Lab Work:

The labs for this course are multi-week labs. Students will be responsible for balancing time to complete all. A Lab notebook is absolutely required!

Cichlid Fish - dominance - Lab Handout
                       Week 1 - set up
                       Week 2 - observation - M&B 131-134 & 74-80
                       useful papers maybe Gammel_2003 .pdf a & Baylay_2006 .pdf
                       Week 4 - hormone measurement    Template-E2-Bio342-2018.xls or Template-T-Bio342-2018.xls                 

Drosophila - protocol development - Lab Handout
                       Week 1 - collection
                       Week 3 - construction
                       Week 8 (after break) - experiment

Miscellaneous 
                      Week 3 - pipette challenge - handout in lab - PIPETTE_2018.xls
                      Week 3 - Working with JWatcher - Lab Handout - M&B Chapter 3&4 

Zoo - measuring and quantifying behavior - Lab Handout
                      Week 5 - Observations - M&B Chapter 5&6

Canine Behavioral Genetics - In Development 
                      Week 6 - behavior testing - Lab Handout
                      Week 7 - genotyping - Lab Handout                                     
                                      Kis_etal_2014.pdf
                                      Persson_etal_2017.pdf
                                      Miloski_etal_2013.pdf

FINAL MANUSCRIPT - each owner received a personalized copy with their dog highlighted in Red.

 Independent Projects -   Basic Assignment
                      10/24-25 - Week 8 - pick a project
                      10/31-1 - Week 9 - Animal Care protocol
                      11/7-8 - Week 10 - 
                      11/14-15 - Week 11 - Analysis M&B Chapter 9
                      11/28-29 - Week 12 (after Tday) - Presenting Findings M&B Chapter 10
                      12/8 - Week 13 - Abstract due on moodle (suggestions)
                      12/10 - print your poster at the Reed Print Shop (elliot basement)
                                 - Post a .pdf of poster to Moodle
                      12/11 - Finals Week - Tuesday 9:00 AM - 11:30 - Poster Session (templates landscape, portrait)
                      12/11 - Bring Lab notebook to Poster Session
                      12/12 - Self Assessment - upload to moodle by 5:00 PM (template)

 

ABSTRACTS AND POSTERS Presented at the 11th annual Reed Animal Behavior Meeting Dec 11 2018

Condor Personality: General behavior repertoire and dominance hierarchies
Sammi Goldberg and Tyler Boente
The behavioral repertoire of three captive California condors (Gymnogyps californianus) was observed over the course of five weeks to see if they were consistent in exhibiting a list of behaviors, primarily communicative and aggressive. Condors were on the brink of extinction with only 22 condors left in the wild. All 22 condors were brought into captivity for a breeding program in hopes of rebuilding the condor populations. This program was successful and condors were reintroduced to the wild in 1992. Since condors have not been in the wild for very long, there is not a lot known about wild condor behavior. The goal of this project was to gather preliminary behavioral data to then utilize in field research in observing wild condors. The ethogram consisted of six behaviors: challenging, wing spreading, eating, flying, jumping, and pecking. The results revealed that the condors show no consistency in the behaviors observed. However, there is a slight trend in the correlation of aggressive behaviors (pecking and challenging). In observance of the social hierarchies of the three condors in the same exhibit,there was no trend. The eldest condor (which was one of the original 22 taken into captivity tostart the program) exhibited the most consistent behaviors out of the three. This informationraises question of behavioral differences in condors born in captivity and those who were born in the wild.
poster

Do spotted orbweaver spiders have aggressive personalities?
Miriam Bern, Sophia Bruno, David Snower
Aggression in spiders has been a subject of study for many decades, with researchers aiming to understand aggression in many contexts, including colony behavior, individual fitness, and community composition. Though aggression has been studied in many other species of spiders, few studies have been conducted on aggressive personality in Neoscona crucifera, the spotted orbweaver spiders that inhabit the Reed College canyon and can often be seen along the pedestrian bridge. In order to assess aggression, we utilized two observational behavioral assays - a feeding assay and a prodding assay. The feeding assay looked at latency to attack when a cricket was placed in the spider’s web, while the prodding assay looked at the response of the spider, quantified on a scale of 0-6, when prodded with a pipette tube on the anteriormost leg. Our results showed that more often than not, the spiders acted aggressively rather than submissively towards the prod, though the most aggressive response, striking, was extremely rare. We also concluded that aggression in the prodding assay was not affected by the last time the spider ate. This suggests that spotted orbweaver spiders may have unique personalities with regards to aggression, though further study is required to support this claim.
poster


Mallard Parental Response to Duckling Vocalizations Is Dictated by Key Auditory Parameters.
Luke Steiger, Eli Sobel and Sol Taylor-Brill
Mallard ducks ( Anas platyrhynchos ) are among the most abundant waterbirds on the planet. Prior research has shown that mallards have a large vocal and auditory range, but the key features of mallard vocal signals that allow recognition of conspecifics remains vague. One context in which it is critical to be able to recognize conspecifics is the identification of offspring for parental care. We were specifically interested in what features of juvenile calls are essential for recognition by and for eliciting responses from adult female mallards. We conducted an extensive series of field observations in which altered and unaltered juvenile calls were played to mallards in the Reed College canyon and identified trends in the alterations of pitch and tempo are key to species recognition. In general, altered calls elicited fewer responses from female mallards than unaltered calls, with results indicating greater tolerance for increased pitch or decreased tempo. Further studies may undertake a more rigorous sampling size and a wider range of vocalizations in closer increments to better elucidate a recognition threshold.
poster

 

Captive Penguin Swimming Behaviors
Alec Lobnitz, Julia Yuan and Frankie Williams
Its difficult to recreate natural ocean habitats, as the normal territory of ocean dwelling animals is usually dozens of kilometers. As such, when these animals are then placed into vastly smaller confines, it is likely that their behaviors will change in accordance with their new environment. As a test case we examined the Oregon Zoo’s penguin enclosure and the thirty or so penguins that reside within the manufactured habitat. Swimming is very important to penguins, and most literature on Humboldt penguin behavior in captivity is concerned with breeding success rather than encouraging natural behaviors. Our research focused on how often Humboldt penguins at the Oregon Zoo spent time in the water compared to their wild counterparts and to other captive penguins. Each member of our group conducted several scan samples of the Humboldt penguin enclosure and recorded how many penguins were standing on  land versus how many were swimming, which allowed us to create a time budget for the Oregon Zoo Humboldt penguins. Our group found that the penguins in the enclosure spent ~20% of their time in the water and 80% on land, which largely follows data collected from wild penguins which shows an average of ~25% time spent in water. This type of experiment is important for zoos and rehabilitation centers because if the captive animals begin altering their behaviors then it will become much more difficult for them to reintegrate into their wild habitat.
poster

 

The Nutcracker: An investigation into whether orvus caurinus, the common Northwestern crow, uses the street as a hard surfaced tool to crack foods or if the street is used as a method to gain access to the force of cars.   -- Student's award "heroic"
Xochitl Berns and Andrew Harman
It is commonly known that crows are avid utilizers of tools for reward. Some previous studies have suggested that crows do not use the cars on the street to crack open nuts, but instead use the street as they would other hard surfaces, such as rocks. We use field observation to determine which is the method crows actually use to open up nut shells. Current research is in dispute over this question, with data suggesting both possible answers. Our approach to tackle our question was through observation of intersections in southeast Portland in which the Northwestern crows were likely to be spotted at any on of the four levels of traffic: low, medium, high, and little/no traffic. Through 26 hours of observational study, our data suggests that crows are avoidant of cars while trying to crack nuts; however, due to time restrictions, the data is inconclusive and our study should be taken as an experimental model for future research. Our findings indicate that future studies of the common crow should be limited to low traffic areas in which nuts are readily and locally available as a food source.
poster


Effects of Turbidity on Behavior of Astatotilapia burtoni  -- Professor's Award "Good Science"
Xavier Gonzalez
This project examines the effect of turbidity of water on certain behaviors in the cichlid fish A. burtoni. Specifically, it asks whether different light environments would have an impact on the aggression and courtship behaviors of these fish. The current literature has examined the effect of different lighting on other species of fish, but those were species that appeared to rely on coloration to find mates. In this experiment, one tank was kept clear and another was stained with tea, each tank containing 4 female fish and 1 male fish. Behaviors were observed and counted in 20 minute intervals. The results show that the turbidity does seem to have an impact on the behaviors of A. burtoni. Future experiments can expand on this by possibly doing research in the field in bodies of water that have increased turbidity due to pollution and examining its effect.
poster



Testosterone levels in male African clawed frogs (Xenopus laevis) a socially non-hierarchical species.  
Amy Rose Lazarte and Natasha Baas-Thomas
Many species that have social hierarchies exhibit changes in testosterone under different social conditions (Alonso et al., 2012), however the hormonal effect of social environments on non-hierarchical species, like the African clawed frog (Xenopus laevis), has been less definitely studied (Tobias et al., 2010). This project studies whether a social stimulus will have an impact on the level of circulating testosterone in male X. laevis. Past research has shown that male cichlids will change testosterone level while establishing their social hierarchy (Alcazar et al., 2016), however changes in X. laevis testosterone has only been shown in relation to sexual reproductivity (Kelley and Pfaff, 1976); this shows that research has not yet explored testosterone variation during non-sexual interactions. Hormone assays were used to quantify the level of testosterone of frogs after being placed in different social conditions, which had been previously shown to elicit social hierarchies in other species. As such, using a novel species under this known experimental set-up could stimulate a similar hormonal effect on frogs. Male frogs were placed in different conditions: isolated male watching male with female or isolated male watching two males; testosterone levels of all males were quantified using a non-invasive water-borne hormone assay. Our results showed that there was no significant difference in testosterone level among the social conditions. These findings validate the theory that a strong social hierarchy must be present in a species for testosterone levels to be impacted by social conditions.
poster


Starvation Doesn’t (Seem to) Discourage Fruit Fly Battles
Madeline Doak and Hannah Rosenthal
An animal’s displayed aggression is dictated by its internal condition. This study examines if and how food deprivation impacts aggressive behaviours in male Drosophila melanogaster. We investigated whether food-deprived flies display higher levels of aggressive acts than satiated flies. Current literature on Drosophila melanogaster shows contradictory results for the correlation between food deprivation and aggression, and does not examine energy investment in specific aggressive acts. Therefore, an approach using a behavioural ethogram and energy scoring for each behaviour is called for. To investigate the primary question using these approaches, male Drosophila melanogaster were paired in an observation area according to their condition (food-deprived or satiated) and scored according to the number and type of aggressive acts displayed during the fighting period. Slightly elevated levels of behaviour-specific and overall aggression for food-deprived Drosophila were observed, but were not statistically significant. Findings reveal the potential for further behaviour-based aggression studies that may provide more insight into the nuances in energy trade-offs for food-deprived flies.
poster


There’s No Place Like Home: Homing Abilities in Slugs
Susa Oram, Senta Wiederholt, and Justyne Wyer
A variety of animal species demonstrate homing abilities, or the ability to navigate to a familiar location after displacement. The purpose of this project was to investigate whether slugs from the Reed College Canyon have homing abilities, and if they do, to determine the mechanism underlying this behavior. Current literature on this topic does not give a clear consensus on the homing mechanisms slugs use, and the natural population of slugs in the Reed College Canyon has never been tested for homing abilities. In this experiment, behavioral observation was used to determine whether slugs could find their way back to a home container after displacement. Slugs were collected from the Reed College Canyon and habituated in home containers in the lab, then tested to see whether they could find their way back to their home container when it was stationary and when its location was switched with a control container. Success or failure to reach the home container was measured as well as general direction of movement during the testing period. While the slugs were more successful in the home-stationary condition than the home-flipped condition, this difference was not statistically significant. However, a significantly higher number of slugs moved northeast than any other direction, which is the direction of the Canyon collection site relative to the lab. Our research shows that slugs may have a directional sense that they use for homing, potentially based on magnetoreception, and that their sense of home is determined over a longer period of time than was used to habituate them in the lab.
 poster

Do Captive Bats Fly More After Eating?
Ari Coester and Isaac Schuman
Flight is a high-energy method of locomotion, despite its many advantages, which suggests that calorie availability plays a role in when flight is used. We asked, how do bats at the Oregon Zoo adjust their locomotion behavior based on the presence of food? The literature suggests two relationships between feeding and flight. First, bats are known to enter torpor states and conserve energy when there is little food available, suggesting that they would fly towards food with the guarantee they can recoup energetic costs. Second, there is evidence that bats use flight to regulate their blood sugar after feeding, suggesting they would instead fly after feeding. Observing captive bats made it possible to observe the entirety of the flight, allowing more comprehensive observational data. We used behavior sampling to record the details of 689 individual locomotion events (flying or crawling), including what behaviors were performed directly before and after each event. Our data demonstrated that bats, on average, engaged in longer flights after feeding but did not fly more before or after feeding. Although there is some room for interpretation of the data, the presence of food did not significantly impact the locomotion of the bats.
poster

Characterization of AgRP expression with feeding behavior in female Astatotilapia burtoni   -- Student's award "Good Science"
Gabe Preising and Celia Morell
Astatotilapia burtoni is a highly social mouth-brooding cichlid fish that has been used for studying feeding behaviors in regards to metabolic dysregulation. Current literature classifies AgRP as an orexigenic neuropeptide that has been well-characterized in Astatotilapia burtoni via in-situ hybridization, immunohistochemistry, and neuronal size; however, there is a lack of behavioral data in relation to AgRP expression. This study aimed to correlate AgRP expression in female A. burtoni with feeding behavior. We hypothesized that fish with the greatest amount of feeding behavior and greatest mass increase would have the highest AgRP expression. Using behavior sampling, we were able to establish an initial correlation between a higher amount of feeding behavior and an increase in body mass. We subsequently performed qPCR on whole brain mRNA to measure AgRP expression. Our results show a lack of correlation between behavioral and gene expression data. A continuation of this study is required to better characterize the potential link between AgRP gene expression and feeding behavior, as these data would be important for understanding the biological underpinnings of feeding behaviors in highly social organisms.
poster


Humans Hurt: Humboldt Penguins in Zoos and Behavior Changes Due to Visitor Interaction
Lenny Blair and Eva Licht
Humboldt penguins have been known to have an increase in heart rate and comfort behaviors in the presence of humans (Ellensburg). We wanted to investigate if Humboldt penguins housed in zoo enclosures increase comfort and aggressive behaviors in the presence of zoo visitors. Researchers, like Ellensburg and Ainley, have tackled the task of studying penguin behavior in their natural environments, which has left little to no research or knowledge regarding behavior while living in zoos. For our data collection, behavioral observation was used to quantify comfort and aggressive behaviors exhibited by the Oregon Zoo’s Humboldt penguin population. We utilized focal sampling to quantify the behaviors exhibited by the penguins, and ultimately found there was a difference in behavior. We found there were statistically significant higher counts of aggressive behavior in penguins for when humans were present than for when humans were not present; we did not find an increase in comfort behaviors. While visiting the zoo is a popular and lighthearted experience for many people, it is important to understand the effects of human interaction on penguin behavior, especially when the animals’ safety and comfort are at risk; this research explores how human presence changes penguin behavior, in hopes that visitors will be aware of how their interactions impact the animals’ wellbeing.
poster  

Reed Canyon Squirrels and Foraging behavior  -- Professor's award "Heroic"
Ashlee Cook
Eastern gray (Sciurus carolinensis) and eastern fox squirrels (Sciurus niger) are the dominant invasive, non-native species of squirrels found in Portland, Oregon and depend on several plants such as red alders (Alnus rubra), Oregon Maples (Acer macrophyllum), and Douglas Firs (Psuedotsuga menziesii) to provide shelter and food. The goal of this study was to see if urbanization and proximity to a college campus affects the activity of forging behaviors found in eastern gray and fox squirrels. Past research has been done on squirrel forging on urban college campuses and found that urban eastern gray squirrels exhibit similar forging behaviors that follow the optimal foraging theory as well as have similar behaviors of squirrels in less populated areas (Young 2013); however, while a study has compared two squirrel species, specifically, the western gray (Sciurus griseus) and western fox squirrels (Sciurus niger rufiventer) (Rice 1977), there has yet to be recent literature on comparing the activity of forging behaviors of eastern fox and eastern gray squirrels on urban college campuses. To compare the activity of forging behaviors of squirrels found on urban campuses, I observed the behaviors of both gray and fox squirrels located on Reed College, specifically in the canyon area. Using a constructed ethogram, the behavior of both species was recorded using behavioral sampling on a continuous time scale spanning one week of observation in six location areas in the Reed College canyon. Gray squirrels were observed to participate in forging behaviors more often than fox squirrels and two locations in the canyon showed minimal forging activity. The spread of forging behaviors indicates that gray squirrels have more observable forging activity, and that forging behaviors of eastern gray and fox squirrels may depend on the resources provided by urban forests which could provide insight on how to further promote the native western gray squirrel by understanding the resources that they compete for with the eastern gray and fox squirrels.
poster