Open Access. Powered by Scholars. Published by Universities.®

Animal Sciences Commons

Open Access. Powered by Scholars. Published by Universities.®

Articles 1 - 11 of 11

Full-Text Articles in Animal Sciences

Size Matters: A Test Of Boldness In Eight Populations Of The Poeciliid Brachyraphis Episcopi, Culum Brown, Victoria Braithwaite Dec 2004

Size Matters: A Test Of Boldness In Eight Populations Of The Poeciliid Brachyraphis Episcopi, Culum Brown, Victoria Braithwaite

Sentience Collection

Individual variation in behaviour within populations may be explained in part by demographics and long-term, stable individual psychological differences. We examined the relation between boldness (taken as the time to emerge from a shelter and explore a novel environment) and body size in eight populations of the poeciliid Brachyraphis episcopi originating from sites upstream and downstream of waterfalls in four rivers that run into the Panama Canal. The relation between body size and time to emerge from a shelter was positive, with larger fish taking longer to emerge. This relation differed between downstream and upstream sites, being significant in the …


Origin And Evolution Of Large Brains In Toothed Whales, Lori Marino, Daniel W. Mcshea, Mark D. Uhen Dec 2004

Origin And Evolution Of Large Brains In Toothed Whales, Lori Marino, Daniel W. Mcshea, Mark D. Uhen

Veterinary Science and Medicine Collection

Toothed whales (order Cetacea: suborder Odontoceti) are highly encephalized, possessing brains that are significantly larger than expected for their body sizes. In particular, the odontocete superfamily Delphinoidea (dolphins, porpoises, belugas, and narwhals) comprises numerous species with encephalization levels second only to modern humans and greater than all other mammals. Odontocetes have also demonstrated behavioral faculties previously only ascribed to humans and, to some extent, other great apes. How did the large brains of odontocetes evolve? To begin to investigate this question, we quantified and averaged estimates of brain and body size for 36 fossil cetacean species using computed tomography and …


Evolution Of Nociception In Vertebrates: Comparative Analysis Of Lower Vertebrates, Lynne U. Sneddon Oct 2004

Evolution Of Nociception In Vertebrates: Comparative Analysis Of Lower Vertebrates, Lynne U. Sneddon

Veterinary Science and Medicine Collection

Nociception is an important sensory system of major fundamental and clinical relevance. The nociceptive system of higher vertebrates is well studied with a wealth of information about nociceptor properties, involvement of the central nervous system and the in vivo responses to a noxious experience are already characterised. However, relatively little is known about nociception in lower vertebrates and this review brings together a variety of studies to understand how this information can inform the evolution of nociception in vertebrates. It has been demonstrated that teleost fish possess nociceptors innervated by the trigeminal nerve and that these are physiologically similar to …


Ua66/5 Newsletter, Wku Agriculture Oct 2004

Ua66/5 Newsletter, Wku Agriculture

WKU Archives Records

Newsletter created by WKU Agriculture Department re: faculty/staff, students/alumni, student organizations and clubs and donors.


Alfred Russel Wallace: A Capsule Biography, Charles H. Smith Jun 2004

Alfred Russel Wallace: A Capsule Biography, Charles H. Smith

DLPS Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.


Aspects Of The Ecology Of A Distinct Population Of Xenosaurus Platyceps From Querétaro, México, Julio A. Lemos-Espinal, Geoffrey R. Smith, Royce E. Ballinger May 2004

Aspects Of The Ecology Of A Distinct Population Of Xenosaurus Platyceps From Querétaro, México, Julio A. Lemos-Espinal, Geoffrey R. Smith, Royce E. Ballinger

Papers in Herpetology

Lizards in the genus Xenosaurus (Xenosauridae) show a flattened morphology, which is presumably an adaptation for their crevice-dwelling habits. Despite their general morphological similarities (Ballinger et al., 2000a), there is considerable variation among species and populations in ecological traits, and even populations of nominally the same species (e.g., X. grandis grandis and X. g. agrenon; Ballinger et al., 1995; Lemos-Espinal et al., 2003a) show variation, sometimes as much as between different species.

Populations of Xenosaurus are often geographically isolated (e.g., Pérez Ramos et al., 2000; Nieto Montes de Oca, 2001), and movement appears to be minimal (Lemos-Espinal et al., …


Reflections On Animal Selves, Marc Bekoff, Paul W. Sherman Apr 2004

Reflections On Animal Selves, Marc Bekoff, Paul W. Sherman

Sentience Collection

Is self-cognizance a uniquely human attribute, or do other animals also have a sense of self? Although there is considerable interest in this question, answers remain elusive. Progress has been stymied by misunderstandings in terminology, a focus on a narrow range of species, and controversies over key concepts, experimental paradigms and interpretations of data. Here, we propose a new conceptual and terminological framework, emphasizing that degrees of self-cognizance differ among animals because of the cognitive demands that their species-specific social structures and life-history characteristics have placed upon them over evolutionary time. We suggest that the self-cognizance of an organism falls …


Differences In Response To Hypoxia In The Three-Spined Stickleback From Lotic And Lentic Localities: Dominance And An Anaerobic Metabolite, L. U. Sneddon, J. Yerbury Mar 2004

Differences In Response To Hypoxia In The Three-Spined Stickleback From Lotic And Lentic Localities: Dominance And An Anaerobic Metabolite, L. U. Sneddon, J. Yerbury

Aquaculture Collection

Dominance hierarchies of the three-spined stickleback Gasterosteus aculeatus from river and pond populations were subjected to hypoxia (20%, range±1%). Under hypoxia, the hierarchies were less stable in terms of rank position and tissue L-lactate was higher in river fish than pond fish under normoxia and hypoxia. Dominant fish gained mass under normoxia but lost mass under hypoxic conditions possibly due to them maintaining high levels of aggression.


Seasonal Activity And Reproduction In Bats Of East-Central Nebraska, Kenneth N. Geluso, Russell A. Benedict, Francis L. Kock Jan 2004

Seasonal Activity And Reproduction In Bats Of East-Central Nebraska, Kenneth N. Geluso, Russell A. Benedict, Francis L. Kock

Biology Faculty Publications

Information on seasonal activity and reproduction is presented for seven species of bats inhabiting east-central Nebraska (Eptesicus fuscus, Myotis septentrionalis, Nycticeius humeralis, Lasionycteris noctivagans, Lasiurus borealis, L. cinereus, and Pipistrellus subflavus). Early and late dates of capture show five species active in the state for longer periods than previously reported. During some years, E. fuscus and M. septentrionalis emerge from winter torpor in March and feed on insects. Some E. fuscus inhabiting a floodplain forest in summer use houses in nearby towns as hibernacula, and year-round use of buildings by E. fuscus is substantial compared to other species of bats. …


Market Lamb Docking- The Better Way, Unknown Unknown Jan 2004

Market Lamb Docking- The Better Way, Unknown Unknown

All Archived Publications

Tail removal or docking of lambs by the commercial sheep industry is a standard management practice. When properly docked, the tail or dock will be long enough that when lifting the tail to defecate, the caudal folds on the under side of the tail are raised.


Pastoral Resources And Their Management In The Pilbara Region Of Western Australia, A M E Van Vreeswyk, Alan Payne, K A. Leighton Jan 2004

Pastoral Resources And Their Management In The Pilbara Region Of Western Australia, A M E Van Vreeswyk, Alan Payne, K A. Leighton

Agriculture reports

This report is a product of the rangeland survey of the Pilbara area of Western Australia which was conducted jointly by the Department of Agriculture and the Department of Land Administration ... in 1995-1999. This report is primarily intended to be used to assist pastoralists in station management and to assist others involved with the pastoral industry. The survey area includes all of the De Grey, East Pilbara and Roebourne/Port Hedland Land Conservation Districts, part of the Ashburton Land Conservation District.