Date of Award
1-24-2024
Document Type
Thesis
Degree Name
Biology, MS
First Advisor
Stephen Mullin
Committee Members
Lorin Neuman-Lee; Tanja McKay
Call Number
LD 251 .A566t 2023 N54
Abstract
Organisms must make choices to improve their survival, and often perform behaviors in response to stimuli in the environment. I examined behavioral responses under conditions of stress in a species of fully aquatic salamander, Western Lesser Sirens (Siren intermedia nettingi Goin 1942). First, I presented individuals with chemical cues from a variety of known prey items to determine a potential prey preference. Sirens did not exhibit a preference by prey type. I then exposed individuals to chemical cues from prey, predator, and insecticide sources and evaluated behavioral responses, while also administering a nonlethal physical injury to a subset of subjects prior to cue presentation. Sirens did not associate preferentially with any chemical cue type, although trends emerged in duration of performing certain behaviors. Finally, I considered the regeneration rate of siren tail tissue, and found that minor excisions from this region are effective short-term individual markings for mark-recapture studies.
Rights Management
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
Recommended Citation
Nichols, Mackenzie Hanna, "The Role of Stressors in The Behavioral Responses of Lesser Sirens to Chemical Cues" (2024). Student Theses and Dissertations. 139.
https://arch.astate.edu/all-etd/139
