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Gleerup, K. B., & Lindegaard, C. (2016). Recognition and quantification of pain in horses: A tutorial review. Equine Vet Educ, 28(1), 47–57.
Abstract: Summary Pain management is dependent on the quality of the pain evaluation. Ideally, pain evaluation is objective, pain-specific and easily incorporated into a busy equine clinic. This paper reviews the existing knowledge base regarding the identification and quantification of pain in horses. Behavioural indicators of pain in horses in the context of normal equine behaviour, as well as various physiological parameters potentially useful for pain evaluation, are discussed. Areas where knowledge is sparse are identified and a new equine pain scale based on results from all reviewed papers is proposed. Finally, the most important considerations in relation to the implementation of a pain scale in a hospital setting are discussed.
Keywords: horse; pain evaluation; pain scale; pain behaviour; pain face
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Schino, G., & Aureli, F. (2016). Reciprocity in group-living animals: partner control versus partner choice. Biol Rev, 92(2), 665–672.
Abstract: ABSTRACT Reciprocity is probably the most debated of the evolutionary explanations for cooperation. Part of the confusion surrounding this debate stems from a failure to note that two different processes can result in reciprocity: partner control and partner choice. We suggest that the common observation that group-living animals direct their cooperative behaviours preferentially to those individuals from which they receive most cooperation is to be interpreted as the result of the sum of the two separate processes of partner control and partner choice. We review evidence that partner choice is the prevalent process in primates and propose explanations for this pattern. We make predictions that highlight the need for studies that separate the effects of partner control and partner choice in a broader variety of group-living taxa.
Keywords: cooperation; reciprocity; partner control; partner choice; proximate mechanisms
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Tebbich Sabine, Griffin Andrea S., Peschl Markus F., & Sterelny Kim. (2016). From mechanisms to function: an integrated framework of animal innovation. Philos Trans R Soc Lond B Biol Sci, 371(1690), 20150195.
Abstract: Animal innovations range from the discovery of novel food types to the invention of completely novel behaviours. Innovations can give access to new opportunities, and thus enable innovating agents to invade and create novel niches. This in turn can pave the way for morphological adaptation and adaptive radiation. The mechanisms that make innovations possible are probably as diverse as the innovations themselves. So too are their evolutionary consequences. Perhaps because of this diversity, we lack a unifying framework that links mechanism to function. We propose a framework for animal innovation that describes the interactions between mechanism, fitness benefit and evolutionary significance, and which suggests an expanded range of experimental approaches. In doing so, we split innovation into factors (components and phases) that can be manipulated systematically, and which can be investigated both experimentally and with correlational studies. We apply this framework to a selection of cases, showing how it helps us ask more precise questions and design more revealing experiments.
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Horowitz, A., & Hecht, J. (2016). Examining dog–human play: the characteristics, affect, and vocalizations of a unique interspecific interaction. Anim. Cogn., , 1–10.
Abstract: Despite the growing interest in research on the interaction between humans and dogs, only a very few research projects focus on the routines between dogs and their owners. In this study, we investigated one such routine: dog–human play. Dyadic interspecific play is known to be a common interaction between owner and charge, but the details of what counts as play have not been thoroughly researched. Similarly, though people represent that “play” is pleasurable, no study has yet undertaken to determine whether different forms of play are associated with different affective states. Thus, we aimed to generate an inventory of the forms of dyadic play, the vocalizations within play, and to investigate the relationship of affect to elements of play. Via a global citizen science project, we solicited videotapes of dog–human play sessions from dog owners. We coded 187 play bouts via frame-by-frame video playback. We then assessed the relationship between various intra-bout variables and owner affect (positive or neutral) during play (dog affect was overwhelmingly positive). Amount of physical contact (“touch”), level of activity of owner (“movement”), and physical closeness of dog–owner dyad (“proximity”) were highly correlated with positive affect. Owner vocalizations were found to contain different elements in positive- and neutral-affect play. One novel category of play, “tease”, was found. We conclude that not all play is created equal: the experience of play to the owner participant is strongly related to a few identifiable characteristics of the interaction.
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Marr, I., Bauer, T., Farmer, K., & Krueger, K. (2016). Gibt die sensorische Lateralität im Objekttest Aufschluss über das Interieur, den aktuellen Gemütszustand, oder den Trainingszustand der Pferde? In 33. FFP-Jahrestagung.
Abstract: Vor dem obersten Ziel der klassischen Ausbildungsskala für Pferde, die Versammlung, steht das Geraderichten. Ein jedes Pferd ist jedoch von Geburt an asymmetrisch, also schief. Hinter dieser Schiefe verbirgt sich nicht nur die natürliche Schiefe (asymmetrische muskuläre Entwicklung der beiden Körperhälften), die von Geburt an zu beobachten ist, sondern auch die sensorische und motorische Lateralität, also dem ungleichmäßigen Gebrauch der rechten oder linken Sinnesorgane sowie Gliedmaßen, der sich mit der Reifung des Gehirns entwickelt. Alle drei müssen als eigenständige Faktoren, die sich gegenseitig beeinflussen, gesehen werden (Krüger 2014). Um den Weg des Geraderichtens zu erleichtern, sollte in der Ausbildung eines Pferdes nicht nur an der natürlichen Schiefe gearbeitet werden, sondern auch die sensorische und motorische Lateralität beachtet werden um den Prozess des Geraderichtens für das Pferd zu erleichtern. Die sensorische und motorische Lateralität resultiert aus der Aufgabenteilung/Spezialisierung beider Gehirnhälften (Hemisphären) (Rogers 2010). Die rechte Hemisphäre ist dabei für die Verarbeitung von Emotionen (z.B. Angst, Aggression, Freude, Zufriedenheit) sowie für lebenserhaltende Spontanreaktionen zuständig. Die linke Hemisphäre ist für die rationale Verarbeitung von Informationen essentiell (Adolphs et al. 1996, Rogers 2010, Austin und Rogers 2012, De Boyer Des Roches et al. 2008, Demaree et al. 2005, Austin und Rogers 2014). Rückschlüsse auf die Informationsverarbeitung lassen sich über die Beobachtung der verwendeten Sinnesorgane (Ohren und Augen) ziehen, die kontralateral mit den Großhirnhemisphären verbunden sind (Brooks et al. 1999). Es wird vermutet, dass Stress zu einer verstärkten Informationsverarbeitung durch die rechte Großhirnhemisphäre führt (Rogers 2010, Schultheiss et al. 2009). Diese konnte auch in ersten Untersuchungen am Pferd bestätigt werden (unveröffentlichte Daten). Forscher, die den einseitigen Gebrauch von rechten und linken Gliedmaßen (motorische Lateralität) bei Menschen und Tieren untersuchten, zeigten weiterhin Zusammenhänge zur Emotionalität und Reaktivität (McGreevy und Thomson 2006, Rogers 2009, Austin und Rogers 2012, Deesing und Grandin 2014). Die Tendenz zum einseitigen Gebrauch der Gliedmaßen gibt Hinweise auf den „Cognitive Bias“ (= individuelle, kognitive Verzerrung der Wahrnehmung und Verarbeitung von Informationen ins Positive oder Negative) und steht im Zusammenhang mit der persönlichen Neigung auf Stressfaktoren zu reagieren (zusammengefasst von Rogers 2010). Die sensorische Lateralität ändert sich jedoch schneller und situationsgebundener als die motorische Lateralität. Sie wird mittels Objekttests bestimmt, die ebenfalls verwendet werden können um die Reaktivität und Emotionalität zu untersuchen. Für eine objektivere Beurteilung des Interieurs eines Pferdes ist daher zu überlegen, ob die sensorische Lateralität als objektiver Parameter integriert werden kann, welchen Einflüssen diese unterliegt und mit welchen Persönlichkeitsmerkmalen sie korreliert. Wie in der Studie von Farmer et al. (2010) dargestellt werden konnte, zeigten bilateral trainierte Pferde eine weniger stark ausgeprägte Präferenz für die linken Sinnesorgane als traditionell trainierte Pferde in Tests mit Personen (ohne Interaktion). Es stellt sich daher die Frage, ob diese Beobachtung ein Resultat von langjährigem Training ist oder ob es sich bereits nach wenigen Wochen Training einstellt sowie ob solche Entwicklungen auch bei Objekten beobachtet werden können.
Für die erste Untersuchung ergaben sich daher in dieser Studie folgende Fragstellungen: Sind die Ergebnisse eines Objekttests mit Evaluierung der sensorischen Lateralität hinsichtlich der Lateralität wiederholbar? Denn, sollte es möglich sein mittels der sensorische Lateralität auf bestimmte Persönlichkeitsmerkmale rückschließen zu können, so muss diese genauso stabil und reproduzierbar sein, wie die betreffenden Persönlichkeitsmerkmale. Unterscheiden sich Pferde hinsichtlich ihrer Lateralität in Objekttests, die bereits intensiv gleichmäßig beidseitig trainiert wurden, von Pferden, bei denen weniger Augenmerk auf gleichmäßiges beidseitiges Training gelegt wurde? Kann die Lateralität in Objekttests mit einer definierten gleichmäßigen beidseitigen Trainingsmethode beeinflusst werden? In welche Richtung verschiebt sich gegebenenfalls die Lateralität? Beeinflusst das Alter gegebenenfalls das Ausmaß von Veränderungen, da sich die sensorische Lateralität mit der Reifung des Gehirns entwickelt? |
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Elfers, K., Marr, I., Wilkens, M. R., Breves, G., Langeheine, M., Brehm, R., et al. (2016). Expression of Tight Junction Proteins and Cadherin 17 in the Small Intestine of Young Goats Offered a Reduced N and/or Ca Diet. PLoS ONE, 11(4), e0154311.
Abstract: <p>Diets fed to ruminants should contain nitrogen (N) as low as possible to reduce feed costs and environmental pollution. Though possessing effective N-recycling mechanisms to maintain the N supply for rumen microbial protein synthesis and hence protein supply for the host, an N reduction caused substantial changes in calcium (Ca) and phosphate homeostasis in young goats including decreased intestinal transepithelial Ca absorption as reported for monogastric species. In contrast to the transcellular component of transepithelial Ca transport, the paracellular route has not been investigated in young goats. Therefore, the aim of the present study was to characterise the effects of dietary N and/or Ca reduction on paracellular transport mechanisms in young goats. Electrophysiological properties of intestinal epithelia were investigated by Ussing chamber experiments. The expression of tight junction (TJ) and adherens junction (AJ) proteins in intestinal epithelia were examined on mRNA level by <italic>q</italic>PCR and on protein level by western blot analysis. Dietary N reduction led to a segment specific increase in tissue conductances in the proximal jejunum which might be linked to concomitantly decreased expression of cadherin 17 mRNA. Expression of occludin (OCLN) and zonula occludens protein 1 was increased in mid jejunal epithelia of N reduced fed goats on mRNA and partly on protein level. Reduced dietary Ca supply resulted in a segment specific increase in claudin 2 and claudin 12 expression and decreased the expression of OCLN which might have been mediated at least in part by calcitriol. These data show that dietary N as well as Ca reduction affected expression of TJ and AJ proteins in a segment specific manner in young goats and may thus be involved in modulation of paracellular Ca permeability.</p>
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Smith, A. V., Proops, L., Grounds, K., Wathan, J., & McComb, K. (2016). Functionally relevant responses to human facial expressions of emotion in the domestic horse (Equus caballus). Biol. Lett., 12(2).
Abstract: Whether non-human animals can recognize human signals, including emotions, has both scientific and applied importance, and is particularly relevant for domesticated species. This study presents the first evidence of horses' abilities to spontaneously discriminate between positive (happy) and negative (angry) human facial expressions in photographs. Our results showed that the angry faces induced responses indicative of a functional understanding of the stimuli: horses displayed a left-gaze bias (a lateralization generally associated with stimuli perceived as negative) and a quicker increase in heart rate (HR) towards these photographs. Such lateralized responses towards human emotion have previously only been documented in dogs, and effects of facial expressions on HR have not been shown in any heterospecific studies. Alongside the insights that these findings provide into interspecific communication, they raise interesting questions about the generality and adaptiveness of emotional expression and perception across species.
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Leliveld, L. M. C., Düpjan, S., Tuchscherer, A., & Puppe, B. (2016). Behavioural and physiological measures indicate subtle variations in the emotional valence of young pigs. Physiol. Behav., 157, 116–124.
Abstract: Abstract In the study of animal emotions, emotional valence has been found to be difficult to measure. Many studies of farm animals' emotions have therefore focussed on the identification of indicators of strong, mainly negative, emotions. However, subtle variations in emotional valence, such as those caused by rather moderate differences in husbandry conditions, may also affect animals' mood and welfare when such variations occur consistently. In this study, we investigated whether repeated moderate aversive or rewarding events could lead to measurable differences in emotional valence in young, weaned pigs. We conditioned 105 female pigs in a test arena to either a repeated startling procedure (sudden noises or appearances of objects) or a repeated rewarding procedure (applesauce, toy and straw) over 11 sessions. Control pigs were also regularly exposed to the same test arena but without conditioning. Before and after conditioning, we measured heart rate and its variability as well as the behavioural reactions of the subjects in the test arena, with a special focus on detailed acoustic analyses of their vocalisations. The behavioural and heart rate measures were analysed as changes compared to the baseline values before conditioning. A limited number of the putative indicators of emotional valence were affected by the conditioning. We found that the negatively conditioned pigs showed changes that were significantly different from those in control pigs, namely a decrease in locomotion and an increase in standing. The positively conditioned pigs, however, showed a stronger increase in heart rate and a smaller decrease in SDNN (a heart rate variability parameter indicating changes in autonomic regulation) compared to the controls. Compared to the negatively conditioned pigs, the positively conditioned pigs produced fewer vocalisations overall as well as fewer low-frequency grunts but more high-frequency grunts. The low-frequency grunts of the negatively conditioned pigs also showed lower frequency parameters (bandwidth, maximum frequency, 25% and 50% quartiles) compared to those of the positively conditioned pigs. In any of the statistically significant results, the conditioning accounted for 1.5–11.9% of variability in the outcome variable. Hence, we conclude that repeated moderate aversive and rewarding events have weak but measurable effects on some aspects of behaviour and physiology in young pigs, possibly indicating changes in emotional valence, which could ultimately affect their welfare. The combination of ethophysiological indicators, i.e., the concurrent examination of heart rate measures, behavioural responses and especially vocalisation patterns, as used in the current study, might be a useful way of examining subtle effects on emotional valence in further studies.
Keywords: Emotion; Heart rate; Vocalisation; Emotional valence; Animal welfare; Domestic pig
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Brubaker, L., & Udell, M. A. R. (2016). Cognition and learning in horses (Equus caballus): What we know and why we should ask more. Behavioural Processes, 126, 121–131.
Abstract: Abstract Horses (Equus caballus) have a rich history in their relationship with humans. Across different cultures and eras they have been utilized for work, show, cultural rituals, consumption, therapy, and companionship and continue to serve in many of these roles today. As one of the most commonly trained domestic animals, understanding how horses learn and how their relationship with humans and other horses impacts their ability to learn has implications for horse welfare, training, husbandry and management. Given that unlike dogs and cats, domesticated horses have evolved from prey animals, the horse-human relationship poses interesting and unique scientific questions of theoretical value. There is still much to be learned about the cognition and behaviour of horses from a scientific perspective. This review explores current research within three related areas of horse cognition: human-horse interactions, social learning and independent learning in horses. Research on these topics is summarized and suggestions for future research are provided.
Keywords: Horse behaviour; Horse welfare; Learning; Social cognition
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Mejdell, C. M., Buvik, T., Jørgensen, G. H. M., & Bøe, K. E. (2016). Horses can learn to use symbols to communicate their preferences. Appl. Anim. Behav. Sci., 184, 66–73.
Abstract: Abstract This paper describes a method in which horses learn to communicate by touching different neutral visual symbols, in order to tell the handler whether they want to have a blanket on or not. Horses were trained for 10–15 min per day, following a training program comprising ten steps in a strategic order. Reward based operant conditioning was used to teach horses to approach and touch a board, and to understand the meaning of three different symbols. Heat and cold challenges were performed to help learning and to check level of understanding. At certain stages, a learning criterion of correct responses for 8–14 successive trials had to be achieved before proceeding. After introducing the free choice situation, on average at training day 11, the horse could choose between a “no change” symbol and the symbol for either “blanket on” or “blanket off” depending on whether the horse already wore a blanket or not. A cut off point for performance or non-performance was set to day 14, and 23/23 horses successfully learned the task within this limit. Horses of warm-blood type needed fewer training days to reach criterion than cold-bloods (P < 0.05). Horses were then tested under differing weather conditions. Results show that choices made, i.e. the symbol touched, was not random but dependent on weather. Horses chose to stay without a blanket in nice weather, and they chose to have a blanket on when the weather was wet, windy and cold (χ2 = 36.67, P < 0.005). This indicates that horses both had an understanding of the consequence of their choice on own thermal comfort, and that they successfully had learned to communicate their preference by using the symbols. The method represents a novel tool for studying preferences in horses.
Keywords: Operant conditioning; Blanket; Rug; Thermoregulation; Cognition; Clicker training
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