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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: 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 10-15min 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.
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Christensen, J. W., Munk, R., Hawson, L., Palme, R., Larsen, T., Egenvall, A., et al. (2021). Rider effects on horses' conflict behaviour, rein tension, physiological measures and rideability scores. Appl. Anim. Behav. Sci., 234, 105184.
Abstract: Many breeding organisations include a subjective scoring of rideability by a professional rider into their evaluation of sports horses, but the consistency and reliability of the scoring system is debateable. The aim of this study was to investigate (i) whether professional riders agree in their scoring of rideability, and (ii) whether rideability scores are affected by rein tension, horse conflict behaviour, heart rate, and salivary cortisol, and (iii) whether riders induce different levels of conflict behaviour and physiological responses in the horses. Ten professional, female riders each rode 10 dressage horses (level M German scale; n = 100 combinations) through a standardised dressage test (10 min warm-up followed by a 4-min test) and subsequently scored the horses for rideability on the official 1-10 scale (1 = poor to 10 = excellent) from the Danish Riding Federation. Rein tension, horse heart rate, saliva cortisol and conflict behaviour were measured for each rider-horse pair. The riders were inconsistent in their scoring of rideability to the individual horses, e.g. scores for one of the horses ranged from 1 to 8. There was a significant effect of rider (P = 0.003) and the frequency of conflict behaviour (undesired head movements: P < 0.001, breaking the gait: P = 0.013, and other evasive behaviour: P = 0.032) on rideability scores, i.e. the more conflict behaviour the lower the score. There was no significant effect of rein tension and the physiological measures on rideability scores. However, there was a significant effect of rider on rein tension, horses' heart rate and increases in saliva cortisol concentrations and a tendency for some types of conflict behaviour, suggesting that some riders induced more discomfort in the horses. Future studies could help shed light on which elements of riding style are particularly important for sports horse welfare. In conclusion, this study found a large variation in rideability scores assigned to ten sports horses by ten professional riders. Rideability scores were dependent on the level of horse conflict behaviour, but not rein tension and physiological measures. Further studies are needed to improve the objectivity, consistency and reliability of rideability assessment of sports horses.
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Goursot, C., Düpjan, S., Puppe, B., & Leliveld, L. M. C. (2021). Affective styles and emotional lateralization: A promising framework for animal welfare research. Appl. Anim. Behav. Sci., 237, 105279.
Abstract: The growing recognition of animals as individuals has broader implications for farm animal welfare research. Even under highly standardized on-farm conditions, farm animals show heterogeneous but individually consistent behavioural patterns towards various stimuli, based on how they appraise these stimuli. As a result, animal welfare is likely to be highly individual as well, and studying the proximate mechanisms underlying distinct individual behaviour patterns and appraisal will improve animal welfare research. We propose to extend the framework of affective styles to bridge the gap between existing research fields on animal personality and affective states. Affective styles refer to consistent individual differences in emotional reactivity and regulation and can be predicted by baseline cerebral lateralization. Likewise, animals with consistent left or right motor biases--a proxy measure of individual patterns in cerebral lateralization--have been shown to differ in their personality, emotional reactivity, motivational tendencies or coping styles. In this paper, we present the current knowledge of the links between laterality and stable individual traits in behaviour and affect in light of hypotheses on emotional lateralization. Within our suggested framework, we make recommendations on how to investigate affective styles in non-human animals and give practical examples. This approach has the potential to promote a science of affective styles in nonhuman animals and significantly advance research on animal welfare.
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Sato, S., Sako, S., & Maeda, A. (1991). Social licking patterns in cattle (<em>Bos taurus</em>): influence of environmental and social factors. Applied Animal Behaviour Science, 32(1), 3–12.
Abstract: To investigate the functions of social licking in cattle, four calves (one heifer and one steer in each of two herds), known to exhibit frequent social licking were observed continuously for 2 h before sunset for 13 days, using the focal animal sampling method. Calves were observed under various environmental conditions. Social licking significantly decreased on rainy days and tended to increase in a dirty barn and when food was restricted. Solicitation for social licking occurred not only from dominant animals of pairs but also from subordinates. Of the licking interactions, 31% occurred following solicitation, and these accounted for 39% of the total time spent licking. Following solicitation, 78% of social licking was oriented to the head and the neck regions that were inaccessible to self-licking animals. Unsolicited licking, however, was oriented not only to the head and the neck but also to the back and the rump regions, and these two latter regions were the major ones to receive licking. The effect of social relationships on social licking was investigated using least-squares analysis of variance. Social factors investigated were the difference of dominance values, the dominance-subordinance relationship, and kinship and familiarity; the sex of calves involved was also considered. Only familiarity had a significant effect on licking; exchanges of social licking increased with length of cohabitation. We suggest that social licking may have a cleaning effect, a tension-reducing effect and a bonding effect.
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Meek, P. D., Ballard, G. - A., & Fleming, P. J. S. (2015). The pitfalls of wildlife camera trapping as a survey tool in Australia. Aust. Mammal., 37(1), 13–22.
Abstract: Camera trapping is a relatively new addition to the wildlife survey repertoire in Australia. Its rapid adoption has been unparalleled in ecological science, but objective evaluation of camera traps and their application has not kept pace. With the aim of motivating practitioners to think more about selection and deployment of camera trap models in relation to research goals, we reviewed Australian camera trapping studies to determine how camera traps have been used and how their technological constraints may have affected reported results and conclusions. In the 54 camera trapping articles published between 1991 and 2013, mammals (86%) were studied more than birds (10%) and reptiles (3%), with small to medium-sized mammals being most studied. Australian camera trapping studies, like those elsewhere, have changed from more qualitative to more complex quantitative investigations. However, we found that camera trap constraints and limitations were rarely acknowledged, and we identified eight key issues requiring consideration and further research. These are: camera model, camera detection system, camera placement and orientation, triggering and recovery, camera trap settings, temperature differentials, species identification and behavioural responses of the animals to the cameras. In particular, alterations to animal behaviour by camera traps potentially have enormous influence on data quality, reliability and interpretation. The key issues were not considered in most Australian camera trap papers and require further study to better understand the factors that influence the analysis and interpretation of camera trap data and improve experimental design.
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Ronnenberg, K., Habbe, B., Gräber, R., Strauß, E., & Siebert, U. (2017). Coexistence of wolves and humans in a densely populated region (Lower Saxony, Germany). Basic. Appl. Ecol., 25, 1–14.
Abstract: Since the first sporadic occurrences of grey wolves (Canis lupus) west of the Polish border in 1996, wolves have shown a rapid population recovery in Germany. Wolves are known to avoid people and wolf attacks on humans are very rare worldwide. However, the subjectively perceived threat is considerable, especially as food-conditioned habituation to humans occurs sporadically. Lower Saxony (Germany) has an exceedingly higher human population density than most other regions with territorial wolves; thus, the potential for human-wolf conflicts is higher. Using hunters' wildlife survey data from 455 municipalities and two years (2014-2015) and data from the official wolf monitoring (557 confirmed wolf presences and 500 background points) collected between 2012-2015, grey wolf habitat selection was modelled using generalized additive models with respect to human population density, road density, forest cover and roe deer density. Moreover, we tested whether habitat use changed in response to human population and road density between 2012/2013 and 2014/2015. Wolves showed a preference for areas of low road density. Human population density was less important as a covariate in the model of the survey data. Areas with higher prey abundance (5-10 roe deer/km2) and areas with >20% forest cover were preferred wolf habitats. Wolves were mostly restricted to areas with the lowest road and human population densities. However, between the two time periods, avoidance of human density decreased significantly. Recolonization of Germany is still in its early stages and it is unclear where this process will halt. To-date authorities mainly concentrate on monitoring measures. However, to avoid conflict, recolonization will require more stringent management of wolf populations and an improved information strategy for rural populations.
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Byrne, R. W. (1993). Do larger brains mean greater intelligence? Behav. Brain Sci., 16(4), 696–697.
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Giraldeau, L. - A., Lefebvre, L., & Morand-Ferron, J. (2007). Can a restrictive definition lead to biases and tautologies? Behav. Brain Sci., 30(4), 411–412.
Abstract: We argue that the operational definition proposed by Ramsey et al. does not represent a significant improvement for students of innovation, because it is so restrictive that it might actually prevent the testing of hypotheses on the relationships between innovation, ecology, evolution, culture, and intelligence. To avoid tautological thinking, we need to use an operational definition that is taxonomically unbiased and neutral with respect to the hypotheses to be tested.
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Versace, E., Morgante, M., Pulina, G., & Vallortigara, G. (2007). Behavioural lateralization in sheep (Ovis aries). Behav. Brain. Res., 184(1), 72–80.
Abstract: This study investigates behavioural lateralization in sheep and lambs of different ages. A flock was tested in a task in which the animals were facing an obstacle and should avoid it on either the right or left side to rejoin flock-mates (adult sheep) or their mothers (lambs). A bias for avoiding the obstacle on the right side was observed, with lambs apparently being more lateralized than sheep. This right bias was tentatively associated with the left-hemifield laterality in familiar faces recognition which has been documented in this species. Differences between adult sheep and lambs were likely to be due to differences in social reinstatement motivation elicited by different stimuli (flock-mates or mothers) at different ages. Preferential use of the forelegs to step on a wood-board and direction of jaw movement during rumination was also tested in adult animals. No population bias nor individual-level lateralization was observed for use of the forelegs. At the same time, however, there was a large number of animals showing individual-level lateralization for the direction of jaw movement during rumination even though there was no population bias. These findings highlight that within the same species individual- and population-level lateralization can be observed in different tasks. Moreover, the results fit the general hypothesis that population-level asymmetries are more likely to occur in tasks that require social coordination among behaviourally asymmetric individuals.
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Preiszner, B., Vincze, E., Seress, G., Papp, S., Bókony, V., Liker, A., et al. (2013). Necessity or capacity? Physiological state predicts problem-solving performance in house sparrows. Behav. Ecol., 25(1), 124–135.
Abstract: Innovative behaviors such as exploiting novel food sources can grant significant fitness benefits for animals, yet little is known about the mechanisms driving such phenomena, and the role of physiology is virtually unexplored in wild species. Two hypotheses predict opposing effects of physiological state on innovation success. On one hand, poor physiological condition may promote innovations by forcing individuals with poor competitive abilities to invent alternative solutions. On the other hand, superior physiological condition may ensure greater cognitive capacity and thereby better problem-solving and learning performance. To test these hypotheses, we studied the behavior of wild-caught house sparrows (Passer domesticus) in 4 novel tasks of food acquisition, one of which was presented to the birds in repeated trials, and we investigated the relationships of individual performance with relevant physiological traits. We found that problem-solving performance across the 4 tasks was moderately consistent within individuals. Birds with lower integrated levels of corticosterone, the main avian stress hormone, solved the most difficult task faster and were more efficient learners in the repeated task than birds with higher corticosterone levels. Birds with higher concentration of total glutathione, a key antioxidant, solved 2 relatively easy tasks faster, whereas birds with fewer coccidian parasites tended to solve the difficult task more quickly. Our results, thus, indicate that aspects of physiological state influence problem-solving performance in a context-dependent manner, and these effects on problem-solving capacity, probably including cognitive abilities, are more likely to drive individual innovation success than necessity due to poor condition.
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