Insulting Words: "They Are Animals!",
2018
Affiliate, University Seminars, Columbia University, New York
Insulting Words: "They Are Animals!", Carolyn A. Ristau
Animal Sentience
As Chapman & Huffman state, creating divisive human categories has rationalized atrocities committed against the “other.” Labeling neighboring warring villagers as “animals” is considered a despicable insult. Yet contemporary scientific views of many animals grant them thinking and conscious faculties, and the capacity for impressive achievements, many unattainable by humans. Robots, too, can accomplish many similar feats. But the essential reason we must protect animals is not because of their admirable abilities, but their capacity for consciousness, for suffering. Robots are not conscious. Participants in the human-animal debate should not complain about changing criteria for determining human uniqueness. New and …
We Don’T Want To Know What We Know,
2018
Messerli Research Institute, University of Veterinary Medicine Vienna
We Don’T Want To Know What We Know, Judith Benz-Schwarzburg
Animal Sentience
Why are humans so ignorant with regard to the fundamental gap between ethical claims and the status quo of the human-animal relationship? To answer this, we should include more psychological and sociological perspectives in our discussions.
Two Fallacies In Comparisons Between Humans And Non-Humans,
2018
University College Cork; University of Cape Town; Georgia State University
Two Fallacies In Comparisons Between Humans And Non-Humans, Don Ross
Animal Sentience
The hypothesis that humans are superior to non-humans by virtue of higher cognitive powers is often supported by two recurrent fallacies: (1) that any competence shown by humans but not by our closest living relatives (apes) must be unique to humans; and (2) that grades of intelligence can be inferred from behavior without regard to motivational structures.
Is Superiority A Necessary Aspect Of Cruelty?,
2018
University of Birmingham, UK
Is Superiority A Necessary Aspect Of Cruelty?, William H. Edmondson
Animal Sentience
Chapman & Huffman argue that humans inflict cruelty without apparent concern because of their categorization of the victims as inferior. The supposed inferiority of non-human animals can be argued against on the basis of documentation and analysis of behaviour. Humans continue to inflict cruelty on their own and other species. It is not obvious that a sense of superiority is a necessary aspect of cruel behaviour. Nor is it obvious that further enlightenment regarding the cognitive status of non-humans will diminish cruelty.
What Sets Us Apart Could Be Our Salvation,
2018
University of Sydney, Australia
What Sets Us Apart Could Be Our Salvation, Anne Fawcett, Paul Mcgreevy
Animal Sentience
We agree with Chapman & Huffman that human capacities are often assumed to be unique — or attempts are made to demonstrate uniqueness scientifically — in order to justify the exploitation of animals and ecosystems. To extend the argument that human exceptionalism is against our interests, we recommend adopting the One Welfare framework, according to which animal welfare, environmental sustainability and human wellbeing are inseparably linked. Let us distinguish ourselves from other animals by resisting our short- and mid-term Darwinian inclinations, consuming less, reproducing less, and striving for a much longer-term biological fitness for us all.
Conservation And Variation Of Dna Methylation In Lactuca Sativa And Lactuca Serriola,
2017
University of Massachusetts Boston
Conservation And Variation Of Dna Methylation In Lactuca Sativa And Lactuca Serriola, Trudi A. Baker
Graduate Doctoral Dissertations
Molecular techniques for guiding plant breeding have successfully used wild progenitors of domestic crops as sources of genetic variants conveying desirable traits. However, epigenetic variation, in particular DNA methylation, is a significant source of phenotypic variation and epigenetic effects of plant domestication are poorly understood. Described herein are the first single-base pair resolution methylomes of the highly valued crop iceberg lettuce (Lactuca sativa cv. Salinas) and its close relative, and ubiquitous weed, L. serriola. This work suggests several roles for acquisition and inheritance of methylation in the evolution of Lactuca spp. in response to stress. The Lactuca spp. have conserved …
Comparative Study Of Spinning Field Development In Two Species Of Araneophagic Spiders (Araneae, Mimetidae, Australomimetus),
2017
University of New Hampshire
Comparative Study Of Spinning Field Development In Two Species Of Araneophagic Spiders (Araneae, Mimetidae, Australomimetus), Mark A. Townley, Danilo Harms
Molecular, Cellular & Biomedical Sciences
External studies of spider spinning fields allow us to make inferences about internal silk gland biology, including what happens to silk glands when the spider molts. Such studies often focus on adults, but juveniles can provide additional insight on spinning apparatus development and character polarity. Here we document and describe spinning fields at all stadia in two species of pirate spider (Mimetidae: Australomimetus spinosus, A. djuka). Pirate spiders nest within the ecribellate orb-building spiders (Araneoidea), but are vagrant, araneophagic members that do not build prey-capture webs. Correspondingly, they lack aggregate and flagelliform silk glands (AG, FL), specialized for forming prey-capture …
Scorpions Of The Horn Of Africa (Arachnida: Scorpiones). Part Xiii. Review Of Pandinops Hawkeri, P. Peeli, P. Platycheles, And P. Pugilator (Scorpionidae),
2017
Charles University
Scorpions Of The Horn Of Africa (Arachnida: Scorpiones). Part Xiii. Review Of Pandinops Hawkeri, P. Peeli, P. Platycheles, And P. Pugilator (Scorpionidae), František Kovařík, Graeme Lowe, Hassan Sh Abdirahman Elmi
Euscorpius
Pandinops platycheles (Werner, 1916) is diagnosed and fully complemented with color photos of types, and Pandinops pugilator (Pocock, 1900) is diagnosed and fully complemented with color photos of live and preserved specimens, as well as its habitat. The hemispermatophore of P. pugilator is illustrated and described for the first time. Pandinus hawkeri Pocock, 1900 and Pandinus peeli Pocock, 1900 are synonymized with Pandinops pugilator (Pocock, 1900).
Scorpions Of The Horn Of Africa (Arachnida: Scorpiones). Part Xii. Pandinurus Hangarale Sp. N. (Scorpionidae) From Somaliland And A Review Of Type Locality And True Distribution Of Pandinurus Smithi (Pocock, 1897),
2017
Charles University
Scorpions Of The Horn Of Africa (Arachnida: Scorpiones). Part Xii. Pandinurus Hangarale Sp. N. (Scorpionidae) From Somaliland And A Review Of Type Locality And True Distribution Of Pandinurus Smithi (Pocock, 1897), František Kovařík, Graeme Lowe, Tomáš Mazuch, Ahmed Ibrahim Awale, Jana Štundlová, František Šťáhlavský
Euscorpius
Pandinurus hangarale sp. n. from Somaliland is described and fully complemented with color photos of live and preserved specimens, as well as its habitat. Hemispermatophore of P. hangarale sp. n. is illustrated and described. In addition to the analyses of external morphology and hemispermatophores, we also describe the karyotype of P. hangarale sp. n. (2n=120). Known localities of Pandinurus smithi (Pocock, 1897) are compiled; the type locality is not in Somaliland but in Ethiopia (Turfa) and in reality it is probably an endemic of Ethiopia.
A New Island Species Of Centruroides Marx, 1890 (Scorpiones: Buthidae) From The Southwestern Caribbean,
2017
Museo de Historia Natural “Tomás Romay”
A New Island Species Of Centruroides Marx, 1890 (Scorpiones: Buthidae) From The Southwestern Caribbean, Rolando Teruel, Brandon Myers
Euscorpius
Herein we describe a new species of the Buthidae scorpion genus Centruroides Marx, 1890. It occurs at least in two small offshore islands of the southwestern Caribbean: Cozumel in Mexico and Guanaja in Honduras, based upon type specimens from the former and photographic evidence from the latter. It belongs in the "gracilis" species-group and is most closely related to both Centruroides gracilis (Latreille, 1805) and Centruroides nigrescens (Pocock, 1898).
Morphological, Genetic, And Environmental Characterization Of An Unusual Population Of Isoetes (Isoetaceae, Lycopodiophyta),
2017
University of Southern Mississippi
Morphological, Genetic, And Environmental Characterization Of An Unusual Population Of Isoetes (Isoetaceae, Lycopodiophyta), Shannon L. Walker
Honors Theses
A large and unusual population of Isoetes (Isoetaceae, Lycopodiophyta) in the DeSoto National Forest, Wayne County, Mississippi, was studied to determine if the individuals there represent a new species or if they represent part of the variation of the one primary species of the longleaf pine belt of Mississippi, Isoetes louisianensis, which it most closely resembles. The unusual population and specimens of known Isoetes louisianensis were examined comparatively based on morphology, megaspore ornamentation, examination of habitat characteristics, and phylogenetic analysis of DNA sequence data from the nuclear internal transcribed spacer 1 and 2 (ITS) and the 5.8S ribosomal gene. No …
Acute Salivary Steroid Hormone Responses During Coalitional And Dyadic Competitions In Hong Kong Juvenile Children,
2017
University of Nevada, Las Vegas
Acute Salivary Steroid Hormone Responses During Coalitional And Dyadic Competitions In Hong Kong Juvenile Children, Timothy Mchale
UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones
A large body of research links testosterone and cortisol responses to competition during adulthood. Little psychoneuroendocrine research has explored salivary steroid hormone responses to competition during middle childhood. This project investigated the relationship between acute salivary steroid hormone change, performance, competitor type, and outcome effects in three different field studies, while controlling for Body Mass Index (BMI) and pubertal development, in a population of ethnically Chinese, Hong Kong juvenile children, 8-11 years of age. The relative dynamics of salivary steroid change were assessed during a 1) coalitional physical competition (soccer) in boys, 2) a non-physical mixed-sex coalitional competition (math contest), …
Emerging Infectious Disease And The Imperiled Relict Leopard Frog,
2017
University of Nevada, Las Vegas
Emerging Infectious Disease And The Imperiled Relict Leopard Frog, Anthony Wayne Waddle
UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones
The disease chytridiomycosis, caused by the aquatic fungal pathogen Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis (Bd), has emerged as a major contributing factor for worldwide amphibian declines. Although relatively recently described, the impacts from the disease this pathogen causes have been definitively tied to amphibian declines, including some that occurred decades ago. In some cases, declines of individual species occurred with little documentation and are thus poorly understood. The relict leopard frog (Rana onca = Lithobates onca) has experienced such a decline and by the latter part of the 20th century only occurred in two general areas in southern Nevada. Recent research has found …
Cryptic Diversity And Discordance In Single‐Locus Species Delimitation Methods Within Horned Lizards (Phrynosomatidae: Phrynosoma),
2017
City University of New York (CUNY)
Cryptic Diversity And Discordance In Single‐Locus Species Delimitation Methods Within Horned Lizards (Phrynosomatidae: Phrynosoma), Christopher Blair, Robert W. Bryson Jr.
Publications and Research
Biodiversity reduction and loss continues to progress at an alarming rate, and thus there is widespread interest in utilizing rapid and efficient methods for quantifying and delimiting taxonomic diversity. Single-locus species-delimitation methods have become popular, in part due to the adoption of the DNA barcoding paradigm. These techniques can be broadly classified into tree-based and distance-based methods depending on whether species are delimited based on a constructed genealogy. Although the relative performance of these methods has been tested repeatedly with simulations, additional studies are needed to assess congruence with empirical data. We compiled a large data set of mitochondrial ND4 …
Response To Nitrogen And Salinity Conditions In Rhizophora Mangle Seedlings Varies By Site Of Origin,
2017
University of South Florida
Response To Nitrogen And Salinity Conditions In Rhizophora Mangle Seedlings Varies By Site Of Origin, Kristen L. Langanke
USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations
Many coastal plant species thrive across a range of environmental conditions, often displaying dramatic phenotypic variation in response to environmental variation. We characterized the response of the critical foundation species Rhizophora mangle L. to full factorial combinations of salt and nitrogen (N). We used seedlings collected from five populations and measured traits related to salt tolerance and N amendment. The response to increasing salt included significant plasticity in succulence, leaf mass area (LMA), and root to shoot ratio (R:S). Seedlings also showed overall reduced maximum photosynthetic rate in response to N amendment, but this response depended on the level of …
Catalinia, A New Scorpion Genus From Southern California, Usa And Northern Baja California, Mexico (Scorpiones: Vaejovidae),
2017
Eastern Connecticut State University
Catalinia, A New Scorpion Genus From Southern California, Usa And Northern Baja California, Mexico (Scorpiones: Vaejovidae), Michael E. Soleglad, Richard F. Ayrey, Matthew R. Graham, Victor Fet
Euscorpius
Genus Catalinia, gen. nov. (Scorpiones: Vaejovidae) is described from southern California, USA and Baja California, Mexico. The genus is composed of four species formerly placed in Pseudouroctonus: Catalinia minima (Kraepelin, 1911), comb. nov. (type species), C. andreas (Gertsch et Soleglad, 1972), comb. nov., C. castanea (Gertsch et Soleglad, 1972), comb. nov., and C. thompsoni, comb. nov. (Gertsch et Soleglad, 1972). Major diagnostic characters of Catalinia include a carapace with a very weak anterior indentation, a very stout metasoma with little or no tapering from segment I to V, and a mating plug with two partial bases. …
Prebiotic Rna Network Formation: A Taxonomy Of Molecular Cooperation,
2017
Arizona State University
Prebiotic Rna Network Formation: A Taxonomy Of Molecular Cooperation, Cole Mathis, Sanjay N. Ramprasad, Sara Imari Walker, Niles Lehman
Chemistry Faculty Publications and Presentations
Cooperation is essential for evolution of biological complexity. Recent work has shown game theoretic arguments, commonly used to model biological cooperation, can also illuminate the dynamics of chemical systems. Here we investigate the types of cooperation possible in a real RNA system based on the Azoarcusribozyme, by constructing a taxonomy of possible cooperative groups. We construct a computational model of this system to investigate the features of the real system promoting cooperation. We find triplet interactions among genotypes are intrinsically biased towards cooperation due to the particular distribution of catalytic rate constants measured empirically in the real system. For other …
The North American Quails, Partridges, And Pheasants,
2017
University of Nebraska-Lincoln
The North American Quails, Partridges, And Pheasants, Paul A. Johnsgard
Zea E-Books Collection
This book documents the biology of six species of New World quails that are native to North America north of Mexico (mountain, scaled, Gambel’s, California, and Montezuma quails, and the northern bobwhite), three introduced Old World partridges (chukar, Himalayan snowcock, and gray partridge), and the introduced common (ring-necked) pheasant. Collectively, quails, partridges, and pheasants range throughout all of the continental United States and the Canadian provinces. Two of the species, the northern bobwhite and ring-necked pheasant, are the most economically important of all North American upland game birds. All of the species are hunted extensively for sport and are highly …
Handicap Principle Implies Emergence Of Dimorphic Ornaments,
2017
Northwestern University
Handicap Principle Implies Emergence Of Dimorphic Ornaments, Sara Clifton, Daniel M. Abrams, Rosemary I. Braun
Annual Symposium on Biomathematics and Ecology Education and Research
No abstract provided.
The Effects Of Evolution On Food Web Diversity And Abundance,
2017
Tulane University of Louisiana
The Effects Of Evolution On Food Web Diversity And Abundance, Rosalyn Rael
Annual Symposium on Biomathematics and Ecology Education and Research
No abstract provided.
