Animal Studies Commons^™

Using Object-Choice Tasks To Investigate Sensory Perception In Sunda Pangolins (Manis Javanica), Joshua Dipaola

Theses and Dissertations

Pangolins are one of the most heavily poached, yet least understood mammals in the world. In this study, we used an object-choice task to assess the ecological relevance and use of sensory information in Sunda pangolin foraging behavior. This is the first controlled experiment on pangolin behavior to our knowledge.

Something To Celebrate?: Demoting Dairy In Canada's National Food Guide, Maneesha Deckha

Journal of Food Law & Policy

In early 2019, the Canadian Government released the much-anticipated new Canada Food Guide. It is a food guide that de-emphasizes dairy products and promotes plant-based eating. Notably, in the new version, milk and milk products are de-listed as one of the previously four essential food groups. On the surface, it seems that the federal government is promoting veganism and helping to bring about a friendlier future for animals and humans harmed by being producers and consumers of dairy, as the new Guide may seriously contract the currently robust Canadian dairy industry and its powerful lobby. On closer inspection, the messaging …

The Efficacy Of Extended-Release Eprinomectin For The Reduction Of Horn Flies, Face Flies, And Fecal Egg Counts Of Parasitic Nematodes In Replacement Beef Heifers, Sophia F. Landers

Animal Science Undergraduate Honors Theses

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the efficacy of extended-release eprinomectin against horn flies, face flies, and fecal egg counts of parasitic nematodes in crossbreed replacement beef heifers. Fifty-four heifers were randomly placed into three treatment groups (N=18 heifers/treatment). Group 1 was administered the labeled dosage of extended-release eprinomectin on day 0. Group 2 acted as the negative control. Group 3 received the anthelmintic injection once a quarter of the heifers in the group reached the threshold treatment level for horn flies (N=200 flies/animal; day 41). Nematode infections were measured via fecal egg counts while horn and face …

Usu Equine-Assisted Activities And Therapies Facilities Designed Master Plan, Lindsie C. Smith

All Graduate Plan B and other Reports, Spring 1920 to Spring 2023

Equine-Assisted Activities and Therapies (EAAT) is recognized as a therapeutic approach for persons with disabilities. The USU Animal, Dairy, and Veterinary Sciences Department provides EAAT instruction and services; however, they do not have the appropriate facilities to model best-practices in the delivery of these services. This design research entailed the development of a phased masterplan to support the instruction and delivery of equine-assisted activities and therapies in an innovative and accessible environment that supports animal-assisted intervention and natural equine behaviors.

The methodology used to approach the master plan design was derived from Norman K. Booth’s (1990) design process, as described …

Effects Of Lasalocid And Energy Supplementation On Forage Intake, Energy Metabolism, And Performance Of Cattle Grazing Wheat Pasture, Autumn Tayler Pickett

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Cattle grazing wheat pasture have the potential to gain BW exceptionally well, but excessive nitrogen intake results in increased excretion and increased greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. Supplemental concentrates with the addition of an ionophore given to ruminants grazing wheat is a potential practice for producers to increase nitrogen efficiency while decreasing GHG emissions. Therefore, the objective of this experiment was to quantify the effects of energy (2.95 kg/d) and lasalocid (200 mg/hd/d) supplementation on nutrient intake, energy metabolism, respiratory gas fluxes, and performance of grazing cattle. Methane emissions were not affected (P = 0.58) by treatment, hence methane intensity (P …

Development Of Arkansas Net Energy Equation, Katie Hilton

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The modern broiler is growing at a rapid rate generating tremendous amounts of heat. A sensitive Net Energy (NE) system is needed to measure body heat production (HP) generated primarily by daily maintenance and synthesis and degradation of myofibrillar and sarcoplasmic protein. The first two chapters present evaluation of the classic way to calculate NE versus a new methodology; the Arkansas NE (Ark NE) system, with birds from two genetic lines fed diets with different AA content or different ME content in two different environmental temperatures.

Utilizing together the Net Energy maintenance (NEm), determined from indirect calorimetry, and Net Energy …

Lesioning Of The Nucleus Of The Hippocampal Commissure Followed By Food Deprivation Stress In Birds Demonstrates Simultaneous Involvement In Both The Hypothalamo-Pituitary-Adrenal Axis And The Hypothalamo-Pituitary-Thyroid Axis, Michael Thomas Kidd Jr.

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The hypothalamo-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis is the regulatory system for the neuroendocrine stress response within vertebrates. Within the HPA axis corticotropin releasing hormone (CRH) is a major regulator and driving hormone. A structure named the nucleus of the hippocampal commissure (NHpC) has been found to contain CRH neurons and also these neurons respond to early food deprivation stress significantly prior to the paraventricular nucleus (PVN), the major driving nucleus of the classic neuroendocrine HPA axis. The objective of this study was to perform a knock down of the NHpC via electrolytic lesioning, thus eliminating a significant portion of its population of …

Associations Among Beef Cattle Genotypes, Neospora Caninum Infection, And Reproductive Performance, Ryan James Page

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Reproductive performance is crucial for sustained financial success in the beef cattle industry. This dissertation includes a population study that quantified the incidence of Neospora caninum infections in the central region of the United States and tested its relationship with reproductive performance in beef cattle. Trial one of that study concluded that 6.9% of open, replacement heifers (n = 1306) tested seropositive. The second trial in that project found that 9.6% of the breeding age females (n = 500) tested were seropositive for Neospora caninum; and that state in which the cattle lived and age impacted (P < 0.05) infection rate. Breed composition, number of farm dogs on the ranch, and use of total mixed rations were not associated (P > 0.1) with seropositive …

Impact Of Animal Programming On Human Attitudes Of Local Wildlife, Ashton Jerger

Undergraduate Honors Thesis Projects

Attitudes towards wildlife can have direct implications on peoples’ interest in conserving local habitats and their overall ecological choices. Attitudes are formed by multiple components of an individual’s life history. However, through interactive, educational experiences, there is a potential to change current attitudes. Animal programs are an example of interactive, educational experiences that provide individuals the opportunity to get up-close to animal ambassadors and participate in engaging conversations about them. An animal program assessment was conducted with the 2019 summer camps at the Ohio Wildlife Center to quantify the changes in peoples’ affiliation for local wildlife and their willingness to …

161— The Effects Of Environment On The Development Of Cocaine-Seeking, Gavin Vaughan, Akane Ichiki, Shreyya Malik, Allison R. Bechard

GREAT Day Posters

Cocaine addiction is a major individual and societal issue. This study aimed to investigate the environmental and social factors that influence the development of cocaine addiction. Mice were reared in either standard housing or enriched housing. Cocaine preference was measured using the Conditioned Place Preference paradigm, in which subjects are conditioned to associate an injection of cocaine (20mg/kg. I.P.) with a particular side of a 3 chambered arena. Subjects reared in enriched environments displayed increased preference for cocaine in cue primed tests. All subjects displayed cocaine preference in cocaine primed tests. This may be attributed to the enhanced memory that …

130— Reducing Stereotypic Behavior With A Ketogenic Diet, Anna Beltramini, Andrew Guido, Alicia Bauers, Joe Spano

GREAT Day Posters

Now a popular fad diet, the ketogenic diet (KD) is a high-fat, low-carb diet that for decades has been used for treatment of intractable epilepsy. Recent therapeutic applications of KD in animal models include treatment of dementia, obsessive-compulsive disorder, and autism. These disorders are associated with stereotypic behaviors (repetitive, invariant behaviors with no apparent function) that are life-impairing and stigmatizing. However, little is known about their underlying mechanisms and no effective pharmacological treatments are available. Here, we present a novel application of KD to reduce stereotypic behavior in an inbred strain of mice (FVBN/J) that displays a prominent repetitive circling …

159— The Effects Of Trauma On The Response To Cocaine, Gavin Vaughan, Melissa Herman, Katie Kompanijec, Maren Hogan, Annaclaire Modico, Keara Mullin, Allison R. Bechard Ph.D.

GREAT Day Posters

Exposure to adverse events is a risk factor for substance use disorder. We modeled this in an inbred strain of mice by exposing adult males to a predator odor (a synthetic fox pheromone, TMT) and then assessing 1. Cocaine-induced locomotion, and 2. Conditioned place preference (CPP) of cocaine. TMT was an effective stressor as indicated by freezing behavior, an absence of movement that is an instinctive fear response in mice. Interestingly, in a 1-hour baseline locomotor test, TMT-exposed (TMT+) mice were more active than non-exposed (TMT-) mice. In addition, following a cocaine (10 mg/kg) injection (i.p.) TMT+ mice showed a …

Examining Phenotypic Structural Traits As Indicators For Reproductive Longevity Success In Sows, Lindsay Kate Peters, Melanie Dawn Trenhaile-Grannemann, Benny Edd Mote

UCARE: Research Products

The objective of this study was to examine structure and body conformation traits of 494 gilts/sows as a prediction of reproductive longevity in sows. This study focused on specific traits including body length, body depth, front and rear pastern angles, knee angle, and hock angle. The primary method of data collection was based on videos. Still images were pulled from the videos when the sow was standing in a natural stance. The images were analyzed and interpreted objectively with Image J which gives the availability to measure distance and angles given known references in the images. The structural data was …

Parásitos Gastrointestinales De Tierra Del Fuego, Argentina, Sarah Martínez

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

Este trabajo intentó encontrar helmintos comunes, especialmente compartidos, en cuatro carnívoros patagónicos del sur con distribuciones geográficas superpuestas y dos carnívoros patagónicos del norte, y esbozar el análisis fecal y los métodos de identificación morfológica para futuros investigadores. El estudiante encontró solo un parásito helminto compartido entre cualquier otra especie y la nutria nativa del sur del río, a pesar de una superposición en el hábitat con el visón americano invasivo, pero esto puede deberse a un bajo recuento de estudios regionales previos de helmintos en cualquiera de las especies. Se encontraron múltiples parásitos en las cuatro especies hospederas de …

Predictors Of Testosterone In Male African Elephants (Loxodonta Africana), Kaitlyn Campbell

UNO Student Research and Creative Activity Fair

Male African elephant (Loxodonta africana) populations in zoos suffer from a range of reproductive complications. In particular, insufficient testosterone production can have a detrimental effect on spermatogenesis and fertility. Few studies have explored the potential social, environmental, physiological and physical factors that influence bull testosterone levels in a zoo environment. The present study will collect endocrine and metabolic information from weekly fecal and blood serum samples taken over the course of the six-month study period. Social and environmental data will be collected in a survey provided to the institutions. Results will highlight the key factors contributing to fluctuations in testosterone …

Juvenile Hormone Mediation In An Insect With Parental Care Behavior, Jessica M. Rodino

UNO Student Research and Creative Activity Fair

Juvenile hormone (JH) is a well-known catalyst for hormonal processes in insects. However, the role of JH in insects that exhibit parental behavior is unknown. We investigated the influence of JH on parental behavior in the burying beetle (Nicrophorus orbicollis). In the first experiment, we manipulated the JH production of females via the administration of varying doses of fluvastatin sodium immediately following oviposition. We found that with increasing fluvastatin dosage, the total mass of offspring and number of offspring decreased while at the same time less of the food source was consumed. These results suggest a link between …

Sequential Analysis Of Livestock Herding Dog And Sheep Interactions, Jonathan Early, Jessica Alders, Elizabeth R. Arnott, Claire M. Wade, Paul Mcgreevy

Interactive Behavior Collection

Livestock herding dogs are crucial contributors to Australian agriculture. However, there is a dearth of empirical studies of the behavioural interactions between dog and livestock during herding. A statistical approach that may reveal cause and effect in such interactions is lag sequential analysis. Using 48 video recordings of livestock herding dogs and sheep in a yard trial competition, event-based (time between behaviours is irrelevant) and time-based (time between behaviours is defined) lag sequential analyses identified several significant behavioural interactions (adjusted residuals greater than 2.58; the maximum likelihood-ratio chi-squared statistic for all eight contingency tables identified all sequences as highly significant …

Juvenile Rank Acquisition Is Associated With Fitness Independent Of Adult Rank, Eli D. Strauss, Daizaburo Shizuka, Kay E. Holekamp

School of Biological Sciences: Faculty Publications

Social rank is a significant determinant of fitness in a variety of species. The importance of social rank suggests that the process by which juveniles come to establish their position in the social hierarchy is a critical component of development. Here, we use the highly predictable process of rank acquisition in spotted hyenas to study the consequences of variation in rank acquisition in early life. In spotted hyenas, rank is ‘inherited’ through a learning process called ‘maternal rank inheritance.’ This pattern is very consistent: approximately 80% of juveniles acquire the exact rank expected under the rules of maternal rank inheritance. …

Sea Wrack Delivery And Accumulation On Islands: Factors That Mediate Marine Nutrient Permeability, Sara B. Wickham, Nancy Shackelford, Chris T. Darimont, Wiebe Nijland, Luba Y. Reshitnyk, John D. Reynolds, Brian M. Starzomski

Biogeography and Ecological Opportunity Collection

Sea wrack provides an important vector of marine-derived nutrients to many terrestrial environments. However, little is known about the processes that facilitate wrack transport, deposition, and accumulation on islands. Three broad factors can affect the stock of wrack along shorelines: the amount of potential donor habitat nearby, climatic events that dislodge seaweeds and transfer them ashore, and physical characteristics of shorelines that retain wrack at a site. To determine when, where, and how wrack accumulates on island shorelines, we surveyed 455 sites across 101 islands in coastal British Columbia, Canada. At each site, we recorded wrack biomass, species composition, and …

A Neural Mechanism For Capnotaxis In The Naked Mole-Rat, Michael Zions

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

A Neural Mechanism for Capnotaxis in the Naked Mole-Rat

The Naked Mole-Rat (NM-R) is a small hairless rodent that has thrived underground in the Horn of Africa for the past 40 million years. It was first discovered in 1847, but has only been maintained in captivity and studied as a laboratory animal over the past 40 years. To date, more than 400 scientific papers have been published on this species. This is relatively few compared to established lab animals like rats and mice, but those papers contain a trove of information that has changed our understanding of the constraints of …

Social Referencing In The Domestic Horse, Anne Schrimpf, Marie-Sophie Single, Christian Nawroth

Recognition Collection

Dogs and cats use human emotional information directed to an unfamiliar situation to guide their behavior, known as social referencing. It is not clear whether other domestic species show similar socio-cognitive abilities in interacting with humans. We investigated whether horses (n = 46) use human emotional information to adjust their behavior to a novel object and whether the behavior of horses differed depending on breed type. Horses were randomly assigned to one of two groups: an experimenter positioned in the middle of a test arena directed gaze and voice towards the novel object with either (a) a positive or (b) …

Musical Dogs: A Review Of The Influence Of Auditory Enrichment On Canine Health And Behavior, Abigail Lindig, Paul Mcgreevy, Angela Crean

Stress Collection

Music therapy yields many positive health outcomes in humans, but the effects of music on the health and welfare of nonhuman animals vary greatly with the type of music played, the ethology of the species, and the personality and learning history of individual animals. One context in which music therapy may be used to enhance animal welfare is to alleviate stress in domestic environments. Here, we review studies of the effects of music exposure on dogs as a case study for the implementation of music therapy in veterinary medicine. Nine reports of experimental testing for the therapeutic effects of music …

Social Learning In Solitary Juvenile Sharks, Catarina Vila Pouca, Dennis Heinrich, Charlie Huveneers, Culum Brown

Social Behavior Collection

Social learning can be a shortcut for acquiring locally adaptive information. Animals that live in social groups have better access to social information, but gregarious and nonsocial species are also frequently exposed to social cues. Thus, social learning might simply reflect an animal's general ability to learn rather than an adaptation to social living. Here, we investigated social learning and the effect of frequency of social exposure in nonsocial, juvenile Port Jackson sharks, Heterodontus portusjacksoni. We compared (1) Individual Learners, (2) Sham-Observers, paired with a naïve shark, and (3) Observers, paired with a trained demonstrator, in a novel foraging task. …

Novel Mechanism For Turning Performance In Bluefin Tuna, Abigail Downs

West Chester University Master’s Theses

Scombrid fishes can attain exceptional swimming speeds due to their thunniform, lift-based propulsion, large muscle mass, and fusiform body shape. A rigid body restricts maneuverability for aquatic organisms. To test if turning maneuvers by the rigid-bodied Pacific bluefin tuna (Thunnus orientalis) are constrained, captive animals were video recorded from above as the animals routinely swam around a large circular tank or during feeding bouts. The turning performance was classified into three different types of turns: 1) glide turn, where the tuna uses the caudal fin as a rudder to passively move through the turn, 2) powered turn, where …

Intraspecific Aggression Towards Common Bottlenose Dolphin Calves, Northern Gulf Of Mexico, Errol Ronje, Sarah Piwetz, Heidi Whitehead, Keith D. Mullin

Gulf and Caribbean Research

Infanticide has been widely documented throughout the animal kingdom, and has generally been viewed as an evolved, or adaptive behavior for the perpetrators. Infanticide motivated by increased sexual access to females with calves, or the elimination of potential genetic competition in the form of calf-directed aggression or infanticide, has been proposed for delphinids including killer whales, Indo-Pacific humpback dolphins, Guiana dolphins, and bottlenose dolphins. However, reports of intraspecific aggression towards bottlenose dolphin calves are relatively infrequent, and accounts of confirmed infanticide are rarer still. Reporting instances of intraspecific calf-directed aggression aids researchers to better understand the socio-behavioral context of these …

Diet Of A Recently Reintroduced River Otter (Lontra Canadensis) Population In Taos County, New Mexico, Gabriela Alexandra Wolf-Gonzalez

Theses and Dissertations--Forestry and Natural Resources

North American river otters (Lontra canadensis), native to every U.S. state and Canada, experienced extensive population decreases and range reduction until the mid-20th century as a result of overexploitation and habitat loss during European colonization. The last known river otter in New Mexico was killed on the Gila River in 1953, although unverified reports continued thru 2008. After a nearly 60-year absence from New Mexico, 33 adult river otters were reintroduced to the Rio Pueblo de Taos in the northern part of the state between 2008-2010; however, they were not subsequently monitored or studied. I characterized diet of …

Animal Welfare Science And “A Life Worth Living” For Wild And Captive Elephants, Lindsay R. Mehrkam, Otto Fad

Animal Sentience

Baker & Winkler (2020) propose restoring elephants to a state of “wildness” and a “life worth living” by reintroducing captive elephants to the hands of indigenous mahout cultures and practices. To evaluate this proposal, we must define operationally a number of critical concepts in a species-centric, individualistic way, avoiding human-centric opinions and romanticized notions of the wild. Animal welfare science can help create greater synergy between ex-situ zoological institutions and in-situ elephant conservation, and welfare efforts that respect and value the cultures of both species.

Mommy Issues: Do Differential Rearing Histories Affect The Social Behavior Of Captive Chacma Baboons (Papio Ursinus), Madeleine Spencer

All Master's Theses

I observed the behavior of 17 chacma baboons (Papio ursinus) in order to understand the relationship between rearing history, dominance hierarchy, and social behavior. The Centre for Animal Rehabilitation and Education (C.A.R.E.) has utilized hand-rearing in the past and is currently using a surrogate-rearing method. Hand-rearing involves one or more primary caregivers attending to an infant for 6 – 12 months. Surrogate-rearing involves one individual being the primary surrogate for the first 3 months of the infant’s life prior to bonding her or him to an adult female baboon before integrating both back into the surrogate’s troop. Mother-reared …

Evaluation Of The Impacts Of Radio-Marking Devices On Feral Horses And Burros In A Captive Setting, Kathryn A. Schoenecker, Sarah R. B. King, Gail H. Collins

Human–Wildlife Interactions

Radio-collars and other radio-marking devices have been invaluable tools for wildlife managers for >40 years. These marking devices have improved our understanding of wildlife spatial ecology and demographic parameters and provided new data facilitating model development for species conservation and management. Although these tools have been used on virtually all North American ungulates, their deployment on feral horses (Equus ferus caballus) or burros (E. asinus) has been limited. To determine if radio-collars and radio-tags could be safely deployed on feral equids, we conducted a 1-year observational study in 2015 to investigate fit and wear of radio-collars …

Of Elephants And Men, Helen Kopnina

Animal Sentience

Baker & Winkler’s target article is well-researched and thought-provoking, but I do have four points of contention: (1) The proposal to entrust elephants to traditional mahout culture has restricted elephants’ freedom of movement and reproduction and (ab)used them. (2) The concept of “indigenous” simultaneously reifies and denigrates the “noble savages”, privileging only human indigenous groups, ignoring nonhuman indigenes. (3) Most lifestyles have been globalized under consumer-economic and anthropocentric worldviews. (4) The fact that people (including mahouts) are part of nature does not mean they are benevolent, any more than cities, monocultures, or roads are.