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Author Clucas, B.; Marzluff, J.M.; Mackovjak, D.; Palmquist, I. url  doi
openurl 
  Title Do American Crows Pay Attention to Human Gaze and Facial Expressions? Type Journal Article
  Year 2013 Publication Ethology Abbreviated Journal Ethology  
  Volume 119 Issue 4 Pages 296-302  
  Keywords  
  Abstract Interactions between species can lead to the evolution of interspecific communication. Non-verbal communication by humans, both intentional and unintentional, can be interpreted by other species. We tested whether American crows (Corvus brachyrhynchos) were sensitive to human facial features under field conditions by comparing flight initiation distances and urgency of escape behavior to human approaches varying in eye contact and facial expression. We first examined whether crows distinguish between an approaching human who is directly gazing at them and a human approaching them with an averted gaze. In a second experiment, we tested whether crows differentiate a smiling from scowling human approaching them with direct or averted gaze. In the first experiment, we found that crows fled sooner and more urgently when humans were directly gazing at them. Similarly, in the second experiment, crows responded sooner to a direct vs. averted gaze; however, they did not react differently to varying human facial expressions. We suggest that crows use human gaze as a reliable visual cue compared with facial expressions when making decisions about responding to approaching humans. This is the first study to show that a wild corvid species changes its behavior based on human gaze, possibly representing an adaptation to living in human-dominated urban areas and suggesting crows might perceive human intention by this visual cue.  
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  Corporate Author Thesis  
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  Language Summary Language Original Title  
  Series Editor Series Title Abbreviated Series Title  
  Series Volume Series Issue Edition  
  ISSN (up) 1439-0310 ISBN Medium  
  Area Expedition Conference  
  Notes Approved no  
  Call Number Equine Behaviour @ team @ Serial 5670  
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Author Briard, L.; Dorn, C.; Petit, O. url  doi
openurl 
  Title Personality and Affinities Play a Key Role in the Organisation of Collective Movements in a Group of Domestic Horses Type Journal Article
  Year 2015 Publication Ethology Abbreviated Journal Ethology  
  Volume 121 Issue 9 Pages 888-902  
  Keywords decision-making; equids; hierarchy; leadership; social network  
  Abstract Understanding how groups of individuals with different motives come to daily decisions about the exploitation of their environment is a key question in animal behaviour. While interindividual differences are often seen only as a threat to group cohesion, growing evidence shows that they may to some extent facilitate effective collective action. Recent studies suggest that personality differences influence how individuals are attracted to conspecifics and affect their behaviour as an initiator or a follower. However, most of the existing studies are limited to a few taxa, mainly social fish and arthropods. Horses are social herbivores that live in long-lasting groups and show identifiable personality differences between individuals. We studied a group of 38 individuals living in a 30-ha hilly pasture. Over 200 h, we sought to identify how far individual differences such as personality and affinity distribution affect the dynamic of their collective movements. First, we report that individuals distribute their relationships according to similar personality and hierarchical rank. This is the first study that demonstrates a positive assortment between unrelated individuals according to personality in a mammal species. Second, we measured individual propensity to initiate and found that bold individuals initiated more often than shy individuals. However, their success in terms of number of followers and joining duration did not depend on their individual characteristics. Moreover, joining process is influenced by social network, with preferred partners following each other and bolder individuals being located more often at the front of the movement. Our results illustrate the importance of taking into account interindividual behavioural differences in studies of social behaviours.  
  Address  
  Corporate Author Thesis  
  Publisher Place of Publication Editor  
  Language Summary Language Original Title  
  Series Editor Series Title Abbreviated Series Title  
  Series Volume Series Issue Edition  
  ISSN (up) 1439-0310 ISBN Medium  
  Area Expedition Conference  
  Notes Approved no  
  Call Number Equine Behaviour @ team @ Serial 6153  
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