The current ABS 2026 In-Person Meeting program is listed below. Please be sure to reference this page regularly as program changes are expected up until the meeting.
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Thursday, July 16 |
| Time | Pavillion | Rosewood | Rookwood | Caprice | Salon H & I |
| 9:30 am - 12:00 pm | Symposium: AI Insights into Animal Behavior Concepts (1) | Applied behavior: companion animals | Foraging and predation | Behavior and conservation | Social communication |
| 9:30 | Conceptual advances from the application of machine learning in the study of animal behavior: an introduction
E. DuVal | Veterinary Clinic Referrals to Canine Trainers and Veterinary Behaviorists
S. Burk, B. Grooms, M. Gaber, E. Feltes | Reward contrast mitigates choice overload in foraging bumblebees
C. Hemingway, O. Harris, P. Riser, V. Nalls, G. Ward, J. Tanner | Predicting Context-Dependent Sexual Behavior and Its Role on Population Dynamics for Conservation Management
P. Brahma, S. Colette | Classic drivers of signal evolution explain female song in antbirds
R. Beco, G. Macedo, G. Bravo, O. Johnson, A. Luo, R. Brumfield, E. Derryberry |
| 9:45 | Machine learning animal behaviors from field and crowd-sourced imagery
A. Hein | Investigating how rider and horse movement influences horse behavior during mounted equine-assisted services
B. Baxley, N. Anderson, A. Stellato | Efficacy of floral signals and bumblebee foraging behavior in UV-deficient environments
O. Harris, J. Tanner, C. Hemingway | Post-Translocation Movements and the Role of Conspecifics in Settlement Decisions of a Territorial Species
M. Morandini, J. Koprowski | Evidence that vampire bats use vocal matching to address specific group members
N. Wewhare, J. Vrtilek, G. Carter |
| 10:00 | How Accurate Are R+ Claims? A Review of Online Equine Trailer‑Training Videos
H. Harris, S. McDonnell | Waggle Dance Communication Reveals How Honey Bees Navigate Early-Season Resources in Agricultural Landscapes
W. Pike, C. Rittschof | Thrill or trap? Conflict coyotes thrive in urban chaos
Y. Li, B. Dantzer, J. Evans, G. Cartwright, S. Benson-Amram | Effects of stress on vocal activity, social dynamics and acoustic fine structure in zebra finches
C. McLean, W. Pei, N. Prior |
| 10:15 | From Anecdote to Evidence: Studying Rare Behavior with AI
S. Bar | Exploring Off-Premise Treatments for Chronically Fearful Shelter Dogs
R. Willen | Pollination efficacy varies with pollinator size and foraging behavior
S. Baldwin, L. Russo | Minimum infection level for canine detection of powdery mildew
H. Thorr, E. Aviles-Rosa , M. Nita, E. Feuerbacher, N. Hall | What's it all for? Lessons about complex vocal repertoires from 10 years studying Bachman's sparrow
R. Anderson, H. Wolverton, H. Gonzembach, J. Soha |
| 10:30 | Dog Bite Legal Case: Great Dane / Bernese Mountain Dog
S. Walker | High-resolution biologging of a predator-prey system: variable responses by sifaka to fossa across scales
T. Montgomery, M. Ratsimbazafindranahaka, Z. Walton, M. Lutz, D. Walser, A. Strandburg-Peshkin, T. O’Mara, D. Caillaud, R. Lewis, M. Crofoot | Cold Hardening as an Invasive Mechanism Between Species of Pholcids
A. Berry, S. Cooney, A. Rypstra | Trait Matching and Social Dynamics in Open Play Interactions Among Domestic Dogs
D. Cherry, B. Florkiewicz, C. Henry , T. Lazebnik |
| 10:45 | Using computer vision to understand the social drivers of migration across scales
B. Koger, A. Kao, B. Dearden, A. Berdahl | Operationalizing Cooperative Care: Defining Assent, Dissent, and Minimum Procedural Requirements
M. Waite | Prey type and size affect the feeding behavior of blind snakes (Afrotyphlops spp.)
E. James, B. Jayne | Neighborhood Buzz: Bumblebee Urban Spatial Behavior Through Population Genetics and Community Help
J. Howard, G. Behrends, A. Dunlap | Session Pause |
| 11:00 | Rags to Riches; a Story of Dumpster Diving, Canine Aggression, and Client Compliance
J. Lane | The role of shiny plant signals and polarization in foraging swallowtail butterflies
J. Sung, R. Barelds, C. van der Kooi, M. Kinoshita | Celebrity Cougars: A sentiment analysis of puma (Puma concolor) Los Angeles newspaper covereage, 1997 to 2023
K. Hernandez, A. Villarreal, M. Chapin, N. Cummings, D. Wise, C. Kelty | The Batlorette: Social Preference of Female Carollia perspicillata Bats
J. Montoya, I. Marin, P. Gillis, N. Sul, A. Salles |
| 11:15 | Towards AI-Driven Behavioral Phenotyping & Pesticide Risk Assessment in Bumblebee Colonies
A. Easton-Calabria, S. Loebertman, C. Tidikis, R. Hunt, J. Crall | Assessing behavioral management programs in research dogs
C. O'Malley, E. Nunamaker | Effect of Odor on Prey Pattern Aversion in Jumping Spiders
A. Persad, L. Lietzenmayer, L. Taylor | Behavior at the Edge: Mechanistic Links Between Habitat, Predation, and Grassland Bird Decline
A. Amiri | Social calls influence free-flying big brown bat (Eptesicus fuscus) behavior
K. Armenta, G. Wilkinson |
| 11:30 | Relationship between Paw Laterality and Physiological Measures of Welfare in Shelter-Living Dogs
R. Harris, L. Gunter | Building intraspecific antagonism into predator-prey models
J. Lichtenstein | Altered Foraging Behavior of a Mesopredator in Response to Perceived Predation Risk
J. Stamn, R. Buchholz | Urine as a Social Cue: Olfactory Discrimination and Scent-Marking Behavior in the Coyote
C. Long, D. Ranglack, S. Freeman |
| 11:45 | Attachment security and novel object exploration in domestic cats
D. Frank, A. McGrath, C. Stiers, S. Darling, M. Udell |
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Thursday, July 16 |
| Time | Pavillion | Rosewood | Rookwood | Caprice |
| 1:30 pm - 3:30 pm | Symposium: AI Insights into Animal Behavior Concepts (2) | Applied animal behavior | Intriguing talk titles | Stress and behavior |
| 1:30 | How Drones and Machine Learning are Changing the Way Behavior Can be Studied
D. Rubenstein | Animal Disability and Welfare: Prevalence, Perception, and Practice in Zoological Organizations
S. O'Brien | Monkey See, Monkey Cue: Do capuchins (Sapajus [Cebus] apella) follow and utilize conspecific gaze?
N. Furgala, M. Babb, B. Wilson, S. Brosnan, M. Benitez | From Screening to Sniffing: Measuring and Reducing Chronic Stress in Companion Dogs
A. Tananaeva, M. Udell |
| 1:45 | The night watch: assessing the 24-hour activity patterns of zoo-housed tawny frogmouths
N. Wierzal, J. Wark, N. Finch-Mason | The bird who cried snake: Threat discrimination by house finches
A. Welch, E. Gasiorowski, D. Kikuchi | Venipuncture-related Stress in Dogs and the Fear Free™ FAS Scale as a Stress Measurement Tool
A. Cary, E. Feuerbacher, A. Pike, J. Hekman |
| 2:00 | Watching the World Change: What Wildlife Images Reveal About a Planet in Flux
S. Huebner | Silverback Integration: An Empirical Examination of a Second Introduction in Zoo-Housed Gorillas
C. Martinez, V. James-Aldridge, T. McWhorter, E. Fernandez | I like your style: an intersexual floral mimic exploits bee behavior by mimicking anther chemistry
A. Russell, T. Eltz, L. Wilson, S. Sanders, A. Mosher, R. Wilkins, D. Papaj | The mitigation hierarchy for anthropogenic stressors: a conservation behaviour approach
K. Church, B. Seymoure, S. Crossen, K. Fowler-Finn, M. LeFauve, J. Phillips, B. Schulte |
| 2:15 | Investigating changes in a valued activity as a novel indicator of weaning distress in dairy calves
B. Wermuth, B. Downey | How can potential prey best fail to realize their potential?
P. Bednekoff | Hypoxia Tolerance in an African Cichlid Fish: Mitochondrial Function and Oxidative Stress Responses
O. Buzinski, S. Wojtylko, M. Howard, T. Beyett, P. Dijkstra |
| 2:30 | AI-based applications for tracking in situ octopus body patterns and behaviors
M. Pereira Andrade, A. de Aguiar, J. Góis, C. D. Santos | Assaying feeding behavior in adult black soldier fly (Hermetia illucens) to improve welfare on farms
M. Barrett, N. Dobrowolski, E. Waddell | Horns of Her Own: Competition, Predation, and Female Weaponry in Bovids
T. Stankowich, N. Lopez | Multiple Stressors Shape Bluebird Development and Maternal Behavior Across Urbanization Gradients
E. Murray, J. Keagy |
| 2:45 | Digital Enrichment: Parrots and computers adapt to each other to create gamified data collection
C. Woodman | How to Become an Influencer: Behavioral Drivers of Social Network Variation in Fruit Flies
K. West , J. Saltz | The effects of thermal stress on reproductive success and fitness
D. Gomez , K. Fowler-Finn |
| 3:00 | Benefits and drawbacks of AI in animal behavior: a case study in spider locomotion and communication
E. Brandt | Anxiety-like behavior in adult zebrafish is modulated by cannabinoids in a dose-response pattern
G. Silva, M. Almeida, N. Alves, P. Giaquinto | Work Harder or Work Smarter? Foraging Effort & Efficiency in Bumblebees
S. Chan, C. Hemingway | Acute Stress Disrupts Brain Redox Homeostasis in a Cichlid Fish
F. Chamily, S. Wojtylko, P. Dijkstra |
| 3:15 | Nutritional Benefits of Ant Specialization in the Twin-flagged Jumping Spider (Anasaitis canosus)
K. Stalcup, . Taylor | The Evolution of Play and Politics
G. Burghardt | Stressed leads to repeatable colony-level aggression in western thatch ants (F. obscuripes)
J. Cusick, C. Loveland, R. Hatton, J. Grinath |
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Thursday, July 16 |
| Time | Pavillion | Rosewood | Rookwood | Caprice |
| 4:00 pm - 5:30 pm | Symposium: AI Insights into Animal Behavior Concepts (3) | Human-animal interactions | Color and multisensory cues | Host-parasite interactions |
| 4:00 | Closing the loop between AI and animal behavior
S. Winters | Do companion parrots use human and animal names as vocal labels?
L. Benedict, V. Groiss, M. Hoeschele, E. Reinisch, C. Dahlin | Intraspecific color variation in a neotropical lizard and its evolutionary implications
J. Talavera, T. Powell, L. Swierk | Evidence for a genetic correlation between parasite resistance and female mate preference
P. Schaefer, M. Polak |
| 4:15 | The Effect of Human Demonstrated Local Enhancement on Dogs and Dingoes
K. Jesch, A. Johnston | Female plumage colors evolve more rapidly than male colors in New World blackbirds
J. Price, M. Eaton | Dispersal strategy and behavior in Halarachnidae parasitic mites of South American fur seals
J. Crespo, J. Altube DE Noia, J. Loureiro, L. Perez Zippilli, D. Erviti, G. Martinez, M. Castelo |
| 4:30 | AI for Nature: From Science to Action
T. Berger-Wolf | Experimenter attitudes influence animal behaviour unknowingly in animal studies
S. Capitain, G. Wirobski, C. Guran, A. Berghänel, C. Lamm, S. Marshall-Pescini, F. Range | YOU DO BOTH? CAMOUFLAGE AND APOSEMATISM LOWER PREDATION RISK IN A TREEFROG
A. Mish, G. Höbel | The Effect of Opposing Sexual and Natural Selective Pressures on the Mating Calls of Parasitized Katydids
K. Murphy, O. Beckers |
| 4:45 | The role of insect behavior in pollination for small scale urban agriculture: a community-based approach
A. Dunlap, G. Todd, E. Spevak, N. Miller-Struttmann | A Piscivore’s Guide to Its Perceptual Universe: Multimodal Sensory Strategies During Foraging
M. McElfish, G. Corneille, D. Léon, R. Mehta | The Microbiome Influences Ectoparasitic Infection and Host Behavior in Trinidadian Guppies
R. Kramp, F. Rovenolt, D. Henry, L. Colgan, C. Wynne, J. Walsman, J. Stephenson |
| 5:00 | Panel Discussion | Surviving but not Thriving: The Health Paradox of Living in an Urbanized World
M. Grace, X. Bernal | Sensory drive selects for increased salience of courtship color and motion in Habronattus spiders
N. Morehouse, D. Morris, A. Madabhushi, S. Echeverri, D. Outomuro, I. Watts, D. Zurek, W. Maddison | Reproductive state shapes auditory perception and host-seeking behavior in Ormia ochracea
N. Lee, L. Bitner, J. Cho-Ah-Ying, Q. Vu, A. Rossinow, J. Morgan, C. Greene, A. Whalen, A. Mason |
| 5:15 | Agent-based simulations reveal the probability of mortality under four natural selection environments
D. Cassill | Visual and mechanosensory cues drive social interaction in fathead minnow embryos
J. Johnson, J. Ward | Sniff, Sting, or Share: Integrating Chemical Cues and Social Immunity Across Honey Bee Lineages
S. WATTS, K. MAUCK, B. BAER |
