Behavior and Ethology Commons^™

Experimental Exposure To Urban And Pink Noise Affects Brain Development And Song Learning In Zebra Finches (Taenopygia Guttata), Dominique A. Potvin, Michael T. Curcio, John P. Swaddle, Scott A. Macdougall-Shackleton

Arts & Sciences Articles

Recently, numerous studies have observed changes in bird vocalizations—especially song—in urban habitats. These changes are often interpreted as adaptive, since they increase the active space of the signal in its environment. However, the proximate mechanisms driving cross-generational changes in song are still unknown. We performed a captive experiment to identify whether noise experienced during development affects song learning and the development of song-control brain regions. Zebra finches (Taeniopygia guttata) were bred while exposed, or not exposed, to recorded traffic urban noise (Study 1) or pink noise (Study 2). We recorded the songs of male offspring and compared these …

Behavioral Ecology Of Landbird Migrants In A Complex And Changing Flyway System: The Gulf Of Maine, Adrienne J. Leppold

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

In and around the Gulf of Maine, over 300 species of birds have been documented during migration, and tens of millions of songbirds may pass through the region on a single autumn night. Shorelines are widely documented as major migration corridors. There is ample evidence that coastal areas concentrate migrants and many species make overwater movements to and from breeding and wintering grounds. Data collected from radar, banding, and ceilometry studies in the northeast have provided us with evidence that birds migrate along the coast and make overwater movements across the Gulf of Maine and Bay of Fundy during both …

Fallow Deer Polyandry Is Related To Fertilization Insurance, Elodie F. Briefer, Mary E. Farrell, Thomas J. Hayden, Alan G. Mcelligott

Elodie Briefer, PhD

Polyandry is widespread, but its adaptive significance is not fully understood. The hypotheses used to explain its persistence have rarely been tested in the wild and particularly for large, long-lived mammals. We investigated polyandry in fallow deer, using female mating and reproduction data gathered over 10 years. Females of this species produce a single offspring (monotocous) and can live to 23 years old. Overall, polyandry was evident in 12 % of females and the long-term, consistent proportion of polyandrous females observed, suggests that monandry and polyandry represent alternative mating strategies. Females were more likely to be polyandrous when their first …

Bird Dispersal Techniques, Thomas W. Seamans, Allen L. Gosser

Wildlife Damage Management Technical Series

Conflicts between humans and birds likely have existed since agricultural practices began. Paintings from ancient Greek, Egyptian, and Roman civilizations depict birds attacking crops. In Great Britain, recording of efforts at reducing bird damage began in the 1400s, with books on bird control written in the 1600s. Even so, the problem persists. Avian damage to crops remains an issue today, but we also are concerned with damage to homes, businesses, and aircraft, and the possibility of disease transmission from birds to humans or livestock. Successful dispersal techniques should capitalize on bird sensory capabilities. If birds cannot perceive the dispersal technique, …

Geese, Ducks And Coots, John L. Cummings

Wildlife Damage Management Technical Series

Canada geese, snow geese, ducks, and American coots all have been implicated in agricultural crop and turf damage. Canada geese and snow geese that graze on winter wheat and rye crops can reduce subsequent grain and vegetative yields. Canada geese also cause serious damage to sprouting soybeans in spring and to standing cornfields in the autumn. The most common damage to agricultural resources associated with geese results from consumption of crops. Other impacts involve unacceptable accumulations of feces in pastures, trampling of emerging crops, and increased erosion and runoff from fields where the cover crop has been grazed. Canada geese …

Behavioral Differences Between Native And Exotic Invertebrate Prey Affect Susceptibility To Predation By A Native Amphibian Predator, Zachary Cava

Biology Theses

Invasive species threaten global biodiversity via mechanisms that include altering the dynamics and structure of native food webs. Whereas much research has focused on how exotic species respond to native predators, less is known about how native predators are affected by invasive prey. Here I investigate the response of a rare and threatened native predator—the Eastern Hellbender (Cryptobranchus alleganiensis) to a high-profile invasive crayfish species, Orconectes rusticus. Hellbenders have declined throughout much of their range, and although the potential for exotic predators (i.e. sport fish) to negatively impact C. alleganiensis has been addressed, effects of exotic prey …

Double-Crested Cormorants, Brian S. Dorr, Kristi L. Sullivan, Paul D. Curtis, Richard Chipman, Russell D. Mccullough

Wildlife Damage Management Technical Series

The history of conflict between double-crested cormorants (Figure 1) and human interest in fisheries is long and convoluted. Following a low point in the 1970s, populations of cormorants expanded in North America, as did concerns about impacts on fisheries. By the late 1990s, natural resource agencies in 27 states reported losses of free-ranging fish stocks to cormorants. Agencies in 10 states, ranging from the Southwest to the Northeast, considered cormorant predation to be of moderate to major concern to fishery management.

Overall, double-crested cormorants are not major consumers of commercial and sportfish species. However, exceptions have been recorded at specific …

Polyandry In The Absence Of Fitness Benefits In A Species With Female-Biased Sexual Size Dimorphism, Marie Claire Chelini, Eileen A. Hebets

Eileen Hebets Publications

Most studies exploring the evolution of female mating systems focus on species in which females are either monandric (mate with a single male) or highly polyandric (mate with multiple males), but less is understood about variation in mating decisions within a species. How and why do females of a single species decide whether or not to copulate with additional mates? In this study we attempt to answer this question in the highly dimorphic crab spider, Mecaphesa celer, whose females may be either monandric or polyandric. We tested three hypotheses: (1) a female’s decision to remate is based on sequential mate …

Gang Behavior At Carcasses In Wintering Striated Caracaras (Phalcoboenus Australis) In The Falkland Islands, Anna Rose Autilio

Boise State University Theses and Dissertations

Avian scavengers perform vital ecosystem services by removing waste and by slowing disease. Yet few details are known about the purpose or purposes of social interactions near carcasses and their role in the physical depletion of carcasses (Gangoso et al. 2013). The globally Near-Threatened Striated Caracara is a social scavenging falconid that relies on seabird colonies for food during the breeding season in the Falkland Islands, a principal stronghold in its range. The birds have been persecuted as livestock pests since the late 1800s. Although the population is now protected and remains stable, it does not appear to be growing. …

Blackbirds, Richard A. Dolbeer, George M. Linz

Wildlife Damage Management Technical Series

The term blackbird loosely refers to a diverse group of about 10 species of North American birds that belong to the avian family Icteridae. The most common species include: Red-winged blackbird (Agelaius phoeniceus) Common grackle (Quiscalus quiscula) Great-tailed grackle (Quiscalus mexicanus) Brown-headed cowbird (Molothrus ater) Yellow-headed blackbird (Xanthocephalus xanthocephalus) Brewer’s blackbird (Euphagus cyanocephalus) Rusty blackbird (Euphagus carolinus) In addition to blackbirds, this family includes orioles, meadowlarks, and bobolinks.

Human-Wildlife Conflicts 1 Damage Identification 3 Management Methods 4 Economics 7 Species Overview 8 Legal Status 11 Glossary …

Exploring The Relationship Between Behaviour And Neurochemistry In The Polyphenic Spider, Anelosimus Studiosus (Araneae: Theridiidae), Jennifer B. Price

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The importance of social behaviour is evident in human society, but there are both costs and benefits associated with cooperation and sociality throughout the animal kingdom. At what point do the benefits outweigh the costs, and when do selective pressures favour sociality and colonization over solitude and independence? To investigate these questions, we have focused on an anomalous species of spider, Anelosimus studiosus, also known now as the northern social spider. Throughout its broad range, A. studiosus is solitary and aggressive, but recently, colonies of cooperative and social individuals have been observed at northern latitudes. This leads to two …

Ecological And Phenotypic Factors Influencing The Movement Dynamics Of The Blackspotted Topminnow, Fundulus Olivaceus, Scott Richard Clark

Dissertations

Movement of individuals throughout a landscape is a complex behavior that has important consequences on numerous ecological and evolutionary processes. Perhaps most notably is the relationship between movement and reproduction, as this has implicit ramifications on individual fitness and consequently, population level processes. Although this relationship has been theoretically and empirically demonstrated across a number of animal taxa, its role in fishes remains understudied and largely unknown. Using a series of outdoor mesocosms, in combination with a field study, I employed passive integrated transponder (PIT) tags to experimentally assess the sex-specific movement dynamics of a small-bodied, sexually-dimorphic stream fish, the …

Behavior Of A Solitary Sociable Female Bottlenose Dolphin (Tursiops Truncatus) Off The Coast Of Kent, Southeast England, Sonja Eisfeld, Mark P. Simmonds, Laura R. Stansfield

Mark P. Simmonds, OBE

This article provides a report of the behavior of a solitary sociable dolphin studied on the southeast coast of England in 2007. This is the first study of its kind in which behavior of such a nonhuman animal was systematically studied. By the time of this study, this young female was highly interactive with people in the water. People accompanied the dolphin for 18.4% of the 100 hr of observation, and their presence changed her behavior. The study recorded 39 different behaviors; feeding and resting behaviors declined in frequency in the presence of people. In addition, the dolphin exhibited behavior …

The North American Geese: Their Biology And Behavior, Paul A. Johnsgard

Zea E-Books Collection

The eight currently recognized species of North American geese are part of a familiar group of birds collectively called waterfowl, all of which are smaller than swans and generally larger than ducks. They include the most popular of our aquatic gamebirds, with several million shot each year by sport hunters. Our two most abundant waterfowl, the Canada goose and snow goose, have populations collectively totaling about 15 million individuals. Like swans, the lifelong pairbonding of geese, their familial care, and prolonged social attachment to their offspring are legendary. Their seasonal migratory flights sometimes span thousands of miles, and the sight …

"Beyond Words," Yes, But Also Beyond Numbers, Fred L. Bookstein

Animal Sentience

Safina’s fascinating series of fifty separate feuilletons tries to bridge a painful Methodenstreit in contemporary ethology mainly by an accumulation of anecdotes. Some deal with his own dogs, but most derive from reading or conversing with observers of a wider range of social mammals including elephants, wolves, apes, and whales. In spite of the many interruptions by travesties of the academic lifestyle and its literature, there is a point to be made, concerning the centrality of evidence about cooperative behavior styles, especially aspects of child-rearing, for the understanding of “what animals think and feel.” But Safina’s argument would be a …

Convergence To Consensus In Heterogeneous Groups And The Emergence Of Informal Leadership, Sergey Gavrilets, Jeremy David Auerbach, Mark Van Vugt

Faculty Publications and Other Works -- Ecology and Evolutionary Biology

When group cohesion is essential, groups must have efficient strategies in place for consensus decisionmaking. Recent theoretical work suggests that shared decision-making is often the most efficient way for dealing with both information uncertainty and individual variation in preferences. However, some animal and most human groups make collective decisions through particular individuals, leaders, that have a disproportionate influence on group decision-making. To address this discrepancy between theory and data, we study a simple, but general, model that explicitly focuses on the dynamics of consensus building in groups composed by individuals who are heterogeneous in preferences, certain personality traits (agreeability and …

Resolving Animal Distress And Pain: Principles And Examples Of Good Practice In Various Fields Of Research, Alicia Karas, Matthew C. Leach, Karl A. Andrutis, Kathleen Conlee, John P. Gluck, Andrew N. Rowan, Martin L. Stephens

Martin Stephens, PhD

Pain and distress are central topics in legislation, regulations, and standards regarding the use of animals in research. However, in practice, pain has received greatly increased attention in recent years, while attention to distress has lagged far behind, especially for distress that is not induced by pain. A contributing factor is that there is less information readily available on distress, including practical information on its recognition, assessment and alleviation.

This chapter attempts to help fill that void by reversing the usual pattern and giving greater attention to distress than to pain. In addition, we also bypass the pain versus distress …

Vocal Flexibility And Regional Variation In Free-Tailed Bat Song, Israel Salazar

FIU Electronic Theses and Dissertations

While much work has been done on regional vocal variation in birds, relatively few studies have found evidence of similar variation in mammalian vocalizations. This study quantifies individual, colonial, and regional level variation in T. brasiliensis songs in the southeastern United States. Brazilian free-tailed bats (Tadarida brasiliensis) are among a handful of mammals that produce complex, hierarchically structured vocalizations. Their songs are composed of multiple syllables that are combined into three phrases that vary in number and order across renditions. Tadarida brasiliensis songs showed considerable amount of variation, and differed significantly between locations in terms of syllable structure …

On-Farm Qualitative Behaviour Assessment Of Dairy Goats In Different Housing Conditions, Lilia Grosso, Monica Battini, Françoise Wemelsfelder, Sara Barbieri, Michela Minero, Emanuela Dalla Costa, Silvana Mattiello

Sentience Collection

This study reports the results of the first investigation on the use of Qualitative Behaviour Assessment (QBA) in dairy goats, using a fixed-list of descriptors specifically developed for this species. It aimed to verify whether QBA can be reliably used by observers with different backgrounds to differentiate between the emotional states of goats kept under different environmental conditions. Two trained observers simultaneously assessed 16 dairy goat farms (8 “Housed” (H) farms, where animals were observed in free stall pens, and 8 “Pasture” (P) farms, where animals were observed in open ranges), using a list of 16 QBA descriptors that were …

Proximate And Evolutionary Causes Of Sexual Size Dimorphism In The Crab Spider Mecaphesa Celer, Marie Claire Chelini

School of Biological Sciences: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

Animal species’ body sizes result from the balance between selection for survival and selection for reproduction. In species with sexual size dimorphism (SSD), this balance differs between females and males, resulting in distinct sizes despite similar constraints. I used an integrative approach to understand how sexual section, and differences in developmental trajectories and metabolic physiology, resulted in the female biased SSD of the crab spider Mecaphesa celer (Thomisidae). SSD in spiders is often assumed to be a consequence of selection for early male maturation, which should provide males with additional mating opportunities. My results allow us to discard mate …

The Maintenance Of Phenotypic Divergence Through Sexual Selection: An Experimental Study In Barn Swallows Hirundo Rustica, Rebecca Safran, Yoni Vortman, Brittany R. Jenkins, Joanna K. Hubbard, Matt Wilkins, Rachel J. Bradley, Arnon Lotem

School of Biological Sciences: Faculty Publications

Previous studies have shown that sexual signals can rapidly diverge among closely related species. However, we lack experimental studies to demonstrate that differences in trait-associated reproductive performance maintain sexual trait differences between closely related populations, in support for a role of sexual selection in speciation. Populations of Northern Hemisphere distributed barn swallows Hirundo rustica are closely related, yet differ in two plumage-based traits: ventral color and length of the outermost tail feathers (streamers). Here we provide experimental evidence that manipulations of these traits result in different reproductive consequences in two subspecies of barn swallow: (H. r. erythrogaster in North …

Use Of Qualitative Behaviour Assessment As An Indicator Of Welfare In Donkeys, Michela Minero, Emanuela Dalla Costa, Francesca Dai, Leigh Anne Margaret Murray, Elisabetta Canali, Françoise Wemelsfelder

Françoise Wemelsfelder, PhD

One of the objectives of the Animal Welfare Indicators project was to develop animal-based indicators to assess donkey welfare, including their emotional state. This study aimed to develop a fixed rating scale of Qualitative Behaviour Assessment (QBA) for donkeys, to evaluate the inter-observer reliability when applied on-farm, and to assess whether the QBA outcomes correlate to other welfare measures.

A fixed list of 16 descriptors was designed on the basis of a consultation in a focus group. The fixed list was then used by four trained observers to score nine 2 min videos of groups of donkeys owned by six …

On-Farm Qualitative Behaviour Assessment Of Dairy Goats In Different Housing Conditions, Lilia Grosso, Monica Battini, Françoise Wemelsfelder, Sara Barbieri, Michela Minero, Emanuela Dalla Costa, Silvana Mattiello

Françoise Wemelsfelder, PhD

This study reports the results of the first investigation on the use of Qualitative Behaviour Assessment (QBA) in dairy goats, using a fixed-list of descriptors specifically developed for this species. It aimed to verify whether QBA can be reliably used by observers with different backgrounds to differentiate between the emotional states of goats kept under different environmental conditions. Two trained observers simultaneously assessed 16 dairy goat farms (8 “Housed” (H) farms, where animals were observed in free stall pens, and 8 “Pasture” (P) farms, where animals were observed in open ranges), using a list of 16 QBA descriptors that were …

The Sensitivity Of Qba Assessments Of Sheep Behavioural Expression To Variations In Visual Or Verbal Information Provided To Observers, P. A. Fleming, S. L. Wickham, C. A. Stockman, E. Verbeek, L. Matthews, F. Wemelsfelder

Françoise Wemelsfelder, PhD

Qualitative behavioural assessment (QBA) is based on observers’ ability to capture the dynamic complexity of an animal’s demeanour as it interacts with the environment, in terms such as tense, anxious or relaxed. Sensitivity to context is part of QBA’s integrative capacity and discriminatory power; however, when not properly managed it can also be a source of undesirable variability and bias. This study investigated the sensitivity of QBA to variations in the visual or verbal information provided to observers, using free-choice profiling (FCP) methodology. FCP allows observers to generate their own descriptive terms for animal demeanour, against which each animal’s expressions …

Socialising Piglets In Lactation Positively Affects Their Post-Weaning Behaviour, Talia Morgan, John Pluske, David Miller, Teresa Collins, Anne L. Barnes, Françoise Wemelsfelder, Patricia A. Fleming

Françoise Wemelsfelder, PhD

Although commercial farrowing sheds keep individual litters separated, previous studies have suggested that housing systems that allow socialisation of piglets pre-weaning can reduce aggression after weaning. This study tested whether pigs socialised with non-littermates pre-weaning would show less aggression during mixing at weaning (when piglets are taken from their sows and mixed in group housing), and whether socialisation influenced the time budgets or behavioural expression of piglets at weaning. In total, 353 piglets were followed from birth through to one week after weaning. Piglets from 24 sows were allowed to socialise in groups of four litters (‘socialised’ treatment group) from …

The Importance Of Ants In Cave Ecology, With New Records And Behavioral Observations Of Ants In Arizona Caves, Robert B. Pape

International Journal of Speleology

The importance of ants as elements in cave ecology has been mostly unrecognized. A global list of ant species recorded from caves, compiled from a review of existing literature, is presented. This paper also reviews what is currently known about ants occurring in Arizona (USA) caves. The diversity and distribution represented in these records suggests ants are relatively common cave visitors (trogloxenes). A general utilization of caves by ants within both temperate and tropical latitudes may be inferred from this combined evidence. Observations of ant behavior in Arizona caves demonstrate a low level and sporadic, but persistent, use of these …

Range-Wide Patterns Of Geographic Variation In Songs Of Golden-Crowned Sparrows (Zonotrichia Atricapilla), Daizaburo Shizuka, Glen Chilton, M Ross Lein

Papers in Behavior in Biological Sciences

Discrete geographic variation, or dialects, in songs of songbirds arise as a consequence of complex interactions between ecology and song learning. Four of the five species of Zonotrichia sparrows, including the model species White-crowned Sparrow (Z. leucophrys), have been studied with respect to the causes and consequences of geographic variation in song. Within White-crowned Sparrows, subspecies that migrate farther have larger range size of dialects. Here, we assessed geographic patterns of song variation in the fifth species of this genus, the Golden-crowned Sparrow (Z. atricapilla). We analyzed field-recorded songs from 2 sampling periods (1996–1998 and 2006–2013) covering most of its …

Range-Wide Patterns Of Geographic Variation In Songs Of Golden-Crowned Sparrows (Zonotrichia Atricapilla), Daizaburo Shizuka, M Ross Lein, Glen Chilton

School of Biological Sciences: Faculty Publications

Discrete geographic variation, or dialects, in songs of songbirds arise as a consequence of complex interactions between ecology and song learning. Four of the five species of Zonotrichia sparrows, including the model species White-crowned Sparrow (Z. leucophrys), have been studied with respect to the causes and consequences of geographic variation in song. Within White-crowned Sparrows, subspecies that migrate farther have larger range size of dialects. Here, we assessed geographic patterns of song variation in the fifth species of this genus, the Golden-crowned Sparrow (Z. atricapilla). We analyzed field-recorded songs from 2 sampling periods (1996–1998 and 2006–2013) …

Signs Of Mood And Anxiety Disorders In Chimpanzees, Hope Ferdowsian, Debra Durham, Charles Kimwele, Godelieve Kranendonk, Emily Otali, Timothy Akugizibwe, J. B. Mulcahy, Lilly Ajarova, Cassie Meré Johnson

Debra Durham, PhD

Background: In humans, traumatic experiences are sometimes followed by psychiatric disorders. In chimpanzees, studies have demonstrated an association between traumatic events and the emergence of behavioral disturbances resembling posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and depression. We addressed the following central question: Do chimpanzees develop posttraumatic symptoms, in the form of abnormal behaviors, which cluster into syndromes similar to those described in human mood and anxiety disorders?

Methodology/Principal Findings: In phase 1 of this study, we accessed case reports of chimpanzees who had been reportedly subjected to traumatic events, such as maternal separation, social isolation, experimentation, or similar experiences. We applied and …

Marine Mammal Behavior: A Review Of Conservation Implications, Philippa Brakes, Sasha R. X. Dall

Social Behavior Collection

The three orders which comprise the extant marine mammals exhibit a wide range of behaviors, varying social structures, and differences in social information use. Human impacts on marine mammals and their environments are ubiquitous; from chemical and noise pollution, to marine debris, prey depletion, and ocean acidification. As a result, no marine mammal populations remain entirely unaffected by human activities. Conservation may be hindered by an inadequate understanding of the behavioral ecology of some of these species. As a result of social structure, social information use, culture, and even behavioral syndromes, marine mammal social groups, and populations can be behaviorally …