Animal Studies Commons^™

Canned Hunts--Canned Cruelty

Close Up Reports

No abstract provided.

Surviving Disasters

Close Up Reports

No abstract provided.

Animal Protection And Medical Science, David O. Wiebers, Jennifer Leaning, Roger D. White

Experimentation Collection

Over the past decade, the debate concerning animal use in biomedical research, education, and testing has contributed to an environment of public posturing on both sides. Many in the medical and animalprotection communities have come to view one another as adversaries with hopelessly different goals.

In the face of rapid and substantial increases in public concern over the wellbeing of animals, many in the medical community have sought to fend off what they see as an increasingly threatening social trend. Those who have spoken out on behalf of various medical organisations or institutions have generally been avid animal-research advocates. Those …

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 …

The Relationship Between Creep Feeding Behavior Of Piglets And Adaptation To Weaning: Effect Of Diet Quality, David Fraser, J. J.R. Feddes, E. A. Pajor

Feeding Behavior Collection

Individual variation in creep feed intake and its relation to adaptation to weaning were studied in piglets weaned at 4 wk of age. The animals received either a "low-complexity" creep-starter diet based on corn, barley and soybean meal (12 litters), or a "high-complexity", medicated, commercial diet without soybean meal (12 litters). Diets were fed as creep feed during the 2 wk before weaning, and as the sole diet during the 2 wk after weaning. Creep feeding behavior of piglets was monitored by video recording. Pigs fed the high-complexity diet consumed more creep feed (P < 0.05), tended to gain more during the week before weaning (P < 0.10), and converted feed more efficiently and gained more weight in the 2 wk after weaning (P < 0.01). Use of creep feed varied greatly among individual littermates. Multiple regression analysis showed that on the high-complexity diet, pigs that used creep feed more than their littermates tended to be those with low gains in weeks 1-3 after birth (P < 0.001), and tended to gain more weight during the week before and during the 2 wk after weaning (P < 0.01). The trends were consistent but weaker with the low-complexity diet. However, predictive power was low, with creep feeding accounting for only 4% of individual variation in post-weaning gain on the high-complexity diet and 1% on the low. Regardless of diet quality, therefore, creep feeding remained highly variable and only weakly related to weight gains during the 2 wk after weaning.

Individual Differences In The Cognitive Abilities Of Chimpanzees, Sarah T. Boysen

Psychology Collection

No abstract provided.

Public Attitudes Toward Animal Research: Some International Comparisons, Ralph Pifer, Kinya Shimizu, Linda Pifer

Attitudes Toward Animal Research Collection

A comparative analysis was made of the public's attitudes toward the use of animals in scientific research in 15 different nations. The intensity of opposition to animal research was found to vary from relatively low levels in Japan and the United States to much higher levels in France, Belgium, and Great Britain. More women than men were opposed to animal research in all 15 nations. Scientific knowledge, or the lack of knowledge, was not found to have a consistent relationship with attitudes toward animal research. Concern about the environment was found to be related to opposition to animal research in …

Concepts Of Animal Well-Being And Predicting The Impact Of Procedures On Experimental Animals, D. J. Mellor, C. S. W. Reid

Experimental Research and Animal Welfare Collection

1. We argue that:

• in their application to non-human animals, 'welfare' and 'well-being' are interchangeable words; and that

• good welfare/well-being is the state of being manifest in an animal when its nutritional, environmental, health, behavioural and mental needs are met.

2. These latter are essentially the 'five freedoms' formulated by the Farm Animal Welfare Council of the United Kingdom.

3. Using the five freedoms as a basis, we have developed a system for assessing the impact of a proposed animal experiment or usage. The freedoms are now transformed into 'domains of potential compromise' and are redefined better to …

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 …

Loved--Or Lost?

Close Up Reports

No abstract provided.

Prisoners Of The Trade

Close Up Reports

No abstract provided.

Slaughter On The High Seas

Close Up Reports

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 …

The Value And Utility Of Animals In Research, Andrew N. Rowan, Joan C. Weer

Validation of Animal Experimentation Collection

The Tufts University School of Veterinary Medicine, Center for Animals and Public Policy, sponsored an invitational seminar, The Value and Utility of Animals in Research, on October 14, 1993, at the Hyatt Regency Hotel in Baltimore, Maryland. This seminar was the second in a series of three organized by the Center for Animals and Public Policy and supported by The Pew Charitable Trusts to deal with issues relating to the use of animals in research. The first seminar, Biology Education and Animals: Opportunities and Issues, was held in the spring of 1993. The third meeting, at the National Press Club …

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 …

Caudal Hedonic Glands In The Dark-Sided Salamander, Eurycea Longicauda Melanopleura (Urodela: Plethodontidae), Stanley E. Trauth, Richard D. Smith, Abbey Cheng, Patrick Daniel

Journal of the Arkansas Academy of Science

No abstract provided.

Unhatched Eggs In Nests Of Red-Cockaded Woodpeckers, Warren G. Montague, Claudia F. Bailey, Joseph C. Neal, Douglas A. James

Journal of the Arkansas Academy of Science

During 1991 and 1992, nests of Red-cockaded Woodpeckers (Picoides borealis) were monitored in the Ouachita National Forest in Scott and Polk counties of west-central Arkansas. Nests in three additional woodpecker areas in Arkansas and Oklahoma were also monitored in 1992. Of 92 eggs laid in 27 nesting attempts in the Ouachita National Forest, 18 (19%) failed to hatch. When viewed in the cavities, six unhatched eggs were noticeably below average in size for the species and eight were average size. Seven unhatched eggs were removed in 1992 from seven nests in Arkansas and Oklahoma; three eggs showed some embryological development …

Arkansas Range Extensions Of The Eastern Small-Footed Bat (Myotis Leibii) And Northern Long-Eared Bat (Myotisseptentrionalis) And Additional County Records For The Silver-Haired Bat (Lasionycteris Noctivagans), Hoary Bat (Lasiurus Cinereus), Southeastern Bat (Myotis Austroriparius), And Rafinesque's Big-Eared Bat (Plecotus Rafinesquii), David A. Saugey, V. Rick Mcdaniel, Daniel R. England, Marsha C. Rowe, Laura R. Chandler-Mozisek, Betty G. Cochran

Journal of the Arkansas Academy of Science

We continued field studies of bats in non-cave regions of Arkansas from 1989 to present and utilized specimens submitted to the Arkansas Department of Health Rabies Laboratory to establish Arkansas range extensions for the eastern smallfooted bat (Myotis leibii) and northern long-eared bat (Myotisseptentrionalis). In addition, we documented additional county records for the silver-haired bat (Lasionycteris noctivagans), hoary bat (Lasiurus cinereus), southeastern bat (Myotis austroriparius), and Rafinesque's big-eared bat (Plecotus rafinesquii).

Distribution Of The Mole Salamander, Ambystoma Talpoideum (Urodela: Ambystomatidae), In Arkansas With Notes On Paedomorphic Populations, Stanley E. Trauth, Betty G. Cochran, David A. Saugey, William R. Posey Ii, Wesley A. Stone

Journal of the Arkansas Academy of Science

No abstract provided.

Fight Fur Now!

Close Up Reports

No abstract provided.

Reversing The Count

Close Up Reports

No abstract provided.

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 …

Colostrum Intake By Newborn Piglets, David Fraser, Jeffrey Rushen

Feeding Behavior Collection

Colostrum intake by newborn piglets was studied by weighing piglets every 10 min for their first 1-4 h with the sow, and their cumulative weight increases were used as estimates of colostrum intake. In seven litters, four piglets were monitored for 4 h beginning about 2 h after the birth of the first piglet in order to determine if colostrum is available continuously or released in discrete ejections. There was little synchrony between litter-mates in their intake in the first hour, but by the second hour of monitoring (starting about 3 h after farrowing began), much of the colostrum was …

Extinction Of Fear-Potentiated Startle: Blockade By Infusion Of An Nmda Antagonist Into The Amygdala, Michael Davis, William A. Falls, Mindy Miserendino

Psychology Faculty Publications

Data derived from in vitro preparations indicate that NMDA receptors play a critical role in synaptic plasticity in the CNS. More recently, in vivo pharmacological manipulations have suggested that an NMDA-dependent process may be involved in specific forms of behavioral plasticity. All of the work thus far has focused on the possible role of NMDA receptors in the acquisition of responses. However, there are many examples in the behavioral literature of learning-induced changes that involve the reduction or elimination of a previously acquired response. Experimental extinction is a primary example of the elimination of a learned response. Experimental extinction is …

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 …

The Ethical Judgment Of Animal Research, Shelley L. Galvin, Harold A. Herzog

Experimentation Collection

One hundred sixty subjects acted as members of a hypothetical Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee and evaluated five proposals in which animals were to be used for research or educational purposes. They were asked to approve or reject the proposals and to indicate what factors were important in reaching their ethical decisions. Gender and differences in personal moral philosophy were related to approval decisions. The reasons given for the decisions fell into three main categories: metacognitive statements, factors related to the animal, and factors related to the design of the experiment.