Research Agenda
Featuring a number of annotated bibliographies, this page shows some of the research that I have done in this class. You will find here three different sections of annotated bibliographies: articles for my Scicomm Article, articles for my Advocacy Project's problem section, and articles for my Advocacy Project's solution section.
Scicomm Article and Literature Review
Kaeli N. Swift, John M. Marzluff, Wild American crows gather around their dead to learn about danger, Animal Behaviour, Volume 109, 2015, Pages 187-197, https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0003347215003188?via%3Dihub
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In this study, avian ecologist Kaeli Swift discovered through her research that Wild American crows gather around their dead to learn about danger. The researchers conducted three experiments to find out if crows will alarm call and avoid areas with a dead conspecific and/or a predator, by conditioning wild crows for a few days by feeding them, and then seeing how they respond to seeing a dead conspecific with and without a predator. The results found that crows will use the dead body of their own kind as an indication that the area around the body or the animal present is dangerous. This tells us how intelligent crows are, and shows us that crows will remember humans who handle crow carcasses, therefore we must be respectful when dealing with their dead. This study is supported by the two below, and all three of these articles help to prove a crow's intelligence, specifically with associating death and danger. However, this study differs from the other two in the way that it was conducted, as the other two captured crows for their experiment, while this one used flocks of crows they found in the wild.
Cornell Heather N., Marzluff John M. and Pecoraro Shannon. 2012 Social learning spreads knowledge about dangerous humans among American crows. Proc. R. Soc. B, https://royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/10.1098/rspb.2011.0957
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Led by Heather Cornell and John Marzluff at the University of Washington, this study found that social learning spreads knowledge about dangerous humans among American Crows. It was conducted by catching 7-15 crows at five different sites in Seattle, Washington, and then exposing them to a "dangerous" face mask that captured them. They found that the crows who were exposed to this "dangerous" mask then conditioned their family and neighbors of the danger of it, to the point where the majority of crows in the area scolded the mask when it was seen. We see this behavior in crows because it would be beneficial for them to be able to identify the faces of predators, so they can stay away from danger. This famous study on crows was found quoted in the article above from Kaeli Swift, about how crows will gather around their dead to learn about danger. This study helps to support Swift's research because it gives another example of how crows associate predators with possible danger or death.
Kaeli N. Swift, John M. Marzluff, Christopher N. Templeton, Toru Shimizu, Donna J. Cross, Brain activity underlying American crow processing of encounters with dead conspecifics, Behavioural Brain Research, Volume 385, 2020, https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0166432819311787?via%3Dihub
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The prominent crow researcher and avian ecologist Kaeli Swift led this study on the brain activity underlying American crow processing of encounters with dead conspecifics. The researchers captured seven American crows, and then imaged their brains after they were exposed to both hearing death alarm calls and seeing a dead conspecific. The research showed that dead conspecifics result in brain activity in the NCL in crows, an area associated with higher-order cognitive functions, rather than the expected amygdala or hippocampus. We learn from this that crows will make context dependent decisions about how they respond to their dead. This is the most recent study out of the two other ones, and it provides great scientific data on what actually goes on inside the brains of crows when they witness death. John Marzluff is found as a researcher in each of these three studies, showing how much they all connect with and support each other.
Defining the Problem
Giffin, Jon G., et al. “Habitat Selection and Management of the Hawaiian Crow.” The Journal of Wildlife Management, vol. 51, no. 2, 1987, pp. 485–94. JSTOR, https://doi.org/10.2307/3801038
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This scholarly article, Habitat Selection and Management of the Hawaiian Crow, was written by Jon Giffin, a wildlife biologist in Hawaii. The scientists studied data on the Hawaiian Crow, or alala, for two years, on their nesting sites, breeding success, and food habits to determine how to help preserve this species. It found that humans must put great efforts into saving the alala by restoring their favored habitats at mid-to-upper elevations. Preserves must be established in order for this species to not go fully extinct. This study was published in 1987, and currently, the alala crow species is extinct in the wild, but survives in conservation programs in Hawaii. This article will serve to show that humans must take efforts to stop the killing of crows, as one of its species is already extinct in the wild.
Kaeli Swift. Portland crow poisoning: when is it legal to kill crows and how do we build empathy. Corvid Research, December 2014, https://corvidresearch.blog/tag/legal-to-kill-crows/
Written by ethologist and evolutionary biologist Kaeli Swift, this blog about the portland crow poisoning talks about the ethical side of people killing crows. The police department in Portland treated the deliberate killing of at least 30 crows as a crime, yet hunting crows in all US states except Hawaii is legal. All you need to kill crows is a valid license or valid proof of crows causing disturbances. Swift urges us to continue to change the hearts and minds of those who believe that killing crows is okay, by teaching others about their intellectual and emotional intelligence and their social families.
Dan Gleason. American Crow: An Often Misunderstood Bird. Wild Birds Unlimited, 2019, https://eugene.wbu.com/american-crow
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Dan Gleason is a freelance writer who wrote this piece on the often misunderstood American Crow. He mentions how many people despise crows because they can be seen as disruptive and noisy and capable of causing problems for us. Then, he goes on to contradict all of this and talks about the amazing intellect and adaptability of these birds. He emphasizes that we must all give them a chance to prove to us that they might not be as dislikable as we originally thought. By talking about challenges crows face, and then ways we can solve them, he helps to move the audience and make them care more about crows.
Advocating Solutions
Dalvi, Mrinmayi. Crow Conservation, 2023, https://creatureconserve.com/crow-conservation
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Wildlife conservationist Mrinmayi Dalvi talks about the importance of crows and challenges they face, along with solutions to those challenges in this piece. She educates the audience on crows' high intelligence and on the important hygiene services they provide with their scavenging behavior. Additionally, she mentions how crows and humans will often come into conflict, causing crows to be viewed as pests. To help lessen these conflicts, Mrinmayi advocates for more education on the importance of crows, along with avoiding feeding crows and keeping trash covered so they can't get into it. This article helps to provide me a few grassroots solutions that individuals can take to lessen conflicts with crows and change popular opinion on this animal.
Bird Advocacy Foundation. Black Crows - Making Our Environment Work Better!, 2022, https://birdadvocacyfoundation.org/2022/08/24/black-crows-making-our-environment-work-better/
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The Bird Advocacy Foundation is an organization dedicated to protecting birds and facilitating harmony between birds and humans. This article about crows helps to educate the public on the importance that crows can bring to us humans. For example, it vocalizes that crows help us manage our waste, are natural pesticides, and help support seed dispersion. Educating others is a great grass roots solution to help shift public opinion on crows, and this article can help people understand why crows are so vital to our environment and us humans.
MSPCA-Angell. About Crows, https://www.mspca.org/animal_protection/about-crow/
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The MSPCA-Angell, The Massachusetts Society for Prevention of Cruelty to Animals-Angell Animal Medical Center, is an organization dedicated to the health and welfare of animals. This page all about crows educates the reader on both possible conflicts and solutions to humans dealing with crows. It starts with telling the reader that crows are known to be noisy and can damage agriculture crops. Then, it states humane solutions to crows who will damage farmers crops: using noisemakers, bright lights, and scarecrows. This page helps to expand on a global solution that the government could take part in. To help lessen crow and human conflicts, the government should not allow the hunting of crows anymore, and should instead make farmers use these more humane tactics to stop crows from damaging crops, rather than just hunting them.
