William L. Gannon

Guidelines of the American Society of Mammalogists for the Use of Wild Mammals in Research

Abstract General guidelines for use of wild mammal species are updated from the 1998 version approved by the American Society of Mammalogists (ASM) and expanded to include additional resources. Included are details on marking, housing, trapping, and collecting mammals. These guidelines cover current professional techniques and regulations involving mammals used in research. Institutional animal care and use committees, regulatory agencies, and investigators should review and approve procedures concerning use of vertebrates at any particular institution. These guidelines were prepared and approved by the ASM, whose collective expertise provides a broad and comprehensive understanding of the biology of nondomesticated mammals in their natural environments.

Qualitative Identification of Free-Flying Bats Using the Anabat Detector

A variety of ultrasonic (bat) detectors have been used over the past 3 decades to identify free-flying bats. Analyses of recorded echolocation calls were slow and typically restricted to few calls and at a resolution obscuring details of call structure. The Anabat II detector and associated zero-crossings analysis system allows an immediate examination, via a laptop computer, of the time-frequency structure of calls as they are detected. These calls can be stored on the hard drive for later examination, editing, and measurement. Many North American bats can be identified to species by qualitatively using certain structural characteristics of calls, primarily approximate maximum and minimum frequencies and morphological aspects of calls (e.g., linearity and changes in slope). To identify calls precisely, it is important to use a continuous sequence of calls from an individual in normal flight rather than from single isolated calls. All calls are not equally useful, and many fragmentary calls must be discarded before making a determination. Each sequence of calls must be examined to ensure that multiple bats have not been simultaneously recorded, which confounds correct identification. We found the percentage of non-usable calls within usable vocal sequences to be highest in vespertilionids (20–40%), whereas for other families this was frequently <10%. Active rather than passive collection of data maximizes quality and quantity of diagnostic calls and provides a contextual base for the investigator.

A Comparison of Acoustic Versus Capture Techniques for the Inventory of Bats

To evaluate the efficacy of the Anabat II ultrasonic detector and analysis system for use as a tool for conducting inventories, we compared results of acoustic versus capture techniques in the southwestern United States. We sampled 57 locations using standard methods (mist nets and double-frame harp traps) and simultaneously with an ultrasonic detector (Anabat II). Assuming total number of species obtained by both methods equaled a complete inventory, captures accounted for 63.5% and acoustic sampling 86.9% of the combined species present. Acoustic sampling was capable of sampling bats that routinely flew outside the sampling capabilities of nets and traps. We found no statistical difference between capture and acoustic sampling with respect to species that use low-intensity echolocation. Acoustic sampling of bat communities is a powerful tool but should be used with various capture techniques to perform the most accurate inventory.

CHARACTER DISPLACEMENT AND ECOMORPHOLOGICAL ANALYSIS OF TWO LONG-EARED MYOTIS (M. AURICULUS AND M. EVOTIS)

Abstract Ecomorphological analysis was used to evaluate ecological relationships between 2 species of bats, Myotis auriculus and M. evotis. We imaged jaws and skulls of 242 specimens from 20 localities within the range of both taxa, emphasizing their southwestern regional area of sympatry. Using traditional morphometric and geometric morphometric methods, values for characters taken from dentaries of both species were analyzed in detail. Both methods detected character displacement and allowed us to detect differences in jaw size and shape within both species. The morphological difference in jaw shape is more emphasized within sympatric populations of M. evotis than in M. auriculus. This may indicate that competitive selection acts more on M. evotis. At sympatric localities, M. evotis displayed a shift to a more specialized trophic state with a trophic architecture (more highly placed articular process and robust molars) likely better at capturing beetles, whereas M. auriculus may have a greater advantage for capturing soft-bodied prey such as moths. On the other hand, the articular process is located lower relative to the toothrow of the dentary in M. auriculus. Also the shape of the jaw in this species suggests a weaker bite, more shearing force, and wider gape. All shape differences in jaw morphology are emphasized in sympatry, confirming active competitive interactions between these 2 species.

Tick (Acari) Infestations of Bats in New Mexico

Abstract A total of 278 bats belonging to 16 species was examined for ticks from various sites in New Mexico from 1994 to 1998. Seven species of bats were parasitized by ticks: larvae of Ornithodoros kelleyi Cooley & Kohls, Ornithodoros rossi Kohls, Sonenshine & Clifford (Argasidae), or both. Both species of ticks are reported from New Mexico for the first time. Infestation prevalences for parasitized bats ranged from 2 to 25% on different host species for O. kelleyi and from 7 to 25% for O. rossi. The pallid bat, Antrozous pallidus, and the big brown bat, Eptesicus fuscus, were parasitized by both tick species. No distinct host specificity was noted for either tick species.

Victor Frankenstein's Institutional Review Board Proposal, 1790

To show how the case of Mary Shelley’s Victor Frankenstein brings light to the ethical and moral issues raised in Institutional Review Board (IRB) protocols, we nest an imaginary IRB proposal dated August 1790 by Victor Frankenstein within a discussion of the importance and function of the IRB. Considering the world of science as would have appeared in 1790 when Victor was a student at Ingolstadt, we offer a schematic overview of a fecund moment when advances in comparative anatomy, medical experimentation and theories of life involving animalcules and animal electricity sparked intensive debates about the basic principles of life and the relationship between body and soul. Constructing an IRB application based upon myriad speculations circulating up to 1790, we imagine how Victor would have drawn upon his contemporaries’ scientific work to justify the feasibility of his project, as well as how he might have outlined the ethical implications of his plan to animate life from “dead” tissues. In Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein, Victor failed to consider his creature’s autonomy, vulnerability, and welfare. In this IRB proposal, we show Victor facing those issues of justice and emphasize how the novel can be an important component in courses or workshops on research ethics. Had Victor Frankenstein had to submit an IRB proposal tragedy may have been averted, for he would have been compelled to consider the consequences of his experiment and acknowledge, if not fulfill, his concomitant responsibilities to the creature that he abandoned and left to fend for itself.

Integrating research ethics with graduate education in geography

Geography has promoted responsibility in science for decades. However, a monster is on the loose of our own creation and is wreaking havoc. Geocoded/locational data have enormous research potential. However, expectations of privacy and confidentiality norms flux and turn gray. Does graduate training sufficiently prepare students to respond to ethical dilemma? “Best practices” exist but US federal agencies recently have gone farther to require responsible conduct of research (RCR) education. RCR content is important for immersing students using effective pedagogies that provide graduate students tools to uphold professional responsibilities and change culture – and perhaps to understand the monster that now roams.

Speaking the Right Language: The Scientific Method as a Framework for a Continuous Quality Improvement Program Within Academic Medical Research Compliance Units

The authors developed a novel continuous quality improvement (CQI) process for academic biomedical research compliance administration. A challenge in developing a quality improvement program in a nonbusiness environment is that the terminology and processes are often foreign. Rather than training staff in an existing quality improvement process, the authors opted to develop a novel process based on the scientific method—a paradigm familiar to all team members. The CQI process included our research compliance units. Unit leaders identified problems in compliance administration where a resolution would have a positive impact and which could be resolved or improved with current resources. They then generated testable hypotheses about a change to standard practice expected to improve the problem, and they developed methods and metrics to assess the impact of the change. The CQI process was managed in a “peer review” environment. The program included processes to reduce the incidence of infections in animal colonies, decrease research protocol-approval times, improve compliance and protection of animal and human research subjects, and improve research protocol quality. This novel CQI approach is well suited to the needs and the unique processes of research compliance administration. Using the scientific method as the improvement paradigm fostered acceptance of the project by unit leaders and facilitated the development of specific improvement projects. These quality initiatives will allow us to improve support for investigators while ensuring that compliance standards continue to be met. We believe that our CQI process can readily be used in other academically based offices of research.

Hitting the moving target: challenges of creating a dynamic curriculum addressing the ethical dimensions of geospatial data

While established ethical norms and core legal principles concerning the protection of privacy may be easily identified, applying these standards to rapidly evolving digital information technologies, markets for digital information and convulsive changes in social understandings of privacy is increasingly challenging. This challenge has been further heightened by the increasing creation of, access to, and sophisticated nature of geocoded data, that is, data that contain time and global location components. This article traces the growing need for, and the structural challenges to creating educational curricula that address the ethical and privacy dimensions of geospatial data.

Ethics of Animal Use

Most of us became professionals in the biological sciences because of some love of the natural world. For mammalogists, it was usually a passion to know more about animals other than humans. In recent decades, we may wince at the increasing number of regulations that are concerned with use of animals in research. Our enthusiasm also may be dampened by a handful of fanatics called ‘‘animal rightists’’ that deplore some research we carry out. We all are concerned about ethical use and welfare of animals; otherwise, we would be in another profession. Biomedical researchers who use animals usually are mandated to have applied benefits to humans from their medical–clinical research and have comprehensive review prior to approval. Even under all this scrutiny and with obvious benefits of their research to humans, many fear being identified as animal researchers. Conversely, those conducting studies in basic research, natural history, behavior, or other field studies compete for limited resources while regulatory oversight is less focused. Furthermore, we have the tasks of assuring the public that animals are being used in our research in a respectful and compliant way and defending our research by being able to explain, ‘‘what good is it’’ (especially for basic research). That’s the research side, but animals are used by humans in many more ways such as in the food and clothing industries, through our impacts on them due to human population growth, and in the pet trade. How should we, as the dominant species on Earth, treat our nonhuman brethren? What are our ethical obligations? How do we know what the right thing to do is? The Ethics of Animal Use offers us some tools to answer these questions and provides choices gleaned from basic moral theory in addressing dilemmas that arise. Danish authors Sandøe and Christiansen discuss an impressive array of topics in a compact and concise way that will provide readers with comprehensive information on ethical animal use, both for the purpose of making good choices and to feel confident in speaking out about their use of animals in research. The chapters are logically grouped in an attractive format combined with an interactive Web site (www.aedilemma.net). The foreword is written by renowned animal ethicist Bernard Rollin, followed by an introduction and 4 chapters that provide basic animal ethics tools and theory upon which the rest of the book is built. Chapter 1 is a summary of the broad approach that this book takes. In contrast to other uses of animals by humans, we quickly see that animal use in research may not be the best place for society to focus if we want the greatest number of other animals to be treated ethically. Aside from use in research, animals are ‘‘used’’ in 3 other broad areas: intensive animal production for food, as pets or companions, or impacted directly as wild animals environmentally affected by human activity. Animals used in research may be least impacted by humans in terms of numbers used, diversity of species affected, and issues of animal welfare, while being the most regulated and attacked (sometimes literally) by those following a strict interpretation of one particular moral theory. Controversy, fanaticism, concern for animal welfare and care by users, and public attention are not aimed at all 4 of these animal-use areas equally. Levels of perceived responsibility clearly differ. The belief that ‘‘The underlying attitude seems to be that humans are justified in doing these things because animals matter less than human beings do’’ (p. 15) is examined in Chapter 2 (What are our duties to animals?). Jeremy Bentham, an 18th century philosopher concerned with the moral status and suffering of humans and other animals, would promote utilitarianism and promote ‘‘a good life’’ whether it be that of a human or another animal. Among 5 prominent moral positions, for the mammalogist, Contractarianism (humans act out of self-interest), Utilitarianism (animals should have a good life; killed for the common good), and Animal Rights (animals are not a vessel or resource for use by humans) may not be as relevant as Relational and Respect for Nature viewpoints. The Relational view ascribes no rights to animals but does commit a duty on the part of humans to care for them. This view draws upon ‘‘sociozoological’’ differences to determine what degree humans must care for other animals (dogs more cared for than turtles, for instance). In the Respect for Nature viewpoint, species are to be preserved and represent a lifeline of biological history. Individuals are passing, and species are the appropriate survival unit. This view attributes little value to what humans think about any particular species (that is, no sociozoological scale), and it is the unimpeded existence of species that is morally valuable. The remainder of the book steps through a nearly thorough examination of animal use by humans. Chapter 3 (What is a good animal life?) includes discussion of the impact of human activities such as neutering cats or keeping companion animals indoors and how that affects their ‘‘cat-ness’’; however, what is not mentioned is that when an animal is in captivity or domesticated, it has lost its wildness. The authors here may miss the point that the good life for other animals may be different than what humans perceive as good. Chapter 4 discusses the Role of veterinarians and other animal science professionals, which includes acting in the E 2009 American Society of Mammalogists www.mammalogy.orgP. Sandoe, S. B. Christiansen. 2008. Ethics of Animal Use. Blackwell Publishing Professional (now John Wiley and Sons), Ames, Iowa, 178 pp. ISBN-13: 978-1-4051-5120-7, price (paper),