• Refine Query
  • Source
  • Publication year
  • to
  • Language
  • 205
  • 172
  • 23
  • 7
  • 7
  • 7
  • 7
  • 7
  • 6
  • 5
  • 2
  • 1
  • 1
  • 1
  • 1
  • Tagged with
  • 483
  • 483
  • 169
  • 78
  • 62
  • 54
  • 49
  • 47
  • 40
  • 37
  • 25
  • 22
  • 22
  • 22
  • 21
  • About
  • The Global ETD Search service is a free service for researchers to find electronic theses and dissertations. This service is provided by the Networked Digital Library of Theses and Dissertations.
    Our metadata is collected from universities around the world. If you manage a university/consortium/country archive and want to be added, details can be found on the NDLTD website.
471

Predator Inspection and Social Information Usage in the Sexually Dimorphic Livebearing Fish Xiphophorus helleri

Hamrick, Neil F. 01 June 2021 (has links)
No description available.
472

The Behavioral Ecology of Walleye (<i>Sander vitreus</i>): Phenotypic and Environmental Variation Influence Reproductive Behaviors and Exploitation

Bade, Andrew P. January 2021 (has links)
No description available.
473

Inertial encoding mechanisms and flight dynamics of dipteran insects

Yarger, Alexandra Mead 02 June 2020 (has links)
No description available.
474

SERIAL PATTERN EXTRAPOLATION IS SPARED DURING A MUSCARINIC CHOLINERGIC CHALLENGE IN RATS

Miller-Cahill, Megan Elizabeth 13 November 2017 (has links)
No description available.
475

Personality and pace-of-life syndrome in fishes: New perspectives

Polverino, Giovanni 24 November 2017 (has links)
Individuelle Verhaltensunterschiede (sog. „Animal personality“) werden oft als konsistent über die Zeit und situationsunabhängig angenommen. Vielfach werden solche Persönlichkeitsunterschiede zwischen Tieren einer Art durch individuelle Unterschiede im Energiehaushalt sowie Lebenszyklusvariablen (sog. ‚state variables‘, dt. Zustandsgrößen) erklärt. Dies ist in der „pace-of-life“ Hypothese zusammengefasst. In neueren Arbeiten wurde jedoch die Konsistenz von Persönlichkeitsmerkmalen über den Lebensverlauf und deren strikte Abhängigkeit von Zustandsgrößen in Frage gestellt. Die vorliegende Dissertation soll neue Einblicke in die Mechanismen, die zur Entstehung von Persönlichkeitsunterschieden im Verlauf des Lebens von Fischen, deren Situationsabhängigkeit sowie ihre Verbindung zu individuellen Unterschieden in Zustandsgrößen liefern. In einer Abfolge von fünf unabhängigen Studien untersuchte ich die genannten Annahmen und fand, dass (1) Persönlichkeitsunterschiede sich im Laufe des Lebens von Tieren vergrößern; (2) Persönlichkeitsabschätzungen bei jungen Tieren oft stärker vom experimentellen Aufbau beeinflusst werden als bei Erwachsenen; (3) der Energiehaushalt und Lebenszyklusvariablen Persönlichkeitsunterschiede sowohl unter Laborbedingungen als auch im Freiland nicht hinreichend erklären können; (4) Beziehungen zwischen Persönlichkeitsunterschieden und Unterschieden im Energiehaushalt und in Lebenszyklusvariablen fanden sich nur bei Fischen einer Population mit langsamer Lebenszyklusstrategie nicht jedoch in einer Population mit schnellem Lebenszyklus. Die vorliegende Arbeit suggeriert daher, dass sich erst im Verlauf des Lebens eines Tieres Persönlichkeitsunterschiede unvermeidbar entwickeln. Dies stellt Persönlichkeitsmessungen bei juvenilen Tieren grundsätzlich in Frage. Weiterhin scheinen Persönlichkeitsunterschiede und Zustandsgrößen unter bestimmten Umweltbedingungen und evolutiven Szenarien voneinander unabhängig zu sein. / Among-individual differences in behavior (i.e., animal personality) are assumed to be consistent over time and contexts. In theory, they are often explained by individual variations in energy costs of self-maintenance as well as life history among animals (i.e., state variables), commonly expressed as the pace-of-life syndrome hypothesis. Yet, recent theories have disputed the consistency of personality types over lifetime and their rigid state-dependency. This thesis aims to offer novel insights on the mechanisms behind the emergence and development of personality over lifetime of fishes, its context dependency, and its link to individual variation in state variables. In a sequence of five independent yet interconnected studies, I tested the assumptions above and observed that (1) personality differences increased during lifetime as a function of consistent declines in the behavioral plasticity with increasing age of animals; (2) personality estimates in young animals were weaker and thus more vulnerable to experimental biases compared to adults; (3) personality variation did not depend upon individual differences in energy costs of self-maintenance and life-history traits among individuals, under both laboratory and natural settings; and (4) the relationship between behavioral, metabolic, and life-history traits was manifested only in fish populations with slow rather than fast life-history strategies. This thesis suggests that personality variation in animals might be the inevitable outcome of development, raising questions about the reliability of personality estimates in juvenile individuals. Furthermore, individual variation in personality and “states” may act independently (i.e., phenotypes are uncorrelated) under environmental conditions and evolutionary contexts that mask or select against their trade-offs.
476

Corticosterone Administration up-Regulated Expression of Norepinephrine Transporter and Dopamine Β-Hydroxylase in Rat Locus Coeruleus and Its Terminal Regions

Fan, Yan, Chen, Ping Ping, Li, Ying, Cui, Kui, Noel, Daniel M., Cummins, Elizabeth D., Peterson, Daniel J., Brown, Russell W., Zhu, Meng-Yang 01 February 2014 (has links)
Stress has been reported to activate the locus coeruleus (LC)-noradrenergic system. In this study, corticosterone (CORT) was orally administrated to rats for 21 days to mimic stress status. In situ hybridization measurements showed that CORT ingestion significantly increased mRNA levels of norepinephrine transporter (NET) and dopamine β-hydroxylase (DBH) in the LC region. Immunofluorescence staining and western blotting revealed that CORT treatment also increased protein levels of NET and DBH in the LC, as well as NET protein levels in the hippocampus, the frontal cortex and the amygdala. However, CORT-induced increase in DBH protein levels only appeared in the hippocampus and the amygdala. Elevated NET and DBH expression in most of these areas (except for NET protein levels in the LC) was abolished by simultaneous treatment with combination of corticosteroid receptor antagonist mifepristone and spironolactone (s.c. for 21 days). Also, treatment with mifepristone alone prevented CORT-induced increases of NET expression and DBH protein levels in the LC. In addition, behavioral tasks showed that CORT ingestion facilitated escape in avoidance trials using an elevated T-maze, but interestingly, there was no significant effect on the escape trial. Corticosteroid receptor antagonists failed to counteract this response in CORT-treated rats. In the open-field task, CORT treatment resulted in less activity in a defined central zone compared to controls and corticosteroid receptor antagonist treatment alleviated this increase. In conclusion, this study demonstrates that chronic exposure to CORT results in a phenotype that mimics stress-induced alteration of noradrenergic phenotypes, but the effects on behavior are task dependent. As the sucrose consumption test strongly suggests CORT ingestion-induced depression-like behavior, further elucidation of underlying mechanisms may improve our understanding of the correlation between stress and the development of depression.
477

Respostas produtivas, comportamentais e fisiológicas de vacas criadas sob sistema biodinâmico em diferentes ambientes de pré ordenha e níveis de produção leiteira. / Production responses, behavioral and physiological of cattle raised in biodynamic system in a diferent environments pre milking.

RODRIGUES, Albério Lopes. 03 September 2018 (has links)
Submitted by Johnny Rodrigues (johnnyrodrigues@ufcg.edu.br) on 2018-09-03T18:39:37Z No. of bitstreams: 1 ALBÉRIO LOPES RODRIGUES - TESE PPGMV 2012..pdf: 780552 bytes, checksum: 40fc6d8909d346efc5c79f859193d403 (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2018-09-03T18:39:37Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 ALBÉRIO LOPES RODRIGUES - TESE PPGMV 2012..pdf: 780552 bytes, checksum: 40fc6d8909d346efc5c79f859193d403 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2012 / O objetivo desse trabalho foi avaliar a influência do ambiente de pastejo sobre o comportamento e de dois ambientes de pré ordenha sobre as respostas produtivas, fisiológicas, hormonais e a qualidade do leite de vacas da raça Pardo-Suíça criadas em sistema Biodinâmico de produção. A pesquisa foi dividida em quatro capítulos. No capítulo I, por meio da literatura vigente, buscou-se informações sobre a importância da utilização do sombreamento natural e artificial na pastagem, e ainda, a eficiência da sombra e dos sistemas de resfriamento na pré ordenha de vacas leiteiras, verificando-se, serem estratégias importantes para o conforto e a produção látea desses animais. No capítulo II, foi realizada uma revisão bibliográfica sobre as características produtivas e a qualidade do leite bovino produzido ecológica e convencionalmente, observando-se que a leve inferioridade na produção e nos constituintes do leite ecológico foi devido a baixa utilização de tecnologias no manejo geral desse sistema. No capítulo III, Avaliou-se a influência do ambiente de pastejo sobre o comportamento alimentar, ruminação e ócio, noturna e diuturnamente (Ensaio I) de 32 vacas, divididas nos níveis de alta e baixa produção láctea, e o efeito dos ambientes de pré ordenha de sombra e sol (ensaio II) sobre as variáveis fisiológicas desses animais. As vacas de baixa produção alimentaram-se por mais tempo nas horas quentes do dia, quando comparados aos de alta, mas os animais de ambos os níveis produtivos pastejaram mais durante o dia que à noite (Ensaio I). Nos ambientes de pré ordenha (Ensaio II), as vacas mais produtivas foram mais sensíveis ao calor que as de baixa produção e, o ambiente de pré ordenha sombreado foi eficiente em manter as variáveis fisiológicas dentro da faixa aceitável para os bovinos leiteiros, independentemente dos níveis produtivos. No capítulo IV, avaliou-se o efeito dos ambientes de sombra e sol sobre a produção, qualidade do leite e concentração plasmática hormonal de 32 vacas, divididas nos níveis de alta e baixa produção láctea. Assim, verificouse, que o fornecimento de sombra por 1,5 horas antes da ordenha da tarde a vacas leiteiras Pardo-Suíças criadas em sistema Biodinâmico de produção, embora reduza as intempéries climáticas sobre as mesmas, não altera a sua produção e composição láctea. / The objective this work were to assess on grazing in two different environments of pre milking about the behavior in milk from cows of Brown Swiss on the productive responses, physiological, hormonal and quality from the biodynamic production system. That study was put in four chapters. Into the first chapter, we looked for information about the importance in to use the natural and artificial shading in grasslands and about the shadow efficiency and about the cooling systems on the milking in the milkmaid to confirm about the importance strategy for the comfort and the milk production. On the chapter II, we did the review in the papers about the production characterize and the milk qualify from the cattle form the ecological and traditional system to observe about the low in the production and the composition in the ecological milk was because the short technology in the handling in the used system. Into the chapter III we look for to evaluate the influence about the ambience on grazing about the food behavior rumination and resting, day and night (test I) of 32 cows, we had 16 in low and 16 in up production and look for about action of ambiences in pre milking on the sun and in with out sun. The cows from low production eating for up time in hot hours in the day when we make to comparison with the up production cows but the animal with the both level grazing more in the day (test I). In the ambiences in pre milking (Test II), the cows with the high production were more sensitive about the hot weather than the animal in the cooling weather and the ambience of pre milking with out sun were more efficiency with the physiological variations in the acceptance level for the cattle apart the two production levels. Into the chapter IV, we evaluated the effect of sun and shade environments on production, milk quality and hormonal plasma concentration of 32 cows, divided into high and low levels of milk production. In fact, it was found, that shade for 1.5 hours before the pre milking afternoon the cows in Brown Swiss from biodynamic production system, while reducing the influence weather in the cows, does not improve its yield and the composition milk.
478

Efeitos do campo magnético artificial sobre o Camarão lLitopenaeus vannamei (Penaeidae) e sobre as capturas com covos de peixes e crustáceos no litoral sul de Pernambuco

GONÇALVES, Carlos Geraldo Barreto 29 September 2014 (has links)
Submitted by Caroline Falcao (caroline.rfalcao@ufpe.br) on 2017-05-22T17:45:56Z No. of bitstreams: 2 license_rdf: 1232 bytes, checksum: 66e71c371cc565284e70f40736c94386 (MD5) TESE FINAL Carlos Geraldo-PPGO.pdf: 10438439 bytes, checksum: 846645d0ef9edecba48513889f2c3692 (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2017-05-22T17:45:56Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 2 license_rdf: 1232 bytes, checksum: 66e71c371cc565284e70f40736c94386 (MD5) TESE FINAL Carlos Geraldo-PPGO.pdf: 10438439 bytes, checksum: 846645d0ef9edecba48513889f2c3692 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2014-09-29 / O campo magnético é uma fonte acessível de informação direcional passível de ser utilizada pelos seres vivos para orientação e navegação. Animais como mamíferos, aves, peixes, répteis marinhos, anfíbios, moluscos, insetos e crustáceos são sensíveis ao campo geomagnético. O presente estudo enfocou uma avaliação do efeito do campo magnético sobre peixes e crustáceos marinhos em condições naturais (área costeira) e sobre camarões Litopennaeus vannamei em condições controladas (laboratório). Os experimentos com peixes e crustáceos em condições naturais consistiram de sete a oito pescarias independentes, empregando-se armadilhas tipo covo distribuídos em cinco grupos de três a quatro unidades. Magnetos permanentes de 2000 Gauss em um raio de 2m foram fixados próximos à abertura de seis dos dezesete covos empregados. Ao final de cada pescaria os peixes e crustáceos capturados em cada covo foram identificados e contabilizados. Os níveis de capturas de peixes e crustáceos foram significativamente mais elevados nos covos com magneto. Dezessete espécies de crustáceos estiveram presentes nas capturas com os covos, dentre as quais as duas espécies mais frequentes foram Coryrhynchus riisei e Stenorhynchus seticornis. Trinta e duas espécies de peixes ocorreram nas capturas com os covos, com a espécie Haemulon aurolineatum (Xira branca) apresentando uma frequência de ocorrência uma a duas ordens de magnitude superior as demais espécies capturadas, principalmente nos covos com magneto. Ante este resultado, otólitos e tecidos da linha lateral, mancha ocelar, narina e área abdominal (controle) foram extraídos de cinco indivíduos jovens e de cinco indivíduos adultos de H. aurolineatum para investigar a presença de material magnético nessas estruturas. As amostras foram coletadas de indivíduos recém-capturados, secas em estufa e submetidas a medidas de ressonância ferromagnética (RFM) com uso de um espectrômetro Bruker ESP300E. Os espectros obtidos indicaram presença de material magnético nos otólitos, narinas e mancha ocelar e ausência de material magnético nos tecidos da área abdominal de todos os espécimes analisados. Nas amostras da linha lateral, a presença de material magnético pareceu estar relacionada ao desenvolvimento ontogenético, tendo sido detectado principalmente em espécimes adultos. Os experimentos em condições controladas foram realizados com camarões Litopenaeus vannamei considerando-se sexos e fases do seu ciclo ontogenético (machos e fêmeas adultos; machos e fêmeas juvenis e pós-larvas). Um par de bobinas circulares na configuração de Helmholtz, conectada a uma fonte regulável, foi empregado para a geração de diferentes intensidades (0, 25, 30, 35 e 40 μT) de campo magnético artificial uniforme. Os testes foram realizados de forma acumulativa e não acumulativa. No primeiro caso, um mesmo grupo de 15 camarões foi sequencialmente submetido aos cinco níveis de intensidade de campo magnético, com um intervalo de 24h entre exposições. No segundo caso, empregando- se novos grupos de 15 camarões para cada nível de exposição. Todos os testes foram realizados em triplicata. Os resultados evidenciaram a redução da atividade do L. vannamei quando expostos a campos de 35μT e 40 μT e sua paralisia total a campo de 40μT, assim como a preferência na ocupação do polo sul por fêmeas e machos adultos e juvenis e do polo norte por pós-larvas. / The magnetic field is a handy source of directional information that can be used by living things for orientation and navigation. Animals such as mammals, birds, fishes, marine reptiles, amphibians, molluscs, insects and crustaceans are sensitive to the geomagnetic field. The present study focused on an evaluation of the response of marine fishes and shellfishes subjected to an artificial magnetic field under natural conditions (coastal area) and under controlled conditions (laboratory). The experiments with fishes and crustaceans in natural conditions consisted of seven to eight independent fisheries employing creels traps distributed into five groups of three to four units. Permanent magnets of 2000 Gauss in a 2m radius were tied next to the opening of six of the seventeen creels employees. At the end of each fishery, fish and crustaceans caught in each trap were identified and accounted for. The levels of catches of fish and crustaceans were significantly higher in creels with magnet. Seventeen species of crustaceans were present in the catches with the creels, among which the two species most frequently were Coryrhynchus riisei and Stenorhynchus seticorni. Thirty-two species of fish were present in the catchs with the creels. The frequence of occurrence of the speciie Haemulon aurolineatum (Tomtate grunt) was one to two orders of magnitude higher than the other species caught, mainly in creels with magneto. Given this results, Otoliths and tissues of the lateral line, ocelar spot, nostril and abdomen (control) were extracted from five young individuals and five adult individuals of H. aurolineatum to investigate the presence of magnetic material in these structures. The samples were collected from newly captured individuals, oven-dried and subjected to measures of ferromagnetic resonance (RFM) using a Bruker ESP300E spectrometer. The spectra obtained indicated presence of magnetic material in otoliths, nostrils and ocelar spot and absence of magnetic material in the tissues of the abdominal area of all specimens examined. In the samples of the lateral line, the presence of magnetic material seems to be related to the ontogenetic development, having been detected mainly among adult specimens. The experiments under controlled conditions were performed with the shrimp Litopenaeus vannamei considering different sexes and stages of their ontogenetic cycle (adult males and females; juvenils males and females and post-larvae). A pair of circular coils in Helmholtz configuration, connected to an adjustable power source was used to generate different intensities (0, 25, 30, 35 and 40 μT) of uniform artificial magnetic field. The tests were carried out in accumulative and non accumulative manners. In the first case, a group of 15 shrimps was sequentially exposed to the five levels of magnetic field intensity, with a 24 hours interval between exposures. In the second case, using new groups of 15 shrimps for each level of exposure. All tests were performed in triplicate. The results showed a reduction in activity of L. vannamei when exposed to fields of 35 μT and higher and their total paralysis to levels of 40 μT, as well as the preference in the occupation of the South Pole by females and males juvenils and adults and of the North Pole by post-lavae.
479

Eco-ethological response of great apes and other rainforest mammals to selective logging in Cameroon / Réponse éco-éthologique des grands singes et autres mammifères à l'exploitation forestière sélective au Cameroun

Arnhem, Eric 28 September 2008 (has links)
With more than ¾ of the forest surface of Cameroon allocated to logging, the survival of many rainforest species will depend on the way in which timber production forests will be managed in this country for the next decades. Management decisions to be applied should be directed systematically towards a minimization of the negative impacts on the ecosystem as a whole, including on the animal populations living in these forests. This requires a detailed understanding of the response of wildlife to selective logging as it is currently practised in Central Africa. <p>This thesis reports results of a longitudinal monitoring of abundances of nine mammal species in a forest concession over a four years period. From 2003 to 2006, four wildlife censuses have been conducted in the active core of FMU 10.030 allocated to the logging company PALLISCO. Our study area covers 176 sq-km and include several logging compartments and unlogged areas.<p>The diversity of specific responses to the introduction of human activities into the habitat is at the scale of the biological diversity of the habitat itself. A particular attention was paid to two emblematic species of the Cameroonian forests, western lowland gorillas G.g. gorilla and the common chimpanzees Pan troglodytes. During this work, we studied 1) how logging at industrial scale affects the spatial distribution of nine mammal species, including great apes, in timber production forests of South-eastern Cameroon, and 2) the nature of pressures exerted on animal populations within an active forest concession (anthropic, ecological, ethologic, etc).<p>Our first results indicate that the extraction of valuable timber species generates a spatial reorganization of gorillas and chimpanzees, inducing local modifications of population densities. This spatial reorganization seems to be mainly due to human activities per se rather than to modifications of the habitat structure or changes in the availability of fruits for these species. Compared with other mammals, great apes are at the two extreme opposites of a gradient of sensitivity to the habitat disturbances created by logging. Gorillas, as well as other "generalist" species like duikers, seem to thrive in logged forests, probably attracted in these areas by the secondarisation of the vegetation. Their densities decrease temporarily in logging compartments during logging operations but these species recover quickly, suggesting a repulsive effect of the human presence in the forest rather than a major alteration of the habitat quality for them. Rather "specialist" species seem to react by increasing the size of their foraging area. These are the sitatungas Tragelpahus spekei and bushpigs Potamochoerus porcus, two typical species of swamp forest with Raffia spp. and semi-inundated forests. These particular biotopes in the heart of the production forests seem to be playing the role of refuge zone for these species. Finally, two species were identified as being explicitly vulnerable to logging activities: the chimpanzees and forest elephants Loxodonta africana cyclotis. Their abundances did not recover to original values during the period of study indicating that they still undergo some kind of ecological and/or anthropic pressures after the end of logging operations that is strongly adverse to them. <p>In order to contrast the ecological and/or anthropic factors ruling gorillas' and chimpanzees' spatial distribution in the habitat, we have used a spatial modelling technique called “Ecological Niche Factor Analysis - ENFA". ENFA-generated models for these two species mainly retained anthropic variables to explain great apes local repartition in the study area. For gorillas, it was mainly explained by the local pattern of logging compartments and the time that passed since the end of logging operations. Globally, this species avoids the areas of forests showing a high rate of human frequentation and is attracted to old logged areas. As for the chimpanzees, their spatial distribution is influenced mainly by the presence of roads which are largely avoided. The periphery of logged compartment seems to be a zone of convergence for chimpanzee communities that have probably been driven out from logging compartments during operations, but these movements of populations would be limited to short distances. The vulnerability of the chimpanzees is consequently explained by the absence of demographic mechanisms enabling them to avoid the disturbed zones while reducing the territorial conflicts.<p>The general trend in great ape abundances in an active logging concession confirms that even closely related species can show divergent capacities of survival when confronted to human disturbances. Our work highlights that chimpanzee communities demonstrate some spatial inertia, contrarily to gorillas which easily manage to avoid human activities. This inertia would be probably at the origin of its sensitivity to current forestry practices. Our results confirm White & Tutin (2001)'s socio-ecological explanation for the vulnerability of chimpanzees to logging in forests of Central Africa. Knowing this, it is imperative to set up concrete conservation actions aiming at maintaining the chimpanzee populations of in Cameroonian timber production forests.<p>Practically, selective logging would easily be compatible with the preservation of the majority of rainforests mammals if concrete measures aiming at decreasing the negative impacts of logging were effectively applied. As a general rule, the proximity between logged areas and some zones that can serve as refuge seems to be a determining factor of the persistence of rainforests mammals in logged forests. A line of thought would be thus to ensure safe shifts of populations towards these zones in order to guarantee the avoidance of disturbances and, later, the recovery of densities in logged forests. In this sense, our main recommendation consists in promoting a delimitation of logging compartments into narrow strips so as to reduce the distance to be walked by an animal to geographically avoid human disturbances. Additionally, it is necessary to set up well-designed biomonitoring programmes to follow up trends in wildlife abundances and promote a flexible management that can be adapted according to the evidence of detrimental events to wildlife.<p>/<p>Avec plus de ¾ de la surface forestière du Cameroun allouée à l'exploitation forestière, la survie de nombreuses espèces de mammifères dépendra de la façon dont seront gérés les massifs de forêt de production de ce pays dans les décennies à venir. Les mesures de gestion à appliquer devraient être orientées systématiquement vers une minimisation des impacts négatifs sur l'écosystème dans son ensemble, y compris sur les populations animales résidant dans ces forêts. Ceci nécessite une compréhension détaillée de la réponse de la grande et moyenne faune à l'exploitation forestière sélective telle qu'elle est effectivement pratiquée en Afrique Centrale. <p>Cette thèse de doctorat rapporte les résultats d'un suivi longitudinal, sur une période de quatre ans, des abondances de neuf espèces de mammifères au sein d'une concession forestière du Sud-est Cameroun. Au total, quatre recensements de la faune ont été réalisés entre 2003 et 2006 dans la partie active de l'UFA 10.030 allouée à la société PALLISCO. La zone étudiée couvre 176 km2 et englobe plusieurs parcelles annuelles d'abattage ainsi que des compartiments non exploités.<p>La diversité des réponses spécifiques vis-à-vis de l'introduction d'activités humaines dans l'habitat est à l'échelle de la diversité biologique de l'habitat lui-même. Une attention particulière a été portée sur deux espèces emblématiques des forêts camerounaises, les gorilles des plaines occidentales G.g. gorilla et les chimpanzés communs Pan t. troglodytes. Durant ce travail, nous avons étudié 1) comment l'exploitation forestière à l'échelle industrielle affecte la distribution spatiale de neuf espèces de mammifères, dont les grands singes, dans les massifs de forêt de production du Sud-est Cameroun, et 2) de quelle nature sont les pressions exercées sur les populations animales au sein d'une concession forestière active (anthropique, écologique, éthologique, etc.).<p>Nos premiers résultats indiquent que l'extraction d'essences précieuses dans les forêts camerounaises génère notamment une réorganisation de la distribution spatiale des gorilles et des chimpanzés, induisant des modifications locales de densité de population. Cette réorganisation spatiale semble être due aux activités humaines elles-mêmes plutôt qu'aux modifications de la structure de l'habitat ou à une diminution de la disponibilité de certaines ressources alimentaires importantes pour ces espèces. Comparés à d'autres mammifères, les grands singes se placent aux deux extrêmes d'un gradient de sensibilité aux perturbations de l'habitat causés par l'exploitation forestière. Les gorilles, ainsi que d'autres espèces "généralistes" comme les céphalophes, semblent prospérer dans les forêts exploitées, probablement attirés dans ces zones par la secondarisation de la végétation. Leurs densités diminuent ponctuellement dans les parcelles d'abattage pendant les opérations d'extraction, mais retrouvent très vite leur niveau initial. Ceci suggère un effet répulsif de la présence humaine sur ces espèces plutôt qu'une altération majeure de la qualité de l'habitat pour ces dernières. D'autres espèces plus "spécialistes" semblent réagir en augmentant la taille de leurs aires de fourragement. Il s'agit des sitatungas Tragelpahus spekei et des potamochères Potamochoerus porcus, deux espèces appréciant les biotopes humides (marécages à Raphia spp. des zones de forêt inondées, etc.). Ces biotopes particuliers, non-affectés par l'exploitation forestière, au coeur des forêts de production semblent servir de refuge pour ces espèces. Enfin, deux espèces ont été identifiées comme étant explicitement très vulnérables aux activités d'exploitation: les chimpanzés et les éléphants des forêts Loxodonta africana cyclotis. Leurs abondances n'ont pas recouvré les valeurs originelles durant la période d'étude, indiquant que ces espèces subissent encore des pressions écologiques et/ou anthropiques jusqu'à quatre ans après la fin des activités d'exploitation forestière. <p>Afin de contraster les facteurs écologiques et/ou anthropiques régissant la distribution spatiale des gorilles et des chimpanzés, nous avons fait usage d'une technique de modélisation spatiale appelée "Ecological Niche Factor Analysis – ENFA". Les modèles ENFA pour ces deux espèces ont principalement retenu les variables anthropiques pour expliquer la distribution spatiale des grands singes dans l'aire d'étude. Il a ainsi été démontré que la répartition des gorilles était en grande partie expliquée par l'agencement local des AACs et le temps qui s'est écoulé depuis la fin des opérations d'extraction dans celles-ci. De manière générale, cette espèce évite les zones présentant un haut taux de fréquentation humaine et préfère les forêts exploitées quelques années auparavant. Quant aux chimpanzés, leur distribution spatiale est principalement expliquée par la présence de routes et pistes forestières qui sont amplement évitées. La périphérie des zones exploitées semble être une zone de convergence pour les chimpanzés qui y seraient vraisemblablement refoulés lors des perturbations, mais ces mouvements seraient limités à de courtes distances. La vulnérabilité des chimpanzés s'expliquerait dès lors par l'absence de mécanismes démographiques leur permettant d'éviter les zones affectées tout en réduisant les conflits territoriaux résultant d'une réorganisation spatiale.<p>La tendance globale des variations d'abondance des grands singes au sein d'une concession forestière en cours d'exploitation confirme que même des espèces très proches phylogénétiquement peuvent faire preuve de capacités différentes de survie face aux perturbations anthropiques. Il ressort de nos observations que les communautés de chimpanzés font preuve d'une certaine inertie spatiale, contrairement aux gorilles qui parviennent à éviter les activités humaines. Cette inertie serait probablement à l'origine de sa vulnérabilité face aux pratiques forestières actuelles. Nos résultats viennent confirmer l'hypothèse socio-écologique émise par White & Tutin (2001). Face à ce malheureux constat, il est impératif de mettre en place des mesures concrètes de gestion visant à maintenir les populations de chimpanzés dans les forêts de production camerounaises. <p>Pratiquement, l'exploitation sélective serait compatible avec la conservation de la plupart des mammifères si certaines mesures de gestion visant à diminuer les impacts négatifs étaient rapidement mises en application. La proximité entre les zones exploitées et les zones pouvant servir de refuge semble être un facteur déterminant de la survie de nombreuses espèces de mammifères dans les forêts de production du Cameroun. Une ligne de réflexion serait donc d'assurer les mouvements de populations vers ces zones-refuge sans heurts afin de garantir l'émigration des populations animales en dehors des zones affectées et la recolonisation ultérieure des forêts exploitées. En ce sens, notre principale recommandation consiste à promouvoir un découpage en assiettes de coupe en bandes relativement étroites (<2,5 km) de façon à réduire la distance à parcourir pour éviter géographiquement les perturbations anthropiques. De même, il serait nécessaire de mettre en place des programmes de suivi régulier des abondances faunistiques afin de permettre une gestion adaptative qui s'ajusterait au vu d'événements critiques pour la faune. / Doctorat en Sciences / info:eu-repo/semantics/nonPublished
480

Characterization of Behavioral Profiles for Inbred P and NP and Congenic P.NP and NP.P Rats

Jensen, Meredith 27 August 2012 (has links)
Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis (IUPUI) / Alcoholism inheritance rates have been estimated as high as 60% in a human population. Many significant features of alcohol dependence have been replicated in rodent animal models of alcoholism, however not in totality. These animal models include inbred preferring (iP) and nonpreferring (iNP) rat types. Congenic rats have been engineered from the iP and iNP strains whereby a P congenic rat has in its genome a well-chosen chromosomal portion taken from an NP rat (P.NP) and, reciprocally, an NP congenic rat has acquired the analogous DNA from a P rat (NP.P). In this case, a quantitative trait locus (QTL) from chromosome 4 is the donor genetic material for the congenic rats. It is of great interest to further study this chromosome 4 QTL because it has been found to control a significant portion of ethanol consumption behavior in iP and iNP rats. This study aimed to behaviorally profile the iP, iNP and reciprocal congenic rats. As a result of the behavioral profiling of these genetically related groups, some conclusions could be made regarding which behaviors appear to be controlled by the chromosome 4 donor DNA.This study primarily utilized the Multivariate Concentric Square Field apparatus (MCSF) to characterize behavioral profiles for the inbred and congenic rats. The Open field (OF) and Elevated plus maze (EPM) supported this effort. The MCSF is valuable in that it allows for the animals to interact within an environment that has ethological value. The 12 different zones that make up the field are characterized by some functional quality in terms of type and duration of behavior performed, etc. The behavioral data is aggregated and finally represented in terms of five functional categories, the elements of the behavioral profile: general activity, exploratory activity, risk assessment, risk taking, and shelter seeking. The study hypotheses were shaped by prior research suggesting that iPs should display lower general activity and risk taking strategy than iNPs in the MCSF. Inbred Ps should be more active in the OF and spend more time in the center of the EPM. Generally, it is expected that the iP QTL confer behavioral phenotypes to the iNP strain that deviate toward a "P" behavioral phenotype and reciprocally, the iNP QTL confer behavioral phenotypes to the iP strain that deviate toward an "NP" behavioral phenotype. The results showed that iP rats performed more risk assessment and risk taking behavior and less shelter seeking and anxiety-like behavior than iNP rats. It followed that P.NP congenic rats significantly downgraded their risk assessment and risk taking behavior when compared to iP rats. This decrease can be attributed to the chromosome 4 QTL donated from the iNP breed. All together this study concludes that risk assessment and risk taking behavior in the iP rats is controlled by the same DNA region that, in part, determines voluntary intake of ethanol consumption. Further fine mapping of the QTL region should help in discovering if the same DNA sequences that influence ethanol intake also significantly influence risk behavior.

Page generated in 0.0533 seconds