Other Animal Sciences Commons^™

Economic Contribution Of Agriculture And Food To Arkansas' Gross Domestic Product 1997-2011, Jacob Manlove, Leah English, Jennie Popp, Wayne Miller

AAES Research Reports and Research Bulletins

Agricultural production, processing, and retail industries are major contributors to the Arkansas economy in terms of GDP. Agriculture contributes to the economy through direct agricultural production, value-added processing, and agricultural retail activities, and it also plays an important role through its interactions with other sectors. The use of non-agricultural goods and services as inputs into the agricultural sector promotes diversified growth in Arkansas’ economy; thus agriculture remains a vital part of Arkansas’ economy. Part 1 of the report compares the relative size of the Agriculture and Food Sector in Arkansas with those of neighboring states, the Southeastern region of the …

Juvenile Domestic Pigs (Sus Scrofa Domestica) Use Human-Given Cues In An Object Choice Task, Christian Nawroth, Mirjam Ebersbach, Eberhard Von Borell

Social Cognition Collection

Research on the comprehension of human-given cues by domesticated as well as non-domesticated species has received considerable attention over the last decade. While several species seem to be capable of utilizing these cues, former work with domestic pigs (Sus scrofa domestica) has shown inconclusive results. In this study, we investigated the use of human-given cues in an object choice task by young domestic pigs (N = 17; seven weeks of age) who had very limited human contact prior to the experiments. Subjects had to choose between two bowls of which only one was baited with a reward. Over the course …

Choice And Control Of Enrichment For A Rescued And Rehabilitated Atlantic Bottlenose Dolphin (Tursiops Trunactus), Hannah Bahe

Honors Theses

Animals living under human care experience stress related to a lack of control over t environment. One way to remedy this is through the use of cognitive enrichment, su choice and control of enrichment. This type of enrichment has been shown to have benefits for animals under human care including increased activity and social interactions. To determine if choice and control was more beneficial than enrichmen alone, a three year old male Atlantic bottlenose dolphin (Tursiops truncatus) was ex to novel enrichment items in two experimental conditions. For the first condition, th animal was given a novel object. During the …

Approaches To Canine Health Surveillance, Dan G. O'Neill, David B. Church, Paul D. Mcgreevy, Peter C. Thomson, Dave C. Brodbelt

Epidemiology Collection

Effective canine health surveillance systems can be used to monitor disease in the general population, prioritise disorders for strategic control and focus clinical research, and to evaluate the success of these measures. The key attributes for optimal data collection systems that support canine disease surveillance are representativeness of the general population, validity of disorder data and sustainability. Limitations in these areas present as selection bias, misclassification bias and discontinuation of the system respectively. Canine health data sources are reviewed to identify their strengths and weaknesses for supporting effective canine health surveillance. Insurance data benefit from large and well-defined denominator populations …

Exclusion Performance In Dwarf Goats (Capra Aegagrus Hircus) And Sheep (Ovis Orientalis Aries), Christian Nawroth, Eberhard Von Borell, Jan Langbein

Learning Ability Collection

Using a comparative approach, we investigated the ability of dwarf goats and sheep to use direct and indirect information about the location of a food reward in an object-choice task. Subjects had to choose between two cups with only one covering a reward. Before making a choice, subjects received information about the baited (direct information) or nonbaited cup (indirect information). Both goats and sheep were able to use direct information (presence of food) in the object choice task. After controlling for local enhancement, we found that goats rather than sheep were able to use indirect information (i.e., the absence of …

Goats Excel At Learning And Remembering A Highly Novel Cognitive Task, Elodie F. Briefer, Samaah Haque, Luigi Baciadonna, Alan G. Mcelligott

Sentience Collection

Introduction: The computational demands of sociality (maintaining group cohesion, reducing conflict) and ecological problems (extractive foraging, memorizing resource locations) are the main drivers proposed to explain the evolution cognition. Different predictions follow, about whether animals would preferentially learn new tasks socially or not, but the prevalent view today is that intelligent species should excel at social learning. However, the predictions were originally used to explain primate cognition, and studies of species with relatively smaller brains are rare. By contrast, domestication has often led to a decrease in brain size, which could affect cognition. In domestic animals, the relaxed selection pressures …

Fallow Bucks Attend To Vocal Cues Of Motivation And Fatigue, Benjamin J. Pitcher, Elodie F. Briefer, Elisabetta Vannoni, Alan G. Mcelligott

Sentience Collection

Vocalizations encode a range of information about the caller, and variation in calling behavior and vocal structure may provide listeners with information about the motivation and condition of the caller. Fallow bucks only vocalize during the breeding season and can produce more than 3000 groans per hour. Males modulate their calling rates, calling faster when other calling males and/or females are nearby. Groans also reveal caller fatigue, becoming shorter and higher pitched toward the end of the rut. Thus, fallow deer groans vary both over very short (minute to minute) and longer timescales (the rut). However, no studies have investigated …

Learning And Memory In The Port Jackson Shark, Heterodontus Portusjacksoni, Tristan L. Guttridge, Culum Brown

Sentience Collection

Basic understanding of the fundamental principles and mechanisms involved in learning is lacking for elasmobranch fishes. Our aim in this study was to experimentally investigate the learning and memory capacity of juvenile Port Jackson sharks, Heterodontus portusjacksoni. Sharks (N = 30) were conditioned over a 19-day period to associate an underwater LED light or stream of air-bubbles [conditioned stimulus (CS)] with a food reward [unconditioned stimulus (US)], using three procedures (delay, trace and control). During experiments, the CS signalled at a random time between 180 and 300 s for 30 s (six times per day). For the delay the US …

Prevalence Of Disorders Recorded In Dogs Attending Primary-Care Veterinary Practices In England, Dan G. O'Neill, David B. Church, Paul D. Mcgreevy, Peter C. Thomson, Dave C. Brodbelt

Epidemiology Collection

Purebred dog health is thought to be compromised by an increasing occurence of inherited diseases but inadequate prevalence data on common disorders have hampered efforts to prioritise health reforms. Analysis of primary veterinary practice clinical data has been proposed for reliable estimation of disorder prevalence in dogs. Electronic patient record (EPR) data were collected on 148,741 dogs attending 93 clinics across central and south-eastern England. Analysis in detail of a random sample of EPRs relating to 3,884 dogs from 89 clinics identified the most frequently recorded disorders as otitis externa (prevalence 10.2%, 95% CI: 9.1–11.3), periodontal disease (9.3%, 95% CI: …

Personality Affects Learning And Trade-Offs Between Private And Social Information In Guppies, Poecilia Reticulate, Larissa Trompf, Culum Brown

Sentience Collection

The acquisition of information such as the location and quality of food, mates or shelter is a key survival requirement for animals. Individuals can acquire information through personal experience (private information) or through observing and interacting with others (social information). Environmental spatial and temporal heterogeneity can mean that sometimes social information conflicts with private knowledge. We tested how personality affected the importance placed on public versus private information in wild female guppies when these two information sources came into conflict. We found that boldness and sociality affected decisions to use conflicting social and private information. Bolder females used social information …

Biochemical Analysis Of Blood Of Native Cattle In The Hilly Area Of Bangladesh, M. A. Mamun, M. M. Hassan, A. H. Shaikat, S.K.M.A. Islam, M. A. Hoque, M. Uddin, M. B. Hossain

Biochemistry Collection

A yearlong study was carried out in indigenous cattle of five upazila namely Khagrachari Sadar, Laxmichari, Matiranga, Mahalchari and Dighinala in Khagrachari Hill District, Bangladesh for determination of statuses of various biochemical parameters. Apparently healthy cattle (100) were selected and blood samples were collected aseptically. Biochemical analysis of carbohydrates, proteins, fats, minerals, electrolytes and enzymes were performed by using automated biochemical analyzer (Humalizer®-3000). The results showed that, the variations of parameters were not significant (P>0.05) between male and female. Although there was a slight increase of calcium 8.01±0.32mg/dl, glucose 69.21±2.31mg/dl, LDL 5.69±0.22mg/dl and uric acid 3.85±0.34mg/dl of female compared …

Empathy In Other Apes, Kristin Andrews, Lori Gruen

Sentience Collection

A number of scholars have offered behavioral and physiological arguments in favor of the existence of empathy in other species (see Bekoff & Pierce 2009, Flack & de Waal 2000, Plutchik 1987). While the evidence is compelling, claims about empathy in nonhuman apes face two different challenges. The first challenge comes from a set of empirical findings that suggest great apes are not able to think about other’s beliefs. The argument here is based on a view that empathy is associated with folk psychological understanding of others’ mental states, or mindreading, and the existence of mindreading among the other apes …

What Do Zebrafish Want? Impact Of Social Grouping, Dominance And Gender On Preference For Enrichment, Paul Schroeder, Soffia Jones, Iain S. Young, Lynne U. Sneddon

Sentience Collection

Although environmental enrichment is known to improve laboratory rodent wellbeing and enhance scientific data collection, relatively little is known with regards to the type of enrichment that might be useful for zebrafish (Danio rerio). Therefore, this study explored if zebrafish displayed preferences for a range of enrichments, including substrates, artificial plants, combinations thereof and airstones. Tanks divided into two compartments containing different enrichment cues were used to determine the preferences of zebrafish housed in pairs and groups of eight. When comparing time spent in enriched versus barren compartments, dominant individuals in a pair displayed a preference for substrate and behaviourally …

Individual Personality Traits Influence Group Exploration In A Feral Guppy Population, Culum Brown, Eleanor Irving

Sentience Collection

We examined whether variation in group exploratory behavior was linked with variation in personality traits (boldness, activity, and sociability) in a population of feral guppies (Poecilia reticulata). A huge amount of variation was observed in dispersal tendency between shoals. Surprisingly, no significant correlations were found between group exploratory behavior and average group personality scores, which suggests that the movement of the shoal was not generated by group conformity. However, our analysis revealed correlations between group exploration and the activity score of the least active member of a group and the sociality index of the most social member of a group. …

Acoustic Divergence In The Rut Vocalizations Of Persian And European Fallow Deer, J. B. Stachowicz, E. Vannoni, B. J. Pitcher, Elodie F. Briefer, E. Geffen, A. G. Mcelligott

Veterinary Science and Medicine Collection

We conducted a study of the male rut vocalizations (groans) of two closely related species, Persian and European fallow deer. Persian fallow deer are endangered, restricted to Iran and Israel, and their rut vocalizations have never been studied. By contrast, European fallow deer are one of the most common deer species in the world, and have been the subject of numerous detailed studies. Persian bucks are approximately 16% larger than European bucks, and this can have important implications for vocalizations. Persian bucks were recorded in Israel, and European bucks were recorded in the UK and Ireland. We measured temporal, fundamental …

Apes Communicate About Absent And Displaced Objects: Methodology Matters, Heidi Lyn, Jamie L. Russell, David A. Leavens, Kim A. Bard, Sarah T. Boysen, Jennifer A. Schaeffer, William D. Hopkins

Sentience Collection

Displaced reference is the ability to refer to an item that has been moved (displaced) in space and/ or time, and has been called one of the true hallmarks of referential communication. Several studies suggest that nonhuman primates have this capability, but a recent experiment concluded that in a specific situation (absent entities) human infants display displaced reference but chimpanzees do not. Here we show that chimpanzees and bonobos of diverse rearing histories are capable of displaced reference to absent and displaced objects. It is likely that some of the conflicting findings from animal cognition studies are due to relatively …

Effect Of Confinement On Water-Borne And Whole Body Cortisol In Wild And Captive-Eared Rainbowfish (Melanoteania Duboulayi), Amina Zuberi, Culum Brown, Sinan Ali

Physiology Collection

Whole body and water-borne cortisol levels were measured in captive reared and wild Rainbowfish (Melanoteania duboulayi Castelnau 1878) subjected to social isolation by confining them in a beaker for 30 min to induce an acute stress response. Wild fish had higher levels of cortisol before and after exposure to a mild stressor and also showed the greatest stress response. The differences in stress responses are likely the result of artificial selection in the captive environment. Importantly, there was a strong linear relationship between whole body and water-borne cortisol in wild and captive reared populations (r² =0. 95 and 0.84, …

Stress And Reproductive Hormones Reflect Inter-Specific Social And Nutritional Conditions Mediated By Resource Availability In A Bear–Salmon System, Heather M. Bryan, Chris T. Darimont, Paul C. Paquet, Katherine E. Wynne-Edwards, Judit E. G. Smits

Physiology Collection

Food availability can influence the nutritional and social dynamics within and among species. Our investigation focused on grizzly and black bears in coastal British Columbia, Canada, where recent and dramatic declines in their primary prey (salmon) raise concerns about potentially negative effects on bear physiology. We examined how salmon availability relates to stress and reproductive hormones in coastal grizzly (n = 69) and black bears (n = 68) using cortisol and testosterone. In hair samples from genotyped individuals, we quantified salmon consumption using stable isotope analysis and hormone levels by enzyme immunoassay. To estimate the salmon biomass available to each …

First Record Of Ribbon Worms (Nemertea: Tetrastemmatidae: Prostoma) From Arkansas, P. G. Davison, H. W. Robison, C. T. Mcallister

Journal of the Arkansas Academy of Science

No abstract provided.

Differential Responding By Rhesus Monkeys (Macaca Mulatta) And Humans (Homo Sapiens) To Variable Outcomes In The Assurance Game, Audrey E. Parrish, Sarah F. Brosnan, Bart J. Wilson, Michael J. Beran

Economics Faculty Articles and Research

Behavioral flexibility in how one responds to variable partner play can be examined using economic coordination games in which subjects play against a variety of partners and therefore may need to alter their behavior to produce the highest payoff. But how do we study this behavioral flexibility once players have settled on a response? Here, we investigated how responding by rhesus monkeys (Macaca mulatta) and humans (Homo sapiens) playing a computerized single-player version of a coordination game, the Assurance game, changed as a function of the variable responses (Stag/Hare) generated by multiple simulations (SIMs). We were interested in whether individuals …

Natural History Notes And Records Of Vertebrates From Arkansas, M. B. Connior, R. Tumlison, H. W. Robison, C. T. Mcallister, D. A. Neely

Journal of the Arkansas Academy of Science

No abstract provided.

Humane Education: Perspectives Of Practitioners On Program Evaluation Efforts And Analysis Of Changes In Knowledge, Attitudes, And Empathy In Two Violence Prevention And Intervention Programs, Melanie Wagner

Antioch University Dissertations & Theses

This descriptive and comparative study examined the current landscape of humane education program evaluation and data analysis through a survey of humane educators across the country. Results of the humane education survey show that data collection and evaluation are occurring in humane education programs but these efforts do not capture and measure empathy, the primary goal of most humane education programs. Humane educators reported they felt the profession is progressive and relevant to a broad host of purposes, from building positive relationships with animals to playing a role in the larger social justice scheme. They also suggested that the field …

Spatial Analysis Of Factors Influencing Long-Term Stress In The Grizzly Bear (Ursus Arctos) Population Of Alberta, Canada, Mathieu Bourbonnais, Trisalyn Nelson, Mark Cattet, Chris T. Darimont, Gordon Stenhouse

Physiology Collection

Non-invasive measures for assessing long-term stress in free ranging mammals are an increasingly important approach for understanding physiological responses to landscape conditions. Using a spatially and temporally expansive dataset of hair cortisol concentrations (HCC) generated from a threatened grizzly bear (Ursus arctos) population in Alberta, Canada, we quantified how variables representing habitat conditions and anthropogenic disturbance impact long-term stress in grizzly bears. We characterized spatial variability in male and female HCC point data using kernel density estimation and quantified variable influence on spatial patterns of male and female HCC stress surfaces using random forests. Separate models were developed for regions …

Wetlands Utilization And Rural Livelihood Diversification: A Case Of Simiyu Wetland, Magu, Tanzania, Emiliana Mwita

Journal of Humanities and Social Sciences

In many developing countries wetlands play an important role in supporting the livelihood of both urban and rural communities. In rural areas wetlands are increasingly becoming a focal point of production and livelihood diversification due to their richness and the diverse options they provide. This paper explores the livelihood options provided by Simiyu wetland in Magu District, Simiyu Region, to the community living arround it using social survey methods. This paper is based on a study which shows that wetland farming is the main activity (75%) and significantly contribute to cash income generation, followed by livestock keeping, fishing and handicraft. …

Dog Behavior Co-Varies With Height, Bodyweight And Skull Shape, Paul D. Mcgreevy, Dana Georgevsky, Johanna Carrasco, Michael Valenzuela, Deborah L. Duffy, James A. Serpell

Eidonomy Collection

Dogs offer unique opportunities to study correlations between morphology and behavior because skull shapes and body shape are so diverse among breeds. Several studies have shown relationships between canine cephalic index (CI: the ratio of skull width to skull length) and neural architecture. Data on the CI of adult, show-quality dogs (six males and six females) were sourced in Australia along with existing data on the breeds’ height, bodyweight and related to data on 36 behavioral traits of companion dogs (n = 8,301) of various common breeds (n = 49) collected internationally using the Canine Behavioral Assessment and Research Questionnaire …

Observing The Unwatchable Through Acceleration Logging Of Animal Behavior, Danielle D. Brown, Roland Kays, Martin Wikelski, Rory Wilson, A. Peter Klimley

Methodology and Animal Models in Research

Behavior is an important mechanism of evolution and it is paid for through energy expenditure. Nevertheless, field biologists can rarely observe animals for more than a fraction of their daily activities and attempts to quantify behavior for modeling ecological processes often exclude cryptic yet important behavioral events. Over the past few years, an explosion of research on remote monitoring of animal behavior using acceleration sensors has smashed the decades-old limits of observational studies. Animal-attached accelerometers measure the change in velocity of the body over time and can quantify fine-scale movements and body postures unlimited by visibility, observer bias, or the …

Longevity And Mortality Of Owned Dogs In England, D. G. O'Neill, D. B. Church, P. D. Mcgreevy, P. C. Thomson, D. C. Brodbelt

Epidemiology Collection

Improved understanding of longevity represents a significant welfare opportunity for the domestic dog, given its unparalleled morphological diversity. Epidemiological research using electronic patient records (EPRs) collected from primary veterinary practices overcomes many inherent limitations of referral clinic, owner questionnaire and pet insurance data. Clinical health data from 102,609 owned dogs attending first opinion veterinary practices (n = 86) in central and southeast England were analysed, focusing on 5095 confirmed deaths.

Of deceased dogs with information available, 3961 (77.9%) were purebred, 2386 (47.0%) were female, 2528 (49.8%) were neutered and 1105 (21.7%) were insured. The overall median longevity was 12.0 years …

Connecting The Dots: Understanding Migration In The Context Of Other Periods Of The Annual Cycle, Kristina Lee Paxton

Dissertations

Migration is a fundamental characteristic of the life history of many organisms. Large-scale seasonal movements expose migratory species to an array of differing environmental conditions such that the ecology, behavior, and life history strategies of migratory species must balance selection pressures associated with each phase of the annual cycle. Therefore, scientists increasingly realize that to understand the ecology of a migratory species in any one phase of the annual cycle requires an understanding of how other phases may interact with and influence the period of interest. That said, following individuals throughout the year poses a serious challenge.

The focus of …

Managing The Veterinary Clinic Enterprise, Shelby N. Smyly

Animal Science

This document serves as a guideline for the student management of the Veterinary Clinic Enterprise.

Stress And Reproductive Hormones In Grizzly Bears Reflect Nutritional Benefits And Social Consequences Of A Salmon Foraging Niche, Heather M. Bryan, Chris T. Darimont, Paul C. Paquet, Katherine E. Wynne-Edwards, Judit E. G. Smits

Physiology Collection

Physiological indicators of social and nutritional stress can provide insight into the responses of species to changes in food availability. In coastal British Columbia, Canada, grizzly bears evolved with spawning salmon as an abundant but spatially and temporally constrained food source. Recent and dramatic declines in salmon might have negative consequences on bear health and ultimately fitness. To examine broadly the chronic endocrine effects of a salmon niche, we compared cortisol, progesterone, and testosterone levels in hair from salmon-eating bears from coastal BC (n = 75) with the levels in a reference population from interior BC lacking access to salmon …