Aaron R. Krochmal

• Ph.D.
• Professor (Associate) at Washington College

Although not without controversy, the cognitive map in mammals and birds (avian reptiles) is generally accepted as plausible. The evidence for similar cognitive abilities is not generally accepted in other vertebrates and invertebrates. A plethora of recent work in nonavian reptiles, however, suggests that these taxa may indeed possess advanced cog...

Many species consider both prior experiences and the context of current stimuli when making behavioural decisions. Herein, we explore the influence of prior experience and novel incoming stimuli on the decision-making in the Eastern painted turtle ( Chrysemys picta ). We used a free-choice Y-maze to assess the preferences of turtles wavelength and...

For many species, learning is an important component in navigating complex landscapes during migration. Although much progress has been made in recent years in understanding the flexibility of selecting and navigating complex habitats, the importance of behavioural plasticity during migratory activity remains particularly unclear as empirical suppo...

Geomagnetic cues provide important information to guide aspects of migration, from the general direction of movement to informing an animal's specific location on the planet. Although such cues are used by many long‐distant migrants, its use for short‐ and moderate‐distance migrations is less clear. We have been studying overland migratory movement...

Studies documenting and quantifying personality traits are common in animal behavior. Such studies often consider the nature of individual variation and personality as correlated with a variety of natural history, physiological, or ecological traits, and therefore consider the importance of personality for strategies in wild systems. Though such st...

Unlike birds and mammals, reptiles are commonly thought to possess only the most rudimentary means of interacting with their environments, reflexively responding to sensory information to the near exclusion of higher cognitive function. However, reptilian brains, though structurally somewhat different from those of mammals and birds, use many of th...

Many animals use complex cognitive processes, including the formation and recall of memories, for successful navigation. However, the developmental and neurological processes underlying these cognitive aspects of navigation are poorly understood. To address the importance of the formation and recollection of memories during navigation, we pharmacol...

Learning is a key behavioural adaptation allowing animals to respond to complex and changing environments. Although the field of animal behaviour has seen an increase in the taxonomic breadth of learning studies in recent decades, investigations within an explicit, broad phylogenetic framework are rare, curtailing our understanding of the evolution...

Translocation centers on the introducing, reintroducing, or augmenting populations by moving individuals from existing wild source populations to different locations with purportedly suitable habitat. Despite much research in and application of translocation, this technique is often marred by low success rates. While many possible factors could con...

An animal's ability to perceive and learn about its environment plays a key role in many behavioral processes, including navigation, migration, dispersal and foraging. However, the understanding of the role of cognition in the development of navigation strategies and the mechanisms underlying these strategies is limited by the methodological diffic...

The ability to learn about the spatial environment plays an important role in navigation, migration, dispersal, and foraging. However, our understanding of both the role of cognition in the development of navigation strategies and the mechanisms underlying these strategies is limited. We tested the hypothesis that complex navigation is facilitated...

Animals inhabiting changing environments show high levels of cognitive plasticity. Cognition may be a means by which animals buffer the impact of environmental change. However, studies examining the evolution of cognition seldom compare populations where change is rapid and selection pressures are strong. We investigated this phenomenon by radiotra...

We are currently experiencing shifts in climate at rates not previously recorded. One important aspect of this change is a tendency toward extremes-extremes in temperature and moisture, both within and among years. Numerous studies focus on the physiological consequences of environmental change, especially in terms of ectothermic taxa's thermal reg...

The severity of the environment often influences animal cognition [1-6], as does the rate of change within that environment [7-10]. Rapid alteration of habitat places limitations on basic resources such as energy, water, nesting sites, and refugia [8, 10]. How animals respond to these situations provides insight into the mechanisms of cognition and...

It is commonly assumed that the facial pit of pitvipers forms relatively sharp images and can detect small differences in environmental surface temperatures. We have visualized the temperature contrast images formed on the facial pit membrane using a detailed optical and heat transfer analysis, which includes heat transfer through the air in the pi...

Patterns of growth and development provide information critical for documenting population demographics. Herein we document the reproductive biology for and provide equations that accurately predict the ages of 2 widely sympatric species of bats from central Indiana-the northern myotis (Myotis septentrionalis) and the little brown myotis (Myotis lu...

Pitvipers (Viperidae: Crotalinae) possess thermal radiation receptors, the facial pits, which allow them to detect modest temperature fluctuations within their environments. It was previously thought that these organs were used solely to aid in prey acquisition, but recent findings demonstrated that western diamondback rattlesnakes (Crotalus atrox)...

Pitvipers (Viperidae: Crotalinae) possess unique sensory organs, the facial pits, capable of sensing subtle fluctuations in thermal radiation. Prey acquisition has long been regarded as the sole function of the facial pits. However, the ability to sense thermal radiation could also direct thermoregulatory behavior by remotely sensing nearby surface...

Although it is widely known that most species of snakes readily accept carrion in Captivity, the notion of scavenging by wild snakes historically has been rejected or ignored. Herein, we review the literature describing instances of scavenging by snakes and consider the implications of carrion use on their ecology. Thirty-nine published accounts yi...

Thesis (Ph. D.)--Indiana State University, 2003. "Presented to the School of Graduate Studies Department of Life Sciences." Vita. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 60-66).