Dog And Owner Characteristics Predict Training Success,
2021
University of Nebraska-Lincoln
Dog And Owner Characteristics Predict Training Success, Jeffrey R. Stevens, London M. Wolff, Megan Bosworth, Jill Morstad
Jeffrey Stevens Papers & Publications
Teaching owners how to train their dogs is an important part of maintaining the health and safety of dogs and people. Yet we do not know what behavioral characteristics of dogs and their owners are relevant to dog training or if owner cognitive abilities play a role in training success. The aim of this study is to determine which characteristics of both dogs and owners predict success in completing the American Kennel Club Canine Good Citizen training program. Before the first session of a dog training course, owners completed surveys evaluating the behavior and cognition of their dog and themselves ...
Are Capuchin Monkeys (Sapajus Spp.) Sensitive To Lost Opportunities? The Role Of Opportunity Costs In Intertemporal Choice,
2021
University of Nebraska-Lincoln
Are Capuchin Monkeys (Sapajus Spp.) Sensitive To Lost Opportunities? The Role Of Opportunity Costs In Intertemporal Choice, Elsa Addessi, Valeria Tierno, Valentina Focaroli, Federica Rossi, Serena Gastaldi, Francesca De Petrillo, Fabio Paglieri, Jeffrey R. Stevens
Jeffrey Stevens Papers & Publications
Principles of economics predict that the costs associated with obtaining rewards can influence choice. When individuals face choices between a smaller, immediate option and a larger, later option, they often experience opportunity costs associated with waiting for delayed rewards because they must forego the opportunity to make other choices. We evaluated how reducing opportunity costs affects delay tolerance in capuchin monkeys. After choosing the larger option, in the High cost condition, subjects had to wait for the delay to expire, whereas in the Low cost different and Low cost same conditions, they could perform a new choice during the delay ...
Effects Of Human-Animal Interactions On Affect And Cognition,
2021
University of Nebraska - Lincoln
Effects Of Human-Animal Interactions On Affect And Cognition, Elise L. Thayer, Jeffrey R. Stevens
Jeffrey Stevens Papers & Publications
Human-animal interaction has clear positive effects on people’s affect and stress. But less is known about how animal interactions influence cognition. We draw parallels between animal interactions and exposure to natural environments, a research area that shows clear improvements in cognitive performance. The aim of this study is to investigate whether interacting with animals similarly enhances cognitive performance, specifically executive functioning. To test this, we conducted two experiments in which we had participants self-report their affect and complete a series of cognitive tasks (long-term memory, attentional control, and working memory) before and after either a brief interaction with a ...
Ecological And Social Drivers Of Mexican Gray Wolf (Canis Lupus Baileyi) Home Range Patterns Across Spatiotemporal Scales,
2021
Humboldt State University
Ecological And Social Drivers Of Mexican Gray Wolf (Canis Lupus Baileyi) Home Range Patterns Across Spatiotemporal Scales, Evelyn M. Lichwa
HSU theses and projects
Elucidating factors influencing home range size are fundamental relationships that can be described for any wildlife species, particularly those of conservation concern. The Mexican gray wolf (Canis lupus baileyi) is an endangered sub-species of the gray wolf whose home range patterns have not yet been studied. I estimated home range sizes for 22 Mexican wolf packs using Brownian Bridge Movement Models (95% UD). Generalized linear mixed effect models were used to evaluate environmental and social variables across four timeframes. Annual home range size was inversely related to human density and tree cover. During the denning period, home range was inversely ...
Patterning And Quality Of Male-Male Interactions In Hamadryas Baboons (Papio Hamadryas),
2021
Central Washington University
Patterning And Quality Of Male-Male Interactions In Hamadryas Baboons (Papio Hamadryas), John Calcitrai
All Master's Theses
The social structure of a primate group is defined as the content, quality, and patterning of interactions and relationships among the members of the social group. Ecological variables, stress physiology, and phylogenetic inertia play a role in regulating measures of interactions and relationships between non-human primates. To examine social dynamics among male hamadryas baboons, video recordings of focal follows of this species were coded for three behavioral categories: self-directed behaviors (SDB), socio-positive behaviors, and agonistic behaviors. The analysis of self-directed behaviors revealed no differences in SDB across males of differing sex classes (i.e., Leader Male, Follower Male, or Solitary ...
The Effects Of Olfactory Enrichment On Shelter Dog Behavior,
2021
Kennesaw State University
The Effects Of Olfactory Enrichment On Shelter Dog Behavior, Madison J. Pattillo, Lauren N. Mitchell, Jessica A. Catchpole, Allison L. Martin
The Kennesaw Journal of Undergraduate Research
Shelter environments are stressful for dogs due to loud noises and unfamiliar surroundings. Previous research showed that exposure to some scents resulted in reductions in activity and vocalizations in shelter dogs. We investigated the effects of two calming (lavender and vetiver) and two stimulating (lemon and rosemary) essential oils on crate position and active, resting, and stress behaviors. There were 8, 5-min observations conducted each week per dog, split between baseline and scent exposure. Our analysis using the Wilcoxon Signed-Rank test found that dogs exposed to lavender (n = 13), lemon (n = 10), rosemary (n = 13), and vetiver (n = 12) did ...
Corticostriatal Pathway Inactivation And Connections To Associative Learning With Nicotine Stimulus In Rats,
2021
University of New Hampshire
Corticostriatal Pathway Inactivation And Connections To Associative Learning With Nicotine Stimulus In Rats, Anna Kalinowski
Honors Theses and Capstones
The main concern of this study is looking into the neural mechanisms of associative learning with a nicotine stimulus. The goal of this study was to find out if inactivating the corticostriatal pathway through DREADDs (Designer Receptors Exclusively Activated by Designer Drugs) inhibited goal-tracking behavior in rats. In this experiment, rats underwent two surgeries. One was to inject DREADDs into the infralimbic cortex and the other in the dorsomedial caudate-putamen (dmCPu). Rats were initially trained on levers through water deprivation. Once they reached the criterion, they moved on to the self-administration phase. After the rats were trained in self-administration sessions ...
Animal-Human Vocabulary Builder,
2021
CUNY City College
Animal-Human Vocabulary Builder, Domenick Acocella, Rene Cordero
Open Educational Resources
The assignment helps students individually build a usable, expanding vocabulary of terms and concepts, enabling each to further contribute to the ongoing, evolving written, oral, and visual conversations centered on the use of and thought about animals for food, clothing, work, entertainment, experimentation, imagery, and companionship.
Buffalo In The Mountains: Mapping Evidence Of Historical Bison Prescence And Bison Hunting In Glacier National Park,
2021
University of Montana, Missoula
Buffalo In The Mountains: Mapping Evidence Of Historical Bison Prescence And Bison Hunting In Glacier National Park, Kyle Langley
Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers
This study explores 10,000+ years of bison presence and bison hunting within Glacier National Park. Despite significant faunal evidence of bison presence in the area, few people today associate bison with Glacier National Park. Previous archaeological studies have found bison faunal remains and evidence of bison hunting throughout the eastern half of the park going back thousands of years. Furthermore, local tribes such as the Kootenai and Blackfeet maintain oral traditions that detail ancestral hunting strategies and practice in the region. This project reviews all of these sources to contextualize the archaeological signatures of bison and tell the story ...
Are Giant Pandas (Ailuropoda Melanoleuca) Averse To Inequity?,
2020
CUNY Hunter College
Are Giant Pandas (Ailuropoda Melanoleuca) Averse To Inequity?, Miranda R. Trapani
Theses and Dissertations
Inequity aversion, a negative response to situations of unequal reward distribution, is a cognitive trait usually seen in social species. This capacity is thought to regulate cooperative relationships in intelligent, cognitively flexible animals. Giant pandas are a unique case in that wild populations are characterized as nonsocial, however captive populations are socially housed until sexual maturity. This allows for the study of a nonsocial species in a social context and thus the assessment of socio-cognitive flexibility across evolutionarily distant taxa. Here, we assessed whether the giant panda (Ailuropoda melanoleuca) displays inequity aversion by testing ten juveniles living at the Chengdu ...
Behavioral Differences Among Varyingly-Disturbed Populations Of Eastern Grey Kangaroos (Macropus Giganteus) In New South Wales, Australia,
2020
CUNY Hunter College
Behavioral Differences Among Varyingly-Disturbed Populations Of Eastern Grey Kangaroos (Macropus Giganteus) In New South Wales, Australia, Francesca A. Iacobucci
Theses and Dissertations
Despite their iconic status, kangaroo spp. are often treated as pests in Australia due to perceived abundance and extensive grazing behaviors. With growing suburbanization, animals such as kangaroo spp., are forced to inhabit human-dominated areas. Little research has been done examining how different aspects of human-induced disturbance can varyingly affect the behavior of wild animals. Specifically, this study examined how varyingly-disturbed areas affect behaviors such as vigilance, foraging, joey emergence during the in/out stage of pouch emergence, and play in three eastern grey kangaroo (Macropus giganteus) populations. Results suggest that acute environmental disturbances (e.g., dogs barking or cars ...
Evidence Of Incipient Song Divergence In A Hawaiian Population Of Warbling White-Eyes,
2020
CUNY Hunter College
Evidence Of Incipient Song Divergence In A Hawaiian Population Of Warbling White-Eyes, Jesse D. Robinson
Theses and Dissertations
Natural or human-mediated founder events can lead to changes in avian communication signals, potentially impacting the trajectory of evolution. Warbling white-eye (Zosterops japonicus) was introduced from Japan to the Hawaiian Islands between 1929 – ca. 1937. I recorded primary songs in Hawai‘i (O‘ahu, Big Island) and collected archival recordings, then conducted a comparative analysis between introduced and native song types which revealed significant differences in the O‘ahu and Big Island populations. To test for behavioral responses that corresponded to these differences, I presented conspecific playback stimuli (intra-island, inter-island, native) to individuals in Hawai‘i (O‘ahu, Big Island ...
Repellent Surface Applications For Pest Birds,
2020
USDA, APHIS, Wildlife Services' National Wildlife Research Center
Repellent Surface Applications For Pest Birds, Shelagh T. Deliberto, James C. Carlson, Hailey E. Mclean, Caroline S. Olson, Scott J. Werner
Human–Wildlife Interactions
Common pest birds in the United States include the non-native European starling (Sturnus vulgaris), house sparrow (Passer domesticus), and the pigeon (Columba livia domestica), as well as native birds including Canada geese (Branta canadensis) and gull species (Laridae). Large concentrations of pest birds can create human health hazards and monetary losses due to consumption of crops, depredation, and fecal contamination and accumulation. Fecal contamination hazards include the potential spread of zoonotic diseases including antimicrobial-resistant zoonoses and human injury due to the accumulation of fecal material on walking surfaces. Additionally, fecal accumulation causes structural and aesthetic damage due to the accelerated ...
Supporting Farmer Adoption Of Sustainable Bird Management Strategies,
2020
Michigan State University
Supporting Farmer Adoption Of Sustainable Bird Management Strategies, Catherine A. Lindell
Human–Wildlife Interactions
Pest birds cause substantial and costly damage to crops. Managing birds is complex because (1) they are highly mobile, (2) they habituate quickly to many deterrents, (3) some species provide benefits to farmers by deterring and consuming pest insects, rodents, and other birds, and (4) birds are highly valued by many people. Thus, farmers have many issues to consider when developing bird management strategies. Here I discuss recent work indicating that farmer adoption of sustainable agricultural practices is more likely when practices are effective, clear guidelines for implementation are available, implementation is relatively easy, and when practices are linked, in ...
Wildlife Trade And Covid-19: Towards A Criminology Of Anthropogenic Pathogen Spillover,
2020
University of Southern Maine
Wildlife Trade And Covid-19: Towards A Criminology Of Anthropogenic Pathogen Spillover, Piers Beirne Phd
Criminology
The general remit of this paper is the role of wildlife trade in pathogen spillover. Its underlying assumption is that, so far from being the exclusive domain of the life sciences, the study of pathogen spillover will be greatly enhanced by multi-perspectival approaches, including One Health and those employed here, namely, non-speciesist green criminology and critical animal studies. The paper moves from discussions of zoonosis, anthroponosis and wildlife trade to the emergence of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China. The paper recommends the abolition of all wildlife trade and the reclamation of wildlife habitat and broaches discussion of the extension of legal ...
Impact Of Endangered Animal Protection Rights, Policies, And Practices On Zoonotic Disease Spread,
2020
Bowling Green State University
Impact Of Endangered Animal Protection Rights, Policies, And Practices On Zoonotic Disease Spread, Daniella Fedak-Lengel
Honors Projects
Building on field research in Costa Rica and Belize, this honors project analyzes environmental and endangered animal protection policies, rights, and practices in Central America and the Caribbean, and assesses the impact of veterinary science and biological research and practice, particularly conservation biology, on animal welfare concerns. Informed by the recent surge in awareness regarding zoonoses and zoonotic disease transmission, prevention and control, resulting from the current global pandemic of SARS-CoV-2, the project assesses the need for new and innovative types of collaboration, particularly involving conservation biologists, environmental scientists, public health experts, law and policy makers, and global trade and ...
Examining Pathogenesis And Preventatives In Spontaneous And Staphylococcus-Induced Bacterial Chondronecrosis With Osteomyelitis In Broilers,
2020
University of Arkansas, Fayetteville
Examining Pathogenesis And Preventatives In Spontaneous And Staphylococcus-Induced Bacterial Chondronecrosis With Osteomyelitis In Broilers, Nnamdi Simon Ekesi
Graduate Theses and Dissertations
Bacterial chondronecrosis with osteomyelitis is the most important cause of lameness in broilers. This is important to poultry production, as it poses animal welfare issues, and causes a significant loss in revenue. The remediation of this disease requires the study of its etiology with fitting models and evaluating preventatives. The research reported herein covers genomic virulence analysis of BCO isolates, mainly Staphylococcus aureus, and Escherichia coli retrieved from lame birds. We found that S. aureus isolates were closest to chicken strains in Europe but may have been in the Arkansas area for a decade. Phylogenomics suggest our S. aureus is ...
The Effects Of Music On Dairy Production,
2020
Murray State University
The Effects Of Music On Dairy Production, Anneliese Kemp
Honors College Theses
The purpose of this research is to find which genre of music dairy cows produce the most milk to in order to aid dairy farmers in yielding maximum product while also keeping their cattle as comfortable as possible. During each lactation a different genre of music will play, basic vital signs, and behavioral observations of the cows will be taken, then the amount of milk produced during that genre will be measured. First, no music will be played, base line vitals will be taken, and milk yield will be measured. This will give an estimate to how positively or negatively ...
Evaluation Of Different Ensiling Methods On Storage And Feeding Value Of The Residual Material From Edamame Soybean Processing,
2020
University of Arkansas, Fayetteville
Evaluation Of Different Ensiling Methods On Storage And Feeding Value Of The Residual Material From Edamame Soybean Processing, Ellen Herring
Graduate Theses and Dissertations
Use of organic waste material by ruminant animals from food processing operations potentially reduces costs and reduces environmental issues from disposal of these residues. Therefore, 2 experiments were conducted to evaluate the storage and feeding value of residual from edamame soybean processing for ruminant animals. Two types of waste streams, waste during harvest time and waste from processing stored material, were ensiled (on a laboratory scale) using various methods and effects on post-ensiling nutritive value were examined. Material from both waste streams were ensiled either without wilting or after wilting; each moisture level was ensiled with and without an inoculant ...
Effects Of Long-Term Variation In Temperature On Reproductive Phenology In A Population Of Eastern Bluebirds (Sialia Sialis),
2020
University of Arkansas, Fayetteville
Effects Of Long-Term Variation In Temperature On Reproductive Phenology In A Population Of Eastern Bluebirds (Sialia Sialis), Paul Pleiman
Graduate Theses and Dissertations
This study investigates the relationship between multiple temperature variables, to include annual and pre-lay date temperatures with first-egg and mean first-egg lay dates of the eastern bluebird at the Warner Parks in Nashville, Tennessee, USA. Data is collected by citizen scientists for the Eastern Bluebird Nesting Box Project while visiting artificial nest boxes throughout the park and recording observations made during the breeding season. Temperature data is retrieved from the Northwest Alliance for Computational Science and Engineering’s Parameter-elevation Regressions on Independent Slopes Model (PRISM) Climate Group, based at Oregon State University. The analyses showed no correlation between annual or ...
