Animal Studies Commons^™

Earthworm Populations In A Wheat-Soybean Double-Crop System Under Seven Years Of Established Residue Management Practices, Jill Thomason, Mary Savin, Kristofor Brye, Donn T. Johnson

Discovery, The Student Journal of Dale Bumpers College of Agricultural, Food and Life Sciences

Earthworms improve soil structure, distribute litter and microbes, stimulate microbial activity, facilitate decomposition, and increase nitrogen (N) availability for plant growth. Earthworm density is often reduced in low organic matter soils that are intensively managed to grow row crops. This study was designed to relate earthworm density and community composition to residue management after seven years of established management practices in a wheat (Triticum aestivum L.)-soybean (Glycine max (L.) Merr.) double-crop system maintained in Marianna, Ark. Residue management practices included conventional tillage (CT) and no-tillage (NT), N fertilization to produce high and low wheat residue amounts left in the field, …

Provisioning And Its Effects On The Social Interactions Of Tibetan Macaques (Macaca Thibetana) At Mt. Huangshan, China, Brianna I. Schnepel

All Master's Theses

The dispersal patterns of food resources has a significant effect on the composition of primate groups and social interactions within those groups. Humans often alter the dispersal of food. Non-humans often use affiliative behaviors to elicit tolerance or support from other group members. I investigated whether provisioned food resources alter the social interactions and group dynamics of Macaca thibetana. All-occurrence sampling and scan sampling were used for data recorded by camera traps. Trail-cameras were placed at six locations that contain natural and human food resources and recorded 60-second videos. Social behavior and proximity of the monkeys were recorded. I …

The Usefulness Of Systematic Reviews Of Animal Experiments For The Design Of Preclinical And Clinical Studies, Rob B.M. De Vries, Kimberley E. Weaver, Marc T. Avey, Martin Stephens, Emily S. Sena, Marlies Leenaars

Experimentation Collection

The question of how animal studies should be designed, conducted, and analyzed remains underexposed in societal debates on animal experimentation. This is not only a scientific but also amoral question. After all, if animal experiments are not appropriately designed, conducted, and analyzed, the results produced are unlikely to be reliable and the animals have in effect been wasted. In this article, we focus on one particular method to address this moral question, namely systematic reviews of previously performed animal experiments. We discuss how the design, conduct, and analysis of future (animal and human) experiments may be optimized through such systematic …

Distribution, Habitat Preference, And Status Of The Ditch Fencing Crayfish, Faxonella Clypeata (Hay) (Decapoda: Cambaridae), In Arkansas, H. W. Robison, C. T. Mcallister

Journal of the Arkansas Academy of Science

The ditch fencing crayfish, Faxonella clypeata (Hay), is a common and widespread crayfish that inhabits roadside ditches, intermittent first-order streams, shallow sloughs with heavy vegetation, and edges of swamps in Arkansas. Between 1997-2012, we made 55 collections of F. clypeata in 34 counties throughout eastern Arkansas, including 23 counties where F. clypeata had not been previously documented. At most of these locations within the West Gulf Coastal and Mississippi Alluvial Plain provinces, F. clypeata was found to be a locally abundant crayfish. With regard to conservation status, F. clypeata should be considered as “Currently Stable” due to its widespread distribution …

Report Card On Sustainable Natural Resource Use In Agriculture : Status And Trend In The Agricultural Areas Of The South-West Of Western Australia, Department Of Agriculture And Food, Western Australia

Books & book chapters

This report card summarises our current knowledge of the status and trend in the natural resource base in the agricultural areas of the south-west of Western Australia (WA) and provides a discussion of the implications for agricultural industries.

The condition of our natural resources is a complex interaction of numerous processes. In simple terms however, the performance of the land is driven by three primary factors: climate, land characteristics and land management. The first two factors are largely out of the control of land managers, and in a drying and variable climate, land management practices need to be able to …

Evaluation Of Water Sanitation Options For Poultry Production, Pramir Maharjan

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

An evaluation of poultry farm water supplies was conducted to determine the value and impact of water system sanitation practices in commercial broiler houses on microbial levels. Water line cleaning between flocks using concentrated disinfectant solution before placing chicks reduced biofilms retained in the lines to a safe level. Occasional microbial surges were noticed during different points of flock grow-out period even when daily water sanitation was present indicating water is highly susceptible to microbial contamination. However, the daily water sanitation practice controlled the occasional microbial surges in water from sustaining and kept drinking water to a microbiologically acceptable level. …

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 …

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 …

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 …

Do Low-Mercury Terrestrial Resources Subsidize Low-Mercury Growth Of Stream Fish? Differences Between Species Along A Productivity Gradient, Darren M. Ward, Keith H. Nislow, Carol L. Folt

Dartmouth Scholarship

Low productivity in aquatic ecosystems is associated with reduced individual growth of fish and increased concentrations of methylmercury (MeHg) in fish and their prey. However, many stream-dwelling fish species can use terrestrially-derived food resources, potentially subsidizing growth at low-productivity sites, and, because terrestrial resources have lower MeHg concentrations than aquatic resources, preventing an increase in diet-borne MeHg accumulation. We used a large-scale field study to evaluate relationships among terrestrial subsidy use, growth, and MeHg concentrations in two stream-dwelling fish species across an in-stream productivity gradient. We sampled young-of-the-year brook trout ( Salvelinus fontinalis ) and Atlantic salmon ( Salmo salar …

Bird Red List And Its Future Development In Mongolia, Sundev Gombobaatar, D. Samiya, Jonathan M. Baillie

Erforschung biologischer Ressourcen der Mongolei / Exploration into the Biological Resources of Mongolia, ISSN 0440-1298

With the involvement of the World Bank, Zoological Society of London, Dutch Government and National University of Mongolia, the volumes of Mongolian Red Lists of Fish, Amphibians and Reptiles, Birds and Mammals were completed, and Mongolia is now among the few nations that have up-to-date conservation assessments for all vertebrates. Of the 476 assessed native bird species of Mongolia, 10% were categorized as regionally threatened including Near Threatened. A further 0.6% were categorized as Critically Endangered (CR), 1.7% as Endangered (EN), 3.3% as Vulnerable (VU), and 4.4% as Near Threatened (NT). Almost 90% of Mongolian birds are categorized as Least …

Assessing The Necessity Of Chimpanzee Experimentation, Andrew Knight

Experimentation Collection

No abstract provided.

A Guide To Defining And Implementing Protocols For The Welfare Assessment Of Laboratory Animals: Eleventh Report Of The Bvaawf/Frame/Rspca/Ufaw Joint Working Group On Refinement, P. Hawkins, D. B. Morton, O. Burman, N. Dennison, P. Honess, M. Jennings, S. Lane, V. Middleton, J. V. Roughan, S. Wells, K. Westwood

Research Methodology and Laboratory Animals Collection

The refinement of husbandry and procedures to reduce animal suffering and improve welfare is an essential component of humane science. Successful refinement depends upon the ability to assess animal welfare effectively, and detect any signs of pain or distress as rapidly as possible, so that any suffering can be alleviated. This document provides practical guidance on setting up and operating effective protocols for the welfare assessment of animals used in research and testing. It sets out general principles for more objective observation of animals, recognizing and assessing indicators of pain or distress and tailoring these to individual projects. Systems for …

Salmon For Terrestrial Protected Areas, Chris T. Darimont, Heather M. Bryan, Stephanie M. Carlson, Morgan D. Hocking, Misty Macduffee, Paul C. Paquet, Michael H. H. Price, Thomas E. Reimchen, John D. Reynolds, Christopher C. Wilmers

Environment and Nature Conservation Collection

Although managers safeguard protected areas for migratory species, little consideration has been given to how migratory species might benefit parks. Additionally, whereas land‐sea connections are considered in management of protected areas, most effort has focused on reducing negative “downstream” processes. Here, we offer a proposal to promote positive “upstream” processes by safeguarding the seasonal pulse of marine nutrients imported into freshwater and riparian ecosystems by spawning migrations of Pacific salmon. Currently, high rates of fishing limit this important contribution to species and processes that terrestrial parks were designed to protect. Accordingly, we propose limiting exploitation in areas and periods through …

Toward A Synthesis Of Conservation And Animal Welfare Science, David Fraser

Conservation Biology and Animal Welfare Collection

Conservation biology and animal welfare science are multidisciplinary fields of research that address social concerns about animals. Conservation biology focuses on wild animals, works at the level of populations, ecological systems and genetic types, and deals with threats to biodiversity and ecological integrity. Animal welfare science typically focuses on captive (often domestic) animals, works at the level of individuals and groups, and deals with threats to the animals’ health and quality of life. However, there are many areas of existing or potential overlap: (i) many real-life problems, such as environmental contamination, urban development and transportation, create problems for animals that …

Can Animal Models Of Disease Reliably Inform Human Studies?, H. Bart Van Der Worp, David W. Howells, Emily Sena, Michelle J. Porritt, Sarah Rewell, Victoria O'Collins, Malcolm Macleod

Validation of Animal Experimentation Collection

• The value of animal experiments for predicting the effectiveness of treatment strategies in clinical trials has remained controversial, mainly because of a recurrent failure of interventions apparently promising in animal models to translate to the clinic.
• Translational failure may be explained in part by methodological flaws in animal studies, leading to systematic bias and thereby to inadequate data and incorrect conclusions about efficacy.
• Failures also result because of critical disparities, usually disease specific, between the animal models and the clinical trials testing the treatment strategy.
• Systematic review and meta-analysis of animal studies may aid in the selection of the most …

Publication Bias In Reports Of Animal Stroke Studies Leads To Major Overstatement Of Efficacy, Emily Sena, H. Bart Van Der Worp, Philip M.W. Bath, David W. Howells, Malcolm Macleod

Validation of Animal Experimentation Collection

The consolidation of scientific knowledge proceeds through the interpretation and then distillation of data presented in research reports, first in review articles and then in textbooks and undergraduate courses, until truths become accepted as such both amongst “experts” and in the public understanding. Where data are collected but remain unpublished, they cannot contribute to this distillation of knowledge. If these unpublished data differ substantially from published work, conclusions may not reflect adequately the underlying biological effects being described. The existence and any impact of such “publication bias” in the laboratory sciences have not been described. Using the CAMARADES (Collaborative Approach …

Noncompliance With Public Health Service (Phs) Policy On Humane Care And Use Of Laboratory Animals: An Exploratory Analysis, Leah M. Gomez, Kathleen Conlee, Martin Stephens

Laboratory Experiments Collection

The National Institutes of Health (NIH) is a major biomedical research-funding body in the United States. Approximately 40% of NIH-funded research involves experimentation on nonhuman animals (Monastersky, 2008). Institutions that conduct animal research with NIH funds must adhere to the Public Health Service (PHS) care and use standards of the Office of Laboratory Animal Welfare (OLAW, 2002a). Institutions deviating significantly from the PHS’s animal care and use standards must report these incidents to the NIH’s OLAW. This study is an exploratory analysis of all the significant deviations reported by animal-research facilities to OLAW during a 3-month period. The study identifies …

The Scher Report On Non-Human Primate Research — Biased And Deeply Flawed, Jarrod Bailey, Katy Taylor

Experimentation Collection

The European Commission’s Scientific Committee on Health and Environmental Risks (SCHER) recently issued an Opinion on the need for non-human primate (NHP) use in biomedical research, and the possibilities of replacing NHP use with alternatives, as part of the Directive 86/609/EEC revision process. Here, we summarise our recent complaint to the European Ombudsman about SCHER’s Opinion and the entire consultation process. It is our opinion that the Working Group almost entirely failed to address its remit, and that the Group was unbalanced and contained insufficient expertise. The Opinion presumed the validity of NHP research with inadequate supporting evidence, and ignored …

Are Animal Models Predictive For Humans?, Niall Shanks, Ray Greek, Jean Greek

Validation of Animal Experimentation Collection

It is one of the central aims of the philosophy of science to elucidate the meanings of scientific terms and also to think critically about their application. The focus of this essay is the scientific term predict and whether there is credible evidence that animal models, especially in toxicology and pathophysiology, can be used to predict human outcomes. Whether animals can be used to predict human response to drugs and other chemicals is apparently a contentious issue. However, when one empirically analyzes animal models using scientific tools they fall far short of being able to predict human responses. This is …

An Hsus Report: The Implications Of Farm Animal-Based Bioenergy Production, The Humane Society Of The United States

Impact of Animal Agriculture

As the current and potential impacts of climate change become more evident and increasingly urgent, entities such as governments, corporations, and non-governmental organizations (NGOs) are seeking out non-fossil fuelbased sources of energy to mitigate those effects. In addition, many governments are investigating ways to promote their own domestic energy sources as a result of rising oil prices. Bioenergy—made from recently living organic matter, such as plants, agricultural waste and crop residue, meat processing wastes, or farmed animals’ fats and manure—has quickly become one of the fastest growing, and controversial, alternative energy sources. Globally, production of biofuels, generally used for transport, …

The Validity Of Animal Experiments In Medical Research, Gill Langley

Experimentation Collection

Other animals, such as mice, rats, rabbits, dogs and monkeys, are widely used as surrogates for humans in fundamental medical research. This involves creating disorders in animals by chemical, surgical or genetic means, with the aim of mimicking selected aspects of human illnesses.

It is a truism that any model or surrogate is not identical to the target being modelled. So, in medical research, experiments using animals or cell cultures or even healthy volunteers instead of patients (being the target population with the target illness) will inevitably have limitations, although these will be greater or lesser depending on the model.

The Minimization Of Research Animal Distress And Pain: Conclusions And Recommendations, Kathleen Conlee, Martin Stephens, Andrew N. Rowan

Laboratory Experiments Collection

While the attention given to preventing, assessing, and alleviating pain in research animals has increased noticeably in recent decades, much remains to be done both in terms of implementing best practices and conducting studies to answer outstanding questions. In contrast, the attention to distress (particularly non-pain induced distress) has shown no comparable increase. There are many reasons for this discrepancy, including the conceptual untidiness of the distress concept, the paucity of pharmacological treatments for distress, and perceived lack of regulatory emphasis on distress. These are challenges that need to be addressed and overcome. This book is intended to help meet …

Addressing Distress And Pain In Animal Research: The Veterinary, Research, Societal, Regulatory And Ethical Contexts For Moving Forward, Kathleen Conlee, Martin Stephens, Andrew N. Rowan

Experimentation Collection

While most people recognize that biomedical scientists are searching for knowledge that will improve the health of humans and animals, the image of someone deliberately causing harm to an animal in order to produce data that may lead to some future benefit has always prompted an uncomfortable reaction outside the laboratory. However, proponents of animal research have usually justified the practice by reference to greater benefits (new knowledge and medical treatments) over lesser costs (in animal suffering and death). Given that one of the costs of animal research is the suffering experienced by the animals, the goal of eliminating distress …

The Role Of Clinical Veterinary Medicine In The Assessment And Treatment Of Laboratory Animal Distress, V. Hampshire

Veterinary Science and Medicine Collection

It is doubtful that the scientific community will ever arrive at a consensus definition for distress as it may be attempted for the purposes of improving animal welfare in and across the myriad of research, testing and teaching facilities in the United States and throughout the minuet of protocols that exist for animals. The stakeholders in this attempt can however address most causes of physiologic distress by instituting time-honored veterinary and agrarian approaches to animal surveillance. In this manner, the majority of individuals who participate in responsible and humane animal care might be assuaged in that a condition of maximum …

An Assessment Of The Role Of Chimpanzees In Aids Vaccine Research, Jarrod Bailey

Laboratory Experiments Collection

Prior to Simian Immunodeficiency Virus (SIV)-infected macaques becoming the ‘model of choice’ in the 1990s, chimpanzees were widely used in AIDS vaccine research and testing. Faced with the continued failure to develop an effective human vaccine, some scientists are calling for a return to their widespread use. To assess the past and potential future contribution of chimpanzees to AIDS vaccine development, databases and published literature were systematically searched to compare the results of AIDS vaccine trials in chimpanzees with those of human clinical trials, and to determine whether the chimpanzee trials were predictive of the human response. Protective and/or therapeutic …

The Beginning Of The End For Chimpanzee Experiments?, Andrew Knight

Experimentation Collection

The advanced sensory, psychological and social abilities of chimpanzees confer upon them a profound ability to suffer when born into unnatural captive environments, or captured from the wild – as many older research chimpanzees once were – and when subsequently subjected to confinement, social disruption, and involuntary participation in potentially harmful biomedical research. Justifications for such research depend primarily on the important contributions advocates claim it has made toward medical advancements. However, a recent large-scale systematic review indicates that invasive chimpanzee experiments rarely provide benefits in excess of their profound animal welfare, bioethical and financial costs. The approval of large …

Systematic Reviews Of Animal Experiments Demonstrate Poor Contributions To Human Healthcare, Andrew Knight

Experimentation Collection

Widespread reliance on animal models during preclinical research and toxicity testing assumes their reasonable predictivity for human outcomes. However, of 20 published systematic reviews examining human clinical utility located during a comprehensive literature search, animal models demonstrated significant potential to contribute toward clinical interventions in only two cases, one of which was contentious. Included were experiments expected by ethics committees to lead to medical advances, highly-cited experiments published in major journals, and chimpanzee experiments—the species most generally predictive of human outcomes. Seven additional reviews failed to demonstrate utility in reliably predicting human toxicological outcomes such as carcinogenicity and teratogenicity. Results …

Medical Progress Depends On Animal Models - Doesn't It?, Robert A. J. Matthews

Validation of Animal Experimentation Collection

Animal models are widely recognized as being essential to the progress of medical science. In countering the critics’ arguments of the use of animals in medicine, one statement has acquired almost talismanic importance:

‘Virtually every medical achievement of the last century has depended directly or indirectly on research with animals.’

In this essay, the origins and justification of this oft-repeated statement are examined. Despite its endorsement by leading academic bodies, it is far from clear that the statement has been, or even could be, formally validated.