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Sankey, C., Richard-Yris, M. - A., Henry, S., Fureix, C., Nassur, F., & Hausberger, M. (2010). Reinforcement as a mediator of the perception of humans by horses (Equus caballus). Anim. Cogn., 13(5), 753-764.
Abstract: A central question in the interspecific human/animal relationship is how domestic animals perceive humans as a significant element of their environment. In this study, we tested the hypothesis that the use of positive or negative reinforcement in horse training may have consequences on the animals’ perception of humans, as a positive, negative or neutral element. Two groups of ponies were trained to walk backwards in response to a vocal order using either positive or negative reinforcement. Heart rate monitors and behavioural observations were used to assess the animals’ perception of humans on the short (just after training) and long (5 months later) terms. The results showed that the type of reinforcement had a major effect on the subsequent animals’ perception of familiar and unfamiliar humans. Negative reinforcement was rapidly associated with an increased emotional state, as revealed by heart rate measurements and behavioural observations (head movements and ears laid back position). Its use led the ponies to seek less contact with humans. On the contrary, ponies trained with positive reinforcement showed an increased interest in humans and sought contact after training. This is especially remarkable as it was reached in a maximum of 5 sessions of 1 to 3 min (i.e. 5 to 15 min) and had lasting effects (visible after 5 months). Even learning was positively influenced by positive reinforcement. Overall, horses seem capable of associating humans to particular experiences and display extended long-term memory abilities.
Keywords: Perception of humans – Human/animal relationship – Positive reinforcement – Negative reinforcement – Equus caballus
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Álvarez, I., Royo, L. J., Pérez-Pardal, L., Fernández, I., Lorenzo, L., & Goyache, F. (). Assessing diversity losses due to selection for coat colour in the endangered bay-Asturcón pony using microsatellites. Livest Sci, In Press, Corrected Proof.
Abstract: The bay-Asturcón pony (A21) population recovery started recently. A total of 297 samples (180 from founder individuals) belonging to the A21 population were genotyped for: a) a set of 15 microsatellites; and b) the presence of the two recessive chestnut alleles reported in the literature (e and ea) on the MC1r gene (locus Extension) and the deletion on the ASIP gene (locus Agouti) associated with recessive black coat in horses. The extent to which the genetic variability of the A21 population could be affected by selection strategies aimed at decreasing the frequency of the chestnut allele was quantified in terms of gene diversity and allelic richness. The possible genetic impact of a controlled introgression of A21 offspring into the black-coated Asturcón (A20) population was also assessed using 261 available A20 genotypes. The wild alleles for the Extension and Agouti loci (E and A, respectively) were the most frequent (77.8% and 59.4%) in the A21 population. Both the e and ea recessive chestnut alleles were identified with frequencies of 21.2% and 1.0%. As expected, the contribution to overall diversity of the founder subpopulation was always higher than that of the A21 offspring subpopulation. Total contribution of the offspring subpopulation to overall allelic richness was negative (- 1.84%), showing that all their alleles were present in the founder subpopulation. Although favourable, the chestnut carrier individuals had poor contributions to overall gene diversity and tended to have negative contributions to allelic richness. The elimination of the chestnut carrier A21 individuals would not affect genetic variability to a significant extent. Therefore, efforts for preserving the genetic variability in the A21 population could focus on a careful planning of matings between individuals free of the recessive chestnut alleles. The expected influence of a controlled introgression of A21 offspring on the genetic variability of the A20 population was always favourable. The gene diversity of the introgressed population was higher than that of the original A20 population for both gene diversity (GDT = -1.2% ± 0.04%) and, particularly, allelic richness (CT = 4.9% ± 0.27%). Very limited gene flow may increase the number of alleles of the A20 population but also would yield a balance of the allelic frequencies at a population level. Therefore, a common breeding policy for the two Asturcón pony populations may ensure the viability of this prominent genetic resource.
Keywords: Conservation; MC1r; Asip; Gene diversity; Allelic richness
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Lusseau, D., Whitehead, H., & Gero, S. (2008). Incorporating uncertainty into the study of animal social networks. Anim. Behav., 75(5), 1809–1815.
Keywords: bootstrap; social behaviour; social network; social structure
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Kurvers, R. H. J. M., Eijkelenkamp, B., van Oers, K., van Lith, B., van Wieren, S. E., Ydenberg, R. C., et al. (2009). Personality differences explain leadership in barnacle geese. Anim. Behav., 78(2), 447–453.
Abstract: Personality in animal behaviour describes the observation that behavioural differences between individuals are consistent over time and context. Studies of group-living animals show that movement order among individuals is also consistent over time and context, suggesting that some individuals lead and others follow. However, the relationship between leadership and personality traits is poorly studied. We measured several personality traits and leadership of individual barnacle geese, Branta leucopsis. We measured body size and scored the dominance of individuals living in a stable group situation before subjecting them to an open-field test, an activity test, a novel-object test, and a leadership test in which the order of the movement of individuals in pairs towards a feeding patch was scored. We found high repeatability for activity and novel-object scores over time. Leadership was strongly correlated with novel-object score but not with dominance rank, activity or exploration in an open field. These results provide evidence that leadership is closely related to some aspects of personality. Interestingly, an individual's arrival at the food patch was affected not only by the novel-object score of the focal individual, but also by the novel-object score of the companion individual, indicating that movement patterns of individuals living in groups are affected by the personality traits of other group members and suggesting that movement patterns of a group may be shaped by the mix of personality types present in the group.
Keywords: barnacle goose; boldness; Branta leucopsis; group behaviour; leadership; personality
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Krause, J., Croft, D., & James, R. (2007). Social network theory in the behavioural sciences: potential applications. Behav. Ecol. and Soc. Biol., 62(1), 15–27.
Abstract: Abstract Social network theory has made major contributions to our understanding of human social organisation but has found relatively little application in the field of animal behaviour. In this review, we identify several broad research areas where the networks approach could greatly enhance our understanding of social patterns and processes in animals. The network theory provides a quantitative framework that can be used to characterise social structure both at the level of the individual and the population. These novel quantitative variables may provide a new tool in addressing key questions in behavioural ecology particularly in relation to the evolution of social organisation and the impact of social structure on evolutionary processes. For example, network measures could be used to compare social networks of different species or populations making full use of the comparative approach. However, the networks approach can in principle go beyond identifying structural patterns and also can help with the understanding of processes within animal populations such as disease transmission and information transfer. Finally, understanding the pattern of interactions in the network (i.e. who is connected to whom) can also shed some light on the evolution of behavioural strategies.
Keywords: Social networks – Social organisation – Mate choice – Disease transmission – Information transfer – Cooperation
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