Study of Canada Goose in schools can provide opportunities for many activities such as poetry writing, art, ecosystems, and outdoor education. Provides some background information about these birds. (PS)

Speculates why animals have not developed wheels in place of inefficient legs. One study cited suggests three reasons why animals are better off without wheels: wheels are efficient only on hard surfaces, limitation of wheeled motion due to vertical obstructions, and the problem of turning in spaces cluttered with obstacles. (JN)

Describes methods of collecting crayfish and maintaining them in the classroom. Also discusses reproduction and molting of crayfish. (MA)

This study discusses the behavior of the females of the parasitic wasp Nasonia vitripennis, which adjust the sex ratio of their broods according to whether or not they are the first or second wasp to parasitize a host. The results provide a quantitative test of sex ratio theory. (Author/SA)

This article focuses on the mechanisms of the human brain which bring about body movements. Included is a discussion of the way in which the brain and spinal cord issue commands and receive signals. (Author/SA)

This series of experiments demonstrated that three-year-old rehabilitated isolate monkeys could exhibit appropriate social behaviors to age-mate monkeys, but only after further treatment. (Author/SS)

Investigates the nature of the rhythmic process mediating multiple retention deficits in rats, i.e., whether it was induced by a training procedure or based on a pre-existing physiological rhythm. Also concerns the mechanism of the rhythm's effect on retention performance, whether it affects performance factors per se or the retrieval of prior…

Three experiments were performed to test the assertion that attractiveness of novel or complex stimuli has confounded experiments on the relative importance of S+ and S- in discrete-trial discrimination. (Editor)

Discusses the benefits of a classroom pet. Presents guidelines to determine whether a classroom pet is really needed and some suggestions for improving existing conditions for animals you may already have. Includes chart for choosing the right pet, which compares the life span, size, diet, and pros and cons for guinea pigs, hamsters, rabbits,…

Describes a field trip to collect planarians as successful in generating interest in the sciences. This activity is suitable for all grade levels as a field trip or biology lab. Planarians can be easily collected from streams across the United States. Once in the classroom, planaria are easily fed and cared for. (SAH)

Presents an experiment that teaches the evolutionary approach to the study of animal behavior. (ASK)

Pigeons were exposed to multiple and concurrent second-order schedules of token reinforcement, with stimulus lights serving as token reinforcers. Tokens were produced and exchanged for food according to various fixed-ratio schedules, yielding equal and unequal unit prices (responses per unit food delivery). On one schedule (termed the "standard…

In earlier studies with rats, the effectiveness of the auditory element of a tone--light discriminative stimulus was enhanced when the conditioned incentive value of the compound was negative rather than positive. The present experiment systematically replicated these results in pigeons trained to press a treadle in the presence of a tone--light…