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Author Skov-Rackette, S.I.; Shettleworth, S.J. doi  openurl
  Title What do rats learn about the geometry of object arrays? Tests with exploratory behavior Type Journal Article
  Year 2005 Publication Journal of experimental psychology. Animal behavior processes Abbreviated Journal J Exp Psychol Anim Behav Process  
  Volume 31 Issue 2 Pages 142-154  
  Keywords Animals; Behavior, Animal; *Discrimination Learning; *Exploratory Behavior; Female; *Form Perception; Habituation, Psychophysiologic; Male; Rats; Rats, Long-Evans  
  Abstract Six experiments using habituation of exploratory behavior tested whether disoriented rats foraging in a large arena encode the shapes of arrays of objects. Rats did not respond to changes in position of a single object, but they responded to a change in object color and to a change in position of 1 object in a square array, as in previous research (e.g., C. Thinus-Blanc et al., 1987). Rats also responded to an expansion of a square array, suggesting that they encoded sets of interobject distances rather than overall shape. In Experiments 4-6, rats did not respond to changes in sense of a triangular array that maintained interobject distances and angles. Shapes of object arrays are encoded differently from shapes of enclosures.  
  Address Department of Psychology, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON M5S 3G3, Canada. shannon.skov.rackette@utoronto.ca  
  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 (down) 0097-7403 ISBN Medium  
  Area Expedition Conference  
  Notes PMID:15839772 Approved no  
  Call Number refbase @ user @ Serial 363  
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Author Shettleworth, S.J.; Sutton, J.E. doi  openurl
  Title Multiple systems for spatial learning: dead reckoning and beacon homing in rats Type Journal Article
  Year 2005 Publication Journal of experimental psychology. Animal behavior processes Abbreviated Journal J Exp Psychol Anim Behav Process  
  Volume 31 Issue 2 Pages 125-141  
  Keywords Animals; Behavior, Animal; Cues; *Feeding Behavior; Habituation, Psychophysiologic; *Homing Behavior; *Learning; Male; Rats; Rats, Long-Evans; *Space Perception  
  Abstract Rats homed with food in a large lighted arena. Without visual cues, they used dead reckoning. When a beacon indicated the home, rats could also use the beacon. Homing did not differ in 2 groups of rats, 1 provided with the beacon and 1 without it; tests without the beacon gave no evidence that beacon learning overshadowed dead reckoning (Experiment 1). When the beacon was at the home for 1 group and in random locations for another, there was again no evidence of cue competition (Experiment 2). Dead reckoning experience did not block acquisition of beacon homing (Experiment 3). Beacon learning and dead reckoning do not compete for predictive value but acquire information in parallel and are used hierarchically.  
  Address Department of Psychology, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON M5S 3G3, Canada. shettle@psych.utoronto.ca  
  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 (down) 0097-7403 ISBN Medium  
  Area Expedition Conference  
  Notes PMID:15839771 Approved no  
  Call Number refbase @ user @ Serial 364  
Permanent link to this record
 

 
Author Beran, M.J.; Beran, M.M.; Harris, E.H.; Washburn, D.A. doi  openurl
  Title Ordinal judgments and summation of nonvisible sets of food items by two chimpanzees and a rhesus macaque Type Journal Article
  Year 2005 Publication Journal of Experimental Psychology. Animal Behavior Processes Abbreviated Journal J Exp Psychol Anim Behav Process  
  Volume 31 Issue 3 Pages 351-362  
  Keywords Animals; Behavior, Animal; Chi-Square Distribution; Cognition; Color Perception/physiology; Female; *Food; Judgment/*physiology; Macaca mulatta; Male; Pan troglodytes; Serial Learning/*physiology; Size Perception  
  Abstract Two chimpanzees and a rhesus macaque rapidly learned the ordinal relations between 5 colors of containers (plastic eggs) when all containers of a given color contained a specific number of identical food items. All 3 animals also performed at high levels when comparing sets of containers with sets of visible food items. This indicates that the animals learned the approximate quantity of food items in containers of a given color. However, all animals failed in a summation task, in which a single container was compared with a set of 2 containers of a lesser individual quantity but a greater combined quantity. This difficulty was not overcome by sequential presentation of containers into opaque receptacles, but performance improved if the quantitative difference between sizes was very large.  
  Address Language Research Center, Georgia State University, Decatur, 30034, USA. mjberan@yahoo.com  
  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 (down) 0097-7403 ISBN Medium  
  Area Expedition Conference  
  Notes PMID:16045389 Approved no  
  Call Number Equine Behaviour @ team @ Serial 2766  
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Author Touma, C.; Palme, R. doi  openurl
  Title Measuring fecal glucocorticoid metabolites in mammals and birds: the importance of validation Type Journal Article
  Year 2005 Publication Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences Abbreviated Journal Ann N Y Acad Sci  
  Volume 1046 Issue Pages 54-74  
  Keywords Animals; Birds/*metabolism; Circadian Rhythm; Feces/*chemistry; Glucocorticoids/*analysis; Mammals/*metabolism; Reproducibility of Results; Seasons; Sex Factors  
  Abstract In recent years, the noninvasive monitoring of steroid hormone metabolites in feces of mammals and droppings of birds has become an increasingly popular technique. It offers several advantages and has been applied to a variety of species under various settings. However, using this technique to reliably assess an animal's adrenocortical activity is not that simple and straightforward to apply. Because clear differences regarding the metabolism and excretion of glucocorticoid metabolites (GCMs) exist, a careful validation for each species and sex investigated is obligatory. In this review, general analytical issues regarding sample storage, extraction procedures, and immunoassays are briefly discussed, but the main focus lies on experiments and recommendations addressing the validation of fecal GCM measurements in mammals and birds. The crucial importance of scrutinizing the physiological and biological validity of fecal GCM analyses in a given species is stressed. In particular, the relevance of the technique to detect biologically meaningful alterations in adrenocortical activity must be shown. Furthermore, significant effects of the animals' sex, the time of day, season, and different life history stages are discussed, bringing about the necessity to seriously consider possible sex differences as well as diurnal and seasonal variations. Thus, comprehensive information on the animals' biology and stress physiology should be carefully taken into account. Together with an extensive physiological and biological validation, this will ensure that the measurement of fecal GCMs can be used as a powerful tool to assess adrenocortical activity in diverse investigations on laboratory, companion, farm, zoo, and wild animals.  
  Address Max Planck Institute of Psychiatry, Department of Behavioral Neuroendocrinology, Kraepelinstrasse 2-10, D-80804 Munich, Germany. touma@mpipsykl.mpg.de  
  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 (down) 0077-8923 ISBN Medium  
  Area Expedition Conference  
  Notes PMID:16055843 Approved no  
  Call Number Equine Behaviour @ team @ Serial 4073  
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Author Thiel, D.; Jenni-Eiermann, S.; Palme, R. doi  openurl
  Title Measuring corticosterone metabolites in droppings of capercaillies (Tetrao urogallus) Type Journal Article
  Year 2005 Publication Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences Abbreviated Journal Ann N Y Acad Sci  
  Volume 1046 Issue Pages 96-108  
  Keywords Adrenocorticotropic Hormone/administration & dosage/analysis/metabolism; Animals; Circadian Rhythm; Corticosterone/administration & dosage/*analysis/*metabolism; Feces/*chemistry; Female; Freezing; Galliformes/*metabolism; Male; Reproducibility of Results; Sex Factors; Temperature; Time Factors; Tritium/diagnostic use  
  Abstract The capercaillie (Tetrao urogallus), the largest grouse species in the world, is decreasing in numbers in major parts of its distribution range. Disturbances by human outdoor activities are discussed as a possible reason for this population decline. An indicator for disturbances is the increase of the glucocorticoid corticosterone, a stress hormone, which helps to cope with life-threatening situations. However, repeated disturbances might result in a long-term increase of the basal corticosterone concentration, which can result in detrimental effects like reduced fitness and survival of an animal. To measure corticosterone metabolites (CMs) noninvasively in the droppings of free-living capercaillies, first an enzyme immunoassay (EIA) in captive birds had to be selected and validated. Therefore, the excretion pattern of intravenously injected radiolabeled corticosterone was determined and 3H metabolites were characterized. High-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) separations of the samples containing peak concentrations revealed that corticosterone was extensively metabolized. The HPLC fractions were tested in several EIAs for glucocorticoid metabolites. The physiological relevance of this method was proved after pharmacological stimulation of the adrenocortical activity. Only the recently established cortisone assay, measuring CMs with a 3,11-dione structure, detected an expressed increase of concentrations following ACTH stimulation. To set up a sampling protocol suited for the field, we examined the influence of various storage conditions and time of day on concentrations of CMs.  
  Address Swiss Ornithological Institute, 6204 Sempach, Switzerland. dominik.thiel@vogelwarte.ch  
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  Language English Summary Language Original Title  
  Series Editor Series Title Abbreviated Series Title  
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  ISSN (down) 0077-8923 ISBN Medium  
  Area Expedition Conference  
  Notes PMID:16055846 Approved no  
  Call Number Equine Behaviour @ team @ Serial 4079  
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Author Baltic, M.; Jenni-Eiermann, S.; Arlettaz, R.; Palme, R. doi  openurl
  Title A noninvasive technique to evaluate human-generated stress in the black grouse Type Journal Article
  Year 2005 Publication Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences Abbreviated Journal Ann N Y Acad Sci  
  Volume 1046 Issue Pages 81-95  
  Keywords Adrenocorticotropic Hormone/metabolism; Animals; Bird Diseases/*metabolism; Conservation of Natural Resources; Corticosterone/*metabolism; Ecosystem; Feces/*chemistry; Female; Galliformes/*metabolism; Immunoenzyme Techniques/methods/veterinary; Male; Reproducibility of Results; Stress/metabolism/*veterinary; Tritium/diagnostic use  
  Abstract The continuous development of tourism and related leisure activities is exerting an increasingly intense pressure on wildlife. In this study, a novel noninvasive method for measuring stress in the black grouse, an endangered, emblematic species of European ecosystems that is currently declining in several parts of its European range, is tested and physiologically validated. A radiometabolism study and an ACTH challenge test were performed on four captive black grouse (two of each sex) in order to get basic information about the metabolism and excretion of corticosterone and to find an appropriate enzyme-immunoassay (EIA) to measure its metabolites in the feces. Peak radioactivity in the droppings was detected within 1 to 2 hours. Injected (3)H-corticosterone was excreted as polar metabolites and by itself was almost absent. A cortisone-EIA was chosen from among seven tested EIAs for different groups of glucocorticoid metabolites, because it cross-reacted with some of the formed metabolites and best reflected the increase of excreted corticosterone metabolites, after the ACTH challenge test. Concentrations of the metabolites from fecal samples collected from snow burrows of free-ranging black grouse were within the same range as in captive birds. The noninvasive method described may be appropriate for evaluating the stress faced by free-living black grouse populations in the wild, particularly in mountain ecosystems where human disturbance, especially by winter sports, is of increasing conservation concern.  
  Address Zoological Institute, Division of Conservation Biology, Baltzerstrasse 6, CH-3012 Bern, Switzerland  
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  Language English Summary Language Original Title  
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  Series Volume Series Issue Edition  
  ISSN (down) 0077-8923 ISBN Medium  
  Area Expedition Conference  
  Notes PMID:16055845 Approved no  
  Call Number Equine Behaviour @ team @ Serial 4080  
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Author Palme, R. doi  openurl
  Title Measuring fecal steroids: guidelines for practical application Type Journal Article
  Year 2005 Publication Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences Abbreviated Journal Ann N Y Acad Sci  
  Volume 1046 Issue Pages 75-80  
  Keywords Animals; Feces/*chemistry; Immunoassay/methods; Reproducibility of Results; Specimen Handling/methods; Steroids/*analysis  
  Abstract During the past 20 years, measuring steroid hormone metabolites in fecal samples has become a widely appreciated technique, because it has proved to be a powerful, noninvasive tool that provides important information about an animal's endocrine status (adrenocortical activity and reproductive status). However, although sampling is relatively easy to perform and free of feedback, a careful consideration of various factors is necessary to achieve proper results that lead to sound conclusions. This article aims to provide guidelines for an adequate application of these techniques. It is meant as a checklist that addresses the main topics of concern, such as sample collection and storage, time delay extraction procedures, assay selection and validation, biological relevance, and some confounding factors. These issues are discussed briefly here and in more detail in other recent articles.  
  Address Institute of Biochemistry, Department of Natural Sciences, University of Veterinary Medicine, Veterinaerplatz 1, A-1210 Vienna, Austria. Rupert.Palme@vu-wien.ac.at  
  Corporate Author Thesis  
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  Language English Summary Language Original Title  
  Series Editor Series Title Abbreviated Series Title  
  Series Volume Series Issue Edition  
  ISSN (down) 0077-8923 ISBN Medium  
  Area Expedition Conference  
  Notes PMID:16055844 Approved no  
  Call Number Equine Behaviour @ team @ Serial 4081  
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Author Mostl, E.; Rettenbacher, S.; Palme, R. doi  openurl
  Title Measurement of corticosterone metabolites in birds' droppings: an analytical approach Type Journal Article
  Year 2005 Publication Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences Abbreviated Journal Ann N Y Acad Sci  
  Volume 1046 Issue Pages 17-34  
  Keywords Animals; Birds/*metabolism; Corticosterone/*analysis/metabolism; Feces/*chemistry; Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry; Immunoassay; Molecular Structure; Reproducibility of Results; Sensitivity and Specificity  
  Abstract Fecal steroid analyses are becoming increasingly popular among both field and laboratory scientists. The benefits associated with sampling procedures that do not require restraint, anesthesia, and blood collection include less risk to subject and investigator, as well as the potential to obtain endocrine profiles that are not influenced by the sampling procedure itself. In the feces, a species-specific pattern of metabolites is present, because glucocorticoids are extensively metabolized. Therefore, selection of adequate extraction procedures and immunoassays for measuring the relevant metabolites is a serious issue. In this review, emphasis is placed on the establishment and analytical validation of methods to measure glucocorticoid metabolites for a noninvasive evaluation of adrenocortical activity in droppings of birds.  
  Address Institute of Biochemistry, Department of Natural Sciences, University of Veterinary Medicine, Vienna, Veterinarplatz 1, A-1210 Vienna, Austria. erich.moestl@vu-wien.ac.at  
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  Language English Summary Language Original Title  
  Series Editor Series Title Abbreviated Series Title  
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  ISSN (down) 0077-8923 ISBN Medium  
  Area Expedition Conference  
  Notes PMID:16055841 Approved no  
  Call Number Equine Behaviour @ team @ Serial 4082  
Permanent link to this record
 

 
Author Palme, R.; Rettenbacher, S.; Touma, C.; El-Bahr, S.M.; Mostl, E. doi  openurl
  Title Stress hormones in mammals and birds: comparative aspects regarding metabolism, excretion, and noninvasive measurement in fecal samples Type Journal Article
  Year 2005 Publication Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences Abbreviated Journal Ann N Y Acad Sci  
  Volume 1040 Issue Pages 162-171  
  Keywords Adrenal Glands/chemistry/metabolism; Animals; Birds; Catecholamines/analysis/chemistry/*metabolism; Feces/*chemistry; Glucocorticoids/analysis/chemistry/*metabolism; Hormones/analysis/metabolism; Mammals; Species Specificity; Stress/*metabolism  
  Abstract A multitude of endocrine mechanisms are involved in coping with challenges. Front-line hormones to overcome stressful situations are glucocorticoids (GCs) and catecholamines (CAs). These hormones are usually determined in plasma samples as parameters of adrenal activity and thus of disturbance. GCs (and CAs) are extensively metabolized and excreted afterwards. Therefore, the concentration of GCs (or their metabolites) can be measured in various body fluids or excreta. Above all, fecal samples offer the advantages of easy collection and a feedback-free sampling procedure. However, large differences exist among species regarding the route and time course of excretion, as well as the types of metabolites formed. Based on information gained from radiometabolism studies (reviewed in this paper), we recently developed and successfully validated different enzyme immunoassays that enable the noninvasive measurement of groups of cortisol or corticosterone metabolites in animal feces. The determination of these metabolites in fecal samples can be used as a powerful tool to monitor GC production in various species of domestic, wildlife, and laboratory animals.  
  Address Institute of Biochemistry, Department of Natural Sciences, University of Veterinary Medicine, Vienna, Austria. rupert.palme@vu-wien.ac.at  
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  Language English Summary Language Original Title  
  Series Editor Series Title Abbreviated Series Title  
  Series Volume Series Issue Edition  
  ISSN (down) 0077-8923 ISBN Medium  
  Area Expedition Conference  
  Notes PMID:15891021 Approved no  
  Call Number Equine Behaviour @ team @ Serial 4083  
Permanent link to this record
 

 
Author Howard, R.W.; Blomquist, G.J. url  doi
openurl 
  Title Ecological, behavioral, and biochemical aspects of insect hydrocarbons Type Journal Article
  Year 2005 Publication Annual Review of Entomology Abbreviated Journal Annu Rev Entomol  
  Volume 50 Issue Pages 371-393  
  Keywords Animals; Behavior, Animal/physiology; Hydrocarbons/*metabolism; Insects/*physiology; Pheromones/*physiology; Reproduction; Species Specificity  
  Abstract This review covers selected literature from 1982 to the present on some of the ecological, behavioral, and biochemical aspects of hydrocarbon use by insects and other arthropods. Major ecological and behavioral topics are species- and gender-recognition, nestmate recognition, task-specific cues, dominance and fertility cues, chemical mimicry, and primer pheromones. Major biochemical topics include chain length regulation, mechanism of hydrocarbon formation, timing of hydrocarbon synthesis and transport, and biosynthesis of volatile hydrocarbon pheromones of Lepidoptera and Coleoptera. In addition, a section is devoted to future research needs in this rapidly growing area of science.  
  Address USDA-ARS, Manhattan, Kansas 66502, USA. howardks@ksu.edu  
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  Series Volume Series Issue Edition  
  ISSN (down) 0066-4170 ISBN Medium  
  Area Expedition Conference  
  Notes PMID:15355247 Approved no  
  Call Number Equine Behaviour @ team @ Serial 4650  
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