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Author Meyer, S.; Nürnberg, G.; Puppe, B.; Langbein, J.
Title The cognitive capabilities of farm animals: categorisation learning in dwarf goats (Capra hircus) Type Journal Article
Year 2012 Publication Animal Cognition Abbreviated Journal Anim. Cogn.
Volume 15 Issue 4 Pages 567-576
Keywords (down) Biomedizin & Life Sciences
Abstract The ability to establish categories enables organisms to classify stimuli, objects and events by assessing perceptual, associative or rational similarities and provides the basis for higher cognitive processing. The cognitive capabilities of farm animals are receiving increasing attention in applied ethology, a development driven primarily by scientifically based efforts to improve animal welfare. The present study investigated the learning of perceptual categories in Nigerian dwarf goats ( Capra hircus ) by using an automated learning device installed in the animals’ pen. Thirteen group-housed goats were trained in a closed-economy approach to discriminate artificial two-dimensional symbols presented in a four-choice design. The symbols belonged to two categories: category I, black symbols with an open centre (rewarded) and category II, the same symbols but filled black (unrewarded). One symbol from category I and three different symbols from category II were used to define a discrimination problem. After the training of eight problems, the animals were presented with a transfer series containing the training problems interspersed with completely new problems made from new symbols belonging to the same categories. The results clearly demonstrate that dwarf goats are able to form categories based on similarities in the visual appearance of artificial symbols and to generalise across new symbols. However, the goats had difficulties in discriminating specific symbols. It is probable that perceptual problems caused these difficulties. Nevertheless, the present study suggests that goats housed under farming conditions have well-developed cognitive abilities, including learning of open-ended categories. This result could prove beneficial by facilitating animals’ adaptation to housing environments that favour their cognitive capabilities.
Address
Corporate Author Thesis
Publisher Springer Berlin / Heidelberg Place of Publication Editor
Language 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 Approved no
Call Number Equine Behaviour @ team @ Serial 5615
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Author Franks, D.; James, R.; Noble, J.; Ruxton, G.
Title A foundation for developing a methodology for social network sampling Type Journal Article
Year 2009 Publication Behavioral Ecology and Sociobiology Abbreviated Journal Behav. Ecol. Sociobiol.
Volume 63 Issue 7 Pages 1079-1088-1088
Keywords (down) Biomedical and Life Sciences
Abstract Researchers are increasingly turning to network theory to understand the social nature of animal populations. We present a computational framework that is the first step in a series of works that will allow us to develop a quantitative methodology of social network sampling to aid ecologists in their social network data collection. To develop our methodology, we need to be able to generate networks from which to sample. Ideally, we need to perform a systematic study of sampling protocols on different known network structures, as network structure might affect the robustness of any particular sampling methodology. Thus, we present a computational tool for generating network structures that have user-defined distributions for network properties and for key measures of interest to ecologists. The user defines the values of these measures and the tool will generate appropriate network randomizations with those properties. This tool will be used as a framework for developing a sampling methodology, although we do not present a full methodology here. We describe the method used by the tool, demonstrate its effectiveness, and discuss how the tool can now be utilized. We provide a proof-of-concept example (using the assortativity measure) of how such networks can be used, along with a simulated egocentric sampling regime, to test the level of equivalence of the sampled network to the actual network.
Address
Corporate Author Thesis
Publisher Springer Berlin / Heidelberg Place of Publication Editor
Language Summary Language Original Title
Series Editor Series Title Abbreviated Series Title
Series Volume Series Issue Edition
ISSN 0340-5443 ISBN Medium
Area Expedition Conference
Notes Approved no
Call Number Equine Behaviour @ team @ Serial 5194
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Author Ramos-Fernández, G.; Boyer, D.; Aureli, F.; Vick, L.
Title Association networks in spider monkeys (Ateles geoffroyi) Type Journal Article
Year 2009 Publication Behavioral Ecology and Sociobiology Abbreviated Journal Behav. Ecol. Sociobiol.
Volume 63 Issue 7 Pages 999-1013-1013
Keywords (down) Biomedical and Life Sciences
Abstract We use two novel techniques to analyze association patterns in a group of wild spider monkeys (Ateles geoffroyi) studied continuously for 8 years. Permutation tests identified association rates higher or lower than chance expectation, indicating active processes of companionship and avoidance as opposed to passive aggregation. Network graphs represented individual adults as nodes and their association rates as weighted edges. Strength and eigenvector centrality (a measure of how strongly linked an individual is to other strongly linked individuals) were used to quantify the particular role of individuals in determining the network's structure. Female–female dyads showed higher association rates than any other type of dyad, but permutation tests revealed that these associations cannot be distinguished from random aggregation. Females formed tightly linked clusters that were stable over time, with the exception of immigrant females who showed little association with any adult in the group. Eigenvector centrality was higher for females than for males. Adult males were associated mostly among them, and although their strength of association with others was lower than that of females, their association rates revealed a process of active companionship. Female–male bonds were weaker than those between same-sex pairs, with the exception of those involving young male adults, who by virtue of their strong connections both with female and male adults, appear as temporary brokers between the female and male clusters of the network. This analytical framework can serve to develop a more complete explanation of social structure in species with high levels of fission–fusion dynamics.
Address
Corporate Author Thesis
Publisher Springer Berlin / Heidelberg Place of Publication Editor
Language Summary Language Original Title
Series Editor Series Title Abbreviated Series Title
Series Volume Series Issue Edition
ISSN 0340-5443 ISBN Medium
Area Expedition Conference
Notes Approved no
Call Number Equine Behaviour @ team @ Serial 5220
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Author Truppa, V.; Garofoli, D.; Castorina, G.; Piano Mortari, E.; Natale, F.; Visalberghi, E.
Title Identity concept learning in matching-to-sample tasks by tufted capuchin monkeys (Cebus apella) Type Journal Article
Year 2010 Publication Animal Cognition Abbreviated Journal Anim. Cogn.
Volume 13 Issue 6 Pages 835-848-848
Keywords (down) Biomedical and Life Sciences
Abstract The abstract concept of equivalence is considered one of the bases of higher-order cognition, and it has been the subject of considerable research in comparative cognition. This study examined the conditions under which tufted capuchin monkeys (Cebus apella) are able to acquire an identity concept. Six capuchin monkeys were trained to solve a visual matching-to-sample (MTS) task on the basis of perceptual identity. The acquisition of the identity rule was inferred from the subject’s ability to solve transfer tests with novel stimuli. We evaluated the ability of the capuchin monkeys to match the shape of novel stimuli after training with both several small stimulus sets (Experiment 1) and a large stimulus set (Experiment 2). Moreover, we examined the ability of capuchins to transfer the concept to novel visual dimensions, such as colour and size and to transfer to novel spatial arrangements of the stimuli (Experiment 2). We demonstrated that the ability of capuchins to match novel stimuli was improved by increasing the number of stimuli used during training (Experiments 1 and 2) and that after a widely applicable identity concept based on the stimulus shape was acquired, the capuchins were able to match stimuli according to an identity rule based on both the colour and size of the stimuli and when the spatial arrangement of the stimuli was varied (Experiment 2). This study is the first to demonstrate that the size of the training set affects the acquisition of an abstract identity concept in an MTS task in non-human primates.
Address
Corporate Author Thesis
Publisher Springer Berlin / Heidelberg Place of Publication Editor
Language 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 Approved no
Call Number Equine Behaviour @ team @ Serial 5274
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Author Selva, N.; Cortés-Avizanda, A.; Lemus, J.A.; Blanco, G.; Mueller, T.; Heinrich, B.; Donázar, J.A.
Title Stress associated with group living in a long-lived bird Type Journal Article
Year Publication Biology Letters Abbreviated Journal Biol Lett
Volume Issue Pages
Keywords (down) Biał owież a forest common raven Corvus corax glucocorticoids parasites sociality
Abstract Many long-lived avian species adopt life strategies that involve a gregarious way of life at juvenile and sub-adult stages and territoriality during adulthood. However, the potential associated costs of these life styles, such as stress, are poorly understood. We examined the effects of group living, sex and parasite load on the baseline concentration of faecal stress hormone (corticosterone) metabolites in a wild population of common ravens (Corvus corax). Corticosterone concentrations were significantly higher in non-breeding gregarious ravens than in territorial adults. Among territorial birds, males showed higher stress levels than their mates. Parasite burdens did not affect hormone levels. Our results suggest a key role of the social context in the stress profiles of the two population fractions, and that group living may be more energetically demanding than maintaining a territory. These findings have implications for understanding hormonal mechanisms under different life styles and may inspire further research on the link between hormone levels and selective pressures modulating gregarious and territorial strategies in long-lived birds.
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 ISBN Medium
Area Expedition Conference
Notes 10.1098/rsbl.2010.1204 Approved no
Call Number Equine Behaviour @ team @ Serial 5292
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Author Hoffmann, G.; Bockisch, F.-J.; Kreimeier, P.
Title Einfluss des Haltungssystems auf die Bewegungsaktivität und Stressbelastung bei Pferden in Auslaufhaltungssystemen Type Journal Article
Year 2009 Publication Landbauforschung – vTI Agriculture and Forestry Research Abbreviated Journal
Volume 2 Issue 59 Pages 105-112
Keywords (down) Bewegung, Cortisol, Herzfrequenzvariabilität (HFV), Pferd, Verhalten [movement, cortisol, heart rate variability (HRV), horse, behaviour]
Abstract Frühere Untersuchungen haben gezeigt, dass die tägliche Bewegung für die Gesunderhaltung der Pferde notwendig ist. Inwieweit sich jedoch unterschiedliche Bewegungsangebote auf das Stress-und Bewegungsverhalten von Pferden in einer Gruppen-Auslaufhaltung auswirken und ob der Bewegungsbedarf der Pferde durch eine Auslaufhaltung ohne zusätzliche Bewegung gedeckt werden kann, ist der Literatur bisher nicht zu entnehmen. Daher sollte in der nachfolgend beschriebenen Untersuchung der Frage nachgegangen werden, welche Auswirkungen verschiedene Bewegungsangebote auf die Bewegungsaktivität von Pferden in Gruppen-Auslaufhaltungen haben und ob diese das Wohlbefinden der Tiere beeinflussen. Letzteres wurde durch Messung der Herzfrequenzvariabilität und Bestimmung von Cortisolmetaboliten im Pferdekot erfasst und die Bewegungsaktivität der Pferde wurde mit ALT-Pedometern bestimmt.

Verglichen wurden eine Einzel-und Gruppenhaltung mit jeweils angrenzendem Auslauf, aber ohne eine zusätzliche Bewegung der Pferde außerhalb des Stalls. In drei weiteren Varianten der Gruppenhaltung bekamen die Pferde täglichen Auslauf auf einer unbegrünten Koppel, auf einer Weide oder durch gezielte Bewegung in einer Führanlage. Die Bewegungsaktivität konnte durch die zusätzliche Bewegung in Form von Weide oder Führanlage signifikant gesteigert werden.

Ein zusätzliches Bewegungsangebot führte bei den Pferden zu einer Abnahme der Stressbelastung und sollte auch den Pferden ermöglicht werden, die in einer Gruppenhaltung gehalten werden, um ihre physische und psychische Gesundheit zu erhalten.

[Former studies confirm the necessity of daily movement for the health of a horse. But so far no description could be found in the literature how different movement offerings impact the stress and movement behaviour of horses in group husbandries with close-by discharge. The same holds true for the question whether a discharge husbandry system can meet the movement requirements of horses if there isn�t any additional movement possibility. The aim of the present study was to examine different movement offerings, their effects on the movement activities of horses in a group horse husbandry with close-by discharge and the impact of the movement on the wellbeing of the animals.

The heart rate variability and the concentration of the cortisol metabolites in the horse excrement were analyzed for detecting the wellbeing of the horses. Additionally ALT-Pedometers were used for determining the movement activity.

A single and a group husbandry system, each with closeby discharge, were compared when horses had no additional movement outside the stable. In three further variants the group husbandry was supplemented with daily time on a non-grassy pasture land, a pasture or in a horse walker. Pasture or horse walker increased movement activity significantly. Nevertheless an additional movement offering resulted in a lower stress load of the horses and should also be allowed to horses in group husbandry systems to ensure the horse�s physical and mental health.]
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 ISBN Medium
Area Expedition Conference
Notes Approved no
Call Number Equine Behaviour @ team @ Serial 5661
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Author Hampson, B.A.; Morton, J.M.; Mills, P.C.; Trotter, M.G.; Lamb, D.W.; Pollitt, C.C.
Title Monitoring distances travelled by horses using GPS tracking collars Type Journal Article
Year 2010 Publication Australian Veterinary Journal Abbreviated Journal Aust. Vet. J.
Volume 88 Issue 5 Pages 176-181
Keywords (down) behaviour; feral horses; foals; global positioning system (GPS); horses; paddock design
Abstract Objective  The aims of this work were to (1) develop a low-cost equine movement tracking collar based on readily available components, (2) conduct preliminary studies assessing the effects of both paddock size and internal fence design on the movements of domestic horses, with and without foals at foot, and (3) describe distances moved by mares and their foals. Additional monitoring of free-ranging feral horses was conducted to allow preliminary comparisons with the movement of confined domestic horses. Procedures  A lightweight global positioning system (GPS) data logger modified from a personal/vehicle tracker and mounted on a collar was used to monitor the movement of domestic horses in a range of paddock sizes and internal fence designs for 6.5-day periods. Results  In the paddocks used (0.8-16 ha), groups of domestic horses exhibited a logarithmic response in mean daily distance travelled as a function of increasing paddock size, tending asymptotically towards approximately 7.5 km/day. The distance moved by newborn foals was similar to their dams, with total distance travelled also dependent on paddock size. Without altering available paddock area, paddock design, with the exception of a spiral design, did not significantly affect mean daily distance travelled. Feral horses (17.9 km/day) travelled substantially greater mean daily distances than domestic horses (7.2 km/day in 16-ha paddock), even when allowing for larger paddock size. Conclusions  Horses kept in stables or small yards and paddocks are quite sedentary in comparison with their feral relatives. For a given paddock area, most designs did not significantly affect mean daily distance travelled.
Address
Corporate Author Thesis
Publisher Blackwell Publishing Asia Place of Publication Editor
Language Summary Language Original Title
Series Editor Series Title Abbreviated Series Title
Series Volume Series Issue Edition
ISSN 1751-0813 ISBN Medium
Area Expedition Conference
Notes Approved no
Call Number Equine Behaviour @ team @ Serial 6201
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Author Oliveira-Santos, L.G.R.; Machado-Filho, L.C.P.; Tortato, M.A.; Brusius, L.
Title Influence of extrinsic variables on activity and habitat selection of lowland tapirs (Tapirus terrestris) in the coastal sand plain shrub, southern Brazil Type Journal Article
Year 2010 Publication Mammalian Biology – Zeitschrift für Säugetierkunde Abbreviated Journal
Volume 75 Issue 3 Pages 219-226
Keywords (down) Behaviour; Circadian rhythmic; Moonlight; Rainfall; Temperature
Abstract The objectives of this research were to: 1. evaluate the circadian activity patterns of lowland tapirs (Tapirus terrestris) throughout the seasons and 2. study the influence of moonlight, temperature and rainfall on the activity patterns and habitat selection of this species, in the coastal sand shrub in southern Brazil. From June 2005 to June 2006, eight tapirs were monitored in a large enclosure containing open and vegetation-covered areas, using four camera traps. Differences in activity patterns within seasons were found. Tapir predominately presented nocturnal-crepuscular activity; however, they differed in the winter, with cathemeral activity patterns. Covered areas were mostly used during periods of extreme temperatures, with less diurnal and more nocturnal activities within these areas, on hotter days. Activity in open areas mainly occurred during periods of intermediate temperatures, both during the day and in the night. Moonlight intensity did not influence nocturnal activities. On days of precipitation of 34 mm or more, there was no record of open-area activities, despite constant activity in covered-area.
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 1616-5047 ISBN Medium
Area Expedition Conference
Notes Approved no
Call Number Equine Behaviour @ team @ Serial 6140
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Author Krishnan, A.; Gandour, J.T.; Ananthakrishnan, S.; Bidelman, G.M.; Smalt, C.J.
Title Functional ear (a)symmetry in brainstem neural activity relevant to encoding of voice pitch: A precursor for hemispheric specialization? Type Journal Article
Year Publication Brain and Language Abbreviated Journal
Volume In Press, Corrected Proof Issue Pages
Keywords (down) Auditory; Human; Brainstem; Pitch; Language; Mandarin Chinese; Fundamental frequency-following response (FFR); Functional ear asymmetry; Experience-dependent plasticity; Subcortical
Abstract Pitch processing is lateralized to the right hemisphere; linguistic pitch is further mediated by left cortical areas. This experiment investigates whether ear asymmetries vary in brainstem representation of pitch depending on linguistic status. Brainstem frequency-following responses (FFRs) were elicited by monaural stimulation of the left and right ear of 15 native speakers of Mandarin Chinese using two synthetic speech stimuli that differ in linguistic status of tone. One represented a native lexical tone (Tone 2: T2); the other, T2', a nonnative variant in which the pitch contour was a mirror image of T2 with the same starting and ending frequencies. Two 40-ms portions of f0 contours were selected in order to compare two regions (R1, early; R2 late) differing in pitch acceleration rate and perceptual saliency. In R2, linguistic status effects revealed that T2 exhibited a larger degree of FFR rightward ear asymmetry as reflected in f0 amplitude relative to T2'. Relative to midline (ear asymmetry = 0), the only ear asymmetry reaching significance was that favoring left ear stimulation elicited by T2'. By left- and right-ear stimulation separately, FFRs elicited by T2 were larger than T2' in the right ear only. Within T2', FFRs elicited by the earlier region were larger than the later in both ears. Within T2, no significant differences in FFRS were observed between regions in either ear. Collectively, these findings support the idea that origins of cortical processing preferences for perceptually-salient portions of pitch are rooted in early, preattentive stages of processing in the brainstem.
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 0093-934x ISBN Medium
Area Expedition Conference
Notes Approved no
Call Number Equine Behaviour @ team @ Serial 5391
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Author Heyes, C.M.; Dawson, G.R.
Title A demonstration of observational learning in rats using a bidirectional control Type Journal Article
Year 1990 Publication Quarterly Journal of Experimental Psychology Section B: Comparative and Physiological Psychology Abbreviated Journal Q J Exp Psychol B
Volume 42 Issue 1 Pages 59-71
Keywords (down) appetite; attention; imitation; problem solving; psychomotor performance; Appetitive Behavior; Attention; Imitative Behavior; Problem Solving; Psychomotor Performance
Abstract Hungry rats observed a conspecific demonstrator pushing a single manipulandum, a joystick, to the right or to the left for food reward and were then allowed access to the joystick from a different orientation. The effects of right-pushing vs left-pushing observation experience on (1) response acquisition, (2) reversal of a left-right discrimination, and (3) responding in extinction, were examined. Rats that had observed left-pushing made more left responses during acquisition than rats that had observed right-pushing, and rats that had observed demonstrators pushing in the direction that had previously been reinforced took longer to reach criterion reversal and made more responses in extinction than rats that had observed demonstrators pushing in the opposite direction to that previously reinforced. These results provide evidence that rats are capable of learning a response, or a response-reinforcer contingency, through conspecific observation.
Address University of Cambridge, U.K.
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 02724995 (Issn) ISBN Medium
Area Expedition Conference
Notes Cited By (since 1996): 49; Export Date: 17 May 2007; Source: Scopus; Language of Original Document: English; Correspondence Address: Heyes, C.M. Approved no
Call Number Serial 1766
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