theses and Dissertations
The endurance running hypothesis has emerged as a key idea to explain several unique anatomical, physiological, and genetic features of modern humans—among these features is the evolution of ACTN3 (Bramble & Lieberman 2004, Nature), a gene linked to human athletic performance. An additional gene linked to human endurance performance is ACE. Because endurance running is a uniquely human trait, I predicted that ACE and ACTN3 genes would be evolving adaptively in the human lineage when examined in a wider primatological framework. To test this I compiled ACE and ACTN3 genes from 14 primate species and phylogenetically tested if these genes …
Climatic Variables Are Strong Predictors Of Allonursing And Communal Nesting In Primates, Alexandra Louppova
Climatic Variables Are Strong Predictors Of Allonursing And Communal Nesting In Primates, Alexandra Louppova
Theses and Dissertations
Allomaternal care (AMC) is widespread throughout the primate order, previous studies have focused on benefits and costs to individuals. However, our understanding of environmental impacts on AMC behaviors in primates is still limited. Our study examines how ecology and environmental factors can predict certain AMC behaviors more than others.
Dolphins In Space: Quantifying The Relative Positions Of Bottlenose Dolphins (Tursiops Truncatus), Megan S. Mcgrath
Dolphins In Space: Quantifying The Relative Positions Of Bottlenose Dolphins (Tursiops Truncatus), Megan S. Mcgrath
Theses and Dissertations
Bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops truncatus) are socially sophisticated mammals with high fission-fusion dynamics and complex communication. The relative positioning of individual dolphins as they swim within their social group may aid in the expression of social roles. This study sought to quantify relative positioning in a small social group of female bottlenose dolphins at the National Aquarium in Baltimore that included two mother-daughter pairs, maternal and paternal half-sisters, a half-aunt and niece, and one unrelated female. We devised a method for scoring relative positioning in three dimensions. We found that the two mothers and their juvenile and adult daughters …
Effects Of Life History And Brain Size On Cognition And Behavior: Studies On Prey-Searching In The Spider Pholcus Phalangioides, Joseph Kilmer
Effects Of Life History And Brain Size On Cognition And Behavior: Studies On Prey-Searching In The Spider Pholcus Phalangioides, Joseph Kilmer
Theses and Dissertations
There is tremendous diversity in body size across animals, including many examples of derived miniaturization. A reduction in body size is accompanied by a reduction in brain size, which is predicted to lead to limitations in cognition, but we have yet to find empirical evidence indicating what these limitations might be. I used a behavioral assay common in web spiders to explore this topic. I observed spiders as they searched for prey that they recently captured and lost. This assay has the advantage of being easily quantifiable while reflecting a spider’s evaluation and memory of lost prey. I conducted a …
Influence Of Natural And Anthropogenic Light Levels On Female Preferences In Eastern Gray Treefrogs (Hyla Versicolor), Victoria Underhill
Influence Of Natural And Anthropogenic Light Levels On Female Preferences In Eastern Gray Treefrogs (Hyla Versicolor), Victoria Underhill
Theses and Dissertations
Chapter 1: While the influence of environmental variables, particularly temperature and rainfall, on the breeding behavior of amphibians is widely recognized, relatively few studies have addressed how the moon affects amphibian behavior. Yet, the lunar cycle provides several rhythmic temporal cues that animals could use to time important group events such as spawning, and the substantial changes in light levels associated with the different moon phases may also affect the behavior of nocturnal frogs. Using seven years of field observation data, we tested for lunar effects on the reproductive activity of male and female Eastern gray treefrogs (Hyla versicolor). We …
How The Egg Rolls: A Morphological Analysis Of Egg Shape In The Context Of Displacement Dynamics, Ian R. Hays
How The Egg Rolls: A Morphological Analysis Of Egg Shape In The Context Of Displacement Dynamics, Ian R. Hays
Theses and Dissertations
Very little is known about how morphology effects the motion, stability and the resulting viability of avian eggs. The limited research that exists focuses on the pyriform or ‘pointed’ egg shapes found in the Alcidea family. This unusual shell form is thought to suppress displacement and prevents egg loss on the cliffside nesting habitat of the Uria genera. Unfortunately, these studies never isolated or quantify the specific morphological features (elongation, asymmetry and conicality) of these pyriform eggs, which limits their applicability to other taxa and hampers a robust proof of concept. We isolated each feature as a variable, produced models …
Ecological Niche Modeling Of The Genus Papio, Amanda J. Fuchs
Ecological Niche Modeling Of The Genus Papio, Amanda J. Fuchs
Theses and Dissertations
Ecological niche modeling investigates how climatic variables have influenced taxonomic diversity in Papio. Models performed well suggesting climatic variables influence the distribution of baboon species. Niche overlap among all possible pairs of taxa determined that species exhibited significantly different niches. The results of these models support a parapatric speciation scenario.
Does Genotype Correlate With Phenotype? Evaluating Ruffed Lemur (Varecia Spp.) Color Vision Using Subject Mediated Automatic Remote Testing Apparatus (Smarta), Raymond Vagell
Theses and Dissertations
Ruffed lemur (Varecia spp.) color vision research was conducted using a multidisciplinary approach: psychophysics, genetic analysis, technology, and animal training. The behavioral manifestation of Varecia spp. trichromacy was shown using a touchscreen apparatus (SMARTA). Trichromats performed better than dichromats when discriminating red from green (G2 = 78.10, p < 0.001).
Late Paleo-Indian Period Lithic Economies, Mobility, And Group Organization In Wisconsin, Ethan Adam Epstein
Late Paleo-Indian Period Lithic Economies, Mobility, And Group Organization In Wisconsin, Ethan Adam Epstein
Theses and Dissertations
The following dissertation focuses upon the organization of Pleistocene / Holocene period lithic technology in Wisconsin circa 10,000 – 10,500 years before present. Lithic debitage and flaked stone tools from the Plainview/Agate Basin components of the Heyrman I site (47DR381), the Dalles site (47IA374), and the Kelly North Tract site at Carcajou Point (47JE02) comprise the data set. These Wisconsin sites are located within a post glacial Great Lakes dune environment, an inland drainage/riverine environment, and an inland wetland/lacustrine environment. An assemblage approach is used to examine the structure of each site’s lithic economy. This broad approach to lithic organization …
Investigating The Nest Sanitation Hypothesis In A Rejecter Species: Is Sanitation A Proximate Link, Pre-Adaptation, Or By-Product Of Egg Ejection?, Alec B. Luro
Theses and Dissertations
Nest sanitation, a behavior similar in motor pattern to egg ejection, has been proposed repeatedly as a potential pre-adaptation to foreign egg ejection in avian brood parasites hosts. We found no support for the sanitation hypothesis--therefore we suggest egg ejection may have evolved independently of sanitation.
Ménage À Trois In The Atlantic Brief Squid (Lolliguncula Brevis): Prior Presence Affects Mate Choice, Rachel A. Schlessinger
Ménage À Trois In The Atlantic Brief Squid (Lolliguncula Brevis): Prior Presence Affects Mate Choice, Rachel A. Schlessinger
Theses and Dissertations
Lolliguncula brevis given prior presence experienced a significantly greater number of contacts with opposite sex squid than rivals. Males given prior presence also spent significantly more time in proximity to females than rivals. This suggests that for both female and male Atlantic brief squid, having prior presence influences mating behavior.
A Case Study: Observations Of Behaviors & Vocalizations In A Captive Asian Elephant (Elephas Maximus) During Quarantine, Alexandra L. Dilley
A Case Study: Observations Of Behaviors & Vocalizations In A Captive Asian Elephant (Elephas Maximus) During Quarantine, Alexandra L. Dilley
Theses and Dissertations
Bozie, an Asian elephant (Elephas maximus), was relocated from the Baton Rouge Zoo to Smithsonian’s National Zoo. During a requisite 29-day quarantine period, I recorded Bozie’s stress-related behaviors and the vocalizations she produced when she was alone and with her keepers in free and protected contact.
The Prehistoric Economics Of The Kautz Site: A Late Archaic And Woodland Site In Northeastern Illinois, Peter John Geraci
The Prehistoric Economics Of The Kautz Site: A Late Archaic And Woodland Site In Northeastern Illinois, Peter John Geraci
Theses and Dissertations
The Kautz Site (11DU1) is a multi-component archaeological site located in the DuPage River Valley in northeastern Illinois. It was inhabited at least six different times between the Late Archaic and Late Woodland periods ca. 6000-1000 B.P. The site was excavated over the course of three field seasons between 1958 and 1961, but the results were never made public. This thesis seeks to document the archaeology of the Kautz Site in order to better understand the site’s economic history. An environmental catchment analysis was conducted to evaluate the level of time and energy needed to acquire important resources like water, …
Hatching Asynchrony In European Starlings ( Sturnus Vulgaris ), Jason Hanser
Hatching Asynchrony In European Starlings ( Sturnus Vulgaris ), Jason Hanser
Theses and Dissertations
Across a wide range of avian taxa, eggs within clutches hatch asynchronously, placing later hatched nestlings at a disadvantage. Here, we explore the proximate and ultimate causes of hatching asynchrony within European starlings, Sturnus vulgaris. Specifically, we investigate the effect of ambient temperature on egg viability and incubation behavior prior to clutch completion. Additionally, we examine the potential for storage time and maternally-deposited yolk testosterone to influence rates of embryonic development and hatching patterns within European starlings.
Expanding Eco-Visualization: Sculpting Corn Production, Jennifer E. Figg
Expanding Eco-Visualization: Sculpting Corn Production, Jennifer E. Figg
Theses and Dissertations
This dissertation expands upon the definition of eco-visualization artwork. EV was originally defined in 2006 by Tiffany Holmes as a way to display the real time consumption statistics of key environmental resources for the goal of promoting ecological literacy. I assert that the final forms of EV artworks are not necessarily dependent on technology, and can differ in terms of media used, in that they can be sculptural, video-based, or static two-dimensional forms that communicate interpreted environmental information. There are two main categories of EV: one that is predominantly screen-based and another that employs a variety of modes of representation …
Landscape Genetics Of The American Badger: Understanding Challenges In Elusive Species, Elizabeth Marie Kierepka
Landscape Genetics Of The American Badger: Understanding Challenges In Elusive Species, Elizabeth Marie Kierepka
Theses and Dissertations
American badgers are one of the most poorly understood carnivores in North America due to their highly elusive, semifossorial lifestyle. To complicate understanding their biology further, badgers possess life history characteristics that predict radically different responses to habitat heterogeneity. In particular, they are considered grassland specialists, so their movement and population viability could be highly dependent on grassland habitats. Badgers are also highly mobile, which suggests they experience high gene flow. Predicting how these life history traits impact gene flow, however, is difficult based on the high diversity in responses to landscape heterogeneity among carnivores. To assess how landscape heterogeneity …