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Author Hunt, G.R.; Rutledge, R.B.; Gray, R.D.
Title The right tool for the job: what strategies do wild New Caledonian crows use? Type Journal Article
Year 2006 Publication Animal Cognition Abbreviated Journal Anim. Cogn.
Volume 9 Issue 4 Pages 307-316
Keywords Analysis of Variance; Animals; Comprehension; *Crows; Female; *Intelligence; Male; *Problem Solving; *Tool Use Behavior
Abstract New Caledonian crows Corvus moneduloides (NC crows) display sophisticated tool manufacture in the wild, but the cognitive strategy underlying these skills is poorly understood. Here, we investigate what strategy two free-living NC crows used in response to a tool-length task. The crows manufactured tools to extract food from vertical holes of different depths. The first tools they made in visits were of a similar length regardless of the hole depth. The typical length was usually too short to extract food from the deep holes, which ruled out a strategy of immediate causal inference on the first attempt in a trial. When the first tool failed, the crows made second tools significantly longer than the unsuccessful first tools. There was no evidence that the crows made the lengths of first tools to directly match hole depth. We argue that NC crows may generally use a two-stage heuristic strategy to solve tool problems and that performance on the first attempt in a trial is not necessarily the 'gold standard' for assessing folk physics.
Address (up) Department of Psychology, University of Auckland, Private Bag 92019, Auckland, New Zealand. grhunt10@hotmail.com
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Language English Summary Language Original Title
Series Editor Series Title Abbreviated Series Title
Series Volume Series Issue Edition
ISSN 1435-9448 ISBN Medium
Area Expedition Conference
Notes PMID:16941156 Approved no
Call Number Equine Behaviour @ team @ Serial 2442
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Author Fragaszy, D.; Johnson-Pynn, J.; Hirsh, E.; Brakke, K.
Title Strategic navigation of two-dimensional alley mazes: comparing capuchin monkeys and chimpanzees Type Journal Article
Year 2003 Publication Animal Cognition Abbreviated Journal Anim. Cogn.
Volume 6 Issue 3 Pages 149-160
Keywords Animals; Cebus/*physiology; Choice Behavior/*physiology; Computer Peripherals; Female; Male; Maze Learning/*physiology; Neuropsychological Tests; Pan troglodytes/*physiology; Space Perception/*physiology; Species Specificity; User-Computer Interface
Abstract Planning is an important component of cognition that contributes, for example, to efficient movement through space. In the current study we presented novel two-dimensional alley mazes to four chimpanzees and three capuchin monkeys to identify the nature and efficiency of planning in relation to varying task parameters. All the subjects solved more mazes without error than expected by chance, providing compelling evidence that both species planned their choices in some manner. The probability of making a correct choice on mazes designed to be more demanding and presented later in the testing series was higher than on earlier, simpler mazes (chimpanzees), or unchanged (capuchin monkeys), suggesting microdevelopment of strategic choice. Structural properties of the mazes affected both species' choices. Capuchin monkeys were less likely than chimpanzees to take a correct path that initially led away from the goal but that eventually led to the goal. Chimpanzees were more likely to make an error by passing a correct path than by turning onto a wrong path. Chimpanzees and one capuchin made more errors on choices farther in sequence from the goal. Each species corrected errors before running into the end of an alley in approximately 40% of cases. Together, these findings suggest nascent planning abilities in each species, and the prospect for significant development of strategic planning capabilities on tasks presenting multiple simultaneous or sequential spatial relations. The computerized maze paradigm appears well suited to investigate movement planning and spatial perception in human and nonhuman primates alike.
Address (up) Department of Psychology, University of Georgia, Athens, GA 30602, USA. doree@arches.uga.edu
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Language English Summary Language Original Title
Series Editor Series Title Abbreviated Series Title
Series Volume Series Issue Edition
ISSN 1435-9448 ISBN Medium
Area Expedition Conference
Notes PMID:12955584 Approved no
Call Number Equine Behaviour @ team @ Serial 2557
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Author Leighty, K.A.; Fragaszy, D.M.
Title Primates in cyberspace: using interactive computer tasks to study perception and action in nonhuman animals Type Journal Article
Year 2003 Publication Animal Cognition Abbreviated Journal Anim. Cogn.
Volume 6 Issue 3 Pages 137-139
Keywords Animals; *Perception; *Primates; *Task Performance and Analysis; *User-Computer Interface
Abstract
Address (up) Department of Psychology, University of Georgia, Athens, GA 30602-3013, USA. kleighty@uga.edu
Corporate Author Thesis
Publisher Place of Publication Editor
Language English Summary Language Original Title
Series Editor Series Title Abbreviated Series Title
Series Volume Series Issue Edition
ISSN 1435-9448 ISBN Medium
Area Expedition Conference
Notes PMID:12884077 Approved no
Call Number Equine Behaviour @ team @ Serial 2563
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Author Leighty, K.A.; Fragaszy, D.M.
Title Joystick acquisition in tufted capuchins (Cebus apella) Type Journal Article
Year 2003 Publication Animal Cognition Abbreviated Journal Anim. Cogn.
Volume 6 Issue 3 Pages 141-148
Keywords Animals; Cebus/*physiology; *Computer Peripherals; Functional Laterality; Male; *Task Performance and Analysis; *User-Computer Interface
Abstract A number of nonhuman primate species have demonstrated the ability to use a joystick to control a cursor on a computer screen, yet the acquisition of this skill has not been the focus of systematic inquiry. Here, we examined joystick acquisition in four tufted capuchins under two directional relationships of joystick movement and resultant cursor displacement, isomorphic and inverted. To document the natural history of the acquisition of this skill, we recorded the development of visual tracking of the cursor and body tilting. Rates of acquisition were comparable between the two conditions. After mastering the task in one condition, subjects remastered the task at an accelerated rate in the opposing condition. All subjects significantly increased or maintained high proportions of cursor tracking throughout acquisition. All subjects demonstrated a postural tilt while moving the cursor from the mid-phase of acquisition through task mastery. In the isomorphic condition, all subjects tilted significantly more often in the direction of goal location than in the opposite direction. In three of the four series of tilting that were scored for subjects in the inverted condition, tilting occurred significantly more often toward the direction of goal location than the direction of required hand movement. Together these findings suggest that body tilting participates in the organization of directional movement of the cursor rather than reflecting merely the motoric requirements of the task (to manipulate a joystick).
Address (up) Department of Psychology, University of Georgia, Athens, GA 30602-3013, USA. kleighty@uga.edu
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Language English Summary Language Original Title
Series Editor Series Title Abbreviated Series Title
Series Volume Series Issue Edition
ISSN 1435-9448 ISBN Medium
Area Expedition Conference
Notes PMID:12838395 Approved no
Call Number Equine Behaviour @ team @ Serial 2564
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Author Iversen, I.H.; Matsuzawa, T.
Title Development of interception of moving targets by chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes) in an automated task Type Journal Article
Year 2003 Publication Animal Cognition Abbreviated Journal Anim. Cogn.
Volume 6 Issue 3 Pages 169-183
Keywords Animals; Female; Hand/physiology; Motion Perception/*physiology; Movement/physiology; Pan troglodytes/*physiology; Spatial Behavior/*physiology; *Task Performance and Analysis; User-Computer Interface; Visual Perception/physiology
Abstract The experiments investigated how two adult captive chimpanzees learned to navigate in an automated interception task. They had to capture a visual target that moved predictably on a touch monitor. The aim of the study was to determine the learning stages that led to an efficient strategy of intercepting the target. The chimpanzees had prior training in moving a finger on a touch monitor and were exposed to the interception task without any explicit training. With a finger the subject could move a small “ball” at any speed on the screen toward a visual target that moved at a fixed speed either back and forth in a linear path or around the edge of the screen in a rectangular pattern. Initial ball and target locations varied from trial to trial. The subjects received a small fruit reinforcement when they hit the target with the ball. The speed of target movement was increased across training stages up to 38 cm/s. Learning progressed from merely chasing the target to intercepting the target by moving the ball to a point on the screen that coincided with arrival of the target at that point. Performance improvement consisted of reduction in redundancy of the movement path and reduction in the time to target interception. Analysis of the finger's movement path showed that the subjects anticipated the target's movement even before it began to move. Thus, the subjects learned to use the target's initial resting location at trial onset as a predictive signal for where the target would later be when it began moving. During probe trials, where the target unpredictably remained stationary throughout the trial, the subjects first moved the ball in anticipation of expected target movement and then corrected the movement to steer the ball to the resting target. Anticipatory ball movement in probe trials with novel ball and target locations (tested for one subject) showed generalized interception beyond the trained ball and target locations. The experiments illustrate in a laboratory setting the development of a highly complex and adaptive motor performance that resembles navigational skills seen in natural settings where predators intercept the path of moving prey.
Address (up) Department of Psychology, University of North Florida, Jacksonville, FL 32224, USA. iiversen@unf.edu
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Series Editor Series Title Abbreviated Series Title
Series Volume Series Issue Edition
ISSN 1435-9448 ISBN Medium
Area Expedition Conference
Notes PMID:12761656 Approved no
Call Number Equine Behaviour @ team @ Serial 2567
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Author Aronson, L.
Title Animal behavior case of the month. Aggression directed toward other horses Type Journal Article
Year 1998 Publication Journal of the American Veterinary Medical Association Abbreviated Journal J Am Vet Med Assoc
Volume 213 Issue 3 Pages 358-359
Keywords *Aggression; Animals; *Behavior, Animal; Follow-Up Studies; Horse Diseases/*diagnosis/drug therapy/psychology; Horses/*psychology; Housing, Animal; Hypothyroidism/diagnosis/drug therapy/*veterinary; Male; Physical Examination/veterinary; Thyroxine/blood/therapeutic use
Abstract
Address (up) Department of Surgery, School of Veterinary Medicine, Tufts University, North Grafton, MA 01536, USA
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ISSN 0003-1488 ISBN Medium
Area Expedition Conference
Notes PMID:9702222 Approved no
Call Number refbase @ user @ Serial 1935
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Author Boden, L.A.; Anderson, G.A.; Charles, J.A.; Morgan, K.L.; Morton, J.M.; Parkin, T.D.H.; Slocombe, R.F.; Clarke, A.F.
Title Risk of fatality and causes of death of Thoroughbred horses associated with racing in Victoria, Australia: 1989-2004 Type Journal Article
Year 2006 Publication Equine Veterinary Journal Abbreviated Journal Equine Vet J
Volume 38 Issue 4 Pages 312-318
Keywords Animals; Athletic Injuries/epidemiology/mortality/*veterinary; *Cause of Death; Female; *Floors and Floorcoverings; Horses/*injuries; Male; Physical Conditioning, Animal/*adverse effects; Risk Factors; Running/injuries; Safety; Sports; Victoria
Abstract REASONS FOR PERFORMING STUDY: Determining the risk of fatality of Thoroughbred horses while racing is essential to assess the impact of intervention measures designed to minimise such fatalities. OBJECTIVES: To measure the risk of racehorse fatality in jump and flat starts on racecourses in Victoria, Australia, over a 15 year period and to determine proportional mortality rates for specific causes of death. METHODS: All fatalities of Thoroughbred horses that occurred during or within 24 h of a race were identified from a database. The risk of a start resulting in a racehorse fatality in all races and within flat and jump races, proportional mortality rates, population attributable risk, population attributable fraction and risk ratios were calculated along with 95% confidence intervals. Poisson regression was also performed to estimate risk ratios. RESULTS: There were 514 fatalities over the 15 year period; 316 in flat races and 198 in jump races. The risk of fatality was 0.44 per 1000 flat starts and 8.3 per 1000 jump starts (18.9 x greater). The risk of fatality on city tracks was 1.1 per 1000 starts whereas on country tracks it was 0.57 per 1000 starts. Of the 316 fatalities in flat races, 73.4% were due to limb injury, 2.5% to cranial or vertebral injury and 19.0% were sudden deaths. Of the 198 fatalities in jump races, 68.7% were due to limb injury, 16.2% to cranial or vertebral injury and 3.5% were sudden deaths. The risk of fatality in flat starts increased between 1989 and 2004 but the risk in jump starts remained unchanged over the 15 year period. CONCLUSIONS: The risk of fatality in flat starts was lower in Victoria than North America and the UK but the risk in jump starts was greater. Catastrophic limb injury was the major reason for racehorse fatality in Victoria but there was a larger percentage of sudden deaths than has been reported overseas. The risk of fatality in jump starts remained constant over the study period despite jump racing reviews that recommended changes to hurdle and steeple races to improve safety. POTENTIAL RELEVANCE: This study provides important benchmarks for the racing industry to monitor racetrack fatalities and evaluate intervention strategies.
Address (up) Department of Veterinary Science, The University of Melbourne, Werribee, Victoria, Australia
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Language English Summary Language Original Title
Series Editor Series Title Abbreviated Series Title
Series Volume Series Issue Edition
ISSN 0425-1644 ISBN Medium
Area Expedition Conference
Notes PMID:16866197 Approved no
Call Number Equine Behaviour @ team @ Serial 3761
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Author Weir, A.A.S.; Kacelnik, A.
Title A New Caledonian crow (Corvus moneduloides) creatively re-designs tools by bending or unbending aluminium strips Type Journal Article
Year 2006 Publication Animal Cognition Abbreviated Journal Anim. Cogn.
Volume 9 Issue 4 Pages 317-334
Keywords Animals; *Comprehension; *Crows; Female; Learning; *Motor Skills; *Problem Solving; *Tool Use Behavior
Abstract Previous observations of a New Caledonian crow (Corvus moneduloides) spontaneously bending wire and using it as a hook [Weir et al. (2002) Science 297:981] have prompted questions about the extent to which these animals 'understand' the physical causality involved in how hooks work and how to make them. To approach this issue we examine how the same subject (“Betty”) performed in three experiments with novel material, which needed to be either bent or unbent in order to function to retrieve food. These tasks exclude the possibility of success by repetition of patterns of movement similar to those employed before. Betty quickly developed novel techniques to bend the material, and appropriately modified it on four of five trials when unbending was required. She did not mechanically apply a previously learned set of movements to the new situations, and instead sought new solutions to each problem. However, the details of her behaviour preclude concluding definitely that she understood and planned her actions: in some cases she probed with the unmodified tools before modifying them, or attempted to use the unmodified (unsuitable) end of the tool after modification. Gauging New Caledonian crows' level of understanding is not yet possible, but the observed behaviour is consistent with a partial understanding of physical tasks at a level that exceeds that previously attained by any other non-human subject, including apes.
Address (up) Department of Zoology, South Parks Road, Oxford, OX1 3PS, UK. alex.weir@magdalen.oxon.org
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ISSN 1435-9448 ISBN Medium
Area Expedition Conference
Notes PMID:17024509 Approved no
Call Number Equine Behaviour @ team @ Serial 2436
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Author Linklater, W.L.; Cameron, E.Z.; Stafford, K.J.; Veltman, C.J.
Title Social and spatial structure and range use by Kaimanawa wild horses (Equus caballus: Equidae) Type Journal Article
Year 2000 Publication New Zealand Journal of Ecology Abbreviated Journal New Zealand J. Ecol.
Volume 24 Issue 2 Pages 139-152
Keywords Bachelor male; Band; Density; Habitat use; Home range; Management proposals; Micro-climate; Vegetation monitoring; habitat use; home range; mammal; social structure; spatial distribution; New Zealand; Equus caballus
Abstract We measured horse density, social structure, habitat use, home ranges and altitudinal micro-climates in the south-western Kaimanawa ranges east of Waiouru, New Zealand. Horse density in the Auahitotara ecological sector averaged 3.6 horses.km-2 and ranged from 0.9 to 5.2 horses.km-2 within different zones. The population's social structure was like that of other feral horse populations with an even adult sex ratio, year round breeding groups (bands) with stable adult membership consisting of 1 to 11 mares, 1 to 4 stallions, and their predispersal offspring, and bachelor groups with unstable membership. Bands and bachelor males were loyal to undefended home ranges with central core use areas. Band home range sizes varied positively with adult band size. Home ranges overlapped entirely with other home ranges. Horses were more likely to occupy north facing aspects, short tussock vegetation and flush zones and avoid high altitudes, southern aspects, steeper slopes, bare ground and forest remnants. Horses were more likely to be on north facing aspects, steeper slopes, in exotic and red tussock grasslands and flush zones during winter and at lower altitudes and on gentler slopes in spring and summer. Seasonal shifts by bands to river basin and stream valley floors in spring and higher altitudes in autumn and winter are attributed to the beginning of foaling and mating in spring and formation of frost inversion layers in winter. Given horse habitat selectivity and the presence of other ungulate herbivores, results from present exclosures are likely to exaggerate the size of horse impacts on range vegetation. Proposals to manage the population by relocation and confinement are likely to modify current social structure and range use behaviour and may lead to the need for more intensive management in the longer term.
Address (up) Ecology Group, Institute of Natural Resources, Massey University, Private Bag 11-222, Palmerston North, New Zealand
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ISSN 01106465 (Issn) ISBN Medium
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Notes Cited By (since 1996): 12; Export Date: 21 April 2007; Source: Scopus; Language of Original Document: English; Correspondence Address: Linklater, W.L.; Ecology Group; Institute of Natural Resources; Massey University; Private Bag 11-222 Palmerston North, New Zealand; email: wlinklater@hotmail.com Approved no
Call Number refbase @ user @ Serial 793
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Author Ganswindt, A.; Palme, R.; Heistermann, M.; Borragan, S.; Hodges, J.K.
Title Non-invasive assessment of adrenocortical function in the male African elephant (Loxodonta africana) and its relation to musth Type Journal Article
Year 2003 Publication General and Comparative Endocrinology Abbreviated Journal Gen Comp Endocrinol
Volume 134 Issue 2 Pages 156-166
Keywords Adrenal Cortex/*metabolism/secretion; Adrenal Cortex Function Tests/methods/*veterinary; Adrenocorticotropic Hormone/physiology; Animals; Carbon Isotopes/diagnostic use; Chromatography, High Pressure Liquid/veterinary; Elephants/*metabolism/urine; Feces/*chemistry; Glucocorticoids/analysis/urine; Hydrocortisone/*analysis/diagnostic use/urine; Immunoenzyme Techniques/methods/veterinary; Male; Reproduction/physiology; Sexual Behavior, Animal/physiology; Stress, Psychological/diagnosis/*physiopathology; Testosterone/*analysis/diagnostic use/urine
Abstract Adult male elephants periodically show the phenomenon of musth, a condition associated with increased aggressiveness, restlessness, significant weight reduction and markedly elevated androgen levels. It has been suggested that musth-related behaviours are costly and that therefore musth may represent a form of physiological stress. In order to provide data on this largely unanswered question, the first aim of this study was to evaluate different assays for non-invasive assessment of adrenocortical function in the male African elephant by (i) characterizing the metabolism and excretion of [3H]cortisol (3H-C) and [14C]testosterone (14C-T) and (ii) using this information to evaluate the specificity of four antibodies for determination of excreted cortisol metabolites, particularly with respect to possible cross-reactions with androgen metabolites, and to assess their biological validity using an ACTH challenge test. Based on the methodology established, the second objective was to provide data on fecal cortisol metabolite concentrations in bulls during the musth and non-musth condition. 3H-C (1 mCi) and 14C-T (100 microCi) were injected simultaneously into a 16 year old male and all urine and feces collected for 30 and 86 h, respectively. The majority (82%) of cortisol metabolites was excreted into the urine, whereas testosterone metabolites were mainly (57%) excreted into the feces. Almost all radioactive metabolites recovered from urine were conjugated (86% 3H-C and 97% 14C-T). In contrast, 86% and >99% of the 3H-C and 14C-T metabolites recovered from feces consisted of unconjugated forms. HPLC separations indicated the presence of various metabolites of cortisol in both urine and feces, with cortisol being abundant in hydrolysed urine, but virtually absent in feces. Although all antibodies measured substantial amounts of immunoreactivity after HPLC separation of peak radioactive samples and detected an increase in glucocorticoid output following the ACTH challenge, only two (in feces against 3alpha,11-oxo-cortisol metabolites, measured by an 11-oxo-etiocholanolone-EIA and in urine against cortisol, measured by a cortisol-EIA) did not show substantial cross-reactivity with excreted 14C-T metabolites and could provide an acceptable degree of specificity for reliable assessment of glucocorticoid output from urine and feces. Based on these findings, concentrations of immunoreactive 3alpha,11-oxo-cortisol metabolites were determined in weekly fecal samples collected from four adult bulls over periods of 11-20 months to examine whether musth is associated with increased adrenal activity. Results showed that in each male levels of these cortisol metabolites were not elevated during periods of musth, suggesting that in the African elephant musth is generally not associated with marked elevations in glucocorticoid output. Given the complex nature of musth and the variety of factors that are likely to influence its manifestation, it is clear, however, that further studies, particularly on free-ranging animals, are needed before a possible relationship between musth and adrenal function can be resolved. This study also clearly illustrates the potential problems associated with cross-reacting metabolites of gonadal steroids in EIAs measuring glucocorticoid metabolites. This has to be taken into account when selecting assays and interpreting results of glucocorticoid metabolite analysis, not only for studies in the elephant but also in other species.
Address (up) German Primate Centre, Department of Reproductive Biology, Kellnerweg 4, 37077 Gottingen, Germany. ganswindt@www.dpz.gdwg.de
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Language English Summary Language Original Title
Series Editor Series Title Abbreviated Series Title
Series Volume Series Issue Edition
ISSN 0016-6480 ISBN Medium
Area Expedition Conference
Notes PMID:14511986 Approved no
Call Number Equine Behaviour @ team @ Serial 4085
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