Animism in Rainforest and Tundra: Personhood, Animals, Plants and Things in Contemporary Amazonia and Siberia (Book Review)

Animism is a form of traditional spiritual belief that receives welcome treatment here. The observations of Victorian ethnologist travellers on the local peoples they regarded as primitive was analysed by Sir Edward (E. B.) Tylor, in Primitive Culture (1871) which established the working definition of animism followed by later generations of scholars. This came from the observation that non-scientific people did not always draw sharp distinctions between human persons and other entities such as animals, trees and even rocks but imbued these with soul. The latin anima, ‘soul, spirit’ provided the title of what was assumed to be a primitive religion, animism. The study being reviewed recognizes apparent connections within deep history between Siberia and the Amazon, and uses contemporary social anthropology to clarify assumptions about animism. This book on animism in two shamanic cultures explores personhood and the relations in pre-scientific human thought between humans and non-humans, in contexts where non-humans can be regarded as social persons (p.2).

Influence of environmental variables on the predatory sucess of the iberian wolf in the north of Portugal

Tese de mestrado em Biologia da Conservação, apresentada à Universidade de Lisboa, através da Faculdade de Ciências, 2016

Trophic ecology of jumbo squid and predatory fishes in the Northern Humboldt Current System

This work provides a contribution to a better understanding of the trophic ecology of important predators in the Northern Humboldt Current System, the jack mackerel (Trachurus murphyi), the chub mackerel (Scomber japonicus) and the jumbo squid (Dosidicus gigas) by the characterization of the highly variable feeding patterns of these species at different spatiotemporal scales. We provided new knowledge on the comparative trophic behaviour of these species, defined as opportunistic in previous investigations. For that purpose we applied a variety of statistical methods to an extensive dataset of 27,188 non-empty stomachs. We defined the spatial organization of the forage fauna of these predators and documented changes in prey composition according to predators’ size and spatiotemporal features of environment. Our results highligh the key role played by the dissolved oxygen. We also deciphered an important paradox on the jumbo squid diet: why do they hardly forage on the huge anchovy (Engraulis ringens) biomass distributed of coastal Peru? We showed that the shallow oxygen minimum zone present off coastal Peru could hamper the co-occurrence of jumbo squids and anchovies. In addition, we proposed a conceptual model on jumbo squid trophic ecology including the ontogenetic cycle, oxygen and prey availability. Moreover we showed that the trophic behaviour of jack mackerel and chub mackerel is adapted to forage on more accessible species such as for example the squat lobster Pleurocondes monodon and Zoea larvae. Besides, both predators present a trophic overlap. But jack mackerel was not as oracious as chub mackerel, contradictorily to what was observed by others authors. Fish diet presented a high spatiotemporal variability, and the shelf break appeared as a strong biogeographical frontier. Diet composition of our fish predators was not necessarily a consistent indicator of changes in prey biomass. El Niño events had a weak effect on the stomach fullness and diet composition of chub mackerel and jack mackerel. Moreover, decadal changes in diet diversity challenged the classic paradigm of positive correlation between species richness and temperature. Finally, the global patterns that we described in this work, illustrated the opportunistic foraging behaviour, life strategies and the high degree of plasticity of these species. Such behaviour allows adaptation to changes in the environment.

"Re-huminization": the role of human-animal similarity in predicting prejudice towards immigrants and non-human animals

Research implies that there ~ay be an association between attitudes toward margil1alized human outgroups and non-human animals. Very few studies, however, have specifically tested this relation empirically. The general purpose of the present research was to determine if such a relation exists and if perceptions of human-animal similarity avail as a common predictor of both types of attitudes. Ideological orientations associated with prejudiced attitudes (Social Dominance Orientation, Right-Wing Authoritarianism, and Universal Orientation) were also examined as individual differences in predicting perceptions of human-animal similarity. As predicted, people who endorsed prejudiced attitudes toward human outgroups (Study 1) and immigrants in particular (Studies 2 and 3), were more likely to endorse prejudiced attitudes toward non-human animals. In Study 2, perceptions that humans are superior (versus similar) to other animals directly predicted higher levels of prejudice toward non-human animals, whereas the effect of human superiority beliefs on immigrant prejudice was mediated by dehumanization. In other words, greater perceptions of humans as superior (versus similar) to other animals "allowed for" greater dehumanization of immigrants, which in turn resulted in heightened immigrant prejudice. Furthermore, people higher in Social Dominance Orientation or Right-Wing Authoritarianism were particularly likely to perceive humans as superior (versus similar) to other animals, whereas people characterized by a greater Universal Orientation were more likely to perceive humans and non-human animals as similar. Study 3 examined whether inducing perceptions of human-animal similarity through experimental manipulation would lead to more favourable attitudes toward non-human animals and immigrants. Participants were randomly assigned to read one of four 11 editorials designed to highlight either the similarities or differences between humans and other animals (i.e., animals are similar to humans; humans are similar to animals;~~nimals are inferior to humans; humans are superior to animals) or to a neutral control condition. Encouragingly, when animals were described as similar to humans, prejudice towards non-human animals and immigrants was significantly lower, and to some extent this finding was also true for people naturally high in prejudice (i.e., high in Social Dominance Orientation or Right-Wing Authoritarianism). Inducing perceptions that nonhuman animals are similar to humans was particularly effective at reducing the tendency to dehumanize immigrants ("re-humanization"), lowering feelings of personal threat regarding one's animal-nature, and at increasing inclusive intergroup representations and empathy, all of which uniquely accounted for the significant decreases in prejudiced attitudes. Implications for research, theory and prejudice interventions are considered.

Animals without Borders: Farmed Animal Resistance in New York

While billions of farmed animals are immobilized within agribusiness, every year some of these animals manage to break free. This thesis examines the stories of those who flee slaughterhouses and the public response to these individuals. My objective is to understand how animals resist and the role that their stories play in disrupting the ways that humans, particularly as consumers, are distanced from the violence of animal enterprises. Included are six vignettes that allow for an in-depth case study of those who have escaped within New York State. Located in the interdisciplinary field of critical animal studies, my inquiry draws upon new animal geographies, transnational feminisms, and critical discourse analysis. This contribution provides discussion of farmed animal resistance in particular and compares experiences and representations of their resistance from both the “view from below,” which is learned through the animals’ caretakers, and a “view from above,” which is gleaned from their representations in corporate-driven mainstream media.

Protect yourself from Predatory Publishers: Tips for staying safe in Scholarly Publishing

Presented at Brock Library Spring Symposium 2015: What's really going on?

Cardboard Box from Pascall Chocolate Animals of London

The box contained the chocolate elephant.

Safe Handling of Large Animals

The article discusses improving welfare by reducing fear by studying: Animal Sensory Perception, Animal Behavior Patterns, Animal Habituation and Temperament, Effects of Previous Handling, Training Animals, Training Time and Temperament, Genetic Effects on Handling, Handling of escaped Animals, Facilities, Aggression in Grazing Animals, Inherent Danger of Large Animals, Cattle and Car Accidents.

An act to consolidate and amend the laws for protection of game and fur-bearing animals in Ontario

An act to consolidate and amend the laws for protection of game and fur-bearing animals in Ontario (1 double-sided page of printed material), 1871.

Elements of the comparative anatomy of the vertebrate animals

UANL

Pharmacometrics of neuromuscular blocking agents in anesthetized patients and animals : impact of dose and intravascular mixing phase

Thèse numérisée par la Division de la gestion de documents et des archives de l'Université de Montréal

Developmental, morphological, and behavioural plasticity in the reproductive strategies of stink bugs and their egg parasitoids

L’environnement façonne la physiologie, la morphologie et le comportement des organismes par l’entremise de processus écologiques et évolutifs complexes et multidimensionnels. Le succès reproducteur des animaux est déterminé par la valeur adaptative d’un phénotype dans un environnement en modification constante selon une échelle temporelle d’une à plusieurs générations. De plus, les phénotypes sont façonnés par l’environnement, ce qui entraine des modifications adaptatives des stratégies de reproduction tout en imposant des contraintes. Dans cette thèse, considérant des punaises et leurs parasitoïdes comme organismes modèles, j’ai investigué comment plusieurs types de plasticité peuvent interagir pour influencer la valeur adaptative, et comment la plasticité des stratégies de reproduction répond à plusieurs composantes des changements environnementaux (qualité de l’hôte, radiation ultraviolette, température, invasion biologique). Premièrement, j’ai comparé la réponse comportementale et de traits d’histoire de vie à la variation de taille corporelle chez le parasitoïde Telenomus podisi Ashmead (Hymenoptera : Platygastridae), démontrant que les normes de réaction des comportements étaient plus souvent positives que celles des traits d’histoires de vie. Ensuite, j’ai démontré que la punaise prédatrice Podisus maculiventris Say (Hemiptera : Pentatomidae) peut contrôler la couleur de ses œufs, et que la pigmentation des œufs protège les embryons du rayonnement ultraviolet; une composante d’une stratégie complexe de ponte qui a évoluée en réponse à une multitude de facteurs environnementaux. Puis, j’ai testé comment le stress thermique affectait la dynamique de la mémoire du parasitoïde Trissolcus basalis (Wollaston) (Hymenoptera : Platygastridae) lors de l’apprentissage de la fiabilité des traces chimiques laissées par son hôte. Ces expériences ont révélé que des températures hautes et basses prévenaient l’oubli, affectant ainsi l’allocation du temps passé par les parasitoïdes dans des agrégats d’hôtes contenant des traces chimiques. J’ai aussi développé un cadre théorique général pour classifier les effets de la température sur l’ensemble des aspects comportementaux des ectothermes, distinguant les contraintes des adaptations. Finalement, j’ai testé l’habileté d’un parasitoïde indigène (T. podisi) à exploiter les œufs d’un nouveau ravageur invasif en agriculture, Halyomorpha halys Stål (Hemiptera : Pentatomidae). Les résultats ont montré que T. podisi attaque les œufs de H. halys, mais qu’il ne peut s’y développer, indiquant que le ravageur invasif s’avère un « piège évolutif » pour ce parasitoïde. Cela pourrait indirectement bénéficier aux espèces indigènes de punaises en agissant comme un puits écologique de ressources (œufs) et de temps pour le parasitoïde. Ces résultats ont des implications importantes sur la réponse des insectes, incluant ceux impliqués dans les programmes de lutte biologique, face aux changements environnementaux.

Toxicity of Effluent from a Titanium Dioxide Factory on some Marine Animals

Toxicity of effluent from a titanium dioxide factory containing sulphuric acid residue with soluble iron metallic salts and insoluble material such as silica, etc. on fishes, decapods and molluscs was studied. The effluent caused changes in pH and oxygen depletion of the sea water. Sublethal effects of the precipitate of ferrous salts were also studied. Dilutions of effluent up to 1:150 were LC100 for all organisms used while 1:200 dilution was LC50 for fishes at 36 hr and for other organisms at 48 hr. But death of organisms at this concentration was caused by pH changes and oxygen depletion and did not account for the effects of the precipitate. Below this level precipitation started soon after mixing with sea water causing death of organisms by choking their gills and siphons. Dilutions,< 1:1000 were 96 hr LCO.