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Author Kelly, C.D.
Title Fighting for harems: assessment strategies during male-male contests in the sexually dimorphic Wellington tree weta Type Journal Article
Year 2006 Publication Animal Behaviour. Abbreviated Journal Anim. Behav.
Volume 72 Issue 3 Pages 727-736
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Abstract (up) Females often aggregate at particular sites for feeding or shelter, thus giving adult males the opportunity to defend harems and increase male reproductive success. Rival males compete for control of harems via ritualized displays or direct combat using weaponry. Contests for harems or the resources required by females can be settled based on asymmetries in fighting ability or resource ownership. Males that accurately assess a rival's fighting ability prior to engaging in potentially costly combat should be favoured by selection. Game theory and optimality models provide three models to explain how individuals decide to persist in or flee from a fight. These models are the energetic war of attrition, the sequential assessment model and the cumulative assessment model. Using staged contests in the laboratory, I tested predictions of these models using the Wellington tree weta, Hemideina crassidens, a sexually dimorphic insect native to New Zealand. Male H. crassidens use their enlarged mandibles as weapons in fights for access to adult females that reside in cavities in trees. My results supported a prediction common to each assessment model: contest duration was negatively correlated with the asymmetry in opponent's weapon size. The sequential assessment model of contest settlement was partially supported but the strongest support was for the cumulative assessment model. Predictions of the latter model were supported because: (1) fights are apparently settled based on own-size assessment; (2) fights occur in a single phase and escalate; and (3) contests involve physical combat and injury. I suggest that, in nocturnal species, cumulative assessment will generally be most applicable.
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Call Number refbase @ user @ Serial 297
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Author Perusse, D.; Lefebvre, L.
Title Grouped sequential exploitation of food patches in a flock feeder, the feral pigeon Type Journal Article
Year 1985 Publication Behavioural Processes Abbreviated Journal Behav. Process.
Volume 11 Issue 1 Pages 39-52
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Abstract (up) Feral and laboratory flocks of rock doves ( ) show a pattern of grouped sequential exploitation when simultaneously presented with two dispersed, depleting patches of seed. This behavior contrasts with the ideal free distribution pattern shown when patches are small and concentrated. Grouped sequential exploitation consists of two phases: all pigeons first land together and feed at one patch, then leave one by one for the other patch. Departure times of individuals for the second patch are correlated with feeding rate at patch 1, which is in turn correlated with position in the dominance hierarchy. The decision to switch from patch 1 to patch 2 improves individual feeding rates in all cases, but is done slightly later than it should according to optimal foraging theory.
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Call Number Equine Behaviour @ team @ Serial 4227
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Author Moehlman, P.D.
Title Feral asses (Equus africanus): intraspecific variation in social organization in arid and mesic habitats Type Journal Article
Year 1998 Publication Applied Animal Behaviour Science Abbreviated Journal Appl. Anim. Behav. Sci.
Volume 60 Issue 2-3 Pages 171-195
Keywords Equids; Feral asses; Social organization; Mating systems; Intraspecific variation
Abstract (up) Feral asses have been studied in the arid habitats of the southwestern United States [Moehlman, P.D., 1974. Behavior and ecology of feral asses (Equus asinus). PhD dissertation, University of Wisconsin, Madison, 251 pp.; Moehlman, P.D., 1979. Behavior and ecology of feral asses (Equus asinus). Nat. Geogr. Soc. Res. Reports 1970, 405-411.; Woodward, S.L., 1979. The social system of feral asses (Equus asinus). Z. Tierpsychol. 49, 304-316] and in the mesic habitat of Ossabaw Island, Georgia [Moehlman, P.D., 1979, ibid; McCort, W.D., 1980. The feral asses (Equus asinus) of Ossabaw Island, Georgia. PhD dissertation, Pennsylvania State University, University Park, 219 pp]. The feral ass populations in these two locales exhibited intraspecific variation in polygynous mating systems and social organization which were consistent with the ecological classification of mating systems of Emlen and Oring (1977) [Emlen, S.T., Oring, S.W., 1977. Ecology, sexual selection, and the evolution of mating systems. Science 197 (4300), 215-223]. Feral asses in the arid environment have a `resource defense' polygynous mating system, and those in the mesic habitat exhibit `female (harem) defense' polygyny. The intraspecific variation observed in feral asses encompasses the interspecific variation observed in the family Equidae.
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Call Number Equine Behaviour @ team @ Serial 2382
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Author Moehlman, P.D.; Fowler, L.E.; Roe, J.H.
Title Feral asses (Equus africanus) of Volcano Alcedo, Galapagos: behavioral ecology, spatial distribution, and social organization Type Journal Article
Year 1998 Publication Applied Animal Behaviour Science Abbreviated Journal Appl. Anim. Behav. Sci.
Volume 60 Issue 2-3 Pages 197-210
Keywords Equids; Feral asses; Social organization; Mating systems; Intraspecific variation; Galapagos
Abstract (up) Feral asses were studied on Volcano Alcedo, Galapagos Islands, Ecuador, during the wet season of 1980. On the volcano rim during March/April, two stable groups were observed to have a `female (harem) defense' polygynous mating system [Emlen, S.T., Oring, S.W., 1977. Ecology, sexual selection, and the evolution of mating systems. Science 197 (4300), pp. 215-223] and social behavior patterns and feeding ecology similar to feral asses living in a habitat where forage and climate are similar, e.g., Ossabaw Island, Georgia [Moehlman, P.D., 1979. Behavior and ecology of feral asses (Equus asinus). Nat. Geogr. Soc. Res. Rep., 1970, pp. 405-411; Moehlman, P.D., 1997. Feral asses (Equus africanus): intraspecific variation in social organization in arid and mesic habitats. J. Appl. Anim. Behav. Sci., this issue; McCort, W.D., 1980. The feral asses (Equus asinus) of Ossabaw Island, Georgia., PhD Dissertation, Pennsylvania State University, University Park, 219 pp.].
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Call Number Equine Behaviour @ team @ Serial 2383
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Author Linklater, W.L.; Cameron, E.Z.; Minot, E.O.; Stafford, K.J.
Title Stallion harassment and the mating system of horses Type Journal Article
Year 1999 Publication Animal Behaviour. Abbreviated Journal Anim. Behav.
Volume 58 Issue 2 Pages 295-306
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Abstract (up) Feral horse, Equus caballus, breeding groups, called bands, usually include one but sometimes up to five stallions. We found that mares were loyal to single-stallion (SS) or multistallion (MS) bands or were social dispersers (maverick mares, Mv). The spacing and social behaviour of mares and stallions in single- and multistallion bands was measured. Indices of mare well-being were also measured including activity budgets (feeding: MS>SS=Mv; resting: MS<SS=Mv), band and mare travel (MS>SS), maternal effort in maintaining contact with foals (MS=Mv>SS), parasite levels in faeces (MS>Mv>SS), body condition (MS=Mv<SS), fecundity (Mv<MS<SS) and offspring mortality (Mv<MS<SS). We present evidence suggesting that the poorer well-being of maverick mares and multistallion band mares results from greater harassment by stallions. Stallion and mare behaviour and poor reproductive success in multistallion bands were not consistent with explanations for the existence of such bands based on cooperation or alternative mating strategies. We suggest an alternative explanation. Stable relationships between mares and a single stallion may enhance reproductive success by reducing aggression between individuals. Therefore, we propose that there is strong selection pressure for stable, long-term stallion-mare relationships, called consort relationships. We propose the consort hypothesis, that multistallion bands are an artefact of selection for stable relationships that occasionally result in more than one such relationship forming, because mares solicit more than one stallion and stallion dominance changes during band formation. Copyright 1999 The Association for the Study of Animal Behaviour.
Address Ecology Group, Institute of Natural Resources, Massey University
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ISSN 0003-3472 ISBN Medium
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Notes PMID:10458881 Approved no
Call Number refbase @ user @ Serial 417
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Author Rutberg, A.T.; Greenberg, S.A.
Title Dominance, aggression frequencies and modes of aggressive competition in feral pony mares Type Journal Article
Year 1990 Publication Animal Behaviour. Abbreviated Journal Anim. Behav.
Volume 40 Issue 2 Pages 322-331
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Abstract (up) Feral pony mares, Equus caballus, at Assateague Island, Maryland, formed linear dominance hierarchies within bands. Generally, older mares dominated younger mares, and larger mares dominated smaller mares. Large mares initiated aggression more often than small mares when age was controlled for but, surprisingly, older mares initiated aggression less often than younger mares when size was controlled for. Thus, mares peak in aggressiveness fairly soon after achieving full size and then, while maintaining or improving their rank in the domainance hierarchy, progressively reduce their involvement in aggression as they grow older, Involvement in aggression per mare increased as number of mares in the group increased; this effect was independent of nearest-mare distances. Frequency of involvement in aggression did not differ between mares that had changed bands within the year and mares whose band association had continued for a year or more. Aggression was directed more frequently than expected at subordinate mares who were nursing, and also occurred more frequently than expected at water holes. The proportion of aggressive encounters during grazing closely matched the total proportion of time spent grazing. Subordinate mares with foals received aggression more often than subordinate mares without foals. The high frequency of aggression associated with foals and nursing suggests that interference with reproduction of subordiantes is an important mode of competition between mares. Such interference may be common in animals that feed on dispersed resources and live in small, cohesive groups.
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Call Number refbase @ user @ Serial 755
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Author Manson, J.H.
Title Measuring female mate choice in Cayo Santiago rhesus macaques Type Journal Article
Year 1992 Publication Animal Behaviour. Abbreviated Journal Anim. Behav.
Volume 44 Issue Pages 405-416
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Abstract (up) Few studies of female mate choice have been carried out among free-ranging non-human primates. To qualify as female mate choice, behaviour by oestrous females must predict the occurrence or rate of potentially fertile copulations, in comparisons between heterosexual dyads. In this paper, data are presented to show three behaviour patterns that meet this criterion in free-ranging rhesus macaques, Macaca mulatta, at the island colony of Cayo Santiago: (1) selective cooperation with male sexual solicitations (hip-grasps), (2) restoration of proximity following attacks on females by intruding males, and (3) proximity maintenance (in one of two study groups). Oestrous females maintained proximity preferentially to lower ranking males, but this appeared to reflect differences in the tactics necessary to achieve copulations with males of different dominance ranks, rather than preference for lower ranking mates. Male-oestrous female dyads showed consistency over two consecutive mating seasons in which partner was responsible for proximity maintenance. Male dominance rank was positively correlated with copulatory rate with fertile females. However, in one study group, males to whom oestrous females maintained proximity more actively had higher copulatory rates with fertile females, independent of the effects of male dominance rank.
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Notes 10.1016/0003-3472(92)90051-A Approved no
Call Number Equine Behaviour @ team @ Serial 4889
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Author Crowell-Davis, S.; Houpt, K.A.
Title The ontogeny of flehmen in horses Type Journal Article
Year 1985 Publication Animal Behaviour. Abbreviated Journal Anim. Behav.
Volume 33 Issue 3 Pages 739-745
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Abstract (up) Flehmen behaviour in Welsh pony (Equus caballus) mares and foals living on pasture was observed during 807 h of focal sampling. A series of flehmens performed at one site was defined as a flehmen incident. Colts exhibited flehmen incidents and performed flehmen more frequently during an incident than did fillies or mares. Filies exhibited flehmen incidents more frequently than did mares, but did not flehmen more frequently during an incident. Colts exhibited a peak frequency of performing flehmen and of flehmen incidents during weeks 1-4 with a subsequent linear decrease in frequency up to weeks 17-20. Usually, flehmen occurred without the subject having had direct contact of the nostrils, lips, or tongue with a possible stimulant. Twenty-six per cent of the flehmen incidents occurred during or after urination by another pony. Seven per cent of the incidents occurred during or after urination by the pony showing flehmen.
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Call Number Equine Behaviour @ team @ Serial 2261
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Author Boyd, L.
Title The 24-h time budget of a takh harem stallion (Equus ferus przewalskii) pre- and post-reintroduction Type Journal Article
Year 1998 Publication Applied Animal Behaviour Science Abbreviated Journal Appl. Anim. Behav. Sci.
Volume 60 Issue 4 Pages 291-299
Keywords Takhi; Przewalski's horse; Asian wild horse; Mongolian wild horse; Time budget; Reintroduction
Abstract (up) Focal animal sampling was used to determine the 24-h time budget of a takh harem stallion (Equus ferus przewalskii) during the 2 weeks prior to, and the two weeks following, reintroduction into the Hustain Nuruu Steppe Reserve, Mongolia. Both before and after release, the stallion spent approximately 47% of his time grazing, 6% standing, and 5% in recumbent rest. The biggest changes to the time budget after release were a 4-fold increase in the amount of time spent moving, and a 50% decrease in the amount of time spent resting in a standing position. During the middle of the day when the temperatures were hottest, the stallion exhibited less grazing and more standing resting behaviour than in the morning or evening hours. Recumbent rest invariably occurred in the hours before dawn.
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Call Number Equine Behaviour @ team @ Serial 2245
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Author Cheney, D.L.; Seyfarth, R.M.
Title Reconciliatory grunts by dominant female baboons influence victims' behaviour Type Journal Article
Year 1997 Publication Animal Behaviour. Abbreviated Journal Anim. Behav.
Volume 54 Issue 2 Pages 409-418
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Abstract (up) Following aggressive interactions, dominant female baboons, Papio cynocephalus ursinusoccasionally grunt to their victims. To examine the effect of these apparently reconciliatory grunts on victims' subsequent behaviour, a series of playback experiments was designed to mimic reconciliation. Victims were played their opponents' grunts in the minutes immediately following a fight and then observed for half an hour. After hearing these grunts, victims approached their former opponents and also tolerated their opponents' approaches at significantly higher rates than they did under control conditions. They were also supplanted by their opponents at significantly lower rates. By contrast, playbacks of control females' grunts did not influence victims' behaviour. Playbacks of reconciliatory grunts did not increase the rate at which opponents approached or initiated friendly interactions with their former victims. Playbacks of reconciliatory grunts, therefore, appeared to influence victims', but not opponents', perception of recent events.
Address Departments of Biology and Psychology, University of Pennsylvania
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ISSN 0003-3472 ISBN Medium
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Notes PMID:9268473 Approved no
Call Number refbase @ user @ Serial 347
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