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

Animal Sciences Commons™

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

2019

Discipline
Institution
Keyword
Publication
Publication Type
File Type

Articles 1141 - 1170 of 1256

Full-Text Articles in Animal Sciences

Debunking Human Prejudice And Blindness, Peter J. Li Jan 2019

Debunking Human Prejudice And Blindness, Peter J. Li

Animal Sentience

Human prejudice and blindness to animal suffering are shocking. Despite their differences in culture, politics, and religious beliefs, humans have one thing in common. They see nonhuman animals as inferior and have since time immemorial assumed a dominant position in an asymmetrical human-animal relationship. When it comes to human-animal relations, there is no “clash of civilizations.” Human prejudice and blindness are predicated on “common sense assumptions” about the natural world and nonhuman animals in particular. Marino & Merskin’s review is part of the growing effort to debunk the assumptions that have shaped human actions so as to end the injustice …

Go to article

Applied Cognition Research To Improve Sheep Welfare, Kristina Horback Jan 2019

Applied Cognition Research To Improve Sheep Welfare, Kristina Horback

Animal Sentience

If a change is going to occur in the care and management of domestic sheep, there needs to be a collaborative effort across many disciplines. This review by Marino & Merskin of the literature on cognitive processing in domestic sheep is limited by the inherent bias of the authors, including the impracticable goal of eliminating sheep production. Animal welfare concerns about the management of commercial sheep are valid; however, in order to make a difference, we need to develop an application for this knowledge about cognitive abilities in sheep.

Go to article

Guilty As Charged, Sergio M. Pellis Jan 2019

Guilty As Charged, Sergio M. Pellis

Animal Sentience

Sheep have had a bad rap with regard to their behavioral capabilities, and to a large extent, that negative view of sheep has arisen from our failure as human observers to view the world from the perspective of the sheep themselves. Studies sensitive to what sheep identify as of value in the world have revealed a different picture: sheep have cognitive, emotional and social complexity beyond our crude stereotype. Clearly, what we need to do is to evaluate non-human animals on their own terms and not as a reflection of ourselves.

Go to article

Sheep Complexity Outside The Laboratory, Cheryl Abbate Jan 2019

Sheep Complexity Outside The Laboratory, Cheryl Abbate

Animal Sentience

Marino & Merskin’s review shows that sheep are intelligent and highly social but their methodology has some shortcomings. I describe five problems with reviewing only the academic and scientific literature and suggest how one might provide an even more compelling case for the complexity of sheep minds.

Go to article

Cognition, Emotion, Personality And The Conservation And Management Of Wild Ungulates, Rob Found Jan 2019

Cognition, Emotion, Personality And The Conservation And Management Of Wild Ungulates, Rob Found

Animal Sentience

Increasing public understanding of the complexity of wild ungulates can improve animal welfare and advance global conservation efforts of these keystone species. Unfortunately, shaping public opinion on wild species is challenging because personal experience with wildlife is declining, popular education is still biased towards the predator instead of the prey, and scientific research is more difficult to conduct on wild ungulates compared to those on farms, in zoos, or otherwise in captivity. Nevertheless, studies of cognition, individuality, and intelligence of wild ungulates are increasing. I briefly highlight some major results from my own work on complexity in wild elk, illustrating …

Go to article

What Should We Do About Sheep? The Role Of Intelligence In Welfare Considerations, Heather Browning Jan 2019

What Should We Do About Sheep? The Role Of Intelligence In Welfare Considerations, Heather Browning

Animal Sentience

Marino & Merskin (2019) demonstrate that sheep are more cognitively complex than typically thought. We should be cautious in interpreting the implications of these results for welfare considerations to avoid perpetuating mistaken beliefs about the moral value of intelligence as opposed to sentience. There are, however, still important ways in which this work can help improve sheeps’ lives.

Go to article

Farm Animals Are Not Humans In Sheep Clothing, Lorenz Gygax, Christian Nawroth Jan 2019

Farm Animals Are Not Humans In Sheep Clothing, Lorenz Gygax, Christian Nawroth

Animal Sentience

Research on the mental lives of farm animals is crucial to assess not only their physical but also their psychological wellbeing. Their current housing and handling practices are highly unlikely to meet their cognitive needs and demands, but our knowledge of their mental capacities is still limited. Although folk wisdom often refers to farm animals as dull and inflexible, recent studies show they have a rich interpretation of their environment and can solve complex problems. Yet an uncritical and anthropomorphic assessment of farm animal cognition and behaviour may lead to the attribution of an exaggerated amount of cognitive flexibility. Contrary …

Go to article

What Every Shepherd Knows, Marthe Kiley-Worthington Jan 2019

What Every Shepherd Knows, Marthe Kiley-Worthington

Animal Sentience

The findings of the research reviewed by Marino & Merskin have been common knowledge to shepherds for millennia. Many of them are also evolutionary necessities for all mammals, especially social ones.

Go to article

The Intelligence Of Sheep, David Gamez Jan 2019

The Intelligence Of Sheep, David Gamez

Animal Sentience

This commentary suggests how recent theories about the predictive brain could help us understand the evidence put forward by Marino & Merskin for intelligence in sheep. I contrast predictive intelligence in sheep with automatic behaviors that do not require intelligence, and I consider the flexibility of sheep intelligence.

Go to article

Time To Vary The Formula, Jon Mallatt Jan 2019

Time To Vary The Formula, Jon Mallatt

Animal Sentience

In the past few years, Marino and her colleagues have written a series of comprehensive and helpful review articles on the cognitive, emotional, and social complexity of pigs, chickens, cows, and most recently, sheep. These articles are similarly structured, even formulaic, which has benefits but also limitations. Here, I point out the limitations in order to suggest new directions and contributions for the authors in the future.

Go to article

The Problem Is Not Discourses Of Production; It Is Production Itself, Sean Hermanson Jan 2019

The Problem Is Not Discourses Of Production; It Is Production Itself, Sean Hermanson

Animal Sentience

The mistreatment of sheep is not because of fables, stereotypes, unconscious cultural paradigms, our collective consciousness, anthropocentricism, human arrogance, or our drive to dominate. Nonetheless, protections for sheep used in research and agriculture ought to be strengthened.

Go to article

The Importance Of Research Applicability, Krista Mclennan Jan 2019

The Importance Of Research Applicability, Krista Mclennan

Animal Sentience

Marino & Merskin’s (2019) review contains key information about the complexity of sheep and their intelligence level, but lacks practical application. The key to making any long-term changes to sheep welfare at an industry level is by generating research that is practically relevant to the sector. The practical application of research should be considered at the design stage and in consultation with producers. Additionally, thought needs to be given to how the practical application of the research will be transferred to those people directly involved in animal care (e.g., producers, stockpersons, etc.). Focusing on the practical relevance and application of …

Go to article

Domestication And Cognitive Complexity, David R. Brodbeck, Madeleine I. R. Brodbeck, Keeghan Rosso Jan 2019

Domestication And Cognitive Complexity, David R. Brodbeck, Madeleine I. R. Brodbeck, Keeghan Rosso

Animal Sentience

Marino and Merskin (2019) list a number of tasks that sheep can perform well. As comparative psychologists, we are not surprised by these results. Indeed, many domesticated animal species show similar abilities.

Go to article

Adding Sheep To The Spectrum Of Comparative Psychology, James King Jan 2019

Adding Sheep To The Spectrum Of Comparative Psychology, James King

Animal Sentience

Marino & Merskin’s comprehensive review of cognitive complexity in sheep is a laudable and important contribution to comparative psychology. It is also valuable because it shows promising directions for future research on this neglected species. The relatively small number of neurons in the bovid cerebral cortex indicates that sheep cognitive performance on traditional measures of complex learning is limited. Nevertheless, the social and emotional complexity of sheep underscores the importance of further research into domains including personality and psychological well-being.

Go to article

Can A Mirror Capture The Self?, Cynthia Willett Jan 2019

Can A Mirror Capture The Self?, Cynthia Willett

Animal Sentience

Is the mirror a reliable indicator of self-awareness for any species, whether sheep or human? Taking a cue from feminist, phenomenological, and cross-cultural philosophy, a relational self rather than a reflective one might better capture what is at stake for the lives of social animals and for science.

Go to article

A Behaviorist Approach To Sheep Cognition, Intelligence, And Welfare, Lindsay R. Mehrkam Jan 2019

A Behaviorist Approach To Sheep Cognition, Intelligence, And Welfare, Lindsay R. Mehrkam

Animal Sentience

Marino & Merskin’s review sheds light on the complexity of the mind, learning, and cognition of sheep. Readily observable behavior has value in its own right for promoting the well-being of animals. A behavior-analytic approach can add substantially to the understanding of sheep as individuals as well as their learning capacities. The findings can also be applied to arranging their environments to promote their well-being as well as behavioral change in those responsible for their care and management.

Go to article

Cognitive Dissonance About Sheep Cognition And Consumption, Catia Correia Caeiro Jan 2019

Cognitive Dissonance About Sheep Cognition And Consumption, Catia Correia Caeiro

Animal Sentience

Sheep are perceived as mere resources under the massive demand of the food and wool industry. Evidence that sheep cognition is comparable to that of other species may inspire reflection on sheep consumption. Dogs may be a promising comparison species.

Go to article

Social Cognition In Sheep: Welfare Implications, Keith M. Kendrick Jan 2019

Social Cognition In Sheep: Welfare Implications, Keith M. Kendrick

Animal Sentience

More research has been carried out on social cognition in sheep than in other farm animal species. Although this has often been featured widely in the media, there is still limited public awareness of it. Marino & Merskin’s review is therefore both important and timely. In my commentary, I focus primarily on what has been established about the complexity of sheep social cognition, at the level of both brain and behavior, and on some of these findings for sheep welfare.

Go to article

Sheep Are Sentient, But Not Identical, Alison Hanlon Jan 2019

Sheep Are Sentient, But Not Identical, Alison Hanlon

Animal Sentience

Marino & Merskin (M&M) provide a timely reminder that sheep have advanced cognitive abilities, but do we still have to provide evidence to justify animal sentience? In the EU, regulations are designed to support farm animal welfare. Whilst the regulations are imperfect, they do emphasize behavioural needs and other concepts relevant to sentience. The persistence of sheep welfare issues such as lamb mortality indicates that regulations may not be achieving their desired goal. We can quibble about the science described by M&M yet reach the same conclusion: sheep (lambs, ewes and rams) are not all identical, but they are all …

Go to article

Deepening Our Understanding Of Sheep, Lori Marino, Debra Merskin Jan 2019

Deepening Our Understanding Of Sheep, Lori Marino, Debra Merskin

Animal Sentience

Our Response is centered on five major themes: (1) our presentation of human mythologies about sheep; (2) the relevance of cognitive complexity (“intelligence”) as a dimension underlying the way people perceive and treat sheep; (3) whether our review is too anthropocentric or anthropomorphic; (4) animal welfare versus animal rights (abolitionism); and (5) whether knowledge and education are enough to change human attitudes and behavior.

Go to article

Taxonomy Of Nocturnal Parasitic Wasps Family Braconidae (Hymenoptera: Ichneumonoidea) In Doi Phu Kha National Park, Thailand, Marisa Raweearamwong Jan 2019

Taxonomy Of Nocturnal Parasitic Wasps Family Braconidae (Hymenoptera: Ichneumonoidea) In Doi Phu Kha National Park, Thailand, Marisa Raweearamwong

Chulalongkorn University Theses and Dissertations (Chula ETD)

Parasitoid wasps of the family Braconidae are classified in the order Hymenoptera, same as bees, ants and other wasps. The Braconidae is one of the most species-rich families in the Insecta. Doi Phu Kha National Park (DPKNP) has highly diverse organisms, both flora and fauna reflecting the great varieties of habitat types, however, there is very little information on the taxonomy of Braconidae in this national park. Therefore, the aim of this research is to establish the taxonomy of nocturnal parasitic wasps in the family Braconidae within the DPKNP using light trapping technique. A total of 846 specimens, 177 morphospecies …

Go to article

พฤติกรรมการเรียนรู้และการตอบสนองต่อ 2,4-ไดไนโตรโทลูอีนในผึ้งพันธุ์ Apis Mellifera Linnaeus, 1758 และผึ้งโพรง Apis Cerana Fabricius, 1793, ศิรัช เลิศจินตนากิจ Jan 2019

พฤติกรรมการเรียนรู้และการตอบสนองต่อ 2,4-ไดไนโตรโทลูอีนในผึ้งพันธุ์ Apis Mellifera Linnaeus, 1758 และผึ้งโพรง Apis Cerana Fabricius, 1793, ศิรัช เลิศจินตนากิจ

Chulalongkorn University Theses and Dissertations (Chula ETD)

ผึ้งให้น้ำหวานเป็นสิ่งมีชีวิตต้นแบบสําหรับการศึกษาการตอบสนองต่อกลิ่นโดยใช้วิธีการเรียนรู้แบบมี เงื่อนไข (classical conditioning) ผ่านทางพฤติกรรมการแลบลิ้นหรือ Proboscis Extension Response (PER) ซึ่งมีรายงานอย่างกว้างขวางในผึ้งพันธุ์หรือผึ้งให้น้ำหวานสายพันธุ์ยุโรป (A. mellifera) ในขณะที่การศึกษาในผึ้งโพรงหรือผึ้งให้น้ำหวานสายพันธุ์เอเชีย (A. cerana) กลับยังมีการศึกษาอยู่น้อยมาก ทั้งที่มีความสําคัญในการเป็นแมลงผสมเกสรในภูมิภาคเอเชียและในประเทศไทย ในการศึกษาครั้งนี้ วิธีการ PER ถูกนํามาใช้เพื่อเป็นตัวประเมินความสามารถในการเรียนรู้และตอบสนองต่อสาร 2,4–ไดไนโตรโทลูอีน (DNT, สารตั้งต้นวัตถุระเบิด) โดยทําการเปรียบเทียบความสามารถของการเรียนรู้และตอบสนองระหว่างผึ้งทั้งสองชนิด การศึกษานี้ทดลองในช่วงระหว่างเดือนพฤษภาคม 2561 ถึงเดือนมีนาคม 2563 ผึ้งที่มีหน้าที่หาอาหารจะถูกจับและนําไปฝึกให้เกิดการเรียนรู้แบบมีเงื่อนไขระหว่างสารละลายน้ำตาลซูโครสความเข้มข้น 50% w/v (ใช้เป็นรางวัล) และ DNT ความเข้มข้น 25 มิลลิกรัมต่อลิตร (ใช้เป็นสิ่งเร้าเงื่อนไข) การฝึกให้ผึ้งเกิดการเรียนรู้แบบมีเงื่อนไขนั้นจะทําการฝึกผึ้งทั้งหมด 6 ครั้ง ในช่วงเวลา 13:00–15:00 น. เพื่อที่จะสามารถประเมินได้ว่าผึ้งมีความสามารถในการเรียนรู้และจดจํากลิ่น DNT ได้หรือไม่ ผลการศึกษาแสดงให้เห็นว่า ผึ้งพันธุ์ (N=61) สามารถเกิดการเรียนรู้แบบมีเงื่อนไขระหว่างกลิ่นและน้ำตาลซูโครสได้ โดยมีการแสดงพฤติกรรม PER เพิ่มขึ้นจาก 9.84±3.84% (การฝึกครั้งที่ 1) เป็น 47.54±6.44% (การฝึกครั้งที่ 6) ในขณะที่ผึ้งโพรง (N=36) สามารถเกิดการเรียนรู้แบบมีเงื่อนไขระหว่างกลิ่นและน้ำตาลซูโครสได้เช่นกัน เกิดการแสดงพฤติกรรม PER เพิ่มขึ้นจาก 2.78±2.78% (การฝึกครั้งที่ 1) เป็น 47.22±8.44% (การฝึกครั้งที่ 6) จากผลการศึกษายังระบุอีกว่า ผึ้งพันธุ์มีความสามารถในการเรียนรู้และตอบสนองต่อ DNT (49.18±6.45%) ได้ดีกว่าผึ้งโพรง (16.67±6.30%) ในช่วงที่สองของการฝึก (P<0.01) สําหรับการทดสอบความสามารถในการจดจํา (memory retention test) พบว่า ผึ้งพันธุ์ยังคงสามารถตอบสนองต่อ DNT และแสดงพฤติกรรม PER ได้ 46.00±3.68%, 67.34±4.83% และ 52.03±3.77% ในขณะที่ผึ้งโพรงก็สามารถแสดงพฤติกรรม PER ได้ 55.50±6.10%, 50.50±7.09% และ 44.50±6.37% หลังจากที่เวลาผ่านไป 10 นาที 24 ชั่วโมงและ 48 ชั่วโมงหลังการฝึกตามลําดับ อย่างไรก็ตามความสามารถในการจดจําต่อกลิ่น DNT ของผึ้งทั้งสองชนิดนี้ไม่ได้แตกต่างกันอย่างมีนัยสําคัญทางสถิติ (P>0.05) จากผลการศึกษานี้ ผู้วิจัยพบว่าผึ้งทั้งสองชนิดมีความจําระยะยาว (long-term memory) ที่ยังคงสามารถแสดงพฤติกรรม PER และตอบสนองต่อกลิ่น DNT ได้แม้ว่าเวลาจะผ่านไปแล้ว 48 ชั่วโมงก็ตาม ความสามารถในการเรียนรู้และจดจําที่แตกต่างกันระหว่างผึ้งให้หวานทั้งสองชนิดนี้อาจจะเป็นผลมาจากคัดเลือกทางธรรมชาติเนื่องจากผึ้งทั้งสองชนิดมีถิ่นที่อยู่อาศัยที่มีสภาพภูมิอากาศแตกต่างกัน การศึกษาเพิ่มเติมเพื่อประเมินความสามารถในการเรียนรู้และการจดจําของผึ้งให้น้ําหวานสายพันธุ์เอเชียชนิดอื่น ๆ จะช่วยให้ข้อมูลที่เป็นประโยชน์เพิ่มขึ้นในการศึกษาเชิงเปรียบเทียบระหว่างผึ้งที่อาศัยในเขตอบอุ่นกับในเขตร้อนชื้น

Go to article

What Is In An Octopus's Mind?, Jennifer Mather Jan 2019

What Is In An Octopus's Mind?, Jennifer Mather

Animal Sentience

It is difficult to imagine what an animal as different from us as the octopus ‘thinks’, but we can make some progress. In the Umwelt or perceptual world of an octopus, what the lateralized monocular eyes perceive is not color but the plane of polarization of light. Information is processed by a bilateral brain but manipulation is done by a radially symmetrical set of eight arms. Octopuses do not self-monitor by vision. Their skin pattern system, used for excellent camouflage, is open loop. The output of the motor system of the eight arms is organized at several levels — brain, …

Go to article

Octopus Umwelt Or Umwelten?, Luis H. Favela Jan 2019

Octopus Umwelt Or Umwelten?, Luis H. Favela

Animal Sentience

Even if its intelligent behaviors are the product of decentralized control systems, Mather argues that the octopus has an “Umwelt,” and, thus, a mind. I argue that Umwelt does not provide a conceptual basis for understanding the octopus as having a mind. First, Umwelt does not refer only to an organism’s perceptual abilities. Second, in providing evidence for decentralized control systems that underlie intelligent behaviors, Mather makes a case against an octopus Umwelt. Instead, the octopus is more akin to a collection of systems, or Umwelten, than a single system with an Umwelt.

Go to article

Who Needs A Mind When You Have Thousands Of Fingers?, Yoram Gutfreund Jan 2019

Who Needs A Mind When You Have Thousands Of Fingers?, Yoram Gutfreund

Animal Sentience

Mather’s target article aligns with a common tendency of granting the octopus a mind or consciousness. But what is the meaning of an octopus’s mind? Is it part of nature or is it observer-dependent, imputed to satisfy our own psychological needs? In this commentary, I build on my own experience with octopuses to challenge the notion that we can conclusively attribute a mind to an animal; and I question the scientific usefulness of doing so.

Go to article

A Community Of Minds, Bennett L. Schwartz Jan 2019

A Community Of Minds, Bennett L. Schwartz

Animal Sentience

Mather (2019) provides an excellent overview of the literature on octopus perception, cognition, memory, and behavior. Anyone interested in cephalopod cognition and brain organization will find her target article informative and interesting. In this commentary, I challenge the idea that an individual organism must have an individual mind. Given the structure of the octopus brain and their complex behavior, one must consider the possibility that an octopus is a community of minds rather than a single mind.

Go to article

The Ingenuity Of Cephalopods, Angel Guerra Jan 2019

The Ingenuity Of Cephalopods, Angel Guerra

Animal Sentience

I present a brief overview of the richness of cephalopod behavioral, neural and cognitive traits.

Go to article

Octopi-Ing A Unique Niche In Comparative Psychology, Jennifer Vonk Jan 2019

Octopi-Ing A Unique Niche In Comparative Psychology, Jennifer Vonk

Animal Sentience

Mather’s work has been fundamental in informing scientists of the relatively mysterious behavior and cognition of an understudied group of animals – the cephalopods. This work helps to fill a gap in the comparative literature that has historically sought evidence for complex behavior only in species that are closely related to humans or share important ecological features such as social complexity.

Go to article

What Is Good For An Octopus?, Heather Browning Jan 2019

What Is Good For An Octopus?, Heather Browning

Animal Sentience

Mather (2019) has brought together the current empirical research in support of the claim that octopuses possess minds; and the weight of the evidence does appear to support octopus sentience. Being sentient means an organism has welfare concerns, a subjective experience of life that can go well or poorly. Protecting welfare requires knowing what conditions will have a positive or negative impact. Understanding what is in the mind of an octopus will give us valuable insight into what is good for an octopus.

Go to article

The Octopus: A Beautiful (But Disorganized) “Mind”, Jon Mallatt Jan 2019

The Octopus: A Beautiful (But Disorganized) “Mind”, Jon Mallatt

Animal Sentience

Mather (2019) presents convincing evidence that octopuses have minds, but in the first 85% of the target article, the evidence does not come through very clearly because it is hidden by other information and by problems with the paper’s organization. I propose ways to build a tighter argument in the author’s Response to the Commentaries.

Go to article

First Prev Next Last