DOCSLIB.ORG

It Is Easy to Dismiss the Dispute Between Von Frisch and Von Hess As Little More Than a Perturbation in the Path of the Former’S Rapidly Rising Star

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
It Is Easy to Dismiss the Dispute Between Von Frisch and Von Hess As Little More Than a Perturbation in the Path of the Former’S Rapidly Rising Star design in testing each experimental variable while carefully managing controlled variables. Equally striking are the social contexts of von Frisch’s work. His revolutionary use of film in both recording and presenting experimental results is detailed, emphasizing the communication of results as an important element of science. Also described in detail is the influence of the people around him. A particularly interesting point is made in the account of von Frisch’s disagreement with a fellow scientist, Carl von Hess, over color blindness in fishes and bees. This not only led to one of von Frisch’s more famous experiments, showing that bees do indeed see color, but also highlights the importance of critique in intellectual development. As the author notes, Downloaded from http://online.ucpress.edu/abt/article-pdf/81/8/592/65720/abt_2019_81_8_592a.pdf by guest on 30 September 2021 it is easy to dismiss the dispute between von Frisch and von Hess as little more than a perturbation in the path of the former’s rapidly rising star. But that would be to miss its significance at the time. The Dancing Bees: Karl von Frisch and the Indeed, it was surely not in spite Discovery of the Honeybee Language. By Tania of his disagreement with von Hess Munz. 2017. University of Chicago Press. (ISBN: but in large part because of it that The Book of Caterpillars. Edited by David G. 9780226526508). 278 pp. Paperback, $21. he enjoyed such precipitous suc- James. 2017. University of Chicago Press. (ISBN: Every biology teacher and student knows the cess in those early years of his 9780226287362). 656 pp. Hardcover, $55. three European “Fathers of Ethology” (the study career. (p. 67) For the lover of all things lepidopterous, The of animal behavior) who shared the 1973 Nobel Book of Caterpillars is a beautifully curated collec- Central to the book, and to von Frisch’s career, Prize in Physiology or Medicine: Konrad Lorenz, tion and guide to 600 species from around the are his struggles to continue scientific work in Nikolaas Tinbergen, and Karl von Frisch. The globe. Beginning with an eloquent and compre- Europe during the tumultuous years leading up work of these three early 20th-century scientists hensive general overview of caterpillars and their to and during World War II. Nazi edicts about revolutionized the study of animal behavior, mov- life cycles, the volume has enough background “non-Aryans” disrupted von Frisch’s research team ing it from an amusing pastime of gathering natural for the novice but a level of color and detail that and colleagues through both deportation and emi- history anecdotes to thoughtful design of con- even a professional scientist can appreciate. gration, and questions regarding his own ancestry trolled experiments on par with those of the “hard” Before introducing the variety of species, the challenged von Frisch as he strove to continue sciences. The Dancing Bees examines the life of von opening chapter provides a narrative introduc- the work of his institute. Some of von Frisch’stac- Frisch, the Austrian ethologist who deciphered the tion defining the caterpillar, looking at metamor- tics are questionable, including appealing to the now famous code of movements through which phosis, feeding, defenses, the relationship of Nazi focus on eugenics and disregarding atrocities honeybees communicate location and quality of caterpillars and people, and the research and as he positioned himself to continue his scientific food sources to each other. conservation efforts that are underway to protect work under the auspices of the Nazi regime – At times The Dancing Bees reads like a conven- and learn more about both moth and butterfly which he was finally able to do by focusing on tional (and somewhat unexciting) biography, with caterpillars. The closing pages of the volume the Nosema parasite threat to the bee population descriptions of birth, childhood, marriage, and include handy reference guides, including index- and the associated threat of food insecurity. early education. However, it is a worthwhile read ing by both common and scientific names and A thoughtful reader cannot help but be struck by for any biologist interested in understanding the general classification of Lepitoptera. the suffering, turbulence, and impossible choices thoughtful experimental design. The care and intel- The most brilliant contribution of the book, of the time. Through its descriptions of von lectual beauty underlying von Frisch’s experimental however, is its highly vivid and life-size (unless Frisch’s life and work during this period, The Danc- designs is evident in the author’s descriptions of specifically noted) pictures of so many butterfly ing Bees offers an important reminder that science many of his studies. Meticulous and clever, each and moth caterpillars, along with high-resolution exists within, and can be swayed by, the opportu- experiment revealed previously unknown elements magnified images. Whereas most books focus on nities and challenges of the human social world. of animal behavior and physiology. Von Frisch the final life stage, this volume highlights the cat- used both observation and training to uncover erpillar in great depth. The resulting butterflies aspects of animal behavior, including the senses of and moths are represented by small images of taste and sound in fishes; the senses of color, smell, Cate Hibbitt patterns, so as not to steal focus from the fea- and taste in bees; and, of course, the famous com- Lincoln School tured stage of the life cycle. Also included are munication dances of honeybees. Several experi- Providence, RI 02906 general overviews of the behavior of each species ments are described in detail, emphasizing clever [email protected] and its interactions with its surroundings, as well 592 THE AMERICAN BIOLOGY TEACHER VOLUME 81, NO. 6, OCTOBER 2019 as information on its habitat, range, host plants, understandings are deemed controversial by and conservation status. AMANDA L. GLAZE is an Assistant Professor of the public. Glaze holds degrees in science Middle Grades & Secondary Science Education More a reference than a book to read cover- education from the University of Alabama and at Georgia Southern University in Statesboro, Jacksonville State University. Her address is to-cover, this is a beautiful catalog of the Lepi- Georgia. In addition to science teacher Department of Teaching & Learning, Georgia doptera and a must-see for anyone interested in education, she has taught courses in biological Southern University, P.O. Box 8134, Statesboro, that realm. sciences for grades 7–12 and undergraduate GA 30458; e-mail: [email protected]. students over the last 13 years. Her interests include evolutionary biology, science and religion, and the intersections of science and Amanda L. Glaze society – specifically where scientific Book Reviews Editor Downloaded from http://online.ucpress.edu/abt/article-pdf/81/8/592/65720/abt_2019_81_8_592a.pdf by guest on 30 September 2021 Online MS in Biology Master of Science (Non-thesis option) Online Master’s Degree in Biological Sciences for K-12 teachers and other science educators • All courses offered online • Reduced tuition • No out-of-state tuition differential • No residency requirement • 30 semester hours of graduate credits • Up to 12 credits of graduate courses For Information: may transfer for the degree [email protected] requirements 864-656-2153 The courses offered in the BIOL ONLINE Program are fully accredited through Clemson University by the Southern Association of Colleges and ! Schools (SACS). CU is an equal opportunity employer THE AMERICAN BIOLOGY TEACHER BOOK REVIEWS 593.
Load more

Recommended publications
  • Insight from the Sociology of Science
    CHAPTER 7 INSIGHT FROM THE SOCIOLOGY OF SCIENCE Science is What Scientists Do It has been argued a number of times in previous chapters that empirical adequacy is insufficient, in itself, to establish the validity of a theory: consistency with the observable ‘facts’ does not mean that a theory is true,1 only that it might be true, along with other theories that may also correspond with the observational data. Moreover, empirical inadequacy (theories unable to account for all the ‘facts’ in their domain) is frequently ignored by individual scientists in their fight to establish a new theory or retain an existing one. It has also been argued that because experi- ments are conceived and conducted within a particular theoretical, procedural and instrumental framework, they cannot furnish the theory-free data needed to make empirically-based judgements about the superiority of one theory over another. What counts as relevant evidence is, in part, determined by the theoretical framework the evidence is intended to test. It follows that the rationality of science is rather different from the account we usually provide for students in school. Experiment and observation are not as decisive as we claim. Additional factors that may play a part in theory acceptance include the following: intuition, aesthetic considerations, similarity and consistency among theories, intellectual fashion, social and economic influences, status of the proposer(s), personal motives and opportunism. Although the evidence may be inconclusive, scientists’ intuitive feelings about the plausibility or aptness of particular ideas will make it appear convincing. The history of science includes many accounts of scientists ‘sticking to their guns’ concerning a well-loved theory in the teeth of evidence to the contrary, and some- times in the absence of any evidence at all.
    [Show full text]
  • The Joys and Burdens of Our Heroes 12/05/2021
    More Fun Than Fun: The Joys and Burdens of Our Heroes 12/05/2021 An iconic photo of Konrad Lorenz with his favourite geese. Photo: Willamette Biology, CC BY-SA 2.0 This article is part of the ‘More Fun Than Fun‘ column by Prof Raghavendra Gadagkar. He will explore interesting research papers or books and, while placing them in context, make them accessible to a wide readership. RAGHAVENDRA GADAGKAR Among the books I read as a teenager, two completely changed my life. One was The Double Helix by Nobel laureate James D. Watson. This book was inspiring at many levels and instantly got me addicted to molecular biology. The other was King Solomon’s Ring by Konrad Lorenz, soon to be a Nobel laureate. The study of animal behaviour so charmingly and unforgettably described by Lorenz kindled in me an eternal love for the subject. The circumstances in which I read these two books are etched in my mind and may have partly contributed to my enthusiasm for them and their subjects. The Double Helix was first published in London in 1968 when I was a pre-university student (equivalent to 11th grade) at St Joseph’s college in Bangalore and was planning to apply for the prestigious National Science Talent Search Scholarship. By then, I had heard of the discovery of the double-helical structure of DNA and its profound implications. I was also tickled that this momentous discovery was made in 1953, the year of my birth. I saw the announcement of Watson’s book on the notice board in the British Council Library, one of my frequent haunts.
    [Show full text]
  • Eric Kandel Form in Which This Information Is Stored
    RESEARCH I NEWS pendent, this system would be expected to [2] HEEsch and J E Bums. Distance estimation work quite well, since the new recruit bees by foraging honeybees, The Journal ofExperi­ mental Biology, Vo1.199, pp. 155-162, 1996. tend to take the same route as the experi­ [3] M V Srinivasan, S W Zhang, M Lehrer, and T enced scout bee. What dOJhe ants do when S Collett, Honeybee Navigation en route to they cover similarly several kilometres on the goal: Visual flight control and odometry, foot to look for food? Preliminary evidence The Journal ofExperimental Biology, Vol. 199, pp. 237-244, 1996. indicates that they don't use an odometer but [4] M V Srinivasan, S W Zhang, M Altwein, and instead might count steps! J Tautz, Honeybee Navigation: Nature and Calibration of the Odometer, Science, Vol. Suggested Reading 287, pp. 851-853, 1996. [1] Karl von Frisch, The dance language and OT­ Moushumi Sen Sarma, Centre for Ecological Sci­ ientation of bees, Harvard Univ. Press, Cam­ ences, Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore 560012, bridge, MA, USA, 1993. India. Email: [email protected] Learning from a Sea Snail: modify future behaviour, then memory is the Eric Kandel form in which this information is stored. Together, they represent one of the most valuable and powerful adaptations ever to Rohini Balakrishnan have evolved in nervous systems, for they In the year 2000, Eric Kandel shared the allow the future to access the past, conferring Nobel Prize in Physiology and Medicinel flexibility to behaviour and improving the with two other neurobiologists: Arvid chances of survival in unpredictable, rapidly Carlsson and Paul Greengard.
    [Show full text]
  • 書 名 等 発行年 出版社 受賞年 備考 N1 Ueber Das Zustandekommen Der
    書 名 等 発行年 出版社 受賞年 備考 Ueber das Zustandekommen der Diphtherie-immunitat und der Tetanus-Immunitat bei thieren / Emil Adolf N1 1890 Georg thieme 1901 von Behring N2 Diphtherie und tetanus immunitaet / Emil Adolf von Behring und Kitasato 19-- [Akitomo Matsuki] 1901 Malarial fever its cause, prevention and treatment containing full details for the use of travellers, University press of N3 1902 1902 sportsmen, soldiers, and residents in malarious places / by Ronald Ross liverpool Ueber die Anwendung von concentrirten chemischen Lichtstrahlen in der Medicin / von Prof. Dr. Niels N4 1899 F.C.W.Vogel 1903 Ryberg Finsen Mit 4 Abbildungen und 2 Tafeln Twenty-five years of objective study of the higher nervous activity (behaviour) of animals / Ivan N5 Petrovitch Pavlov ; translated and edited by W. Horsley Gantt ; with the collaboration of G. Volborth ; and c1928 International Publishing 1904 an introduction by Walter B. Cannon Conditioned reflexes : an investigation of the physiological activity of the cerebral cortex / by Ivan Oxford University N6 1927 1904 Petrovitch Pavlov ; translated and edited by G.V. Anrep Press N7 Die Ätiologie und die Bekämpfung der Tuberkulose / Robert Koch ; eingeleitet von M. Kirchner 1912 J.A.Barth 1905 N8 Neue Darstellung vom histologischen Bau des Centralnervensystems / von Santiago Ramón y Cajal 1893 Veit 1906 Traité des fiévres palustres : avec la description des microbes du paludisme / par Charles Louis Alphonse N9 1884 Octave Doin 1907 Laveran N10 Embryologie des Scorpions / von Ilya Ilyich Mechnikov 1870 Wilhelm Engelmann 1908 Immunität bei Infektionskrankheiten / Ilya Ilyich Mechnikov ; einzig autorisierte übersetzung von Julius N11 1902 Gustav Fischer 1908 Meyer Die experimentelle Chemotherapie der Spirillosen : Syphilis, Rückfallfieber, Hühnerspirillose, Frambösie / N12 1910 J.Springer 1908 von Paul Ehrlich und S.
    [Show full text]
  • Introduction and Historical Perspective
    Chapter 1 Introduction and Historical Perspective “ Nothing in biology makes sense except in the light of evolution. ” modified by the developmental history of the organism, Theodosius Dobzhansky its physiology – from cellular to systems levels – and by the social and physical environment. Finally, behaviors are shaped through evolutionary forces of natural selection OVERVIEW that optimize survival and reproduction ( Figure 1.1 ). Truly, the study of behavior provides us with a window through Behavioral genetics aims to understand the genetic which we can view much of biology. mechanisms that enable the nervous system to direct Understanding behaviors requires a multidisciplinary appropriate interactions between organisms and their perspective, with regulation of gene expression at its core. social and physical environments. Early scientific The emerging field of behavioral genetics is still taking explorations of animal behavior defined the fields shape and its boundaries are still being defined. Behavioral of experimental psychology and classical ethology. genetics has evolved through the merger of experimental Behavioral genetics has emerged as an interdisciplin- psychology and classical ethology with evolutionary biol- ary science at the interface of experimental psychology, ogy and genetics, and also incorporates aspects of neuro- classical ethology, genetics, and neuroscience. This science ( Figure 1.2 ). To gain a perspective on the current chapter provides a brief overview of the emergence of definition of this field, it is helpful
    [Show full text]
  • Mental States in Animals: Cognitive Ethology Jacques Vauclair
    Mental states in animals: cognitive ethology Jacques Vauclair This artHe addresses the quegtion of mentaJ states in animak as viewed in ‘cognitive ethology”. In effect, thk field of research aims at studying naturally occurring behaviours such as food caching, individual recognition, imitation, tool use and communication in wild animals, in order to seek for evidence of mental experiences, self-aw&&reness and intentional@. Cognitive ethologists use some philosophical cencepts (e.g., the ‘intentional stance’) to carry out their programme of the investigation of natural behaviours. A comparison between cognitive ethology and other approaches to the investigation of cognitive processes in animals (e.g., experimental animal psychology) helps to point out the strengths and weaknesses of cognitive ethology. Moreover, laboratory attempts to analyse experimentally Mentional behaviours such as deception, the relationship between seeing and knowing, as well as the ability of animals to monitor their own states of knowing, suggest that cognitive ethology could benefit significantly from the conceptual frameworks and methods of animal cognitive psychology. Both disciplines could, in fact, co&ribute to the understanding of which cognitive abilities are evolutionary adaptations. T he term ‘cognirive ethology’ (CE) was comed by that it advances a purposive or Intentional interpretation Griffin in The Question ofAnimd Au~aarmess’ and later de- for activities which are a mixture of some fixed genetically veloped in other publications’ ‘_ Although Griffin‘s IS’6 transmitred elements with more hexible behaviour?. book was first a strong (and certainly salutary) reacrion (Cognitive ethologists USC conceptual frameworks against the inhibitions imposed by strict behaviourism in provided by philosophers (such as rhe ‘intentional stance’)“.
    [Show full text]
  • Biography (Modified, After Festetics 1983)
    Konrad Lorenz’s Biography (modified, after Festetics 1983) 1903: Konrad Zacharias Lorenz (KL) was born in Altenberg /Austria on Nov. 7 as the last of three children of Emma Lorenz and Dr. Adolf Lorenz, professor for orthopedics at the Medical branch of the University of Vienna. In the same year the representative and spacious Altenberg family home was finished. 1907: KL starts keeping animals, such as spotted newts in aquaria, raises some ducklings and is not pleased by his first experiences with a dachshound. Niko Tinbergen, his lifelong colleague and friend, is born on April 15 in Den Haag, The Netherlands. 1909: KL enters elementary school and engages in systematic studies in crustaceans. 1910: Oskar Heinroth, biologist and founder of "Vergleichende Verhaltensforschung" (comparative ethology) from Berlin and fatherlike scientific mentor of the young KL publishes his classical paper on the ethology of ducks. 1915: KL enters highschool (Schottengymnasium Wien), keeps and breeds songbirds. 1918: Wallace Craig publishes the comparative ethology of Columbidae (pigeons), a classics of late US biologist Charles O. Whitman, who was like O. Heinroth, a founding father of comparative ethology. 1921: KL excels in his final exams. Together with friend Bernhard Hellmann, he observes and experiments with aggression in a cichlid (Herichthys cyanoguttatum). This was the base for KL's psychohydraulic model of motivation. 1922: Father Adolf sends KL to New York to take 2 semesters of medicine courses at the ColumbiaUniversity, but mainly to interrupt the relationship of KL with longterm girlfriend Gretl Gebhart, his later wife. This paternal attempt to influence the mate choice of KL failed.
    [Show full text]
  • 2862 001 OCR DBL ZIP 0.Pdf
    , , .- GREAT SCIENTIFIC EXPERIMENTS Twenty Experiments that Changed our View of the World ROM HARRE Oxford New York OXFORD UNIVERSITY PRESS 1983 Whi'te Oalt OXford Um'wrsity Press, Waftoff Street, OXfordOX'2 6DP LondonGlasgov) New Yorn Toronto Delhi &mbay Calcutta Madras Knrachi Kuala'LumpurSingapore HangKnng·Tokyo Nairobi Dar es Salaam Cape Town Mel~urne Auckland and associates in Beirut Berlin [hac/an Mexico City Nicosia © Phaidon Press limited 1981 First published by Phaidon Press Limited /981 First issued as an Oxford University Press Paperback 1983 All n'ghts reserved. No port of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by atiy means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without ., the prior permission oj Oxford University Press This book is sold subject to the condition that it shall n(Jt,~by way oftrade or otherwise, be Jent, re-sold, hired out or otheruxse circulated without the pilblisher's prior consent in any fonn of binding or cover other than that in which it is published and ulithout a similar condition including this condition being imposed on the subsequent purchaser British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data Ham, Rom Great scientific experiments.-{Oxford paperbacks) 1. Science-experiments-History 1. Title SfJ1'.24 Q125 ISBN 0-19-286036-4 library of Congress Cataloging in Publication Data , Harrl, Rmnimo. Great scientific experimetus. (Oxford paperbacks) " Biblwgraphy: p. Includes index. 1. Scieni:e-MethodlJ~(Ue studies. 2.-Science-Expen"men/$-PhI1osopf!y. 3. Science-Histo1y--Sources. 4. Scientists_Biograpf!y. I. Title. QI75.H32541983 507'.2 82';'19035 ISBN 0-19-286036-4 (pbk.) Printed in Great Britain by R.
    [Show full text]
  • Synapses, Sea Slugs, and Psychiatry
    J Neurol Neurosurg Psychiatry 2001;70:1–3 1 J Neurol Neurosurg Psychiatry: first published as 10.1136/jnnp.70.1.1 on 1 January 2001. Downloaded from EDITORIAL Synapses, sea slugs, and psychiatry This year’s Nobel Prize in physiology or medicine, announced literature than medicine. However, his Austrian contempo- on 9 October 2000, has gone to Arvid Carlsson, Paul Green- rary, Wagner von Jauregg, became the first psychiatrist lau- gard, and Eric Kandel. The citation states that the prize is reate in 1927 for his observations on the beneficial eVects shared for pioneering discoveries in slow synaptic transmis- of induced fever (for example, malaria) on the symptoms of sion, which are “crucial for an understanding of how the nor- neurosyphillis—not, it has to be said, a treatment that has mal functioning of the brain and how disturbances in this sig- stood the test of time. But European psychiatry at the fin de nal can give rise to neurological and psychiatric diseases” siecle was resolutely biological. Egaz Moniz, the Portu- (www.nobel.se/announcement/2000/medicine.html). Carls- guese neurosurgeon who developed psychosurgery, shared son proved the importance of dopamine as a neurotransmitter the prize in 1949, although the invention of arterial angio- and subsequently its role in Parkinson’s disease and graphy was perhaps a more enduring legacy. Neuroscien- schizophrenia. The strongest pillar of the dopamine theory of tists have been so rewarded on many occasions—but as in schizophrenia is the linear relation between potency of anti- this year, the contributions tended to be at the “basic” psychotic drugs and their dopamine antagonist potential.
    [Show full text]
  • Nikolaas Tinbergen: the Careful Scientist), Respectively, by Sindhu Radhakrishna in This Issue
    Editorial T N C Vidya, Associate Editor We are happy to bring to you, an issue that celebrates Niko- laas Tinbergen, who along with Konrad Lorenz and Karl von Frisch, laid the foundations of the field of ethology, the study of animal behaviour. In the late 19th and early 20th centuries, animal behaviour was largely approached either through vital- ism and purposive psychology (in England and then America), suggesting that behaviour was the outcome of mystical forces Email: within individuals that could, therefore, not be explained through [email protected] physico-chemical processes, or through comparative psychology (in America) that placed an almost exclusive emphasis on learn- ing as the process responsible for behaviour. Comparative psy- chologists at that time often anthropomorphised animal behaviour and relied on laboratory experiments to test animals. Ethologists Lorenz, Tinbergen, and von Frisch (in Europe), on the other hand, articulated how animal behaviour itself could be an evolved phe- nomenon. The behaviour showed by an animal could, therefore, be inherited, have survival value, and be acted upon by natu- ral selection. This was in contrast to the view of comparative psychologists who thought that mental faculties – and not be- haviours – evolved and allowed various species to learn appro- priate behaviours. Therefore, ethologists tended to focus on an- imal behaviour in the natural environment and study instinctive behaviours – behaviours that animals displayed in response to specific stimuli even in the absence of prior experience. How- ever, they realized that learning could also be important in some species at least. Lorenz, Tinbergen, and von Frisch carried out careful observations and experiments on insects, fishes, and birds.
    [Show full text]
  • Cognitive Ethology: Theory Or Poetry?
    Cognitive ethology: Theory or poetry? Jonathan Bennett from Behavioral and Brain Sciences 6 (1983), pp. 356–358. Comments on Daniel Dennett, ‘Intentional Systems in Cognitive Ethology: the “Panglossian Paradigm” defended’. Behavioral and Brain Sciences 6 (1983), pp. 343–345. Dennett is perhaps the most interesting, fertile, and chal- I take it as uncontroversial that the intentional stance— lenging philosopher of mind on the contemporary scene, and considered as a program for theorizing about behavior—must I count myself among his grateful admirers. But this present be centered on the idea that beliefs are functions from desires paper of his, enjoyable as it is to read, and acceptable as to behavior, and that desires are functions from beliefs to its conclusions are, is likely to do more harm than good. behavior. Down in the foundations, then, we need some Some will object that the intentional stance is a dead end; theory about what behavior must be like to be reasonably but I think, as Dennett does, that it is premature to turn interpreted as manifesting beliefs and desires; and these our backs on explanations of animal behavior in terms of concepts must presumably tail off somehow, being strongly desires and beliefs, and I am in favor of continuing with applicable to men and apes, less strongly to monkeys, and this endeavor; but only if it gets some structure, only if it so on down to animals that do not have beliefs and desires is guided by some firm underlying theory. That is what but can be described in terms of weaker analogues of those the ethologists might get from philosophy, but Dennett has notions.
    [Show full text]
  • Anthrozoology and Sharks, Looking at How Human-Shark Interactions Have Shaped Human Life Over Time
    Anthrozoology and Public Perception: Humans and Great White Sharks (Carchardon carcharias) on Cape Cod, Massachusetts, USA Jessica O’Toole A thesis submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Marine Affairs University of Washington 2020 Committee: Marc L. Miller, Chair Vincent F. Gallucci Program Authorized to Offer Degree School of Marine and Environmental Affairs © Copywrite 2020 Jessica O’Toole 2 University of Washington Abstract Anthrozoology and Public Perception: Humans and Great White Sharks (Carchardon carcharias) on Cape Cod, Massachusetts, USA Jessica O’Toole Chair of the Supervisory Committee: Dr. Marc L. Miller School of Marine and Environmental Affairs Anthrozoology is a relatively new field of study in the world of academia. This discipline, which includes researchers ranging from social studies to natural sciences, examines human-animal interactions. Understanding what affect these interactions have on a person’s perception of a species could be used to create better conservation strategies and policies. This thesis uses a mixed qualitative methodology to examine the public perception of great white sharks on Cape Cod, Massachusetts. While the area has a history of shark interactions, a shark related death in 2018 forced many people to re-evaluate how they view sharks. Not only did people express both positive and negative perceptions of the animals but they also discussed how the attack caused them to change their behavior in and around the ocean. Residents also acknowledged that the sharks were not the only problem living in the ocean. They often blame seals for the shark attacks, while also claiming they are a threat to the fishing industry.
    [Show full text]