Animal Studies Commons^™

Some (Im)Material Girls, Living In (Im)Material Worlds, With Seeds, Stars, And Shit, Matthew Weiderspon

Theses and Dissertations

This writing situates material and gestural vocabularies cultivated in my artwork in relation to my lived experience; primarily my rural upbringing in Colorado. Scattered floor dispersals, calling sounds, and bodily movements desire reconsiderations of hope in precarity through a disorientation of place, association, scale, and language.

Influence Of Encapsulation Of Supplemental Amino Acids On Their Utilization In Broilers, Ethan A. Collins

Poultry Science Undergraduate Honors Theses

This study was developed to assess whether microencapsulation of amino acids (AA) improves their absorption to increase broiler growth performance and reduce nitrogen excretion compared to standard feed-grade AA. Five hundred and sixty Ross 708 male broilers were randomly distributed to 70 battery cages and reared for 21 days. Reported data is grouped into periods: 0-7 days, 0-14 days, and 0-21 days. A total of 5 treatment diets were fed: an industry-based control and 4 diets with decreased levels of methionine, lysine, and threonine in either encapsulated or free forms, with or without a botanical feed additive. Encapsulated AA increased …

Evaluation Of Weight Gain, Feed Intake, Feed Conversion And Oocyst Shedding Of Eimeria Maxima And Eimeria Acervulina In Broiler Chickens, Lauren Laverty

Poultry Science Undergraduate Honors Theses

The purpose of the present study was to evaluate the day and the time of sample collection of an

experimental challenge with Eimeria maxima (EM) and Eimeria acervulina (EA) in broiler chickens. One day old male Cobb-Vantress broiler chickens were randomly allocated to one of three groups with ten replicates (n=8 chickens/replicate). Chickens were placed in battery cages with a controlled age-appropriate environment: Group 1) Negative control (no challenge or treatment); 2) Challenge control (Eimeria challenge only); 3) Challenge + Salinomycin. Challenged chickens were orally gavaged with the mixed culture of EM/EA (10,000 sporulated EM containing 4% wild-type EA) …

Habitat Characteristics Or Protected Area Size: What Is More Important For The Composition And Diversity Of Mammals In Nonprotected Areas?, Wenbo Li, Jinhua Li, Peipei Yang, Bowen Li, Chao Liu, Lixing Sun

Biology Faculty Scholarship

The margins of protected areas are usually considered to have greater forest degradation, and given that most mammals live outside protected areas, researchers and conservation practitioners are increasingly recognizing that nonprotected areas must be incorporated into conservation strategy. However, the strategy used to manage these areas still involves increasing the size of protected areas, while not considering the habitat characteristics and requirements of the species. In this study, during a 3-year period, camera trap and habitat characteristic surveys were used to estimate composition, diversity, and habitat characteristics of mammals to determine habitat characteristics or increase the size of protected areas …

Exploring How Maternal Phosphorus Status Affects Calf Growth And Performance, Elizabeth Lafferty

Animal Science Undergraduate Honors Theses

This study will focus on how maternal phosphorus status of beef heifers affects the growth and performance of their calves. Heifers have been offered free-choice mineral with either 0 or 4% supplemental phosphorus from 30 days after weaning until calving. A study by H. Hilfiker, a University of Arkansas honors student, investigated the effects of these treatments from 30 days after weaning until 60 days after the breeding season when heifers were confirmed to be bred or open. For this developing heifer project 64 crossbred Angus heifers were assigned randomly into 8 groups (8 heifers/ group) before assigning each group …

Shelter Dogs Need A Home: The Effect Of Enrichment And Human Contact On The Welfare And Adoptability Of Shelter Dogs, Hannah G. Clark

Honors Projects

It comes as no surprise that an animal shelter can be a stressful place for dogs. Shelter conditions, accompanied by multiple, novel stimuli, produce a stressful environment that cause hormonal and behavioral responses in dogs housed in shelters. Many of the stereotypical behaviors produced by the stress of living in a shelter, which tend to worsen as length of stay increases, are undesirable to potential adopters. However, many studies have shown that enrichment with a variety of toys, exercise, and human interaction can buffer the stress response in shelter dogs and improve their well-being. Implementing obedience training and temporary fostering …

Quantifying The Leaching Of Nutrients And Metals In A Pasture Soil As Affected By Excreta Of Ruminants Fed Alternative Diets, Ian Kennedy

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The leaching of nitrate through the soil profile and into adjacent water systems has been a leading cause of water pollution and results in the loss of a valuable nutrient from animal production systems. Forage-based animal production systems may be improved through manipulation of animal diets that incorporate tannins and total polyphenolic compounds with feed, increasing the amount of nitrogen (N) retained by an animal/decreasing rates of digestion and altering the N-containing compounds that are excreted and deposited onto soil. Incorporating the forage legumes sericea lespedeza (Lespedeza cuneate [Dumont de Courset] G. Don) and lablab (Lablab purpurues L.) into the …

Role Of Reptile-Invertebrate Interactions In Enigmatic Reptile Declines, Meredith Swartwout

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Reptile populations are declining world-wide and the mechanisms behind many of these declines remain enigmatic. Food web interactions (i.e., reduced prey availability or increased predation) have been implicated behind some reptile declines. However, relatively little is known about predation on lizard and snake eggs, despite egg survival being important for population dynamics of some species. Ants are important predators of squamate reptile eggs in tropical and temperate systems. In Costa Rica, long-term declines in terrestrial anole lizards were linked with reduced leaf litter depth, a factor that could influence egg vulnerability to ant predation. Fire ants (genus Solenopsis) are aggressive …

Relationship Of Underline Scores And Production Traits In Beefmaster Cattle, Bryan R. Kutz

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The objective of this study was to establish the relationship of underline scores (UDLS), production traits, and conformation scores in Beefmaster cattle born between 1976 through 2008. Records provided by Beefmaster Breeders United (BBU) were analyzed. Certified classifiers approved by the BBU recorded scores. Sizes and shapes of the underlines differentiated the scores (1-4). A score of one was used to designate the least amount of navel flap or sheath and a score of four represents the maximum amount of naval flap or sheath accepted for registration in the BBU. In this study the relationship of the traits was determined …

Analysis Of The White-Tailed Deer Population Of Hobbs State Park, Jesse Morrison

Biological and Agricultural Engineering Undergraduate Honors Theses

White Tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus) are the only deer species native to Arkansas, playing a crucial role in the ecosystem. Healthy deer populations are important for environmental and human wellbeing, and overpopulation can lead to poor herd health, overgrazing, increased vehicle collisions, and transmission of diseases. Monitoring deer populations through surveys can be a useful tool in managing wildlife and maintaining Arkansas’ natural resources.

This study analyzed trends in Hobbs State Park’s deer population and estimated the current roadside deer population of the park. Data from past surveys was analyzed for trends using a Mann-Kendall Test, and a distance sampling …

Influence Of Local- And Landscape-Scale Factors On Avian Assemblage In Fragmented Tallgrass Prairie Landscape, Pooja Panwar

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Agricultural expansion and increasing urbanization are driving rapid landscape modification in the Tallgrass prairies ecosystem and are affecting biodiversity at multiple spatial scales. Thus, the conservation of fragmented grassland and steeply declining grassland avifauna is dependent on the relationship between local- and landscape-scale factors and avian assemblage. We also need to understand how these factors, operating at different spatial scales, drive the occupancy of different guilds in the assemblage. We conducted repeated point count surveys during the breeding season of 2019 at 66 grassland sites across Arkansas and Missouri, USA. We developed a multi-species occupancy model to estimate species richness, …

Evaluation Of Nutritional Factors That Influence The Efficacy Of Tributyrin As A Feed Additive For Broilers, Brooke Bodle

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Tributyrin (TB) is a glyceride ester of butyrate that has the potential to improve broiler performance and intestinal development. Therefore, to fully evaluate this potential, three experiments were conducted to evaluate effect of tributyrin (TB) on broiler growth performance, nutrient digestibility, carcass characteristics, intestinal morphology, and gastrointestinal function in birds fed diets varying in composition reared in battery cages and floor pens. Experiment 1 explored the supplementation of graded doses of TB and its impact upon growth performance, nutrient digestibility, and carcass characteristics in a step-down program when added to a reduced energy and amino acid diet. A linear reduction …

Methods To Reducing Weaning Stress In Early Weaned Spring Beef Calves, Matthew Daniel Hahn

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Reducing weaning stress in beef calves can have dramatic benefits to the health, growth, and performance to beef calves post-weaning. Studies have shown that providing creep feed to calves during the pre-weaning period can improve their nutritional status, which can better prepare them for the stresses they will be exposed to during the weaning process. Studies have also shown that two-stage weaning can reduce the stresses associated with weaning. Previous research has suggested that this method resulted in dramatic changes in behavioral signs associated with stress. The objective of this study was to evaluate the effects of two-stage weaning with …

Black-Capped Chickadee (Parus Atricapillus) Food Preference, Isabelle Gilbert

Thinking Matters Symposium

All animals must make decisions on where to find, select, capture, and eat food. These factors contribute to a species’ food preference, such as making decisions on what food to eat based on calories. Optimal foraging theory predicts how an animal behaves when searching for food, including optimization of food type, patch choice, time spent in patches, and movement. All animals also make decisions based on predation risk by avoiding predators and making trade-offs on time spent searching for, pursuing, and handling food. The objective of my study is to examine food preference of black-capped chickadees (Parus atricapillus). Birds may …

Pre- And Post-Partum Observations Of Signature Whistle Characteristics Of The Bottlenose Dolphin (Tursiops Truncatus), Robert Dutchen

Theses and Dissertations

This study analyzes whistle usage in an Atlantic bottlenose dolphin during birth. Findings show the mother produces two predominant whistle contours. Congruities between the whistles were compared and showed that the type 1 contour bears structural similarity to the first component of the type 2 contour, indicating combinatorial whistle construction.

Investigating Social Preferences In A High Fission-Fusion Society Of Black And White Ruffed Lemur (Varecia Variegata), Patricia A. Adamo

Theses and Dissertations

Wild lemur primates were tested for social preferences across behaviors. Study found highly conservative social preferences that were very consistent across all behavioral states, despite high fission fusion traits common of lemur groups. This finding lays the foundation for using nearest-neighbor as a proxy of social preference for future endeavors.

Body States Of Asian Elephants Within And Around Protected Areas In The Salakpra Wildlife Sanctuary, Kanchanaburi, Thailand, Caitlyn Thai

Theses and Dissertations

Researchers are becoming increasingly aware that studying a species’ landscape of fear or, more broadly, their emotional states, can better inform cognitive questions about how animals navigate their environments. Vigilance behaviors are one way to determine how certain species perceive and respond to risky situations. Due to rapid environmental change, large animals such as elephants are experiencing risky encounters with humans more often than ever before. This study aims to investigate Asian elephants’ expressions of body states and how they might regulate their behavior based on perceived environmental risk or change. Specifically, we investigated the behavioral responses of Asian elephants …

055— Ketogenic Diet And Dendritic Morphology In A Mouse Model Of Repetitive Behavior, Samantha Seeger, Yume Iriyama, Allison R. Bechard

GREAT Day Posters

Repetitive motor behaviors are invariant movements with no apparent function. They are associated with several disorders, including autism spectrum disorders (ASD). However, little is known about the causes of these restricted behavior patterns, and effective treatments are lacking. ASD has recently been treated with a ketogenic diet (KD). Now a popular fad, KD is a high-fat, low-carb diet that has treated intractable epilepsy for decades. However, the mechanisms mediating KD’s beneficial effects are still unclear. We first show KD can attenuate repetitive circling behavior. We then assessed dendritic spine density in the left and right dorsolateral striatum as a potential …

The Importance Of Goats In The World, Mahendra Lohani, Dilip Bhandari

Professional Agricultural Workers Journal

It is a challenge to transform the mindset of subsistence farmers to consider goats as a productive asset. Goat health, breeding, housing and nutrition are the main challenges in a smallholder production system. The development of the goat market sector is informal and underdeveloped. As a result, goats have not been identified as a significant contributor to the national gross domestic product. Many development organizations consider goats a preferred livestock commodity for poverty alleviation. Therefore, it is desirable to have a systematic approach to optimize goat production for smallholders. A smallholder goat value chain works well with a focus on …

Sugar Glider (Petaurus Breviceps) Behavior In Red Vs Blue Lighting, Elisa Hillman

Honors Thesis

Sugar gliders are an exotic pet that is increasing in popularity in households as well as in zoos. One challenge that caregivers have to manage is their nocturnal circadian rhythm. In order for people to view or interact with sugar gliders during their active time, many zoos will reverse their diurnal cycle with lights. The discovery of intrinsically photosensitive retinal ganglion cells (ipRGCs) which seems to have an increased sensitivity to blue light and how these cells affect the hypothalamic suprachiasmatic nucleus (SCN) and circadian rhythm has led to an increase in awareness on the health effects of being exposed …

Sex-Specific Variation Of Social Play In Wild Immature Tibetan Macaques, Macaca Thibetana, Tong Wang, Xi Wang, Paul A. Garber, Bing-Hua Sun, Lixing Sun, Dong-Po Xia, Jin-Hua Li

Biology Faculty Scholarship

Theories proposed to explain social play have centered on its function in establishing social relationships critical for adulthood, its function in developing motor skills needed to survive, and promoting cognitive development and social learning. In this study, we compared variations in social play among infant and juvenile male and female Macaca thibetana. Given that this species is characterized by female philopatry and male dispersal, we hypothesized that immature females use social play as a mechanism to develop bonds that persist through adulthood whereas immature males use play to develop social skills needed to successfully enter new groups. The results indicated …

Effects Of Hierarchical Steepness On Grooming Patterns In Female Tibetan Macaques (Macaca Thibetana), Dong-Po Xia, Xi Wang, Paul A. Garber, Bing-Hua Sun, Lori K. Sheeran, Lixing Sun, Jin-Hua Li

Anthropology and Museum Studies Faculty Scholarship

Hierarchical steepness, defined as status asymmetries among conspecifics living in the same group, is not only used as a main characteristic of animal social relationships, but also represents the degree of discrepancy between supply and demand within the framework of biological market theory. During September and December 2011, we studied hierarchical steepness by comparing variation in grooming patterns in two groups of Tibetan macaques (Macaca thibetana), a primate species characterized by a linear dominance hierarchy. Using a focal sampling method, we collected behavioral data from two provisioned, free-ranging groups (YA1 and YA2) at Mt. Huangshan, China. We found …

Sexual Interference Behaviors In Male Adult And Subadult Tibetan Macaques (Macaca Thibetana), Kui-Hai Pang, Amanda K. Rowe, Lori K. Sheeran, Dong-Po Xia, Lixing Sun, Jin-Hua Li

Anthropology and Museum Studies Faculty Scholarship

Male nonhuman primate sexual interference, which includes copulation interruption and copulation harassment, has been related to reproductive success, but its significance has been challenging to test. Copulation interruption results in the termination of a copulation before ejaculation, whereas copulation harassment does not. We conducted this study using the all-occurrence behavior sampling method on sexual interference behaviors of seven adult and four subadult male Tibetan macaques (Macaca thibetana) in mating and non-mating seasons at Mt. Huangshan, China, from August 2016 to May 2017. Our results showed that males’ individual proportion of copulation interruption and harassment was higher during the mating season …

Phenology Of Antler Casting And Occurrence Of Late-Breeding In Nebraska White-Tailed Deer, Brian C. Peterson, Patrick D. Farrell, Dave Fehlhafer, Miranda C. Reinson, Dustin H. Ranglack

Transactions of the Nebraska Academy of Sciences and Affiliated Societies

White-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus) in Nebraska primarily breed in November (stimulated by photoperiod), but this season extends into December and January for unfertilized females and healthy fawns reaching the appropriate breeding weight by winter. Variation in the typical mating period can be attributed to geographic region, skewed sex ratios, and fawns reaching sexual maturity during their first year of birth. During April of 2019, we observed late season breeding by a male white-tailed deer in the central Platte River valley and documented late antler casting for this same late-copulating male. An additional male was observed in April of …

Effects Of Human-Animal Interactions On Affect And Cognition, Elise L. Thayer, Jeffrey R. Stevens

Jeffrey Stevens Publications

Human-animal interaction has clear positive effects on people’s affect and stress. But less is known about how animal interactions influence cognition. We draw parallels between animal interactions and exposure to natural environments, a research area that shows clear improvements in cognitive performance. The aim of this study is to investigate whether interacting with animals similarly enhances cognitive performance, specifically executive functioning. To test this, we conducted two experiments in which we had participants self-report their affect and complete a series of cognitive tasks (long-term memory, attentional control, and working memory) before and after either a brief interaction with a dog …

Dog And Owner Characteristics Predict Training Success, Jeffrey R. Stevens, London M. Wolff, Megan Bosworth, Jill Morstad

Jeffrey Stevens Publications

Teaching owners how to train their dogs is an important part of maintaining the health and safety of dogs and people. Yet we do not know what behavioral characteristics of dogs and their owners are relevant to dog training or if owner cognitive abilities play a role in training success. The aim of this study is to determine which characteristics of both dogs and owners predict success in completing the American Kennel Club Canine Good Citizen training program. Before the first session of a dog training course, owners completed surveys evaluating the behavior and cognition of their dog and themselves. …

Are Capuchin Monkeys (Sapajus Spp.) Sensitive To Lost Opportunities? The Role Of Opportunity Costs In Intertemporal Choice, Elsa Addessi, Valeria Tierno, Valentina Focaroli, Federica Rossi, Serena Gastaldi, Francesca De Petrillo, Fabio Paglieri, Jeffrey R. Stevens

Jeffrey Stevens Publications

Principles of economics predict that the costs associated with obtaining rewards can influence choice. When individuals face choices between a smaller, immediate option and a larger, later option, they often experience opportunity costs associated with waiting for delayed rewards because they must forego the opportunity to make other choices. We evaluated how reducing opportunity costs affects delay tolerance in capuchin monkeys. After choosing the larger option, in the High cost condition, subjects had to wait for the delay to expire, whereas in the Low cost different and Low cost same conditions, they could perform a new choice during the delay. …

No Ape Left Behind: Orangutan Conservation Education Project, Danna Boshak

All Graduate Projects

Orangutans are critically endangered and if action is not taken, their extinction is imminent. Zoological institutions worldwide serve as an educational means to engage the broader public in conservation awareness and action behaviors. The Association of Zoos and Aquariums (AZA) created the Saving Animals From Extinction (SAFE) initiative to provide zoos with a platform to expand conservation efforts beyond their institutions. In collaboration with the Orangutan SAFE (OSAFE) education committee, the No Ape Left Behind: Orangutan Conservation Education Project develops educational activity resources that provide information about orangutan behavior and ecology as well as action items that individuals can take …

Effects Of Artificial Enrichment On Western Lowland Gorilla (Gorilla Gorilla Gorilla) Activity Budgets, Angela Perretti

West Chester University Master’s Theses

The benefits of enrichment and proper husbandry protocols and their applicability in wildlife research have been important topics of zoological research. Examining activity budgets of various species throughout zoological facilities reap biological, educational, and conservation benefits. We collected data on the behavioral responses of five western lowland gorillas (Gorilla gorilla gorilla) (1 adult male, 2 adult females, 2 infants/juveniles) to a novel climbing structure in the outdoor enclosure at the Philadelphia Zoo. Over a period of 53 nonconsecutive months, we conducted 30-minute focals with 2-minute scan samples on the gorillas (488 total observation hours). We recorded the frequency of …

Cooperative Feeding In Common Dolphins As Suggested By Ontogenetic Patterns In Δ15N Bulk And Amino Acids, Rocio I. Ruiz-Cooley, Tim Gerrodette, Susan Chivers, Kerri Danil

United States Department of Commerce: Staff Publications

1. Understanding the effect of stage-specific traits on species feeding habits can reveal how natural selection shapes life strategies. Amino acid (AA) nitrogen stable isotopes (δ¹⁵N) provide multiple proxies of habitat baseline values and diet that can improve our understanding of species feeding strategies relative to their animal metabolism. We evaluated the effect of body length as a proxy for life stage and sex on the feeding habits of the common dolphin Delphinus delphis delphis using δ¹³C and δ¹⁵N in bulk tissue and AAs δ¹⁵N from skin samples collected for almost two …