Abstract: The landing patterns of horse flies on the human body were observed in Croatia. A total of 386 horse flies belonging to 22 species were sampled. The five most commonly collected species were used in the analysis. The stochastic linear connection is tight among the landings of the species Tabanus bromius, Tabanus maculicornis, Tabanus tergestinus, and Philipomyia graeca on the human body regions (matrix R). The preferred feeding area for these four species was the lower leg, whereas for the species Haematopota pluvialis it was the head and neck. Of the total number of horse flies that landed 44.81% were on the lower leg. Only 0.26% landed on the forearm. Chi-square analysis indicated non random landing patterns on human by these horse flies.

Abstract: Researchers consider group size in primates to be determined by complex relationships among numerous ecological forces. Antipredator benefits and better resource defense are the primary pressures for large groups. Conversely, intragroup limited food availability, can result in greater intragroup feeding competition and individual energy expenditure in larger groups, creating energetic advantages for individuals in small groups and placing an upper limit group size. However, the extent to which food availability constrains group size remains unclear for many species, including black howlers (Alouatta pigra), which ubiquitously live in small social groups (≤10 individuals). We studied the relationship between group size and 2 key indices of feeding competition-day journey length and activity budgets in 3 groups of wild Alouatta pigra at a hurricane-damaged site in Belize, Central America. We controlled for differences in food availability between home ranges (food tree density) and compared both indicators of feeding competition directly with temporal variation in food availability for each group. Our results show no consistent association between resource availability, group size, and either index of competition, indicating that feeding competition does not limit group size at the site i.e., that larger groups can form without increased costs of feeding competition. The results support the search for other explanations, possibly social ones, for small group size in the primates, and we conclude with suggestions and evidence for such alternative explanations.

Abstract: REASONS FOR PERFORMING STUDY: Training is an important variable for determining athletic success. Nonetheless, there has been minimal scientific evaluation of racehorse training programmes. Training of racehorses focuses on running the horses at certain speeds using a combination of a stopwatch and rider's 'feel' for a horse's work intensity. Consequently, actual work intensity for individual horses is not clearly defined. OBJECTIVES: To 1) utilise a combined global positioning system (GPS) and heart rate monitor system to quantify training intensity and physiological responses of a group of racehorses undergoing training and racing; and 2) compare the workload measured by the GPS to that timed and recorded daily by a racehorse trainer. METHODS: Nineteen racehorses age 3 years were followed through a traditional training and racing programme over a 4 month period. Daily GPS and heart rate data together with the trainer's timing and distance data were collected while the horses were trained. Data were analysed using an ANOVA for repeated measures. RESULTS: The combined GPS/heart rate monitoring system detected different heart rate responses in individual horses subjected to the same training workouts. The average speeds detected with the GPS system were in agreement with average speeds timed by the trainer. However, peak speeds reached during training were significantly greater (P<0.05) than those estimated with stopwatch timing. The horses average training speeds increased significantly over the duration of the training period. CONCLUSIONS AND POTENTIAL RELEVANCE: The results from this study show that a GPS/heart rate monitor system provides a reliable measure of daily workload in horses during training. This technology provides a detailed picture of horses' training sessions and has the potential to provide a greater insight into the types of training that may predispose horses to injury.

Abstract: New Caledonian crows, Corvus moneduloides, are the most advanced avian tool makers and tool users. We previously reported that captive-bred isolated New Caledonian crows spontaneously use twig tools and cut tools out of Pandanus spp. tree leaves, an activity possibly under cultural influence in the wild. However, what aspects of these behaviours are inherited and how they interact with individual and social experience remained unknown. To examine the interaction between inherited traits, individual learning and social transmission, we observed the ontogeny of twig tool use in hand-reared juveniles. Successful food retrieval was preceded by stereotyped object manipulation action patterns that resembled components of the mature behaviour, demonstrating that tool-oriented behaviours in this species are an evolved specialization. However, there was also an effect of social learning: juveniles that had received demonstrations of twig tool use by their human foster parent showed higher levels of handling and insertion of twigs than did their naive counterparts; a choice experiment showed that they preferred to handle objects that they had seen being manipulated by their human foster parent. Our observations are consistent with the hypothesis that individual learning, cultural transmission and creative problem solving all contribute to the acquisition of the tool-oriented behaviours in the wild, but inherited species-typical action patterns have a greater role than has been recognized.