The Kimmela Center for Animal Advocacy
Coastal Carolina University
University of California, Davis
Marshall University
Plant Sentience: A Hypothesis Based On Shaky Premises,
2023
Institute of Biology, Leiden University
Plant Sentience: A Hypothesis Based On Shaky Premises, Carel Ten Cate
Animal Sentience
Plants may produce fascinating behavioural phenomena for which the label ‘cognitive process’ may be applicable, at least by some definitions. Segundo-Ortin & Calvo (2023) base their hypothesis that plants might be sentient on the premise of demonstrated presence of cognitive complexity. However, the way phenomena are ascribed, and how the term ‘cognitive’ is used by Segundo-Ortin & Calvo, deviates from the common practice in studies of animal cognition, implying greater complexity than seems justified. It thus provides a questionable basis for attributing sentience to plants.
Stress: An Adaptive Problem Common To Plant And Animal Science,
2023
Independent scholar
Stress: An Adaptive Problem Common To Plant And Animal Science, Özlem Yilmaz
Animal Sentience
It is very hard to determine whether plants have “felt states,” but they do have specific states, such as stress, that depend on sensory input from their environment. Plants do not have neurons or brains, but they do have xylem and phloem, as well as many signalling molecules that are dynamically distributed in their bodies, enabling them to produce systemic responses to environmental stimuli. One common topic in plant and animal science that may or may not prove to involve sentience but that does involve the same molecules is stress.
A New Monotypic Genus And Species From China, Langxie Feti Gen. Et Sp. N. (Scorpiones: Buthidae),
2023
Marshall University
A New Monotypic Genus And Species From China, Langxie Feti Gen. Et Sp. N. (Scorpiones: Buthidae), Victoria Tang, Qingquan Jia, Leonhard Liu
Euscorpius
A new monotypic genus, Langxie gen. n., is described from Xizang (Tibet), China. The new genus shares an important morphological character with Afrolychas Kovařík, 2019: absence of external accessory denticles (EADs) along the sixth row of median denticles (MDs) on the pedipalp movable finger. Langxie gen. n. is different from Afrolychas in the following aspects: loss of EAD near the proximally enlarged MD within each row (i. e., loss of all EAD on the movable finger; this also distinguishes the new genus from other related genera in the “(Ananteris + Isometrus)” clade (Štundlová et …
Benthic Beasts: The Ecological Significance Of Lake Sturgeon And Blue Catfish In Eastern Appalachian Waterways,
2023
Lincoln Memorial University
Benthic Beasts: The Ecological Significance Of Lake Sturgeon And Blue Catfish In Eastern Appalachian Waterways, Stewart Thacker
Research Day
East Tennessee freshwater ecosystems comprise an abundance of an extremely diverse selection of species. This presentation examines Acipenser fulvescens and Ictalurus furcatus, two of the largest freshwater fish in the Appalachian area, which play significant ecological roles within the benthic dimension of our freshwater environments. Commonly known as “bottom-feeders,” Benthivorous species enjoy a broad range of food sources including other fish, detritus, crustaceans, and more. The extensive variety of food consumed by A. fulvescens and I. furcatus permits population control of other, denser, aquatic populations inhabiting other regions of the water column, as well as other organisms included …
What Can Plant Science Learn From Animal Nervous Systems?,
2023
University of Maryland at College Park
What Can Plant Science Learn From Animal Nervous Systems?, Luiz Pessoa
Animal Sentience
I welcome Segundo-Ortin & Calvo’s (2023) call for a rigorous science of plant behavior and physiology. My commentary addresses three points drawn from the literature on animal brains that could help elucidate the possibility of cognition and sentience in plants: (1) the presumed requirement of a centralized brain; (2) centralization of control versus heterarchical organization; and (3) connecting plant research with research on animal nervous systems.
Questions About Sentience Are Not Scientific But Cultural,
2023
The Technion
Questions About Sentience Are Not Scientific But Cultural, Yoram Gutfreund
Animal Sentience
Abstract: The findings of complex cognitive-like behaviours in plants are surprising and exciting. However, they do not provide a scientific reason for ascribing sentience to plants. The target article, in trying to provide evidence for sentience in plants, exposes the weakness of the science of animal consciousness in general. In this commentary, I try to explain why the scientific method is incapable of resolving the question of which organisms or systems are sentient.
A Diverse Flea (Siphonaptera) Assemblage From The Small Mammals Of Central New Mexico,
2023
University of New Mexico
A Diverse Flea (Siphonaptera) Assemblage From The Small Mammals Of Central New Mexico, Dianne E. Peterson, Jonathan L. Dunnum, Schuyler W. Liphart, Karen A. Boegler, Ralph P. Eckerlin, Eric P. Hoberg, Martha O. Perez-Arriaga, Katrina Derieg, David Garnand, Mariel L. Campbell, Joseph A. Cook
MANTER: Journal of Parasite Biodiversity
The geographical ranges of many mammals and their associated parasites are dynamic. Comprehensive documentation of these communities over time provides a foundation for interpreting how changing environmental conditions, driven by accelerating climate change, other anthropogenic disturbances, and natural events, may influence host-parasite interactions. Fleas (Order Siphonaptera) are obligate, hematophagous parasites of birds and mammals with medical interest because of their role in transmitting pathogens. From 2016 to 2019, we sampled the small mammal and associated flea communities in El Malpais National Conservation Area (El Malpais) in Cibola County, New Mexico. Among 898 mammalian specimens, 925 fleas representing 29 species were …
A Survey Of Captive Wild And Exotic Animal Training Programs In The Eastern United States,
2023
Liberty University
A Survey Of Captive Wild And Exotic Animal Training Programs In The Eastern United States, Savannah Atchison
Senior Honors Theses
Methods of positive reinforcement as a successful means for animal training are the result of many years of research into operant conditioning and learning. However, current literature is unclear on the extent to which these methods are utilized in captive wild and exotic animal populations in the United States. Through phone interviews with animal trainers employed at zoos and wildlife rehabilitation centers in the eastern United States, the author determined that these facilities are currently utilizing positive reinforcement training methods which are proving to be a great benefit for all parties involved. They are enabling a variety of voluntary health …
Morphological Differences Align With Habitat Partitioning Among Three Species Of Percina (Percidae: Actinopterygii) In The Roanoke River, Virginia,
2023
Roanoke College
Morphological Differences Align With Habitat Partitioning Among Three Species Of Percina (Percidae: Actinopterygii) In The Roanoke River, Virginia, Michael M. Calvert, Steven L. Powers
Southeastern Fishes Council Proceedings
The upper Roanoke River has three species of Percina (P. nevisense, Chainback Darter; P. roanoka, Roanoke Darter; and P. rex, Roanoke Logperch). Resource partitioning appears to be a key component of maintaining diverse fish assemblages with habitat and food partitioning cited as especially important in communities containing members of the same family. Some aspects of the diets of these species have been documented in the literature with only modest differences among them. Microhabitat data for adults of these species have also been published revealing differences in habitat occupied by each with P. roanoka living in the fastest, shallowest …
Increasing Capture Rates Of Grassland Birds Over Thirteen Years Indicates Successful Restoration,
2023
Georgia College & State University
Increasing Capture Rates Of Grassland Birds Over Thirteen Years Indicates Successful Restoration, Katie Stumpf, Charles Muise
Georgia Journal of Science
Grassland bird populations are being lost at an alarming rate due to human modifications to grassland ecosystems. Grassland restoration has been shown to mitigate population declines for many species that use these habitats at some point in their annual cycles. We examined capture rates of adult, breeding, and hatch-year birds at a restored grassland site in the piedmont of central Georgia to determine whether colonization, breeding success, hatching success, and recruitment processes were impacting populations of grassland birds. We banded birds approximately twice per month from January 2009 through December 2021 at Panola Mountain State Park. Restoration efforts started in …
Mafr 3d Skull,
2023
Nova Southeastern University
Mafr 3d Skull, Kevin Rafferty, Briana K. Zaffiro, David W. Kerstetter
All Scans: Kerstetter Fisheries and Avian Ecology 3D Scan Series
3D Scan of a Magnificent Frigatebird
Black Crowned Night Heron,
2023
Nova Southeastern University
Black Crowned Night Heron, Kevin Rafferty, Briana K. Zaffiro, David Kerstetter
All Scans: Kerstetter Fisheries and Avian Ecology 3D Scan Series
No abstract provided.
Ycnh 3d Skull,
2023
Nova Southeastern University
Ycnh 3d Skull, Kevin Rafferty, Briana K. Zaffiro, David Kerstetter
All Scans: Kerstetter Fisheries and Avian Ecology 3D Scan Series
No abstract provided.
Rosp 3d Skull (Roseate Spoonbill),
2023
Nova Southeastern University
Rosp 3d Skull (Roseate Spoonbill), Kevin Rafferty, Briana K. Zaffiro, David Kerstetter
All Scans: Kerstetter Fisheries and Avian Ecology 3D Scan Series
3D skull of a roseate spoonbill
Insentient “Cognition”?,
2023
Université du Québec à Montréal & University of Southampton
Insentient “Cognition”?, Stevan Harnad
Animal Sentience
A sentient state is a state that it feels like something to be in. Cows have them, cars don’t. Cognitive capacities are a subset of behavioral capacities. Not all behavioral capacities are cognitive (but the distinction is fuzzy). Might the difference have something to do with whether the behaver is sentient?
Dear Duck-Billed Platypus,
2023
School of Rural Health, Monash University
Dear Duck-Billed Platypus, Michael J. Leach Dr
The STEAM Journal
This piece is a concrete poem that both shows and describes the platypus (Ornithorhynchus anatinus).
A New Species Of Scorpio From Jordan (Scorpiones: Scorpionidae),
2023
Marshall University
A New Species Of Scorpio From Jordan (Scorpiones: Scorpionidae), Mohammad Al-Saraireh, Ersen A. Yağmur, Bassam Abu Afifeh, Zuhair Amr
Euscorpius
A new species Scorpio granulomanus sp. n. is described and illustrated from Dibbeen Forest, Jerash Governorate, Jordan. The new species is compared with the previously recorded species of the genus Scorpio L., 1758 in the Middle East; it can be distinguished from all other congeners by its very large, pointed granules on the dorsoexternal surface of the chela manus, and an untypically elongated chela manus.
Black Vulture Skull,
2023
Nova Southeastern University
Black Vulture Skull, Briana K. Zaffiro, David W. Kerstetter
All Scans: Kerstetter Fisheries and Avian Ecology 3D Scan Series
Skull from 8 cm total length [Coragyps atarus (Black Vulture)]
Blanding’S Turtle (Emydoidea Blandingii): Species Conservation Assessment,
2023
Nebraska Game and Parks Commission
Blanding’S Turtle (Emydoidea Blandingii): Species Conservation Assessment, Melissa J. Panella, Colleen Rothe-Groleau
Nebraska Game and Parks Commission Publications
The primary goal in development of at-risk species conservation assessments is to compile biological and ecological information that may assist conservation practitioners in making decisions regarding the conservation of species of interest. The Nebraska Natural Legacy Project recognizes the Blanding’s turtle (Emydoidea blandingii) as a Tier 1 at-risk species. Some general management recommendations are made here regarding Blanding’s turtles; however, conservation practitioners will need to use professional judgment to make specific management decisions based on objectives, location, and a multitude of variables. This resource was designed to share available knowledge of this at-risk turtle that will aid in the decision-making …
Non-Aggressive Competition Between Males Of Srilankametrus Yaleensis (Kovařík Et Al., 2019) (Scorpionidae), And Other Types Of Agonistic Behavior Observed In Scorpions,
2023
Marshall University
Non-Aggressive Competition Between Males Of Srilankametrus Yaleensis (Kovařík Et Al., 2019) (Scorpionidae), And Other Types Of Agonistic Behavior Observed In Scorpions, Victoria Tang
Euscorpius
A peculiar intraspecific agonistic behavior involving a non-aggressive physical combat is reported between the adult males of Srilankametrus yaleensis (Kovařík et al., 2019) (Scorpionidae: Heterometrinae). The adult males were observed to resort to a ritualized and relatively gentle way for strength demonstration. The combat is characterized by lateral spreading of pedipalps, chelicerae-to-chelicerae collision, and entanglement of metasomal segments. This behavior is hereby considered a form of an intrasexual combat defined as the “arm-span competition”. It is hypothesized to be beneficial for solving territorial and/ or sexual competitions while avoiding unnecessary mortality which could pose adverse impact to the natural populations. …
