"Chickens Are a Lot Smarter than I Originally Thought": Changes in Student Attitudes to Chickens Following a Chicken Training Class.

A practical class using clicker training of chickens to apply knowledge of how animals learn and practice skills in animal training was added to an undergraduate course. Since attitudes to animals are related to their perceived intelligence, surveys of student attitudes were completed pre- and post- the practical class, to determine if (1) the practical class changed students' attitudes to chickens and their ability to experience affective states, and (2) any changes were related to previous contact with chickens, training experience or gender. In the post- versus pre-surveys, students agreed more that chickens are easy to teach tricks to, are intelligent, and have individual personalities and disagreed more that they are difficult to train and are slow learners. Following the class, they were more likely to believe chickens experience boredom, frustration and happiness. Females rated the intelligence and ability to experience affective states in chickens more highly than males, although there were shifts in attitude in both genders. This study demonstrated shifts in attitudes following a practical class teaching clicker training in chickens. Similar practical classes may provide an effective method of teaching animal training skills and promoting more positive attitudes to animals.

Evaluation of the BD ProbeTec ET system for direct detection of Mycobacterium bovis in veterinary specimens.

We describe the application of the BD ProbeTec ET direct tuberculosis system for the detection of Mycobacterium bovis in bovine and cervine lymph node tissues. Compared to traditional culture, the overall sensitivity, specificity, and positive and negative predictive values of the BD ProbeTec were 87, 100, 100, and 87%, respectively.

Population ecology of carabid cave beetles.

The population ecology of three species of obligate cave dwelling (i.e., troglobitic) carabid beetles, Neaphaenops tellkampfi, Pseudanophthalmus menetriesi and P. pubescens, was studied in five cave habitats in west central Kentucky. Population size, timing of teneral occurrence, sex ratio, proportion of ovigerous females and clutch size were monitored in 12 populations. The data indicate that cave carabid beetles undergo density fluctuations at the local population (subpopulation) level which are intermediate in severity to those observed in surface dwelling carabid species. However, composite populations of N. tellkampfi show overall density fluctuations which are not statistically different in severity from those of more stable surface carabid species. It appears that spatial heterogeneity has a damping effect on density fluctuations in N. tellkampfi over the geographic area studied. A similar explanation has been offered for the more stable surface carabid species.The predictable nature of the cave environment and the reduced number of selection pressures in cave habitats has permitted us to consider evolutionary patterns in these cave carabid species as they relate to differences in ecology. Two major adaptive pathways can be inferred from the population data of this study. Pseudanophthalmus menetriesi and P. pubescens appear to have undergone divergent evolution for habitat specialization in mesic and riparian habitats respectively. Significant life history differences between these two species appear to be related to the characteristics of mesic vs. riparian habitats. Neaphaenops tellkampfi is specialized to prey on cave cricket (Hadenoecus subterraneus) eggs and nymphs, resources which are highly seasonal and become rare in the fall. As a result N. tellkampfi has retained some generalist traits in feeding and in habitat utilization. Its life history characteristics are more variable than those of the Pseudanophthalmus spp. and appear to allow N. tellkampfi to exploit two distinct subniches in the depauperate cave environment.