Spatial Ecology And Resource Selection Of Bighorn Sheep (Ovis Canadensis) Ewes In A Prairie Badlands Population,
2020
University of Nebraska-Lincoln
Spatial Ecology And Resource Selection Of Bighorn Sheep (Ovis Canadensis) Ewes In A Prairie Badlands Population, Erin Wood
School of Natural Resources: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research
The basic spatial ecology and habitat relationships of female bighorn sheep in Nebraska are poorly understood. Establishing seasonal patterns of space use and resource selection for this population at the margin of their historical and current range addresses a key knowledge gap and provides important baseline information for ongoing conservation efforts in Nebraska. We deployed GPS radio-collars on 56 adult ewes in western Nebraska to quantify seasonal space use, movements, and resource selection of ewes. To investigate spatial ecology, we quantified movements of ewes and the factors that influence home range size, seasonal use, and spatial stability across seasons. Home …
Consider The Agent In The Arthropod,
2020
New College of Florida
Consider The Agent In The Arthropod, Nicolas Delon, Peter Cook, Gordon Bauer, Heidi Harley
Animal Sentience
Whether or not arthropods are sentient, they can have moral standing. Appeals to sentience are not necessary and retard progress in human treatment of other species, including invertebrates. Other increasingly well-documented aspects of invertebrate minds are pertinent to their welfare. Even if arthropods are not sentient, they can be agents whose goals—and therefore interests—can be frustrated. This kind of agency is sufficient for moral status and requires that we consider their welfare.
Connection Between Contaminants And Marine Mammals In The Southern Ocean,
2020
Nova Southeastern University
Connection Between Contaminants And Marine Mammals In The Southern Ocean, Sean W. Tupper
All HCAS Student Capstones, Theses, and Dissertations
The Southern Ocean encircles the continent of Antarctica and was once thought to be unaffected by human activities. However, evidence is increasing that this region has many different contaminants that threaten the region’s marine biodiversity, including marine mammals. Many of these contaminants are heavy metals or persistent organic pollutants and enter the Southern Ocean via both natural and anthropogenic processes. The impacts posed by these contaminants vary according to their type and the organism being exposed. All species of cetaceans and pinnipeds in this study were confirmed to have been exposed to one or more the contaminants reviewed. Although research …
Effects Of Freshwater Crayfish On Influenza A Virus Persistence In Water,
2020
National Wildlife Research Center, Fort Collins
Effects Of Freshwater Crayfish On Influenza A Virus Persistence In Water, J. Jeffrey Root, Jeremy W. Ellis, Susan A. Shriner
United States Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services: Staff Publications
Several investigations have recently assessed the ability of some aquatic invertebrates to act as tools for avian influenza A virus (IAV) surveillance as well as their potential role(s) in IAV ecology. Because of this, as well as the high IAV seroprevalence rates noted in select mesocarnivores that commonly inhabit aquatic and semi-aquatic habitats, we evaluated the effects that freshwater crayfish have on IAV in water at three dose levels and monitored for the presence of IAV in crayfish tissues (gill and green gland) and haemolymph at multiple time points. At relatively high, medium 432 and low (approximately 10 , 10 …
Five New Species Of Euscorpius Thorell, 1876 (Scorpiones: Euscorpiidae) From Albania, Greece, North Macedonia, And Serbia,
2020
Marshall University
Five New Species Of Euscorpius Thorell, 1876 (Scorpiones: Euscorpiidae) From Albania, Greece, North Macedonia, And Serbia, František Kovařík, František Šťáhlavský
Euscorpius
Five new species are described: Euscorpius bonacinai sp. n. (Albania), E. janstai sp. n. (North Macedonia), E. kabateki sp. n. (Greece), E. sadileki sp. n. (Serbia), and E. scheraboni sp. n. (Greece), fully complemented with color photographs. New species are distinguished from all other species of the genus on the basis of five taxonomic characters. Two other new characters, shape of the pedipalp chela fingers and number of chromosomes, are presented and discussed. In addition to the analyses of external morphology, we also describe karyotypes of two species: E. janstai sp. n. (2n=112) and E. sadileki sp. n. (2n=90).
Avoiding Anthropocentrism In Evolutionarily Inclusive Ethics,
2020
John Carroll University
Avoiding Anthropocentrism In Evolutionarily Inclusive Ethics, Simon Fitzpatrick
Animal Sentience
Mikhalevich & Powell are to be commended for challenging the “invertebrate dogma” that invertebrates are unworthy of ethical concern. However, developing an evolutionarily inclusive ethics requires facing some of the more radical implications of rejecting hierarchical scala naturae and human-centered conceptions of the biological world. In particular, we need to question the anthropocentric assumptions that still linger in discussions like these.
Zones Of Precaution,
2020
London School of Economics and Political Science
Zones Of Precaution, Jonathan Birch
Animal Sentience
My commentary focusses on Mikhalevich & Powell’s criticisms of the Animal Sentience Precautionary Principle. I emphasize the pragmatic nature of my rationale for proposing that, rather than extending the scope of animal welfare protection on a species-by-species basis, we should be willing to protect entire Linnaean orders on the basis of evidence from a single species.
Brain Complexity, Sentience And Welfare,
2020
University of Cambridge
Brain Complexity, Sentience And Welfare, Donald M. Broom
Animal Sentience
Neither sentience nor moral standing is confined to animals with large or human-like brains. Invertebrates deserve moral consideration. Definition of terms clarifies the relationship between sentience and welfare. All animals have welfare but humans give more protection to sentient animals. Humans should be less human-centred.
Invertebrate Cognition, Sentience And Biology,
2020
CNRS, Paris
Invertebrate Cognition, Sentience And Biology, Georges Chapouthier
Animal Sentience
All animal species have adapted for survival and no species is superior overall. For cognitive capacities and sentience, invertebrates such as the octopus, although quite unlike vertebrates, can achieve similar performance levels. So can other invertebrates with small brains; hence they too, as sentient beings, deserve moral consideration from humans. How are we to identify these species? Only though a detailed analysis of their behavior. The decision, which is a moral judgment, depends on biological knowledge that still needs to be acquired.
Convergent Evolution Of Sentience?,
2020
Macquarie University
Convergent Evolution Of Sentience?, Culum Brown Prof.
Animal Sentience
Mikhalevich & Powell make a compelling case that some invertebrates may be sentient and that our moral obligations in the context of welfare should hence extend to them. Although the case is similar to that made for fishes, there is one obvious difference in that examples of invertebrate sentience probably arose independently from vertebrate sentience. We have unequivocal proof that complex cognition arose multiple times over evolutionary history. Given that cognition is our best tool for indirectly quantifying sentience, it seems highly likely that this multiple polygenesis may also have occurred for sentience. In acknowledging this, we must accept that …
Notes On The Diet And Reproduction Of The Bark Scorpion Centruroides Gracilis (Scorpiones: Buthidae) On Utila Island, Honduras,
2020
Marshall University
Notes On The Diet And Reproduction Of The Bark Scorpion Centruroides Gracilis (Scorpiones: Buthidae) On Utila Island, Honduras, Anna M. Davison, Tom W. Brown, Cristina Arrivillaga
Euscorpius
The brown bark scorpion Centruroides gracilis (Latreille, 1804) (Buthidae) is an abundant and widespread species, however, fairly little is known about its ecology and natural history. We include several observations from Utila Island, Honduras, that expand on the known literature regarding the diet and reproductive behavior of C. gracilis. We report several prey items for this opportunistic species, which include invertebrates such as spiders (including tarantulas), centipedes, katydids, and crickets; as well as a case of cannibalism between two adult females C. gracilis. We suggest that such cannibalism may be driven by high population densities and/or strong intraspecific …
Minds, Morality And Midgies,
2020
University of Queensland
Minds, Morality And Midgies, Brian Key, Deborah Brown
Animal Sentience
Mikhalevich & Powell argue that the exclusion of the vast majority of arthropods from moral standing is unwarranted, particularly given the purported evidence for cognition and sentience in these organisms. The implied association between consciousness and moral standing is questionable and their assumption that rich forms of cognition and flexible behavior are dependent on phenomenal consciousness needs to be reconsidered in light of current neuroscientific evidence. We conclude by proposing a neural algorithmic approach for deciphering whether organisms are capable of subjective experience.
Discovery Of The World’S Highest-Dwelling Mammal,
2020
University of Nebraska - Lincoln
Discovery Of The World’S Highest-Dwelling Mammal, Jay F. Storz, Marcial Quiroga-Carmona, Juan C. Opazo, Thomas Bowen, Matthew Farson, Scott J. Steppan, Guillermo D’Elía
Jay F. Storz Publications
Environmental limits of animal life are invariably revised when the animals themselves are investigated in their natural habitats. Here we report results of a scientific mountaineering expedition to survey the high-altitude rodent fauna of Volcán Llullaillaco in the Puna de Atacama of northern Chile, an effort motivated by video documentation of mice (genus Phyllotis) at a record altitude of 6,205m. Among numerous trapping records at altitudes of >5,000 m, we captured a specimen of the yellow-rumped leaf-eared mouse (Phyllotis xanthopygus rupestris) on the very summit of Llullaillaco at 6,739 m. This summit specimen represents an altitudinal world …
Biogeography, Morphology, And Systematics Of The Mountain Cottontail, Sylvilagus Nuttallii (Bachman, 1837), Mammalia: Lagomorpha: Leporidae,
2020
Portland State University
Biogeography, Morphology, And Systematics Of The Mountain Cottontail, Sylvilagus Nuttallii (Bachman, 1837), Mammalia: Lagomorpha: Leporidae, Johnnie H. French
Dissertations and Theses
Widespread species often present taxonomic conundrums: are they truly a single panmictic species, or, is the widespread species in fact a polytypic species complex constituted by independently evolving, morphologically or otherwise cryptic species? One such broadly distributed taxon is Sylvilagus nuttallii, with distribution across the western United States, ranging from South Dakota to California, and from Canada to Arizona. The three subspecies constituting S. nuttallii are, however, geographically isolated and it has been hypothesized that they likely constitute independent, species level taxa. However, that study examined only two of the three holotypes, rather than broader geographic and non-geographic variation. …
Spatiotemporal Genetic Diversity Of Lions Reveals The Influence Of Habitat Fragmentation Across Africa,
2020
Texas A&M University
Spatiotemporal Genetic Diversity Of Lions Reveals The Influence Of Habitat Fragmentation Across Africa, Caitlin J. Curry, Brian W. Davis, Laura D. Bertola, Paula A. White, William J. Murphy, James N. Derr
Publications and Research
Direct comparisons between historical and contemporary populations allow for detecting changes in genetic diversity through time and assessment of the impact of habitat fragmentation. Here, we determined the genetic architecture of both historical and modern lions to document changes in genetic diversity over the last century. We surveyed microsatellite and mitochondrial genome variation from 143 high-quality museum specimens of known provenance, allowing us to directly compare this information with data from several recently published nuclear and mitochondrial studies. Our results provide evidence for male-mediated gene flow and recent isolation of local subpopulations, likely due to habitat fragmentation. Nuclear markers showed …
The Mayfly Newsletter,
2020
The Permanent Committee of the International Conferences on Ephemeroptera
The Mayfly Newsletter, Donna Giberson
The Mayfly Newsletter
The Mayfly Newsletter is the official newsletter of the Permanent Committee of the International Conferences on Ephemeroptera.
A New Lesser Antillean Scorpion Of The Genus Didymocentrus Kraepelin, 1905 (Scorpiones: Diplocentridae),
2020
Marshall University
A New Lesser Antillean Scorpion Of The Genus Didymocentrus Kraepelin, 1905 (Scorpiones: Diplocentridae), Rolando Teruel, Karl Questel
Euscorpius
A new species of the diplocentrid scorpion of the genus Didymocentrus Kraepelin, 1905 is herein described from the Lesser Antillean island of Martinique. It long remained misidentified as Didymocentrus lesueurii (Gervais, 1844), the only species of this genus inhabiting the adjacent island of Saint Lucia. The direct comparison of adults of both sexes from these two islands revealed solid morphological characters, which warrant their recognition as two different taxa. Each one is endemic from a single major island, where it is widespread even in its satellite islets. This addition raises the known composition of the genus to 12 species, 10 …
Six New Species Of Orthochirus Karsch, 1892 From Iran (Scorpiones: Buthidae),
2020
Marshall University
Six New Species Of Orthochirus Karsch, 1892 From Iran (Scorpiones: Buthidae), František Kovařík, Shahrokh Navidpour
Euscorpius
Six new scorpion species from Iran, Orthochirus hormozganensis sp. n. (Hormozgan Province), O. kermanensis sp. n. (Kerman Province), O. kucerai sp. n. (Kerman Province), O. masihipouri sp. n. (Bushehr Province), O. semnanensis sp. n. (Semnan Province), and O. vignolii sp. n. (Yazd Province) are described, compared with other Iranian Orthochirus species, and fully illustrated with color photographs. A key and a distribution map of Orthochirus of Iran, Turkey, and Iraq (18 species) are included.
An Applied Ecology Of Fear Framework: Linking Theory To
Conservation Practice,
2020
University of California
An Applied Ecology Of Fear Framework: Linking Theory To Conservation Practice, Kaitlyn M. Gaynor, Michael J. Cherry, Sophie L. Gilbert, Michael T. Kohl, Courtney L. Larson, Thomas M. Newsome, Laura R. Prugh, Justin P. Suraci, Julie K. Young, Justine A. Smith
United States Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services: Staff Publications
Research on the ecology of fear has highlighted the importance of perceived risk from predators and humans in shaping animal behavior and physiology, with potential demographic and ecosystem-wide consequences. Despite recent conceptual advances and potential management implications of the ecology of fear, theory and conservation practices have rarely been linked. Many challenges in animal conservation may be alleviated by actively harnessing or compensating for risk perception and risk avoidance behavior in wild animal populations. Integration of the ecology of fear into conservation and management practice can contribute to the recovery of threatened populations, human–wildlife conflict mitigation, invasive species management, maintenance …
Frontal Vehicle Illumination Via Rear-Facing Lighting Reduces
Potential For Collisions With White-Tailed Deer,
2020
USDA/APHIS/WS National Wildlife Research Center
Frontal Vehicle Illumination Via Rear-Facing Lighting Reduces Potential For Collisions With White-Tailed Deer, Travis L. Devault, Thomas W. Seamans, Bradley Blackwell
United States Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services: Staff Publications
nimal–vehicle collisions cause many millions of animal deaths each year worldwide and present a substantial safety risk to people. In the United States and Canada, deer (Odocoileus spp.) are involved in most animal–vehicle collisions associated with human injuries. We evaluated a vehicle-based collision mitigation method designed to decrease the likelihood of deer–vehicle collisions during low-light conditions, when most collisions occur. Specifically, we investigated whether the use of a rear-facing light, providing more complete frontal vehicle illumination than standard headlights alone, enhanced vehicle avoidance behaviors of white-tailed deer (O. virginianus). We quantified flight initiation distance (FID), the likelihood …
