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Multivariate Analysis Of Open Field Exploration Identifies Latent Spatial And Social Behavioral Axes In Domestic Dogs, Budhaditya Chowdhury, Moira Van Staaden, Robert Huber

Advanced Science Research Center

Recent methodological advances in studying large scale animal movements have let researchers gather rich datasets from behaving animals. Often collected in small sample sizes due to logistical constraints, these datasets are however, ideal for multivariate explorations into behavioral complexity. In behavioral studies of domestic dogs, although automated data loggers have recently seen increasing use, a comprehensive framework to identify complex behavioral axes is lacking. Dog behavioral studies frequently rely on subjective ratings, despite demonstrable evidence that these are insufficient for identifying behavioral variables. Taking advantage of dogs’ innate running abilities and readily available GPS data loggers, we extracted latitude-longitude coordinates …

No Room For Speciesism In Welfare Considerations, Jennifer Vonk

Animal Sentience

Speciesism should play no role in determining welfare outcomes. Cognition may vary within species as well as between species, but broad classifications such as invertebrates are functionally meaningless in this context. Cognition should relate to welfare only to the extent that it relates to the capacity to suffer or to experience pleasure.

Rewilding And Mixed-Community Collaboration In Conservation, Liv Baker

Animal Sentience

Rewilding is a psychological and sociocultural event for nonhuman animals that goes beyond the traditional framework of ecology. Elephants need to be seen as political agents in a collaboration. Our commentators shed light on the hierarchical assumptions and politics involved. Mixed-community collaboration can create dynamic and sustainable conservation interventions that are crucial to reconceptualizing the human-elephant relationship beyond the concept of labor. The profound effects of the Covid-19 pandemic have laid bare the fundamental vulnerabilities of the elephant tourism industry. Moreover, how well an elephant has been buffered by the fallout of the pandemic is dependent on the specific relations …

Insect Sentience And The Rise Of A New Inclusive Ethics, David Baracchi, Luigi Baciadonna

Animal Sentience

Welfare protections for vertebrates are grounded in the belief that vertebrates are sentient and capable of feeling whereas invertebrates are not. We agree with Mikhalevich & Powell that the exclusion of small-brained invertebrates from bioethics is not warranted by the current state of the scientific evidence. The choice to promote protection for certain invertebrates should be based on the Animal Sentience Precautionary Principle (ASPP). This principle should not prevent us from conducting experimental research with non-human animals to advance knowledge. However, we believe that it is important to outline practical guidelines to manage the wellbeing of invertebrates, while accumulating further …

Neuroanatomy Of The Blackspotted Rockskipper, Entomacrodus Striatus, Pooja Dayal

Williams Honors College, Honors Research Projects

Here I characterized the central neuroanatomy of the Blackspotted Rockskipper, Entomacrodus striatus, native to French Polynesia. The neuroanatomy of E. striatus has not been studied prior to this paper. I used several histology and antibody staining techniques to accomplish this, including Crystal Violet, immunohistochemistry, immunofluorescence, and Bielschowsky’s Silver Nitrate staining. This paper describes the most successful techniques used, identifies major structures in the species’ neuroanatomy, and also explains why studying E. striatus is important in the future of vertebrate research.

Applying Stable Isotopes Of Carbon (Δ$^{13}$C) And Nitrogen (Δ$^{15}$N) To Examine The Role Ofpikeperch (Sander Lucioperca Linnaeus, 1758) In Structuring The Food Web Oflake Eğirdir (Central Anatolia), Turkey, Meral Apaydin Yağci, Şenol Akin, Ahmet Alp, Abdulkadi̇r Yağci, Mehmet Cesur, Rahmi̇ Uysal, Fuat Bi̇lgi̇n, Vedat Yegen

Turkish Journal of Zoology

The aim of this study was to examine the role of pikeperch (Sander lucioperca L., 1758) in structuring the seasonal food web of Lake Eğirdir using carbon (δ$^{13}$C) and nitrogen (δ$^{15}$N) stable isotopes. The samples for stable isotopes were collected during the spring and autumn seasons. Sander lucioperca, as expected, was determined as a top predator with a substantially higher trophic position during both seasons (3.96, spring, δ$^{15}$N (mean ± SE = 13.09 ± 0.17) and δ$^{13}$C (mean ± SE = -17.23 ± 0.19) (4.10, autumn, δ$^{15}$N (mean ± SE = 14.14 ± 0.19) and δ$^{13}$C (mean ± SE = …

Insecticidal Effect Of Diatomaceous Earth And Dolomite Powder Against Corn Weevilsitophilus Zeamais Motschulsky, 1855 (Coleoptera: Curculionidae), Alyssa Cristina Oliveira Freitas, Adriana Aparecida Sinopólis Gigliolli, Ronaldo Roberto Tait Caleffe Caleffe, Helio Conte

Turkish Journal of Zoology

Sitophilus zeamais Motschulsky, 1855 (Coleoptera: Curculionidae) which develops inside the grain, is an aggressive pest of stored grains. Here, we evaluated the efficiency of diatomaceous earth (DE), Diatomita CI/325 CX, and dolomite (DOL), Dolomita Dr. Kanyo, against S. zeamais reared on corn under laboratory conditions and observed external alterations on treated insects using scanning electron microscopy (SEM). Insects treated with both DE and DOL were impregnated with particles on the body surface, and they showed 100% mortality after 10 days of exposure. Damages caused by inert dusts may have contributed to dehydration and desiccation, consequently, leading insects to death. Thus, …

Rewilding Or Reviewing: Conservation And The Elephant-Based Tourism Industry, Ingrid Suter

Animal Sentience

Baker & Winkler (2020) provide a detailed examination of elephants in captivity, from an historical perspective to modern-day concerns. Concerns include the poor level of mahout skills and subsequent captive elephant welfare issues in the Thai elephant tourism industry. Rewilding is proposed as a method of rehabilitation and a way to include mahouts in the conservation process. This commentary argues that the tourism industry is making positive changes and mahout skills can be utilised successfully without the arduous task of rewilding. Animal rights groups and the transfer of misinformation surrounding captive elephant welfare are also examined, as these typically fail …

The Necessity Of Human Attitude Change And Methods Of Avoiding Pandemics, Donald M. Broom

Animal Sentience

Humans share their biology with other animals and in each of their actions should consider the consequences for all life. A series of measures can be taken by governments and individuals that would minimise inter-specific transfer of pathogens from wildlife and reduce the development of antimicrobial resistance.

Re-Engage With The World For Global Health And Animal Welfare, Bradley J. Bergstrom

Animal Sentience

Wiebers & Feigin (2020) make a strong argument for measures that would limit future zoonoses, such as the COVID-19 pandemic, by closing live-animal markets, changing our habits of food consumption and production, and reducing habitat destruction. These would help human health, animal welfare, and conservation of at-risk wildlife all at the same time. China’s command-and-control government can accomplish some of these things by edict, but slower-to-act western democracies play a surprisingly large role in these global problems by the power of their consumerism, including the illicit wildlife trade. We citizens need to insist that our government use all of its …

Thinking Longer, Looking Deeper, Ronnie Z. Hawkins

Animal Sentience

We need to situate the present crisis within the larger context of what we humans have done to the nonhuman forms of life with which we evolved, taking a longer view of our own evolutionary origins and a deeper look at what might be a more appropriate role for our species to play within the Biosphere.

Timing And Extent Of Crop Damage By Wild Pigs (Sus Scrofa Linnaeus) To Corn And Peanut Fields, C. M. Boyce, Kurt C. Vercauteren, James C. Beasley

United States Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

The global expansion of wild pigs over the last few decades has resulted in an increase in extent and distribution of damages to crops, placing a growing strain on agricultural producers and land managers. Despite the extent of wild pig damage to agriculture, there is little data regarding timing and spatial variability of damage to corn (Zea mays Linnaeus) and we found no data regarding the effect of these factors on peanuts (Arachis hypogaea Linnaeus). Our objective was to determine the timing and extent of wild pig damage to corn and peanut fields, as well as the extent …

Validation Of A Screening Method For The Detection Of Colistin-Resistant E. Coli Containing Mcr-1 In Feral Swine Feces, Jeffrey C. Chandler, Alan B. Franklin, S. N. Bevins, Kevin T. Bentler, Jonas Bonnedahl, Christina A. Ahlstrom, Bledar Bisha, Susan A. Shriner

United States Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

A method was developed and validated for the detection of colistin-resistant Escherichia coli containing mcr-1 in the feces of feral swine. Following optimization of an enrichment method using EC broth supplemented with colistin (1 μg/mL) and vancomycin (8 μg/mL), aliquots derived from 100 feral swine fecal samples were spiked with of one of five different mcr-1 positive E. coli strains (between 10⁰ and 10⁴ CFU/g), for a total of 1110 samples tested. Enrichments were then screened using a simple boil-prep and a previously developed real-time PCR assay for mcr-1 detection. The sensitivity of the method was determined in …

Cattle Egrets Regurgitate House Mouse Carcasses Onto A Mouse-Free Island: Implications For Rodent Eradications, Aaron B. Shiels, Mele Khalsa, Doreen L. Griffin, Clay K. Chow, Sheri S. Mann, Antoinette J. Piaggio

United States Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

Context. Eradication of invasive rodents on islands typically results in positive conservation gains, and maintaining a rodent-free island requires elevated biosecurity, including prevention of assisted rodent arrival via watercraft, aircraft and animals such as birds. Cattle egrets (Bubulcus ibis) are widespread, and often fly several kilometres daily to roost and forage. They frequently swallow insects and vertebrates (including rodents) whole, and some regurgitate prey. Cattle egrets have been regularly observed flying between the Hawaiian Islands of Ni’ihau (where non-native mice and rats are established) and Lehua (where one species of non-native rat is established and was targeted during …

Competing Reproductive And Physiological Investments In An All‑Female Lizard, The Colorado Checkered Whiptail, Lise M. Aubry, Spencer B. Hudson, Bryan M. Kluever, Alison C. Webb, Susannah S. French

United States Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

Organisms in the wild have to allocate limited resources towards competing functions such as reproduction, growth, and self-maintenance. These competing investments create significant changes in physiological activity, and we still know little about the relationship between physiological activity and reproductive investment in natura. We investigated trade-offs between physiological activity and reproductive investment in the parthenogenetic Colorado checkered whiptail, Aspidoscelis neotesselata, across three different sites at the US Army Fort Carson Military Installation near Colorado Springs, CO, through-out the reproductive season in 2018 and 2019. We measured clutch size and reproductive activity and quantified plasma corticosterone (CORT), reactive oxygen metabolites (ROMs), …

Monk Parakeet (Myiopsitta Monarchus Boddaert, 1783), Michael L. Avery

United States Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

Common Names: Monk Parakeet, Quaker Parakeet, Quaker Parrot, Quaker Conure, Grey-headed Parakeet

The natural distribution of the Monk Parakeet (Myiopsitta monachus Boddaert, 1783) extends from southern Bolivia, through Paraguay, southern Brazil and Uruguay to southern Argentina (Fig. 10.1 ). It is documented as invasive in a range of countries, and of these, there are at least 17 countries where they are breeding in the wild, as detailed below. ...

The Monk Parakeet is among the most successful invasive bird species in the world. Unlike many other invasive birds, such as the Ring-necked Parakeet (Psittacula krameri) and the …

Movement Behavior Of Radio-Tagged European Starlings In Urban, Rural, And Exurban Landscapes, Page E. Klug, H. Jeffrey Homan

United States Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

Since their intentional introduction into the United States in the 1800s, European starlings (Sturnus vulgaris) have become the fourth most common bird species and a nuisance bird pest in both urban and rural areas. Managers require better information about starling movement and habit-use patterns to effectively manage starling populations and the damage they cause. Thus, we revisited 6 radio-telemetry studies conducted during fall or winter between 2005 and 2010 to compare starling movements (n = 63 birds) and habitat use in 3 landscapes. Switching of roosting and foraging sites in habitat-sparse rural landscapes caused daytime (0900–1500 hours) …

Serum Chemistry Values In Wild Black Vultures In Mississippi, Usa, Fred L. Cunningham, Sherman W. Jack, Amanda R. Deese, Eric R. Wengert, Kyle Van Why, Carla L. Huston, Scott Lemmons, Richard B. Minnis

United States Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

Vultures (Cathartidae and Accipitridae) play an important role in ecosystem balance by rapidly disposing animal carcasses and thus preventing the potential spread of pathogens. Blood chemistry values provide a means of assessing the health of wildlife and wild animal populations; however, there are significant differences in chemistries among species and when comparing captive and free-living New and Old World vultures. In 2007, we collected blood serum from 30 female and 14 male wild, healthy black vultures (Coragyps atratus) live-trapped by the U.S. Department of Agriculture, Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, Wildlife Services from a power substation in …

One Step Closer To A Better Starling Trap, James R. Thiele

United States Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

European starlings (Sturnus vulgaris) are an invasive species in the United States that damage agriculture, personal property, and threaten human health and safety. The U.S. Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services provides technical support to mitigate damage by controlling starling populations at concentrated animal feeding operations, landfills, utilities, and urban areas. Wildlife Services uses DRC-1339, a registered toxicant, to reduce starling populations. Trapping can also be an effective tool but requires more time at a higher cost than DRC-1339. Trapping starlings, however, may be needed to provide a viable alternative to mitigate damage in areas where toxicant use may …

Bat Boxes As Mitigation Tools: Factors Impacting Microclimate And Myotis Sodalis Roost Selection, Reed Crawford

Online Theses and Dissertations

Environmental degradation has led to declines in available natural roosting habitat for bats. To mitigate this loss, practitioners often deploy artificial roosts (e.g., bat boxes). There are no established species-specific practices for deployment strategy and roost design selection, but occupancy rates are known to vary across species and roost microclimates can be harmful to bats. Providing bats with thermally beneficial roosts during summer could enhance overwinter survival of WNS-affected species. To further our understanding of roost preference and microclimate, we deployed 40 rocket box roosts of 5 designs at field sites in Indiana and Kentucky. Roosts were deployed in clusters …

Conflicts And Triage, Kate E. Lynch, Daniel T. Blumstein

Animal Sentience

To represent diverse interests successfully, a strategy for dealing with conflicts is needed. We discuss an approach to maximizing the interests of the greatest number of individuals, present and future.

Rewilding And Domestication: Clarifying Terminology, Catia Correia-Caeiro

Animal Sentience

Baker & Winkler (B&W) describe the state of Asian elephant conservation, raising unique issues, and proposing a direction based on rewilding. The long history and socio-biology of elephants and humans has some parallels with the domestication of dogs (and other species). However, markers of domestication seem absent from elephants. The proper use of terms such as “wild” and “domestic” is crucial in defining the best conservation strategies, and, more important, in attending to the welfare needs of individuals, which can differ between wild and domestic animals. B&W’s target article represents an important starting point for discussion around elephant conservation, but …

The Evolution Of Dragons, Laura J. Mayfield

Undergraduate Theses, Professional Papers, and Capstone Artifacts

Dragons have been depicted in human art as early as 4500 BCE. For centuries, these fantasy creatures have inspired countless folk and fantasy tales, as well as appearing in the art of different cultures around the world. Now there are thousands of different depictions of these huge, flying, fire-breathing lizards, but are any of them possible? In this study, I reference peer-reviewed scientific articles, phylogenetic analysis, and paleoart studies to create biologically-sound dragons. Basing the dragon lineage on a real branch of webbed-winged scansoriopterygids—an extinct family of climbing and gliding maniraptoran dinosaurs—I explored the possible wing-structure, fire-breathing abilities, and effects …

One Planet, One Health, Michael W. Fox

Animal Sentience

We have to reduce our collective exploitation and consumption of animals. That is what is bringing on pandemics and other zoonotic diseases, accelerating climate change, destroying biodiversity, and causing untold amounts of animal suffering.

Intuition And The Invertebrate Dogma, Jonathan Balcombe

Animal Sentience

Just as intuition, fueled by hubris, led us to exclude insects from moral consideration, so intuition can lead to the opposite conclusion. Observed insect behavior, combined with scientific support for insect consciousness summarized in Mikhalevich & Powell’s target article, and bolstered by the Precautionary Principle, all militate against completely denying moral status to insects.

Obituary: Sydney Anderson (1927–2018), Scott Lyell Gardner, Robert M. Timm, Nancy Olds, Hugh H. Genoways

Scott L. Gardner Publications

On August 12, 2018, the American Society of Mammalogists (ASM) lost one of its giants of the latter half of the 20th century when Sydney Anderson quietly passed away at his home in Birmingham, Alabama, at the age of 91. “Syd,” to his many friends and colleagues, was born on January 11, 1927 in Topeka, Kansas, to Robert Grant and Evelyn Fern (Hunt) Anderson.

Anderson began his professional career at the University of Kansas, where for four years (1955–1959) he served as Assistant Curator in charge of mammals in the Museum of Natural History, and Instructor in the Department of …

Invasive Wild Pigs As Primary Nest Predators For Wild Turkeys, Heather N. Sanders, David G. Hewitt, Humberto L. Perotto-Baldivieso, Kurt C. Vercauteren, Nathan P. Snow

United States Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

Depredation of wild turkey (Meleagris gallopavo) nests is a leading cause of reduced recruitment for the recovering and iconic game species. invasive wild pigs (Sus scrofa) are known to depredate nests, and have been expanding throughout the distributed range of wild turkeys in north America. We sought to gain better insight on the magnitude of wild pigs depredating wild turkey nests. We constructed simulated wild turkey nests throughout the home ranges of 20 GPS-collared wild pigs to evaluate nest depredation relative to three periods within the nesting season (i.e., early, peak, and late) and two nest densities (moderate = 12.5-25 …

Effect Of Vaccination With A Novel Gnrh-Based Immunocontraceptive On Immune Responses And Fertility In Rats, Giovanna Massei, D. Cowan, Douglas C. Eckery, Richard E. Mauldin, M. Gomm, P. Rochaix, Fergal Hill, R. Pinkham, Laura A. Miller

United States Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

1. As human-wildlife conflicts increase worldwide, novel methods are required for mitigating these conflicts. Fertility control, based on immunocontraceptives, has emerged as an alternative option to lethal methods for managing wildlife.

2. Immunocontraceptives are vaccines that generate an immune response to key components of an animal's reproductive system. Some of these vaccines target the gonadotropin-releasing hormone (GnRH) and have been used successfully as contraceptives for many wildlife species. However, the need to capture animals for treatment limits the field applications of injectable vaccines. The availability of orally delivered immunocontraceptives would increase the breadth of applications of fertility control for wildlife …

Ecological Drivers Of African Swine Fever Virus Persistence In Wild Boar Populations: Insight For Control, Kim M. Pepin, Andrew J. Golnar, Zaid Abdo, Tomasz Podgórski

United States Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

Environmental sources of infection can play a primary role in shaping epidemiological dynamics; however, the relative impact of environmental transmission on host-pathogen systems is rarely estimated. We developed and fit a spatially explicit model of African swine fever virus (ASFV) in wild boar to estimate what proportion of carcassbased transmission is contributing to the low-level persistence of ASFV in Eastern European wild boar. Our model was developed based on ecological insight and data from field studies of ASFV and wild boar in Eastern Poland. We predicted that carcass- based transmission would play a substantial role in persistence, especially in low-density …

Influenza A Viruses In Peridomestic Mammals, J. Jeffrey Root, Susan A. Shriner

United States Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

During recent years, serological evidence has shown that a number of peridomestic mammals (e.g., those commonly found in or around human structures) are naturally exposed to influenza A viruses (IAVs). In addition, experimental studies have demonstrated that many of these species can successfully replicate several different IAVs, including IAVs of high consequence to public or agricultural health. The replication of some IAVs within this group of mammals could have implications for biosecurity associated with poultry production and live bird markets in some regions of the world. Given this evidence, the need for further study and understanding of the role that …