Behavior and Ethology Commons^™

High Levels Of Maternally Transferred Mercury Do Not Affect Reproductive Output Or Embryonic Survival Of Northern Watersnakes (Nerodia Sipedon), S Y. Chinn, J D. Willson, Daniel A. Cristol, D V.V. Drewett, W A. Hopkins

Arts & Sciences Articles

No abstract provided.

Inter-Observer Reliability Of Qualitative Behavioural Assessments Of Sheep, Clare Phythian, Eleni Michalopoulou, Jennifer Duncan, Françoise Wemelsfelder

Sentience Collection

Qualitative Behaviour Assessment (QBA) is whole-animal methodology that assesses the expressive qualities of animal demeanour using descriptors such as ‘relaxed’, ‘anxious’ or ‘content’. This study aimed to examine the inter-observer reliability of 12 fixed-list QBA descriptors for sheep that had been generated in a previous Free-Choice Profiling study by experienced animal welfare inspectors, based on the same video footage used in the current study. The 12 QBA terms were scored by two different assessor groups consisting of two veterinary science students and four veterinary surgeons (Group 1), and seven farm assurance inspectors (Group 2). The two assessor groups met and …

Application Of Qualitative Behavioural Assessment To Horses During An Endurance Ride, Patricia A. Fleming, Cheree L. Paisley, Anne L. Barnes, Françoise Wemelsfelder

Sentience Collection

Endurance horses are considered subject to a unique set of training and competing pressures due to the long distances travelled. The health and welfare of these horses could be compromised if they have not been adequately trained or are pushed beyond their limits, and there are increasing concerns regarding the capacity of horses to cope with the exercise demands placed on them, with high elimination rates for lameness and metabolic reasons. Veterinary inspections during these rides are important for assessing physiological measures, but the inclusion of behavioural assessments is also warranted. We investigated the application of Qualitative Behavioural Assessment (QBA) …

Pattern Of Social Interactions After Group Integration: A Possibility To Keep Stallions In Group, Sabrina Briefer Freymond, Elodie F. Briefer, Rudolf Von Niederhäusern, Iris Bachmann

Ethology Collection

Horses are often kept in individual stables, rather than in outdoor groups, despite such housing system fulfilling many of their welfare needs, such as the access to social partners. Keeping domestic stallions in outdoor groups would mimic bachelor bands that are found in the wild. Unfortunately, the high level of aggression that unfamiliar stallions display when they first encounter each other discourages owners from keeping them in groups. However, this level of aggression is likely to be particularly important only during group integration, when the dominance hierarchy is being established, whereas relatively low aggression rates have been observed among stable …

The Fish Assemblages Inside And Outside Of A Temperate Marine Reserve In Southern California, John T. Froeschke, Larry G. Allen, Daniel J. Pondella Ii

Daniel Pondella

The purpose of this investigation was to evaluate the effect of a small marine reserve (established 1988) on a temperate rocky reef fish assemblage at Santa Catalina Island, California. Fish surveys on SCUBA were conducted at two reserve and two non-reserve sites from October 2002 to January 2004. Sites were similar in fish density, species richness and biomass of the entire fish assemblage. However, the adult densities of two important fishery species, California sheephead (Semicossyphus pulcher; 7.6 0.5 and 5.5 0.4/100 m2 inside versus outside) and kelp bass (Paralabrax clathratus; 3.6 0.4 and 2.9 0.4 inside versus outside), were significantly …

Long-Term Data For Endemic Frog Genera Reveal Potential Conservation Crisis In The Bale Mountains, Ethiopia, David J. Gower, Roman K. Aberra, Silvia Schwaller, Malcolm J. Largen, Ben Collen, Stephen Spawls, Michele Menegon, Breda M. Zimkus, Rafael O. De Sá, Et Al.

Biology Faculty Publications

Populations of many frogs have declined alarmingly in recent years, placing nearly one third of the > 6,000 species under threat of extinction. Declines have been attributed largely to habitat loss, environmental degradation and/or infectious diseases such as chytridiomycosis. Many frogs undergo dramatic natural population fluctuations such that long-term data are required to determine population trends without undue influence of stochastic factors. We present long-term quantitative data (individuals encountered per person hour of searching) for four monotypic frog genera endemic to an Afromontane region of exceptional importance but growing conservation concern: one endemic to the Ethiopian highlands (Spinophrynoides osgoodi) and three …

The Problem Of Too Many Statistical Tests: Subgroup Analyses In A Study Comparing The Effectiveness Of Online And Live Lectures, David M. Lane

Numeracy

The more statistical analyses performed in the analysis of research data, the more likely it is that one or more of the conclusions will be in error. Multiple statistical analyses can occur when the sample contains several subgroups and the researchers perform separate analyses for each subgroup. For example, separate analyses may be done for different ethnic groups, different levels of education, and/or for both genders. Media reports of research frequently omit information on the number of subgroup analyses performed thus leaving the reader with insufficient information to assess the validity of the conclusions. This article discusses the problems with …

Interactions Between Pieris Oleracea And Pieris Rapae (Lepidoptera: Pieridae) Butterflies, And The Biological Control Agents Cotesia Glomerata And Cotesia Rubecula (Hymenoptera: Braconidae)., Megan V. Herlihy

Masters Theses 1911 - February 2014

Pieris oleracea, formerly Pieries napi, was once a widespread pierid butterfly in New England until the introduction of a biological control agent, Cotesia glomerata. It has been suggested that C. glomerata is responsible for the range reduction of P. oleracea. There are been several introductions of a second more specialized biological control agent, Cotesia rubecula, to the United States since the 1960’s. My first goal was to determine the current distribution and status of P. rapae parasitoids and the effectiveness of C. rubecula as a biological control agent since its release. The findings of a survey …

Changing Room Cues Reduces The Effects Of Proactive Interference In Clark’S Nutcrackers, Nucifraga Columbiana, Jody L. Lewis, Alan C. Kamil, Kate E. Webbink

Avian Cognition Papers

To determine what factors are important for minimizing interference effects in spatial memory, Clark’s Nutcrackers, Nucifraga columbiana were tested for their spatial memory for two serial lists of locations per day. In this experiment two unique landmark sets were either different between List 1 and List 2 or the same. We found that Nutcrackers were most susceptible to interference when the landmark sets were the same. This study suggests that repeatedly testing animal memory in the same room, with the same cues, can hamper recall due to interference.

No Evidence For A Relationship Between Hemolymph Ecdysteroid Levels And Female Reproductive Behavior In Schizocosa Wolf Spiders, Reed M. Stubbendieck, Anthony J. Zera, Eileen A. Hebets

Eileen Hebets Publications

This study used radioimmunoassay (RIA) to explore the relationship between levels of hemolymph ecdysteroids and female reproductive behavior in Schizocosa wolf spiders. Specifically, we investigated the relationship between circulating ecdysteroid concentrations in females and 1) likelihood to copulate, or female receptivity [Experiment I— Schizocosa avida (Walckenaer 1837)], 2) time post copulation (Experiment 2— Schizocosa rovneri Uetz & Dondale 1979) and 3) exposure to conspecific male courtship (Experiment 3— Schizocosa uetzi Stratton 1997). In Experiment 1, we expected higher levels of circulating ecdysteroids in receptive versus unreceptive females, based upon prior research demonstrating an increase in receptivity following injections of 20-hydroexyedysone …

Diversification Under Sexual Selection: The Relative Roles Of Mate Preference Strength And The Degree Of Divergence In Mate Preferences, Rafael L. Rodríguez, Janette W. Boughman, David A. Gray, Eileen A. Hebets, Gerlinde Höbel, Laurel B. Symes

Eileen Hebets Publications

The contribution of sexual selection to diversification remains poorly understood after decades of research. This may be in part because studies have focused predominantly on the strength of sexual selection, which offers an incomplete view of selection regimes. By contrast, students of natural selection focus on environmental differences that help compare selection regimes across populations. To ask how this disparity in focus may affect the conclusions of evolutionary research, we relate the amount of diversification in mating displays to quantitative descriptions of the strength and the amount of divergence in mate preferences across a diverse set of case studies of …

Phototactic Behaviour Of Subterranean Copionodontinae Pinna, 1992 Catfishes (Siluriformes, Trichomycteridae) From Chapada Diamantina, Central Bahia, Northeastern Brazil, Bianca Rantin, Maria Elina Bichuette

International Journal of Speleology

The phototactic behaviour of three Copionodontinae (Trichomycteridae) catfish species (two troglobites and one epigean) from Chapada Diamantina was studied in order to detect modifications related to isolation in the subterranean environment. Differences in response under different luminosities were detected and, unlike other cavefish, Copionodontinae cave species have shown to be more photophobic than the epigean syntopic to them. The troglobitic Glaphyropoma spinosum is the most photophobic, presenting this behaviour under all light intensities, and more homogeneous regarding morphological characters. It suggests that this population is probably isolated for a longer time in the subterranean environment compared to Copionodon sp. n., …

Assumptions In Animal Cognition Research, Kristin Andrews, Brian Huss

Psychology Collection

No abstract provided.

Age Structure Of Moose (Alces Alces) Killed By Gray Wolves (Canis Lupus) In Northeastern Minnesota, 1967–2011, L. David Mech, Michael E. Nelson

USGS Northern Prairie Wildlife Research Center

The ages of 77 adult Moose (Alces alces) killed by gray Wolves (Canis lupus) during the period 1967–2011 in northeastern Minnesota were significantly older than those of a sample of 17 585 Moose killed by hunters in nearby Ontario. Our findings support those of earlier studies of protected Moose populations in national parks that found that gray Wolves tend to kill disproportionately more older Moose.

Real And Perceived Damage By Wild Turkeys: A Literature Review, Scott R. Groepper, Scott E. Hygnstrom Dr, Brandon Houck, Stephen M. Vantassel

Scott R Groepper

As populations of wild turkeys (Meleagris gallopavo) have increased, the number of complaints about damage has increased. We conducted a literature review to determine real and perceived damage caused by wild turkeys in North America. Wild turkeys can cause damage to agricultural crops, such as corn (Zea mays L.), soybeans (Glycine max [L.] Merrill), wheat, and hay crops but the majority of actual damage is usually minor or caused by other wildlife, thus estimates of damage by wild turkeys often are inflated. Occasionally, wild turkeys damage specialty crops, turfgrass, or ornamental flowers that may have higher value than common agricultural …

Review Of Mark Bekoff's Ignoring Nature No More: The Case For Compassionate Conservation, Ian Werkheiser

Ian Werkheiser

No abstract provided.

Divergence In Thyroid Hormone Concentrations Between Juveniles Of Marine And Stream Ecotypes Of The Threespine Stickleback (Gasterosteus Aculeatus), Jun Kitano, Sean C. Lema

Sean Lema

Background: Hormones regulate the expression of multiple phenotypic traits. Therefore,

divergence in hormone concentrations may lead to evolutionary changes in the coordinated

physiological and behavioural traits that comprise an organism’s integrated phenotype. Adults

of marine ecotypes of threespine stickleback (Gasterosteus aculeatus) have higher concentrations

of the thyroid hormone thyroxine (T4) than adults of stream-resident ecotypes (Kitano

et al., 2010). Thyroid hormones are well-established mediators of osmoregulation and migratory

behaviours in fish, and the difference in T4 concentrations indicates that changes in thyroid

hormone signalling may underlie the evolutionary and ecological divergence of migratory and

non-migratory ecotypes.

Questions: Is the variation …

Cowbird Behavioral Responses To Lights Tuned To Their Visual System: Implications For Bird-Aircraft Collisions, Megan S. Doppler

Open Access Theses

Collisions between birds and aircraft cause extensive monetary expenses and are a risk to human lives, as well as the lives of endangered and threatened birds. Birds are highly visual organisms with visual system substantially different from humans. Previously, studies show that the use of white broad-spectrum lights have the potential to enhance bird avoidance behavior; however, no study has investigated the effects of light colors that would be more salient from the avian perspective. The purpose of this project was to assess detection and avoidance responses of brown-headed cowbirds exposed to a radio-controlled (RC) aircraft with a lighting system …

Selective Utilization Of Microhabitats By Web-Building Spiders, Kelton D. Welch

Theses and Dissertations--Entomology

Natural enemies are members of complex ecological communities, and their ability to contribute to the biological control of pest organisms is strongly influenced by a convoluted network of ecological interactions with many other organisms within these communities. Researchers must develop an understanding of the mechanisms that shape trophic webs to predict and promote top-down effects of predators. The behavior of predators can have a strong influence on their potential as biological control agents.

Web-building spiders are a useful example organism for the study of natural enemy behavior because of the experimentally tractable nature of their foraging behavior. Specifically, patterns in …

The Causes And Consequences Of Individual Variation In Parental Care Behavior, Daniel P. Wetzel

Theses and Dissertations--Biology

Behavioral traits can be remarkably flexible depending on the conditions in which they are expressed, yet, in spite of this flexibility, persistent differences between individuals appear to limit the potential expression of behaviors. For example, despite evidence that parents provide variable amounts of parental care in response to changing environmental conditions, they also differ in the overall level of care they provide. I used a behavioral reaction norm approach to study individual variation in parental care behavior in free-living house sparrows (Passer domesticus). I investigated the nature of this variation by studying the relationship between different forms of …