rodents – Shamskm: A site to exchange knowledge and solutions

Bisphenol A Affects Sex-Specific Reproductive Behaviors in a Monogamous Animal Species, Says MU Researcher

By Guest PostFebruary 13, 2013Environment, Health, Scienceaggression, american public, anxiety, assess, beer, behavioral effects, behaviors of males, bisphenol a, boys versus girls, bpa, california mouse, canned goods, chemical exposure, cheryl rosenfeld, david geary, denise warzak, eldin jasarevic, female hormones, females, gregory vandas, human body, human societies, mark ellersieck, monogamous rodent, nutritional support, offspring, paper receipts, peromyscus californicus, plastic containers, post natal exposure, pre, r michael roberts, reproductive associated behaviors, researchers, risk to children, rodents, rosenfelds lab, scott williams, sex specific, soda cans, species, university of missouri

Animal Findings Suggest That Gender May Also Influence Chemical Exposure Risks for Humans

COLUMBIA, Mo. — Parents, teachers and psychologists know boys and girls behave differently. However, that difference isn’t taken into account by most methods used to assess the risk to children from chemical exposure, according to Cheryl Rosenfeld, associate professor of biomedical sciences in the University of Missouri’s Bond Life Sciences Center. A series of experiments by Rosenfeld studied the effects of prenatal exposure to bisphenol A (BPA) on later reproductive-associated behaviors using a socially and genetically monogamous rodent, the California mouse, which may better mirror most human societies than other rodents. (more…)

Scientists Trace Evolutionary History of What Mammals Eat

By Guest PostApril 17, 2012Nature, Scienceanimal ecology, antelope, bats, big cats, carnivory, cows, darwin, davis, deer, duke university, environmental biology, evolutionary race, evolutionary time, extinct, feeding habit, george gilchrist, herbivory, louise roth, macroevolutionary diversification, mammal, meat, national science foundation, omnivore, plant eater, primates, rabbits, rodents, samantha hopkins, samantha price, ungulates, university of california, university of oregon

*Feeding habits haven’t always been what they are today*

The feeding habits of mammals haven’t always been what they are today, particularly for omnivores.

Some groups of mammals almost exclusively eat meat–take lions and tigers and other big cats as examples.

Other mammals such as deer, cows and antelope are predominantly plant-eaters, living on a diet of leaves, shoots, fruits and bark. (more…)

Pregnant Primates Miscarry When New Male Enters Group

By Guest PostFebruary 24, 2012Nature, Scienceamy lu, anthropology, baboons, bachelor males, breeding primate, bruce effect, clay wilton, eila roberts, ethiopia, female geladas, fertility, geladas, gestation, jacinta beehner, jared wadley, lactation, mammals, miscarriage, national park, offspring, old world monkeys, pregnant, reproduction, rodents, science express, simien mountains, thore bergman, unfamiliar male, university of michigan

ANN ARBOR, Mich.— Pregnant female geladas show an unusually high rate of miscarriage the day after the dominant male in their group is replaced by a new male, a new University of Michigan study indicates.

The “Bruce effect” – in which pregnant females spontaneously miscarry after being exposed to an unfamiliar male – has been found repeatedly in laboratory rodents. However, no conclusive evidence for this effect had ever been demonstrated in a wild population prior to this study. Geladas are Old World monkeys that are close relatives of baboons. (more…)

Archaeologists Find New Evidence of Animals Being Introduced to Prehistoric Caribbean

By Guest PostDecember 13, 2011Scienceagoutis, animal remains, armadillos, arrival of columbus, caribbean, caribbean islands, carriacou, charcoal, daily consumption, guinea pigs, michelle lefebvre, north carolina state university, opossum, pig like peccaries, pre columbian caribbean, prehistoric non native animal, prehistoric villages, rodents, scott fitzpatrick, south america, tiny island, university of florida, university of washington

An archaeological research team from North Carolina State University, the University of Washington and University of Florida has found one of the most diverse collections of prehistoric non-native animal remains in the Caribbean, on the tiny island of Carriacou. The find contributes to our understanding of culture in the region before the arrival of Columbus, and suggests Carriacou may have been more important than previously thought.

The researchers found evidence of five species that were introduced to Carriacou from South America between 1,000 and 1,400 years ago. Only one of these species, the opossum, can still be found on the island. The other species were pig-like peccaries, armadillos, guinea pigs and small rodents called agoutis. (more…)

Helping Your Fellow Rat: Rodents Show Empathy-Driven Behavior

By Guest PostDecember 9, 2011Scienceanimals, behavior, biological inheritance, chocolate, chocolate chips, emotional contagion, empathetic behavior, empathy driven helping behavior, empathy in rodents, evolutionary tree, homo sapiens, inbal ben ami bartal, jean decety, jeffrey mogil, laboratory rats, mcgill university, neuroscientists, peggy mason, phenomenon in humans, primates, pro social, rats, robert mitchum, rodents, special test, Technology, test arena, university of chicago, wild species

*Rats free trapped companions, even when given choice of chocolate instead*

The first evidence of empathy-driven helping behavior in rodents has been observed in laboratory rats that repeatedly free companions from a restraint, according to a new study by University of Chicago neuroscientists.

The observation, published today in Science, places the origin of pro-social helping behavior earlier in the evolutionary tree than previously thought. Though empathetic behavior has been observed anecdotally in non-human primates and other wild species, the concept had not previously been observed in rodents in a laboratory setting. (more…)

Even in a Crowd, You Remain Unique, UCLA Life Scientists Report

By Guest PostFebruary 23, 2011Sciencea face in the crowd, bigger crowds, crowd, daniel blumstein, evolution of individuality, humans, kimberly pollard, paradoxical, personal uniqueness, rodents, social creatures, social groups, species, the kinks, unique, waldo

“Am I just a face in the crowd? Is that all I’ll ever be? … Do you think I stand out?”

—The Kinks, “A Face in the Crowd”

It may seem paradoxical, but being part of a crowd is what makes you unique, according to UCLA life scientists.

Biologists Kimberly Pollard and Daniel Blumstein examined the evolution of individuality —personal uniqueness — by recording alarm-call vocalizations in eight species of rodents that live in social groups of various sizes. They found that the size of the groups strongly predicted the individual uniqueness in the animals’ voices: The bigger the group, the more unique each animal’s voice typically was and the easier it was to tell individuals apart. (more…)

Sperm May be Harmed by Exposure to BPA, Study Suggests

By Guest PostAugust 5, 2010Healthbisphenol a, bpa, controversial chemical, dna damage, environmental health sciences, follicle-stimulating hormone, frederick lee hisaw professor, fsh, john meeker, rodents, russ hauser, semen, sperm concentration, sperm quality, sperm shape, unhibin b, university of michigan, urinary concentrations

ANN ARBOR, Mich.—In one of the first human studies of its kind, researchers have found that urinary concentrations of the controversial chemical Bisphenol A, or BPA, may be related to decreased sperm quality and sperm concentration.

(more…)

Tag Archives: rodents