Understanding Animal Suicide And Death Can Lead To Better End-Of-Life Care, Jessica Pierce

Animal Sentience

Peña-Guzmán’s target article on animal suicide will help inform end-of-life care for animals by emphasizing the need for a broad research focus on animal thanatology. Greater scientific understanding of the continuum of death-related awareness, experiences, and behaviors will help us improve veterinary care for animals at the end of life.

Complicated Grief, Teya Brooks Pribac

Animal Sentience

My commentary discusses complicated grief and the ensuing sense of helplessness that may lead to suicide. I close with a story about a pygmy pig.

Can Nonhuman Animals Commit Suicide?, David M. Peña-Guzmán

Animal Sentience

Many people believe that only humans have the cognitive and behavioral capacities needed for suicidal behavior, such as reflexive subjectivity, free will, intentionality, or awareness of death. Three counterarguments — based on (i) negative emotions and psychopathologies among nonhuman animals, (ii) the nature of self-destructive behavior, and (iii) the problem of model fidelity in suicide research — suggest that self-destructive and self-injurious behaviors among human and nonhuman animals vary along a continuum.

Tribute To Jaak Panksepp, Jonathan Balcombe

Animal Sentience

No abstract provided.

Sentience Does Not Require “Higher” Cognition, Giorgio Vallortigara

Animal Sentience

I agree with Marino (2017a,b) that the cognitive capacities of chickens are likely to be the same as those of many others vertebrates. Also, data collected in the young of this precocial species provide rich information about how much cognition can be pre-wired and predisposed in the brain. However, evidence of advanced cognition — in chickens or any other organism — says little about sentience (i.e., feeling). We do not deny sentience in human beings who, because of cognitive deficits, would be incapable of exhibiting some of the cognitive feats of chickens. Moreover, complex problem solving, such as transitive inference, …

Misperceiving And Underestimating The Ubiquitous Chicken, Carrie P. Freeman

Animal Sentience

Marino has provided an accurate and nuanced view about chickens’ complex capabilities as sentient individuals. I explore the implications of these findings for scholars as well as for activists in the protection of farmed animals.

Is Psychological Science Committing “Suicide” By Linguistic Muddling?, Roger K. Thomas

Animal Sentience

Beginning mainly with the “cognitive revolution” in psychology in the latter half of the 20^th century, psychological science has been committing “suicide” slowly via linguistic muddling. Peña-Guzmán’s target article is but one of thousands of cuts contributing to this death by “suicide.” Having said that, given the current state of affairs in animal cognition research, there is much to commend in Peña-Guzmán’s article. I leave that to others, however. This commentary explains how the suicide by muddling of psychological science is happening in general, with the understanding that it applies also to Peña-Guzmán’s target article.

On Assisted Suicide, Clark Glymour

Animal Sentience

What would be the moral implications of the capacity for suicide in nonhuman animals? Humans can be helped to end their lives if they no longer find them bearable. Should captive animals not be given the same possibility?

Geographic Distribution: Acrantophis Dumerili (Duméril’S Madagascan Ground Boa). Usa. Florida., Louis A. Somma, Kenneth L. Krysko, Laurence L. Conner

Papers in Herpetology

The geographic distribution of Acrantophis dumerili, a nonindigenous introduced species in Florida, with new records, is presented.

Acrantophis dumerili is indigenous to southern and southwestern Madagascar. We provide the first vouchers for Miami-Dade and Bay counties, which were likely escaped or released pets. Florida already has three established species of booid snakes (one boa, two pythons), all introduced through the pet trade pathway. Although there is no clear evidence for an established population of A. dumerili in Florida at this time, the Bay County individuals in a rural area in the Florida panhandle are a particular concern given that two …

Relationship Between Zooplankton And Walleye Rearing Pond Success, Danny Tuckett

Journal of Earth and Life Science

Walleye Sander vitreus are an important sport fish in Minnesota. This has led to the raising of Walleye in ponds to later be stocked into lakes. This study was done to determine the relationship between Walleye prey (zooplankton) and the success of Walleye in 11 stocked ponds in the Ortonville, MN area. There was no management of the ponds until harvest, which starts in late September and ends in November. There were significant positive relationships between rotifer density (P = 0.03) and nauplii density (P = 0.04) to kg of Walleye harvested. The setting where nauplii and rotifer density are …

Minnesota Fish Taxonomic Key 2017 Edition, Warren Lamb

Journal of Earth and Life Science

Minnesota’s landscape is maze of lakes and river that are home to a recorded total of 163 species of fish. This document is a complete and current dichotomous taxonomic key of the Minnesota fishes. This key was based on the 1972 “Northern Fishes” key (Eddy 1972), and updated based on Dr. Jay Hatch’s article “Minnesota Fishes: Just How Many Are There?” (Hatch 2016). Any new species or family additions were also referenced to the 7th edition of the American Fisheries society “Names of North American Fishes” (Page et al. 2013) to assess whether a fish species is currently recognized by …

Self, Death, And Suicide: Does An Animal Know Of These?, Carolyn A. Ristau

Animal Sentience

Peña-Guzmán makes a strong case, using examples from the media and scientific literature, that many captive animals suffer severely. In examining the possibility of animal suicide, he dismisses the need for “reflective self-subjectivity” and “intent” in suicidal behavior. He claims that at least some animals understand “death,” citing examples of behavior he deems to be death “rituals.” But these can be more simply interpreted. The possibility of animal suicide remains more dubious than Peña-Guzmán suggests.

Changes In Behavior And Emotion Under Chicken Domestication, Martin Johnsson

Animal Sentience

Marino’s target article provides an overview of chickens’ cognition, emotion, and personality, with the aim of changing how people view chickens. In this commentary, I will agree that chickens deserve better than their reputation, but contend with a statement about the lack of behavioral change under chicken domestication.

Investigating The Quantity And Types Of Microplastics In The Organic Tissue Of Oysters And Crabs In The Indian River Lagoon, Heidi Waite

Honors Undergraduate Theses

Microplastics are widespread and abundant. Few studies have examined the diversity and abundance of microplastics in wild organisms. This study determined the microplastic quantity and types in the organic tissues of the eastern oyster Crassostrea virginica and Atlantic mud crab Panopeus herbstii from the Indian River Lagoon (IRL). This study also investigated whether location affected the microplastic abundance and variety. Organisms were collected from three sites across Mosquito Lagoon in the northern IRL. Oysters were frozen after collection. Crabs were placed in containers for 5 days before freezing. The soft organic tissue was chemically digested using hydrogen peroxide, filtered, …

Redd Habitat Selection For Brook Trout In The Necktie River Bemidji, Mn, William Varela, Zachary Buckley

Journal of Earth and Life Science

The presence of quality suitable habitat is important for the success of naturally reproducing Brook Trout populations. Therefore, measuring redd habitat Brook Trout select for was the focus of this study. Brook Trout redds were observed during the spawning season of 2016. We identified a total of 18 redds in the Necktie River in late October and early November. Specific environmental variables associated with redd selection were measured: velocity, in-stream cover, canopy cover, bank overhang, river width, substrate type and size, temperature, and max-depth. The same environmental variables were measured for 30 randomly selected sites. Redds were distributed in riffles …

An Evaluation Of Nitrogen Supplementation And Processed Soy Fractions On The Performance Of Cultured Fishes, Brandon M. White

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

World population growth has resulted in an increased demand for a sustainable food supply. This rapid growth coupled with an increased per capita consumption of seafood, has resulted in many of the world’s marine fisheries being over-exploited in an effort to meet the global demand for seafood. Aquaculture has attempted to fill the supply and demand gap created by the dwindling supply of fish in the world’s oceans. Fishmeal (FM) has traditionally been the primary protein ingredient in aquafeeds fed to farm-raised fish, however its unstable supply and increasing price have driven researchers to identify alternative protein sources. Soybean meal …

Effects Of A Large-Scale Habitat Enhancement Project On Largemouth Bass Behavior, Feeding, And Growth In Grand Lake, Texas, Chance Kirkeeng

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The quality of habitat, or the environment suitable for an organism to survive and reproduce, is often described by the type of features present and the quantity and condition of such features. Habitats in many ecosystems are declining and the loss of important habitats likely affects the success of organisms reliant upon those features. Habitats in reservoir ecosystems are especially at risk because of aging processes that are degrading reservoir habitats at faster rates than habitats in other ecosystems. Habitat enhancement projects are one tool used to combat the effects of aging reservoirs but the benefits of these management actions …

Invertebrate Prey Selectivity Of Channel Catfish (Ictalurus Punctatus) In Western South Dakota Prairie Streams, Erin D. Peterson

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Benthic invertebrates are an important resource for aquatic consumers and should be considered in management of sportfish populations as a factor influencing fishery health. Our study seeks to draw a relationship between invertebrate prey availability and the Channel Catfish Ictalurus punctatus fishery of western South Dakota through diet analysis, but invertebrate surveys in the area have not focused on invertebrates as a prey source. Our objectives were to characterize patterns in availability of the invertebrate prey base in five major river basins, and to evaluate the effects of availability on Channel Catfish prey selectivity and condition. Invertebrates were collected at …

Daily Distance Moved And Home Range Analysis Of Female Cheetahs On Namibia's Commercial Farmland, Elisabeth Nicole Wise

Honors Theses and Capstones

Fewer then 10,000 cheetahs remain in Sub-Saharan Africa. Namibia has the largest population, estimated to be 4,000. Habitat fragmentation and prey depletion from human expansion for agriculture has pushed 90% of cheetahs to reside on commercial farmland where there is an absence of larger predators. Radio telemetry was used to investigate the seasonal variation in home range size among nine female cheetahs on commercial farmlands on or near the Cheetah Conservation Fund in Otjiwarongo, Namibia. ArcGIS 10.3 and Geospatial Modeling Environment were used to calculate the overall and core home range size. This was estimated for the overall, annual, monthly, …

Development And Application Of A Fish-Based Index Of Biotic Integrity For Lakes In Eastern South Dakota, Daniel T. Nelson

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The Index of Biotic Integrity (IBI) was developed to summarize the impact of watershed and water quality degradation to biotic communities and help to provide a more complete picture of water quality changes that are not captured in traditional physical and chemical measurements. In 2014, nearly 15% of South Dakota lakes did not meet their designated beneficial uses based on water quality measures but the impacts to the fish communities are unknown. The goal of this study was to develop a fish-based IBI for eastern South Dakota lakes by addressing three specific objectives:
1) Determine whether an IBI could be …

Climate Science Special Report: Fourth National Climate Assessment (Nca4), Volume I

National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration: Technical Reports and Related Materials

This report is an authoritative assessment of the science of climate change, with a focus on the United States. It represents the first of two volumes of the Fourth National Climate Assessment, mandated by the Global Change Research Act of 1990.

Credits

Jump to:

• Authors
• Volume Editors
• Lead Agency
• Background Image Credits
• Icon Credits
• Steering Committee
• Subcommittee on Global Change Research
• Report Production Team

Writing Team

Coordinating Lead Authors

• Donald J. Wuebbles National Science Foundation and U.S. Global Change Research Program – University of Illinois
• David W. Fahey NOAA Earth System Research Lab
• Kathy A. Hibbard NASA Headquarters

Lead Authors …

A Serosurvey Of Diseases Of Free-Ranging Gray Wolves (Canis Lupus) In Minnesota, Usa, Michelle Carstensen, John H. Giudice, Erik C. Hildebrand, J. P. Dubey, John Erb, Dan Stark, John Hart, Shannon M. Barber-Meyer, L. David Mech, Steve K. Windels, Andrew J. Edwards

United States Geological Survey, Northern Prairie Wildlife Research Center: Publications

We tested serum samples from 387 free-ranging wolves (Canis lupus) from 2007 to 2013 for exposure to eight canid pathogens to establish baseline data on disease prevalence and spatial distribution in Minnesota’s wolf population. We found high exposure to canine adenoviruses 1 and 2 (88% adults, 45% pups), canine parvovirus (82% adults, 24% pups), and Lyme disease (76% adults, 39% pups). Sixty-six percent of adults and 36% of pups exhibited exposure to the protozoan parasite Neospora caninum. Exposure to arboviruses was confirmed, including West Nile virus (37% adults, 18% pups) and eastern equine encephalitis (3% adults). Exposure rates …

Occurrence Of Atlantic Tarpon, Megalops Atlanticus, Leptocephali In The Mississippi Sound Estuary, Patrick M. Graham, James S. Franks, Jason D. Tilley, Dyan P. Gibson, Evan J. Anderson

Gulf and Caribbean Research

No abstract provided.

Sandhill And Whooping Cranes, Jeb Barzen, Ken Ballinger

Wildlife Damage Management Technical Series

As sandhill crane populations continue to grow in the United States, so too does crop damage, property damage to homeowners, and the risk of crane collisions with aircraft. Whooping crane populations also continue to grow, but with a global population of about 500 individuals (as of 2017), damage is rare and problems often require different solutions due to the species’ endangered status. The behavioral characteristics and habitat needs of sandhill and whooping cranes set the stage for conflict between these birds and people. Recognizing behavioral differences between territorial and non-territorial cranes greatly improves the effectiveness of any management effort.

Human-Wildlife …

Wildlife At Airports, Travis L. Devault, Bradley F. Blackwell, Jerrold L. Belant, Michael J. Begier

Wildlife Damage Management Technical Series

Collisions between aircraft and wildlife (wildlife strikes) are common occurrences across the developed world. Wildlife strikes are not only numerous, but also costly. Estimates suggest that wildlife strikes cost the civil aviation industry in the U.S. up to $625 million annually, and nearly 500 people have been killed in wildlife strikes worldwide. Most wildlife strikes occur in the airport environment: 72 percent of all strikes occur when the aircraft is ≤500 ft (152 m) above ground level, and 41 percent of strikes occur when the aircraft is on the ground during landing or takeoff. Thus, management efforts to reduce wildlife …

Burbot Growth Rates In A Northern Mesotrophic Lake, Samuel J. Peterson

Journal of Earth and Life Science

Burbot Lota lota has a circumpolar distribution throughout cold-water areas and is the only freshwater member of the family Gadidae. There are currently very few management techniques applied to Burbot throughout their northern extent. Growth is an indicator of fish health, biomass, and habitat quality; therefore, the objective of this study was to determine the growth rate of Burbot in Lake Bemidji. Burbot (n = 45) were collected along three sites on Lake Bemidji for years 2015-2017. Age was determined from sagittal otoliths, the marginal zones of which were opaque from December to May and translucent from June to November. …

Effects Of Catch-And-Release Angling On Egg Densities In Largemouth Bass Nests, Tyler Robinson

Journal of Earth and Life Science

Predation during early life stages of Centrarchidae offspring are a major cause of decreased reproductive success. For five-weeks Largemouth Bass Micropterus salmoides defend their broods from invaders such as Yellow Perch Perca flavescens and Bluegill Lepomis macrochirus. The focus of this study was to determine if predation upon Largemouth Bass broods increased as removal time from the nest via catch-and-release angling increased. Sampling was conducted on the Whitefish Chain, MN from 7 May - 7 June 2016, where a total of 29 nests were located and sampled. Three treatment groups were used; immediate catch-and-release, three-minute, and a seven- minute …

Effect Of Abiotic Factors On Bluegill Size Structure In Nine Central Minnesota Lakes, Ryan Henry

Journal of Earth and Life Science

Bluegill are the most targeted species of fish in Minnesota. In recent years, the abundance of slow growing, small Bluegill has increased within the state. Angler harvest of Bluegill can reduce the average length of Bluegill up to four times the original length. Abiotic factors such as maximum depth, average water clarity, littoral area, and percent littoral area can influence the dynamics of a lake system. There has been limited research on whether these abiotic factors can influence the size structure of a Bluegill population. The objective of this study is to determine if there is a direct relationship between …

What Can Vigilance Tell Us About Fear?, Guy Beauchamp

Animal Sentience

Animal vigilance is concerned with the monitoring of potential threats caused by predators and conspecifics. Researchers have argued that threats are part of a landscape of fear tracking the level of risk posed by predators and conspecifics. Vigilance, which is expected to vary with the level of risk, could thus be used as a measure of fear. Here, I explore the relationship between vigilance and fear caused by predators and conspecifics. The joint occurrence of vigilance and other physiological responses to fear, such as increased heart rate and stress hormone release, would bolster the idea that vigilance can be a …

Operationalizing Fear Through Understanding Vigilance, Ralph Adolphs

Animal Sentience

Beauchamp’s target article raises important questions about the features that often accompany fear. How reliable an indicator of fear is vigilance? Is it constitutive, cause, or consequence of fear? These questions force us towards a clearer definition of “fear.”