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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 (down) 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
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ISSN 1476-4687 ISBN Medium
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Notes PMID:17251980 Approved no
Call Number refbase @ user @ Serial 600
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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 (down) Aggression/physiology/psychology; Animals; Behavior, Animal/*physiology; *Evolution; Humans; *Models, Biological; Personality/genetics/*physiology; Reproduction/genetics/physiology; Risk-Taking; Selection (Genetics)
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ISSN 1476-4687 ISBN Medium
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Notes PMID:17538607 Approved no
Call Number Equine Behaviour @ team @ Serial 4099
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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 (down) 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
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ISSN 1476-4687 ISBN Medium
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Notes PMID:17538618 Approved no
Call Number Equine Behaviour @ team @ Serial 4098
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Author Fenton, B.; Ratcliffe, J.
Title Animal behaviour: eavesdropping on bats Type Journal Article
Year 2004 Publication Nature Abbreviated Journal Nature
Volume 429 Issue 6992 Pages 612-613
Keywords (down) Acoustics; Animals; Chiroptera/anatomy & histology/classification/genetics/*physiology; Echolocation/*physiology; *Evolution; Phylogeny; Predatory Behavior/physiology; Species Specificity
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ISSN 1476-4687 ISBN Medium
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Notes PMID:15190335 Approved no
Call Number refbase @ user @ Serial 500
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Author Gentner, T.Q.; Fenn, K.M.; Margoliash, D.; Nusbaum, H.C.
Title Recursive syntactic pattern learning by songbirds Type Journal Article
Year 2006 Publication Nature Abbreviated Journal Nature
Volume 440 Issue 7088 Pages 1204-1207
Keywords (down) Acoustic Stimulation; *Animal Communication; Animals; Auditory Perception/*physiology; Humans; *Language; Learning/*physiology; Linguistics; Models, Neurological; Semantics; Starlings/*physiology; Stochastic Processes
Abstract Humans regularly produce new utterances that are understood by other members of the same language community. Linguistic theories account for this ability through the use of syntactic rules (or generative grammars) that describe the acceptable structure of utterances. The recursive, hierarchical embedding of language units (for example, words or phrases within shorter sentences) that is part of the ability to construct new utterances minimally requires a 'context-free' grammar that is more complex than the 'finite-state' grammars thought sufficient to specify the structure of all non-human communication signals. Recent hypotheses make the central claim that the capacity for syntactic recursion forms the computational core of a uniquely human language faculty. Here we show that European starlings (Sturnus vulgaris) accurately recognize acoustic patterns defined by a recursive, self-embedding, context-free grammar. They are also able to classify new patterns defined by the grammar and reliably exclude agrammatical patterns. Thus, the capacity to classify sequences from recursive, centre-embedded grammars is not uniquely human. This finding opens a new range of complex syntactic processing mechanisms to physiological investigation.
Address Department of Organismal Biology and Anatomy, University of Chicago, Chicago, Illinois 60637, USA. tgentner@ucsd.edu
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Notes PMID:16641998 Approved no
Call Number refbase @ user @ Serial 353
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Author Proudman, C.; Pinchbeck, G.; Clegg, P.; French, N.
Title Equine welfare: risk of horses falling in the Grand National Type Journal Article
Year 2004 Publication Nature Abbreviated Journal Nature
Volume 428 Issue 6981 Pages 385-386
Keywords (down) Accidental Falls/prevention & control/*statistics & numerical data; Animal Welfare; Animals; Great Britain; Horse Diseases/prevention & control; Horses/*physiology; Odds Ratio; Risk Assessment; *Sports
Abstract As in other competitive sports, the famous Grand National steeplechase, which is held at Aintree in the United Kingdom and is watched by 600 million people worldwide, sometimes results in injury. By analysing data from the past 15 Grand National races (consisting of 560 starts by horses), we are able to identify several factors that are significantly associated with failure to complete the race: no previous experience of the course and its unique obstacles, unfavourable ground conditions (too soft or too hard), a large number of runners, and the length of the odds ('starting price'). We also find that there is an increased risk of falling at the first fence and at the jump known as Becher's Brook, which has a ditch on the landing side. Our findings indicate ways in which the Grand National could be made safer for horses and illustrate how epidemiological analysis might contribute to preventing injury in competitive sport.
Address Epidemiology Group, Faculty of Veterinary Science, University of Liverpool, Leahurst, Neston, Wirral CH64 7TE, UK. c.j.proudman@liverpool.ac.uk
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Notes PMID:15042079 Approved no
Call Number refbase @ user @ Serial 535
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Author Berger, J.
Title Induced abortion and social factors in wild horses Type Journal Article
Year 1983 Publication Nature Abbreviated Journal Nature
Volume 303 Issue 5912 Pages 59-61
Keywords (down) Abortion, Induced/*veterinary; Abortion, Veterinary/*etiology; Aggression/physiology; Animals; Evolution; Female; Horses/*physiology; Humans; Pregnancy; Sexual Behavior, Animal/*physiology
Abstract Much evidence now suggests that the postnatal killing of young in primates and carnivores, and induced abortions in some rodents, are evolved traits exerting strong selective pressures on adult male and female behaviour. Among ungulates it is perplexing that either no species have developed convergent tactics or that these behaviours are not reported, especially as ungulates have social systems similar to those of members of the above groups. Only in captive horses (Equus caballus) has infant killing been reported. It has been estimated that 40,000 wild horses live in remote areas of the Great Basin Desert of North America (US Department of Interior (Bureau of Land Management), unpublished report), where they occur in harems (females and young) defended by males. Here I present evidence that, rather than killing infants directly, invading males induce abortions in females unprotected by their resident stallions and these females are then inseminated by the new males.
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ISSN 0028-0836 ISBN Medium
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Notes PMID:6682487 Approved no
Call Number Equine Behaviour @ team @ Serial 4365
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Author Alexander, F.; Chowdhury, A.K.
Title Enzymes in the ileal juice of the horse Type Journal Article
Year 1958 Publication Nature Abbreviated Journal Nature
Volume 181 Issue 4603 Pages 190
Keywords (down) *Enzymes; *Horses; Ileum/*metabolism; *Enzymes; *Horses; *ILEUM/metabolism
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ISSN 0028-0836 ISBN Medium
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Notes PMID:13504127 Approved no
Call Number refbase @ user @ Serial 121
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Author Dyer, F.C.
Title Animal behaviour: when it pays to waggle Type
Year 2002 Publication Nature Abbreviated Journal Nature
Volume 419 Issue 6910 Pages 885-886
Keywords (down) *Animal Communication; Animals; Bees/*physiology; California; Dancing/physiology; Environment; Evolution; Female; Flowers/chemistry; *Food; Gravitation; Lighting; Motor Activity/*physiology; Odors; Seasons; Sunlight
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ISSN 0028-0836 ISBN Medium
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Notes PMID:12410290 Approved no
Call Number refbase @ user @ Serial 769
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Author Franks, N.R.; Richardson, T.
Title Teaching in tandem-running ants Type Journal Article
Year 2006 Publication Nature Abbreviated Journal Nature
Volume 439 Issue 7073 Pages 153
Keywords (down) *Animal Communication; Animals; Ants/*physiology; Feedback/physiology; Learning/*physiology; *Teaching
Abstract The ant Temnothorax albipennis uses a technique known as tandem running to lead another ant from the nest to food--with signals between the two ants controlling both the speed and course of the run. Here we analyse the results of this communication and show that tandem running is an example of teaching, to our knowledge the first in a non-human animal, that involves bidirectional feedback between teacher and pupil. This behaviour indicates that it could be the value of information, rather than the constraint of brain size, that has influenced the evolution of teaching.
Address School of Biological Sciences, University of Bristol, Bristol BS8 IUG, UK. nigel.franks@bristol.ac.uk
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Notes PMID:16407943 Approved no
Call Number Equine Behaviour @ team @ Serial 4651
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