Behavior and Ethology Commons^™

Diurnal Habitat Selection Of Migrating Whooping Crane In The Great Plains, David M. Baasch, Patrick D. Farrell, Aaron T. Pearse, David A. Brandt, Andrew J. Caven, Mary J. Harner, Greg D. Wright, Kristine L. Metzger

United States Geological Survey, Northern Prairie Wildlife Research Center: Publications

Available stopover habitats with quality foraging opportunities are essential for migrating waterbirds, including Whooping Crane (Grus americana). Several studies have evaluated habitats used by Whooping Crane for roosting throughout its migration corridor; however, habitats associated with foraging and other diurnal activities have received less attention. We used data collected from 42 Whooping Crane individuals that included 2169 diurnal use locations within 395 stopover sites evaluated during spring 2013 to fall 2015 to assess diurnal habitat selection throughout the U.S. portion of the migration corridor. We found that Whooping Crane selected wetland land-cover types (i.e., open water, riverine, and semipermanent wetlands) …

Mortality In Aransas-Wood Buffalo Whooping Cranes: Timing, Location, And Causes, Aaron T. Pearse, David A. Brandt, Barry K. Hartup, Mark T. Bidwell

United States Geological Survey, Northern Prairie Wildlife Research Center: Publications

The Aransas-Wood Buffalo Population (AWBP) of Whooping Cranes (Grus americana) has experienced a population growth rate of approximately 4% for multiple decades (Butler et al., 2014a; Miller et al., 1974). Population growth for long-lived species of birds is generally highly sensitive to variation in adult mortality rates (Sæther and Bakke, 2000). A population model for endangered Red-crowned Cranes (Grus japonensis) in Japan conforms to this pattern, where growth rate is most sensitive to adult mortality (Masatomi et al., 2007). Earlier analyses observed that the AWBP growth rate increased in the mid-1950s and that this increase was likely caused by reduced …

U.S. Geological Survey- Northern Prairie Wildlife Research Center 2017 Research Activity Report, Mark H. Sherfy

United States Geological Survey, Northern Prairie Wildlife Research Center: Publications

Contents

Acknowledgments...............................................................................iii

Center Mission and Science Strategy...............................................................1

Lines of Work..................................................................................2

Study Narratives.................................................................................16

The Effects Of Forest Gaps On Animal Communication Networks, Cedar Arran Mathers-Winn

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

To avoid predation, many animals have evolved complex systems of anti-predator communication. Alarm calls are a key component of anti-predator behavior in many birds, and can provide detailed information about predators. Additionally, many birds and mammals produce and respond to each other’s alarm calls, creating a complex communication network. Furthermore, individuals may give alarm calls in response to the alarm calls of others nearby, without actually seeing a predator. This makes possible the spatial spread of alarm information, which can result in complex communication networks extending over a large area. However, this requires suitable habitat in which birds will be …

Shaping The Tools Of Battle : Sexual Selection, Contest Dynamics, And Weapon Divergence In The Asian Rhinoceros Beetle Trypoxylus Dichotomus, Jillian F. Del Sol

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

Exaggerated weapons of sexual selection often diverge more rapidly and dramatically than other body parts, suggesting that relevant agents of selection may be discernible in contemporary populations. I examined the ecology, reproductive behavior, and strength of sexual selection on horn length in five recently diverged beetle populations that differ in relative horn size. I show that mating system ecology differs between these locations and corresponds with the local strength of contemporary selection on horn length. Comparisons of ecological conditions and selection strength across populations offer a critical first step towards meaningfully linking mating system dynamics, selection patterns, and diversity in …

Behavioral Assessment Of Social Structure And Guest Provisioning Program Participation Of Zoo-Housed Giraffes (Giraffa Camelopardalis) Under Varying Spatial Availability., Fatima Ramis

UNF Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Close encounters with animals are considered integral for visitors and are trademark components of traditional educational engagement in zoological parks. As capacity for up-close encounters continue to increase with a simultaneous development in the field of animal welfare science, behavioral assessments on the role of common close encounters is timely. Giraffes (Giraffa camelopardalis) visitor feeding programs are established in approximately 57% of institutions accredited by Association of Zoos and Aquariums. Due to successful breeding and capacity building for zoological giraffe populations, this percentage will likely continue to increase. There is a great deal of variation in the environmental …

Spatiotemporal Variability In Winter Severity: Consequences For White-Tailed Deer Populations And Habitat Sustainability, Grace Parikh

Dissertations, Master's Theses and Master's Reports

Winter in the northern Great Lakes presents a suite of challenging conditions for animals, in terms of limited food availability and increased energetic cost of locomotion and thermoregulation. Variable winter severity is liable to cause interannual fluctuations in habitat viability and use by animals, in addition to modulating physiological responses in animals to conserve energy. For example, white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus) congregate at high densities under eastern hemlock (Tsuga canadensis) or northern white-cedar (Thuja occidentalis) stands, which provide forage, thermal cover, reduced snow depth, and enhanced vigilance. However, a suite of climatic, edaphic, and …

Moral Relevance Of Cognitive Complexity, Empathy And Species Differences In Suffering, John Lazarus

Animal Sentience

I qualify two criticisms made by commentators on Chapman & Huffman’s target article. Responding to the view that differences between humans and other animals are irrelevant to deciding how we should treat other species, I point out that differences between any species in their capacity to suffer are morally relevant. And in response to the claim that suffering is the sole criterion for the moral treatment of animals, I argue that cognitive complexity and a capacity for empathy also have moral relevance to the extent that they influence suffering.

Happy Or Hangry Families: Does Kinship Mediate Cooperation And Cannibalism In Drosophila Melanogaster Larvae?, Lucas Khodaei

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

The fruit fly Drosophila melanogaster has a long history as a research model for studies on behaviour and group dynamics. When individuals are grouped in an environment and resources decrease, then they may behave co-operatively with one another or antagonistically compete. Hamilton’s Law states that if the benefit of helping a related individual out-weighs the cost to its direct fitness, then the individual’s indirect fitness will increase when they help their kin compared to helping an unrelated stranger. Yet it is unknown whether kinship mediates larval behaviour to encourage co-operation and/or lessen antagonistic behaviours between consanguineous individuals. In this thesis …

Implications Of Spatially Variable Costs And Habitat Conversion Risk In Landscape-Scale Conservation Planning, Max Post Van Der Burg, Neil Chartier, Ryan Drum

United States Geological Survey, Northern Prairie Wildlife Research Center: Publications

‘‘Strategic habitat conservation’’ refers to a process used by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to develop cost-efficient strategies for conserving wildlife populations and their habitats. Strategic habitat conservation focuses on resolving uncertainties surrounding habitat conservation to meet specific wildlife population objectives (i.e., targets) and developing tools to guide where conservation actions should be focused on the landscape. Although there are examples of using optimization models to highlight where conservation should be delivered, such methods often do not explicitly account for spatial variation in the costs of conservation actions. Furthermore, many planning approaches assume that habitat protection is a preferred …

Impacts Of Ammonia And Temperature On Freshwater Snail Behavior And Physiology., Megan Christine Dewhatley

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Gastropods are one of the most imperiled groups of animals in North America, yet there are major gaps in the literature pertaining to pollutants and climate change, and especially sublethal impacts. This dissertation assesses the effects of climate warming and unionized ammonia (NH₃), one of the most abundant water pollutants, on the behavior and physiology of two caenogastropod snails: fine-ridged elimia (Elimia semicarinata) and Shawnee rocksnails (Lithasia obovata) (Gastropoda: Neotaenioglossa: Pleuroceridae). Righting behavior, or the movement used by snails to turn themselves right-side-up, was used as the main endpoint; delays in this behavior compromise …

Safety, Stephen M. Vantassel, Brenda K. Osthus

Wildlife Damage Management Technical Series

Wildlife damage management (WDM) is an exciting field with many opportunities to provide solutions to the complex issues involved in human-wildlife interactions. In addition, WDM wildlife control operators (WCO) face a variety of threats to their physical well-being. Injuries can result from misused (Figure 1), faulty, or poorly maintained equipment, inexperience, mishandled wildlife, harsh weather, and dangerous situations, such as electrical lines. The goals of this publication are to: * Develop an awareness of safety issues and adopt a mindset of “Safety First”, * Review the major safety threats that WCOs face, * Provide basic information for WCOs to protect …

Behavioral Insights Into Nociceptor Function: A Systematic Approach To Understanding Postsurgical And Neuropathic Pain Mechanisms In Rats, Max Odem

Dissertations and Theses (Open Access)

Postsurgical and neuropathic pain are each clinically common, and often associated with ongoing pain. Ongoing pain has been linked to ongoing activity (OA) in human C-fiber nociceptors. Preclinical studies using rodent neuropathic models have concentrated on allodynia driven by OA generated in non-nociceptive Aβ fibers, but little attention has been paid to postsurgical pain in sham controls or to C-fiber nociceptor OA promoting ongoing pain.

Operant assays that reveal negative motivational and cognitive aspects of voluntary pain-related behavior may be particularly sensitive to pain-related alterations. In the mechanical conflict (MC) test, rodents can freely choose to escape from a brightly …

Effect Of Reinforcement Selection On Mate Selection Rates Of Gambusia Affinis And Gambusia Holbrooki, Molly Stephens

Honors Theses

This study was conducted in order to investigate the effects that reinforcement selection has on non-hybridized and hybridized populations of two separate species of Gambusia (G. affinis and G. holbrooki). In order to examine if organisms from a population that had been previously exposed to hybridization would choose mates so as to not produce species hybrid offspring, 29 trials consisting of 9 different mate preference combinations and 87 individuals were recorded and analyzed. Once mate preference was determined for each female used in each trial, the effect that reproductive isolation had on reinforcement in hybrid zones was analyzed. The results …

Prairie Reconstruction Unpredictability And Complexity: What Is The Rate Of Reconstruction Failures?, Jack E. Norland, Cami Dixon, Diane Larson, Kristine Askerooth, Benjamin A. Geaumont

United States Geological Survey, Northern Prairie Wildlife Research Center: Publications

The outcomes of prairie reconstructions are subject to both unpredictability and complexity. Prairie, tallgrass, and mixed grass reconstruction is defined as the planting of a native herbaceous seed mixture composed of multiple prairie species (10 or more) in an area where the land has been heavily cultivated or anthropogenically disturbed. Because of the unpredictability and complexity inherent in reconstructions, some outcomes end up being failures dominated by exotic species. We propose that these failures follow a fat-tailed distribution as found in other complex systems. Fat-tailed distributions follow the Pareto principle, where 80% of the time reconstructions work as expected but …

Fall Migration And Winter Habitat Use Of Northern Saw-Whet Owls (Aegolius Acadicus) In The Ozark Highlands, Mitchell L. Pruitt

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Studying movement ecology is important not only in understanding the distribution of a species, but in understanding the magnitude of migration through certain regions, as well as explaining regional differences in demographics. The Northern Saw-whet Owl (Aegolius acadicus) is a small, migratory forest owl found throughout much of North America. Despite being captured widely during fall migration, the species’ movement ecology is poorly understood. Exploratory studies outside the saw-whet owl’s normal range have successfully captured the species during fall migration. In the Ozark Highlands ecoregion of the central United States, their status has been considered vagrant during fall and winter. …

Effect Of Macrograzers (Campostoma Spp. And Faxonius Spp.) On Periphyton In Ozark Streams With Considerations Given To Macrograzer Biomass, Phosphorus, And Season: Mensurative And Manipulative Studies, Kayla R. Sayre

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Nutrient and benthic algal biomass relationships can guide numeric nutrient criteria development in lotic systems. However, herbivorous macrograzers may confound this relationship by reducing the slope of the positive relationship between nutrients and periphyton biomass in streams. I conducted a mensurative field study to determine if stoneroller and crayfish abundance related to algal biomass at varying nutrient concentrations and manipulated macrograzer presence with electrical exclosures in streams to examine macrograzer effects on algal biomass and understand whether these effects on periphyton varied with total phosphorus (TP) or season. Macrograzer density was quantified across a TP gradient (n=15 streams; range = …

A Tale Of Two Butterflies: The Effect Of Larval Social Environment And Circadian Rhythms On Mating Behavior In Bicyclus Anynana And Heliconius Hewitsoni, Deonna Nicole Robertson

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Two key components of mate choice research focus on: 1) who an organism mates with, which may be influenced by any number of factors from sexual ornamentation to male-male competition; and, 2) when an organism courts, be it daily, monthly, or seasonally. Both aspects are especially important for gregarious species as mistakes in either can incur high costs to overall fitness. My research focuses on using butterflies to explore kin recognition from the larval stage and its possible impacts on adult mate choice and if courtship is circadian in Heliconius hewitsoni. My first experiment concerned kin recognition. When inbred, Bicyclus …

Courtship Behavior, Communication, And Copulation In Tigrosa Annexa, Samuel White

Scholars Week

The evolution of multimodal communication, where signalers use multiple signal components in multiple sensory modalities, has become the subject of investigation by many researchers. Signaling puts males at risk of predation, so why do males of some species evolve extra signals that may increase this risk? In some wolf spider species, males incorporate many visual and vibrational signals into a display that they use to attract a female for mating. Female spiders are often aggressive toward courting males and so the male display also functions to decrease the odds of cannibalism. Female wandering spiders deposit silk containing pheromones that communicate …

Does Experience With Sagebrush In Utero And Early In Life Influence Use Of Sagebrush By Sheep?, Juan J. Villalba, Fred Provenza, Ashley Longmore

Poisonous Plant Research (PPR)

Learning from mother begins early in the developmental process and can have lifelong effects when it comes to foraging behavior. Pregnancy is not just an incubation period but a starting point for animal well-being and disease later in life. A better understanding of the effects that early exposure to unpalatable feeds impinges on their use later in life may help create management plans that utilize grazing animals to their full potential as landscape manipulators.

Thus, the objective of this research was to explore how experience in utero and early in life with sagebrush (Artemesia tridentata spp. tridentata) -a …