Research Guides: ENSP 400: Capstone in Environmental Science and Policy: Red Wolf Laterality

Red Wolf Laterality

Databases

AGRICOLA
Citations to journal articles, book chapters, monographs, conference proceedings, serials, technical reports, and other materials on a range of agricultural topics.
BioOne
BioOne offers full text of high-impact research journals, focused in the biological, ecological, and environmental sciences and published mostly by small societies and non-commercial publishers.
BIOSIS Citation Index, 1926-present
Combines the unique BIOSIS content that is critical to life sciences research with powerful citation indexing only the Web of Science platform can provide. Includes comprehensive and relevant life sciences coverage.
PubMed
The National Library of Medicine's Medline database that provides abstracts and indexing for about 4,600 biomedical journals published in the U.S. and 70 foreign countries, and includes additional older citations and out of scope citations from Medline journals. Medicine, nursing, dentistry, veterinary medicine, psychiatry, pre-clinical sciences, medical education, public health, health care planning and administration of services. Also includes additional life science journals. mid-1960s - present
Web of Science Core Collection
The Web of Science Core Collection provides comprehensive coverage of the sciences, social sciences, and arts, and humanities across journals, books and conference proceedings. It indexes more than 5,700 major journals across 164 scientific disciplines. The best database for finding what papers have cited other papers. Cited references can be traced forward in time. Web of Science Training Materials available here: http://wokinfo.com/training_support/training/web-of-science
Zoological Record, 1864-present
The world's oldest continuing database of animal biology. It is considered the world's leading taxonomic reference, and with coverage back to 1864, has long acted as the world's unofficial register of animal names.

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Barber-Meyer, S. M. (2022). Are wild wolves southpaws? Including potential conservation implications. Animal Behavior and Cognition, 9(1), 72-79. https://doi.org/10.26451/abc.09.01.06.2022

Branson, N. J., & Rogers, L. J. (2006). Relationship between paw preference strength and noise phobia in Canis familiaris. Journal of Comparative Psychology, 120(3), 176–183. https://doi.org/10.1037/0735-7036.120.3.176 [Available in print at UMD Libraries]

McGreevy, P. D., & Rogers, L. J. (2005). Motor and sensory laterality in thoroughbred horses. Applied Animal Behaviour Science, 92(4), 337–352. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.applanim.2004.11.012

Tomkins, L. M., Thomson, P. C., & McGreevy, P. D. (2010). First-stepping test as a measure of motor laterality in dogs (Canis familiaris). Journal of Veterinary Behavior, 5(2), 84–91. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jveb.2010.03.001

Vallortigara, G., & Rogers, L. J. (2005). Survival with an asymmetrical brain: advantages and disadvantages of cerebral lateralization. Behavioral and Brain Sciences, 28(4), 575–589. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0140525X05000105

Wells DL, Hepper PG, Milligan ADS, Barnard S. Cognitive bias and paw preference in the domestic dog (Canis familiaris). J Comp Psychol. 2017 Nov;131(4):317-325. doi: 10.1037/com0000080

Background

Laterality—behavioral asymmetry often linked to brain hemisphere specialization—is a phenomenon observed across many species. While often associated with humans (e.g., handedness), lateralization has also been documented in non-human primates, horses, birds, fish, and some invertebrates. In mammals, left or right brain specialization is thought to influence how animals respond to their environment, with possible implications for stress, learning, and decision-making.

In domestic dogs, lateralization is linked to temperament, learning ability, and stress resilience. However, studies in wild canids have yielded inconsistent results. Understanding if and how laterality manifests in red wolves could help researchers and managers identify traits that influence individual adaptability or success in the wild. Furthermore, it may help inform best practices when approaching, capturing, or handling red wolves.

The Wolf Conservation Center (WCC) has played a central role in red wolf conservation through participation in the American Red Wolf SAFE program and through research of wild red wolves. In 2024, the WCC established a field research site along the Texas/Louisiana coast—the site where the last of the red wolves were found before their extirpation in 1980— to study coyotes with red wolf introgression. WCC contributes valuable capture data and behavioral video footage that may allow for exploratory assessment of laterality in this critically endangered species.

Questions to Answer

What does the existing scientific literature say about laterality in mammals, especially domestic dogs and wild canids?
To what extent can foothold trapping data be used to reliably assess population-level laterality (e.g., paw preference) in red wolves, coyotes, and canid hybrids?
Are there observable individual-level patterns of laterality in select red wolf case studies (e.g., turning behavior, paw use) from existing video footage?
How might insights from canid laterality, when placed in the context of the literature, help inform conservation or management strategies?