Other Animal Sciences Commons^™

European Wasps : Eradicating An Unwanted Pest, Marc Widmer, John Van Schagen

Journal of the Department of Agriculture, Western Australia, Series 4

European wasps were first found in Western Australis in 1977. Mark Widmer and John van Schagen outline the pest's life history and control progeams which are in place.

The Distribution, Ecology And Natural History Of Shrews (Insectivora: Soricidae) In Southern West Virginia, Jeffrey Jerome Hajenga

Theses, Dissertations and Capstones

A survey of the soricid (shrew) fauna of southern West Virginia was conducted between May 16, 1994 and May 27, 1995. Twenty-five sites were established in Mercer and Summers counties within seven habitat types. Pitfall traps were used and through a limitation of fluid depth within the trap the selectivity for soricids was increased to over 83% of the total capture. Overall, a total of 653 shrews comprising seven species (Sorex cinereus, S. /ongirostris, S. fumeus, S. dispar, S. hoyi, 8/arina brevicauda, and Cryptotis parva) was captured. Two of the species taken (S. hoyi and S. dispar) are new county …

Comprehension Of Cause-Effect Relations In A Tool-Using Task By Chimpanzees (Pan Troglodytes), Luca Limongelli, Sarah T. Boysen, Elisabetta Visalberghi

Sentience Collection

Five chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes) were tested to assess their understanding of causality in a tool task. The task consisted of a transparent tube with a trap-hole drilled in its middle. A reward was randomly placed on either side of the hole. Depending on which side the chimpanzee inserted the stick into, the candy was either pushed out of the tube or into the trap. In Experiment 1, the success rate of 2 chimpanzees rose highly above chance, but that of the other subjects did not. Results show that the 2 successful chimpanzees selected the correct side for insertion beforehand. Experiment …

Responses To Quantity: Perceptual Versus Cognitive Mechanisms In Chimpanzees (Pan Troglodytes), Sarah T. Boysen, Gary G. Berntson

Sentience Collection

Two chimpanzees were trained to select among 2 different amounts of candy (1-6 items). The task was designed so that selection of either array by the active (selector) chimpanzee resulted in that array being given to the passive (observer) animal, with the remaining (nonselected) array going to the selector. Neither animal was able to select consistently the smaller array, which would reap the larger reward. Rather, both animals preferentially selected the larger array, thereby receiving the smaller number of reinforcers. When Arabic numerals were substituted for the food arrays, however, the selector animal evidenced more optimal performance, immediately selecting the …

Calling By Domestic Piglets: Reliable Signals Of Need?, Daniel M. Weary, David Fraser

Communication Skills Collection

Two manipulations were performed on domestic piglets to determine whether differences in calling during periods of separation from the mother can indicate differences in need. In both cases, the aim was to manipulate the piglet's need for the sow's attention. In the first manipulation a 'thriving' piglet (i.e. the piglet with the heaviest weight and most rapid weight gain) and a 'non-thriving' one (lightest and slowest weight gain) were selected from each of 15 litters. The two piglets were removed from the sow and litter and recorded for 13 min in separate isolated enclosures. For the second manipulation, two piglets …

Geographic And Nongeographic Variation In The Genus Microtus (Mammalia: Rodentia) In West Virginia, Tina M. Savage

Theses, Dissertations and Capstones

Geographic and nongeographic variation was assessed on 12 cranial and 4 external characters in approximately 400 specimens of Microtus (M. ochrogaster, M. chrotorrhinus, M. pinetorum, M. pennsylvanicus) in West Virginia. Univariate and multivariate statistical analyses were used to examine age-related variation, sexual dimorphism, elevation and geographic variation and litter size for each species of Microtus in the state. Cranial characters were more beneficial than external in detecting variation. Examination of data for each species of Microtus studied demonstrated that values and trends in variation is a specific rather than a generic trait. Age-related variation was present in some, …

Vocal Learning In Grey Parrots (Psittacus Erithacus): Effects Of Social Interaction, Reference, And Context, Irene M. Pepperberg

Sentience Collection

For many passerines, the extent,timing, and even presence of allospecific vocal learning can be influenced by the form of input that is received. Little data exist, however, on vocal learning in parrots (Psittacidae). I have previously proposed that such vocal learning proceeds most readily when input is (1) referential, (2) contextually applicable, and (3) interactive. The referential aspect demonstrates the meaning of the code to be taught, the contextual aspect demonstrates the use that can be made of the information contained in the code, and the interactive aspect provides explicit training that is constantly adjusted to the level of the …

Numerical Competence In An African Gray Parrot (Psittacus Erithacus), Irene M. Pepperberg

Sentience Collection

An African gray parrot (Psittacus erithacus), Alex, trained to label vocally collections of 1-6 simultaneously presented homogeneous objects, correctly identified, without further training, quantities of targeted subsets in heterogeneous collections. For each test trial Alex was shown different collections of 4 groups of items that varied in 2 colors and 2 object categories (e.g., blue and red keys and trucks) and was asked to label the number of items uniquely defined by the conjunction of 1 color and 1 object category (e.g., "How many blue key?"). The collections were designed to provide maximal confounds (or distractions) and thus replicate the …

Other On-Station Activities For Wool Pastoralists, Mark Stevens

Journal of the Department of Agriculture, Western Australia, Series 4

The impact of low wool prices has been most severe on specialist wool growers who have little scope for diversification, particularly those in the pastoral area.

Although there are limited opportunities for new enterprises on all pastoral stations, individual pastoralists are examining other on-station activities to determine which ones might be suitable. In doing so, they are evaluating:

• location (proximity to a major highway or population centre);

• natural attractions (coast, gorges, river, wildflowers);

• natural resources (native fauna and flora); and

• water supply (quantity and reliability of good quality water).

Diversification In The Woolbelt, John Allen

Journal of the Department of Agriculture, Western Australia, Series 4

The productivity and diversification initiative for wool growers incorporates two leves of diversification.

Greatest emphasis is placed on industry wide increases in cropping intensity and in the range of crop types grown.

The second level involves non-traditional, alternative enterprises, each offering prospects for expansion of a limited number of wool growing businesses, suited to particular parts of the woolbelt.

The alternative enterprises include floriculture, aquaculture, export hay, farm tourism, commercial timber, horticulture and new animal industries.

Breeding Ewe Lambs To Lamb First As Yearlings, Nyle J. Matthews

Archived Agriculture Publications

Getting the highest possible production from ewes is a goal of every sheep producer. Sheep respond well to management and will usually pay a producer for the extra times he spends in caring for them. Breeding ewe lambs is a practice that can pay dividends but requires the right management to make it work. Many years ago this practice was deemed unwise because it severely affected the young mothers in many ways. Modern research has spelled out requirements in terms of size and management that make a successful, workable program.

Vocal Perception: Brain Event-Related Potentials In A Chimpanzee, Gary G. Berntson, Sarah T. Boysen, Michael W. Torello

Sentience Collection

We describe the first brain event-related potential (ERP) study of cognitive processes in the chimpanzee. In an extension of our studies on the ontogeny of vocal perception, ERP measures were obtained during the presentation of simple nonsignal stimuli as well as conspecific and human vocalizations. We initially confirmed findings from humans and monkeys of the appearance of a long-latency positivity in the ERP waveform to a rare stimulus in an oddball paradigm. This ERP component is reminiscent of the P3a reported in humans under similar (passive) experimental conditions. We further demonstrated that both conspecific and human vocal stimuli having affective …

Ranch Management Practices In The Sandhills Of Nebraska: Managing Production, Sean A. Coady, Richard T. Clark

Nebraska Agricultural Experiment Station: Historical Research Bulletins

This report represents the second in a two-part series that summarize a comprehensive survey of Nebraska Sandhills range cattle operations. The focus of this report is on management of the production aspects of the ranch business and provides details on pasture and meadow management, hay production, crops, breeding programs, nutritional programs, and maintaining the health of the herd.

An Update On The Biological Control Of Rabbits, Stuart Wheeler

Journal of the Department of Agriculture, Western Australia, Series 4

When myxomatosis was introduced into Western Australia in the early 1950s, farmers, pastoralists and government alike thought it was an answer to the rabbit problem.

The disease was devastatingly effective in the short term and initially had a 99 per cent kill rate. With time, the virus declined in strength, and the surviving rabbits have multiplied.

There have been many recent reports about new forms of biological control for rabbits and potential improvements in old ones.

This article summarises each of the prospective methods and improvements, and assesses the potential usefulness of each.

Enlarged Posterior Maxillary Teeth In The Scarlet Snake, Cemophora Coccinea (Serpentes: Colubridae), Using Scanning Electron Microscopy, Stanley E. Trauth

Journal of the Arkansas Academy of Science

No abstract provided.

Counting In Chimpanzees: Nonhuman Principles And Emergent Properties Of Number, Sarah T. Boysen

Numeracy Collection

No abstract provided.

Assessing Animal Well-Being: Common Sense, Uncommon Science, David Fraser

Assessment of Animal Welfare Collection

The scientific assessment of the well-being of an animal involves finding indicators of three broad criteria: 1) a high level of biological functioning; 2) freedom from suffering in the sense of prolonged fear, pain, and other negative experiences; and 3) positive experiences such as comfort and contentment. The tools available to assess animal wellbeing include a mixture of common sense and cutting-edge science. Measures of animal productivity can help to assess an animal’s level of biological functioning, but they need to be used with care. Among veterinary approaches, pathology detects breakdown in biological functioning, while epidemiology identifies the circumstances under …

Refinements In Rabbit Husbandry, The Bvaawf/Frame/Rspca/Ufaw Joint Working Group On Refinement

Breeding of Laboratory Research Animals Collection

The aims of this report are to identify the needs of domesticated rabbits and to present information on ways in which the current systems of housing rabbits can be improved for the benefit of all concerned: the animal, the scientist, the animal technician and the breeder.

In recent years an increasing number of establishments have changed from standard caging to group housing systems, despite the traditionally-held view that mature rabbits cannot be housed together. In this report group housing in floor pens is discussed in detail (Section 2), with both the advantages and disadvantages of this system presented. It is …

A Standardized G‐Banded Karyotype For The Raccoon (Procyon Lotor) Compared With The Domestic Cat, Roscoe Stanyon, Francesca Bigoni, Johannes Weinberg, John Hadidian

Genetics Collection

We propose a standardized karyotype for the raccoon (Procyon lotor; 2n = 38, FN 74) and compare it with that of the domestic cat (2n = 38, FN 72). Numerous chromosomes (12) have similar and sometimes identical G-banding and 14 chromosome pairs have remained intact. Other chromosomes apparently differ by Robertsonian translocations and inversions. The conservation of these karyotypes is remarkable considering that the divergence of procyonids and felids predates 50 million years B.P. However, the common diploid number of 38 is not a primitive retention, as sometimes hypothesized. Instead, cats and raccoons converged on this chromosome number by a …

The Effect Of Nutrition On The Morphology Of The Wool Follicle, Gail Moriarty

Theses : Honours

This project was part of a larger CSIRO experiment which was examining the factors involved in the development of tender wool. In order to understand the effect of nutritional variations on wool quality, changes in cellular activity and morphology within the wool follicle were examined. Six sheep with a history of producing low staple strength wool (< 25 N/ktex) and six sheep with a history of producing high staple strength wool (> 30 N/ktex) were selected. The experiment ran for 18 weeks, for the first 10 weeks the sheep were fed a restricted ration to achieve a weight loss of approximately 175g/day. From weeks 11 to 18, the sheep were fed an iso-energetic ration containing …

Growth And Survival Of Larval Fishes: The Role Of Zooplankton Abundance And Competition, Michael T. Welker

Masters Theses

Interactions among larval gizzard shad, bluegill and zooplankton prey were examined via a controlled mesocosm experiment and field sampling in Lake Shelbyville, Illinois. In the mesocosm experiment gizzard shad growth and survival were negatively correlated with shad density and positively correlated with macrozooplankton prey. Bluegill growth was also positively correlated with prey availability, but survival was uniformly high despite differences in zooplankton abundance and fish density. Declines in macrozooplankton and copepod biomass were related to fish density. In Lake Shelbyville limnetic overlap of larval gizzard shad and bluegill was limited to a three week period, with the interval of greatest …

Ua68/6/1 Broomsedge Chronicles: Farm Living In South Central Kentucky, Wku English, Wku Glasgow

WKU Administration Documents

A collection of essays written by English 100 Freshman Composition and English 200 Introduction to Literature students attending WKU Glasgow from 1983 through 1992 taught by Loretta Murrey. Student authors are: Joyce Alford, Joyce Amer, Jeff Ballard, Sandie Barrick, Jerry Bean, Shela Bingham, Brent Bledsoe, Steven Bunch, Billy Carver, Angela Cowan, Karen Decker, Betty Dillahay, Dibbie Dilley, Amy Doyel, Jeff Duncan, Craig Emmitt, Barbara England, Kathy Fancher, Amanda Gillon, Michelle Glover, Jeanelle Gooch, Faye Johnson, Celena Martin, Sonia Martin, Tracy Mathews, Ila Moody, Angela Morris, William Myatt, Judy Parker, Dorothean Powell, Maria Pulanco, Diane Rather, Jennifer Reneau, LaDarra Rich, Pam …

Comprehension Of Role Reversal In Chimpanzees: Evidence Of Empathy?, Daniel J. Povinelli, Kurt E. Nelson, Sarah T. Boysen

Sentience Collection

Four chimpanzees, Pan troglodytes, were individually trained to cooperate with a human partner on a task that allowed both participants to obtain food rewards. In each chimpanzee-human dyad, one of the participants (the informant) could see which pair of food trays on a four-choice apparatus was baited, but had no means of obtaining it. The other participant (the operator) could pull one of four handles to bring a pair of the trays within reach of both participants, but could not see which choice was correct. Two of the chimpanzees were initially trained as informants and adopted spontaneous gestures to indicate …

An Ecological Study Of The Cumberland Plateau Salamander, Plethodon Kentucki Mittleman, In West Virginia, Jeffrey E. Bailey

Theses, Dissertations and Capstones

A study was conducted to determine various aspects of the ecology of Plethodon kentucki in West Virginia. Results of studies on range and distribution revealed that P. kentucki is limited to southwestern counties in West Virginia. A population of P. kentucki at Beech Fork State Park was extremely seasonal with regard to activity. Seasonal activity was not significantly correlated with air temperature, soil temperature, air relative humidity, or soil pH. Seasonal activity was significantly correlated with soil moisture. Critical Thermal Maxima and dehydration values were not significantly different between f· kentucki and its congener, P. glutinosus, thus each is equally …

Effects Of Moose Foraging On Browse Availability In New Hampshire Deer Yards, Michael T. Pruss, Peter J. Pekins

New Hampshire Agricultural Experiment Station Publications

Food habits of moose (Alces alces) and white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus) overlap in northern New Hampshire during autumn and winter. High moose and deer densities in deer yards, where deer may be confined for extended periods, could result in competition for limited deciduous forage. The purpose of this study was to investigate possible impacts by moose on browse availability in deer yards, and the potential effects on deer. Fifteen deer yards were studied in northern New Hampshire during spring and fall, 1990-91. Unbrowsed and browsed deciduous twigs, and deer and moose pellet groups were counted on 900 permanent plots to …

Vocal Recognition In Mexican Free-Tailed Bats: Do Pups Recognize Mothers?, Jonathan Balcombe, Gary F. Mccracken

Sentience Collection

Mother Mexican free-tailed bats, Tadarida brasiliensis mexicana, produce 'directive' calls while searching for pups inside cave maternity roosts. These calls consist of highly repetitive pulses of sound uttered in rapid sequence. Calls are sufficiently intense that they are perceptible above the substantial background noise within roosts at distances of at least 1m. Calls are stereotyped within individuals, and statistically discriminable between individuals. These characteristics are expected for vocalizations that function for mother-pup reunions, and are shared with directive calls described previously in other bats. Mother T. b. mexicana directive calls are statistically no less discriminable than are the isolation calls …

Counting As The Chimpanzee Views It, Sarah T. Boysen

Numeracy Collection

No abstract provided.

Red Kangaroos Can Set Back Range Regeneration, Andrew Mclaughlin

Journal of the Department of Agriculture, Western Australia, Series 4

After years of severe drought, stocking rates in Western Australia s arid rangelands have been kept low since the 1970s to allow native pastures to regenerate. As well, extensive re-seeding programs have started and sheep and cattle grazing on these areas has been restricted or eliminated. However, pasture regeneration in the rangelands can only succeed when grazing by all animals - sheep, cattle, kangaroos, goo.ts, camels, brumbies and donkeys - is controlled Many more red kangaroos roam throughout Western Australia's pastoral areas today than 20 years ago. The installation of windmills and troughs to water domestic livestock has allowed kangaroo …

Ua12/2/1 All Creatures Great & Small, Wku Student Affairs

WKU Administration Documents

Special magazine edition of the College Heights Herald:

• Hadley, Kim. Each Day is Something Extra – Reg Laswell, AIDS, HIV
• Baldwin, Paul. You Have to Love Animals to Work Here – Bowling Green/Warren County Animal Shelter

Enhanced Attraction To Blood By Pigs With Inadequate Dietary Protein Supplementation, David Fraser, D. E. Bernon, R. O. Ball

Nutrition Collection

In two experiments, 60 individually penned growing pigs were exposed daily to two sections of cotton cord, one of which had been soaked with pigs' blood and subsequently dried, while the other was plain. The animals' preference for chewing-on the blood-impregnated cord was quantified by direct observation. When fed a standard "control" diet of corn, barley, and soybean meal with mineral and vitamin supplements, the pigs had a clear but modest preference for chewing the blood-impregnated cord. Omission of the protein supplement (soybean meal) from the diet for 4 wk led to a major increase in attraction to blood and …