Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

The Evolution Of Animal Play, Emotions, And Social Morality: On Science, Theology, Spirituality, Personhood, And Love, Marc Bekoff

Attitudes Towards Animals Collection

My essay first takes me into the arena in which science, spirituality, and theology meet. I comment on the enterprise of science and how scientists could well benefit from reciprocal interactions with theologians and religious leaders. Next, I discuss the evolution of social morality and the ways in which various aspects of social play behavior relate to the notion of “behaving fairly.” The contributions of spiritual and religious perspectives are important in our coming to a fuller understanding of the evolution of morality. I go on to discuss animal emotions, the concept of personhood, and how our special relationships with …

Interactions Between Shoal Size And Conformity In Guppy Social Foraging, Rachel L. Day, Tom Macdonald, Culum Brown, Kevin N. Laland, Simon M. Reader

Sentience Collection

Previous experimental studies have established that shoaling fish forage more effectively in large than small groups. We investigated how shoal size affects the foraging efficiency of laboratory populations of the guppy, Poecilia reticulata, exposed to different foraging tasks. Experiment 1 confirmed the prediction that in open water the first fish and focal fish of larger shoals locate food faster than in smaller shoals. However, a second experiment, in which shoals of fish were required to swim through a hole in an opaque partition to locate food, found the reverse pattern: smaller shoals learned to complete the task faster than large …

Knowledge Discovery In Biological Datasets Using A Hybrid Bayes Classifier/Evolutionary Algorithm, Michael L. Raymer, Leslie A. Kuhn, William F. Punch

Kno.e.sis Publications

A key element of bioinformatics research is the extraction of meaningful information from large experimental data sets. Various approaches, including statistical and graph theoretical methods, data mining, and computational pattern recognition, have been applied to this task with varying degrees of success. We have previously shown that a genetic algorithm coupled with a k-nearest-neighbors classifier performs well in extracting information about protein-water binding from X-ray crystallographic protein structure data. Using a novel classifier based on the Bayes discriminant function, we present a hybrid algorithm that employs feature selection and extraction to isolate salient features from large biological data sets. The …

Profile Combinatorics For Fragment Selection In Comparative Protein Structure Modeling, Deacon Sweeney, Travis E. Doom, Michael L. Raymer

Kno.e.sis Publications

Sequencing of the human genome was a great stride towards modeling cellular complexes, massive systems whose key players are proteins and DNA. A major bottleneck limiting the modeling process is structure and function annotation for the new genes. Contemporary protein structure prediction algorithms represent the sequence of every protein of known structure with a profile to which the profile of a protein sequence of unknown structure is compared for recognition. We propose a novel approach to increase the scope and resolution of protein structure profiles. Our technique locates equivalent regions among the members of a structurally similar fold family, and …

La Homogeneizacion Paisajistica De Los Valles De Hortmoier Y Sant Aniol (Alta Garrotxa, Girona): Caracterizacion Y Evaluacion De Los Cambios Ambientales En El Periodo 1957-1979-1996 Con Patch Analyst, Josep Vila I Subiros, Joan M. Welch

Geography & Planning Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

2001 Scholars And Artists Bibliography, Michael Schwartz Library, Cleveland State University, Friends Of The Michael Schwartz Library

Scholars and Artists Bibliographies

This bibliography was created for the annual Friends of the Michael Schwartz Library Scholars and Artists Reception, recognizing scholarly and creative achievements of Cleveland State University faculty, staff and emeriti

Guidelines For The Establishment Of A Fish Habitat Protection Area., Fisheries Western Australia

Fisheries management papers

These guidelines are designed to guide the Department of Fisheries staff and community groups (the proponent) on the process for developing a proposal for a Fish Habitat Protection Area (FHPA). The guidelines: 1. Describe the role and function of Fish Habitat Protection Areas; 2. Guide proponents in selecting a suitable site for an FHPA; 3. Describe the process to be used to develop a proposal for an FHPA; 4. Describe the methodology to be used to develop a management plan for an FHPA; 5. Ensure consistency between applications.

Compendium Of Chemical Carcinogens By Target Organ: Results Of Chronic Bioassays In Rats, Mice, Hamsters, Dogs, And Monkeys, Lois Swirsky Gold, Neela B. Manley, Thomas H. Sloane, Jerrold M. Ward

Toxicology and Animal Models in Research Collection

Acompendiumof carcinogenesi s bioassay results organized by target organ is presented for 738 chemicals that are carcinogenic in chronic-exposure , long-term bioassays in at least 1 species. This compendium is based primarily on experiments in rats or mice; results in hamsters, monkeys, and dogs are also reported. The compendium can be used to identify chemicals that induce tumors at particular sites and to determine whether target sites are the same for chemicals positive in more than 1 species. The source of information is the Carcinogeni c Potency Database (CPDB), which includes results of 6073 experiments on 1458 chemicals (positive or …

Impact Evaluation Of A Folate Education Campaign With And Without The Use Of A Health Claim, P. G. Williams, J. Mchenery, Anne Mcmahon, H. Anderson

Faculty of Health and Behavioural Sciences - Papers (Archive)

Objective To measure the impact of a Kellogg/Northcott Society multimedia folate education campaign, run nationally from July 1998 to June 1999, with and without the use of health claims.

Method Three national telephone surveys of over 500 Australian women aged 18-44 in July and November 1998 and May 1999.

Results Awareness of the role of folate in the prevention of birth defects rose by 8% in the first 6 months of the campaign (without health claims) and by 15% in the second half (when health claims were incorporated). Awareness of the recommendation to take folate before pregnancy rose from 21% …

Winter Severity And Wolf Predation On A Formerly Wolf-Free Elk Herd, L. David Mech, Douglas W. Smith, Kerry M. Murphy, Daniel R. Macnulty

USGS Northern Prairie Wildlife Research Center

We studied wolf (Canis lupus) predation on elk (Cervus elaphus) in Yellowstone National Park from 17 March to 15 April 1997 (severe winter conditions) and from 2 to 31 March 1998 (mild winter conditions) 2-3 years after wolves were reintroduced to the park. Elk composed 91% of 117 kills. Data comparisons for 1997 versus 1998 were: hunting success rate, 26% versus 15%; kill rate, 17.1 kg/wolf/day versus 6.1; percent of kill consumed in first day, 7 versus 86; percent femur marrow fat of adult kills, 27 versus 70; calf:adult ratios of kills, 2:33 versus 17:23; sex …

Familiarity With The Test Environment Improves Escape Responses In The Crimson Spotted Rainbowfish, Melanotaenia Duboulayi, Culum Brown

Sentience Collection

Animals that are familiar with their environment have been reported to have greater survivorship for a number of reasons related to their knowledge of the terrain, which they recall from memory. In an initial experiment rainbowfish significantly improved their escape response towards a novel trawl apparatus over a sequence of five runs. Escape latencies were still low during a subsequent exposure 11 months after the initial exposure. While part of the improvement in escape success was certainly due to learning associated with the location of the escape route, it is likely that this was aided by habituation to the tank …

Spectral Response And Spatial Pattern Of Fraser Fir Mortality And Regeneration, Great Smoky Mountains, Usa, Thomas R. Allen

Political Science & Geography Faculty Publications

High elevation Fraser fir (Abies fraseri) forests of the Southern Appalachians have undergone widespread mortality since the introduction of the balsam woolly adelgid in the 1950s. Resulting changes in ecosystem pattern and process (e.g., stand dynamic processes) have greatly affected floral and faunal communities. In this project, we integrated field observations, geographic information system topographic models, and 1988–1998 satellite imagery to analyze spatial and temporal conditions of Fraser fir and spruce-fir ecosystems in Great Smoky Mountains National Park. Tasseled cap indices (brightness, greenness, and wetness) and associated spectral changes for Landsat TM digital data were statistically modeled by …

Familiarity Facilitates Social Learning Of Foraging Behaviour In The Guppy, Will Swaney, Jeremy Kendal, Hannah Capon, Culum Brown, Kevin N. Laland

Sentience Collection

Previous studies have shown that guppies, Poecilia reticulata, can learn the route to a food source by shoaling with knowledgeable conspecifics, and prefer to shoal with experienced foragers and familiar fish. We tested the hypothesis that guppies would learn more effectively from (1) familiar than unfamiliar demonstrators and (2) well-trained than poorly trained demonstrators. Demonstrator fish were given experience in swimming a route to a food source and then introduced into shoals of untrained observer guppies; the spread of this foraging skill was recorded over 15 trials. The demonstrators were either familiar or unfamiliar to the observers and either well …

The Effect Of Response Contingencies On Scale Model Task Performance By Chimpanzees (Pan Troglodytes), Valerie A. Kuhlmeier, Sarah T. Boysen

Sentience Collection

The effects of modified procedures on chimpanzees' (Pan troglodytes) performance in a scale model comprehension task were examined. Seven chimpanzees that previously participated in a task in which they searched an enclosure for a hidden item after watching an experimenter hide a miniature item in the analogous location in a scale model were retested under procedures incorporating response costs. In Experiment 1, chimpanzees were trained under procedures that rewarded only item retrievals occurring on the 1st search attempt. During test trials, 6 chimpanzees performed above chance, including 4 that were previously unsuccessful under the original procedures (V. A. Kuhlmeier, S. …

Online Bayesian Tree-Structured Transformation Of Hmms With Optimal Model Selection For Speaker Adaptation, Shaojun Wang, Yunxin Zhao

Kno.e.sis Publications

This paper presents a new recursive Bayesian learning approach for transformation parameter estimation in speaker adaptation. Our goal is to incrementally transform or adapt a set of hidden Markov model (HMM) parameters for a new speaker and gain large performance improvement from a small amount of adaptation data. By constructing a clustering tree of HMM Gaussian mixture components, the linear regression (LR) or affine transformation parameters for HMM Gaussian mixture components are dynamically searched. An online Bayesian learning technique is proposed for recursive maximum a posteriori (MAP) estimation of LR and affine transformation parameters. This technique has the advantages of …

Observations Of Scent-Marking And Discriminating Self From Others By A Domestic Dog (Canis Familiaris): Tales Of Displaced Yellow Snow, Marc Bekoff

Ethology Collection

Little is known about what stimuli trigger urinating or scent-marking in domestic dogs, Canis familiaris, or their wild relatives. While it is often suggested that the urine of other animals influences urinating and scent-marking patterns in canids, this has not been verified experimentally. To investigate the role of urine in eliciting urinating and marking, in this pilot study I moved urine-saturated snow (‘yellow snow’) from place-to-place during five winters to compare the responses of an adult male domestic dog, Jethro, to his own and others’ urine. Jethro spent less time sniffing his own urine than that of other males or …

A Five-Year Management Stategy For Recreational Fishing On The West Coast Of Western Australia, West Coast Recreational Fishing Working Group

Fisheries management papers

In its discussion paper (Fisheries Management Paper No. 139), which was widely distributed and publicized, the working group put forward a range of management proposals for community discussion. These were developed after meeting directly with recreational fishers in key regional centres and receiving feedback from fisheries scientists and managers. The discussion paper attracted widespread comment, with more than 1,200 written submissions received from recreational fishers, angling clubs and other stakeholders. The working group would like to thank all those individuals and organisations that took the time to provide this valuable feedback. It was recognised that some of the most pressing …

Plan Management For The Cottesloe Reef Fish Habitat Protection Area., Fisheries Western Australia

Fisheries management papers

This document is the final Plan of Management for the Cottesloe Reef FHPA. The significant contribution made by the CMPG and members of the community in the preparation of this plan is acknowledged and appreciated by the Department of Fisheries. The overall objective of the Plan of Management is to promote and encourage protection of the Cottesloe Reef aquatic habitat and involve the community in its management. It is anticipated that the establishment of the Cottesloe Reef FHPA will provide a framework, through regulations and education, to manage human activities that have, or may have, a destructive impact on the …

Assessing The ‘Whole Animal’: A Free Choice Profiling Approach, Françoise Wemelsfelder, Tony E.A. Hunter, Michael T. Mendl, Alistair B. Lawrence

Sentience Collection

The qualitative assessment of animal behaviour summarizes the different aspects of an animal’s dynamic style of interaction with the environment, using descriptors such as ‘confident’, ‘nervous’, ‘calm’ or ‘excitable’. Scientists frequently use such terms in studies of animal personality and temperament, but, wary of anthropomorphism, are reluctant to do so in studies of animal welfare. We hypothesize that qualitative behaviour assessment, in describing behaviour as an expressive process, may have a stronger observational foundation than is currently recognized, and may be of use as an integrative welfare assessment tool. To test this hypothesis, we investigated the inter- and intraobserver reliability …

Semantic Operators And Fixed-Point Theory In Logic Programming, Anthony K. Seda, Pascal Hitzler

Computer Science and Engineering Faculty Publications

We consider rather general operators mapping valuations to (sets of) valuations in the context of the semantics of logic programming languages. This notion generalizes several of the standard operators encountered in this subject and is inspired by earlier work of M.C. Fitting. The fixed points of such operators play a fundamental role in logic programming semantics by providing standard models of logic programs and also in determining the computability properties of these standard models. We discuss some of our recent work employing topological ideas, in conjunction with order theory, to establish methods by which one can find the fixed points …

Seagrass Species - Are They Spectrally Distinct?, S. K. Fyfe, A. G. Dekker

Faculty of Science - Papers (Archive)

The spectral reflectance of 3 species of seagrass was measured in different habitats at 3 estuaries in southeastern Australia during each of the 4 seasons of 2000. Seagrass species were spectrally distinct regardless of whether the leaves were fouled by epibionts even though spatial and temporal variability in reflectance was observed within each species. The visible wavelengths that penetrate water fortunately coincide with the regions of maximum absorption by plant photosynthetic and accessory pigments. Mapping of benthic plants to species level is possible using a hyperspectral sensor that has narrow bands centred on pigment-related spectral features in the visible, e.g. …

Fish Protection Measures To Ensure Fish For The Future, Jo Bunting

Fisheries management papers

The protection of Western Australia's aquatic animals, plants and habitats is important for many reasons. Fish, and many aquatic invertebrates, have significant commercial, recreational and social importance. Aquatic habitats provide food, refuge and breeding areas for fish and other animals. In addition, some habitats, such as rocky reefs and seagrass meadows, act as nursery sites for juvenile animals. Some habitats and their inhabitants (such as coral reefs) also have aesthetic values which support economically and socially important industries, such as tourism.

Summarizing Data Sets For Classification, Christopher W. Kinzig, Krishnaprasad Thirunarayan, Gary B. Lamont, Robert E. Marmelstein

Kno.e.sis Publications

This paper describes our approach and experiences with implementing a data mining system using genetic algorithms in C++. In contrast with earlier classification algorithms that tended to “tile” the data sets using some pre-specified “shapes”, the proposed system is based on Marmelstein’s work on determining natural boundaries for class homogeneous regions. These boundaries are further refined to construct a compact set of simple data mining rules for classification.

Mammalian Play: Training For The Unexpected, Marek Špinka, Ruth C. Newberry, Marc Bekoff

Ethology Collection

In this review, we present a new conceptual framework for the study of play behavior, a hitherto puzzling array of seemingly purposeless and unrelated behavioral elements that are recognizable as play throughout the mammalian lineage. Our major new functional hypothesis is that play enables animals to develop flexible kinematic and emotional responses to unexpected events in which they experience a sudden loss of control. Specifically, we propose that play functions to increase the versatility of movements used to recover from sudden shock such as loss of balance and falling over, and to enhance the ability of animals to cope emotionally …

Query Processing With An Fpga Coprocessor Board, Jack S. Jean, Guozhu Dong, Hwa Zhang, Xinzhong Guo, Baifeng Zhang

Kno.e.sis Publications

In this paper, a commercial FPGA coprocessor board is used to accelerate the processing of queries on a relational database that contains texts and images. FPGA designs for text searching and image matching are described and their performances summarized. A potential design for a database JOIN operator is then studied. A query optimization preprocessor is then proposed.

Studies On The Formation Of Dna-Cationic Lipid Composite Films And Dna Hybridization In The Composites, Murali Sastry, Vidya Ramakrishnan, Mrunalini Pattarkine, Krishna N. Ganesh

Faculty Works

The formation of composite films of double-stranded DNA and cationic lipid molecules (octadecylamine, ODA) and the hybridization of complementary single-stranded DNA molecules in such composite films are demonstrated. The immobilization of DNA is accomplished by simple immersion of a thermally evaporated ODA film in the DNA solution at close to physiological pH. The entrapment of the DNA molecules in the cationic lipid film is dominated by attractive electrostatic interaction between the negatively charged phosphate backbone of the DNA molecules and the protonated amine molecules in the thermally evaporated film and has been quantified using quartz crystal microgravimetry (QCM). Fluorescence studies …

Mirror Self-Recognition In The Bottlenose Dolphin: A Case Of Cognitive Convergence, Diana Reiss, Lori Marino

Sentience Collection

The ability to recognize oneself in a mirror is an exceedingly rare capacity in the animal kingdom. To date, only humans and great apes have shown convincing evidence of mirror self-recognition. Two dolphins were exposed to reflective surfaces, and both demonstrated responses consistent with the use of the mirror to investigate marked parts of the body. This ability to use a mirror to inspect parts of the body is a striking example of evolutionary convergence with great apes and humans.

Confounding The Goals Of Management: Response Of The Maine Lobster Industry To A Trap Limit, James Acheson

Marine Sciences Faculty Scholarship

The behavior of fishermen is often far more complicated than assumed by fisheries managers. Those concerned with the Maine lobster (i.e., American lobster Homarus americanus, hereafter "lobster") fishery have long favored a cap on the number of traps each license holder can use. Fishermen favor trap limits primarily to cut costs and limit congestion, and managers believe such limits will help reduce fishing effort. Yet when trap limits were imposed by the legislature and the lobster zone councils between 1995 and 1998, the number of traps fished in Maine waters increased greatly. A survey of half the lobster license holders …

Biodiversity: The World Of Life, Charles H. Smith

DLPS Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Making Use Of The Most Expressive Jumping Emerging Patterns For Classification, Jinyan Li, Guozhu Dong, Kotagiri Ramamohanarao

Kno.e.sis Publications

Classification aims to discover a model from training data that can be used to predict the class of test instances. In this paper, we propose the use of jumping emerging patterns (JEPs) as the basis for a new classifier called the JEP-Classifier. Each JEP can capture some crucial difference between a pair of datasets. Then, aggregating all JEPs of large supports can produce a more potent classification power. Procedurally, the JEP-Classifier learns the pair-wise features (sets of JEPs) contained in the training data, and uses the collective impacts contributed by the most expressive pair-wise features to determine the class labels …