Social and Behavioral Sciences | Open Access Articles

Cross-Modal Recognition Of Familiar Conspecifics In Goats, Benjamin J. Pitcher, Elodie F. Briefer, Luigi Baciadonna, Alan G. Mcelligott Apr 2019

Cross-Modal Recognition Of Familiar Conspecifics In Goats, Benjamin J. Pitcher, Elodie F. Briefer, Luigi Baciadonna, Alan G. Mcelligott

Elodie Briefer, PhD

When identifying other individuals, animals may match current cues with stored information about that individual from the same sensory modality. Animals may also be able to combine current information with previously acquired information from other sensory modalities, indicating that they possess complex cognitive templates of individuals that are independent of modality. We investigated whether goats (Capra hircus) possess cross-modal representations (auditory–visual) of conspecifics. We presented subjects with recorded conspecific calls broadcast equidistant between two individuals, one of which was the caller. We found that, when presented with a stablemate and another herd member, goats looked towards the caller sooner and …

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Cross-Modal Recognition Of Familiar Conspecifics In Goats, Benjamin J. Pitcher, Elodie F. Briefer, Luigi Baciadonna, Alan G. Mcelligott Nov 2017

Cross-Modal Recognition Of Familiar Conspecifics In Goats, Benjamin J. Pitcher, Elodie F. Briefer, Luigi Baciadonna, Alan G. Mcelligott

Alan G. McElligott, PhD

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The Lactating Man, Mathilde Cohen Dec 2016

The Lactating Man, Mathilde Cohen

Mathilde Cohen

Lactation and breastfeeding are typically viewed as inherently female activities. Evolutionary biology designates females as the generators of the mammalian class’ milk supply. The assumption is that only female mammals lactate and, therefore, only female mammals nurse their own. Taking on the biological, social, and cultural aspects of male lactation, this chapter questions this gender normativity of milk. It argues that male lactation can be seen along a continuum, from the literal production of milk by a small number of mammals of the male sex, to male-identified parents and caregivers breastfeeding their children, to males’ role in shaping breastfeeding norms …

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Climate And Species Richness Predict The Phylogenetic Structure Of African Mammal Communities, Jason Kamilar, Lydia Beaudrot, Kaye Reed Apr 2015

Climate And Species Richness Predict The Phylogenetic Structure Of African Mammal Communities, Jason Kamilar, Lydia Beaudrot, Kaye Reed

scholarworks@library.umass.edu

We have little knowledge of how climatic variation (and by proxy, habitat variation) influences

the phylogenetic structure of tropical communities. Here, we quantified the phylogenetic

structure of mammal communities in Africa to investigate how community structure

varies with respect to climate and species richness variation across the continent. In addition,

we investigated how phylogenetic patterns vary across carnivores, primates, and ungulates.

We predicted that climate would differentially affect the structure of communities

from different clades due to between-clade biological variation. We examined 203 communities

using two metrics, the net relatedness (NRI) and nearest taxon (NTI) indices. We

used simultaneous autoregressive …

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Dental Enamel As A Dietary Indicator In Mammals, Peter Lucas, Paul Constantino, Bernard Wood, Brian Lawn Sep 2012

Dental Enamel As A Dietary Indicator In Mammals, Peter Lucas, Paul Constantino, Bernard Wood, Brian Lawn

Paul J. Constantino

The considerable variation in shape, size, structure and properties of the enamel cap covering mammalian teeth is a topic of great evolutionary interest. No existing theories explain how such variations might be fit for the purpose of breaking food particles down. Borrowing from engineering materials science, we use principles of fracture and deformation of solids to provide a quantitative account ofhowmammalian enamelmay be adapted to diet. Particular attention is paid to mammals that feed on ‘hard objects’ such as seeds and dry fruits, the outer casings of which appear to have evolved structures with properties similar to those of enamel. …

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Host Longevity And Parasite Species Richness In Mammals, Jason Kamilar, Natalie Cooper, Charles Nunn Aug 2012

Host Longevity And Parasite Species Richness In Mammals, Jason Kamilar, Natalie Cooper, Charles Nunn

scholarworks@library.umass.edu

Hosts and parasites co-evolve, with each lineage exerting selective pressures on the other. Thus, parasites may influence host life-history characteristics, such as longevity, and simultaneously host life-history may influence parasite diversity. If parasite burden causes increased mortality, we expect a negative association between host longevity and parasite species richness. Alternatively, if long-lived species represent a more stable environment for parasite establishment, host longevity and parasite species richness may show a positive association. We tested these two opposing predictions in carnivores, primates and terrestrial ungulates using phylogenetic comparative methods and controlling for the potentially confounding effects of sampling effort and body …

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Full-Text Articles in Social and Behavioral Sciences

Cross-Modal Recognition Of Familiar Conspecifics In Goats, Benjamin J. Pitcher, Elodie F. Briefer, Luigi Baciadonna, Alan G. Mcelligott

Elodie Briefer, PhD

Cross-Modal Recognition Of Familiar Conspecifics In Goats, Benjamin J. Pitcher, Elodie F. Briefer, Luigi Baciadonna, Alan G. Mcelligott

Alan G. McElligott, PhD

The Lactating Man, Mathilde Cohen

Mathilde Cohen

Climate And Species Richness Predict The Phylogenetic Structure Of African Mammal Communities, Jason Kamilar, Lydia Beaudrot, Kaye Reed

scholarworks@library.umass.edu

Dental Enamel As A Dietary Indicator In Mammals, Peter Lucas, Paul Constantino, Bernard Wood, Brian Lawn

Paul J. Constantino

Host Longevity And Parasite Species Richness In Mammals, Jason Kamilar, Natalie Cooper, Charles Nunn

scholarworks@library.umass.edu