Digital Commons Network^™

Ethnoprimatology Of Urban Cebus Yuracus: An Evaluation Of Human-Non-Human Interactions And Local Perceptions In Misahualli, Ecuador, Sofia Castro-Loza

All Master's Theses

Little is known about the group of white-fronted capuchins (Cebus yuracus) coexisting alongside humans in the town of Misahuallí, Tena, Ecuador. This ethnoprimatological study focuses on the human-nonhuman interactions and the perceptions of the local people about the capuchin group. Behavioral interactions were examined using all-occurrence sampling, and the local perceptions of the Misahuallí people were assessed using semi-structured interviews. In total, 2,103 human-capuchin behavioral interactions were recorded. The majority of interactions were positive (55.6%), and 69.6% revolved around food. Overall, the capuchins initiated more negative interactions and in contrast, humans initiated more positive interactions. When interviewed about …

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 …

Homo Praticus: Performing Man And The Paradox Of Social Media, Aaron Perles

The Synapse: Intercollegiate science magazine

No abstract provided.

Evaluation Of Restoration Techniques And Management Practices Of Tule Pertaining To Eco-Cultural Use, Irene A. Vasquez

Cal Poly Humboldt theses and projects

Tule (Schoenoplectus sp.) is a native plant commonly used by California tribes and Indigenous people throughout the world (Macía & Balslev 2000). Ecological, social and regulatory threats to its use in contemporary Indigenous culture highlight major issues concerning natural resource management. My ancestral homeland, what is now Yosemite National Park, stands as a figurehead in the intersection of land management and Indigenous peoples. An important element of Traditional Ecological Management (TEM) for quality basketry materials is prescribed fire, an element western science is increasingly acknowledging for creating a more biodiverse and heterogeneous landscape. This research was conducted in Mariposa and …

Age-Related Changes To Bone Microarchitecture In A Non-Weight Bearing Bone, Tyler Hicks, Janna M. Andronowski, Reed Davis

Williams Honors College, Honors Research Projects

This study explored the relationship between age, sex and bone microarchitecture. Using high-resolution images, we may better understand the factors affecting different aspects of bone microstructure. Statistical support was provided for the quantitative differences in bone microarchitecture between the sexes. The significant differences noted in Canal Volume (Ca.V), Cortical Porosity (Ca.V/TV), Canal Surface (Ca.S) and Canal Surface to Tissue Volume (Ca.S/TV) offer several interesting points when compared with pre-existing literature. All four parameters listed above that reported significance did so with respect to sex, in that each parameter differed between sexes.

However, no significant difference was noted among age within …

Assessment Of Eastern Massasauga Rattlesnakes (Sistrurus Catenatus) In Berrien County Historical Sites, Roshelle M. Hall

Master's Theses

The Eastern Massasauga rattlesnake (Sistrurus catenatus; EMR) is a small robust pit viper currently found in nine states and the province of Ontario, Canada. Wetland habitats have experienced significant destruction and fragmentation by humans; as a result, the current distribution of the EMR is a fraction of its historic distribution. For this reason, the EMR has been federally listed as threatened. In general, little is known about the current distribution of this rattlesnake (in the southwest corner of Michigan, the size of local populations or their stability and genetic diversity. Much of this knowledge is based upon historical data. My …

Identifying The Homology Of The Short Human Pisiform And Its Lost Ossification Center, Kelsey M. Kjosness, Philip L. Reno

PCOM Scholarly Works

Background: The pisiform and calcaneus are paralogous bones of the wrist and ankle and are the only carpal and tarsal, respectively, to develop from two ossification centers with an associated growth plate in mammals. Human pisiforms and calcanei have undergone drastic evolutionary changes since our last common ancestor with chimpanzees and bonobos. The human pisiform is truncated and has lost an ossification center with the associated growth plate, while the human calcaneus has expanded and retained two ossification centers and a growth plate. Mammalian pisiforms represent a wide range of morphologies but extremely short pisiforms are rare and ossification center …

Prevalence Of Condensed Tannins In The Diet And Its Impact On Protein Intake Of Diademed Sifakas (Propithecus Diadema) At Tsinjoarivo, Madagascar, Emma Grace Thurau

Graduate Research Theses & Dissertations

Plant secondary metabolites (PSMs) are compounds found in plant tissues designed to deter herbivores. Tannins, a type of PSM, can bind to proteins and reduce their availability to consumers. The detoxification limitation hypothesis suggests herbivores will prefer foods with lower amounts of PSMs and exhibit decreasing rates of feeding when PSM levels are high in order to stabilize the amount of PSMs ingested. Although this hypothesis has been supported by observations from other mammalian groups, it has not been tested in lemurs with regards to their consumption of tannins.

I observed diademed sifakas (Propithecus diadema) over a 2-month period (June-August …

Reconciling Just Preservation, Shelley M. Alexander

Animal Sentience

Treves et al.’s target article can play an important role in reconciling the needs of future generations and non-human animals in conservation. Human capacities are adequate for interpreting and defining many non-human animal needs. Worldviews are more complex, however, and conservation science, like the target article itself, suffers from a lack of diversity and inclusiveness. This may pose practical impediments to realizing just preservation.

“It’S The Story”: Online Animated Simulation Of Cultural Competence Of Poverty -- A Pilot Study, Kimberly E. Johnson, Melissa Fleck, Thomas Pantazes

Internet Journal of Allied Health Sciences and Practice

Purpose: In this pilot study, researchers explore an online animated simulation as an educational tool for emerging health professionals to promote cultural competence of poverty, food insecurity, and the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program.Methods: Researchers recruited participants in the allied health sciences for focus groups to explore the effectiveness of an online animation in promoting cultural competence of poverty, food insecurity, and public assistance programs. Participants were asked about their experience with the educational tool and changes in cultural competence regarding poverty, food insecurity, and the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program. Participants also responded to five survey questions about their experience …

Sibling Sex, But Not Androgens, Shapes Phenotypes In Perinatal Common Marmosets (Callithrix Jacchus), Brett M. Frye, Lisa G. Rapaport, Michael W. Sears, Talia Melber, Suzette D. Tardif

Publications

When offspring share a womb, interactions among fetuses can impart lasting impressions on phenotypic outcomes. Such intrauterine interactions often are mediated by sex steroids (estrogens and androgens) produced by the developing fetuses. In many mammals, intrauterine interactions between brothers and sisters lead to masculinization of females, which can induce fitness consequences. Many litter-bearing primates, though, seem to escape androgen-mediated litter effects, begging why? Here, we investigated how the sex composition (i.e., same- or mixed-sex) of litters influences perinatal outcomes in the common marmoset monkey (Callithrix jacchus), using a combination of physiological, morphological, and behavioural assays. We hypothesized that …

Investigating How Faculty Social Networks And Peer Influence Relate To Knowledge And Use Of Evidence-Based Teaching Practices, A. K. Lane, J. Skvoretz, J. P. Ziker, Brian A. Couch, B. Earl, J. E. Lewis, J. D. Mcalpin, L. B. Prevost, S. E. Shadle, Marilyn Stains

School of Biological Sciences: Faculty Publications

Background: Calls for science education reform have been made for decades in the USA. The recent call to produce one million new science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) graduates over 10 years highlights the need to employ evidence-based instructional practices (EBIPs) in undergraduate STEM classes to create engaging and effective learning environments. EBIPs are teaching strategies that have been empirically demonstrated to positively impact student learning, attitudes, and achievement in STEM disciplines. However, the mechanisms and processes by which faculty learn about and choose to implement EBIPs remain unclear. To explore this problem area, we used social network analysis to …

The Prevotella Copri Complex Comprises Four Distinct Clades Underrepresented In Westernized Populations, Adrian Tett, Kun D. Huang, Francesco Asnicar, Hannah Fehlner-Peach, Edoardo Pasolli, Nicolai Karcher, Federica Armanini, Paolo Manghi, Kevin Bonham, Moreno Zolfo, Francesca De Filippis, Cara Magnabosco, Richard Bonneau, John Lusingu, John Amuasi, Karl Reinhard, Thomas Rattei, Fredrik Boulund, Lars Engstrand, Albert Zink, Maria Carmen Collado, Dan R. Littman, Daniel Eibach, Danilo Ercolini, Omar Rota-Stabelli, Curtis Huttenhower, Frank Maixner, Nicola Segata

Karl Reinhard Publications

Prevotella copri is a common human gut microbe that has been both positively and negatively associated with host health. In a cross-continent metaanalysis exploiting >6,500 metagenomes, we obtained >1,000 genomes and explored the genetic and population structure of P. copri. P. copri encompasses four distinct clades (>10% inter-clade genetic divergence) that we propose constitute the P. copri complex, and all clades were confirmed by isolate sequencing. These clades are nearly ubiquitous and co-present in non-Westernized populations. Genomic analysis showed substantial functional diversity in the complex with notable differences in carbohydrate metabolism, suggesting that multi-generational dietary modifications may be …

Imaging Coprolite Taphonomy And Preservation, Karl Reinhard, Morgana Camacho, Breyden Geyer, Samantha Hayek, Chase Horn, Kaitlin Otterson, Julia Russ

Karl Reinhard Publications

The impact of coprolite taphonomy on parasite remains and aDNA recovery has been recognized. In general, coprolites from sites protected by geologic features such as caves and rock shelters exhibit the best preservation. In contrast, coprolites from open sites can be badly affected by taphonomic processes as shown by analyses of parasite eggs. For eggs, the impact of mites and free living nematodes has been quantified. Mites are associated with poor pinworm egg preservation. In other studies, percolation of water through sediments has a negative impact on egg recovery. We note that dietary remains can also decompose at open sites. …

Multi-Locus Phylogenetic Inference Of The Howler Monkey (Alouatta) Radiation In South America., Esmeralda Ferreira

Dissertations and Theses

Abstract

Howler monkeys (Alouatta) are the most widely distributed New World primates, ranging from southern Mexico to northern Argentina. They occur in tropical rain forests, flooded and gallery forests, and deciduous and semi-deciduous environments. Despite their importance as seed dispersers, howlers have also been known to be ecological indicators. Available phylogenetic hypotheses for this genus have used chromosomal characters, morphological characteristics, and a limited number of molecular markers and specimens. In spite of these analyses, branching patterns among howler species lineages conflict between studies or remain unresolved. Using 14 unlinked non-coding intergenic nuclear regions under both a concatenated …

Human-Wildlife Conflict In And Around Borena Sayint National Park, Northern Ethiopia, Ayenew Biset, Girma Mengesha, Zerihun Girma

Human–Wildlife Interactions

We identified causes, impact, and traditional management measures of human– wildlife conflict (HWC) in and around Borena Sayint National Park, Ethiopia. We employed questionnaires, focus group discussions, direct observations, and key informant interviews to collect data. The respondents perceived an increase in the number of wildlife population (56 respondents; 42.4%) followed by human proximity to park areas (44 respondents; 33.3%) as the main causes of HWC. The respondents perceived leopards (Panthera pardus) and spotted hyenas (Crocuta crocuta) among the top livestock depredators while grivet monkeys (Cercopethicus aethiops) and porcupines (Hystrix cristata) were perceived …

Effects Of Habitat Disturbance On The Teeth Of Propithecus Diadema In The Forests Of Tsinjoarivo, Madagascar: Implications For Species Viability And Conservation, Katie Susann Heffernan

Graduate Research Theses & Dissertations

The accelerated transformation of Madagascar’s ecosystems is a direct result of habitat destruction which has devastating consequences for the viability of the island’s animals. This dissertation focuses on the critically endangered diademed sifaka, Propithecus diadema, living in the rainforests of Tsinjoarivo, Madagascar. Tsinjoarivo has been heavily impacted by slash and burn agriculture and transformed into isolated forest fragments. Previous research by Irwin and colleagues has demonstrated that the diet and group dynamics of Propithecus diadema differ between continuous and degraded forests, but whether fragmented landscapes provide tougher foods and lead to behavioral changes through increased tooth wear has not been …

Seabird Threats On Land And At Sea: Measuring Nearshore Response To Invasive Predator Eradications And Storm Petrel Diet Response To Fishing Expansion, Lyndsay L. Rankin

Graduate Research Theses & Dissertations

Seabirds are crucial components of many marine and island ecosystems, and yet they are the world’s most threatened group of birds. They spend most of their lives at sea, where they face numerous threats including climate change, pollution, and fisheries. When they return to land to breed, they are threatened by human disturbance and invasive species. This research examines seabird response to threats on land and at sea using stable isotope analysis. Seabirds provide multiple ecosystem services, such as depositing rich marine-derived nutrients into the islands where they nest. Invasive predators disrupt this bottom-up control by decimating seabird populations. Successful …

Healthcare Practices Related To Neonatal Abstinence Syndrome, Muriel Mikayla Johnson

Honors Theses

The incidence of Neonatal Abstinence Syndrome (NAS) is abounding in hospitals across the nation due to the recent surge in opioid abuse. This thesis explores the variation in protocols and guidelines used by healthcare practitioners concerning NAS. This study consisted of a literature review as well as observations and interviews with healthcare practitioners in Neonatal Intensive Care Units (NICUs). The literature review revealed there has been a greater increase in NAS among rural areas, and there is currently no national standardized protocol for the treatment of NAS. Field notes taken during the interviews and observations confirmed the literature in that …

Ultrafine Black Carbon: A Cumulative Assessment On The Physiology Of Lung - Derived Cells, M Esther Salinas

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

Combustion-derived nanomaterials are noxious ultrafine (<100 nm) aerosolized by-products generated by human activity. They pose threats to pulmonary health due to their small size, allowing them to penetrate deep into the alveolar regions causing detrimental responses downstream. Indeed, an examination between nanocarbon particle exposure and poor pulmonary health via cellular behavior was needed. I hypothesized that low-dose and long-term administrations of carbonaceous nanoparticles contribute to respiratory conditions by irritating lung-derived cells. Responses to ultrafine black carbon (UBC), a key component of airborne pollutants, by human lung A549 and murine lung LA4 epithelial cells, human peripheral-blood monocytes THP1, and murine macrophages RAW264.7 were investigated. These lines were chosen because epithelial cells and mononuclear cells (monocytes and macrophages) are the first to come in contact with inhaled particulate matter (PM) and contribute to stress and inflammation of pulmonary tissues. The cells were first plated on day zero and fed fresh UBC suspended in culture media on days one, four, and seven. The exposure regimen included three different low-level concentrations of UBC. On day ten, all cells were prepared for subsequent assays. Effects on cellular viability revealed that UBC was modestly cytotoxic while ATPase and esterase activity (termed enzyme vitality for the purpose of this study) were significantly diminished in a dose-dependent manner. Additionally, beta-galactosidase proportionally increased with UBC concentration compared to untreated cells, indicating that cellular senescence was promoted across all cell types. Multiple markers of oxidative stress were subsequently measured, showing non-uniform trends and displaying moderate accumulation of oxidative damage, contingent upon cell line and UBC treatment. However, a significant induction of inner mitochondrial membrane depolarization of human UBC-treated cells was observed; an aberrant cell-cycle progression was found across all cells. The implemented regimen of UBC exposure elicited an imbalance of free (reduced) glutathione, altered mitochondrial potential, and abnormal cell-cycle activity. This method demonstrated that modifications across both species induced changes to cellular fitness overall. The data supported that compounding nanosized black carbon exposure could negatively affect overall pulmonary cell health by distinctively modifying intracellular activity. Additionally, we further surmised that sustained exposure to nanocarbon could impair innate immunity. Therefore, reactive oxygen species (ROS), reactive nitrogen species (RNS), and cytokine levels upon continuous administrations to 3.0 μg/mL UBC after brief challenges to microbial proxies were assessed; on day 9, the cells were succumbed to three different microbial insults (LPS, Poly I:C, and Zymosan). On day 10, measurements demonstrated a moderate accumulation of oxidative stress, conditional to each cell type. Thus, UBC plus microbe approach triggered pro-oxidant levels and cytokine production across different cell types and diminished phagocytic response by murine macrophages. Based on the results, ultrafine-PM exposure may impair inflammatory function in response to pathogenic infections. In summation, our findings indicated that additive nanosized UBC in combination with microbe-like challenges may compromise cellular behavior, suggesting potential ways by which inhalation of ultrafine-PM may contribute to or exacerbate poor pulmonary health.

Unclogging The Pipeline: Advancement To Full Professor In Academic Stem, Helga Van Miegroet, Christy Glass, Ronda R. Callister, Kimberly Sullivan

Ecology Center Publications

Purpose: Women remain underrepresented in academic STEM, especially at the highest ranks. While much attention has focused on early-career attrition, mid-career advancement is still largely understudied and undocumented. This paper analyzes gender differences in advancement to full professor within academic STEM at a mid-size public doctoral university in the western US, before and after the NSF-ADVANCE Program (2003-2007).

Methodology: Using faculty demographics and promotion data between 2008 and 2014, combined with faculty responses to two waves of a climate survey, the magnitude and longevity of the impact of ADVANCE on mid-career faculty advancement across gender is evaluated.

Findings: This study …

Animal Remains Of Alaybeyi Höyük, Abu Bakar Siddiq

Turkish Journal of Veterinary & Animal Sciences

This paper presents the zooarchaeological observations on animal remains of Alaybeyi Höyük unearthed from 2016 and 2017 excavation sessions. Dated to 4721-4553 cal. BC, Alaybeyi stands so far as the oldest archaeological settlement discovered in northeast Anatolia. Therefore, the faunal assemblage at Alaybeyi offers great opportunity to study the status of animals and their relationships with humans in the largely unexplored Kars-Erzurum plateau covering a period from the Chalcolithic to Late Iron Age. Taxonomic and osteometric analyses show that, like the present day, cattle were dominant over caprines, revealing extensive cattle pastoralism in the region for at least about 7 …

Morphometric Analysis Of The Skulls Of Domestic Cattle (Bos Taurus L.) And Water Buffalo (Bubalus Bubalis L.) In Turkey, Ermi̇ş Özkan, Abu Bakar Siddiq, Ki̇fayet Oya Kahveci̇oğlu, Muhsi̇n Öztürk, Vedat Onar

Turkish Journal of Veterinary & Animal Sciences

A total of 20 domestic cattle (Bos taurus L.) and 15 water buffalo (Bubalis bubalis L.) skulls were analyzed in this study. All of the specimens belonged to female individuals. Using a total of 27 craniometric measurements from each of the skulls, 9 indices were calculated. Although there were statistically significant differences between the linear measurements of the skulls of both species, while calculating the indices with their ratios, the values of the measurements of the facial area were determinative in the craniology. Among these indices, the facial index 1 value was statistically significant (P < 0.01) in the comparison of these two species. On the other hand, while considering the orbit and foramen magnum measurements, in contrast with the transversal measurement, the height was more determinant for their index and form.

Following The Seed: Investigating Seed Saving And Network Creation In The Appalachian Region Of Southeastern Ohio, Molly Hicks

Antioch University Dissertations & Theses

Since the beginning of agriculture, seeds have been cultivated, saved, and exchanged by farmers each year to ensure the success of future crops adapted to local environments. Yet, over ninety percent of our diverse vegetable and fruit crop varieties have been lost due to the industrialization and commercialization of seeds. Industrial agriculture has caused a great homogenization of crop varieties, but locally adapted seeds and their seed savers do still exist on the fringe, and across the world. There is a small but growing body of research on agri-food networks in Western and developing countries where advocates are working to …

Humans: Uniquely Responsible For Causing Conservation Problems, Uniquely Capable Of Solving Them, Michael L. Wilson, Clarence L. Lehman

Animal Sentience

We share Chapman & Huffman’s views on the importance of promoting animal welfare and conservation. We disagree with their implication, however, that reverence for life and concern for the wellbeing of global ecosystems depend on a belief that other living things are similar to humans in any of their capacities. Humans exhibit special traits — language, cumulative culture, extraordinary capacity for cooperation when we are at our best, and ever-advancing technological developments — that enabled them to dominate the planet, resulting in the current conservation crisis. It is precisely the fact that humans have become unique that provides hope for …

Mirror Neurons And Humanity’S Dark Side, Gisela Kaplan

Animal Sentience

The last two decades have revealed brain mechanisms in birds and primates showing that, contrary to earlier prejudices, some birds can do things (cognitive and affective) on par with or even better than great apes and humans. The old dichotomies are breaking down; but the dark side is that these insights come at a time in the Anthropocene when humans have caused and continue to cause mass extinctions.

Of Course, Humans Are Not Unique!, Bernard Wallner

Animal Sentience

This commentary focuses on the question of the uniqueness of humans in comparison to other species and on the false assumption that single arguments support logical conclusions. Comparative analysis of genetic data in humans and nonhuman primates regarding the dopaminergic system of the subcortical mesolimbic reward system highlights homologous traits shared and modified by the process of evolution. Such an analytical approach is more relevant than claims of uniqueness.

Humans Have Always Been Unique!, William C. Mcgrew

Animal Sentience

Arguments about human uniqueness apply not only to extant species but also to extinct ones, that is, the hominin predecessors of anatomically modern Homo sapiens. Thus, unique and superior are doubly relative terms, in past and present. The scope for empirical comparison faces a spectrum of difficulty, from material (e.g., artefacts) to non-material (e.g., concepts) phenomena.

Mobilizing Heads And Hearts For Wildlife Conservation, Valérie A. M. Schoof, Simon L'Allier

Animal Sentience

Highlighting the shared evolutionary relationships between humans and animals — and recognizing that all species, including humans, are unique in their own way — may facilitate caring for and conserving animals by tapping into a human emotion: empathy.

Animal Cognition: Quantity Has A Quality Of Its Own, Ivaylo Borislavov Iotchev, Kauê Machado Costa

Animal Sentience

Chapman & Huffman’s moral analysis fails to prove that the exploitation of animals or the environment is causally connected to beliefs about human capacities. Their exposition of the philosophical interpretations of animal cognition ignores historical context and confounds different levels of analysis. Their analysis of the scientific literature, from which they conclude that humans should not be considered as different from other animals, does not take into account many recent psychological and neuroscientific developments and rests upon a flawed understanding of the relationship between gradual and categorical differences, misrepresenting the two as mutually exclusive concepts.