User:Rseward13/sandbox

Article evaluation
The Wikipedia article I chose to evaluate for this exercise is Ethology. This article provides plentiful and reliable links to related Wikipedia pages, such as Charles Darwin, evolutionary biology, animal training and comparative psychology for example.

The content of this article is thorough, but includes certain aspects of Comparative Psychology that are certainly relevant to the study of animal behaviour, but are not associated with the historical study of Ethology itself. For example, this article discusses the associative learning experiments of Pavlov and his dogs. Considering this article defines Ethology as the study of animal behaviour under natural conditions, as we learned in class, the mention of these laboratory experiments seems like a distraction from the content. Otherwise, the information that is presented in this article is presented in a neutral tone, which is good. No phrases such as "the best" or other biased language appears to be used in the article and the information, especially historically significant information, is presented in a logical and factual manner.

This article has nearly 50 citations, coming from reliable scientific articles and sources like Niko Tinbergen's book "The Herring Gull's World" and Cambridge University researchers. I did notice a few references from websites such as "How Stuff Works", and for the purposes of scientific articles I suspect it is more appropriate to steer clear of those sources and choose peer reviewed scientific literature. However, this article still requires more citations in order to be verified. More work needs to be done to ensure accuracy of the information provided and the sources in which it came from.

Many ethologists and comparative psychologists are listed at the end of this article, providing insight into the sheer number of individuals who contributed to this branch of science and their perspectives, which differ dramatically from one another in certain cases. Links to main articles are provided under subheadings in this main ethology article which is important to include in articles. One section of the article I would suggest doing more research on is Fixed Action Patterns. The article currently only has two examples now, of beak behaviour of young birds and the "waggle dance" of bees. Fixed Action Patterns (FAPs) and instinctual responses are of utmost importance to the study of ethology, and I would have hoped for more detail and sources in this Wikipedia page.

With respect to the article's Talk Page, it is clear that this article is of high importance to the scientific Wikipedians. Ethology is within the scope of both Wikiproject Biology and Wikiproject Animals. This article is currently listed as a vital article to biology, but only has a B-Class rating. This is likely due to the lack of citations throughout the article.

Overall, the Ethology article could certainly use some work. Adding more references of existing information is the first priority, but also in such a massive scientific field both historically and modernly, I would try and add more examples of research being conducted in this field.

Evolutionary Development of Agonistic Behaviour (differing species)

 * 1) Scott, J. P. (1966). Agonistic Behavior of Mice and Rats: A Review. American Zoologist,6(4), 683-701.

-This article explores how behavioural patterns, such as agonistic behaviour, have developed along with physiological mechanisms that are unique to specific species' social organization and population dynamics (Scott, 1966).

Hormonal Control/Effects on Agonistic Behaviour
2. Schuurman, T. (1980). Hormonal Correlates of Agonistic Behavior in Adult Male Rats. Progress in Brain Research,415-420.

-Mention the effects of castration (subsequently alteration of testosterone levels) in male rats and how this hormonal alteration affected the aggressive behaviour (one component of agonistic behaviour) of rats.

3. Ferris, C., & Delville, Y. (1994). Vasopressin and serotonin interactions in the control of agonistic behavior. Psychoneuroendocrinology,19(5-7), 593-601

Social Changes vs. Environmental Factors
4. Southwick, C. H. (1967). An Experimental Study of Intragroup Agonistic Behavior in Rhesus Monkeys (Macaca mulatta). Behaviour,28(1), 182-209.

Article Full Draft: Agonistic Behaviour
Agonistic is defined as any sort of behaviour displayed by an animal that is combative or aggressive in nature, and may be either offensive or defensive. The term "agonistic behaviour" was first implemented by J.P Scott and Emil Fredericson in 1951 in their paper "The Causes of Fighting in Mice and Rats" in Physiological Zoology. In this paper, Scott and Fredericson described agonistic behaviour as any behaviour related to fighting, and this may include three behaviours that are all associated together, which are escape behaviour, defensive behaviour and passivity. Scott and describes that agonistic behaviour is displayed in a variety of different circumstances in response to different stimuli. The different displays of agonistic behaviour can also be a critical Scott and Fredericson studied mice and rats, and classified three main categories of agonistic behaviour these animals display, which include preliminary behaviour, attack, and defensive and escape behaviour. Preliminary behaviour describes the behaviours displayed by these rodents if fighting does not immediately begin. These may include involuntary behaviours such as hair-fluffing, where the rodent's hair stands up on end with no prominence on a particular region of the body, or tail-rattling where the rodent's tail experiences muscle contraction and twitches from side to side, making a loud sound if struck against a hard object. Another preliminary agonistic behaviour demonstrated by mice is referred to as mincing behaviour which is when mice circle their opponent before a fight begins. The fight itself is classified as one of the pattern of behaviour that occurs and involves physical violence between the rodents. Finally, the defensive and escape behaviour occurs usually immediately after the fight and is displayed by the mouse that was defeated in the fight. The defeated mouse, if allotted space, will run away and try and take shelter from the victorious mouse. If it is not possible for the mouse to physically run and escape because space is not available, the defeated mouse will rear up on its hind legs and hold its front legs up in a way that is characterized as a "submissive stance". These are examples of the physical behaviours that are responses to conflict in mice.

Evolution and Ecology of Agonistic Behaviour: Stomatopoda "Praying Mantis" Shrimp
Agonistic behaviour is a result of evolution, and this can be studied in a number of species facing different environmental pressures. Though agonistic behaviours can be directly observed and studied in a laboratory setting, it is also important to understand these behaviours in a natural setting to fully comprehend how they have evolved and therefore differ under different selective pressures. Stomatopods, predatory crustaceans, are an example of an aggressive and territorial organism whose agonistic behaviour has been studied in an ecological and evolutionary context. Stomatopods, also known as mantis shrimp, are among the world's most aggressive crustaceans. These sea creatures are secretive, but highly alert and active predators. Stomatopods inhabit burrows and cavities along coral reefs, rocky coasts and muddy shores of tropical and subtropical waters. Roy Caldwell and Hugh Dingle conducted research on these crustaceans, which focused on the evolution of agonistic behaviour and how it applies to the ecology of these organisms. Agonistic behaviour has co-evolved alongside biotic factors such as body morphology, competition (both interspecific and intraspecific) and the habitats that these shrimp inhabit. Stomatopods arose from leptostracan stock, as is indicated by fossil evidence, approximately 400 million years ago. Morphology of Stomatopods is consistent with most malacostracans in that they have three main body segments: the cephalon, the thorax and the abdomen. The abdomen is made up of six segments, five of which possess a pair of pleopods, which are used for respiration and swimming. The key appendage used by Stomatopods for fighting behaviour is referred to as the raptorial appendage, which is actually a pair of enlarged second maxillipeds just behind the maxillae. These strong are used for purposes of prey capture in addition to fighting. The morphology of this appendage, particularly the propodus and dactyl which extend forward in such a way that resembles the striking appendage of a praying mantis, gives this crustacean its name. Caldwell et al classified the raptorial appendage into two categories based on its functional purpose: a smashing appendage or a spearing appendage. The smashing appendage is possessed by members of Gonodactylidae and the dactyl contains several short spines. The spearing appendage is possessed by squillids, lysiosquillids, bathysquillids and a couple gonodactylids, so this last group contains both spearers and smashers. The smashers are able to use the raptorial appendage with such a force, particularly the gonodactylids, that researchers explain they are able to smash the glass of double walled aquariums in the laboratory. These smashers are able to use this immense force to kill same-species competitors with one blow. Caldwell et al describe how two Stomatopods generally display severe fighting behaviour when they have an encounter, both interspecifically and intraspecifically, and males and females display the same level of this behaviour except in breeding season. Most species of Stomatopods, both those with the spearing appendage and the smashing appendage, deliver blows during agonistic encounters with the dactyl closed because when open, usually seriously injures or kills the opponent. These crustaceans may deliver blows with the dactyl open but generally only in situations of extremely intense fighting displays, which are rare amongst most species. Behaviour that is common during agonistic displays is raptorial appendage display, which is a common behaviour across many taxa. Display and expansion of the raptorial appendage is conducted in order to make the animal appear larger and therefore more threatening to competitors in times of agonistic encounters, and comparable displays in other taxa include teeth baring in canines or horn display in ungulates. This display behaviour is an evolutionarily conserved behaviour in agonistic displays. Evolutionary differences are clear in smasher and spearer Stomatopods who inhabit different substrates and either burrow or do not burrow. Caldwell et al describe these differences with respect to a behavioural display called a "meral spread". This behaviour is described by these researchers as the most extreme of raptorial appendage displays, and is defined by the elevation of the cephalothorax and antennae and antennules while the raptorial appendage itself is elevated and spread. Interestingly, this meral spread may be displayed dozens of times during an agonistic encounter and Caldwell et al explain it is used as a method to inhibit actual physical violence. An evolutionary divergence between Stomatopods is described in appearance of the meral spot, which is a dorsal, medial groove on the raptorial merus of the raptorial appendage. Smasher Stomatopods, which are species that tend to inhabit cavities within rocks or coral, have brightly coloured meral spots which aid in making the meral spot more visible during these meral spread displays in fights. These bright meral spots possessed by smashers are either yellow, blue, red or white and are outlined by a conspicuous black pigment. Conversely, spearing Stomatopods or some smashing species that do not inhabit rock or coral cavities, have much duller meral spots. This correlation suggests to researchers that habitat and meral spot colouration have co-evolved, and those that inhabit burrows possess these bright spots and those species that do not have dull spots. This demonstrates how ecology and evolution of organisms within the same order directly affects agonistic behaviour.

Hormonal Influence on Agonistic Behaviour
Agonistic behaviour, like many behavioural displays, is significantly influenced by the action of various hormones. An example is arginine vasopressin (AVP), which is a small peptide synthesized in the brain by magnocellular neurons. Agonistic behaviour itself may be divided into two categories: offensive or defensive. Each of these classes of agonistic behaviour are the result of different neurobehavioural pathways, and offensive and defensive agonistic behaviour are elicited by different stimuli. Offensive behaviour specifically has been studied in the context of intruder interactions, many studies employing rodents as test subjects. For example, when an unfamiliar male hamster is placed into cage of a conspecific male, a stereotypical suite of agonistic behaviours follow. These behaviours are as followed: the resident male approaches the intruder and sniffs him intently, threaten the intruder with an upright posture and finally this leads up to a physical attack on the intruder. The resident male attacks the belly of the intruder male and attempts to maneuver the intruder onto his back. Studies have shown that offensive behaviour displayed by hamsters may be modulated due to the presence of AVP. Specifically, research conducted by Ferris et al. (1990) suggests that when AVP receptor antagonist is injected into the anterior hypothalamus of the resident male, the tendency to attack intruder males decreases as the dose of antagonist increases. This antagonist has been known to decrease the tendency of offensive aggression via injections into the ventrolateral hypothalamus, therefore is able to act on multiple regions of the brain and exhibit the same effects of offsetting this agonistic behaviour. While AVP plays a role in offensive aggression in agonistic behaviour, serotonin also plays a role in aggressive behaviour in rodents as well as similar effects in humans. Research has shown that increased levels of 5-HT or stimulating 5-HT receptors in rodents corresponds with decreased agonistic behavioural display, such as behaviours like attacking and biting. Male resident hamsters, which typically always display stereotypical offensive agonistic behaviours, display a significant decrease in bite attempts toward intruder males when treated with a serotonin reuptake inhibitor called fluoxetine. AVP and serotonin both play significant roles in agonistic behavioural displays, and understanding the interaction of these two opposing neurotransmitters is important in fully understanding the neurobiology of agonistic behaviour. It is understood that AVP enhances aggression in agonistic displays due to increased activity in the neural pathways that are associated with increased flank marking and the offensive aggression demonstrated in resident hamsters in the presence of an intruder. This neural pathway that enhances aggression is subdued by the presence of 5-HT (serotonin). It is hypothesized that 5-HT acts as an antagonist to AVP by eliciting its effects on AVP-sensitive neurons and therefore inhibiting these AVP neurons. Steroid hormones are also associated with offensive aggression behaviour. Androgens in particular have well documented effects on enhancing aggression in male rodents, and testosterone injections into the septum and medial pre optic area of castrated mice greatly increased offensive aggression. Glucocorticoids also have reported effects on agonistic behaviour in mice, though these effects are not as thoroughly understood as effects of androgens. Research has demonstrated that in mice that have been defeated in agonistic encounters have elevated levels of corticosterone, which appears to enhance submissive behaviour and therefore has opposing effects on agonistic aggressive behaviour.

Peer Review by Sarah Abbott
I really enjoyed reading your addition to your article. I found it to be very detailed and well organized, with clear structure and a neutral point of view. I think your section on the contribution of hormones to agonistic behaviour will be a great addition to the original article. Your lead section is very informative; however, it seems that some of the information provided are already mentioned in the original article. For example, the definition of agonistic behaviour is provided in the lead section of the original article and so you may not need to define it in your section. I also suggest that you briefly mention in your lead section about how hormones play a role in agonistic behaviour, since it is the focus of one of the major sections in your article. I also noticed that your first section was mostly comprised of information from source 2 and your second section was entirely from source 4 and so I would suggest including a larger variety of sources in your first two sections, like you did with the third. This will help to keep your work from sounding like a reiteration of the original source.