Behavior and Ethology Commons^™

Msis-Udiani: Tactics And Trade-Offs: The Evolution Of Host Resource Provisioning In Microbiome Management, Oyita Udiani, Nina Fefferman

Annual Symposium on Biomathematics and Ecology Education and Research

No abstract provided.

Book Review: Habitantes De La Obscuridad (Fauna Ibero-Balear De Las Cuevas) – Inhabitants Of The Darkness (Ibero-Baleric Fauna Of Caves), Oana Teodora Moldovan

International Journal of Speleology

NA

Observations On A 40-Year January Bird Census In Boone County, Nebraska, 1978–2017, Wayne Mollhoff

Zea E-Books Collection

For 40 years Wayne Mollhoff conducted a personal bird census every January. He explains: "After having run several Breeding Bird Survey routes, and participated in several Christmas Bird Counts, I became curious to see what might be found on a winter count under the more tightly controlled parameters of a census, as contrasted with Christmas counts done with variable numbers of observers."

The count was set up similarly to the USGS Breeding Bird Survey routes with 50 stops, one-half mile (800 meters) apart, all birds counted for 3 minutes, with birds counted at one stop not counted again at following …

Parasites Versus Predation: The Role Of Chronic And Acute Parasite Exposure In Infection Risk And Anti-Predator Behavior, Delaney Farrell

All HCAS Student Capstones, Theses, and Dissertations

Parasites with complex, multi-host lifecycles often engage in host behavior manipulation to increase transmission between successive hosts. In intermediate fish hosts, previous research has measured increased frequency of conspicuous behaviors, decreased swimming performance, and reduced antipredator behavior, which would collectively increase the fish’s risk of predation. In ecosystems where this type of parasite increased trophic transmission (PITT) occurs, parasites can play a substantial role in food webs. In this study, I investigate how chronic versus acute exposure to the trematode Euhaplorchis sp. A. affects the antipredator behavior of the Gulf killifish Fundulus grandis. Using a fully crossed design, I …

Tropical Understory And Canopy Twig Ants (Pseudomyrmex): Natural History, Sensory Homing, And Neuroecology., Daniella Prince

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

In this dissertation, I examined the behavior of foraging twig ants, explored the sensory profile of their homing behavior, and investigated the role of habitat use in shaping the sensory neurobiology of species within the genus Pseudomyrmex (Hymenoptera: Formicidae). In chapter one, I reviewed the ecology of Pseudomyrmex, and introduced the focal species, P. boopis, a neotropical understory-dwelling twig ant. In chapter two, I described the natural history of P. boopis on Barro Colorado Island, Panama—specifically, their nesting habits, activity rhythm, and foraging behavior on understory surfaces. Pseudomyrmex boopis colonies were diurnal and nested in dead twigs in …

Characterization Of Antimicrobial Properties Of Excrement And Functional Microbiome Of Black Vultures (Coragyps Atratus), Bridgette Gray

Theses

Black vultures, Coragyps atratus, are obligate scavenging birds that consume and dispose of decaying carcasses and carrion. They fulfill a key ecological niche in the environments in which they live. It has been observed that these vultures sometimes excrete bodily waste onto their legs. This adaptive behavior could help aid them in controlling bacteria and other microbes they encounter while stepping into a carcass to eat. This study directly examined the antimicrobial properties of the excrement of black vultures across various bacterial species utilizing a zone of inhibition test and a nematode species utilizing a survival assay. The black vulture …

Westward Expansion Of The Evening Bat (Nycticeius Humeralis) Into Dawson And Lincoln Counties Of Central Nebraska, Jamila Bajelan, Keith Geluso

Transactions of the Nebraska Academy of Sciences and Affiliated Societies

The Evening Bat (Nycticeius humeralis) is a small, migratory species of temperate woodlands in the eastern United States. Along its western distributional edge in the Great Plains, this species resides in wooded riverine corridors. In recent decades, the distribution of Evening Bats has expanded westward throughout the Great Plains. Herein, we report on two county records that further document the distributional expansion of Evening Bats into central Nebraska. In 2019 and 2022, Evening Bats were collected in Lincoln and Dawson counties, respectively, in woodlands adjacent to the Platte River. Increases in wooded habitats along prairie waterways likely has …

Effects Of 11-Kt And Prolactin On Gene Expression, Parental Care Behaviour And Immune Response In Male Bluegill Sunfish., Adriano A P Da Cunha

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

Parental care is very critical for reproduction in species that provide it. Hormones such as prolactin and androgens play a crucial role in parenting and reproductive behaviours. In mammals and birds, prolactin’s role in parental care is well-established; it stimulates milk production and stimulates attachment to newborns by its release in the preoptic area of the hypothalamus (POA), among other functions. Androgens, on the other hand, are commonly associated with male secondary sex characteristics, territoriality, and aggressiveness in mammals and birds. There are similar reports of prolactin and androgen effects in fish, but there are fewer studies. I investigated if …

Social Tolerance, Cooperation, And Constraint Shape Differentiated Social Relationships In Female Chimpanzees, Stephanie Fox

Anthropology ETDs

In this dissertation, I investigate variables that promote and constrain female-female social relationships in chimpanzees, a species where females disperse at sexual maturity, reside primarily among non-kin as adults, and where fission fusion social structure can reveal how female social behavior responds to different social contexts. I conducted my research using a combination of detailed behavioural data that I collected during a one-year field season (2019-2020) and long-term data (2010-2019) collected by the Kibale Chimpanzee Project. I show that female chimpanzees form stable, differentiated social relationships, which reflect active preferences and variation in social tolerance (Chapter 2); females leverage these …

Modulatory Effects Of Schreckstoff On The Startle Escape Response Of Goldfish (Carassius Auratus), Denis Shor

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

Fish face a variety of stressors in nature, a prominent one being a predatory threat to which they respond with an adaptive behavioral response thus maximizing their chances of survival. A primary anti-predatory behavior is a startle response or C-start. This behavior is controlled by two large reticulospinal neurons, the Mauthner cells (M-cells) which integrate multimodal sensory inputs. Detecting a predator involves various sensory information such as visual and mechanosensory cues but also olfaction. Indeed, following an attack, an injured fish will release an alarm pheromone (Schreckstoff) and thus acutely alert close by conspecifics. However, whether the alarm pheromone in …

Statistical And Biological Analyses Of Acoustic Signals In Estrildid Finches, Moises Rivera

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

Acoustic communication is a process that involves auditory perception and signal processing. Discrimination and recognition further require cognitive processes and supporting mechanisms in order to successfully identify and appropriately respond to signal senders. Although acoustic communication is common across birds, classical research has largely disregarded the perceptual abilities of perinatal altricial taxa. Chapter 1 reviews the literature of perinatal acoustic stimulation in birds, highlighting the disproportionate focus on precocial birds (e.g., chickens, ducks, quails). The long-held belief that altricial birds were incapable of acoustic perception in ovo was only recently overturned, as researchers began to find behavioral and physiological evidence …

Top Down Effects And Resource Selection By Coyotes In South Carolina, Alex Jensen

All Dissertations

Top predators play important roles in functioning ecosystems, including regulating the populations of prey species and competing with other predators. However, in the face of global change, many top terrestrial predators have declined in both range and abundance, making room for some smaller predators to expand into new niches. Coyotes (Canis latrans) in North America are a prime example of this – they have rapidly expanded their range in the last 120 years, raising concerns about their impacts on both domestic and wild species. In eastern North America, research has centered around their effects on white-tailed deer ( …

Drivers Of White-Tailed Deer (Odocoileus Virginianus) Behavior, Survival, And Population Growth In The Piedmont Of South Carolina, Michael Muthersbaugh

All Dissertations

Prey species adjust behaviors in response to various stimuli, responding to both top-down and bottom-up pressures. Large herbivores must attempt to avoid predation either through adjusting behaviors or seeking spatial or temporal refugia, which can scale up to influence individual fitness and ultimately population dynamics. Specifically, predation risk has a great potential to influence ungulate populations by impacting behaviors and survival. Our objective was to quantify ungulate behavioral and population response to a regionally important predator through a case study – white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus) responses to coyotes (Canis latrans) on private lands in the Piedmont …

Urbanization Affects Web Abundance And Aggregation Of A Funnel‑Weaving Spider, Agelenopsis Pennsylvanica (Agelenidae), Brandi J. Pessman, Madison Hays, Earl Agpawa, Eileen Hebets

Eileen Hebets Publications

Animals distribute themselves within habitats based on a variety of environmental conditions, including those impacted by urbanization. Suspected global declines in urban arthropod biodiversity have required that we examine how urban conditions affect the distribution of this ecologically important group. Throughout North America, funnel-weaving spiders (Agelenidae) are prevalent across urban habitats and actively choose sites to build webs. We compared Agelenopsis pennsylvanica abundance and distribution between two distinct urban habitats: an urban center (university campus) and an urban forest (city park). These urban habitats differed significantly in features like plant diversity and proximity to roads and highways. We searched along …

Effects Of Maternal Disease History On Provisioning, Brooding, And Offspring Outcomes, Sakura Roberts

Biological Sciences Undergraduate Honors Theses

Disease within a population has the ability to shape the development, evolution, and general performance of a species. Pathogen exposure to hosts can influence their physiology and behavioral patterns to further shape offspring immunity. Parental conditions experienced by offspring during early development can benefit survival and fitness (e.g. increasing provisioning rates), as well as help deter against similar diseases experienced by parents. By testing if parental behavior changes can better prepare offspring outcomes for disease exposure, such as disease severity or duration of infection, we can see the beneficial impacts it has on disease dynamics and host-pathogen processes. Incubation temperature, …

Communication Distance Predicts Territory Size For An Urban Songbird, Ruth A. Simberloff

Masters Theses

Many studies demonstrate that urban noise interferes with animal communication by masking acoustic signals such as birdsong, but the functional consequences of impaired communication are still not well understood. Although many bird species sing at higher amplitude in noise pollution, communication distance is still reduced in noisy urban soundscapes. Song is a long-distance signal that functions to attract a mate and defend a territory, so a reduction in communication distance could negatively influence a male’s reproductive or competitive success. Reduced territorial success could manifest as more frequent territorial intrusions, reduced territory quality, or reduced territory size. We examined the relationship …

Factors That Affect Home Range Of Timber Rattlesnakes (Crotalus Horridus) In Northwest Arkansas, Bannon Gallaher

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Conservation of animal populations requires knowledge of their habitat and spatial needs. Quantifying spatial requirements involves the analysis of home range. We examined the effects of sex, body size (SVL), body condition (log mass/log SVL), and year on home range in Timber Rattlesnakes (Crotalus horridus) in Northwest Arkansas. Individual locality data from an ongoing, 22+ year radio-telemetry study in Madison Co., Arkansas were analyzed using both minimum convex polygon (MCP) and Kernel Density Estimates (KDE). Plots of the number of sequential observations versus home range (MCP and KDE) determined that a minimum of 25 locations per individual per active season …

Hippopotamus (Hippopotamus Amphibius) Aggressive Behaviors In The Retima Hippo Pool, Orangi River, Tanzania, Lydia Hoffman, Connor Veldman

Celebrating Scholarship and Creativity Day (2018-)

Hippopotamuses (Hippopotamus amphibius) are known to forage on land during the night and spend the daytime in shallow pools to thermoregulate and to protect their skin from UV radiation. Daily use of pools may lead to competition for space and facilitate aggressive interactions between hippopotamuses. In this study, we looked at the difference in occurrence of aggressive behavior in the morning and evening hours between hippopotamuses (hippos). Our hypothesis was that hippos will be more aggressive at different times of the day, and we predicted that the higher aggressive activity will be in the morning hours, as hippos …

Exploring Host-Parasite Interactions In The Euhaplorchis Californiensis-Fundulus Parvipinnis System, Bennett J. Perry

All HCAS Student Capstones, Theses, and Dissertations

Parasites with complex life-cycles may alter their intermediate host’s phenotype to increase the chance of successful transmission to their next host. This parasite-induced host modification often occurs in the form of behavioral changes, such as increased frequency of irregular locomotor behaviors (e.g., conspicuous behaviors), particularly in systems where the parasite is transmitted trophically through a predation event. However, most empirical evidence of host behavioral modification by parasites comes from a few model host-parasite systems and are frequently studied following a stressor (e.g., simulated predator attack). One host species studied is the California killifish Fundulus parvipinnis, which is infected by …

Age And Sex Differences In Stopover Behaviours And Flight Performance In Black-Throated Blue Warblers, Patricia Rokitnicki

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

Differential migration by sex and age is commonly observed in passerines. Previous studies have found differences in wing morphology between sex and age classes which could affect their movement ecology. In this thesis, I examine whether migratory stopover duration and nocturnal flight speeds differed between age and sex classes in 89 Black-throated Blue Warblers (Setophaga caerulescens) using movement data obtained by Motus Wildlife Tracking System and meteorological data from the NCEP/NCAR Reanalysis II project. Second year birds (hatched during the previous breeding season) had longer stopovers but similar post-departure movements to after second year birds (hatched before the last breeding …