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Full-Text Articles in Life Sciences

Variation In Personality Among Semi-Wild Myanmar Timber Elephants, Sateesh Venkatesh Dec 2020

Variation In Personality Among Semi-Wild Myanmar Timber Elephants, Sateesh Venkatesh

Theses and Dissertations

This study examines two personality traits: exploration and neophobia, which could influence human-elephant conflicts. Thirty-one semi-wild elephants were tested over two trials using a custom novel puzzle tube containing three tasks and three rewards. Our studies show that elephants do vary significantly between individuals in both exploration and neophobia.


Infection And Persistence Of Zika Virus In Female Immune-Competent Gray Short-Tailed Opossums (Monodelphis Domestica), Oscar Quintanilla Dec 2020

Infection And Persistence Of Zika Virus In Female Immune-Competent Gray Short-Tailed Opossums (Monodelphis Domestica), Oscar Quintanilla

Theses and Dissertations

Zika virus (ZIKV) is a class IV RNA virus transmitted by Aedes species of mosquitoes. It produces flu-like symptoms, but recent studies have associated additional, more severe pathologies with ZIKV like microcephaly. Currently, no effective treatment options or vaccines exist. This is partly due to limitations of current animal models. Monodelphis domestica (the gray short-tail opossum) may serve as a proper model for ZIKV research. Here we test the susceptibility of M. domestica to ZIKV infection. Female, immune-competent subjects were injected with live ZIKV and analyzed serologically and histologically for evidence of ZIKV replication. ELISAs performed on sera confirmed that …


Using Object-Choice Tasks To Investigate Sensory Perception In Sunda Pangolins (Manis Javanica), Joshua Dipaola May 2020

Using Object-Choice Tasks To Investigate Sensory Perception In Sunda Pangolins (Manis Javanica), Joshua Dipaola

Theses and Dissertations

Pangolins are one of the most heavily poached, yet least understood mammals in the world. In this study, we used an object-choice task to assess the ecological relevance and use of sensory information in Sunda pangolin foraging behavior. This is the first controlled experiment on pangolin behavior to our knowledge.