Independent Projects in Animal Behavior
Poster Session
December 17th 6:00 - 9:00 PM
B211
Special Session on Predator Avoidance (includes environmental toxicology)
Panicked Tadpoles Don’t Feed: The Effect of Predator
and Alarm Cues on the Foraging Behavior of Bombina Orientalis Tadpoles
Advait Jukar
abstract poster
Fry-fishing.
Patricia Snarski and Holly Cho
abstract poster
Effect of Sublethal Copper Concentration on Flow Orientation Behavior
of Zebrafish, Danio rerio
Angeline Wolski and Ross Young
abstract poster
Enhancement in
the Response to Multiple Predatorial Cues in the Planorbella Pond Snail.
Dani Cardia,
Robin Steitz and Charlie Morse
abstract poster
Investigating the Effects
of Herbicides on Stickleback Behavior: 92% Random.
Katie Tanner, Kavita
Krishnakant, and Molly King
abstract poster
Special Session on Neurobiology and Pharmacology (includes learning) Stickleback:
Not Exactly the Masters of the Maze
Charlene Grahn and Michael Weingart
abstract poster
The Effect
of Acetylcholine-Induced Stridulation on Octopamine Levels in the Cricket
Brain
Matt Hagen and Laurel Oldach
abstract poster
Paradox-ical Proximity of Coffee Shops to College Libraries:
Does Caffeine Do More than Keep You Wake?
Laura Bradley, Sophie Mayer and Peter Cawley
abstract poster
Special Session
on Mate Choice
Ethanol’s Effect on Drosophila Mating Behavior.
David
Krueger & Lanlan
Jin
abstract poster
Are Lazy-Eaters
Also Lazy in Bed: Inter-Strain Differences in Drosophila Mating Behavior?
Shreya Shrestha and Marion Burrill
abstract poster
Does Mate Choice Depend on Age?
Dan Bernstein and Justine Spencer
abstract poster
Bettas Gone Wild.
Alyssa Gotschlich
abstract poster
Special Session on Zoo Biology
Who's Who at the Zoo - Is there a Stereotypical
Stereotype?
Molly Radany and Marisa Mirviss
abstract poster
ABSTRACTS
Panicked Tadpoles Don’t Feed: The Effect of Predator
and Alarm Cues on the Foraging
Behavior of Bombina Orientalis Tadpoles
Advait Jukar
Bombina Orientalis is an amphibian native to Korea. Its developmental stages
are typical of any amphibian, producing tailed tadpoles. I conducted a study
to see whether predator cues, alarm cues or a combination of both would affect
feeding behavior of the tadpoles. Captive Bombina Orientalis were bred and
the tadpoles obtained were randomized and sixty were placed into four conditions
(15x4). The four conditions were as follows: 1) control, 2) alarm cue, 3)
predator cue, 4) predator cue + alarm cue. The predators I chose were three-spined
stickleback caught from the Reed Canyon and the alarm cues were generated
by introducing tadpoles that had their tails cut off to simulate attack by
a predator. Introducing tadpoles in the tank with stickleback so that the
fish would attack the tadpoles thereby generating both predator and alarm
cues created the fourth condition. Feeding behavior was determined by the
number of tadpoles present of the bed of spinach created in the testing enclosures.
The tadpoles were observed at fifteen-minute intervalss for an hour every
alternate day. An analysis of the data collected revealed a significant difference
in the number of tadpoles present of the spinach bed between the control and
the second third and fourth conditions. The second and third conditions were
not significantly different from one another but were significantly different
from the fourth condition. Therefore, a combination of predator cues and conspecific
alarm cues had the greatest effect on the feeding behavior of the tadpoles.
Fry-fishing.
Patricia
Snarski and Holly Cho
Predation is a constant danger to young fish but the mechanisms of how
the behaviors of these fry materialize is not clear. In this study, Astatotilapia
burtoni fry were taken from wild caught stock and laboratory-raised stock
to see whether the fish learn how to evade predation or if it is genetic.
Female adult A. burtoni show significant differences in maternal behaviors
depending if they are wild caught or laboratory raised, and to see if these
effects transcend to their kin, fry were chased with a net to mimic a predator
and the time it took to be caught was used as an estimate of how "good" the
predator evasion tactics are. We looked at different strains and different
treatment methods to see if the fry would learn how to evade predators or
if it came ingrained. We found no significant effects between strains, treatment
conditions, or naive or experience individuals or any cross effect between
these variables, but there was some interesting correlations that could provide
interesting follow up experimentation. We found that overall both strains
decreased in time to be caught after they became experienced fish (that is,
caught in the net before) and that the fish were caught more readily after
being chased by a net for a week and that strain two took less time to be
caught than strain two, although none of the data showed significance.
Effect of Sublethal Copper Concentration on Flow Orientation Behavior of
Zebrafish, Danio rerio
Angeline Wolski and Ross Young
Dissolved copper can enter aquatic ecosystems through runoff from roads
or due to other human activities. The goal of our experiment was to analyze
the effects of an ecologically relevant sublethal concentration (20 mg/L for
3 hours) of dissolved copper on the behavior of Danio rerio when introduced
to a constant flow. Behavior was quantified by orientation and location of
fish within the experimental setup. Fish exposed to the copper treatment did
not show a preference for any orientation directions (p=.1065) while control
fish spent significantly more time oriented towards quadrants 1 and 3 (p<.0001).
Both control and copper-exposed fish spent significantly more time in quadrant
1 than any other quadrant (p<.0001 for both analyses). Copper-treated fish
spent significantly less time in quadrant 1 than the control (p=.0461). These
results indicate that sublethal dissolved copper concentrations have a measurable
effect on flow orientation behaviors of D. rerio.
Enhancement in the Response to Multiple Predatorial Cues in the Planorbella
Pond Snail.
Dani Cardia, Robin Steitz and Charlie Morse
Previous studies have shown that pond snails o the genus Planorbella exhibit
a distinct predator avoidance response in the presence of crayfish. These
studies focused on the reaction to chemosensory stimuli associated with crayfish,
including addition of crushed snails and water collected from tanks housing
crayfish to the environment of snails in the lab. The present study focused
on the possibility of an enhancement of the reaction to the presence of both
the crushed snail and crayfish water stimuli presented simultaneously as proposed
to their separate and distinct effects. The results show that the snail's
reaction to the three treatments, (snail water, crayfish water and both) were
not statistically different and therefore, these findings do not support the
hypothesis of enhancement.
Investigating the Effects of Herbicides on Stickleback Behavior: 92% Random
Katie Tanner, Kavita Krishnakant, and Molly King
Our project sought to investigate the effects of the herbicides glyphosate,
atrazine, and an “eco-friendly” organic herbicide Nature’s
Avenger on the stress response in stickleback. Stickleback fish are
a native species to the northwest, so it is valuable to understand the
effects of pollutants on their behavior. Atrazine is a very common,
and very harmful, pesticide present as a pollutant in the Willamette River. Glyphosate,
the active ingredient in Roundup, is also a common environmental pollutant. Nature’s
Avenger, with active ingredient limonene (a citrus-derived compound), is
advertised as an herbicide for organic gardens. We exposed
stickleback fish to two different concentrations of each of the three herbicides. We
chose concentrations based on the EPA recommended non-lethal concentrations
for fish. For each trial, a pair of fish was placed in each treatment
container and exposed for an average of three days. Each fish was
then scored for activity based on the number of times it moved between
the top and bottom half of the tank and on the number of burst swims exhibited
over a 15 minute period. Burst swims are a strong indicator of stress
in fish. Following scoring, the fish were weighed to determine if
there was a significant mass-based effect. Analyses were performed
to analyze the effects of treatment on activity and burst swims. We
found that there is no significant effect of treatment or of mass on activity
or number of stress bursts in stickleback fish. We thus cannot determine
if activity is a good measure of stress or a response to toxicity.
Stickleback: Not Exactly the Masters of the Maze
Charlene Grahn and Michael Weingart
The experiment tested whether or not there was a difference in the associative
learning capacity in two different populations of stickleback. They were
raised in different environments and potentially have different capacities
from this ontological difference. After constructing a maze out of ABS
pipe the fish were to associate the presence of a plant with the presence
of food. After a chi squared analysis it was determined that there was
a difference in associative learning capacity, with the pond population
associating a lack of plant with the presence of food (unfortunate byproduct
of the habituation trials). The canyon population did not make associations
of food presence one way or the other.
The Effect of Acetylcholine-Induced Stridulation on Octopamine Levels
in the Cricket Brain
Matt Hagen and Laurel Oldach
Inducing stridulation in male crickets by injection of acetylcholine is
a neuroethological protocol often used to study naturally occurring reafference
as well as the remaining neurochemical cascade occurring behind the behavior. We
hoped to determine whether injection-induced stridulation changes gene
expression in the brain by staining for octopamine, the arthropod equivalent
of epinephrine. Although our injections failed to elicit chirps,
more pre-stridulatory behavior was observed in injected males than PBS-injected
controls. An in depth discussion of staining results will occur at the
poster session.
Paradox-ical proximity of coffee shops to college
libraries: Does caffeine do more than keep you awake?
Laura Bradley, Sophie Mayer and Peter Cawley
Learning ability was measured in Rattus novegicus that were orally
administered differential doses of caffeine over a period of four weeks. Experimenters’ interest
stemmed from increasingly prevalent prescription of stimulant “study
drugs,” such as Ritalin and Adderall, to aid focus and academic performance. Previous
studies demonstrated that caffeine can have an advantageous effect on learning
(Smith 2002). In this study, learning in rats was measured by their
ability to extend a sequence of lever presses in an operant chamber over
a period of four sessions. A baseline recording of sequence length
was measured, followed by three additional sessions in which rats were
previously administered caffeine for four days. Mean and median response
time and percent correct responses were also measured. Solutions
of three different caffeine concentrations were available ad libitum to
three experimental groups; actual dosages were subsequently calculated
based on individual consumption. Available caffeine concentrations
were increased ~10 mg/kg each week such that each experimental group retained
its relative dosage level. The study was designed such that each
group received ~25 mg/kg caffeine for one week during the study in order
to demonstrate an effect of previous administration on performance. The
hypothesis that caffeine improves learning in rats is putatively supported
in this experiment. Each rat’s score was evaluated with respect
to its measured baseline in order to control for individual differences
in performance. Linear regression models indicate a positive correlation
between sequence length and caffeine dose, with a great amount of variation. Interestingly,
median response time did not decrease as expected with increased dosage. Smith,
A. (2002) Food and Chemical Tox. 40:1243-55.
Ethanol’s effect on Drosophila mating behavior
David Krueger & Lanlan Jin
Inebriation is related to mating behavior in humans, but while it is generally
reputed to make mating more likely, sociological and psychological studies
indicate that this seems to be a social phenomenon and intoxication actually
suppresses arousal in humans. Ethanol exposure in drosophila has
been shown to have many of the same effects observed in humans: hyperactivity
followed by sedation, and loss of coordination. Drosophilas also
show signs of withdraw after prolonged exposure. Chronic alcohol
exposure in male drosophila leads to increased courtship and more courting
of other males. We study the effects of short-term ethanol exposure
on drosophila melongaster mating behavior in both females and males. We
performed mating assays between individuals measuring time to 1st courtship,
time to 1st mating attempt and time to successful copulation, for inebriated
males and females (IMIF), sober males and inebriated females (SMIF), inebriated
males and sober females (IMSF), and a control group with both sexes sober
(SMSF). We hypothesized that, relative to the control: 1. the males
will court and attempt to mate earlier when inebriated (IMSF, IMIF), 2.
successful mating will be slower due to loss of coordination when the females
are sober (IMSF). 3. mating will occur earlier, relative to control, in
groups with inebriated females(IMIF, SMIF). Our results were inconclusive,
since our flies displayed very few mating behaviors across all test groups
and we had no successful matings.
Are Lazy-Eaters Also Lazy in Bed: Inter-Strain Differences in Drosophila
Mating Behavior?
Shreya Shrestha and Marion Burrill
A meeting abstract presented by Pereira and Sokolowski in 1991, reported
inter-strain differences in mating behavior between Rover and Sitter strains
of Drosophila melanogaster. They show that Rover males, who tend
to search larger areas while foraging, also achieve copulation faster and
mate for longer than Sitter males, who tend to remain in one location while
foraging. We obtained Rover/Sitter strains from Juliana Arrighi and
maintained separate cultures of each strain for the duration of our study. Using
JWatcher V 1.0 we ran mating trials and recorded three possible states,
courting, mating, and not courting. Within the courting state we
allowed three possible events to be recorded, wing vibration, orientation,
and attempt to mate. Data will be analyzed preliminarily using JWatcher
and will subsequently be analyzed for statistical significance using nonparametric
tests via JMP 7. The data will be discussed in relation to previous
findings regarding inter-strain variation in the behaviors of D. melanogaster.
Does mate choice depend on age?
Dan Bernstein and Justine Spencer
Our experiment attempted to test whether the age of the chosen mate is
dependent on the age of the mate chooser in both genders. An attempt was
made to mate all four combinations of ages and genders. The results
were inconclusive.
Bettas Gone Wild
Alyssa Gottschlich
While attempting to breed betta fish, an interesting contradiction occurred.
Because bettas are naturally aggressive, care needs to be taken that the
male won’t attack the female, and breeders can discern the male’s
interest in the female by his behavior. However, it was difficult to discriminate
between the signals for courtship and aggression. The goal for this project
was to create an ethogram which would distinguish between courtship and
aggressive behaviors. Males were observed interacting with other males,
as well as with unfamiliar and familiar females. Certain behaviors like
flaring were significantly increased between males, and the males were
also much more active throughout the observation period if they were interacting
with another male, though a few behaviors were observed more frequently
if it was a female the male was interacting. No behaviors were observed
in interacting with one sex that were not observed in the other.
Who's Who at the Zoo - Is there a Stereotypical Stereotype?
Molly Radany and Marisa Mirviss
The purpose of this experiment to investigate methods for assessing roles
of stereotyped and social behaviors in large captive mammals, as a precursor
to developing protocols to assess the overall mental health of zoo animals.
The study was conducted at the Oregon Zoo in Portland. Observations of
three types of large mammals – social herbivores, (elephants), social
predators, (Stellar’s sea lions), and non-social predators (polar
bears) – were conducted using focal sampling techniques. Behaviors
were categorized into five general groups: Social Interaction, Enrichment
Interaction, Stereotypy, Independent Activities, and No- activity, with
Not in Sight as a sixth possible category. Visual representations of the
data show prominent stereotypic behavior in all animal types, with unique
variations in individual animals. Surprisingly, some behaviors could not
be classified in one group, and overlapped stereotypic behaviors with social
interaction or keeper-provided enrichment activities; for example, polar
bears were observed interacting with enriching items in a repetitive pattern
that differed little from non-enrichment stereyotypies. Sea lions also
exhibited swim patterns that were obvious stereotypies yet were also facilitated
as social interactions. Further research along these lines could investigate
the origins of the differences in stereotypic behavior in various types
of mammals while aiming to improve the mental health and wellbeing of captive
individuals.
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