AN ABSTRACT OF THE THESIS OF MARCUS C. ABSTON, for the Master of Science degree in ZOOLOGY, presented on 18 April 2017, at Southern Illinois University Carbondale. TITLE: EFFECTS OF OLFACTORY ENRICHMENT ON AFRICAN CHEETAHS (ACINONYX JUBATUS) MAJOR PROFESSOR: Dr. Carey Krajewski Environmental enrichment has been an essential part of felid husbandry in zoos, serving to reduce both physiological and psychological stress. Olfactory enrichment is one of many interventions used to prevent stereotypic behavior caused by stress in felids. However, little research has been done on this practice. The purpose of this study was to compare behavioral responses of four captive African cheetahs to six types of commercial fragrances used as olfactory enrichment stimuli. Three of these fragrances are marketed as “men’s cologne” and three as “women’s perfume”. The fragrances were also categorized as musky, spice, and floral types. Behavioral responses were recorded by live observations during 36 bouts at the St. Louis Zoo. There was a significant difference between cheetahs’ interaction time with male and female fragrances; they seemed to prefer male colognes. However, there was no significant difference in interaction time among fragrance types. Engagement behaviors varied among individuals (e.g. sniffing, scent rolling, pawing), but were similar to those reported by previous authors. These findings suggest that commercial fragrances may be a useful option for African cheetah olfactory enrichment.

<p>The social organization of animal societies has important implications for several fields of biology, from managing wild populations to developing new ecological and evolutionary theory. Although much attention has been given to the formation and maintenance of societies of group living individuals, less is known about how societies of solitary individuals have been shaped and maintained. Traditionally, the evolution of social organizations in the mammalian order Carnivora has been regarded as a directional selection process from a solitary ancestry into progressively more advanced forms of sociality. In this thesis, I tested this model against an alternative model, assuming radiation from a socially flexible ancestry. I further explored sociality, resource use and dispersal of a solitary carnivore, the wolverine (<i>Gulo gulo</i>), in the light of these two evolutionary models. Phylogenetic reconstruction generally supported that carnivore social organizations evolved through directional selection from a solitary ancestor. However, results from captive wolverine females indicated that they might have rudimentary social tendencies, which rather support that sociality in carnivores radiated from a socially flexible ancestry. Wild wolverines in northwestern Brooks Range, Alaska, adhered to the commonly found ecological niche as a largely ungulate dependent generalist carnivore. Lack of sexual asymmetry in dispersal tendencies indicated that resource competition among wolverine females probably was high. I suggest that wolverines have latent abilities to aggregate, but that their phylogenetic legacy in terms of morphology has constrained them into an ecological niche where resource abundance and distribution generally inhibit aggregations. Due to contradictory results, I suggest further research to test evolutionary theory regarding carnivore social evolution, and particularly to explore new avenues into social evolution that better explain intra-specific variation in sociality, as well as formation and maintenance of solitary social systems.</p>

The social organization of animal societies has important implications for several fields of biology, from managing wild populations to developing new ecological and evolutionary theory. Although much attention has been given to the formation and maintenance of societies of group living individuals, less is known about how societies of solitary individuals have been shaped and maintained. Traditionally, the evolution of social organizations in the mammalian order Carnivora has been regarded as a directional selection process from a solitary ancestry into progressively more advanced forms of sociality. In this thesis, I tested this model against an alternative model, assuming radiation from a socially flexible ancestry. I further explored sociality, resource use and dispersal of a solitary carnivore, the wolverine (Gulo gulo), in the light of these two evolutionary models. Phylogenetic reconstruction generally supported that carnivore social organizations evolved through directional selection from a solitary ancestor. However, results from captive wolverine females indicated that they might have rudimentary social tendencies, which rather support that sociality in carnivores radiated from a socially flexible ancestry. Wild wolverines in northwestern Brooks Range, Alaska, adhered to the commonly found ecological niche as a largely ungulate dependent generalist carnivore. Lack of sexual asymmetry in dispersal tendencies indicated that resource competition among wolverine females probably was high. I suggest that wolverines have latent abilities to aggregate, but that their phylogenetic legacy in terms of morphology has constrained them into an ecological niche where resource abundance and distribution generally inhibit aggregations. Due to contradictory results, I suggest further research to test evolutionary theory regarding carnivore social evolution, and particularly to explore new avenues into social evolution that better explain intra-specific variation in sociality, as well as formation and maintenance of solitary social systems.

The wolf is an endangered animal in Sweden and the issue of conserving the species is a polarizing one. Specific attention has been given to this issue in environmental social sciences with studies focusing on the divide between wolf support and opposition. These studies include looking at historical interactions with the wolf, contemporary attitudes about the issue, and the way the law shapes policy. Following this focus on the disputed nature of wolf conservation, this thesis addresses whether polarization over the issue occurs between several stakeholders in large carnivore management in Sweden. Using Actor Network Theory, this thesis examines the similarities and divergences in the stakeholders’ conservation practices and maps their interactions with one another. Emphasis is placed on how the European Union’s regulations and the Swedish State’s policies conflict and/or influence the stakeholders. Overall results show that despite a discourse of polarization surrounding wolf management in Sweden, the actors in this study cannot be easily positioned against each other, and despite some divergences, share many similarities in their large carnivore management practices.

No description available.

Animal slaughter has recently become highly visible in popular food media. This thesis interrogates the myths, assumptions and ideologies underlying this so-called New Carnivore movement, through critical analysis of a range of popular gastronomic texts. Socially-constructed ideas about ‘reality’, ‘sentimentality’, ‘sacrifice’, and ‘redemption’ are intimately implicated in the process of animal slaughter, as are the notions of ‘good taste’ and social distinction. The domination of animals, demonstrated through the slaughter, butchery, and consumption of nonhuman bodies, is held to be an integral component in the performance of gender, as well as a means of reconnecting, via a kind of secular epiphany, with ‘Nature’ at its most authentic. As a hostile backlash against the social progress made by the animal advocacy and vegetarian movements, New Carnivorism denigrates vegetarianism and veganism as outdated, unfashionable, unnatural, puritanical and rude. Although these texts’ potential to inspire farmed animal welfare reform should not be ignored, New Carnivorism ultimately serves to naturalize, justify and promote the continued consumption of meat, and the continued exploitation of nonhuman animals, in Western societies.

Because most grizzly bear mortalities occur near roads, the Province of Alberta plans to implement gated access management. Little is known about how grizzly bears will respond to road closures because the effects of roads are confounded by habitat and human use. I examined mechanisms underlying grizzly bear habitat selection near roads on private and public lands of southwestern Alberta. I incorporated habitat selection models into an analysis of conflict risk. Grizzly bears selected areas near roads with low traffic and were most active at night on private lands, where human use was low. However, habitat selection varied among individuals, and roads were not a consistent predictor of overall habitat selection across individual bears. Patterns of habitat selection led to the emergence of ecological traps on private land. Access and attractant management should be implemented to reduce bear-human conflicts, and decrease displacement of bears from high-quality habitats. / Ecology

Fear of predation can have a major impact on the behaviour of prey species. Despite recent codifying of the concept of the ecology of fear, there has been relatively little focus on how these ideas apply to large carnivore species which, although not prey sensu stricto, may experience fear as a result of threats from humans. This thesis argues that large mammalian carnivores are subject to a Landscape of Fear similar to that described for prey species, and will respond behaviourally to fear of human-caused mortality. The idea of a "Landscape of Coexistence" is introduced to denote the perceived risk from humans and associated behavioural responses that can be overlain on spatio-temporally heterogeneous landscapes. Literature on the ecology of fear for large mammalian carnivores and, as there is a dearth of such literature, the current theory on the ecology of fear for other guilds is reviewed, and how this might inform large carnivore behaviour in a Landscape of Coexistence is explored. Behavioural effects of human-caused mortality risk are revealed for lions living in a human dominated landscape (Laikipia County, Kenya), specifically how lions adjust their movement patterns, habitat use and foraging tactics when in proximity to humans. It is argued that these behavioural adjustments represent a trade-off between maximising fitness enhancing activities and minimising the risk of human-caused mortality, thus need to be taken into consideration along with the lethal effects of humans when explaining the density, distribution and behaviour of lions throughout much of their remaining range. Although fear is generic, 'human-caused mortality risk' represents a distinct and very important sub-set of the ecology of fear for the carnivore guild. The existence of a Landscape of Coexistence has implications for understanding their foraging ecology, and ultimately their population dynamics and role in the ecosystem, and is therefore, important for the conservation of large carnivores throughout large parts of their remaining ranges.

This study provides an insight into carnivores´ responses to urban conditions. The main goal of this study is to examine changes of population densities and home range sizes of eight mesocarnivore species along the gradient from natural to urbanized habitats by gathering and assessing available data.

A integração morfológica determina a quantidade de variação disponível em diferentes direções do espaço multivariado entre um conjunto de caracteres, e pode assim ter importantes consequências evolutivas, enviesando a direção e a taxa de evolução morfológica em determinadas direções. Assim, estudar a evolução da integração morfológica é importante para entender a evolução fenotípica de uma linhagem. Neste trabalho, utilizo abordagens de genética quantitativa comparativa para estudar a evolução da integração morfológica no crânio em carnívoros da subordem Feliformia, grupo com extensa diversidade filogenética, morfológica e ecológica para o qual análises anteriores de integração analisaram número reduzido de espécies. Para este fim, comparo matrizes de covariância fenotípicas intra-populacionais quantificando a associação entre 35 distâncias lineares no crânio de um conjunto de táxons incluindo todas as sete famílias e mais de um terço da diversidade filogenética atual da subordem. Investigo também a associação entre integração morfológica e a evolução da morfologia média, assim como a influência da história evolutiva (filogenia) e de dois aspectos da ecologia (dieta e socialidade) sobre a evolução da morfologia média e da integração. Os padrões de integração fenotípica no crânio (i.e. quais caracteres variam em conjunto com maior intensidade) são bastante estáveis na subordem, como observado para outros mamíferos, mas revelam alguma sub-estruturação, com padrões um pouco distintos em Felidae, Hyaenidae e Prionodontidae As magnitudes de integração são também relativamente estruturadas, com valores geralmente mais altos em Felidae e consistentemente mais baixos em Hyaenidae. Apesar disso, a magnitude geral de integração é evolutivamente plástica, como em outros mamíferos, havendo importantes variações internas a cada família. Encontrei uma associação geral entre a evolução da morfologia média e modificações em padrões e magnitudes de integração para a subordem como um todo e em vários grupos menos inclusivos, o que em alguns casos se manifesta como uma semelhança da integração entre táxons morfologicamente convergentes, mas filogeneticamente distantes. A evolução de padrões de integração se correlaciona à história filogenética em Feliformia como um todo e na maior parte dos grupos acima, mas não abaixo do nível de família, corroborando padrões de covariação relativamente distintos apesar de sua alta similaridade, bem como integração mais restrita internamente a cada família. A dieta está associada à filogenia, e correlaciona-se à evolução da morfologia média e dos padrões de integração na subordem como um todo antes, mas não após correção levando em conta a proximidade filogenética, indicando que alterações na dieta são parte da história evolutiva compartilhada que levou às diferenças em morfologia média e integração existentes no grupo. Os caracteres cujos padrões de covariação estão mais associados à dieta na subordem incluem partes das regiões oral e zigomática, além de algumas partes do neurocrânio. A socialidade está relacionada à evolução da morfologia craniana média, mas não aos padrões de integração gerais em Feliformia, apesar de existirem associações entre a socialidade e os padrões de resposta a seleção de alguns caracteres específicos, incluindo partes do neurocrânio e distâncias ligadas ao arco zigomático. Os mangustos (família Herpestidae) mostraram influência significativa tanto da dieta quanto da socialidade na evolução de sua morfologia craniana média e de seus padrões de integração, ressaltando a importância desses dois aspectos ecológicos na evolução fenotípica do grupo e mostrando, pela primeira vez, uma associação direta entre a integração no crânio e o comportamento social, possivelmente intermediada por aspectos relacionados ao desenvolvimento do cérebro. O presente trabalho sugere, assim, uma complexa interação de fatores afetando a evolução da morfologia craniana em Feliformia, e indica direções para trabalhos futuros, incluindo análises dos padrões de modularidade craniana no grupo e, possivelmente, análises comparativas em diferentes morfotipos hipercarnívoros abordando a morfologia média e a integração morfológica no crânio, bem como a dieta e possivelmente outros fatores / Morphological integration determines the standing variation available within a lineage in different directions of the multivariate space of a trait set, and can therefore have important evolutionary consequences, biasing the direction and rate of morphological evolution in certain directions. Consequently, studying the evolution of morphological integration is important to understand a lineage\'s phenotypic evolution. Here I employ a comparative quantitative genetic framework to study the evolution of morphological integration in the skull for the suborder Feliformia (Carnivora), a group with remarkable phylogenetic, morphological and ecological diversity for which previous analysis of integration included a limited number of species. To this purpose, I compare within-population phenotypic covariance matrices quantifying the associations between 35 skull linear measurements in a set of taxa including all seven feliform families and over one third of the suborder\'s extant phylogenetic diversity. I also assess the association between morphological integration and the evolution of average skull morphology, as well as the influence of evolutionary history (phylogeny) and two ecological aspects (diet and sociality) on the evolution of average morphology and integration. Skull integration patterns (i.e. which characters covary the most) are quite stable in the suborder, as seen among other mammals, but also have some structuring between groups, with relatively distinct patterns in Felidae, Hyaenidae and Prionodontidae. Integration magnitudes are also relatively structured, with generally higher values in Felidae and consistently lower values in Hyaenidae. Nevertheless, the overall magnitude of integration is evolutionarily labile, as in other mammals, with important variations occurring within each family. I found a general association between the evolution of average morphology and changes in integration patterns and magnitudes for the suborder as a whole and also for many less inclusive groups, which in some cases leads to similar integration between morphologically convergent, but phylogenetically distant taxa. The evolution of integration patterns is correlated to phylogenetic history in Feliformia as a whole and in most groups above, but none below the family level, corroborating relatively distinct covariation patterns in spite of their high similarity, and also a greater constraint of integration within each family. Diet is associated to phylogeny, and correlates to the evolution of average morphology and integration patterns in the suborder before, but not after correction for phylogenetic relatedness, indicating that dietary changes are part of the shared evolutionary history which shaped the differences in average morphology and integration existing in the group. The characters with covariation patterns more closely associated to diet include parts of the oral and zygomatic skull regions, as well as parts of the neurocranium. Sociality is related to the evolution of average skull morphology, but not to general integration patterns in Feliformia as a whole, although there are correlations between sociality and the selection response patterns of some specific characters, including parts of the neurocranium and measurements related to the zygomatic arch. Mongooses (family Herpestidae) had the evolution of their average skull morphology and integration patterns significantly influenced by both diet and sociality, stressing the importance of these two ecological factors for phenotypic evolution of this group and showing for the first time a direct association between morphological integration in the skull and social behaviour, possibly mediated by aspects related to brain development. The present work thus suggests a complex interaction of factors affecting the evolution of skull morphology in Feliformia, and opens up directions for future work, including analyses of skull modularity patterns in this group and, possibly, comparative analyses of different hypercarnivore morphotypes addressing average skull morphology and morphological integration, as well as diet and possibly other factors