From: IN%"Michalchik@aol.com" 5-MAR-2005 00:10:05.17 To: IN%"applied-ethology@sask.usask.ca" CC: Subj: Some plant behavior for fun. New research opens a window on the minds of plants By Patrik Jonsson | Correspondent of The Christian Science Monitor =20 RALEIGH, N.C. =E2=80=93 Hardly articulate, the tiny strangleweed, a pale pa= rasitic =20 plant, can sense the presence of friends, foes, and food, and make adroit =20 decisions on how to approach them. =20 Mustard weed, a common plant with a six-week life cycle, can't find its way=20= =20 in the world if its root-tip statolith - a starchy "brain" that communicates= =20 with the rest of the plant - is cut off. SMARTS? The field of plant= =20 neurobiology is finding signs of intelligence across the flora spectrum. ROBERT HARBISON - THE CHRISTIAN SCIENCE MONITOR/FILE =20 In the Monitor Friday, 03/04/05 _Syria seeks Arab solution in Lebanon_=20 (http://www.csmonitor.com/2005/0304/p01s03-wome.html?s=3Ditm)=20 _New standards for UN troops?_=20 (http://www.csmonitor.com/2005/0304/p01s01-woaf.html?s=3Ditm)=20 _Life on the outside for very famous ex-con_=20 (http://www.csmonitor.com/2005/0304/p01s02-ussc.html?s=3Ditm)=20 _Women on the verge of a nervous breakthrough_=20 (http://www.csmonitor.com/2005/0304/p13s01-altv.html?s=3Ditm)=20 _Lebanon: future shock for Arab leaders?_=20 (http://www.csmonitor.com/2005/0304/p09s02-coop.html?s=3Ditm)=20 _E-mail newsletters_ (http://www.csmonitor.com/cgi-bin/signup.pl?s=3Dmti3)=20 Get all of today's headlines, or alerts on specific topics. _Subscribe for free_ (http://www.csmonitor.com/cgi-bin/signup.pl?s=3Dmti4)=20= . _E-mail this story_ (javascript:daughter =3D=20 window.open('/cgi-bin/send-story?2005/0303/p01s03-usgn.txt','emailthis','wid= th=3D300,height=3D450,toolb ar=3D0,menubar=3D0,scrollbars=3D0,resizable=3D0,status=3D0,location=3D0');=20 window.top.location =3D '/2005/0303/p01s03-usgn.html';) _E-mail this story_= =20 (http://www.csmonitor.com/cgi-bin/send-story?2005/0303/p01s03-usgn.txt)=20 _Write a letter to the Editor_=20 (http://www.csmonitor.com/cgi-bin/encryptmail.pl?ID=3DCFF0C5E4&url=3D/2005/0= 303/p01s03-usgn.html)=20 _Printer-friendly version_=20 (http://www.csmonitor.com/2005/0303/p01s03-usgn.htm)=20 _Permission to reprint/republish_ (javascript:RightslinkPopUp();)=20 The ground-hugging mayapple plans its growth two years into the future, base= d=20 on computations of weather patterns. And many who visit the redwoods of the= =20 Northwest come away awed by the trees' survival for millenniums - a journey=20= =20 that, for some trees, precedes the Parthenon.=20 As trowel-wielding scientists dig up a trove of new findings, even those =20 skeptical of the evolving paradigm of "plant intelligence" acknowledge that,= =20 down to the simplest magnolia or fern, flora have the smarts of the forest.=20= Some =20 scientists say they carefully consider their environment, speculate on the =20 future, conquer territory and enemies, and are often capable of forethought=20= - =20 revelations that could affect everyone from gardeners to philosophers.=20 Indeed, extraordinary new findings on how plants investigate and respond to=20= =20 their environments are part of a sprouting debate over the nature of =20 intelligence itself.=20 "The attitude of people is changing quite substantially," says Anthony =20 Trewavas, a plant=20 biochemist at the University of Edinburgh in Scotland and a prominent schola= r=20 of plant intelligence. "The idea of intelligence is going from the very=20 narrow view that it's just human to something that's much more generally fo= und in=20 life."=20 To be sure, there are no signs of Socratic logic or Shakespearean thought, =20 and the subject of plant "brains" has sparked heated exchanges at botany =20 conferences. Plants, skeptics scoff, surely don't fall in love, bake souffl= =C3=A9s, or=20 ponder poetry. And can a simple reaction to one's environment truly qualify=20= =20 as active, intentional reasoning?=20 But the late Nobel Prize-winning plant geneticist Barbara McClintock called=20= =20 plant cells "thoughtful." Darwin wrote about root-tip "brains." Not only can= =20 plants communicate with each other and with insects by coded gas exhalations= , =20 scientists say now, they can perform Euclidean geometry calculations through= =20 cellular computations and, like a peeved boss, remember the tiniest =20 transgression for months.=20 To a growing number of biologists, the fact that plants are now known to =20 challenge and exert power over other species is proof of a basic intellect.=20 "If intelligence is the capacity to acquire and apply knowledge, then, =20 absolutely, plants are intelligent," agrees Leslie Sieburth, a biologist at=20= the =20 University of Utah in Salt Lake City.=20 For philosophers, one of the key findings is that two cuttings, or clones, =20 taken from the same "mother plant" behave differently even when planted in =20 identical conditions.=20 "We now know there's an ability of self-recognition in plants, which is =20 highly unusual and quite extraordinary that it's actually there," says Dr. =20 Trewavas. "But why has no one come to grips with it? Because the prevailing=20= view of=20 a plant, even among plant biologists, is that it's a simple organism that =20 grows reproducibly in a flower pot."=20 But here at the labs on the North Carolina State campus, where fluorescent =20 grow-rooms hold genetic secrets and laser microscopes parse the inner workin= gs =20 of live plants, there is still skepticism about the ability of ordinary =20 houseplants to intellectualize their environment.=20 Most plant biologists are still looking at the mysteries of "signal =20 transduction," or how genetic, chemical, and hormonal orders are dispersed f= or =20 complex plant behavior. But skeptics say it's less a product of intelligence= than=20 mechanical directives, more genetic than genius. Some see the attribution o= f=20 intelligence to plants as relative - an oversimplification of a complex huma= n =20 trait.=20 And despite intensifying research, exactly how a plant's complex orders are=20= =20 formulated and carried out remains draped in leafy mystery.=20 "There is still much that we do not know about how plants work, but a big =20 part of intelligence is self-consciousness, and plants do not have that," sa= ys =20 Heike Winter Sederoff, a plant biologist at N.C. State.=20 Still, a new NASA grant awarded to the university to study gravitational =20 effects on crop plants came in part due to new findings that plants have =20 neurotransmitters very similar to humans' - capable, perhaps, of offering cl= ues on=20 how gravity affects more sentient beings. The National Science Foundation ha= s =20 awarded a $5 million research grant to pinpoint the molecular clockwork by=20 which plants know when to grow and when to flower.=20 The new field of plant neurobiology holds its first conference - The First =20 Symposium on Plant Neurobiology - in May in Florence, Italy.=20 The debate is rapidly moving past the theoretical. In space, "smart plants"=20= =20 can provide not only food, oxygen, and clean air, but also valuable =20 companionship for lonely space travelers, say some - a boon for astronauts i= f America=20 is to go to Mars. Research on the workings of the mustard weed's statolith,= =20 for example, may one day yield a corn crop with 1-3/8 the gravitational for= ce=20 of Earth.=20 Some Earth-bound farmers, meanwhile, see the possibility of communicating =20 with plants to time waterings for ultimate growth. A new gene, Bypass-1, fou= nd =20 by University of Utah researchers, may make that possible.=20 Still, it can be hard for the common houseplant to command respect - even =20 among those who study it most closely.=20 "When I was a postdoc, I had a neighbor who watched me buy plants, forget to= =20 water them, and throw them out, buy them and throw them out," says Dr.=20 Sieburth. "When she found out I had a PhD in botany, I thought she was goin= g to=20 die." From: IN%"cieracanineservices@shaw.ca" "Ciera Canine Services/C.LeBreton" 5-MAR-2005 00:37:44.72 To: IN%"applied-ethology@sask.usask.ca" CC: Subj: Dwarf African Frogs I have 6 dogs, 2 Fire Belly Toads and 2 African Dwarf Frogs. Recently I have been incredibly interested in the feeding behavior of the dwarf frogs. They eat frozen bloodworms and I find they become quite aggressive and will actually bite the other frog (the bigger will bite the smaller) should that frog get too close. This will cause the smaller frog to back off until the bigger frog is completed with his share. Does anyone on the forum study amphibians? If so, could you tell me....do they share the same survival instincts as say a dog or cat? I understand all animals have an instinct to survive..however I was wondering if anyone could explain to me amphibians. Thanks! Christina Le Breton From: IN%"Michalchik@aol.com" 11-MAR-2005 17:15:10.44 To: IN%"applied-ethology@sask.usask.ca" CC: Subj: Neurophysiology of yawning. I thought some of you might find this interesting. I confess I haven't read= =20 it yet but I have been awake now for about 28 hours (no kidding) and I don'= t=20 feel up to seriously evaluating anything right now.=20 Why is yawning contagious? =20 Brain study deepens mystery=20 Posted March 11, 2005 Special to World Science It may not be one of life=E2=80=99s deepest mysteries, but as scientific co= nundrums=20 go, it has a peculiar staying power. Why is yawning contagious? =20 Fox Sea Lion =20 Different animals, same yawn. (Credits: Road Safety Council of Western=20 Australia, Massachusetts Division of Fisheries and Wildlife; NASA Goddard S= pace=20 Flight Center)=20 _Click here for an online movie of a chimpanzee yawning in reaction to a=20 video of another one yawning._=20 (http://www.pubs.royalsoc.ac.uk/bio_let_content/anderson_yawn.mpg) (From Bi= ology Letters, December 2004 online issue) =20 ____________________________________ =20 Researchers recently found that yawning isn=E2=80=99t only catching among p= eople; it=20 is also among chimpanzees. (_Click here_=20 (http://www.pubs.royalsoc.ac.uk/bio_let_content/anderson_yawn.mpg) for a br= ief video from this research.) No one=20 has devised a fully convincing explanation of why. Compounding the mystery is the odd way in which the contagious power of=20 yawning is largely unconscious. We can see someone yawn, yearn to replicate= the=20 action ourselves, and do it, all without thinking about it. Other times we= =E2=80=99re=20 aware it is happening, though it still floats somewhere beneath the realm o= f=20 reason and of purposeful actions. So what gives? In an effort to find the answer, the Finnish government=20 recently funded a brain scanning study. The results turned up some=20 hard-to-interpret, possible clues. It also confirmed the obvious: yawn cont= agion is largely=20 unconscious. Wherever it might affect the brain, it bypasses the known brai= n=20 circuitry for consciously analyzing and mimicking other people=E2=80=99s ac= tions. This circuitry is called the =E2=80=9Cmirror-neuron system,=E2=80=9D becaus= e it contains a=20 special type of brain cells, or neurons, that become active both when their= =20 owner does something, and when he or she senses someone else doing the same= =20 thing.=20 Mirror neurons typically become active when a person consciously imitates a= n=20 action of someone else, a process associated with learning. But the cells=20 are silent during contagious yawning, the researchers in the Finnish study=20 found. Brain activity =E2=80=9Cassociated with viewing another person yawn seems t= o=20 circumvent the essential parts of the MNS [mirror neuron system], in line w= ith the=20 nature of contagious yawns as automatically released behavioural acts=E2= =80=94rather=20 than truly imitated motor patterns that would require detailed action=20 understanding,=E2=80=9D wrote the researchers, with the Helsinki University= of Technology and=20 three German research centers. The findings are published in the February=20 issue of the research journal Neuroimage. But if seeing someone yawn doesn=E2=80=99t activate these centers, what doe= s it do=20 to the brain? The researchers found that it appears to activate at least on= e=20 brain area, called the superior temporal sulcus. But this activation was=20 unrelated to any desire to yawn in response, so it may be irrelevant to the= =20 contagion question, the researchers added. Possibly more significant, they wrote, was the apparent deactivation of a=20 second brain area, called the left periamygdalar region. The more strongly=20= a =20 participant reported wanting to yawn in response to another person=E2=80=99s= yawn, the =20 stronger was this deactivation.=20 =E2=80=9CThis finding represents the first known neurophysiological signatu= re of=20 perceived yawn contagiousness,=E2=80=9D the researchers wrote. Exactly what the finding means is less clear, they acknowledged. The=20 periamygdalar region is a zone that lies alongside the amygdala, an almond-= shaped=20 structure deep in the brain in the area of the side of the head. The=20 periamygdalar region has been linked to the unconscious analysis of emotion= al=20 expressions in faces. Why it would be deactivated in tandem with yawn conta= gion is=20 unclear, the researchers said. One thing seems clear from the study is that =E2=80=9Ccontagious yawning do= es not=20 rely on brain mechanisms of action understanding,=E2=80=9D wrote one of the= =20 researchers, Riitta Hari of the Helsinki University of Technology, in a rec= ent email.=20 Rather, she continued, it seems to be an =E2=80=9C=E2=80=98automatically= =E2=80=99 released (and most=20 likely very archaic) motor pattern,=E2=80=9D or sequence of physical action= s.=20 In the study, volunteers looked at photos of actors yawning or making other= =20 mouth movements. Meanwhile their brains were scanned using functional=20 Magnetic Resonance Imaging, a system that shows the amount of activity or w= ork going=20 on in various brain areas based on the amount of oxygen being used up there= .=20 The volunteers were later asked how strongly they had been tempted to yawn=20 while viewing the pictures. Apart from the physical brain mechanisms of yawn contagiousness, researcher= s=20 have offered different reasons as to why it exists. Some have proposed that= =20 it early humans, yawn contagiousness might have helped people communicate=20 their alertness levels to each other, and thus coordinate their sleep sched= ules. This might be part of a more general phenomenon of unconscious signals that= =20 serve to synchronize group behavior, Hari and colleagues wrote. =E2=80=9CSu= ch=20 synchronization could be essential for species survival and works without a= ction=20 understanding, like when a flock of birds rises to the air as soon as the f= irst=20 bird does so=E2=80=94supposably as it notices a predator.=E2=80=9D From: IN%"saluqi@ix.netcom.com" "John Burchard" 13-MAR-2005 08:58:45.58 To: IN%"applied-ethology@sask.usask.ca" "Applied ethology list" CC: Subj: RE: Dwarf African Frogs Christina Le Breton wrote: > I have 6 dogs, 2 Fire Belly Toads and 2 African Dwarf Frogs. > > Recently I have been incredibly interested in the feeding behavior of the dwarf frogs. They eat frozen bloodworms and I find they become quite aggressive and will actually bite the other frog (the bigger will bite the smaller) should that frog get too close. This will cause the smaller frog to back off until the bigger frog is completed with his share. > > Does anyone on the forum study amphibians? If so, could you tell me....do they share the same survival instincts as say a dog or cat? I understand all animals have an instinct to survive..however I was wondering if anyone could explain to me amphibians. The short answer to your question is "of course" but also that "survival instinct" is a tremendous oversimplification which doesn't actually explain anything. All animals have more or less complex behavior patterns whose effect is to promote their survival and reproduction. Whether the animals are self-consciously aware of the purposefulness and the ultimate outcome of their actions is a different question, and one not always easily answered. One may doubt whether frogs are "cognizant" of the objectives of what they do; it is not so easy to be categorical in the case of e.g. a chimpanzee . Dogs are social beings, and the functional unit for many of their activities is the pack rather than the individual. Many of their endlessly fascinating interactions with human beings have to be understood in that context. In other words, complex social interaction with other individuals (whether or not of their own species) is a fundamental part of their survival equipment. Most amphibians probably don't have a similarly complex system of social interactions; but your own observations seem to suggest that at least some of the rudiments - recognition (if only momentary) of the dominant status of another individual - are present. Social communication obviously occurs among amphibians, as among most animals, in the context of reproduction. The noisy choruses of male frogs and toads, which attract females, are a most obvious example. Most amphibians probably don't form complexly organized social groups ... but because so much of their social interaction is based on subtle olfactory signals, it is not particularly easy to investigate. It's easier to study the behavior of animals which, like ourselves, are primarily visually oriented - which is why so much of the ethological literature deals with birds and fishes. Fishes are commonly thought of as "lower" on the evolutionary scale than amphibians. Some fishes do have rather complex social behavior systems. A well known example is provided by the family Cichlidae, with many species in both the New World and the Old World tropics. There is a vast literature on Cichlid social behavior. These fishes are noted for the elaborate care they provide their eggs and young fry. That often involves the formation of more or less complex territorial societies, in which the brood-care partners (and the territorial neighbors) recognize one another as individuals. Early experiments of my own on the dynamics of aggression in certain Cichlids were made enormously more difficult by the ability of two individuals, who had once met and fought, to recognize one another instantly even after months of separation, and also to remember the outcome of the previous encounter . One way around that dilemma was shown later in a classical paper by Leong and Heiligenberg ... but I don't want to wander off into detail which is anyway probably familiar to most members of this list. John -- Dr. John Burchard Tepe Gawra Salukis http://saluqi.home.netcom.com/ saluqi@ix.netcom.com From: IN%"Chris.Sherwin@bristol.ac.uk" "CM Sherwin, Animal Health and Husbandry" 14-MAR-2005 04:02:18.92 To: IN%"saluqi@ix.netcom.com" "John Burchard", IN%"applied-ethology@sask.usask.ca" "Applied ethology list" CC: Subj: RE: Dwarf African Frogs John, I am wondering why you appear to automatically assume that frogs are less cognizant of the 'objectives' of their behaviour than are chimpanzees. First, what is the evidence that chimpanzees are 'cognizant of their objectives' (I am assuming that the 'objective' is to successfully reproduce)? Second, you appear to suggest that complex social behaviour is a pre-requisite for cognizance. Does this mean that non-social animals, e.g. badgers, pandas, foxes, are likely to be as non-cognizant as frogs? Respectfully yours, Chris --On 13 March 2005 06:56 -0800 John Burchard wrote: > Christina Le Breton wrote: > >> I have 6 dogs, 2 Fire Belly Toads and 2 African Dwarf Frogs. >> >> Recently I have been incredibly interested in the feeding behavior of >> the dwarf frogs. They eat frozen bloodworms and I find they become >> quite aggressive and will actually bite the other frog (the bigger will >> bite the smaller) should that frog get too close. This will cause the >> smaller frog to back off until the bigger frog is completed with his >> share. >> >> Does anyone on the forum study amphibians? If so, could you tell >> me....do they share the same survival instincts as say a dog or cat? I >> understand all animals have an instinct to survive..however I was >> wondering if anyone could explain to me amphibians. > > The short answer to your question is "of course" but also that "survival > instinct" is a tremendous oversimplification which doesn't actually > explain anything. All animals have more or less complex behavior > patterns whose effect is to promote their survival and reproduction. > Whether the animals are self-consciously aware of the purposefulness and > the ultimate outcome of their actions is a different question, and one > not always easily answered. One may doubt whether frogs are "cognizant" > of the objectives of what they do; it is not so easy to be categorical in > the case of e.g. a chimpanzee . > > Dogs are social beings, and the functional unit for many of their > activities is the pack rather than the individual. Many of their > endlessly fascinating interactions with human beings have to be > understood in that context. In other words, complex social interaction > with other individuals (whether or not of their own species) is a > fundamental part of their survival equipment. Most amphibians probably > don't have a similarly complex system of social interactions; but your > own observations seem to suggest that at least some of the rudiments - > recognition (if only momentary) of the dominant status of another > individual - are present. Social communication obviously occurs among > amphibians, as among most animals, in the context of reproduction. The > noisy choruses of male frogs and toads, which attract females, are a most > obvious example. Most amphibians probably don't form complexly organized > social groups ... but because so much of their social interaction is > based on subtle olfactory signals, it is not particularly easy to > investigate. It's easier to study the behavior of animals which, like > ourselves, are primarily visually oriented - which is why so much of the > ethological literature deals with birds and fishes. > > Fishes are commonly thought of as "lower" on the evolutionary scale than > amphibians. Some fishes do have rather complex social behavior systems. > A well known example is provided by the family Cichlidae, with many > species in both the New World and the Old World tropics. There is a vast > literature on Cichlid social behavior. These fishes are noted for the > elaborate care they provide their eggs and young fry. That often > involves the formation of more or less complex territorial societies, in > which the brood-care partners (and the territorial neighbors) recognize > one another as individuals. Early experiments of my own on the dynamics > of aggression in certain Cichlids were made enormously more difficult by > the ability of two individuals, who had once met and fought, to recognize > one another instantly even after months of separation, and also to > remember the outcome of the previous encounter . One way around that > dilemma was shown later in a classical paper by Leong and Heiligenberg > ... but I don't want to wander off into detail which is anyway probably > familiar to most members of this list. > > John > -- > Dr. John Burchard > Tepe Gawra Salukis > http://saluqi.home.netcom.com/ > saluqi@ix.netcom.com ---------------------- Chris Sherwin Senior Research Fellow in Animal Behaviour and Welfare Division Clinical Veterinary Science University of Bristol Chris.Sherwin@bristol.ac.uk Phone 0117 928 9486 From: IN%"jwillard@turbonet.com" "Janice Willard" 14-MAR-2005 10:52:46.46 To: IN%"applied-ethology@sask.usask.ca" CC: Subj: Animal Advocate to Receive Albert Schweitzer Metal I thought this might be of interest to the group. Animal Advocate to Receive Albert Schweitzer Medal Animal Welfare Institute Press Release November 4, 2004 WASHINGTON -- Gail A. Eisnitz, whose courageous field investigations over two decades led to criminal prosecution of numerous animal abusers and to network television, radio and newspaper exposes, will be presented the prestigious Albert Schweitzer Medal Monday, Nov. 8 at 6 p.m., in the Russell Senate Office Building. The award, given by the Animal Welfare Institute (AWI), honors individuals for outstanding achievement in the advancement of animal protection. Previous winners of the award include Rachel Carson, Jane Goodall and Sen. Hubert Humphrey. Eisnitz is author of the groundbreaking 1997 book Slaughterhouse which exposed horrendous violations of the Humane Slaughter and Federal Meat Inspection Acts inside USDA-inspected slaughter plants. Eisnitz wrote the book after years of crisscrossing the country investigating slaughterhouses. AWI President Cathy Liss said, "Slaughterhouse is widely compared to Upton Sinclair's The Jungle both for its clarity and its impact." Liss went on to say, "We are thrilled to present Gail with this award. In the course of her work as an investigator, she has been chased, harassed and threatened with bodily harm. She has earned the respect of and negotiated strategic alliances with slaughterhouse workers and their union representatives during her tireless efforts to expose egregious crimes against animals." Eisnitz has worked in the animal protection field since 1983. As chief investigator for the San Francisco based Humane Farming Association since 1992, she not only documented and exposed the use of deadly steroids by the U.S. veal industry but also revealed brutal violations in the slaughter of hundreds of thousands of cattle by the nation's largest meat producer. Her efforts, in a case that went all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court, were responsible for halting construction of what was slated to be the third largest pig factory farm in the world. In addition, Eisnitz helped secure an annual appropriation from Congress of $5 million to enforce the Humane Slaughter Act - the first funding ever allocated to implement the 45-year-old law. Currently, she is fighting to prevent the appropriation from being derailed by the livestock industry. Full text: http://www.commondreams.org/news2004/1104-03.htm ********