What does an Ethologist do? - About...
Transcript of What does an Ethologist do? - About...
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What does an Ethologist do?
-a personal view-
Dr. Jane M. Packard
Director, Biodiversity Stewardship Lab
Wildlife & Fisheries Sciences
Associate Professor, Texas A&M University
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Two hats
ETHOLOGY
• Disciplinary focus
• The study of animal behavior in natural habitats
– Cause
– Development
– Evolution
– Function
CONSERVATION BIOLOGY
• Interdisciplinary breadth
• Biodiversity stewardship
– Animals
– Habitat
– People
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ETHOLOGY
• Why study animal behavior?
– Curiosity about the diversity of life
– To better understand biological processes
– To solve problems in human/animal interactions
• Some examples of studies
– Causes of individual differences in geese
– Reproductive behavior in wolves
– Development of Weddel seals
– Ethogram of sea otters
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Geese
• Within a family of hand-reared goslings
• How do dominance relations develop?
• Do individuals have distinctive personalities?
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Internship
• Undergrad
• With Dr. Konrad
Lorenz- a father of
ethology
• Max Plank Institute
• Seewiesen,
Germany
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Answers
• Families differed
– Subtle respect
– Cowardly bully
• Distinct
personalities were
recognizable
– Intuitive
– quantitative
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Decision to become a scientist
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Wolves
• Doctoral studies-captive packs
• Drs. David Mech, ecologist & Ulysses Seal, endocrinologist
• Ecology and Behavioral Biology
• University of Minnesota
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Why does only 1 female breed?
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Answers
• Its not
physiological
• Moms are more
attractive
• Older sisters
intimidate
younger sisters
• Same for brothers
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How does weaning occur?
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Arctic- Ellesmere Island
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Camp below the wolf den
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Answers
• 5 wks- pups leave den
• 7-8 wks- adults deliver solid food
• 9-10 wks- pups suckle less frequently
• 11 wks- weaned pups follow adults
No conflict
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Wolf Denning- Yellowstone
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Volunteer Observation Teams
• Linda Thurston, graduate student & Dr. Doug
Smith
• 4 packs
• 2 years
• May-June
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Who cares more, Mom or Dad?
• Depends on the family, pup age & the year
• Dad feeds Mom up to 3 wks, then
• Both hunt
• Deliver
food
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Weddel seals- Antarctica
• Dr. Don Siniff, University of Minnesota
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Hostile environment
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Pup weight gain
• 36 lbs at birth
• 300 lbs at 6 wks
• All from milk
• Food far away
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Sea Otters - Alaska
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Ethogram
• Dictionary
• One species
• Meaning of
action patterns
• With Chris Ribic,
Dr. Siniff
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CONSERVATION BIOLOGY
• What is it?
• Examples of studies
– Manatee distribution in Florida & Belize
– Illegal pet trade - parrots in Mexico
– Mexican wolf recovery
– Puma attacks in Big Bend National Park
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Familiar perspective
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Another way of looking at it
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How many manatees in FL?
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Problem- counts in murky water
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Cluster at warm water sources
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Manatee Distribution in Belize
• Caryn Sullivan- grad student (offshore)
• Nicole Auil- grad student (coastal)
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Amazon parrots- Mexico
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Illegal take from nests
Ernesto
Enkerlin,
PhD
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Sustainable harvest
• Chick growth rates
• Natural diet
• Fledging success
• Protect cavities
• Enforcement problem
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Wolf recovery- people problem
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Puma- Big Bend National Park
• Toni Ruth, MS
• Attacks on hikers
• Chisos habitat
attractive to pumas
and humans
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Puma den
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Males range out of park
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Fragmented islands of habitat
• Big Bend only supports 20-30 puma
• Bringing home
lessons from abroad
– Educate hikers
– Work with ranchers
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Interdisciplinary cooperation
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Reasons to study behavior
• Fascination with diversity of nature
• To better co-inhabit the planet with other
species: positive problem solving
• To reflect on what it means to be human
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How can I do this?
• Careers in behavior or Conservation Biology
– Teaching/research at universities
– Research in government labs
– Behavioral management in zoos/aquaria/parks
• Behavior in other careers
– Wildlife and refuge managers
– Government regulatory agencies
– Non-governmental conservation organizations
– Veterinary medicine- exotic and domestic
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How do I get started?
• Choose appropriate courses (WFSC 422)
• Volunteer for projects (jobs boards)
• Arrange for internships (WFSC 484)
• Do an independent project (WFSC 485)
• Develop a network of contacts
• Join professional organizations (ABS, SCB, TWS)
• Start a career binder to get a job or a position in graduate school (WFSC 481)