Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

Wild Justice Redux: What We Know About Social Justice In Animals And Why It Matters, Jessica Pierce, Marc Bekoff

Ethology Collection

Social justice in animals is beginning to attract interest in a broad range of academic disciplines. Justice is an important area of study because it may help explain social dynamics among individuals living in tightly- knit groups, as well as social interactions among individuals who only occasionally meet. In this paper, we provide an overview of what is currently known about social justice in animals and offer an agenda for further research. We provide working definitions of key terms, outline some central research questions, and explore some of the challenges of studying social justice in animals, as well as the …

Tool Use In Fishes, Culum Brown

Sentience Collection

Tool use was once considered the sole domain of humans. Over the last 40 years, however, it has become apparent that tool use may be widespread across the animal kingdom. Pioneering studies in primates have shaped the way we think about tool use in animals, but have also lead to a bias both in terms of our expectations about which animals should be capable of using tools and the working definition of tool use. Here I briefly examine tool use in terrestrial animals and consider the constraints of the current working definition of tool use in fishes. Fishes lack grasping …

Runx2 Tandem Repeats And The Evolution Of Facial Length In Placental Mammals, Jason M. Kamilar, Marie A. Pointer, Vera Warmuth, Stephen G.B. Chester, Frédéric Delsuc, Nicholas I. Mundy, Robert J. Asher, Brenda J. Bradley

Anthropology Department Faculty Publication Series

Background

When simple sequence repeats are integrated into functional genes, they can potentially act as evolutionary ‘tuning knobs’, supplying abundant genetic variation with minimal risk of pleiotropic deleterious effects. The genetic basis of variation in facial shape and length represents a possible example of this phenomenon. Runt-related transcription factor 2 (RUNX2), which is involved in osteoblast differentiation, contains a functionally-important tandem repeat of glutamine and alanine amino acids. The ratio of glutamines to alanines (the QA ratio) in this protein seemingly influences the regulation of bone development. Notably, in domestic breeds of dog, and in carnivorans in general, the ratio …

Chimpanzee (Pan Troglodytes) Responses To Visitors Using Chimpanzee-Friendly Behaviors, Daniella Bismanovsky

All Master's Theses

Many studies suggest that zoo visitors are a cause of stress among animals; among primates, visitor presence can lead to an increase in aggressive displays, time spent non-visible to the public, and a decrease in overall activity. This study tested the effectiveness of using species-specific behaviors among a group of captive chimpanzees. There were 2 conditions: a control, and an experimental condition in which visitors were asked to adopt a stooped posture or lean on the railing, and show a chimpanzee play face. The visitors stooped their posture, sat, and leaned on the railing significantly more in the experimental condition …