Animal Studies Commons^™

Domestic Cat Ethology: Evaluating Social Media For Data Collection, Patricia Casey

Theses and Dissertations

This study looked at whether user-submitted videos of cats could be used to increase understanding of their behavior. The findings suggest that the behaviors observed were consistent with prior research, and contain typical cat behavior. Depending on the research question, user-submitted videos of cats are a promising data source.

Co-Modulation Masking Release Begins In The Auditory Periphery, Kareem R. Hussein, Agudemu Borjigan, Mark Sayles

The Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowship (SURF) Symposium

Understanding speech in noisy environments can be difficult, especially for people with hearing loss. The background noise can cover up the sounds of interest. Normally, the auditory system works to alleviate this problem by tagging and then cancelling the noise. Our experiments are aimed at understanding the mechanism of this noise cancellation process. We hypothesize that non-linear signal processing in the mammalian cochlea (the most peripheral part of the auditory system) is the basis of noise cancellation. To test this hypothesis, we measured the responses of auditory-nerve fibers (ANFs) to sounds embedded in background noise with different statistical properties. ANFs …

Acoustic Signatures Of Habitat Types In The Miombo Woodlands Of Western Tanzania, Sheryl Vanessa Amorocho, Dante Francomano, Kristen M. Bellisario, Ben Gottesman, Bryan C. Pijanowski

The Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowship (SURF) Symposium

The Miombo Woodlands of Tanzania comprise several habitat types that are home to a great number of flora and fauna. Understanding their responses to increasing human disturbance is important for conservation, especially in places where people depend so directly on their local ecosystem services to survive. Soundscapes are a powerful approach to study complex biomes undergoing change. The sounds emitted by soniferous fauna characterize the acoustic profile of the landscapes they inhabit such that habitats with the highest acoustic abundance are considered as the most diverse and possibly more ecologically resilient. However, acoustic variability within similar habitat types may pose …

Therapy Dogs For Homesick College Students?, Harold Herzog

'Animals and Us' Blog Posts

New research examines the impact of dog therapy for homesick college students.

Impact Of Stress, Fear And Anxiety On The Nociceptive Responses Of Larval Zebrafish, Javier Lopez-Luna, Qussay Al-Jubouri, Lynne U. Sneddon

Sentience Collection

Both adult and larval zebrafish have been demonstrated to show behavioural responses to noxious stimulation but also to potentially stress- and fear or anxiety- eliciting situations. The pain or nociceptive response can be altered and modulated by these situations in adult fish through a mechanism called stress-induced analgesia. However, this phenomenon has not been described in larval fish yet. Therefore, this study explores the behavioural changes in larval zebrafish after noxious stimulation and exposure to challenges that can trigger a stress, fear or anxiety reaction. Five-day post fertilization zebrafish were exposed to either a stressor (air emersion), a predatory fear …

Designing An Authentic Behavioral Research Experience In The Classroom Using Siamese Fighting Fish, Betta Splendens, Gianne Souza, Ronald M. Coleman

STAR Program Research Presentations

Recently there have been major shifts in biology education towards emphasizing the teaching of the scientific process to more closely reflect actual scientific practices. Authentic research experiences require the development of many higher order cognitive skills. Creating an authentic research experience that appropriately scaffolds the development of these complex skills while engaging individual student motivation remains challenging in classroom settings. Some common challenges include limited time available for working with large numbers of students, cramped working areas, and limited funding and materials resources. Using the Siamese Fighting Fish, Betta splendens, we have created an economically viable authentic animal behavioral …

People -- Marine Mammal Interactions, Andrew Butterworth, Mark P. Simmonds

Our relationships with marine mammals are complex. We have used them as resources, and in some places this remains the case; viewed them as competitors and culled them (again ongoing in some localities); been so captivated and intrigued by them that we have taken them into captivity for our entertainment; and developed a lucrative eco-tourism activity focused on them in many nations. When we first envisaged this special topic, we had two overarching aims:

Firstly, we hoped to generate critical evaluation of some of our relationships with these animals.

Secondly, we hoped to attract knowledgeable commentators and experts who might …

Cephalopod Complex Cognition, Jennifer Mather

Cognitive Ethology Collection

Cephalopods, especially octopuses, offer a different model for the development of complex cognitive operations. They are phylogenetically distant from the mammals and birds that we normally think of as ‘intelligent’ and without the pervasive social interactions and long lives that we associate with this capacity. Additionally, they have a distributed nervous system — central brain, peripheral coordination of arm actions and a completely separate skin appearance system based on muscle-controlled chromatophores. Recent research has begun to show how these apparently separate systems are coordinated. Learning and cognition are used toward prey, in antipredator actions and in courtship. These examples show …

International Consensus Principles For Ethical Wildlife Control, Sara Dubois, Nicole Fenwick, Erin A. Ryan, Liv Baker, Sandra E. Baker, Ngaio J. Beausoleil, Scott Carter, Barbara Cartwright, Federico Costa, Chris Draper, John Griffin, Adam Grogan, Gregg Howald, Bidda Jones, Kate E. Littin, Amanda T. Lombard, David J. Mellor, Daniel Ramp, Catherine A. Schuppli, David Fraser

Ethics and Conservation Biology Collection

Human–wildlife conflicts are commonly addressed by excluding, relocating, or lethally controlling animals with the goal of preserving public health and safety, protecting property, or conserving other valued wildlife. However, declining wildlife populations, a lack of efficacy of control methods in achieving desired outcomes, and changes in how people value animals have triggered widespread acknowledgment of the need for ethical and evidence-based approaches to managing such conflicts. We explored international perspectives on and experiences with human–wildlife conflicts to develop principles for ethical wildlife control. A diverse panel of 20 experts convened at a 2-day workshop and developed the principles through a …

Report On Owned Dog Population Survey In Lapu-Lapu City, Philippines, Kazami Joanne Amano, Tamara Kartal, Amit Chaudhari

Demography and Statistics for Companion Animal Populations Collection

The Philippines has consistently been one of the top countries with an existing rabies problem. There is an average of 200 human rabies deaths reported annually, the majority of which are caused by dog bites (Deray, 2015). Globally, more than 95% of human rabies cases have been reported to have domestic dogs as their sources of infection (Cleaveland, et al., 2006). Therefore, it is paramount to address the rabies problem by focusing on the source. It has been established that communities achieve at least 70% vaccination coverage of the dog population to eliminate canine rabies (WHO, 2015) and maintain the …

Personality Traits As Predictors Of Pair-Housing Compatibility In Garnett's Greater Bushbabies (Otolemur Garnettii), Karen A. Schaffer

Honors Theses

Continuously refining husbandry strategies to improve the welfare of captive primates is a research priority. A variety of enrichment strategies are employed to allow captive primates opportunities to exercise natural behaviors with the aim of maintaining their psychological health in environments different from those for which they evolved. Arguably the most important of these strategies is social housing, since primates are by definition social animals. Pair housing is often the most logistically feasible method; however, the process of introducing partners to each other comes with risks of stressful conflict that may result in injury, and the necessarily trial-and-error nature of …

Improvement In Simple Artificial Insemination In Sheep Using Chilled Extended Semen And Consideration Of Fertility In Ewes, Mohan Acharya

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Three studies were conducted to improve simple artificial insemination in sheep using chilled extended semen and evaluate methods to predict fertility in ewes. The first study evaluated the effect of semen extenders and storage temperature on motility parameters of ram semen stored for up to 72 h. Single semen collected from each ram was divided into four parts and extended using four extenders: milk, TRIS, TEST, and CJ-2, diluted to 600 million sperm/ml and loaded into 0.25 ml straws for storage at 4 and 15° C. Most of the CASA motility parameters were higher after extension and storage at 4 …

Supplemental Trace Minerals (Zn, Cu, And Mn) As Sulfates Or Hydroxy Trace Mineral Sources For Beef Heifers, Randy Hunter Burnett

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Crossbred heifers (n = 286, 255 ± 4.5 kg initial BW, 295 ± 16.5 d of age) were used over a 2-yr period to determine the effects of mineral source on beef heifer development at 2 locations (n = 71 and n = 72, Fayetteville, blocks 1 and 4; n = 72 in each of 2 breeding groups, Batesville, blocks 2 and 3). Heifers were stratified based on initial BW, age, health, prior research projects, and sire, and then assigned to 6 groups of 12 heifers, that were assigned randomly to 1 of 2 trace mineral treatments. The 2 treatments …

Advances In Neuroscience Imply That Harmful Experiments In Dogs Are Unethical, Jarrod Bailey, Shiranee Pereira

Professional Science Research Ethics Collection

Functional MRI (fMRI) of fully awake and unrestrained dog 'volunteers' has been proven an effective tool to understand the neural circuitry and functioning of the canine brain. Although every dog owner would vouch that dogs are perceptive, cognitive, intuitive and capable of positive emotions/empathy, as indeed substantiated by ethological studies for some time, neurological investigations now corroborate this. These studies show that there exists a striking similarity between dogs and humans in the functioning of the caudate nucleus (associated with pleasure and emotion), and dogs experience positive emotions, empathic-like responses and demonstrate human bonding which, some scientists claim, may be …

What's The Deal With "Furries?", Harold Herzog

'Animals and Us' Blog Posts

What a decade of research reveal about a misunderstood subculture.

Why Kids With Pets Are Better Off, Harold Herzog

'Animals and Us' Blog Posts

Controversial study helps explain the impact of pets on child development.

The European Politics Of Animal Experimentation: From Victorian Britain To ‘Stop Vivisection’, Pierre-Luc Germain, Luca Chiapperino, Giuseppe Testa

Attitudes Toward Animal Research Collection

This paper identifies a common political struggle behind debates on the validity and permissibility of animal experimentation, through an analysis of two recent European case studies: the Italian implementation of the European Directive 2010/63/EC regulating the use of animals in science, and the recent European Citizens' Initiative (ECI) 'Stop Vivisection'. Drawing from a historical parallel with Victorian antivivisectionism, we highlight important threads in our case studies that mark the often neglected specificities of debates on animal experimentation. From the representation of the sadistic scientist in the XIX century, to his/her claimed capture by vested interests and evasion of public …

Large Study Finds Pet Owners Are Different, Harold Herzog

'Animals and Us' Blog Posts

New research helps explain health difference between pet owners and non-owners.

Letter To The Editor, Jarrod Bailey

Validation of Animal Experimentation Collection

It seems clear that heeding the opinions and recommendations of experienced neuroscientists such as Professor Beuter, the well-argued probable opinion of the time-travelling Parkinson, and Grimm and Eggel’s demands for high animal welfare and honest and realistic harm–benefit analyses, will be of paramount importance for the advancement and evolution of experiments involving NHPs, particularly in neuroscience. This will benefit animals and humans alike.

Absence Of Typical Haversian System From The Compact Bone Of Some Reptile And Bird Species, Yasser Ahmed, Mohamed Abdelsabourv Khalaf, Fatma Khalil

Histology Collection

Background and Objective: Mammalian compact bone is composed mostly of Haversian system. Although there are many studies describing the typical Haversian system in mammals, there are few studies conducted on bones from non-mammalian species. The objective of the current study was to investigate the existence of the typical Haversian system in compact bones from reptiles and birds.

Materials and Methods: Femora were collected from geckos, Nile monitors, sparrows, ducks and geese. Samples were then, fixed in 10% paraformaldehyde and embedded in paraffin. Paraffin sections were stained with hematoxylin and eosin or Von Kossa and then examined using light microscopy.

Results: …