Zoology Commons^™

What Can Vigilance Tell Us About Fear?, Guy Beauchamp

Animal Sentience

Animal vigilance is concerned with the monitoring of potential threats caused by predators and conspecifics. Researchers have argued that threats are part of a landscape of fear tracking the level of risk posed by predators and conspecifics. Vigilance, which is expected to vary with the level of risk, could thus be used as a measure of fear. Here, I explore the relationship between vigilance and fear caused by predators and conspecifics. The joint occurrence of vigilance and other physiological responses to fear, such as increased heart rate and stress hormone release, would bolster the idea that vigilance can be a …

Fear And Loathing On The Landscape: What Can Foraging Theory Tell Us About Vigilance And Fear?, Burt P. Kotler, Joel S. Brown

Animal Sentience

We discuss fear and vigilance from the perspective of foraging theory. Rather than focusing on proximate indicators of fear, we suggest that fear is an adaptation for assigning a cost to activities that incur a risk of injury or death. We use theory to provide definitions for fear and vigilance and then use that theory to compare them. We agree that there are limits to the reliability of vigilance as an indicator of fear, but we arrive at this conclusion differently.

Methodological Suggestions For Inferring Fear From Vigilance, Julie A. Teichroeb

Animal Sentience

I suggest some methods for data-collection and analysis that may help researchers infer fear from vigilance.

Reef Society And The Tyranny Of Data, Robert Wintner

Animal Sentience

Modern science now approaches divergent processes in many areas, including health assessments of marine eco-systems and social aspects of marine species. Scientific data have long enjoyed a reputation for objectivity but incidents of science-for-hire, data spinning/skewing and political jading are more frequent than ever. In the field of reef creature sensitivity, technical treatises can “logically” explain away what a person of average education can clearly observe on any given reef. Western medicine discounted anecdotal evidence of any cure outside the 4% margin of error until those cures demanded attention and in some cases application. Modern science must now enter an …

Still Wondering How Flesh Can Feel, Gwen J. Broude

Animal Sentience

Reber believes he has simplified Chalmers’s “hard problem” of consciousness by arguing that subjectivity is an inherent feature of biological forms. His argument rests on the related notions of continuity of mind and gradual accretion of capacities across evolutionary time. These notions need to be defended, not just asserted. Because Reber minimizes the differences in mental faculties among species across evolutionary time, it becomes easier to assert, and perhaps believe, that sentience is already present in early biological forms. The more explicit we are about the differences among these mental faculties and the differences across species, the less persuasive is …

Integrating Habitat Suitability Modeling And Radio Telemetry To Describe Habitat Use Of The Western Massasaugas, Sistrurus T. Tergeminus, In Texas, Mitchell R. Barazowski

Biology Theses

Habitat suitability modeling using the software package MaxEnt (Phillips, Anderson, & Schapire, 2006) is a popular method for describing the habitat of rare species. MaxEnt uses “presence only” data to develop models; however presence data are highly skewed towards areas of high detection probability and these areas may not represent the full range of habitat use. Thusly, predictions from models developed using only data from areas with high detection probability may not represent all suitable habitat. This study tested the ability of MaxEnt models developed using three different data sets to accurately describe Western Massasauga (Sistrurus t. tergeminus) habitat at …

Review Of Northwestern African Buthacus, With Description Of Buthacus Stockmanni Sp. N. From Morocco And Western Sahara (Scorpiones, Buthidae), František Kovařík, Graeme Lowe, František Šťáhlavský

Euscorpius

Northwestern African Buthacus species are revised. Buthacus stockmanni sp. n. from Morocco and Western Sahara is described and fully complemented with color photos of live and preserved specimens, as well as their habitat. The hemispermatophore of B. stockmanni sp. n. is illustrated and described. In addition to morphology and hemi-spermatophores, we also describe the karyotypes of B. stockmanni sp. n. (2n=20). B. stockmanni sp. n. is compared with B. occidentalis Vachon, 1953 and B. ziegleri Lourenço, 2000. Both these species are differentiated from B. stockmanni sp. n. geographically and morphologically. The male of B. stockmanni sp. n. has fingers of …

First Report Of Lissothus Occidentalis Vachon, 1950 (Scorpiones: Buthidae) From Morocco And Western Sahara, With Notes On Ecology And Captive Breeding, Mark Stockmann, Carlos Turiel, Felix Althoff, Graeme Lowe, František Kovařík

Euscorpius

Genus Lissothus Vachon, 1948 represented by L. occidentalis Vachon, 1950 is reported for the first time from four localities in Morocco and the Western Sahara. We provide a revised diagnosis of L. occidentalis, fully complemented with color photos of live and preserved specimens. Hemispermatophore is also illustrated and described in detail. Furthermore, we describe aspects of the ecology of this species, and provide photos of collection sites and habitats. We also report on the reproductive biology of this species based on captive breeding and rearing. and provide the first envenomation report for the species.

Animals Aren’T Persons, But Is It Time For A Neologism?, Helen Steward

Animal Sentience

Mark Rowlands argues that at least some animals are persons, based on the idea that (i) many animals have a property he calls “pre-reflective awareness,” (ii) the capacity for pre-reflective awareness is sufficient to satisfy the traditional Lockean definition of personhood, and (iii) satisfaction of the traditional Lockean definition of personhood is sufficient for being a person. I agree with (i) and can see that there is a persuasive case for (ii), but I think the case against (iii) blocks the conclusion that animals are persons. I suggest that we may need instead to coin a neologism in order to …

Reber’S Caterpillar Offers No Help, Carl Safina

Animal Sentience

Reber’s target article “Caterpillars, consciousness and the origins of mind” seems only to shift but not to address the question of where the mind is and how minds occur.

Report Of A Meeting On Contemporary Topics In Zebrafish Husbandry And Care, Nikki Osborne, Gregory Paull, Adam Grierson, Karen Dunford, Elisabeth M. Busch-Nentwich, Lynne U. Sneddon, Natalie Wren, Joe Higgins, Penny Hawkins

Ichthyology Collection

A meeting on Contemporary Topics in Zebrafish Husbandry and Care was held in the United Kingdom in 2014, with the aim of providing a discussion forum for researchers, animal technologists, and veterinarians from academia and industry to share good practice and exchange ideas. Presentation topics included protocols for optimal larval rearing, implementing the 3Rs (replacement, reduction, and refinement) in large-scale colony management, and environmental enrichment. The audience also participated in a survey of current practice relating to practical husbandry, cryopreservation, and the provision of enrichment.

Malanda Gold: The Tale Of A Unique Rainbowfish From The Atherton Table-Lands, Now On The Verge Of Extinction., Peter J. Unmack, Keith Martin, Michael P. Hammer, Brendan Ebner, Karl Moy, Culum Brown

Ichthyology Collection

No abstract provided.

Subscription And Organization Information [December 2016]

Nebraska Bird Review

The Nebraska Bird Review is published quarterly by the Nebraska Ornithologists' Union, Inc., as its official journal, and is sent to members not in arrears of dues. Annual subscription rates (on a calendar-year basis only): $25 in the United States and $35 in all other countries, payable in advance. Single copies are $7 each, postpaid, in the United States and $9 elsewhere. Send orders for back issues to Anita Breckbill, NOU Librarian, c/o Music Library, WMB 30, University of Nebraska, Lincoln, NE 68588-0101.

Memberships in the NOU (on a calendar-year basis only): Active Household (one or more people) $25; Sustaining …

In Memory Of Elizabeth Grenon, Neal Ratzlaff

Nebraska Bird Review

On November 11, 2016 cancer claimed the life of longtime member and friend of NOU Betty Grenon, perhaps best remembered as our very intelligent, personable, meticulous treasurer and tenacious guardian of organization funds. Our records indicate Betty became a member in 1991. Her talents and qualifications (CPA and Nebraska's first female Certified Management Accountant) were soon recognized. She became NOU Treasurer in 1994, a position held until her death, except for a 3-year hiatus when her employment with Enron took her to Houston, Texas. NOU has benefited in a number of other ways from Betty's organizational skills and attention to …

Index To Volume 84

Nebraska Bird Review

Adams, R. J. 95
Aguillon, Stepfanie 62
Allen: Brian 60; Edward 4, 61, 156
Allin, C. C. 95
Anderson: Brayden 53; Chris 60; Jon 61, 94
Appell, Roger A. 62
Arthur, Noah 5, 147
Atkins, Gordon 4
Aubushon: Cathy 52; Dorothy 52
Avery, Mele 157
Avocet, American 69, 104, 110, 118, 164

. . .

Yellowlegs: Greater 2, 12, 69, 100, 104, 119, 165; Lesser 70, 100, 104, 119, 165, 184
Yellowthroat, Common 80, 106, 128, 175, 186
Young: E. A. 95, 137; Lowell 157; Matthew 62

Zeilinger, Ray 163
Zimmerman, Jerald 53

Fall Field Report, August–November 2016, W. Ross Silcock

Nebraska Bird Review

As usual, there was quite a bit to chew over in the Fall Seasonal Report, although it was generally a pretty uneventful season, especially among waterfowl and shorebirds. The mild fall allowed some good counts to occur, such as the 20+ Surf Scoters, 465 meadowlarks in Garfield Co, and at least 11 White-winged Doves.

First State Records are hard to come by; amazing was an Anna's Hummingbird that showed up in the Manning Family's central Omaha yard. How many pass through the yards of non-birders undetected? Always a mind-boggling thought. A 3rd state record Costa's Hummingbird came to light from …

Burwell Fall Field Days, Janis Paseka

Nebraska Bird Review

The meeting of2016 NOU Fall Field Days took place at the Burwell Legion Club on Sept. 30–Oct. 2, 2016. There were about 50 in attendance at the meeting, which was organized by Robin Harding, Lanny Randolph, and Betty Grenon.

On Friday evening Chad Christiansen, who works for the U. S. Fish and Wildlife Service at the Fort Niobrara/Valentine National Wildlife Refuge Complex, spoke about the goals of the Natural Legacy Project to identify a set of priority landscapes that, if properly managed, would conserve the majority of Nebraska's biological diversity. These landscapes, called Biologically Unique Landscapes, were selected based on …

Nebraska Bird Review (December 2016) 84(4), Whole Issue

Nebraska Bird Review

Fall Field Report, August–November 2016 ... 154

In Memory of Elizabeth Grenon … 180

Burwell Fall Field Days ... 182

Index to Volume 84 … 187

Subscription and Organization Information ... 203

Wolf Predation: Where And How Wolves Kill Beavers, And Confronting The Biases In Scat-Based Diet Studies, Thomas Gable

All NMU Master's Theses

Beavers can be a significant prey item for wolves in boreal systems but how wolves hunt beavers is largely unknown. I inferred how wolves hunt beavers by identifying 22 kill sites using clusters of locations from GPS-collared wolves in Voyageurs National Park, Minnesota. Where wolves killed beavers varied seasonally with the majority (58%) of kills in the spring occurring below dams and on shorelines while the majority (80%) of kills in the fall were near feeding trails and canals. I deduced that the typical hunting strategy has 3 components: 1) waiting near areas of high beaver use until a beaver …

Survey Of Nasal Mites (Acari: Rhinonyssidae, Ereynetidae, Turbinoptidae) In Birds From Three States In The United States, Alexis Danel Hilario Perez

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Avian nasal mites are obligate endoparasites that spend their entire life in the respiratory system of birds. In North America, bird nasal mites are represented by different unrelated families in three different orders of mites: Rhinonyssidae (Mesostigmata), Ereynetidae (Prostigmata), and the Cytoditidae and Turbinoptidae (Astigmata). The most-diverse and most-abundant family of nasal mites is the Rhinonyssidae, in which mite species may have different levels of host specificity from host orders to families or even species level. Nasal mites in North America have been surveyed in different locations, such as studies ranging from the Gulf Coast of the US to Canada. …