The Introduction of a Novel Computerized Apparatus to California Sea Lions (Zalophus californianus)
The use of technology in laboratory and zoological settings has provided opportunities for advancement of cognition research as well as cognitive enrichment in a variety of species. Such systems have been successfully created for nonhuman primates and introduced to other anatomically and physiologically diverse species such as bears and tortoises. However, such systems have yet […]
Sequence, Syntax, and Semantics: Responses of a Language-Trained Sea Lion (Zalophus californianus) to Novel Sign Combinations
We present a sea lion’s (Zalophus californianus) responses to anomalous (unfamiliar) combinations of signs created by reordering, deleting, or adding signs. The sea lion’s responses to these anomalous combinations demonstrated that she had learned a number of syntactic relations from exposure to a limited set of standard combinatorial forms. The learned syntactic relations included two […]
Diagnosing domoic acid toxicosis in the California sea lion (Zalophus californianus) using behavioral criteria: A novel approach
Domoic acid toxicosis in the California sea lion (Zalophus californianus) is difficult to diagnose using presence of toxin alone because the duration of domoic acid presence in blood and urine is generally less than 48 hr following exposure. Because domoic acid toxicosis is often suggested by presentation of behavioral abnormalities, we asked whether assessment of behavior […]