Records |
Author |
Kampmann, S.; Hampson, B.A.; Pollitt, C.C. |
Title |
Population dynamics of feral horses (Equus caballus) following above-average rainfall in a semi-arid environment of Australia |
Type |
Journal Article |
Year |
2013 |
Publication |
Australian Veterinary Journal |
Abbreviated Journal |
Aust Vet J |
Volume |
91 |
Issue |
11 |
Pages |
482-487 |
Keywords |
animal welfare; ecology; horses; reproduction; wildlife |
Abstract |
Background Recent record rainfall in much of semi-arid Central Australia is the most likely reason for a feral horse population increase in excess of normal. Uncontrolled numbers of feral horses have habitat degradation and animal welfare implications. Objectives The aims of this study were to investigate the social structure of feral horses and assess their population growth rate following unseasonably high rainfall. Methods The study area was 4000 km2 of unmanaged, semi-arid country in Central Australia (latitude 24.50°S, longitude 132.10°E). Horses were identified by descriptive features from ground searches, movement-activated cameras and ‘hides’ positioned at key water holes. Wherever possible, sex and age categories were documented. Population growth rate was estimated by the number of foals divided by the number of horses older than 1 year in the observed population. Results A total of 1424 horses were identified and categorised, of which 335 were foals born within the current year. Only 123 juveniles were identified. Of the adult horses, 53.4% were male and 46.6% were female and this differed from parity (P = 0.04). Of the mares, 71.9% had a foal at foot and the population growth rate was 29.5%. Conclusions With a sustained population growth rate of 29.5%, this population of feral horses will more than double within 3 years. The high population increase will likely have a detrimental effect on native fauna and flora and the fragile, semi-arid ecosystems of Central Australia. After a period of high rainfall and plentiful resources, ‘normal’ drought conditions will return and many feral horses will starve and die as they compete for limited resources. |
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1751-0813 |
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Equine Behaviour @ team @ |
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5747 |
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Author |
Reddon, A.R.; Hurd, P.L. |
Title |
Individual differences in cerebral lateralization are associated with shy-bold variation in the convict cichlid |
Type |
Journal Article |
Year |
2009 |
Publication |
Animal Behaviour. |
Abbreviated Journal |
Anim. Behav. |
Volume |
77 |
Issue |
1 |
Pages |
189-193 |
Keywords |
animal personality; Archocentrus nigrofasciatus; cerebral lateralization; convict cichlid; life history strategy; shy-bold continuum |
Abstract |
Cerebral lateralization, the preferential use of one hemisphere of the brain to perform certain cognitive functions, is a widespread and evolutionarily ancient adaptation. Lateralization appears to enhance cognitive capacity, yet substantial individual variation in the strength cerebral lateralization is apparent in all species studied so far. It is puzzling that cerebral lateralization, a seemingly advantageous trait, has not been driven to fixation. It has been suggested that variation in lateralization may be linked to individual variation in behaviour, which itself may be subject to disruptive selection. We examined the relation between cerebral lateralization and individual variation in boldness in the convict cichlid, Archocentrus nigrofasciatus. We show that convict cichlids that are more strongly lateralized when exploring a familiar environment, but not a novel one, are quicker to emerge from a shelter in a test for boldness. The possibility that cerebral lateralization is linked to life history strategy is discussed. |
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0003-3472 |
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Equine Behaviour @ team @ |
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5373 |
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Author |
Hobaiter, C.; Byrne, R. |
Title |
Serial gesturing by wild chimpanzees: its nature and function for communication |
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Journal Article |
Year |
2011 |
Publication |
Animal Cognition |
Abbreviated Journal |
Anim. Cogn. |
Volume |
14 |
Issue |
6 |
Pages |
827-838 |
Keywords |
Biomedizin & Life Sciences |
Abstract |
Chimpanzees at Budongo, Uganda, regularly gesture in series, including ‘bouts’ of gesturing that include response waiting and ‘sequences’ of rapid-fire gesturing without pauses. We examined the distribution and correlates of 723 sequences and 504 bouts for clues to the function of multigesture series. Gesturing by older chimpanzees was more likely to be successful, but the success rate of any particular gesture did not vary with signaller age. Rather, older individuals were more likely to choose successful gestures, and these highly successful gestures were more often used singly. These patterns explain why bouts were recorded most in younger animals, whereas older chimpanzees relied more on single gestures: bouts are best interpreted as a consequence of persistence in the face of failure. When at least one gesture of a successful type occurred in a sequence, that sequence was more likely to be successful; overall, however, sequences were less successful than single gestures. We suggest that young chimpanzees use sequences as a ‘fail-safe’ strategy: because they have the innate potential to produce a large and redundant repertoire of gestures but lack knowledge of which of them would be most efficient. Using sequences increases the chance of giving one effective gesture and also allows users to learn the most effective types. As they do so, they need to use sequences less; sequences may remain important for subtle interpersonal adjustment, especially in play. This ‘Repertoire Tuning’ hypothesis explains a number of results previously reported from chimpanzee gesturing. |
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Springer Berlin / Heidelberg |
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1435-9448 |
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Equine Behaviour @ team @ |
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5426 |
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Author |
Nguyen, N.; Van Horn, R.; Alberts, S.; Altmann, J. |
Title |
“Friendships” between new mothers and adult males: adaptive benefits and determinants in wild baboons (Papio cynocephalus) |
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Journal Article |
Year |
2009 |
Publication |
Behavioral Ecology and Sociobiology |
Abbreviated Journal |
Behav. Ecol. Sociobiol. |
Volume |
63 |
Issue |
9 |
Pages |
1331-1344 |
Keywords |
Biomedical and Life Sciences |
Abstract |
Close associations between adult males and lactating females and their dependent infants are not commonly described in non-monogamous mammals. However, such associations [sometimes called friendships (Smuts 1985)] are regularly observed in several primate species in which females mate with multiple males during the fertile period. The absence of mating exclusivity among friends suggests that males should invest little in infant care, raising questions about the adaptive significance of friendship bonds. Using data from genetic paternity analyses, patterns of behavior, and long-term demographic and reproductive records, we evaluated the extent to which friendships in four multi-male, multi-female yellow baboon (Papio cynocephalus) groups in Amboseli, Kenya represent joint parental care of offspring or male mating effort. We found evidence that mothers and infants benefited directly from friendships; friendships provided mother–infant dyads protection from harassment from other adult and immature females. In addition, nearly half of all male friends were the genetic fathers of offspring and had been observed mating with mothers during the days of most likely conception for those offspring. In contrast, nearly all friends who were not fathers were also not observed to consort with the mother during the days of most likely conception, suggesting that friendships between mothers and non-fathers did not result from paternity confusion. Finally, we found no evidence that prior friendship increased a male’s chances of mating with a female in future reproductive cycles. Our results suggest that, for many male–female pairs at Amboseli, friendships represented a form of biparental care of offspring. Males in the remaining friendship dyads may be trading protection of infants in exchange for some resources or services not yet identified. Our study is the first to find evidence that female primates gain social benefits from their early associations with adult males. |
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Springer Berlin / Heidelberg |
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0340-5443 |
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Equine Behaviour @ team @ |
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5243 |
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Author |
Walter, B.; Trillmich, F. |
Title |
Female aggression and male peace-keeping in a cichlid fish harem: conflict between and within the sexes in Lamprologus ocellatus |
Type |
Journal Article |
Year |
1994 |
Publication |
Behavioral Ecology and Sociobiology |
Abbreviated Journal |
Behav. Ecol. Sociobiol. |
Volume |
34 |
Issue |
2 |
Pages |
105-112 |
Keywords |
Biomedical and Life Sciences |
Abstract |
Conflicts of interest within and between the sexes are important processes leading to variability in mating systems. The behavioral interactions mediating conflict are little documented. We studied pairs and harems of the snail-shell inhabiting cichlid fish Lamprologus ocellatus in the laboratory. Due to their larger size, males controlled the resource that limited breeding: snail shells. Males were able to choose among females ready to spawn. Females were only accepted if they produced a clutch within a few days of settling. When several females attempted to settle simultaneously the larger female settled first. Females were least aggressive when guarding eggs. Secondary females were more likely to settle when the primary female was guarding eggs. In established harems females continued to be aggressive against each other. The male intervened in about 80% of female aggressive interactions. Male intervention activity correlated with the frequency of aggression among the females in his harem. The male usually attacked the aggressor and chased her back to her own snail shell. When a male was removed from his harem, aggression between females increased immediately and usually the secondary female was expelled by the primary female within a few days. Time to harem break-up was shorter the more mobile the primary females' young were and did not correlate with the size difference between harem females. Male L. ocellatus interfere actively in female conflict and keep the harem together against female interests. Female conflict presumably relates to the cost of sharing male parental investment and to the potential of predation by another female's large juveniles on a female's own small juveniles. |
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Springer Berlin / Heidelberg |
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0340-5443 |
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Equine Behaviour @ team @ |
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5250 |
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Author |
Gehring, T.M.; VerCauteren, K.C.; Provost, M.L.; Cellar, A.C. |
Title |
Utility of livestock-protection dogs for deterring wildlife from cattle farms |
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Journal Article |
Year |
2010 |
Publication |
Wildl. Res. |
Abbreviated Journal |
Wildl. Res. |
Volume |
37 |
Issue |
8 |
Pages |
715-721 |
Keywords |
bovine tuberculosis, coyote, grey wolf, livestock protection dog, mesopredators, white-tailed deer, wildlife damage management. |
Abstract |
Context. Livestock producers worldwide are negatively affected by livestock losses because of predators and wildlife-transmitted diseases. In the western Great Lakes Region of the United States, this conflict has increased as grey wolf (Canis lupus) populations have recovered and white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus) have served as a wildlife reservoir for bovine tuberculosis (Myobacterium bovis).Aims. We conducted field experiments on cattle farms to evaluate the effectiveness of livestock-protection dogs (LPDs) for excluding wolves, coyotes (C. latrans), white-tailed deer and mesopredators from livestock pastures.Methods. We integrated LPDs on six cattle farms (treatment) and monitored wildlife use with tracking swaths on these farms, concurrent with three control cattle farms during 2005-2008. The amount of time deer spent in livestock pastures was recorded using direct observation.Key results. Livestock pastures protected by LPDs had reduced use by these wildlife compared with control pastures not protected by LPDs. White-tailed deer spent less time in livestock pastures protected by LPDs compared with control pastures not protected by LPDs.Conclusions. Our research supports the theory that LPDs can be an effective management tool for reducing predation and disease transmission. We also demonstrate that LPDs are not limited to being used only with sheep and goats; they can also be used to protect cattle.Implications. On the basis of our findings, we support the use of LPDs as a proactive management tool that producers can implement to minimise the threat of livestock depredations and transmission of disease from wildlife to livestock. LPDs should be investigated further as a more general conservation tool for protecting valuable wildlife, such as ground-nesting birds, that use livestock pastures and are affected by predators that use these pastures. |
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Equine Behaviour @ team @ |
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6575 |
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Author |
Erhart, E.; Overdorff, D. |
Title |
Female Coordination of Group Travel in Wild Propithecus and Eulemur |
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Journal Article |
Year |
1999 |
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International Journal of Primatology |
Abbreviated Journal |
Int. J. Primatol. |
Volume |
20 |
Issue |
6 |
Pages |
927-940-940 |
Keywords |
Biomedical and Life Sciences |
Abstract |
Coordination of primate group movements by individual group members is generally categorized as leadership behavior, which entails several steps: deciding where to move next, initiating travel, and leading a group between food, water sources, and rest sites. Presumably, leaders are able to influence their daily foraging efficiency and nutritional intake, which could influence an individual's feeding ecology and long-term reproductive success. Within anthropoid species, females lead group movements in most female-bonded groups, while males lead groups in most nonfemale-bonded groups. Group leadership has not been described for social prosimians, which are typically not female-bonded. We describe group movements in two nonfemale-bonded, lemurid species living in southeastern Madagascar, Propithecus diadema edwardsi and Eulemur fulvus rufus. Although several social lemurids exhibit female dominance Eulemur fulvus rufus does not, and evidence for female dominance is equivocal in Propithecus diadema edwardsi. Given the ecological stresses that females face during reproduction, we predict that females in these two species will implement alternative behavioral strategies such as group leadership in conjunction with, or in the absence of, dominance interactions to improve access to food. We found that females in both species initiated and led group movements significantly more often than males did. In groups with multiple females, one female was primarily responsible for initiating and leading group movements. We conclude that female nutritional needs may determine ranging behavior to a large extent in these prosimian species, at least during months of gestation and lactation. |
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Springer Netherlands |
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0164-0291 |
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Equine Behaviour @ team @ |
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5308 |
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Huffman, M.; Spiezio, C.; Sgaravatti, A.; Leca, J.-B. |
Title |
Leaf swallowing behavior in chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes): biased learning and the emergence of group level cultural differences |
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Journal Article |
Year |
2010 |
Publication |
Animal Cognition |
Abbreviated Journal |
Anim. Cogn. |
Volume |
13 |
Issue |
6 |
Pages |
871-880-880 |
Keywords |
Biomedical and Life Sciences |
Abstract |
Demonstrating the ability to ‘copy’ the behavior of others is an important aspect in determining whether social learning occurs and whether group level differences in a given behavior represent cultural differences or not. Understanding the occurrence of this process in its natural context is essential, but can be a daunting task in the wild. In order to test the social learning hypothesis for the acquisition of leaf swallowing (LS), a self-medicative behavior associated with the expulsion of parasites, we conducted semi-naturalistic experiments on two captive groups of parasite-free, naïve chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes). Individuals in the group were systematically provided appropriate stimuli (rough hispid leaves) identical to those used by chimpanzees in the wild. Individuals initially responded in a variety of ways, ranging from total aversion to normal chewing and swallowing. Over time, however, the two groups adopted different variants for inserting and folding the leaves in the mouth prior to swallowing them (complete and partial LS), following the specific method spontaneously displayed by the first and primary LS models in their respective groups. These variants were similar to LS displayed by chimpanzees in the wild. Using the option-bias method, we found evidence for social learning leading to group-level biased transmission and group-level stabilization of these two variants. This is the first report on two distinct cultural variants innovated in response to the introduction of natural stimuli that emerged and spread spontaneously and concurrently within two adjacent groups of socially housed primates. These observations support the assertion that LS may reflect a generalized propensity for ingesting rough hispid leaves, which can be socially induced and transmitted within a group. Ingesting an adequate number of these leaves induces increased gut motility, which is responsible for the subsequent expulsion of particular parasite species in the wild. Cultural transmission and maintenance of LS within a group and associative learning by the individual of the positive consequences of this otherwise non-nutritive mode of ingestion is proposed to be the pivotal link between this feeding propensity and its maintenance as a self-medicative behavior by great apes in the wild. |
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Springer Berlin / Heidelberg |
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Equine Behaviour @ team @ |
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5277 |
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Author |
Berger, J |
Title |
Wild horses of the Great Basin |
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Book Whole |
Year |
1986 |
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University of Chicago Press, |
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Univ. of Chic. Press |
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wildlife equine behaviour ecology |
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Describes the behavior of wild horses living in the Great Basin Desert of Nevada and discusses the role of the horses in the area's ecology |
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University of Chicago Press |
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Chicago |
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0-226-04367-3 |
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refbase @ user @ |
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659 |
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Nogueira, S.S. da C.; Nogueira-Filho, S.L.G.; Bassford, M.; Silvius, K.; Fragoso, J.M.V. |
Title |
Feral pigs in Hawai`i: Using behavior and ecology to refine control techniques |
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Journal Article |
Year |
2007 |
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Applied Animal Behaviour Science |
Abbreviated Journal |
Appl. Anim. Behav. Sci. |
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108 |
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1-2 |
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1-11 |
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Sus scrofa; Invasive species; Wildlife management; Pest management; Vertebrate pest control |
Abstract |
Early Polynesians settlers were the first to introduce pigs to the Hawaiian Islands. Later Captain Cook brought European pigs during his first voyage to Hawai`i. Many other importations have followed. Animals from these introductions became feral and dispersed throughout the islands. Free-ranging pigs are now considered pests with negative impacts on some native biota. Several methods to control the ecological damage attributed to pigs have been adopted, such as fencing, hunting, live trapping and poisoning. However, the absence of behavioral knowledge in current control programs has resulted in inefficient management of this species. Therefore, the feral pig problem continues, and what before was almost strictly an agricultural and conservation concern has now become an urban problem as well. The aim of this study is to describe the state of knowledge on feral pig behavior in the Hawaiian Islands, introducing potential management approaches derived from the principles of behavioral ecology. Considering behavioral aspects of feral pig ecology, such as cognition and communication could help improve capture techniques, keep feral pigs away from urban areas and begin to resolve human-wildlife conflicts. |
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Equine Behaviour @ team @ |
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2887 |
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