Animal Studies Commons^™

Local Attitudes Towards Bear Management After Illegal Feeding And Problem Bear Activity, Sara Dubois, David Fraser

Wildlife Population Management Collection

The “pot bears” received international media attention in 2010 after police discovered the intentional feeding of over 20 black bears during the investigation of an alleged marijuana-growing operation in Christina Lake, British Columbia, Canada. A two-phase random digit dialing survey of the community was conducted in 2011 to understand local perspectives on bear policy and management, before and after a summer of problem bear activity and government interventions. Of the 159 households surveyed in February 2011, most had neutral or positive attitudes towards bears in general, and supported the initial decision to feed the food-conditioned bears until the autumn hibernation. …

The Interactive Effects Of Multiple Stressors On Lithobates Catesbeianus And Anaxyrus Americanus, Matthew Kyle Holden

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Amphibian populations worldwide have experienced dramatic declines, and many species have already become locally, regionally, or globally extirpated with thousands more being threatened with extinction. These declines have occurred more rapidly in amphibians than any other group of vertebrates, which is especially concerning to scientists because amphibians serve as indicator species of overall environmental health. Major causes for amphibian declines are discussed in Chapter 1 and include: habitat modification and destruction, commercial over-exploitation, introduced species, environmental contaminants, global climate change, and infectious diseases.

Chapter 2 discusses the major research aspects of the thesis by examining the interactive effects of multiple …

Ecology And Structure Of Black Bear (Ursus Americanus) Populations In The Interior Highlands Of Arkansas, Thea Vandervelde Kristensen

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

In the Interior Highlands of Arkansas, Missouri, and Oklahoma, over-harvest, extensive logging, and reductions of habitat availability by other means contributed to the decline of black bears (Ursus americanus). Bears were extirpated from the majority of the region by the 1940's Oklahoma by 1915 and from Missouri by 1931. From 1958-1968, the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission undertook a reintroduction to the Ouachita and the Ozark National Forests in Arkansas. The successful growth and expansion of the released population caused these efforts to be considered one of the most successful reintroductions of carnivores. In this dissertation, I sought to examine …

Environmental Impacts Of One Puppy Mill Among Many: A Case History, John A. Gill

Puppy Mills Collection

In recent decades, the animal welfare aspects of irresponsibly-managed commercial dog-breeding businesses have attracted national attention, prompting legislative and regulatory actions. However, the environmental impacts of such businesses, also known as puppy mills, have received far less attention. Most puppy mills are secretive; therefore, it is hard to get documented information about their environmental impacts. Although the former Whispering Oaks Kennels near Parkersburg, W.Va., also kept secrets, reliable environmental information regarding its operation became available because in the summer of 2008, Wood County cited the facility for violating the State’s water pollution and solid waste statutes. This report is based …

Marine Invertebrates: Communities At Risk, Jennifer A. Mather

Ecological Impacts of Climate Change Collection

Our definition of the word ‘animal’ centers on vertebrates, yet 99% of the animals on the planet are invertebrates, about which we know little. In addition, although the Census of Marine Life (COML.org) has recently conducted an extensive audit of marine ecosystems, we still do not understand much about the animals of the seas. Surveys of the best-known ecosystems, in which invertebrate populations often play a key role, show that the invertebrate populations are affected by human impact. Coral animals are the foundation of coral reef systems, which are estimated to contain 30% of the species in the ocean. Physical …

Genetic Structure Of The Copperhead (Viperidae: Agkistrodon Contortrix Mokasen) At Its Most Northern Distribution, Brenna Aaren Levine

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The focus of molecular studies in North American pitvipers has been on species that warrant conservation concern, such as Timber (Crotalus horridus) and Massasauga rattlesnakes (Sistrurus catenatus). Scant effort has been directed towards the molecular ecology of the Copperhead (Agkistrodon contortrix), other than to evaluate male reproduction in a laboratory setting and phylogenetic history. Thus, employing DNA-based molecular techniques to study the natural history of A. contortrix will broaden our knowledge of molecular ecology in North American pitvipers, and particularly in a non-threatened species that can serve as a surrogate for threatened and endangered …

Fallow Deer Polyandry Is Related To Fertilization Insurance, Elodie F. Briefer, Mary E. Farrell, Thomas J. Hayden, Alan G. Mcelligott

Ethology Collection

Polyandry is widespread, but its adaptive significance is not fully understood. The hypotheses used to explain its persistence have rarely been tested in the wild and particularly for large, long-lived mammals. We investigated polyandry in fallow deer, using female mating and reproduction data gathered over 10 years. Females of this species produce a single offspring (monotocous) and can live to 23 years old. Overall, polyandry was evident in 12 % of females and the long-term, consistent proportion of polyandrous females observed, suggests that monandry and polyandry represent alternative mating strategies. Females were more likely to be polyandrous when their first …

A Study Of Sharing And Reciprocity In Grey Parrots (Psittacus Erithacus), Franck Péron, Maria John, Stephanie Sapowicz, Dalila Bovet, Irene M. Pepperberg

Sentience Collection

Demonstrations of nonhuman ability to share resources and reciprocate such sharing seem contingent upon the experimental paradigm used (note Horner et al. in PNAS 108:13847–13851, 2011). Here, such behaviour in Grey parrots (Psittacus erithacus) was tested in two experiments, both designed to avoid possible issues involving apparatus complexity, visible reward options, and physical competition and/or limited communication between subjects. In both studies, two birds, working in dyads, took turns in choosing one of four different coloured cups with differing outcomes: empty (null, nonrewarding), selfish (keeping reward for oneself), share (sharing a divisible reward), or giving (donating reward to other). In …

Application Of Qualitative Behavioural Assessment To Horses During An Endurance Ride, Patricia A. Fleming, Cheree L. Paisley, Anne L. Barnes, Françoise Wemelsfelder

Sentience Collection

Endurance horses are considered subject to a unique set of training and competing pressures due to the long distances travelled. The health and welfare of these horses could be compromised if they have not been adequately trained or are pushed beyond their limits, and there are increasing concerns regarding the capacity of horses to cope with the exercise demands placed on them, with high elimination rates for lameness and metabolic reasons. Veterinary inspections during these rides are important for assessing physiological measures, but the inclusion of behavioural assessments is also warranted. We investigated the application of Qualitative Behavioural Assessment (QBA) …

Inter-Observer Reliability Of Qualitative Behavioural Assessments Of Sheep, Clare Phythian, Eleni Michalopoulou, Jennifer Duncan, Françoise Wemelsfelder

Sentience Collection

Qualitative Behaviour Assessment (QBA) is whole-animal methodology that assesses the expressive qualities of animal demeanour using descriptors such as ‘relaxed’, ‘anxious’ or ‘content’. This study aimed to examine the inter-observer reliability of 12 fixed-list QBA descriptors for sheep that had been generated in a previous Free-Choice Profiling study by experienced animal welfare inspectors, based on the same video footage used in the current study. The 12 QBA terms were scored by two different assessor groups consisting of two veterinary science students and four veterinary surgeons (Group 1), and seven farm assurance inspectors (Group 2). The two assessor groups met and …

Pattern Of Social Interactions After Group Integration: A Possibility To Keep Stallions In Group, Sabrina Briefer Freymond, Elodie F. Briefer, Rudolf Von Niederhäusern, Iris Bachmann

Ethology Collection

Horses are often kept in individual stables, rather than in outdoor groups, despite such housing system fulfilling many of their welfare needs, such as the access to social partners. Keeping domestic stallions in outdoor groups would mimic bachelor bands that are found in the wild. Unfortunately, the high level of aggression that unfamiliar stallions display when they first encounter each other discourages owners from keeping them in groups. However, this level of aggression is likely to be particularly important only during group integration, when the dominance hierarchy is being established, whereas relatively low aggression rates have been observed among stable …

Ovarian Cycle Activity Varies With Respect To Age And Social Status In Free-Ranging Elephants In Addo Elephant National Park, South Africa, Elizabeth Freeman, Jordana Meyer, Sarah Putman, Bruce A. Schulte, Janine Brown

Biology Faculty Publications

Free-ranging African elephants live in a fission–fusion society, at the centre of which is the matriarch. Matriarchs are generally older females that guide their families to resources and co-ordinate group defense. While much is known about elephant society, knowledge is generally lacking about how age affects the physiology of wild elephants. Investigation of the ovarian activity of free-ranging elephants could provide insight into the reproductive ageing process, with implications for population management. Faecal samples were collected from 46 individuals ranging in age from 14 to 60 years for a 2-year period, and progestagen metabolite analyses were used to examine relationships …

Explaining China’S Wildlife Crisis: Cultural Tradition Or Politics Of Development, Peter J. Li

Threatened and Endangered Animal Populations Collection

This chapter is about China’s wildlife crisis. As the following sections attempt to demonstrate, abuse of and assault on wildlife in captivity and in the wild have reached an unprecedented level on the Chinese mainland in the reform era (1978–present). Shocking brutality against wildlife animals has been frequently exposed by Chinese and international media. To readers outside East Asia, they ask if the Chinese are culturally indifferent to animal suffering. Indeed, does the Chinese culture sanction cruelty to animals? Or is it the contemporary politics of economic development that is more directly responsible for the crisis?

Environmental Impacts Of Puppy Mills, The Humane Society Of The United States

PUPPY MILL REPORTS

A puppy mill is “a dog breeding operation in which the health of the dogs is disregarded in order to maintain a low overhead and maximize profits.” Avenson v. Zegart, 577 F. Supp. 958, Dist. Court, Minnesota (1984). State and federal inspection reports reveal that a common method employed to maximize profits includes irresponsible waste management practices that are harmful to the environment. Impacts may be caused by improper disposal of feces, urine and carcasses.

Identification Of The Rainbowfish In Lake Eacham Using Dna Sequencing, Culum Brown, Yagiz Aksoy, Hilal Varinli, Michael Gillings

Veterinary Science and Medicine Collection

The Lake Eacham rainbowfish (Melanotaenia eachamensis) was once thought to be confined to its type locality within the Lake Eacham World Heritage National Park. M. eachamensis disappeared from the lake following the translocation of several species into the lake and the species was pronounced extinct in the wild in 1987. In a 2007 survey we noticed that rainbowfish were present in the lake once again. We used a molecular marker to identify these fish and the likely source population. Analysis of the D-loop region of mitochondrial DNA revealed that the species now present in the lake is Melanotaenia splendida, and …

Assumptions In Animal Cognition Research, Kristin Andrews, Brian Huss

Psychology Collection

No abstract provided.

Rating Harms To Wildlife: A Survey Showing Convergence Between Conservation And Animal Welfare Views, S. Dubois, D. Fraser

Environment and Nature Conservation Collection

Human activities may cause conservation concerns when animal populations or ecosystems are harmed and animal welfare concerns when individuals are harmed. In general, people are concerned with one or the other, as the concepts may be regarded as separate or even at odds. An online purposive survey of 339 British Columbians explored differences between groups that varied by gender, residency, wildlife engagement level and value orientation (conservation-oriented or animal welfare-oriented), to see how they rated the level of harm to wildlife caused by different human activities. Women, urban residents, those with low wildlife engagement, and welfare-orientated participants generally scored activities …

The Lives Of Others: Social Rationality In Animals, Jeffrey R. Stevens, Andrew J. King

Jeffrey Stevens Publications

Darwin (1871) boldly claimed that humans and other animals differ very little in their cognition; a statement that has raised the ire of many scientists (Bolhuis & Wynne, 2009; Penn, Holyoak, & Povinelli, 2008). Rather than stating this continuity as a fact, we will explore the similarities and differences between humans and animals in the social rationality of their decision making. We find this a fruitful exercise because it can profit researchers of both humans and animals. Our purpose here is to provide an evolutionary background of social rationality: Why do animals attend to the lives of others? To this …

Changing Room Cues Reduces The Effects Of Proactive Interference In Clark’S Nutcrackers, Nucifraga Columbiana, Jody L. Lewis, Alan C. Kamil, Kate E. Webbink

Avian Cognition Papers

To determine what factors are important for minimizing interference effects in spatial memory, Clark’s Nutcrackers, Nucifraga columbiana were tested for their spatial memory for two serial lists of locations per day. In this experiment two unique landmark sets were either different between List 1 and List 2 or the same. We found that Nutcrackers were most susceptible to interference when the landmark sets were the same. This study suggests that repeatedly testing animal memory in the same room, with the same cues, can hamper recall due to interference.

Differences In Relative Hippocampus Volume And Number Of Hippocampus Neurons Among Five Corvid Species, Kristy L. Gould, Karl E. Gilbertson, Andrew J. Hrvol, Joseph C. Nelson, Abigail L. Seyfer, Rose M. Brantner, Alan C. Kamil

Avian Cognition Papers

The relative size of the avian hippocampus (Hp) has been shown to be related to spatial memory and food storing in two avian families, the parids and corvids. Basil et al. [Brain Behav Evol 1996;47: 156-164] examined North American food-storing birds in the corvid family and found that Clark’s nutcrackers had a larger relative Hp than pinyon jays and Western scrub jays. These results correlated with the nutcracker’s better performance on most spatial memory tasks and their strong reliance on stored food in the wild. However, Pravosudov and de Kort [Brain Behav Evol 67 (2006), 1-9] raised questions …

Nursing Females Are More Prone To Heat Stress: Demography Matters When Managing Flying-Foxes For Climate Change, Stephanie T. Snoyman, Jasmina Munich, Culum Brown

Ecological Impacts of Climate Change Collection

Determining the underlying mechanisms responsible for species-specific responses to climate change is important from a species management perspective. The grey-headed flying-fox, Pteropus poliocephalus, is listed as vulnerable but it also a significant pest species for orchardists and thereby presents an interesting management conundrum. Over the last century, the abundance of the grey-headed flying-fox, P. poliocephalus, in Australia has decreased due to a variety of threatening processes but has increased in abundance in urban areas. These flying-foxes are highly susceptible to extreme heat events which are predicted to increase in the future under climate change scenarios. Exceptionally hot days result in …

Habitat Modeling Of Three Endemic Crayfish Species In The Black River Drainage Of Missouri And Arkansas: Factors Affecting Distribution And Abundance, Matthew Stephen Nolen

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The Ozark faunal region of Missouri and Arkansas harbors a high level of aquatic biological diversity, especially in regards to endemic crayfish. Orconectes eupunctus, Orconectes marchandi, and Cambarus hubbsi are three such endemics that are threatened by a limited natural distribution and the invasions of Orconectes neglectus. I sought to determine how natural and anthropogenic factors influence these three species across multiple spatial scales. Local and landscape data were used in decision tree analyses (CART) to determine their influence effect on presence/absence and density of the three species. Predictive models were validated using k-fold cross validation. O. eupunctus presence was …

Interactions Between Short-Beaked Common Dolphin (Delphinus Delphis) And The Winter Pelagic Pair-Trawl Fishery Ff Southwest England (Uk), Marijke N. De Boer, James T. Saulino, Mardik F. Leopold, Peter J.H. Reijnders, Mark P. Simmonds

Aquaculture Collection

During offshore and onshore studies (2004 to 2009), the interactions between pair-trawls and short-beaked common dolphins (Delphinus delphis) were studied to better understand the impact of bycatch. A ‘hotspot’ area where pair-trawls overlapped with high dolphin abundance was identified. We made comparisons between boat-based data collected in absence and presence of pair-trawlers. The relative abundance and group-size of dolphins was significantly higher in the presence of pair-trawlers. Dolphins were observed associating with towing and hauling procedures. Significantly, more carcasses occurred in areas with hauling-activity than those without. Body-temperatures obtained from carcasses found near operating pair-trawlers indicated that bycatch mostly occurred …

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 …

Whaling: Don’T Trade The Moratorium Away, Mark Peter Simmonds, Sue Fisher

Conservation Collection

In their proposal to allocate ‘whale shares’ to both whalers and conservationists as an alternative to the International Whaling Commission (IWC) moratorium on commercial whaling, Christopher Costello and colleagues overlook several factors (Nature 481, 139–140; 2012).

Complex Patterns Of Male Alliance Formation In A Dolphin Social Network, Joanna Wiszniewski, Culum Brown, Luciana M. Möller

Sentience Collection

The formation and maintenance of alliances is regarded as one of the most socially complex male mating strategies in mammals. The prevalence and complexity of these cooperative relationships, however, varies considerably among species as well as within and between populations living in different ecological and social environments. We assessed patterns of alliance formation for Indo-Pacific bottlenose dolphins, Tursiops aduncus, in Port Stephens, New South Wales, Australia, to investigate the stability of these alliances, the structure of associations, as well as variation in schooling patterns among males. Our results showed that association patterns among males within this population showed considerable variability. …

The Fine-Scale Habitat Use Of Risso’S Dolphins Off Bardsey Island, Cardigan Bay (Uk), Marijke N. De Boer, Sonja Eisfeld, Mark P. Simmonds

Ecology Collection

The main objectives of this study were (1) to estimate the population size of Risso’s dolphins off Bardsey Island using mark-recapture techniques (De Boer et al., 2013); and (2) to study habitat-use in relation to fine-scale oceanographic features. This work provides preliminary information on the habitat-use of Risso’s dolphins and will benefit future studies, along with the development of effective conservation measures for this species throughout the region.

Cetaceans And Marine Debris: The Great Unknown, Mark Peter Simmonds

Ecology Collection

Plastics and other marine debris have been found in the gastrointestinal tracts of cetaceans, including instances where large quantities of material have been found that are likely to cause impairment to digestive processes and other examples, where other morbidity and even death have resulted. In some instances, debris may have been ingested as a result of the stranding process and, in others, it may have been ingested when feeding. Those species that are suction or “ram” feeders may be most at risk. There is also evidence of entanglement of cetaceans in marine debris. However, it is usually difficult to distinguish …

Outdoor Cats: An Animal Welfare And Protection Perspective, John Hadidian, Inga Gibson, Susan Hagood, Nancy Peterson, Bernard Unti, Betsy Mcfarland, Katie Lisnik, Heather Bialy, Inga Fricke, Kathleen Schatzmann, Jennifer Fearing, Pam Runquist, Andrew N. Rowan (Ed.)

Stray and Feral Animal Populations Collection

First raised as a serious conservation issue more than 100 years ago, the impact of free-roaming cats on wildlife has been a subject of debate, controversy, and conflict since then. Cats have been tied directly to the extinction of sensitive species in island environments and implicated as major threats to certain wildlife populations elsewhere. Yet the study of free-roaming cats and the problems attributed to them lags behind the standards of research typical with more traditional vertebrate “pest” species. Alternative management approaches, ranging from traditional practices such as removal and depopulation to emerging concepts such as Trap- Neuter-Return (TNR), have …

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 …