Animal Sciences Commons^™

The Network Motif Architecture Of Dominance Hierarchies, Daizaburo Shizuka, David B. Mcdonald

School of Biological Sciences: Faculty Publications

The widespread existence of dominance hierarchies has been a central puzzle in social evolution, yet we lack a framework for synthesizing the vast empirical data on hierarchy structure in animal groups. We applied network motif analysis to compare the structures of dominance networks from data published over the past 80 years. Overall patterns of dominance relations, including some aspects of non-interactions, were strikingly similar across disparate group types. For example, nearly all groups exhibited high frequencies of transitive triads, whereas cycles were very rare. Moreover, pass-along triads were rare, and double-dominant triads were common in most groups. These patterns did …

The Behavioral Causes Of Reproductive Skew In Cooperatively Polygynandrous Acorn Woodpeckers (Melanerpes Formicivorus), Anna C. Brownson

Biological Sciences Theses & Dissertations

Reproductive skew, the degree to which reproduction is shared among same-sex individuals in a social group, is a pattern affected by ecological conditions, sociality, cooperation, and the inter- and intrasexual behavior of individuals in complex animal societies. Transactional and compromise skew models assume that high skew is the product of dominance hierarchies among cobreeders, yet this has rarely been tested. Both model types fail to incorporate the decisions of more than two individuals, generally overlooking the effect of female behavior on male reproductive success in multi-male groups, and are ineffective at predicting skew in larger groups characterized by more than …

Temporal Patterns Of Nutrition Dependence In Secondary Sexual Traits And Their Varying Impacts On Male Mating Success, Malcolm F. Rosenthal, Eileen A. Hebets

Eileen Hebets Publications

Variation in the quantity of nutrients ingested over an individual’s lifetime is likely to differentially affect distinct male secondary sexual traits and courtship signals, potentially providing females with information about a male’s past and present foraging history. We hypothesize that female choice is thus influenced by a male’s lifetime foraging history. To test this, we manipulated the quantity of nutrients (i.e. prey items) available to male wolf spiders, Schizocosa stridulans, using a fully crossed 2 × 2 design with low versus high prey quantity across juvenile and adult life stages, and assessed the impact of these diet treatments on male …

Observational Learning In The Jumping Spider Phidippus Audax, Robert M. Adams

School of Biological Sciences: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

Observational learning is a complex form of learning most frequently studied in social vertebrates. However, evidence for social learning exists in several invertebrate species Evidence of invertebrate observational learning also exists, though to a lesser extent. This study addresses observational learning in a jumping spider (Phidippus audax) through video playback. My results suggest that while observational learning is occurring, the exact mechanism in use remains unclear. Spiders that saw a conspecific satiate itself on a prey item readily attacked a similar prey item when exposed to a live prey item. However, spiders exposed to a conspecific rejecting or …

Global Warming And Population Responses Among Great Plains Birds, Paul A. Johnsgard

Zea E-Books Collection

Based on an analysis of 47 years (1967–2014) of Audubon Christmas Bird Counts (CBC), evidence for population changes and shifts in early winter (late December) ranges of nearly 150 species of birds in the Great Plains states is summarized, a region defined as including the Dakotas, Nebraska, Kansas, Oklahoma, and the Texas panhandle. The rationale for this study had its origins in Terry Root’s 1988 Atlas of North American Wintering Birds. Root’s landmark study provided a baseline for evaluating the nationwide winter distributions of 253 North American birds in the mid-20th century, using data from the National Audubon Society’s …

Communicating The Overall Experience Of Research Through Various Approaches Using Art: A Case Study Of The Prothonotary Warbler, Hannah Huddle, Lesley P. Bulluck, Sarah E. Faris

Rice Rivers Center Research Symposium

Recommended Citation

In general, scientific research has publication of data as the end goal. The process and experience, which are of great importance in art disciplines, is not necessarily represented or valued. However, science has an inherent element of art to it, which deserves to be shown. I have been studying Prothonotary Warblers with a team from the VCU Biology Department to learn how I can reinterpret the research in a way that bridges the gap between the experience and typical scientific products. The research team measured spatial and temporal variation in warbler prey abundance (caterpillars and mayflies) and assessed …

Effects Of Roads And Trails On Peaks Of Otter Salamander (Plethodon Hubrichti) And Eastern Red-Backed Salamander (Plethodon Cinereus) Movement Behavior, Cory Benjamin Goff

Theses, Dissertations and Capstones

Habitat fragmentation negatively affects movement and dispersal of wildlife by altering useable space and creating barriers. The objective of this study was to assess impacts of fragmentation by roads and trails on the movement behavior of two terrestrial, woodland salamander species. I evaluated whether proximity to roads and trails affected the movement behavior of two species: the Peaks of Otter Salamander (Plethodon hubrichti), a species of special concern, and the Eastern Red-backed Salamander (Plethodon cinereus). I examined movement behavior in three treatments: paved roads, gravel roads and hiking trails. I compared treatments to controls located at least 200m from treatment …

White-Tailed Deer (Odocoileus Virginianus) Fawn Risk From Gray Wolf (Canis Lupus) Predation During Summer, L. David Mech, Aaron Morris, Shannon M. Barber-Meyer

United States Geological Survey, Northern Prairie Wildlife Research Center: Publications

Little is known about how often various prey animals are at risk of predation by Gray Wolves (Canis lupus). We used a system to monitor the presence during the day of two radio-collared Gray Wolves within 2 km of a radio-collared White-tailed Deer (Odocoileus virginianus) with a fawn or fawns in August 2013 in the Superior National Forest of northeastern Minnesota. We concluded that the fawn or fawns were at risk of predation by at least one wolf at least daily.

Behavioral Observations: Foraging And Aggression Of Neotropical Migrants And Resident Birds In Panama, Jessica M. Johnston, Samuel B. King, Ryan A. Levering

Rice Rivers Center Research Symposium

Lyons suggests that foraging data in songbirds can be an indicator of food abundance, with higher attack rate= higher habitat quality; higher foraging speed= lower habitat quality (2005). Territorial behavior such as interspecific aggression among songbirds may also be related to food availability. Previous studies have documented variation in the extent of territorial and aggressive behaviors among resident and Neotropical migratory species on tropical wintering grounds. This research gathered foraging and aggression data at two coastal angroves sites in central Panama, one on the Caribbean Coast (Galeta) and one on the Pacific Coast (Juan Diaz-East). Foraging data was used an …

Abiotic Habitat Preferences Of Age-0 Paddlefish In Lake Sakakawea, North Dakota During Late Summer, Derek Dufault

Journal of Earth and Life Science

Since the early 1990’s, surface visual counts along transects have been conducted annually, allowing for estimates of relative abundance and year-class strength of age-0 paddlefish Polyodon spathula on the upper portions of Lake Sakakawea, North Dakota. This study focuses on the annual visual surface count data collected over an eleven year period from 2004-2014. More specifically it focuses on abiotic habitat factors (Secchi depth, water depth, and water temperature) and how they relate to age-0 paddlefish locations in late summer. Understanding habitat use during early life stages is imperative, yet to date, there is very limited knowledge available regarding the …

The Complexities Of Female Mate Choice And Male Polymorphisms: Elucidating The Role Of Genetics, Age, And Mate-Choice Copying, Kasey D. Fowler-Finn, Laura Sullivan-Beckers, Amy M. Runck, Eileen A. Hebets

Eileen Hebets Publications

Genetic, life history, and environmental factors dictate patterns of variation in sexual traits within and across populations, and thus the action and outcome of sexual selection. This study explores patterns of inheritance, diet, age, and mate-choice copying on the expression of male sexual signals and associated female mate choice in a phenotypically diverse group of Schizocosa wolf spiders. Focal spiders exhibit one of two male phenotypes: ‘ornamented’ males possess large black brushes on their forelegs, and ‘non-ornamented’ males possess no brushes. Using a quantitative genetics breeding design in a mixed population of ornamented/non-ornamented males, we found a strong genetic basis …

Octopamine Levels Relate To Male Mating Tactic Expression In The Wolf Spider Rabidosa Punctulata, Eileen A. Hebets, Matthew Hansen, Thomas C. Jones, Dustin J. Wilgers

Eileen Hebets Publications

In the wolf spider Rabidosa punctulata, upon encountering a female, males use one of two distinct strategies: (1) they court the female in an attempt to elicit a mating, or (2) they engage in a direct-mount tactic that involves extensive grappling with the female until a mating is achieved. The latter tactic appears more sexually aggressive, and both tactics come with the risk of being cannibalized. We explored the physiological mechanisms underlying this behavioral variation by assessing the relationship between circulating levels of the biogenic amine octopamine (OA), a neuromodulator suggested to play a role in “fight or flight” responses …

Functional Approach To Condition, Dustin J. Wilgers, Eileen A. Hebets

Eileen Hebets Publications

Animal signaling is commonly thought to be costly. Signaling costs can arise via a variety of avenues, including energy expenditure, predator attraction, and so on (reviews in Zuk and Kolluru, 1998; Kotiaho, 2001), and are predicted to increase with signal expression (e.g., size, amplitude, and intensity; Johnstone, 1997). Due to these costs, signaler condition, which is hypothesized to be a reflection of a signaler’s genetic quality, is expected to influence the level of signal expression one can afford (Zahavi, 1975), resulting in a positive correlation between signaler condition and signal expression – that is, condition-dependent signaling (Zahavi, 1977; West-Eberhard, 1979; …

Daily Activity Patterns In Three Migratory Bird Species At A Stopover Site On The Northern Coast Of The Gulf Of Mexico, Lynn Schofield

Masters Theses

CHAPTER I: A Comparison of Diel Movement Patterns in Three Bird Species at a Stopover Site on the Northern Coast of the Gulf of Mexico

During migration, birds require stopover habitats where they stop en route to rest, refuel, and prepare for the next stage of their migration. For songbirds, many short movements made within a stopover habitat are known to be costlier than a single long migratory flight, as it takes a considerable amount of energy to initiate flight. This indicates that migrating birds should strive to balance the energy expenditure made in movement during stopover and energy gains …

Adaptive Significance Of Aberrant Chickadee Song In Illinois, Evan Andrew Glynn

Masters Theses

I studied the behavioral responses of Black-capped (Poecile atricapilus) and Carolina (P. carolinensis) chickadees to playback of Black-capped, Carolina, and aberrant chickadee songs throughout the state of Illinois. These two species are parapatrically distributed throughout the eastern United States, including Illinois. Some areas exist where the ranges of the two species overlap. Individuals in these contact zones often sing aberrant vocalizations. This study focused on the two parental vocalizations (i.e., Black-capped and Carolina song), and two of the most common aberrant vocalizations (the 'Greenville' and 'Vandalia' aberrant dialects), in an attempt to understand the adaptive significance of these aberrant songs. …

Behavioral Response Of Pacific Lamprey (Entosphenus Tridentatus) To Predator Odors, Laurie L. Porter

All Master's Theses

Pacific lamprey (Entosphenus tridentatus), a species facing serious threats to their existence, experience a number of challenges in reaching their desired spawning grounds during the adult migratory phase, and predators are suspected to be one of these challenges. Understanding if Pacific lamprey respond to predator odorants may provide a management tool for use in conjunction with attractants in guiding lamprey to suitable spawning habitat and deterring them from poor habitat. Previous research has failed to explore Pacific lamprey response to predator odorants, although much research exists on attractant odorants. In our study, we tested Pacific lamprey response to …

Provisioning And Its Effects On The Social Interactions Of Tibetan Macaques (Macaca Thibetana) At Mt. Huangshan, China, Brianna I. Schnepel

All Master's Theses

The dispersal patterns of food resources has a significant effect on the composition of primate groups and social interactions within those groups. Humans often alter the dispersal of food. Non-humans often use affiliative behaviors to elicit tolerance or support from other group members. I investigated whether provisioned food resources alter the social interactions and group dynamics of Macaca thibetana. All-occurrence sampling and scan sampling were used for data recorded by camera traps. Trail-cameras were placed at six locations that contain natural and human food resources and recorded 60-second videos. Social behavior and proximity of the monkeys were recorded. I …

Using Wild I.D. As A Reliable Source For Mark And Recapture Studies On Northern Pike (Esox Lucius), Martin Evans

Journal of Earth and Life Science

Mark and recapture studies are a very popular method fisheries biologists use to assess certain fish populations in lakes. This process can be very labor intensive and expensive. Wild I.D. is free software developed by Dartmouth College that uses SIFT program to find unique features in photographs. Initially developed for identification of African land mammals the program gives each photo a score and percent match to other photos. Northern pike were used in this study to determine if the program can recognize simulated recapture events. Photos of sample fish were taken at two separate locations, the photos were then copied …

Juvenile Chinook Salmon Diet In Comparison To Invertebrate Drift In The Merced River, California, Tyler Orgon

Journal of Earth and Life Science

Diets and habitat types of salmonids have been widely studied in disturbed streams and rivers. The Merced River in California has a long history of flooding, damming, levee failures, and channel reconstruction events that has disrupted the aquatic ecosystem. This 30 day study was conducted in the Robinson Reach of the Merced River using juvenile Chinook salmon (Oncorhynchus tshawtscha). The objectives were to try and understand if juvenile Chinook salmon were selecting certain invertebrate species, determine if there were any differences in diets between habitat types, and determine whether diets and drift samples were different. Diets consisted of …

Effects Of Supplemental Food On The Behavior, Aggression, And Paternity Status Of Male Indigo Buntings (Passerina Cyanea), Bradley Mcleod

Online Theses and Dissertations

Breeding is an energetically costly activity for birds. If energy-limited, birds may alter their time budgets, reducing time spent in some activities and spending more time in others. To date, no experimental study has investigated the possible effect of food availability on male mate guarding behavior. Additionally, previous results from food supplementation studies are mixed. My objectives were to determine how food supplementation might influence the breeding behavior of male Indigo Buntings (Passerina cyanea). I predicted that, compared to non-supplemented males, food-supplemented males would: 1) spend less time foraging, 2) spend more time singing, 3) spend more time mate guarding, …

Flight Vocalizations And Displays Of Adult Chimney Swifts (Chaetura Pelagica): Description And Function, Louise Ann Peppe

Online Theses and Dissertations

The vocalizations of many songbirds have been well documented and analyzed, but less is known about the vocal behavior of many non-passerines, including swifts. While flying alone as well as during aerial displays with conspecifics, Chimney Swifts (Chaetura pelagica) often utter a twitter call consisting of a series of high-frequency chip notes. However, little is known about the possible function(s) of swift flight displays and their twitter call. My objectives were to record, analyze, and document the aerial behaviors and associated vocalizations of adult Chimney Swifts. I studied swifts at the Blue Grass Army Depot in Madison County, Kentucky, where …

Fate Of Captive-Reared Bobwhite Quail Released In Central Kentucky, Adam Carter

Online Theses and Dissertations

The fate of pen-raised bobwhite quail (Colinus virginianus) released onto two farms (Site 1 and 2) and a reclaimed coal surface mine (Site 3) in south-central Kentucky during the summers of 2008 and 2009 was assessed. Of the 57 bobwhite quail radio-tagged and released in this study, the fate of 26 (45%) was unknown because the telemetry signal was lost and the birds could not be located. Within 34 days after release, mortality of the remaining 31 radio-tagged birds was 100%. Raptors, coyotes, and mesomammal predators were responsible for most (84%) of the identified quail mortality; accounting for the deaths …

Offspring Retrieval Behaviors After Brood Loss In The Convict Cichlid, Heather Witherspoon Govert

Online Theses and Dissertations

Parents provide care for their young in several different ways. One of these is searching for and retrieving any young that may become displaced from their nest. In monogamous biparental species, parents may share care of their young, including retrieval efforts. Convict cichlids (Amatitlania siquia) are an example of a monogamous biparental fish that show shared parental care of young. In the wild, these cichlids defend nests and search for missing young in response to complete or catastrophic brood loss. This retrieval behavior is important for both parents because parents, especially the males, have been observed to abandon their mate …

Effect Of Variation In Nestling Hunger Levels On The Begging Behavior Of Nestlings And The Provisioning Behavior Of Adult American Kestrels, Katheryn Ann Watson

Online Theses and Dissertations

Little is known about how variation in nestling begging intensity influences the behavior of adult raptors and how responses of adult males and females to such variation might differ. My objective was to manipulate the begging intensity of nestling American Kestrels (Falco sparverius) and examine the responses of adult males and females. I studied 12 pairs of kestrels nesting in nest boxes from 1 March to 1 July 2014 at the Blue Grass Army Depot, Madison County, Kentucky. Nest boxes were modified with a separate compartment for a camcorder to record nestling behavior, and a second camcorder was placed outside …

Evaluation Of A Formula That Categorizes Female Gray Wolf Breeding Status By Nipple Size, Shannon M. Barber-Meyer, L. David Mech

United States Geological Survey, Northern Prairie Wildlife Research Center: Publications

The proportion by age class of wild Canis lupus (Gray Wolf) females that reproduce in any given year remains unclear; thus, we evaluated the applicability to our long-term (1972–2013) data set of the Mech et al. (1993) formula that categorizes female Gray Wolf breeding status by nipple size and time of year. We used the formula to classify Gray Wolves from 68 capture events into 4 categories (yearling, adult non-breeder, former breeder, current breeder). To address issues with small sample size and variance, we created an ambiguity index to allow some Gray Wolves to be classed into 2 categories. We …

Gray Wolf (Canis Lupus) Dyad Monthly Association Rates By Demographic Group, Shannon M. Barber-Meyer, L. David Mech

United States Geological Survey, Northern Prairie Wildlife Research Center: Publications

Preliminary data from GPS-collared wolves (Canis lupus) in the Superior National Forest of northeastern Minnesota indicated wolves had low association rates with packmates during summer. However, aerial-telemetry locations of very high frequency (VHF)-radioed wolves in this same area showed high associations among packmates during winter. We analyzed aerial-telemetry-location data from VHF-collared wolves in several packs (n=18 dyads) in this same area from 1994-2012 by month, and found lowest association rates occurred during June. While other studies have found low association among wolf packmates during summer, information on differences in association patterns depending on the wolf associates’ demographics is …

Sun-Compass Orientation During Natal Dispersal In Hatchling Blanding's Turtles (Emydoidea Blandingii), Meredith Anne Schlenner

All Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Other Capstone Projects

Blanding's turtle hatchlings emerge from their natal nests naïve to environmental stimuli and primarily sense visual cues on the horizon as a dispersal target. During a period of hours or days, hatchlings develop a compass mechanism that allows them to maintain a direction of travel, even when the target is not visible. We examined the dispersal directions of Blanding's turtle hatchlings captured during dispersal by translocating them into a circular arena in a field of corn in order to measure their dispersal direction guided by a compass mechanism. To test for use of a sun compass, a magnetic compass, or …

Carnivore Diet Identification Through Scat And Genetic Analysis In Namibia, Africa, Alicia J. Walsh

Honors Theses and Capstones

Worldwide the cheetah population is declining making them Africa’s most endangered large cat. Namibia, Africa currently has the largest population of cheetahs in the world. During the summer of 2014, I did scat analysis of carnivores on the property of the Cheetah Conservation Fund (CCF) in Namibia in order to better understand the predators that compete with the cheetah and how the ecosystem works as a whole. I worked at CCF for nine weeks to analyze the diets of carnivores in the area through genetic and scat analysis. Analyzing carnivore feces would ultimately identify the diet of various carnivores in …

The Problem Of Low Agreement Among Automated Identification Programs For Acoustical Surveys Of Bats, Cliff Lemen, Patricia W. Freeman, Jeremy A. White, Brett R. Andersen

School of Natural Resources: Faculty Publications

We compared four programs designed to identify species of bats from their echolocation calls (Bat Call ID, EchoClass, Kaleidoscope Pro, and SonoBat) using field data collected in Nebraska, USA (29,782 files). Although we did not know the true identity of these bats, we could still compare the pairwise agreement between software packages when identifying the same call sequences. If accuracy is high in these software packages, there should be high agreement in identification. Agreement in identification by species averaged approximately 40% and varied by software package, species, and data set. Our results are not consistent with the high accuracy often …

The Role Of Citizens In Detecting And Responding To A Rapid Marine Invasion, Steven B. Scyphers, Sean P. Powers, J. Lad Akins, J. Marcus Drymon, Charles W. Martin, Zeb H. Schobernd, Pamela J. Schofield, Robert L. Shipp, Theodore S. Switzer

University Faculty and Staff Publications

Documenting and responding to species invasions requires innovative strategies that account for ecological and societal complexities. We used the recent expansion of Indo-Pacific lionfish (Pterois volitans/miles) throughout northern Gulf of Mexico coastal waters to evaluate the role of stakeholders in documenting and responding to a rapid marine invasion. We coupled an online survey of spearfishers and citizen science monitoring programs with traditional fishery-independent data sources and found that citizen observations documented lionfish 1–2 years earlier and more frequently than traditional reef fish monitoring programs. Citizen observations first documented lionfish in 2010 followed by rapid expansion and proliferation in …