Animal Studies Commons^™

The Behavioural Response Of Migrating Humpback Whales To A Full Seismic Airgun Array, Rebecca A. Dunlop, Michael J. Noad, Robert D. Mccauley, Eric Kniest, Robert Slade, David Paton, Douglas H. Cato

Anthropogenics and Population Decline Collection

Despite concerns on the effects of noise from seismic survey airguns on marine organisms, there remains uncertainty as to the biological significance of any response. This study quantifies and interprets the response of migrating humpback whales (Megaptera novaeangliae) to a 3130 in³ (51.3l) commercial airgun array. We compare the behavioural responses to active trials (array operational; n = 34 whale groups), with responses to control trials (source vessel towing the array while silent; n = 33) and baseline studies of normal behaviour in the absence of the vessel (n = 85). No abnormal behaviours were recorded …

Economic Contribution Of The Agricultural Sector To The Arkansas Economy In 2015, Leah English, Jennie Popp, Wayne Miller

AAES Research Reports and Research Bulletins

Agriculture and associated agricultural activities are major contributors to the Arkansas economy. Agriculture is defined as the sum of agricultural production and processing activities, unless otherwise specified, and includes crop and animal production and processing, agricultural support industries, forestry and forest products, and textile goods. Agriculture contributes to the economy through direct agricultural production and value-added processing, and also leads to economic activity in other parts of the economy. This report is the tenth in a series of reports examining agriculture’s economic contribution to the Arkansas economy. The total economic contribution of agriculture (direct, indirect, and induced effects) on value …

Does The Stress Inherent To Laboratory Life And Experimentation On Animals Adversely Affect Research Data?, Jarrod Bailey

Validation of Animal Experimentation Collection

Stress and distress in laboratory animals is often inherent and unavoidable. The effect of these factors on the reliability and relevance of experimental data is not sufficiently appreciated. Greater awareness, debate and discussion of this issue are urgently required.

Piglet Gut Microbiota Responses To Exposure To Outdoor Simulated Environment And Formula Feeding, Nguyen Vo

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Several lines of evidence suggest that early-life gut microbiota composition is a crucial determinant of the susceptibility to diseases later in life. Understanding the evolution of early-life gut microbiota and critical factors that can modify this microbial community will espouse the prevention or reversion of health risk originating from dysbiosis of the gut microbiota in the early stage. In this research, we hypothesized that alterations in the environment (simulation of rural conditions by soil exposure) and feeding mode (breastmilk versus formula milk) will have significant impacts on the establishment of the gut microbiota in early life. At first, in literature …

A Study Of The Prevalence Of Gastrointestinal Nematodes In Goats Obtained From Northwest Arkansas, Christine Rose Weingartz

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Parasitic helminths have always been an issue in small ruminant production; pathogens that pose great negative impact on goat health and productivity. Insufficient work has been done to document the prevalence of parasitic helminths in the United States, especially in the south and southeast, where the largest goat populations are found.

The aim of this study was to survey the prevalence of infections by gastrointestinal nematodes in goats in Northwestern Arkansas. Gastrointestinal tracts were examined from 41 goats of various locations around Northwest Arkansas. Worm species were identified and population burdens were determined. Coprology was correlated with the actual worm …

Signature Whistle Production During A Bottlenose Dolphin Group Integration, Megan S. Broadway

Dissertations

Bottlenose dolphins are an important species of interest because they possess a variety of abilities that are relatively rare in the animal kingdom, one being complex acoustic communication. Signature whistles - distinctive calls that are unique for each individual – are one of the most studied call types, but we know little about how these calls are used in various contexts, such as during an introduction. Looking at the socio-behavioral context in which signature whistles are used is likely the best way of learning how these whistles are used in a particular context (Caldwell, Caldwell, & Tyack, 1990). For this …

Escorting Of Mother-Calf Pairs Of Humpback Whales (Megaptera Novaeangliae) In The Colombian Pacific During The Breeding Season, Natalia Botero Acosta

Dissertations

Humpback whales (Megaptera novaeangliae) belonging to the “breeding G-stock” annually migrate from the Antarctic Peninsula and southern Chile to the southeastern Pacific to reproduce. Associations between mother-calf pairs and escorts were examined in the Gulf of Tribugá, northern Colombian Pacific, using photo-identification and behavioral/spatial sampling. Research hypotheses included: 1. The association between cows and escorts is short-lived, consistent with a male reproductive strategy, 2. The presence of escort(s) elicits a behavioral response from mother-calf pairs and, 3. The patterns of spatial distribution reflect the spatial segregation of maternal females. Groups were classified as mother-calf pairs (Mc), mother, calf …

Animal Welfare Frames: How Social Media Messages Bridge The Gap Between The Protein Industry And Consumers, Olivia Norton

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The two articles in this thesis used content analysis to analyze and compare animal welfare related website and Twitter content of the top five animal protein producing companies in the United States. In the first article, the animal welfare website content of Cargill, Tyson Foods Inc., Smithfield, JBS® and Sysco were analyzed for persuasive frames, common topics, and key terminology to describe their corporate positions on animal welfare. Sysco’s main page devoted to animal welfare dominated the word count with 1,045 words, while JBS®’s main animal welfare page used only 265 words to communicate the company’s views. The most commonly …

The Mental Homologies Of Mammals. Towards An Understanding Of Another Mammalsworld View, Marthe Kiley-Worthington

Theory of Mind Collection

Mammals’ mental homologies include that they look after their young, suckle and protect them; they acquire information about the world by learning. They have five types of sensory receptors and a brain to analyze the information and they feel: that is they are sentient. Mental homologies have been largely ignored by behavioural scientists since Darwin because of certain historical beliefs. This however has not been the case for people who have had to do with non-human mammals who have long recognized their mental similarities to humans. As a result, behavioural science has sponsored some inappropriate research (examples are given). The …

A Study Of The Urban Red Fox (Vulpes Vulpes) Population In Baton Rouge, Louisiana Using Social Media, Ahsennur Soysal

LSU Master's Theses

Foxes are timid yet resourceful animals that are integrated into many urban environments. Because they are elusive, collecting information about the number of urban foxes, their diet and spatial distribution, their interactions with the ecological community in their urban habitat, as well as residents’ response to them, is difficult. Involving stakeholders to participate in the data collection on wildlife via citizen science on social media is one way to overcome this complication, while simultaneously engaging residents in the ecology happening around them. Therefore, we used social media as the platform to engage the public to document and map the foxes …

Addressing The Challenges Of Conducting Observational Studies In Sheep Abattoirs, Elyssa Payne, Melissa Starling, Paul Mcgreevy

in Situ Research Models Collection

The competing needs of maintaining productivity within abattoirs, and maintaining high standards of animal welfare, provide fertile grounds for applied research in animal behavior. However, there are challenges involved in capturing useful behavioral data from the supply chain (from paddock to processing plant). The challenges identified in this report are based on a review of the scientific literature as well as field study observations. This article describes those challenges as they relate to collecting behavioral data on livestock-herding dogs, humans and livestock as they interact in abattoirs, and provides insights and recommendations for others embarking on animal studies in confined …

“Everyday” Knowledge And A New Paradigm Of Animal Research, David Fraser, Jeffrey M. Spooner, Catherine A. Schuppli

Validation of Animal Experimentation Collection

Commentary on Marino and Allen (2017) The Psychology of Cows

How Useful Is Gsv As An Environmental Observation Tool? An Analysis Of The Evidence So Far., Katherine Nesse, Leah Airt

SPU Works

Researchers in many disciplines have turned to Google Street View to replace pedestrian- or carbased in-person observation of streetscapes. It is most prevalent within the research literature on the relationship between neighborhood environments and public health but has been used as diverse as disaster recovery, ecology and wildlife habitat, and urban design. Evaluations of the tool have found that the results of GSV-based observation are similar to the results from in-person observation although the similarity depends on the type of characteristic being observed. Larger, permanent and discrete features showed more consistency between the two methods and smaller, transient and judgmental …

Mismeasured Mortality: Correcting Estimates Of Wolf Poaching In The United States, Adrian Treves, Kyle A. Artelle, Chris T. Darimont, David R. Parsons

Wildlife Population Management Collection

Measuring rates and causes of mortalities is important in animal ecology and management. Observing the fates of known individuals is a common method of estimating life history variables, including mortality patterns. It has long been assumed that data lost when known animals disappear were unbiased. We test and reject this assumption under conditions common to most, if not all, studies using marked animals. We illustrate the bias for 4 endangered wolf populations in the United States by reanalyzing data and assumptions about the known and unknown fates of marked wolves to calculate the degree to which risks of different causes …

Surveys Of The Street And Private Dog Population: Jamnagar, Gujarat India, Tamara Kartal, Amit Chaudhari

Stray and Feral Animal Populations Collection

Humane Society International (HSI) conducted two dog population surveys in all 4 Zones of Jamnagar (human population of 609,613). One was a street dog survey and the other was a survey of the private (pet) dog population.

Wound Healing In Rabbit Corneas After Flapless Refractive Lenticule Extraction With A 345 Nm Ultraviolet Femtosecond Laser, Christian M. Hammer, Corinna Petsch, Jörg Klenke, Katrin Skerl, Christian Wüllner, Christof Donitzky, Friedrich Paulsen, Michael Scholz, Theo Seiler, Friedrich E. Kruse, Johannes Menzel-Severing

Biomedicine and Animal Models in Research Collection

Purpose

To characterize corneal wound healing in a rabbit model after flapless refractive lenticule extraction with a 345 nm ultraviolet femtosecond laser.

Setting

Departments of Ophthalmology and Anatomy II, University of Erlangen-Nürnberg and Wavelight GmbH, Erlangen, Germany.

Design

Methods

Flapless refractive lenticule extraction was performed in 1 eye each of 20 New Zealand white rabbits (−5.0 diopters). Groups of 4 animals were euthanized after 48 hours, 1 week, 2 weeks, 4 weeks, and 3 months, respectively. Corneal samples were prepared for histology and fluorescence microscopy. To assess corneal cell death, proliferation, and myofibroblastic transdifferentiation, terminal uridine deoxynucleotidyl nick end-labeling (TUNEL) …

Rehabilitation Of An Injured Golden Eagle (Aquila Chrysaetos): A Case Study, Fida Muhammad Khan, Fakhar-I- Abbas, Abu Ul Hassan Faiz

Journal of Bioresource Management

Habitat destruction and anthropogenic activities cause wild birds to migrate towards urban areas in search of food and sometimes nesting in high-roof buildings, where they are caught by local people using different techniques and are further used for hunting or recreational purposes. An injured Golden Eagle (Aquila chrysaetos) was found entangled in bushes near the vicinity of Balkasar Research Complex, Chakwal, Pakistan. After complete physical examination, a wound on the right wing and closed leg fracture was diagnosed. The successful treatment was done by anti-parasitic and anti-bacterial drugs with careful monitoring. Splint was adjusted after aligning the fractured …

Letter, Jarrod Bailey

Opposition to Animal Research Collection

In a recent publication in Lab Animal,1 a nonhuman primate (NHP) researcher at the California National Primate Research Center, USA, argued for the continued importance of experiments on macaques for better understanding HIV and AIDS, and for tackling the virus and the disease with therapies and vaccines. Though the stance of the author is far from surprising, given his background and current employer (an organisation which houses around 5000 monkeys for research), the paper, even as comprehensive as it is, is not sufficiently critical of NHP experiments and overlooks a number of their deficiencies and established problems with them. Given …

Does Detection Range Matter For Inferring Social Networks In A Benthic Shark Using Acoustic Telemetry?, Johann Mourier, Nathan Charles Bass, Tristan L. Guttridge, Joanna Day, Culum Brown

Social Behavior Collection

Accurately estimating contacts between animals can be critical in ecological studies such as examining social structure, predator–prey interactions or transmission of information and disease. While biotelemetry has been used successfully for such studies in terrestrial systems, it is still under development in the aquatic environment. Acoustic telemetry represents an attractive tool to investigate spatio-temporal behaviour of marine fish and has recently been suggested for monitoring underwater animal interactions. To evaluate the effectiveness of acoustic telemetry in recording interindividual contacts, we compared co-occurrence matrices deduced from three types of acoustic receivers varying in detection range in a benthic shark species. Our …

Co-Modulation Masking Release Begins In The Auditory Periphery, Kareem R. Hussein, Agudemu Borjigan, Mark Sayles

The Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowship (SURF) Symposium

Understanding speech in noisy environments can be difficult, especially for people with hearing loss. The background noise can cover up the sounds of interest. Normally, the auditory system works to alleviate this problem by tagging and then cancelling the noise. Our experiments are aimed at understanding the mechanism of this noise cancellation process. We hypothesize that non-linear signal processing in the mammalian cochlea (the most peripheral part of the auditory system) is the basis of noise cancellation. To test this hypothesis, we measured the responses of auditory-nerve fibers (ANFs) to sounds embedded in background noise with different statistical properties. ANFs …

Acoustic Signatures Of Habitat Types In The Miombo Woodlands Of Western Tanzania, Sheryl Vanessa Amorocho, Dante Francomano, Kristen M. Bellisario, Ben Gottesman, Bryan C. Pijanowski

The Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowship (SURF) Symposium

The Miombo Woodlands of Tanzania comprise several habitat types that are home to a great number of flora and fauna. Understanding their responses to increasing human disturbance is important for conservation, especially in places where people depend so directly on their local ecosystem services to survive. Soundscapes are a powerful approach to study complex biomes undergoing change. The sounds emitted by soniferous fauna characterize the acoustic profile of the landscapes they inhabit such that habitats with the highest acoustic abundance are considered as the most diverse and possibly more ecologically resilient. However, acoustic variability within similar habitat types may pose …

Impact Of Stress, Fear And Anxiety On The Nociceptive Responses Of Larval Zebrafish, Javier Lopez-Luna, Qussay Al-Jubouri, Lynne U. Sneddon

Sentience Collection

Both adult and larval zebrafish have been demonstrated to show behavioural responses to noxious stimulation but also to potentially stress- and fear or anxiety- eliciting situations. The pain or nociceptive response can be altered and modulated by these situations in adult fish through a mechanism called stress-induced analgesia. However, this phenomenon has not been described in larval fish yet. Therefore, this study explores the behavioural changes in larval zebrafish after noxious stimulation and exposure to challenges that can trigger a stress, fear or anxiety reaction. Five-day post fertilization zebrafish were exposed to either a stressor (air emersion), a predatory fear …

Designing An Authentic Behavioral Research Experience In The Classroom Using Siamese Fighting Fish, Betta Splendens, Gianne Souza, Ronald M. Coleman

STAR Program Research Presentations

Recently there have been major shifts in biology education towards emphasizing the teaching of the scientific process to more closely reflect actual scientific practices. Authentic research experiences require the development of many higher order cognitive skills. Creating an authentic research experience that appropriately scaffolds the development of these complex skills while engaging individual student motivation remains challenging in classroom settings. Some common challenges include limited time available for working with large numbers of students, cramped working areas, and limited funding and materials resources. Using the Siamese Fighting Fish, Betta splendens, we have created an economically viable authentic animal behavioral …

People -- Marine Mammal Interactions, Andrew Butterworth, Mark P. Simmonds

Our relationships with marine mammals are complex. We have used them as resources, and in some places this remains the case; viewed them as competitors and culled them (again ongoing in some localities); been so captivated and intrigued by them that we have taken them into captivity for our entertainment; and developed a lucrative eco-tourism activity focused on them in many nations. When we first envisaged this special topic, we had two overarching aims:

Firstly, we hoped to generate critical evaluation of some of our relationships with these animals.

Secondly, we hoped to attract knowledgeable commentators and experts who might …

Cephalopod Complex Cognition, Jennifer Mather

Cognitive Ethology Collection

Cephalopods, especially octopuses, offer a different model for the development of complex cognitive operations. They are phylogenetically distant from the mammals and birds that we normally think of as ‘intelligent’ and without the pervasive social interactions and long lives that we associate with this capacity. Additionally, they have a distributed nervous system — central brain, peripheral coordination of arm actions and a completely separate skin appearance system based on muscle-controlled chromatophores. Recent research has begun to show how these apparently separate systems are coordinated. Learning and cognition are used toward prey, in antipredator actions and in courtship. These examples show …

International Consensus Principles For Ethical Wildlife Control, Sara Dubois, Nicole Fenwick, Erin A. Ryan, Liv Baker, Sandra E. Baker, Ngaio J. Beausoleil, Scott Carter, Barbara Cartwright, Federico Costa, Chris Draper, John Griffin, Adam Grogan, Gregg Howald, Bidda Jones, Kate E. Littin, Amanda T. Lombard, David J. Mellor, Daniel Ramp, Catherine A. Schuppli, David Fraser

Ethics and Conservation Biology Collection

Human–wildlife conflicts are commonly addressed by excluding, relocating, or lethally controlling animals with the goal of preserving public health and safety, protecting property, or conserving other valued wildlife. However, declining wildlife populations, a lack of efficacy of control methods in achieving desired outcomes, and changes in how people value animals have triggered widespread acknowledgment of the need for ethical and evidence-based approaches to managing such conflicts. We explored international perspectives on and experiences with human–wildlife conflicts to develop principles for ethical wildlife control. A diverse panel of 20 experts convened at a 2-day workshop and developed the principles through a …

Improvement In Simple Artificial Insemination In Sheep Using Chilled Extended Semen And Consideration Of Fertility In Ewes, Mohan Acharya

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Three studies were conducted to improve simple artificial insemination in sheep using chilled extended semen and evaluate methods to predict fertility in ewes. The first study evaluated the effect of semen extenders and storage temperature on motility parameters of ram semen stored for up to 72 h. Single semen collected from each ram was divided into four parts and extended using four extenders: milk, TRIS, TEST, and CJ-2, diluted to 600 million sperm/ml and loaded into 0.25 ml straws for storage at 4 and 15° C. Most of the CASA motility parameters were higher after extension and storage at 4 …

Supplemental Trace Minerals (Zn, Cu, And Mn) As Sulfates Or Hydroxy Trace Mineral Sources For Beef Heifers, Randy Hunter Burnett

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Crossbred heifers (n = 286, 255 ± 4.5 kg initial BW, 295 ± 16.5 d of age) were used over a 2-yr period to determine the effects of mineral source on beef heifer development at 2 locations (n = 71 and n = 72, Fayetteville, blocks 1 and 4; n = 72 in each of 2 breeding groups, Batesville, blocks 2 and 3). Heifers were stratified based on initial BW, age, health, prior research projects, and sire, and then assigned to 6 groups of 12 heifers, that were assigned randomly to 1 of 2 trace mineral treatments. The 2 treatments …

Advances In Neuroscience Imply That Harmful Experiments In Dogs Are Unethical, Jarrod Bailey, Shiranee Pereira

Professional Science Research Ethics Collection

Functional MRI (fMRI) of fully awake and unrestrained dog 'volunteers' has been proven an effective tool to understand the neural circuitry and functioning of the canine brain. Although every dog owner would vouch that dogs are perceptive, cognitive, intuitive and capable of positive emotions/empathy, as indeed substantiated by ethological studies for some time, neurological investigations now corroborate this. These studies show that there exists a striking similarity between dogs and humans in the functioning of the caudate nucleus (associated with pleasure and emotion), and dogs experience positive emotions, empathic-like responses and demonstrate human bonding which, some scientists claim, may be …

The European Politics Of Animal Experimentation: From Victorian Britain To ‘Stop Vivisection’, Pierre-Luc Germain, Luca Chiapperino, Giuseppe Testa

Attitudes Toward Animal Research Collection

This paper identifies a common political struggle behind debates on the validity and permissibility of animal experimentation, through an analysis of two recent European case studies: the Italian implementation of the European Directive 2010/63/EC regulating the use of animals in science, and the recent European Citizens' Initiative (ECI) 'Stop Vivisection'. Drawing from a historical parallel with Victorian antivivisectionism, we highlight important threads in our case studies that mark the often neglected specificities of debates on animal experimentation. From the representation of the sadistic scientist in the XIX century, to his/her claimed capture by vested interests and evasion of public …