Abstract: nderstanding herd organization is important when considering management alternatives designed to benefit or manipulate elk (Cervus elaphus) populations. We studied the seasonal and annual herd organization of cow elk in Custer State Park, South Dakota from 1993-1997 by examining seasonal subherd range size, spatial arrangement, overlap, and site fidelity. Based on social interaction analyses, we combined locations of radiocol-lared cow elk to delineate subherds. We computed 95% kernel home ranges with least-squares cross validation for each subherd by season and year. Subherd overlap and fidelity by season and year were computed using the Volume of Intersection Index (VI) statistic. We identified 5 relatively discrete, resident cow-calf subherds. We observed little overlap in utilization distributions of adjacent subherds. The mean VI score across all subherds and time points (n=140) was 0.06 (SE=0.009), indicating an average 6% overlap in subherd area utilization. Subherd overlap between pairs was 0.08 in fall (SE= 0.021), 0.06 in winter (SE=0.018), 0.06 in spring (SE=0.2), and 0.05 in summer (SE= 0.016). Range sizes were not different between any pairs of seasons or years (F13,52=0.7, P=0.75). Subherd fidelity ranged from 0.41 (SE=0.033) to 0.60 (SE=0.018) overall, indicating differential use within the subherd boundary across years. The ability to distinguish discrete cow-calf subherd units is consistent with other studies and may aid elk management in Custer State Park. However, use patterns within subherd boundaries were inconsistent across years and may reflect human disturbances (e.g., hunting and logging activities), differences in our sampling approach, or changes in matriarchal leadership. Further evaluation into factors affecting space-use patterns is necessary to predict changes in range use within the subherd boundary.

Abstract: Eight crows were taught to discriminate overlapping pairs of visual stimuli (A+ B-, B+ C-, C+ D-, and D+ E-). For 4 birds, the stimuli were colored cards with a circle of the same color on the reverse side whose diameter decreased from A to E (ordered feedback group). These circles were made available for comparison to potentially help the crows order the stimuli along a physical dimension. For the other 4 birds, the circles corresponding to the colored cards had the same diameter (constant feedback group). In later testing, a novel choice pair (BD) was presented. Reinforcement history involving stimuli B and D was controlled so that the reinforcement/nonreinforcement ratios for the latter would be greater than for the former. If, during the BD test, the crows chose between stimuli according to these reinforcement/nonreinforcement ratios, then they should prefer D; if they chose according to the diameter of the feedback stimuli, then they should prefer B. In the ordered feedback group, the crows strongly preferred B over D; in the constant feedback group, the crows' choice did not differ significantly from chance. These results, plus simulations using associative models, suggest that the orderability of the postchoice feedback stimuli is important for crows' transitive responding.

Abstract: This paper explores the process of human-horse communication using ethnographic data of in-depth interviews and participant observation. Guided by symbolic interactionism, the paper argues that humans and horses co-create a language system by way of the body to facilitate the creation of shared meaning. This research challenges the privileged status of verbal language and suggests that non-verbal communication and language systems of the body have their own unique complexities. This investigation of humanhorse communication offers new possibilities to understand the subjective and intersubjective world of non-verbal language using beings-human and nonhuman alike.