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Animal Sciences Commons™

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Zoology

Selected Works

2017

Articles 1 - 8 of 8

Full-Text Articles in Animal Sciences

Catalinia, A New Scorpion Genus From Southern California, Usa And Northern Baja California, Mexico (Scorpiones: Vaejovidae), Michael E. Soleglad, Richard F. Ayrey, Matthew R. Graham, Victor Fet Nov 2017

Catalinia, A New Scorpion Genus From Southern California, Usa And Northern Baja California, Mexico (Scorpiones: Vaejovidae), Michael E. Soleglad, Richard F. Ayrey, Matthew R. Graham, Victor Fet

Victor Fet

Genus Catalinia, gen. nov. (Scorpiones: Vaejovidae) is described from southern California, USA and Baja California, Mexico. The genus is composed of four species formerly placed in Pseudouroctonus: Catalinia minima (Kraepelin, 1911), comb. nov. (type species), C. andreas (Gertsch et Soleglad, 1972), comb. nov., C. castanea (Gertsch et Soleglad, 1972), comb. nov., and C. thompsoni, comb. nov. (Gertsch et Soleglad, 1972). Major diagnostic characters of Catalinia include a carapace with a very weak anterior indentation, a very stout metasoma with little or no tapering from segment I to V, and a mating plug with two partial bases. Evidence is presented suggesting …

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The Second Record Of A Relict Akrav Israchanani Levy, 2007 (Scorpiones: Akravidae) From Levana Cave, Israel, Victor Fet, Michael E. Soleglad, Sergei L. Zonstein, Israel Naaman, Shlomi Lubaton, Boaz Langford, Amos Frumkin Sep 2017

The Second Record Of A Relict Akrav Israchanani Levy, 2007 (Scorpiones: Akravidae) From Levana Cave, Israel, Victor Fet, Michael E. Soleglad, Sergei L. Zonstein, Israel Naaman, Shlomi Lubaton, Boaz Langford, Amos Frumkin

Victor Fet

We report the remnants of five new scorpion specimens discovered dead in Levana Cave in Israel in December 2015. We confirm that they belong to the relict scorpion Akrav israchanani Levy, 2007 (Akravidae), famously described from the neighboring Ayyalon Cave, also from dead specimens. The details of morphology of the new specimens are given; they match completely the characters of A. israchanani redescribed by Fet, Soleglad & Zonstein (2011). This second record indicates a wider distribution of this unique cave scorpion, which, however, is extinct in both caves. There is still no evidence that live populations of this species exist.

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Genetic Demography At The Leading Edge Of The Distribution Of A Rabies Virus Vector, Antoinette J. Piaggio, Amy L. Russell, Ignacio A. Osorio, Alejandro J. Ramirez, Justin W. Fischer, Jennifer L. Neuwald, Annie E. Tibbels, Luis Lecuona, Gary F. Mccracken Jun 2017

Genetic Demography At The Leading Edge Of The Distribution Of A Rabies Virus Vector, Antoinette J. Piaggio, Amy L. Russell, Ignacio A. Osorio, Alejandro J. Ramirez, Justin W. Fischer, Jennifer L. Neuwald, Annie E. Tibbels, Luis Lecuona, Gary F. Mccracken

Amy L. Russell

The common vampire bat, Desmodus rotundus, ranges from South America into northern Mexico in North America. This sanguivorous species of bat feeds primarily on medium to large-sized mammals is known to rely on livestock as primary prey. Each year, there are hotspot areas of D. rotundus-specific rabies virus outbreaks that lead to the deaths of livestock and economic losses. Based on incidental captures in our study area, which is an area of high cattle mortality from D. rotundus transmitted rabies, it appears that D. rotundus are being caught regularly in areas and elevations where they previously were thought to be …

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African Penguins Follow The Gaze Direction Of Conspecifics, Christian Nawroth, Livio Favaro Jun 2017

African Penguins Follow The Gaze Direction Of Conspecifics, Christian Nawroth, Livio Favaro

Christian Nawroth, Ph.D.

Gaze following is widespread among animals. However, the corresponding ultimate
functions may vary substantially. Thus, it is important to study previously
understudied (or less studied) species to develop a better understanding of the
ecological contexts that foster certain cognitive traits. Penguins (Family
Spheniscidae), despite their wide interspecies ecological variation, have previously
not been considered for cross-species comparisons. Penguin behaviour and
communication have been investigated over the last decades, but less is known on
how groups are structured, social hierarchies are established, and coordination for
hunting and predator avoidance may occur. In this article, we investigated how
African penguins (Spheniscus demersus) …

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Investigation Of The Impact Of Increased Dietary Insoluble Fiber Through The Feeding Of Distillers Dried Grains With Solubles (Ddgs) On The Incidence And Severity Of Brachyspira-Associated Colitis In Pigs, Bailey Lauren Wilberts, Paulo Elias Arruda, Joann M. Kinyon, Timothy S. Frana, Chong Wang, Drew Robert Magstadt, Darin M. Madson, John F. Patience, Eric Ryan Burrough May 2017

Investigation Of The Impact Of Increased Dietary Insoluble Fiber Through The Feeding Of Distillers Dried Grains With Solubles (Ddgs) On The Incidence And Severity Of Brachyspira-Associated Colitis In Pigs, Bailey Lauren Wilberts, Paulo Elias Arruda, Joann M. Kinyon, Timothy S. Frana, Chong Wang, Drew Robert Magstadt, Darin M. Madson, John F. Patience, Eric Ryan Burrough

Bailey (Wilberts) Arruda

Diet has been implicated as a major factor impacting clinical disease expression of swine dysentery and Brachyspira hyodysenteriae colonization. However, the impact of diet on novel pathogenic strongly beta-hemolytic Brachyspira spp. including “B. hampsonii” has yet to be investigated. In recent years, distillers dried grains with solubles (DDGS), a source of insoluble dietary fiber, has been increasingly included in diets of swine. A randomized complete block experiment was used to examine the effect of increased dietary fiber through the feeding of DDGS on the incidence of Brachyspira-associated colitis in pigs. One hundred 4-week-old pigs were divided …

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Why Animal Welfarism Continues To Fail, Lori Marino Apr 2017

Why Animal Welfarism Continues To Fail, Lori Marino

Lori Marino, PhD

Welfarism prioritizes human interests over the needs of nonhuman animals. Despite decades of welfare efforts other animals are mostly worse off than ever before, being subjected to increasingly invasive and harmful treatments, especially in the factory farming and biomedical research areas. A legal rights-based approach is essential in order for other animals to be protected from the varying ethical whims of our species.

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Thinking Pigs: Cognition, Emotion, And Personality, Lori Marino, Christina M. Colvin Apr 2017

Thinking Pigs: Cognition, Emotion, And Personality, Lori Marino, Christina M. Colvin

Lori Marino, PhD

An exploration of the cognitive complexity of Sus domesticus, the domestic pig.

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Experimental Exposure To Urban And Pink Noise Affects Brain Development And Song Learning In Zebra Finches (Taenopygia Guttata), Dominique A. Potvin, Michael T. Curcio, John P. Swaddle, Scott A. Macdougall-Shackleton Feb 2017

Experimental Exposure To Urban And Pink Noise Affects Brain Development And Song Learning In Zebra Finches (Taenopygia Guttata), Dominique A. Potvin, Michael T. Curcio, John P. Swaddle, Scott A. Macdougall-Shackleton

John Swaddle

Recently, numerous studies have observed changes in bird vocalizations—especially song—in urban habitats. These changes are often interpreted as adaptive, since they increase the active space of the signal in its environment. However, the proximate mechanisms driving cross-generational changes in song are still unknown. We performed a captive experiment to identify whether noise experienced during development affects song learning and the development of song-control brain regions. Zebra finches (Taeniopygia guttata) were bred while exposed, or not exposed, to recorded traffic urban noise (Study 1) or pink noise (Study 2). We recorded the songs of male offspring and compared these to fathers’ …

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