|   | 
Details
   web
Records
Author Bergstrom, C.T.; Lachmann, M.
Title Signaling among relatives. III. Talk is cheap Type Journal Article
Year 1998 Publication Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America Abbreviated Journal Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A.
Volume 95 Issue 9 Pages 5100-5105
Keywords Animal Communication; Animals; Costs and Cost Analysis; *Evolution; Interpersonal Relations; Models, Biological
Abstract The Sir Philip Sidney game has been used by numerous authors to show how signal cost can facilitate honest signaling among relatives. Here, we demonstrate that, in this game, honest cost-free signals are possible as well, under very general conditions. Moreover, these cost-free signals are better for all participants than the previously explored alternatives. Recent empirical evidence suggests that begging is energetically inexpensive for nestling birds; this finding led some researchers to question the applicability of the costly signaling framework to nestling begging. Our results show that cost-free or inexpensive signals, as observed empirically, fall within the framework of signaling theory.
Address Department of Biological Sciences, Stanford University, Stanford, CA 94305, USA. carl@charles.stanford.edu
Corporate Author (down) 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 0027-8424 ISBN Medium
Area Expedition Conference
Notes PMID:9560235 Approved no
Call Number refbase @ user @ Serial 561
Permanent link to this record
 

 
Author Grosenick, L.; Clement, T.S.; Fernald, R.D.
Title Fish can infer social rank by observation alone Type Journal Article
Year 2007 Publication Nature Abbreviated Journal Nature
Volume 445 Issue 7126 Pages 429-432
Keywords Aggression/physiology; Animals; Cognition/*physiology; Female; Fishes/*physiology; Learning/*physiology; Male; Models, Biological; *Social Dominance; Territoriality
Abstract Transitive inference (TI) involves using known relationships to deduce unknown ones (for example, using A > B and B > C to infer A > C), and is thus essential to logical reasoning. First described as a developmental milestone in children, TI has since been reported in nonhuman primates, rats and birds. Still, how animals acquire and represent transitive relationships and why such abilities might have evolved remain open problems. Here we show that male fish (Astatotilapia burtoni) can successfully make inferences on a hierarchy implied by pairwise fights between rival males. These fish learned the implied hierarchy vicariously (as 'bystanders'), by watching fights between rivals arranged around them in separate tank units. Our findings show that fish use TI when trained on socially relevant stimuli, and that they can make such inferences by using indirect information alone. Further, these bystanders seem to have both spatial and featural representations related to rival abilities, which they can use to make correct inferences depending on what kind of information is available to them. Beyond extending TI to fish and experimentally demonstrating indirect TI learning in animals, these results indicate that a universal mechanism underlying TI is unlikely. Rather, animals probably use multiple domain-specific representations adapted to different social and ecological pressures that they encounter during the course of their natural lives.
Address Department of Biological Sciences, Stanford University, Stanford, California, 94305, USA. logang@stanford.edu
Corporate Author (down) 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 1476-4687 ISBN Medium
Area Expedition Conference
Notes PMID:17251980 Approved no
Call Number refbase @ user @ Serial 600
Permanent link to this record
 

 
Author Izar, P.; Ferreira, R.G.; Sato, T.
Title Describing the organization of dominance relationships by dominance-directed tree method Type Journal Article
Year 2006 Publication American journal of primatology Abbreviated Journal Am. J. Primatol.
Volume 68 Issue 2 Pages 189-207
Keywords Animals; Cebus/physiology; *Models, Biological; *Social Dominance
Abstract Methods to describe dominance hierarchies are a key tool in primatology studies. Most current methods are appropriate for analyzing linear and near-linear hierarchies; however, more complex structures are common in primate groups. We propose a method termed “dominance-directed tree.” This method is based on graph theory and set theory to analyze dominance relationships in social groups. The method constructs a transitive matrix by imposing transitivity to the dominance matrix and produces a graphical representation of the dominance relationships, which allows an easy visualization of the hierarchical position of the individuals, or subsets of individuals. The method is also able to detect partial and complete hierarchies, and to describe situations in which hierarchical and nonhierarchical principles operate. To illustrate the method, we apply a dominance tree analysis to artificial data and empirical data from a group of Cebus apella.
Address Department of Experimental Psychology, University of Sao Paulo, Brazil. patrizar@usp.br
Corporate Author (down) 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 0275-2565 ISBN Medium
Area Expedition Conference
Notes PMID:16429416 Approved no
Call Number refbase @ user @ Serial 723
Permanent link to this record
 

 
Author Hamilton, W.D.
Title Geometry for the selfish herd Type Journal Article
Year 1971 Publication Journal of theoretical biology Abbreviated Journal J. Theor. Biol.
Volume 31 Issue 2 Pages 295-311
Keywords Animals; Anura; *Behavior, Animal; Breeding; Communication; Evolution; Fear; Metallurgy; *Models, Biological; Probability; Snakes; *Spatial Behavior
Abstract This paper presents an antithesis to the view that gregarious behaviour is evolved through benefits to the population or species. Following Galton (1871) and Williams (1964) gregarious behaviour is considered as a form of cover-seeking in which each animal tries to reduce its chance of being caught by a predator.

It is easy to see how pruning of marginal individuals can maintain centripetal instincts in already gregarious species; some evidence that marginal pruning actually occurs is summarized. Besides this, simply defined models are used to show that even in non-gregarious species selection is likely to favour individuals who stay close to others.

Although not universal or unipotent, cover-seeking is a widespread and important element in animal aggregation, as the literature shows. Neglect of the idea has probably followed from a general disbelief that evolution can be dysgenic for a species. Nevertheless, selection theory provides no support for such disbelief in the case of species with outbreeding or unsubdivided populations.

The model for two dimensions involves a complex problem in geometrical probability which has relevance also in metallurgy and communication science. Some empirical data on this, gathered from random number plots, is presented as of possible heuristic value.
Address
Corporate Author (down) 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 0022-5193 ISBN Medium
Area Expedition Conference
Notes PMID:5104951 Approved no
Call Number refbase @ user @ Serial 771
Permanent link to this record
 

 
Author Biro, D.; Sumpter, D.J.T.; Meade, J.; Guilford, T.
Title From Compromise to Leadership in Pigeon Homing Type Journal Article
Year 2006 Publication Current Biology Abbreviated Journal Curr Biol
Volume 16 Issue 21 Pages 2123-2128
Keywords Animal Migration; Animals; Columbidae/*physiology; Decision Making; *Flight, Animal; *Homing Behavior; Models, Biological; Orientation; *Social Behavior; *Social Dominance
Abstract Summary A central problem faced by animals traveling in groups is how navigational decisions by group members are integrated, especially when members cannot assess which individuals are best informed or have conflicting information or interests , , , and . Pigeons are now known to recapitulate faithfully their individually distinct habitual routes home , and , and this provides a novel paradigm for investigating collective decisions during flight under varying levels of interindividual conflict. Using high-precision GPS tracking of pairs of pigeons, we found that if conflict between two birds' directional preferences was small, individuals averaged their routes, whereas if conflict rose over a critical threshold, either the pair split or one of the birds became the leader. Modeling such paired decision-making showed that both outcomes--compromise and leadership--could emerge from the same set of simple behavioral rules. Pairs also navigated more efficiently than did the individuals of which they were composed, even though leadership was not necessarily assumed by the more efficient bird. In the context of mass migration of birds and other animals, our results imply that simple self-organizing rules can produce behaviors that improve accuracy in decision-making and thus benefit individuals traveling in groups , and .
Address Department of Zoology, University of Oxford, Oxford OX1 3PS, United Kingdom. daro.biro@zoo.ox.ac.uk
Corporate Author (down) Thesis
Publisher Place of Publication Editor
Language Englisch Summary Language Original Title
Series Editor Series Title Abbreviated Series Title
Series Volume Series Issue Edition
ISSN 0960-9822 ISBN Medium
Area Expedition Conference
Notes PMID:17084696 Approved no
Call Number Serial 2026
Permanent link to this record
 

 
Author Uehara, T.; Yokomizo, H.; Iwasa, Y.
Title Mate-choice copying as Bayesian decision making Type Journal Article
Year 2005 Publication The American naturalist Abbreviated Journal Am Nat
Volume 165 Issue 3 Pages 403-410
Keywords Animals; *Bayes Theorem; *Choice Behavior; Female; Male; *Models, Biological; *Sexual Behavior, Animal
Abstract Mate-choice copying by females has been reported in fishes (e.g., guppies) and lekking birds. Presumably, females assess males' quality using both information from direct observation of males and information acquired by observing other females' choices. Here, we study mathematically the conditions under which mate-choice copying is advantageous on the basis of Bayesian decision theory. A female may observe the mate choice of another female, called the model female, who has performed an optimal choice based on her own judgment. The conditions required for the focal female to choose the same mate as that chosen by the model female should depend on the male's appearance to her, the reliability of her own judgment of male quality, and the reliability of the model females. When three or more females are involved, the optimal mate choice critically depends on whether multiple model females make decisions independently or they themselves copy the choices of others. If two equally reliable females choose different males, the choice of the second female, made knowing the choice of the first, should have a stronger effect on the choice of the third (focal) female. This “last-choice precedence” should be tested experimentally.
Address Department of Biology, Faculty of Sciences, Kyushu University, Fukuoka 812-8581, Japan. uehara@bio-math.biology.kyushu-u.ac.jp
Corporate Author (down) 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 1537-5323 ISBN Medium
Area Expedition Conference
Notes PMID:15729669 Approved no
Call Number Serial 1821
Permanent link to this record
 

 
Author Wilson, A.M.; McGuigan, M.P.; Su, A.; van Den Bogert, A.J.
Title Horses damp the spring in their step Type Journal Article
Year 2001 Publication Nature Abbreviated Journal Nature
Volume 414 Issue 6866 Pages 895-899
Keywords Animals; Biomechanics; Elasticity; Forelimb; Gait; Horses/anatomy & histology/*physiology; Leg Bones/*physiology; Locomotion; Models, Biological; Muscle Fibers/physiology; Muscle, Skeletal/anatomy & histology/*physiology; Tendons/anatomy & histology/*physiology; Vibration
Abstract The muscular work of galloping in horses is halved by storing and returning elastic strain energy in spring-like muscle-tendon units.These make the legs act like a child's pogo stick that is tuned to stretch and recoil at 2.5 strides per second. This mechanism is optimized by unique musculoskeletal adaptations: the digital flexor muscles have extremely short fibres and significant passive properties, whereas the tendons are very long and span several joints. Length change occurs by a stretching of the spring-like digital flexor tendons rather than through energetically expensive length changes in the muscle. Despite being apparently redundant for such a mechanism, the muscle fibres in the digital flexors are well developed. Here we show that the mechanical arrangement of the elastic leg permits it to vibrate at a higher frequency of 30-40 Hz that could cause fatigue damage to tendon and bone. Furthermore, we show that the digital flexor muscles have minimal ability to contribute to or regulate significantly the 2.5-Hz cycle of movement, but are ideally arranged to damp these high-frequency oscillations in the limb.
Address Department of Veterinary Basic Sciences, The Royal Veterinary College, Hatfield, Herts AL9 7TA, UK. awilson@rvc.ac.uk
Corporate Author (down) 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 0028-0836 ISBN Medium
Area Expedition Conference
Notes PMID:11780059 Approved no
Call Number Equine Behaviour @ team @ Serial 2300
Permanent link to this record
 

 
Author Waite, T.A.
Title Interruptions improve choice performance in gray jays: prolonged information processing versus minimization of costly errors Type Journal Article
Year 2002 Publication Animal Cognition Abbreviated Journal Anim. Cogn.
Volume 5 Issue 4 Pages 209-214
Keywords Animals; *Behavior, Animal; *Choice Behavior; Female; Learning; Male; Models, Biological; Motivation; Reinforcement Schedule; Songbirds/*physiology; Time Factors
Abstract Under the assumption that selection favors minimization of costly errors, erroneous choice may be common when its fitness cost is low. According to an adaptive-choice model, this cost depends on the rate at which an animal encounters the choice: the higher this rate, the smaller the cost of choosing a less valuable option. Errors should thus be more common when interruptions to foraging are shorter. A previous experiment supported this prediction: gray jays, Perisoreus canadensis, were more error prone when subjected to shorter delays to access to food rewards. This pattern, though, is also predicted by an attentional-constraints model. Because the subjects were able to inspect the rewards during delays, their improved performance when subjected to longer delays could have been a byproduct of the experimentally prolonged opportunity for information processing. To evaluate this possibility, a follow-up experiment manipulated both delay to access and whether rewards could be inspected during delays. Depriving jays of the opportunity to inspect rewards (using opaque lids) induced only a small, nonsignificant increase in error rate. This effect was independent of length of delay and so the jays' improved performance when subjected to longer delays was not simply a byproduct of prolonged information processing. More definitively, even when the jays were prevented from inspecting rewards during delays, their performance improved when subjected to longer delays. The findings are thus consistent with the adaptive-choice model.
Address Department of Evolution, Ecology, and Organismal Biology, Ohio State University, 1735 Neil Avenue, Columbus, OH 43210-1293, USA. waite.1@osu.edu
Corporate Author (down) 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:12461598 Approved no
Call Number Equine Behaviour @ team @ Serial 2592
Permanent link to this record
 

 
Author Wolf, M.; van Doorn, G.S.; Leimar, O.; Weissing, F.J.
Title Life-history trade-offs favour the evolution of animal personalities Type Journal Article
Year 2007 Publication Nature Abbreviated Journal Nature
Volume 447 Issue 7144 Pages 581-584
Keywords Aggression/physiology/psychology; Animals; Behavior, Animal/*physiology; *Evolution; Exploratory Behavior/physiology; Models, Biological; Personality/*physiology; Predatory Behavior/physiology; Reproduction/physiology; Risk-Taking; Selection (Genetics)
Abstract In recent years evidence has been accumulating that personalities are not only found in humans but also in a wide range of other animal species. Individuals differ consistently in their behavioural tendencies and the behaviour in one context is correlated with the behaviour in multiple other contexts. From an adaptive perspective, the evolution of animal personalities is still a mystery, because a more flexible structure of behaviour should provide a selective advantage. Accordingly, many researchers view personalities as resulting from constraints imposed by the architecture of behaviour (but see ref. 12). In contrast, we show here that animal personalities can be given an adaptive explanation. Our argument is based on the insight that the trade-off between current and future reproduction often results in polymorphic populations in which some individuals put more emphasis on future fitness returns than others. Life-history theory predicts that such differences in fitness expectations should result in systematic differences in risk-taking behaviour. Individuals with high future expectations (who have much to lose) should be more risk-averse than individuals with low expectations. This applies to all kinds of risky situations, so individuals should consistently differ in their behaviour. By means of an evolutionary model we demonstrate that this basic principle results in the evolution of animal personalities. It simultaneously explains the coexistence of behavioural types, the consistency of behaviour through time and the structure of behavioural correlations across contexts. Moreover, it explains the common finding that explorative behaviour and risk-related traits like boldness and aggressiveness are common characteristics of animal personalities.
Address Theoretical Biology Group, Centre for Ecological and Evolutionary Studies, University of Groningen, Kerklaan 30, 9751 NN Haren, The Netherlands
Corporate Author (down) 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 1476-4687 ISBN Medium
Area Expedition Conference
Notes PMID:17538618 Approved no
Call Number Equine Behaviour @ team @ Serial 4098
Permanent link to this record
 

 
Author Bell, A.M.
Title Evolutionary biology: animal personalities Type
Year 2007 Publication Nature Abbreviated Journal Nature
Volume 447 Issue 7144 Pages 539-540
Keywords Aggression/physiology/psychology; Animals; Behavior, Animal/*physiology; *Evolution; Humans; *Models, Biological; Personality/genetics/*physiology; Reproduction/genetics/physiology; Risk-Taking; Selection (Genetics)
Abstract
Address
Corporate Author (down) 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 1476-4687 ISBN Medium
Area Expedition Conference
Notes PMID:17538607 Approved no
Call Number Equine Behaviour @ team @ Serial 4099
Permanent link to this record