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The last Namsara
In the beginning, there was the Namsara: the child of sky and spirit, who carried love and laughter wherever he went. But where there is light, there must be darkness -- and so there was also the Iskari. The child of blood and moonlight. The destroyer. The death-bringer. These are the legends that Asha, daughter of the king of Firgaard, has grown up learning in hushed whispers, drawn to the forbidden figures of the past. But it isn't until she becomes the fiercest, most feared dragon slayer in the land that she takes on the role of the next Iskari -- a lonely destiny that leaves her feeling more like a weapon than a girl. Asha conquers each dragon and brings its head to the king, but no kill can free her from the shackles that await at home: her betrothal to the cruel commandant, a man who holds the truth about her nature in his palm. When she's offered the chance to gain her freedom in exchange for the life of the most powerful dragon in Firgaard, she finds that there may be more truth to the ancient stories than she ever could have expected. With the help of a secret friend -- a slave boy from her betrothed's household --Asha must shed the layers of her Iskari bondage and open her heart to love, light, and a truth that has been kept from her.
Book
Effects of Helpers on Juvenile Development and Survival in Meerkats
Although breeding success is known to increase with group size in several cooperative mammals, the mechanisms underlying these relationships are uncertain. We show that in wild groups of cooperative meerkats, Suricata suricatta, reductions in the ratio of helpers to pups depress the daily weight gain and growth of pups and the daily weight gain of helpers. Increases in the daily weight gain of pups are associated with heavier weights at independence and at 1 year of age, as well as with improved foraging success as juveniles and higher survival rates through the first year of life. These results suggest that the effects of helpers on the fitness of pups extend beyond weaning and that helpers may gain direct as well as indirect benefits by feeding pups.
Journal Article
Merrow
Enduring whispers about her absent mother's alleged merrow origins after her father drowns, twelve-year-old Neen questions her identity as she becomes increasingly torn between the worlds of the sea and her island home.
Book
Effects of Farrowing Stall Layout and Number of Heat Lamps on Sow and Piglet Production Performance
Most farrowing facilities in the United States use stalls and heat lamps to improve sow and piglet productivity. This study investigated these factors by comparing production outcomes for three different farrowing stall layouts (traditional, expanded creep area, expanded sow area) and use of one or two heat lamps. Data were collected on 427 sows and their litters over one year. Results showed no statistical differences due to experimental treatment for any of the production metrics recorded, excluding percent stillborn. Parity one sows had fewer piglets born alive (p < 0.001), lower percent mortality (p = 0.001) and over-lay (p = 0.003), and a greater number of piglets weaned (p < 0.001) with lower average daily weight gain (ADG) (p < 0.001) and more uniform litters (p = 0.001) as compared to higher parity sows. Farrowing turn, associated with group/seasonal changes, had a significant impact on most of the production metrics measured. Number of piglets born influenced the percent stillborn (p < 0.001). Adjusted litter size had a significant impact on percent mortality (p < 0.001), percent over-lay (p < 0.001), and number of piglets weaned (p < 0.001). As the number of piglets weaned per litter increased, both piglet ADG and litter uniformity decreased (p < 0.001). This information can be used to guide producers in farrowing facility design.
Journal Article
The jungle book
Heavily influenced by his childhood in British-ruled India, Rudyard Kipling created some of the most well-read children's stories in western culture. Originally published as a series of short stories for magazines in the late 1800s, the Nobel Prize-winning Rudyard Kipling would eventually publish the classic The Jungle Book in 1894.
Book
Foraging ontogeny in a suburban population of Black Phoebes (Sayornis nigricans)
The ability to forage successfully is intimately tied to survivorship of juveniles in many avian species, yet may take varying amounts of time to develop in young birds. We examined the development of foraging skills in juvenile Black Phoebes (Sayornis nigricans). Black Phoebes are insectivorous and forage by scanning for and then pursuing potential prey while in flight. We hypothesized that before they disperse, ~2 months after fledging, phoebes should forage as successfully and with the same mechanics as adults. Because foraging proficiency should affect time allocation, we also compared how juveniles and adults divided their time among foraging and other activities. We found that by 7 weeks of age, phoebes foraged as successfully as the adults; however, they spent more time flying and less time perched. In line with their gained efficiency, by around 6 weeks of age, scanning rates and foraging flight durations of juveniles were similar to adults. Overall, these results confirm that the complex foraging behaviors of Black Phoebes develop in juveniles in a relatively short time period. The development of proficient foraging abilities, however, appears to precede effective time allocation, which must occur sometime after independence or dispersal.
Journal Article
Racing Manhattan
Alone in the world, Jay Barton is a teenage misfit with nothing much going for her besides an extraordinary talent for understanding racehorses and riding them like a pro. When, in a desperate attempt to escape her shifty, opportunistic uncle, she leaves home to work in a racing stable, Jay forms a bond with a beautiful gray mare named Manhattan--brilliant, misunderstood, dangerous, and heading for racing's scrap heap. Recognizing a fellow misfit, Jay fights to give Manhattan one last opportunity to show that she's the champion she was born to be. Together they face a world of prejudice and cruelty, fighting back the only way they know how--by becoming the best.
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Potent Social Learning and Conformity Shape a Wild Primate's Foraging Decisions
Conformity to local behavioral norms reflects the pervading role of culture in human life. Laboratory experiments have begun to suggest a role for conformity in animal social learning, but evidence from the wild remains circumstantial. Here, we show experimentally that wild vervet monkeys will abandon personal foraging preferences in favor of group norms new to them. Groups first learned to avoid the bitter-tasting alternative of two foods. Presentations of these options untreated months later revealed that all new infants naïve to the foods adopted maternal preferences. Males who migrated between groups where the alternative food was eaten switched to the new local norm. Such powerful effects of social learning represent a more potent force than hitherto recognized in shaping group differences among wild animals.
Journal Article
Guardians of the Taiga
\"Stacy was raised by wolves. She's never needed humans to survive and, from what she sees of humans, they're dangerous and unpredictable. For as long as she can remember, Stacy's pack of six powerful, playful wolves--Addison, Basil, Everest, Noah, Tucker and Wink--have been her only family. Together, Stacy's pack patrols the forest to keep other animals safe, relying on her wits and each wolf's unique abilities to accomplish risky rescue missions. But as the forest changes and new dangers begin lurking, are Stacy and the wolves prepared for the perils that await them? A rival wild pack, the constant threat of being found by humans, and a lost dog with a secret plunges them even further into harm's way---it's going to take the whole pack working together to keep the forest, and Stacy safe\"--Jacket flap.
Book
Chemically mediated behavior of recruiting corals and fishes
Coral reefs are in global decline, converting from dominance by coral to dominance by seaweed. Once seaweeds become abundant, coral recovery is suppressed unless herbivores return to remove seaweeds, and corals then recruit. Variance in the recovery of fishes and corals is not well understood. We show that juveniles of both corals and fishes are repelled by chemical cues from fished, seaweed-dominated reefs but attracted to cues from coral-dominated areas where fishing is prohibited. Chemical cues of specific seaweeds from degraded reefs repulsed recruits, and cues from specific corals that are typical of healthy reefs attracted recruits. Juveniles were present at but behaviorally avoided recruiting to degraded reefs dominated by seaweeds. For recovery, degraded reefs may need to be managed to produce cues that attract, rather than repel, recruiting corals and fishes.
Journal Article