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Domestication And Cognitive Complexity, David R. Brodbeck, Madeleine I. R. Brodbeck, Keeghan Rosso

Animal Sentience

Marino and Merskin (2019) list a number of tasks that sheep can perform well. As comparative psychologists, we are not surprised by these results. Indeed, many domesticated animal species show similar abilities.

Can A Mirror Capture The Self?, Cynthia Willett

Animal Sentience

Is the mirror a reliable indicator of self-awareness for any species, whether sheep or human? Taking a cue from feminist, phenomenological, and cross-cultural philosophy, a relational self rather than a reflective one might better capture what is at stake for the lives of social animals and for science.

Are Octopuses Special? Mind, Sociality And Life History, Phyllis C. Lee

Animal Sentience

Understanding the Umwelt or being-ness of an octopus is a fascinating problem. Mather’s review provides us with significant insights into the ways of living of non-humans that exploit a perceptual and physical world we can only guess at. Octopus “distributed minds” call into question our primate-based understandings of the importance of sociality and the pace of life in the evolution of complex perceptual and behavioural abilities.

Cephalopod Molluscs, Causal Models, And Curious Minds, Andrew W. Corcoran

Animal Sentience

Mather (2019) presents a compelling case in favour of octopus mind. Surveying an impressive array of empirical literature, she identifies the creature’s playful, inquisitive behaviour as emblematic of a distinctively mental form of agency. I offer an alternative perspective in which curiosity and play are construed as constitutive processes in the emergence of the (predictive) mind.

The Octopus Mind And The Argument Against Farming It, Jennifer Jacquet, Becca Franks, Peter Godfrey-Smith

Animal Sentience

Mather is convincing about octopuses having ‘a controlling mind, motivated to gather information,’ but stops short of asking what having that mind means for octopus moral standing. One consequence of understanding the octopus mind should be a refusal to subject octopuses to mass production. Octopus farming is in an experimental phase and supported by various countries. We argue that it is unethical because of concerns about animal welfare as well as environmental impacts.

The Challenges For A Closed-To-The-Public Animal Sanctuary: Prioritizing Animal Welfare While Engaging In Educational Community Outreach, Lisa Tweed

All Master's Theses

Chimpanzee Sanctuary Northwest is a small primate sanctuary in Cle Elum, Washington, and is presently home to seven chimpanzees who were retired from biomedical research. I used this sanctuary as a case study to find out how a closed-to-the-public sanctuary can engage in educational outreach without compromising the welfare of the residents. I employed a combination of semi-structured interviews of sanctuary personnel, ethnographic participant-observation as a volunteer caregiver, and an online survey offered to the local community to help me understand the goals and limitations of sanctuaries. I also designed and conducted two educational programs for local area schools as …

Ovipositional Choices On Host Plants And Larval Development Of Tawny Coster Acraea Terpsicore (Linnaeus, 1758), Chitsanuphong Phanthian

Chulalongkorn University Theses and Dissertations (Chula ETD)

Acraea terpsicore (Linnaeus, 1758) is a common butterfly in Thailand that utilizes Passiflora plants. Due to urbanization and globalization, many Passiflora exotic plants have been introduced to Thailand, and these Passiflora plants may affect the preferences of A. terpsicore. Therefore, this study aimed to compare the ovipositional preferences of adult female A. terpsicore and to compare the larval host plant preferences and performance on different Passiflora plants. Four Passiflora species, Passiflora foetida (a wild plant), P. edulis (a fruit crop plants), P. x alata-caerulea and P. x coccinea-caerulea (both ornamental plants), had been compared in both field and laboratory experiments …

River Report. State Of The Lower St. Johns River Basin, Florida: Water Quality, Fisheries, Aquatic Life, Contaminants, 2019, Environmental Protection Board, City Of Jacksonville, University Of North Florida, Jacksonville University, Gerry Pinto, Brian P. Zoellner, Christopher Baynard, Charles Closmann, Nisse Goldberg, Scott F. Jones, William Penwell, Radha Pyati, Adam E. Rosenblatt, Gretchen Bielmyer-Fraser

State of the River Report

No abstract provided.

Changes In Walleye Fecundity And Egg Size Before, During, And After Rehabilitation Of The Red Lakes Fishery, Benjamin J. Miller, Benjamin D. Erb

Journal of Earth and Life Science

The Red Lakes in northern Minnesota experienced a major Walleye Sander vitreus fishery crash in the late 20th century, but has since recovered to record abundances and supports a major commercial and recreational fishery. Fecundity is an integral aspect of recruitment that can contribute greatly to the understanding of fishery population dynamics. To elucidate the effects of varying Walleye densities and exploitation rates on fecundity and egg size in years 1989 (overexploited fishery), 2004 (recovering fishery), and 2017 (recovered fishery), we analyzed linear models that related fecundity or egg size to morphological features for these three sampling periods. Walleyes were …

Goldeye Hidon Alosoides Calorimetry In Red Lake, Jesse Mendel

Journal of Earth and Life Science

Goldeye Hiodon alosoides are found across North America and are a relatively unstudied group of fish as they have had no economic value in the past. Ecologically speaking, these fish could have importance to the waters that they inhabit, as they are prey to fishes like Walleyes Sander vitreus, Northern Pike Esox lucius, and Muskellunge Esox masquinongy. These fish could potentially be vital to predatory fishes because of the amount of oil found in these fish, creating gram for gram more energy than compared to other consumable substances. The average energy density for all Goldeye was 6.73 …

Examining Black Bullhead Ameiurus Melas Age And Growth In Shallow Minnesota Lakes, Michael S. Collins, Anna M. Medina

Journal of Earth and Life Science

Ageing methods, population age structures, and growth trajectories for Black Bullhead Ameiurus melas were evaluated for six populations from shallow lakes divided between two ecoregions in Minnesota, USA. A total of 693 fish were collected in July and August 2018 and measured for total lengths (TL) and weights (g). We collected ageing structures from 320 of these fish. Crosssections of lapillar otoliths (n=191) and pectoral spine structures (n=75) were used to estimate age by two readers in a blind reading procedure. Fish caught ranged in total lengths from ~40 to 350 mm and weighed between 8 and 380 g. Black …

Cause‐Specific Mortality Of The World’S Terrestrial Vertebrates, Jacob E. Hill, Travis L. Devault, Jerrold L. Belant

United States Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

Aim: Vertebrates are declining worldwide, yet a comprehensive examination of the sources of mortality is lacking. We conducted a global synthesis of terrestrial vertebrate cause‐specific mortality to compare the sources of mortality across taxa and determine predictors of susceptibility to these sources of mortality.

Location: Worldwide.

Time period: 1970–2018.

Major taxa studied: Mammals, birds, reptiles and amphibians.

Methods: We searched for studies that used telemetry to determine the cause of death of terrestrial vertebrates. We determined whether each mortality was caused by anthropogenic or natural sources and further classified mortalities within these two categories (e.g. harvest, vehicle collision and predation). …

Feral Swine Harming Insular Sea Turtle Reproduction: The Origin, Impacts, Behavior And Elimination Of An Invasive Species, Richard M. Engeman, Robert W. Byrd, Jamie Dozier, Mark A. Mcalister, James O. Edens, Elizabeth M. Kierepka, Timothy J. Smyser, Noel Myers

United States Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

Feral swine are among the world's most destructive invasive species wherever they are found, with translocations figuring prominently in their range expansions. In contrast, sea turtles are beloved species that are listed as threatened or endangered throughout the world and are the focus of intense conservation efforts. Nest predation by feral swine severely harms sea turtle reproduction in many locations around the world. Here we quantify and economically assess feral swine nest predation at North Island, South Carolina, an important loggerhead sea turtle nesting beach. Feral swine depredation of North Island sea turtle nests was first detected in 2005, with …

A Bioeconomic Model For The Optimization Of Local Canine Rabies Control, Aaron Anderson, Johann Kotze, Stephanie A. Shwiff, Brody Hatch, Chris Slootmaker, Anne Conan, Darryn Knobel, Louis H. Nel

United States Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

We present a new modeling tool that can be used to maximize the impact of canine rabies management resources that are available at the local level. The model is accessible through a web-based interface that allows for flexibility in the management strategies that can be investigated. Rabies vaccination, sterilization, chemo-contraception, and euthanasia can be specified and limited to specific demographic groups. Additionally, we allowed for considerable complexity in the specification of management costs. In many areas, the costs of contacting additional dogs increases as management effort increases, and this can have important strategic implications. We illustrated the application of the …

No Detection Of Brodifacoum Residues In The Marine And Terrestrial Food Web Three Years After Rat Eradication At Palmyra Atoll, Central Pacific, A. Wegmann, G. Howald, S. Kropidlowski, N. Holmes, A.B. Shiels

United States Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

Invasive alien species represent one of the greatest threats to native plants and animals on islands. Rats (Rattus spp.) have invaded most of the world’s oceanic islands, causing lasting or irreversible damage to ecosystems and biodiversity. To counter this threat, techniques to eradicate invasive rats from islands have been developed and applied across the globe. Eradication of alien rats from large or complex island ecosystems has only been successful with the use of bait containing a rodenticide. While effective at eradicating rats from islands, rodenticide can persist in the ecosystem longer than the time required to eradicate the target rat …

Ecological Functions Of Vertebrate Scavenging, James C. Beasley, Zachary H. Olson, Nuria Selva, Travis L. Devault

United States Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

Introduction

The role of vertebrate scavenging in food web dynamics has historically been minimalized and portrayed as the activity of a select group of obligate scavengers (e.g., vultures), with a simplistic linkage between carrion and detritivores in food webs. Research in the last few decades, however, has revealed that the role of carrion in food web dynamics is severely underestimated, highly complex, and pervasive among ecosystems across the globe (DeVault et al. 2003; Selva and Fortuna 2007; Wilson and Wolkovich 2011). Such observations have led to a surge in research interest in scavenging ecology that continues to reveal new information …

Did Predator Control Go To The Dogs? A 40-Year Retrospective, John M. Tomeček

Human–Wildlife Interactions

In 1980, Green and Woodruff published an article entitled, “Is Predator Control Going to the Dogs?” At that time, the use of Livestock Guardian Dogs (hereafter LGDs) was a relatively new wildlife damage management tool in North America. Although this tool passed the test of time in its point of origin, early North American adopters stepped into a brave new world with little to guide them. In the modern world, knowledge of methods and means of wildlife damage management exists in written texts, films, and other guides. For LGDs, however, such materials did not exist 40 years ago. Over the …

The Marin County Livestock Protection Program: 15 Years In Review, Stephanie Larson, Devan A. Mcgranahan, Robert M. Timm

Human–Wildlife Interactions

Predation by wild carnivores challenges livestock producers worldwide. To reduce or offset losses due to predation, a variety of predator control methods and compensation schemes have been developed. In 2001, Marin County, California, USA replaced its U.S. Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services (WS) cooperative predator damage management program with a county-run program that emphasized nonlethal methods for preventing and controlling coyote (Canis latrans) predation on domestic sheep (Ovis aries). This new Livestock Protection Program (LPP) cost-shared with livestock producers’ efforts to improve fencing, obtain and maintain guard animals, and other such nonlethal methods, and initially it …

Temporal Trends In Florida Panther Food Habits, Gretchen Caudill, David P. Onorato, Mark W. Cunningham, Danny Caudill, Erin H. Leone, Lisa M. Smith, Deborah Jansen

Human–Wildlife Interactions

Once on the brink of extinction, the Florida panther (Puma concolor coryi) has reoccupied parts of its extirpated range in southern Florida, USA over the past 20 years, which has largely been attributed to genetic restoration efforts initiated in 1995 to combat inbreeding depression and subsequent deleterious traits. Concurrent to the resurgence, an increase in documented livestock depredation events has heightened concern over human– panther conflicts. We examined 312 stomach content, scat, and feces (large intestine contents) samples collected 1989 to 2014 across the endemic range in southern Florida. We compared frequency of occurrence of prey items in …

In The News, Jason Matthews, Joe N. Caudell

Human–Wildlife Interactions

No abstract provided.

Mice And Rats: Perceptions, Realities, And Impacts On Humankind, Terry A. Messmer

Human–Wildlife Interactions

This is the Letter from the Editor.

Predicting Black Bear Activity At Backcountry Campsites In Bryce Canyon National Park, Utah, Wesley G. Larson, Tom Smith

Human–Wildlife Interactions

Developing the capacity to predict black bear (Ursus americanus; bear) activity in a diversity of habitats will help conserve bear populations and their habitats and minimize human–bear conflicts. This capacity will be particularly important in areas that provide bear habitat and offer backcountry hiking and camping experiences. Bryce Canyon National Park (BRCA), located on the edge of the Paunsaugunt Plateau in southern Utah, USA, provides important bear habitat and offers visitors 12 backcountry campsites. To effectively manage these areas to minimize human–bear conflicts, park managers will need better information about black bear use of these campsites and other …

New Associate Editors, Dwayne Elmore, David K. Dahlgren

Human–Wildlife Interactions

New associate editors are Dwayne Elmore and David Dahlgren.

Dwayne Elmore is a professor, wildlife extension specialist, and Bollenbach Chair in wildlife biology in the Department of Natural Resource Ecology and Management at Oklahoma State University. Specific areas of interest include wildlife habitat relationships, Galliform ecology and management, and thermal ecology. Current research projects are focused on how management and human activity affect various species of grouse and quail. He works with stakeholder groups including private landowners, NGOs, U.S. Department of Agriculture, U.S. Department of the Interior, and multiple state wildlife agencies to provide technical assistance on land management issues. …

Managing Cougars In North America: Revisions Underway, Jonathan A. Jenks

Human–Wildlife Interactions

In 2011, the Jack H. Berryman Institute, in cooperation with the Western Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies Cougar Working Group, published “Managing Cougars of North America” (available through www.berrymaninstitute.org or Amazon.com). Over 5,000 copies of the book were distributed. Because the science regarding management of cougars has dramatically grown over the last decade, the partners are again collaborating on a revision of the 2011 book. Currently, the chapters are undergoing a peer-review process through Human–Wildlife Interactions. Jonathan A. Jenks, South Dakota State University, is serving as the editor-in-chief for the peer-review process and will be the editor for the …

Comparing Live-Capture Methods For Nutria: Single- Versus Multiple-Capture Cage Traps, Trevor R. Sheffels, Jacoby Carter, Mark D. Sytsma, Jimmy D. Taylor

Human–Wildlife Interactions

Herbivory and burrowing by nutria (Myocastor coypus) cause substantial ecological and economic damage. Trapping is a common, effective practice for reducing nutria damage; however, trapping approaches must continually be adapted to keep pace with evolving animal welfare and ethical issues and to more effectively target pest species of interest. Our objective was to evaluate the efficacy of 2 nonlethal trap types for nutria: single-capture (SCT) and multi-capture (MCT) cage traps. We established 3 MCTs and 3 SCTs at each of 7 sites on a 10,500-ha mixed-use island located 15 km northwest of Portland, Oregon, USA. We pre-baited using …

Comparison Of Conservation Policy Benefits For An Umbrella And Related Sagebrush-Obligate Species, Jonathan B. Dinkins, Jeffrey L. Beck

Human–Wildlife Interactions

Many conservation strategies promote the potential of multiple species benefitting from protection of large areas necessary for the continued viability of 1 species. One prominent strategy in western North America is Wyoming’s Sage-grouse Core Area Policy, which was designed to conserve greater sage-grouse (Centrocercus urophasianus; hereafter, sage-grouse) breeding habitat, but may also serve as an umbrella to conserve other sagebrush (Artemisia spp.)-obligate wildlife, including songbirds. Sagebrush-obligate songbirds and sage-grouse have undergone population declines throughout the western United States attributed to similar habitat issues. We compared trends of sagebrush-obligate songbirds from the Breeding Bird Survey and sage-grouse lek …

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Human–Wildlife Interactions

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Characterization And Quantification Of Major Flavonol Glycosides In Ramps (Allium Tricoccum), Wijdan M. Dabeek, Nik Kovinich, Callee Walsh, Melissa Ventura Marra

Faculty & Staff Scholarship

The ramp (Allium tricoccum) is a traditional plant in the eastern Appalachian Mountains. Ramps have been used in traditional medicine for their health-promoting roles in lowering blood pressure and cholesterol. Information on the chemical composition of the potentially bioactive components in ramps is limited. Therefore, the aim of this work was to characterize and quantify major flavonols in ramps. Flavonoids were extracted in 50% methanol and 3% acetic acid. Characterization was conducted using UHPLC-PDA-MS and MS/MS, and quantification was performed using UHPLC-PDA detection. The major flavonol glycosides were kaempferol sophoroside glucuronide, quercetin sophoroside glucuronide, kaempferol rutinoside glucuronide, quercetin hexoside glucuronide, …

Mob Grazing Results In High Forage Utilization And Reduced Western Snowberry Size, Heidi Reed, Sharon Clay, Alexander Smart, David Clay, Michelle Ohrtman

Agronomy, Horticulture and Plant Science Faculty Publications

Mob-grazing strives to maximize forage utilization and minimize selective grazing by using high stocking densities in small paddocks for short durations (12–24 hr). Rotational-grazing uses low stocking densities for a longer time period, retaining about half of the original available forage; although selective grazing can occur. Three cattle (Bos taurus × Bos indicus) grazing intensities: mob- (stocking densities from 32,000 to 67,000 kg ha−1; duration—24 hr); rotation (stocking density—2500 kg ha−1; duration—35 d); and non-grazed systems were compared based on forage utilization and changes to western snowberry (Symphoricarpos occidentalis) (WS) patch volume in a 2-year South Dakota study. …