Captive-born collared peccary (Pecari tajacu, Tayassuidae) fails to discriminate between predator and non-predator models

Captive animals may lose the ability to recognize their natural predators, making conservation programs more susceptible to failure if such animals are released into the wild. Collared peccaries are American tayassuids that are vulnerable to local extinction in certain areas, and conservation programs are being conducted. Captive-born peccaries are intended for release into the wild in Minas Gerais state, southeastern Brazil. In this study, we tested the ability of two groups of captive-born collared peccaries to recognize their predators and if they were habituated to humans. Recognition tests were performed using models of predators (canids and felids) and non-predators animals, as well as control objects, such as a plastic chair; a human was also presented to the peccaries, and tested as a separate stimulus. Anti-predator defensive responses such as fleeing and threatening displayswere not observed in response to predator models. Predator detection behaviors both from visual and olfactory cues were displayed, although they were not specifically targeted at predator models. These results indicate that collared peccaries were unable to recognize model predators. Habituation effects, particularly on anti-predator behaviors, were observed both with a 1-h model presentation and across testing days. Behavioral responses to humans did not differ from those to other models. Thus, if these animals were to be released into the wild, they should undergo anti-predator training sessions to enhance their chances of survival

The Afterlives of Soviet Secret Cities: Environment and Political Economy in Kazakhstan's Defense Industry Sites After 1991

During the Cold War, the Soviet Union built a number of military industries and secret defense sites in the vast Kazakh steppes. These included the world’s first space complex, large nuclear and biological weapons production and test sites, and massive ballistic missile research areas. These sites and their adjacent bedroom communities have experienced enormous stress resulting from large-scale political economic transformations due to the collapse of the Soviet Union. Environmental destruction is a common and troubling legacy from the past for all of these sites. In this dissertation, I examine the political, economic, and environmental afterlives of Soviet governance and Cold War defense investments in Kazakhstan through a study of three formerly secret military installations: Baikonur, Priozersk/Sary Shagan, and Stepnogorsk. My research shows how the destabilizing political economic rupture of the early 1990s was driven by both new market-based opportunities, such as commercial space endeavors, mining, heavy industry, tourism, and renewed forms of closure and secrecy in order support them. In what follows, I explore how these military assets, their industrial landscapes and their dependent communities have been reorganized and drawn into new business ventures across national and global economic networks, how the Russian Federation has played a partial role in governance at the national and local scale, and how the politics of environmental degradation has shaped the course of development.Ph.D