CORVALLIS - The 38th annual meeting of the Animal Behavior Society, set for July 14-18 at Oregon State University, will include a public session on how people can better understand the actions of their dog, cat or other pets.

Other presentations will offer the newest research on everything from stress hormones in wolves to the mating choices of mice, ambush-foraging behavior of rattlesnakes and aggression in bumblebees.

This professional organization, founded in 1964, promotes the study of animal behavior. It includes experts from such fields as experimental psychology, behavioral ecology, neuroscience, zoology, biology and other areas, and will be hosted at OSU by the university's Department of Zoology. Of particular interest to the public will be a free session titled "Pet Tales - Understanding the Behavior of your Companion Animal," discussing such topics as creation of the perfect litterbox for your cat or the finer points of adopting a dog from an animal shelter. That session will be Saturday, July 14, at 1:30 p.m. at Milam Auditorium on the OSU campus.

Most other events will be at the LaSells Stewart Center or CH2M Hill Alumni Center. Information about registration, fees and the schedule of the full professional program can be obtained at the organization's web site. General symposia at the meetings include aggression and group organization in animal societies; behavioral genetics for the next decade; detecting and measuring mating preferences; and song learning. There will also be workshops in behavioral contributions to conservation, and educating about animal behavior.

The keynote address, titled "Heroes, Theories and Organisms as the Central Focus of Biology," will be presented by Harry Greene of Cornell University. Fellows Lectures will be presented by Ellen Ketterson of Indiana University, and Eliot Brenowitz of the University of Washington.

Source: 

Jill Mateo, Cornell University, 607-255-3996

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