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Croney, C. C., & Millman, S. T. (2007). BOARD-INVITED REVIEW: The ethical and behavioral bases for farm animal welfare legislation. J. Anim Sci., 85(2), 556–565.
Abstract: Concerns about farm animal welfare vary among individuals and societies. As people increasingly consider the values underlying current farm animal production methods, farm animal welfare policy debates have escalated. Recent food animal protection policies enacted in the European Union have fueled highly contentious discussions about the need for similar legislative activity in the United States. Policymakers and scientists in the United States are apprehensive about the scientific assessment, validation, and monitoring of animal welfare, as well as the unforeseen consequences of moving too hastily toward legislating farm animal welfare. The potential impact of such legislation on producers, food prices, animals, and concerned citizens must also be considered. Balancing the interests of all stakeholders has therefore presented a considerable challenge that has stymied US policymaking. In this review, we examine the roles of ethics and science in policy decisions, discuss how scientific knowledge relative to animal behavior has been incorporated into animal welfare policy, and identify opportunities for additional refinement of animal welfare science that may facilitate ethical and policy decisions about animal care.
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Seed, A. M., Clayton, N. S., & Emery, N. J. (2007). Postconflict third-party affiliation in rooks, Corvus frugilegus. Curr Biol, 17(2), 152–158.
Abstract: Conflict features in the lives of many animal species and induces social stress mediated by glucocorticoid hormones [1]. Postconflict affiliation, between former opponents (reconciliation) or between former opponents and a bystander (third-party affiliation), has been suggested as a behavioral mechanism for reducing such stress [2], but has been studied almost exclusively in primates [3]. As with many primates, several bird species live in social groups and form affiliative relationships [4]. Do these distantly related animals also use affiliative behavior to offset the costs of conflict? We studied postconflict affiliation in a captive group of rooks. Unlike polygamous primates, monogamous rooks did not reconcile with former opponents. However, we found clear evidence of third-party affiliation after conflicts. Both initiators and targets of aggression engaged in third-party affiliation with a social partner and employed a specific behavior, bill twining, during the postconflict period. Both former aggressors and uninvolved third parties initiated affiliative contacts. Despite the long history of evolutionary divergence, the pattern of third-party affiliation in rooks is strikingly similar to that observed in tolerant primate species. Furthermore, the absence of reconciliation in rooks makes sense in light of the species differences in social systems.
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Beran, M. J. (2007). Rhesus monkeys (Macaca mulatta) succeed on a computerized test designed to assess conservation of discrete quantity. Anim. Cogn., 10(1), 37–45.
Abstract: Conservation of quantity occurs through recognition that changes in the physical arrangement of a set of items do not change the quantity of items in that set. Rhesus monkeys (Macaca mulatta) were presented with a computerized quantity judgment task. Monkeys were rewarded for selecting the greater quantity of items in one of two horizontal arrays of items on the screen. On some trials, after a correct selection, no reward was given but one of the arrays was manipulated. In some cases, this manipulation involved moving items closer together or farther apart to change the physical arrangement of the array without changing the quantity of items in the array. In other cases, additional items were added to the initially smaller array so that it became quantitatively larger. Monkeys then made another selection from the two rows of items. Monkeys were sensitive to these manipulations, changing their selections when the number of items in the rows changed but not when the arrangement only was changed. Therefore, monkeys responded on the basis of the quantity of items, and they were not distracted by non-quantitative manipulations of the sets.
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Stamps, J. A. (2007). Growth-mortality tradeoffs and 'personality traits' in animals. Ecol Lett, 10(5), 355–363.
Abstract: Consistent individual differences in boldness, reactivity, aggressiveness, and other 'personality traits' in animals are stable within individuals but vary across individuals, for reasons which are currently obscure. Here, I suggest that consistent individual differences in growth rates encourage consistent individual differences in behavior patterns that contribute to growth-mortality tradeoffs. This hypothesis predicts that behavior patterns that increase both growth and mortality rates (e.g. foraging under predation risk, aggressive defense of feeding territories) will be positively correlated with one another across individuals, that selection for high growth rates will increase mean levels of potentially risky behavior across populations, and that within populations, faster-growing individuals will take more risks in foraging contexts than slower-growing individuals. Tentative empirical support for these predictions suggests that a growth-mortality perspective may help explain some of the consistent individual differences in behavioral traits that have been reported in fish, amphibians, reptiles, and other animals with indeterminate growth.
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Koski, S. E., & Sterck, E. H. M. (2007). Triadic postconflict affiliation in captive chimpanzees: does consolation console? Anim. Behav., 73(1), 133–142.
Abstract: Consolation is a triadic postconflict interaction between a conflict participant and an uninvolved third party. The term consolation implies stress alleviation. Consequently, consolation may be an effective mechanism to alleviate postconflict stress. However, this assumption has not been tested. We tested whether consolation alleviates postconflict stress in captive chimpanzees, Pan troglodytes. In addition, we examined whether consolation is a substitute postconflict interaction for reconciliation. We collected 643 postconflict-matched control pairs on aggressees and 576 on aggressors. Consolation occurred equally frequently with aggressees and aggressors. However, we found no evidence that consolation alleviated stress, regardless of the identity of the consoler. In addition, consolation was also directed to conflict participants with no evident postconflict stress. Furthermore, we found no evidence for consolation being a substitute for reconciliation. The occurrence of consolation did not depend on the occurrence of reconciliation and consolation was not more prevalent with the sex class that reconciled less often or had the highest postconflict stress levels. We conclude that consolation is a postconflict interaction in its own right, the function of which is not likely to be connected to stress alleviation of the consoled individual. We propose that the function of triadic postconflict affiliation, previously labelled as consolation, should be reassessed with regard to the third parties' reasons to affiliate with conflict opponents.
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Whiten, A., & van Schaik, C. P. (2007). The evolution of animal 'cultures' and social intelligence. Philos Trans R Soc Lond B Biol Sci, 362(1480), 603–620.
Abstract: Decades-long field research has flowered into integrative studies that, together with experimental evidence for the requisite social learning capacities, have indicated a reliance on multiple traditions ('cultures') in a small number of species. It is increasingly evident that there is great variation in manifestations of social learning, tradition and culture among species, offering much scope for evolutionary analysis. Social learning has been identified in a range of vertebrate and invertebrate species, yet sustained traditions appear rarer, and the multiple traditions we call cultures are rarer still. Here, we examine relationships between this variation and both social intelligence-sophisticated information processing adapted to the social domain-and encephalization. First, we consider whether culture offers one particular confirmation of the social ('Machiavellian') intelligence hypothesis that certain kinds of social life (here, culture) select for intelligence: 'you need to be smart to sustain culture'. Phylogenetic comparisons, particularly focusing on our own study animals, the great apes, support this, but we also highlight some paradoxes in a broader taxonomic survey. Second, we use intraspecific variation to address the converse hypothesis that 'culture makes you smart', concluding that recent evidence for both chimpanzees and orang-utans support this proposition.
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Madden, J. R. (2007). Do bowerbirds exhibit cultures? Anim. Cogn., .
Abstract: Definitions of what features constitute cultural behaviour, and hence define cultures are numerous. Many seem designed to describe those aspects of human behaviour which set us apart from other animals. A broad definition prescribing that the behaviour is: learned; learned socially; normative and collective is considered to apply to several species of great ape. In this paper, I review observations and experiments covering a suite of different behavioural characteristics displayed in members of the bowerbird family (Ptilonorhynchidae) and ask whether they fulfil these criteria. These include vocalisations, bower design, decoration use, bower orientation and display movements. Such a range of behaviours refutes the suggestion that these species are “one-trick ponies”-a criticism that is often levelled at claims for culture in non-primate species. I suggest that, despite a paucity of data in comparison with primate studies, it could be argued that bowerbirds may be considered to fulfil the same criteria on which we base our use of the term culture when applied to our close relatives, the great apes. If bowerbirds do have cultures, then their unusual natural history makes them a highly tractable system in which questions of social learning and culture can be tackled.
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Nogueira, S. S. da C., Nogueira-Filho, S. L. G., Bassford, M., Silvius, K., & Fragoso, J. M. V. (2007). Feral pigs in Hawai`i: Using behavior and ecology to refine control techniques. Appl. Anim. Behav. Sci., 108(1-2), 1–11.
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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Parejo, D., & Aviles, J. M. (2007). Do avian brood parasites eavesdrop on heterospecific sexual signals revealing host quality? A review of the evidence. Anim. Cogn., 10(2), 81–88.
Abstract: Eavesdropping can be defined as the extraction of information from the interactions between other individuals. It provides a relatively cheap way of gathering relevant information for fitness enhancement. Here, we propose that obligate avian brood parasites, which always lay their eggs in foreign nests of individuals of other species, may eavesdrop on their host sexual signals to locate nests of high quality individuals in which to lay their parasitic eggs. Sexual signal variation can honestly signal parental quality. Thus, by eavesdropping on sexual signals, parasites may select high quality foster parents for their own offspring. Such a use of sexual signals within host populations by brood parasites differs from signal exploitation theory that proposes that parasite only use signals to locate potential host independently from signaller quality. Here, we review the avian literature concerning host choice within a host species by obligate avian brood parasites and find evidence for host selection within individuals of a host species on the basis of cues potentially functioning as sexually selected traits, or at least revealing parental abilities. We have also found support for the existence of benefits linked to host selection by avian brood parasites. Finally, one study reported on the attenuation of a sexual ornament in host populations under strong pressure by brood parasites. Most of these findings have been interpreted as evidence for host selection by avian brood parasites based on the conspicuousness of sexual signals. We suggest, however, that these findings may in fact reveal eavesdropping on host signalling performance by brood parasites which would use the information extracted to choose the better individuals among conspecifics of a given host. This provides a new perspective for the study of host selection in obligate brood parasites, and raises interesting questions for the study of animal cognition that would deserve experimental studies.
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May, A. (2007). Evaluierung von Stressparametern beim Pferd im Zusammenhang mit dem Klinikaufenthalt [Evaluation of stress parameters in the hospitalized horse]. Ph.D. thesis, LMU München, München.
Abstract: Ein Klinikaufenthalt stellt für Pferde eine Stresssituation dar und viele Pferde erkranken
während eines Klinikaufenthalts an Stress-assoziierten Erkrankungen. Eine der häufigsten ist
die so genannte Colitis X, eine oft tödlich verlaufende Durchfallerkrankung. Da es im Verlauf
dieser Erkrankungen zu einem Verlust der Tiere kommen kann, hat ihre Vermeidung oberste
Priorität.
Ziel der vorliegenden Untersuchung war es, herauszufinden, inwieweit bei den Pferden der
klinisch erkennbare Stress mit Veränderungen messbarer Blutparameter (Hämatokrit,
Gesamteiweiß, Leukozyten, Glukose, Laktat, Kortisol) einhergeht und dabei einen Parameter
zu finden, mit dem Stress beim Klinikpatienten Pferd verlässlich und möglichst einfach
evaluiert werden kann. Zudem wurden in dieser Studie Freie Sauerstoffradikale („oxidativer
Stress“) und IgA im Kot bestimmt, um diese Parameter auf ihre klinische Verwendbarkeit zu
prüfen und zu untersuchen, inwieweit Stress mit dem lokalen Immunglobulingehalt
interferiert. Einigen ausgewählten Pferden wurde zudem der Paramunitätsinducer Zylexis® der
Firma Pfizer appliziert, um dessen Wirkung auf die untersuchten Parameter festzustellen.
Es wurden 110 Patienten der Klinik für Pferde untersucht, die in dem Zeitraum der Studie
zufällig hospitalisiert wurden. Die Pferde wurden in zwei Gruppen eingeteilt. Eine Gruppe
wurde in der Klinik operiert, die zweite nur stationär behandelt. Des Weiteren wurde eine
Kontrollgruppe in ihrem Heimatstall zum Vergleich miteinbezogen, die in den letzten sechs
Wochen vor der Studie nicht transportiert oder anderweitig belastet worden war.
Den Pferden wurde in definierten Abständen Blut und Kot entnommen, um den Einfluss von
Transport, Operation und Klinikstress möglichst gut zu erfassen. Die Zeitpunkte waren direkt
nach der Einlieferung, am Morgen vor der Narkose, nach der Aufstehphase und sowohl einen
als auch vier Tage nach der Narkose. Pferden, die nicht operiert wurden und der
Kontrollgruppe wurden insgesamt dreimal Blut und Kot (Tag 1, 3, Tag vor der Entlassung)
entnommen.
Für die Zylexis®-Studie wurden Vitrektomie-Patienten ausgewählt, da diese ein gutes Beispiel
für eine kurze, wenig traumatische Operation darstellen. Diese Pferde wurden mit den
anderen Pferden, die leichten Operationen unterzogen wurden, verglichen.
Bereits nach dem unterschiedlich langen Transport zeigten die Pferde signifikante Anstiege
von Gesamtleukozytenzahl, dem Verhältnis neutrophiler Granulozyten zu Lymphozyten
(N:L-Verhältnis), Glukose und den klinischen Parametern (Herzfrequenz, Atemfrequenz,
Körpertemperatur). Die IgA-Konzentration im Kot sank bei den eingelieferten Pferden nach
Einlieferung erst ab, um sich dann vermutlich durch den Kontakt mit den fremden Antigenen
in der Klinik reflektorisch zu erhöhen. Auffällig war, dass die Kortisolkonzentration nach
dem Transport bei den als „nervös, sensibel“ eingestuften Pferden signifikant höher lag als bei
den „ruhigen, ausgeglichenen“ Pferden.
Weitere deutliche Veränderungen zeigten sich nach den Operationen. Glukose, Kortisol und
das N:L-Verhältnis wiesen nach den unterschiedlich langen Eingriffen höhere Konzentrationen
auf. Die Laktatkonzentration stieg signifikant bereits nach der Operation und
anschließend noch weiter nach der Aufstehphase. Dies ist primär auf die Muskelbelastung
zurückzuführen, da Laktat vor allem muskulären Ursprungs ist. Hämatokrit und Gesamteiweiß
sanken nach der Narkose aufgrund der intraoperativ verabreichten Infusionen ab.
Einem starken hoch signifikanten Konzentrationsabfall unterlag auch der IgA-Gehalt im Kot.
Dabei war kein Unterschied zwischen den verschiedenen Operationstraumata festzustellen.
Ansonsten unterlagen die Pferde, die mit hochgradig gestörtem Allgemeinbefinden zu einer
Notoperation eingeliefert wurden, viel deutlicheren Veränderungen als die anderen Pferde.
Die Freien Radikale zeigten überhaupt keinen charakteristischen Verlauf. Sie schienen
allerdings bei den chronisch erkrankten Pferden erhöht zu sein. Des Weiteren zeigten sie
Erhöhungen bei bestimmten Erkrankungen („Equine Motor Neuron Disease“, Hufrehe).
Bei den Pferden, die Zylexis® verabreicht bekamen, konnte eine Tendenz zur Verbesserung
des Immunstatus nachgewiesen werden. Es fiel ein deutlich höherer Gesamteiweißgehalt auf,
der wahrscheinlich auf eine vermehrte Produktion von Immunglobulinen zurückzuführen ist.
Außerdem war die Kortisolkonzentration nach der Operation signifikant niedriger. Der IgAGehalt
zeigte einen weniger deutlichen Konzentrationsabfall, was aber statistisch nicht belegt
werden konnte.
Die Untersuchungen zeigten, dass das N:L-Verhältnis und Glukose geeignete Parameter
darstellen um zuverlässig den Stress, dem ein Pferd ausgesetzt ist, zu evaluieren. Kortisol ist
vorsichtig zu interpretieren, da es großen individuellen Schwankungen ausgesetzt ist.
Die Bestimmung von IgA im Kot gibt Aufschluss über den lokalen Immunstatus des
Intestinaltrakts. Da es bei allen Pferden postoperativ zu signifikanten Konzentrationsabfällen
kam, sind Pferde nach jeder Operation offensichtlich prädisponiert, eine Darmerkrankung,
wie beispielsweise Colitis X, zu entwickeln. Kortisol scheint auch Einfluss auf das lokale
Immunsystem zu nehmen, da hohe Kortisolwerte mit einem niedrigen IgA-Gehalt im Kot
korrelierten.
Um die Zusammenhänge der Blutparameter und der Colitis X näher zu erforschen und
insbesondere um die „kritischen“ IgA-Konzentrationen zu ermitteln, wären noch weiterführende
Untersuchungen aufschlußreich.
[Many horses in clinics display symptoms of stress-associated diseases. One of the most feared
is the so-called Colitis X, an often fatal ending diarrhea. As death occurs quite often in the
course of those diseases, their avoidance has first priority.
The aim of the following study was to find out whether signs of stress which are displayed by
the horses correlate with measurable blood parameters. Furthermore we tried to find a
parameter which was suitable to evaluate stress in hospitalized horses.
Apart from the commonly measured parameters (hematocrit, total protein, leucocytes,
glucose, lactate, corticosterone) we tried to include free oxygen radicals in this study.
Immunoglobulin A in faeces was investigated to find out how stress interfered with the local
immune system. A Paramunityinducer often used in Germany (Zylexis®) was administered to
10 selected horses to research its effect on the different parameters.
110 patients hospitalized in the horse clinic were examined. First the horses were organized
into two groups. One group underwent surgery and the other one received stationary
treatment. Furthermore a control group was taken into account which had not been
transported or subjected to stress in six weeks prior to the study.
The horses were drawn blood and collected faeces in defined intervals to register the
influence of transport, operation and clinic stress. Blood samples were taken directly after the
transport, prior to the operation, right after surgery and one day and four days after the
operation. Horses which did not undergo surgery including the control group were drawn
blood and faeces three times (day 1, 3, and the day prior to discharge from the clinic).
For the paramunity investigation patients for vitrectomy were chosen as they display a good
example for short little traumatic operations. Those were compared with other horses brought
into the clinic for short operations.
After the transport to the clinic horses showed significant increases in leukocyte
concentration, N:L-ratio, glucose and the clinical parameters (heart rate, breathing rate, body
temperature). The immunoglobulin concentration decreased after the transport to rapidly rise
after contact with antigens from the clinic environment.
Horses categorized as “nervous, sensitive” displayed significantly higher corticosterone
concentrations after the transport than horses categorized as “cool, calm”. Other distinct
variations showed after the operations. The lactate concentrations increased significantly after
anaesthesia and went up even further after the horse got up afterwards. This is due to
muscular fatigue as lactate is mainly produced in the muscles. Glucose, corticosterone and the
N:L-ratio also displayed higher concentrations after the operation.
Hematocrit and total protein concentrations decreased after anaesthesia ascribed to infusions
during operation. After anaesthesia a highly significant reduction of immunoglobulin
concentrations in the faeces was determined. No influence of the different operation traumas
could be recognized.
That was surprising as in all other cases horses in very bad general condition displayed
distinct changes.
The free oxygen radicals did not show any characteristic pattern. There appeared to be a
higher concentration in horses with chronic illnesses. Furthermore some diseases, like Equine
Motor Neuron Disease and laminitis, seemed to have an increasing impact on the oxygen
radicals.
Zylexis® showed a tendency to improve the immune status of the horses in this study. The
paramunized horses had more total serum protein than the others. This could be due to an
increased production of Immunoglobulins. Additionally the corticosterone concentration after
the operation stayed on a significantly lower level. The local immunoglobulin A
concentrations did not appear to decrease as much as in the non-paramunized horses but it
was not possible to statistically prove this statement.
The results of this study show that the N:L-ratio and glucose might be suitable parameters to
reliably evaluate the stress that has an effect on the hospitalized horse. Corticosterone values
have to be interpreted carefully as they are very prone to individual variations.
Measuring immunoglobulins in faeces provides information about the local intestinal immune
status. Since all horses showed significant lower immunoglobulin concentrations after the
anesthesia/operation they obviously lack immune protection and are therefore predisposed for
developing enteritis, as Colitis X. In this study corticosterone seemed to influence the local
immune system as high concentrations of corticosterone correlated with low immunoglobulin
levels.
To understand the circumstances more thoroughly and to find out which factors have to be
present additionally in order for the horses to fall ill with Colitis X, further investigations have
to be made.]
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