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Behavior and Ethology Commons™

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Selected Works

2018

Articles 1 - 5 of 5

Full-Text Articles in Behavior and Ethology

A Novel Body Coloration Phenotype In Anolis Sagrei: Implications For Physiology, Fitness, And Predation, Yasmeen Erritouni, Beth Reinke, Ryan Calsbeek Dec 2018

A Novel Body Coloration Phenotype In Anolis Sagrei: Implications For Physiology, Fitness, And Predation, Yasmeen Erritouni, Beth Reinke, Ryan Calsbeek

Beth Reinke

In animals, color signals that convey information about quality are often associated with costs linked to the expression of coloration and may therefore be honest signals of sender quality. Honest indicators are often seen in sexual signals that are used by males to advertise quality to females. Carotenoid and pterin pigments are responsible for yellow, orange, and red coloration in a variety of taxa, but can also serve important roles as antioxidants by reducing free radicals in the body. In this study, we test the effects of a novel full-bodied orange color phenotype of the brown anole, Anolis sagrei, on …

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Mating Games Squid Play: Reproductive Behaviour And Sexual Skin Displays In Caribbean Reef Squid Sepioteuthis Sepioidea, Jennifer Mather Jun 2018

Mating Games Squid Play: Reproductive Behaviour And Sexual Skin Displays In Caribbean Reef Squid Sepioteuthis Sepioidea, Jennifer Mather

Jennifer Mather, PhD

Observation of the sexual interactions of Sepioteuthis sepioidea squid during the short reproductive stage of their lives showed a scramble competition system, with both male and female polygyny. Mature females were faithful to a specific location in the daytime, whereas males moved from group to group and formed short-term consortships with females. Males defended females from other males, particularly with an agonistic Zebra display. Male–female pairs exchanged Saddle-Stripe displays, after which males might display an on–off Flicker. There was considerable female choice. Only if a female responded to this display with a parallel Rocking action would she pair and would …

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Rapid Range Expansion Of The Brazilian Free-Tailed Bat In The Southeastern United States, 2008-2016, Gary F. Mccracken, Riley F. Bernard, Melquisidec Gamba-Rios, Randy Wolfe, Jennifer J. Krauel, Devin N. Jones, Amy L. Russell, Veronica A. Brown Apr 2018

Rapid Range Expansion Of The Brazilian Free-Tailed Bat In The Southeastern United States, 2008-2016, Gary F. Mccracken, Riley F. Bernard, Melquisidec Gamba-Rios, Randy Wolfe, Jennifer J. Krauel, Devin N. Jones, Amy L. Russell, Veronica A. Brown

Amy L. Russell

Brazilian free-tailed bats (Tadarida brasiliensis) are one of the most widely distributed bat species in the Americas, often engaging in rapid, long-distance dispersals, Here, we document that, since ca. 2007, these bats have expanded their range into western North Carolina, eastern Tennessee, and Virginia. Reports from wildlife control professionals, wildlife rehabilitators, regional submissions of bats for rabies testing, acoustic monitoring, and the presence of T. brasiliensis in buildings and bat houses indicate that these bats are now established in year-round colonies in areas previously thought outside their range limits. The geographic distributions of many organisms are currently shifting …

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Factors Affecting Parental Investment Strategies In Male Waterbugs, Scott Kight Jan 2018

Factors Affecting Parental Investment Strategies In Male Waterbugs, Scott Kight

Scott Kight

Male giant waterbugs (Belostoma flumineum Say) brood eggs oviposited on their dorsi by conspecific females. Preliminary observations indicate that viable egg pads are sometimes discarded before hatching. Theory predicts that such behavior should occur only if costs incurred by brooding exceed benefits of hatching the egg pad. The amount of paternal investment per pad should be similar for both large and small pad sizes, but as egg pads become smaller, investment per egg increases. Thus, smaller pads should be more likely to be discarded unhatched than larger ones. Similarly, egg pads containing inviable eggs should also be more frequently …

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Plastron Pigmentation Variation In A Coastal Turtle Species Of Conservation Concern (Malaclemys Terrapin), Beth Reinke, Steven Pearson, Will Selman Dec 2017

Plastron Pigmentation Variation In A Coastal Turtle Species Of Conservation Concern (Malaclemys Terrapin), Beth Reinke, Steven Pearson, Will Selman

Beth Reinke

Malaclemys terrapin inhabits salt marshes of the coastal United States and has been historically divided into seven subspecies. Two of the described subspecies, M. t. pileata and M. t. littoralis, occur along the western and eastern coastlines of Louisiana, respectively. To better understand potential boundaries of these two subspecies, we documented pigmentation variation of the plastron along the coast of Louisiana where the subspecies supposedly intergrade. Photographs of the plastron were taken of captured individuals and we quantified pigment with a photoprocessing software (ImageJ). We found pigmentation differences between sexes, with females having lighter plastrons than males. The plastron pigmentation …

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