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Author Warren-Smith, A.K.; Greetham, L.; McGreevy, P.D. url  doi
openurl 
  Title Behavioral and physiological responses of horses (Equus caballus) to head lowering Type Journal Article
  Year 2007 Publication Journal of Veterinary Behavior: Clinical Applications and Research Abbreviated Journal  
  Volume 2 Issue 3 Pages 59-67  
  Keywords behavior; head lowering; heart rate; horse; training  
  Abstract Horse trainers often report that lowering the height of a horse's head so the poll is below the height of the withers can induce a calming effect during training. Four groups of horses were used in a 2-part study to investigate the behavioral and physiological effects of head lowering in horses. In Part 1, Group A had no experimental stimuli applied and horses in Group B were trained to lower their heads when presented with a specific stimulus by the handler. The stimulus for head lowering was the application of downward pressure on the headcollar via the lead rope until the horse lowered its head such that its lips were approximately at mid-cannon (third metacarpal) height, whereupon the pressure was released. The stimulus was applied again if the horse raised its head during the 300-second test period. In Part 2, Groups C and D were aroused until their heart rates exceeded 100 beats per minute (bpm). Group C had no further experimental stimuli applied whereas Group D lowered their heads as a response to the above stimulus for a period of 300 seconds. Repeated measures analysis showed that there was no difference between the heart rate of Groups A and B or Groups C and D but that the heart rate of Groups A and B were lower than Groups C and D during the 300-second post-arousal (P < 0.001). The horses in Groups A and B were more likely to contact the handler (P < 0.001), exhibit licking and chewing (P < 0.001), rest a hindleg (P < 0.001), and sniff the ground (P < 0.001) than those in Groups C and D. The number of stimuli required to maintain the head in a lowered position was greatest during the first 30 seconds (P = 0.012 and P < 0.001, Parts 1 and 2, respectively). The current study has shown that head lowering in horses does not influence cardiac responses, even after the horses had been aroused to have their heart rates above 100 bpm. Therefore, it is not a method that will aid in calming an aroused horse in training. Contrary to popular belief, there was no association with licking-and-chewing and head lowering, nor with these behaviors and response acquisition.  
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  Call Number Equine Behaviour @ team @ Serial 4201  
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Author Barette, C.; Vandal, D. doi  openurl
  Title Social rank, dominance, antler size, and access to food in snow-bound wild woodland caribou Type Journal Article
  Year 1986 Publication Behaviour Abbreviated Journal Behaviour  
  Volume 97 Issue 1-2 Pages 118-146  
  Keywords Canada; Quebec; Artiodactyla; Social dominance; Feeding behavior; Morphology; Antler; Rangifer tarandus; North America; America; Ungulata; Mammalia; Vertebrata  
  Abstract We spent two winters studying the social behaviour of wild woodland caribou (Rangifer tarandus caribou) at a time when their main food (ground lichens; Cladina sp.) is available only at snow craters dug by the animals. The competition for access to such craters was severe, the animals constantly trying to take over the craters of others. During a two-month period when a group maintained a constant size (20) and composition (all age-sex classes represented), we could rank the animals in a rather linear dominance hierarchy (Landau's index = 0.87). Rank was correlated with access to resources, percent of time spent active, and percent of time feeding in craters. It was also correlated with age and antler size. However, rank is not an attribute of individuals, but of a relationship between individuals. As such it is only an intervening variable between physical attributes and access to resources, a variable whose value has meaning only within a given group. Among the three attributes studied (age, sex, antler size), the latter was by far the best predictor of the occurrence and outcome of interactions. Between two individuals within any of the three age-sex classes studied (adult and yearling males and adult females), the one with larger antlers initiated significantly more often, escalated its aggression (to the point of hitting the target) less often, and enjoyed a higher success rate in obtaining resources. When their antlers were larger than those of an adult male target (i.e. males that had shed their antlers), adult females won almost all their interactions with adult males even though they escalated only one fourth of them. This clarifies the long-standing speculation that female caribou have antlers and shed them later than males, in order to overcome their sexual handicap in competition for food in the winter. We conclude that the link between rank and dominance of an individual on one hand, and some of its attributes on the other (e.g. sex, age, weight, antler size) is fundamentally realized by the animal itself through its active preference for targets it is likely to beat, i.e. targets with smaller antlers.  
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  Call Number Equine Behaviour @ team @ Serial 4269  
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Author Hamilton, W.D. doi  openurl
  Title The genetical evolution of social behaviour. I Type Journal Article
  Year 1964 Publication Journal of Theoretical Biology Abbreviated Journal J. Theor. Biol.  
  Volume 7 Issue 1and 2 Pages 1-52  
  Keywords *Behavior; *Genetics; Humans; *Models, Theoretical  
  Abstract A genetical mathematical model is described which allows for interactions between relatives on one another's fitness. Making use of Wright's Coefficient of Relationship as the measure of the proportion of replica genes in a relative, a quantity is found which incorporates the maximizing property of Darwinian fitness. This quantity is named “inclusive fitness”. Species following the model should tend to evolve behaviour such that each organism appears to be attempting to maximize its inclusive fitness. This implies a limited restraint on selfish competitive behaviour and possibility of limited self-sacrifices.

Special cases of the model are used to show (a) that selection in the social situations newly covered tends to be slower than classical selection, (b) how in populations of rather non-dispersive organisms the model may apply to genes affecting dispersion, and (c) how it may apply approximately to competition between relatives, for example, within sibships. Some artificialities of the model are discussed.
 
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  Series Editor Series Title Abbreviated Series Title  
  Series Volume Series Issue Edition  
  ISSN 0022-5193 ISBN Medium  
  Area Expedition Conference  
  Notes PMID:5875341 Approved no  
  Call Number Equine Behaviour @ team @ Serial 5160  
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Author Silk, J.; Cheney, D.; Seyfarth, R. url  doi
openurl 
  Title A practical guide to the study of social relationships Type Journal Article
  Year 2013 Publication Evolutionary Anthropology: Issues, News, and Reviews Abbreviated Journal Evol. Anthropol.  
  Volume 22 Issue 5 Pages 213-225  
  Keywords observational methods; behavioral analysis; methods; dyadic relationships; social bonds  
  Abstract Behavioral ecologists have devoted considerable effort to identifying the sources of variation in individual reproductive success. Much of this work has focused on the characteristics of individuals, such as their sex and rank. However, many animals live in stable social groups and the fitness of individuals depends at least in part on the outcome of their interactions with other group members. For example, in many primate species, high dominance rank enhances access to resources and reproductive success. The ability to acquire and maintain high rank often depends on the availability and effectiveness of coalitionary support. Allies may be cultivated and coalitions may be reinforced by affiliative interactions such as grooming, food sharing, and tolerance. These findings suggest that if we want to understand the selective pressures that shape the social behavior of primates, it will be profitable to broaden our focus from the characteristics of individuals to the properties of the relationships that they form with others. The goal of this paper is to discuss a set of methods that can be used to quantify the properties of social relationships.  
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  Series Editor Series Title Abbreviated Series Title  
  Series Volume Series Issue Edition  
  ISSN 1520-6505 ISBN Medium  
  Area Expedition Conference  
  Notes Approved no  
  Call Number Equine Behaviour @ team @ Serial 5748  
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Author Lanzetta, J.T.; Hannah, T.E. url  openurl
  Title Reinforcing behavior of “naive” trainers Type Journal Article
  Year 1969 Publication Journal of Personality and Social Psychology Abbreviated Journal  
  Volume 11 Issue 3 Pages 245-252  
  Keywords competent vs. incompetent trainer reinforcing behavior, perceived competence of trainee &; difficulty of task  
  Abstract Attempted to determine whether the sanctioning behavior of naive trainers is consistent with principles of behavior modification, that is, responsive to a trainee's performance alone, or whether it is influenced by variables other than performance. 2 variables which may affect the administration of rewards and punishments are the perceived competence of the trainee and difficulty of the task. These 2 variables were manipulated in a 2 * 2 factorial design with easy and difficult tasks and competent and noncompetent trainees. The trainers were responsible for administering rewards and punishments to trainees while teaching them a concept task; use of a confederate enabled identical trainee performance for all conditions. The data indicate that extraperformance variables do affect the reinforcing behavior of naive trainers as predicted by attribution theory. The results provide behavioral confirmation for predictions from the theory which has been primarily tested using perceptual judgmental data. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2006 APA, all rights reserved)  
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  Notes Approved no  
  Call Number Equine Behaviour @ team @ Serial 4307  
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Author Berger, J. openurl 
  Title Induced abortion and social factors in wild horses Type Journal Article
  Year 1983 Publication Nature Abbreviated Journal Nature  
  Volume 303 Issue 5912 Pages 59-61  
  Keywords Abortion, Induced/*veterinary; Abortion, Veterinary/*etiology; Aggression/physiology; Animals; Evolution; Female; Horses/*physiology; Humans; Pregnancy; Sexual Behavior, Animal/*physiology  
  Abstract Much evidence now suggests that the postnatal killing of young in primates and carnivores, and induced abortions in some rodents, are evolved traits exerting strong selective pressures on adult male and female behaviour. Among ungulates it is perplexing that either no species have developed convergent tactics or that these behaviours are not reported, especially as ungulates have social systems similar to those of members of the above groups. Only in captive horses (Equus caballus) has infant killing been reported. It has been estimated that 40,000 wild horses live in remote areas of the Great Basin Desert of North America (US Department of Interior (Bureau of Land Management), unpublished report), where they occur in harems (females and young) defended by males. Here I present evidence that, rather than killing infants directly, invading males induce abortions in females unprotected by their resident stallions and these females are then inseminated by the new males.  
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  Series Editor Series Title Abbreviated Series Title  
  Series Volume Series Issue Edition  
  ISSN 0028-0836 ISBN Medium  
  Area Expedition Conference  
  Notes PMID:6682487 Approved no  
  Call Number Equine Behaviour @ team @ Serial 4365  
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Author Connor, R.C.; Wells, R.S.; Mann, J.; Read,A.J. isbn  openurl
  Title The bottlenose dolphin: Social relationships in a fission-fusion society. Type Book Chapter
  Year 2000 Publication Cetacean Societies: Field Studies of Dolphins and Whales. Abbreviated Journal  
  Volume Issue Pages 91-126  
  Keywords cetacean social behavior, male alliance formation, most cetacean species, platanistid river dolphins, cetacean sociality, strategies and social bonds, female cetaceans, many cetologists, most mysticetes, sperm whale calves, passive fishing nets, variant whistles, historical whaling records, cetacean systematics, stable matrilineal groups, peak calving season, suction cup tags, mutualistic groups, cetacean vocalizations, focal animal studies, larger odontocetes, predictive signaling, individual cetaceans, sperm whale clicks, resident killer whales  
  Abstract Book Description

“Part review, part testament to extraordinary dedication, and part call to get involved, Cetacean Societies highlights the achievements of behavioral ecologists inspired by the challenges of cetaceans and committed to the exploration of a new world.”-from the preface by Richard Wrangham

Long-lived, slow to reproduce, and often hidden beneath the water's surface, whales and dolphins (cetaceans) have remained elusive subjects for scientific study even though they have fascinated humans for centuries. Until recently, much of what we knew about cetaceans came from commercial sources such as whalers and trainers for dolphin acts. Innovative research methods and persistent efforts, however, have begun to penetrate the depths to reveal tantalizing glimpses of the lives of these mammals in their natural habitats.

Cetacean Societies presents the first comprehensive synthesis and review of these new studies. Groups of chapters focus on the history of cetacean behavioral research and methodology; state-of-the-art reviews of information on four of the most-studied species: bottlenose dolphins, killer whales, sperm whales, and humpback whales; and summaries of major topics, including group living, male and female reproductive strategies, communication, and conservation drawn from comparative research on a wide range of species.

Written by some of the world's leading cetacean scientists, this landmark volume will benefit not just students of cetology but also researchers in other areas of behavioral and conservation ecology as well as anyone with a serious interest in the world of whales and dolphins.

Contributors are Robin Baird, Phillip Clapham, Jenny Christal, Richard Connor, Janet Mann, Andrew Read, Randall Reeves, Amy Samuels, Peter Tyack, Linda Weilgart, Hal Whitehead, Randall S. Wells, and Richard Wrangham.
 
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  Publisher University of Chicago Press Place of Publication Chicago Editor Mann, J.;Connor, R.C.; Tyack, P.L.;Whitehead, H.  
  Language Summary Language Original Title  
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  ISSN ISBN 978-0226503417 Medium  
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  Notes Approved no  
  Call Number Equine Behaviour @ team @ Serial 4427  
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Author McDonnell, S.M. pdf  openurl
  Title Human-horse interactions: Where are the behaviorists in 2008? Type Conference Article
  Year 2008 Publication IESM 2008 Abbreviated Journal  
  Volume Issue Pages  
  Keywords Havemeyer Equine Behavior Program, University of Pennsylvania School of Veterinary Medicine, New Bolton Center, Kennett Square, Pennsylvania USA 19348  
  Abstract This presentation will include commentary on work presented at this meeting as representative of the rapidly growing body of equine behavior science evidence relevant to human-horse interaction and the welfare of domestic, feral, and wild horses.

A substantial literature has accumulated detailing the behavior patterns of wild and feral equid populations, and to some extent the behavior of horses in various domestic environments. Professor Klingel“s and Professor Houpt”s work, begun nearly 40 years ago, continues to inspire colleagues around the world to qualitatively and quantitatively describe behavior of equids in a variety of environments. Several examples of the importance of this type of work to human-horse interaction and horse welfare are evident in throughout the meeting. It forms the basis for assessing the disturbance of behavior in wildlife management projects such as fertility manipulations (Hopkins; Ransom & Cade) or species reintroduction (Kaczensky et al). Study of the apparent variability in observations among the populations will lead to a better understanding of environmental and other factors, which will have fruitful application to welfare of horses both in domestic and natural environments. Unfortunately, this work always brings to mind what I perceive as a nagging threat to horse welfare and quality of human-horse interaction is misinformation concerning natural horse behavior. Natural horse behavior seems to be of great general interest, but unfortunately inaccuracies and misinterpretations are pervasive in popular “horse culture” and continue to be a conspicuous influence on management and training of domestic horses. Unfortunately, this misinformation often makes its way and influences equine education, both lay and equine science/veterinary education. Comparative observational study of behavior of horses in all settings by trained behaviorists, along with research designed to address purported implications for management of domestic horses, along with initiatives to transfer knowledge to educators at all levels should be encouraged.



Included in this meeting is considerable work addressing questions of domestic management practices such as forced weaning, transportation, stabling, and arbitrary grouping and regrouping of horses. This adds to a growing body of applied physiology and behavior research that has established trained behaviorists as a critical resource on teams making decisions on humane management.

Also well represented in work presented at this meeting is the exploration of cognition, perception, and temperament in horses. It is personally pleasing to see examples of direct investigation of the ability of the horse to respond to subtle human posture and gesture, which for many of us has represented just annoying possible confounders of earlier cognition studies. Behaviorists trained in perception and learning will no doubt contribute enormously to this exciting area of investigation.
 
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  Corporate Author McDonnell, S.M. Thesis  
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  Area Expedition Conference IESM 2008  
  Notes Invited speaker IESM 2008 Approved yes  
  Call Number Equine Behaviour @ team @ Serial 4460  
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Author McGreevy, P.D.; McLean, A.N. url  doi
openurl 
  Title Roles of learning theory and ethology in equitation Type Journal Article
  Year 2007 Publication Journal of Veterinary Behavior: Clinical Applications and Research Abbreviated Journal  
  Volume 2 Issue 4 Pages 108-118  
  Keywords ethological training; equine ethnology; equitation; horse behavior; learning theory  
  Abstract By definition, ethology is primarily the scientific study of animal behavior, especially as it occurs in a natural environment; applied ethology being the study of animal behavior in the human domain. The terms equine ethology and ethological training are becoming commonplace in the equestrian domain, yet they seem to be used with a conspicuous lack of clarity and with no mention of learning theory. Most of what we do to train horses runs counter to their innate preferences. This article summarizes the ethological challenges encountered by working horses and considers the merits and limitations of ethological solutions. It also questions the use of terms such as “alpha” and “leader” and examines aspects of learning theory, equine cognition, and ethology as applied to horse training and clinical behavior modification. We propose 7 training principles that optimally account for the horse's ethological and learning abilities and maintain maximal responsivity in the trained horse. These principles can be summarized as: (1) use learning theory appropriately; (2) train easy-to-discriminate signals; (3) train and subsequently elicit responses singularly; (4) train only one response per signal; (5) train all responses to be initiated and subsequently completed within a consistent structure; (6) train persistence of current operantly conditioned responses; and (7) avoid and disassociate flight responses. Adherence to these principles and incorporating them into all horse training methodologies should accelerate training success, reduce behavioral wastage of horses, and improve safety for both humans and horses.  
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  Call Number Equine Behaviour @ team @ Serial 4511  
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Author Grogan, E.H.; McDonnell, S.M. url  doi
openurl 
  Title Mare and Foal Bonding and Problems Type Journal Article
  Year 2005 Publication Clinical Techniques in Equine Practice Abbreviated Journal  
  Volume 4 Issue 3 Pages 228-237  
  Keywords Equine; bonding; behavior; mare; neonatal; foal; inadequate maternal behavior; orphan foal; nurse or foster mare  
  Abstract A number of specific behavioral responses have been identified in mares and foals as the presumed behavioral interactive sequences supporting bonding. With the exception of the severely physically compromised foal, most failures of the mare foal bond appear to result from inadequate behavior of the mare. Six distinct forms of maternal behavior problems include ambivalence of the mare toward her foal, fear of the foal, nursing only avoidance of the foal, extreme protectiveness of the foal that becomes problematic in domestic confinement, savage attack (true rejection), and stealing or adoption of an alien foal. Management of maternal behavior problem cases in which the pair cannot be salvaged include foster (or nurse mares) and hand-rearing methods. Also presented are current practical resources related to managing certain types of inadequate maternal behavior and for rearing the orphaned foal.  
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  Notes Approved no  
  Call Number Equine Behaviour @ team @ Serial 4671  
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