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Bang, A., Deshpande, S., Sumana, A., & Gadagkar, R. (2010). Choosing an appropriate index to construct dominance hierarchies in animal societies: a comparison of three indices. Animal Behaviour, 79(3), 631–636.
Abstract: A plethora of indices have been proposed and used to construct dominance hierarchies in a variety of vertebrate and invertebrate societies, although the rationale for choosing a particular index for a particular species is seldom explained. In this study, we analysed and compared three such indices, viz Clutton-Brock et al.'s index (CBI), originally developed for red deer, Cervus elaphus, David's score (DS) originally proposed by the statistician H. A. David and the frequency-based index of dominance (FDI) developed and routinely used by our group for the primitively eusocial wasps Ropalidia marginata and Ropalidia cyathiformis. Dominance ranks attributed by all three indices were strongly and positively correlated for both natural data sets from the wasp colonies and for artificial data sets generated for the purpose. However, the indices differed in their ability to yield unique (untied) ranks in the natural data sets. This appears to be caused by the presence of noninteracting individuals and reversals in the direction of dominance in some of the pairs in the natural data sets. This was confirmed by creating additional artificial data sets with noninteracting individuals and with reversals. Based on the criterion of yielding the largest proportion of unique ranks, we found that FDI is best suited for societies such as the wasps belonging to Ropalidia, DS is best suited for societies with reversals and CBI remains a suitable index for societies such as red deer in which multiple interactions are uncommon.
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Schweitzer, C., & Arnould, C. (2010). Emotional reactivity of Japanese quail chicks with high or low social motivation reared under unstable social conditions. Appl. Anim. Behav. Sci., 125(3-4), 143–150.
Abstract: Repeated encounters with unfamiliar conspecifics in large groups of domestic birds create a potentially stressful social environment which can affect the birds' emotional reactivity and consequently their welfare. As social relationships between young quail are particularly influenced by their social motivation (i.e., the motivation to seek close proximity with conspecifics), it is likely that the reaction of quail to repeated encounters with strangers depends on their social motivation. The aim of this study was to assess the emotional reactivity of quail chicks with high (HSR) or low (LSR) social motivation housed under stable and unstable social conditions. Quail chicks were housed either in stable pairs, i.e. remaining with the same cagemate until testing (NHSR = 19 and NLSR = 18 pairs), or in unstable pairs, i.e. changing cagemate daily from 6 to 13 days of age (NHSR = 20 and NLSR = 19 pairs). Emotional reactivity was measured using a novel object test on day 14, and an emergence test and a tonic immobility test on day 15. The social condition affected the number of induction attempts of quail chicks in the tonic immobility test but only in the LSR ones. This number of inductions was lower under the stable than under the unstable social condition in this line. Moreover, the HSR chicks showed greater disturbance than the LSR ones in the three behavioural tests. In conclusion, social instability did not affect the emotional reactivity of HSR quail chicks, which was high, regardless of social condition. In contrast, repeated cagemate changes seemed to decrease the emotional reactivity of LSR quail chicks. These results suggest that low social motivation makes easier the adaptation to the potential social instability encountered in large flocks.
Keywords: Emotional reactivity; Quail; Emotions; Fear; Social behaviour
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Hartmann, E. (2010). Managing horses in groups to improve horse welfare and human safety. Ph.D. thesis, , .
Abstract: Managing horses in groups to improve horse welfare and human safety
: reactions to mixing and separation Hartmann, Elke (2010) Managing horses in groups to improve horse welfare and human safety . Doctoral diss. Dept. of Animal Environment and Health, SLU. Acta Universitatis agriculturae Sueciae vol. 2010:87. Full text available as: 439 Kb Abstract The aim of this thesis was to investigate whether specific anecdotal concerns related to keeping horses in groups are supported by science and, if so, provide scientifically based recommendations that could be implemented in practice. The aim of studies I and II was to identify methods for mixing unfamiliar horses that could minimise aggressive interactions and associated risk of injury. Results of study I revealed that pre-exposure of young horses in neighbouring boxes tended to lower contact-aggression (e.g. kicks, strikes) and biting behaviour in particular was reduced when the same pair of horses subsequently met in a paddock. This was not found when older horses were mixed (study II). Aggressive behaviour received by a new horse was not significantly different in meetings when it met one other horse compared to meeting two unfamiliar horses at the same time. Removing a horse from a group of four in study III was generally unproblematic. Most horses approached the handler when she was catching the horse and while standing with it in the middle of the paddock. Thus, potential risk may be higher in situations when the handler remains relatively stationary, as other horses of the group have time to approach. Rank did not influence the number of horses following to the paddock gate and interactions between horses were rare. Since horses naïve to social separation may be more difficult to handle away from the group, the objective in study IV was to investigate whether the initial presence of a companion horse would modify responses to separation. Results revealed no significant differences in heart rates and the number of training sessions required when the horses were subsequently trained in the absence of the partner compared to horses trained alone from the start. In summary, results give little support for the original areas of concerns about mixing and separating horses. Risk of injury to both horses and humans should not be overestimated when handling horses in groups, but being aware of potential risk situations and being able to react accordingly is likely to increase horse welfare and human safety. Faculty: Faculty of Veterinary Medicine and Animal Science Keywords: equine, behaviour, welfare, housing, mixing, aggression, injury, separation, habituation, learning Agrovoc terms: horses, behaviour, bites, injurious factors, animal learning, animal welfare, sweden ISBN: 978-91-576-7532-3 Series.: Acta Universitatis agriculturae Sueciae ISSN: 1652-6880 Volume: 2010:87 Papers/manuscripts: I. Hartmann, E., Winther Christensen, J., Keeling, L.J. (2009). Social interactions of unfamiliar horses during paired encounters: Effect of pre-exposure on aggression level and so risk of injury. Applied Animal Behaviour Science 121, 214-221. II. Hartmann, E., Rundgren, M., Keeling, L.J. (in press). Comparison of 3 methods for mixing unfamiliar horses (Equus caballus). Journal of Equine Veterinary Behavior: Clinical Applications and Research. III. Hartmann, E., Søndergaard, E., Keeling, L.J. Identifying potential risk situations for humans when removing horses from groups. Manuscript. IV. Hartmann, E., Christensen, J.W., Keeling, L.J. (in press). Training young horses to social separation: Effect of a companion horse on training efficiency. Equine Veterinary Journal. Number of pages: 75 Year of publication: 2010 Language: eng ID Code: 2396 Deposited By: Hartmann, Elke Deposited On: 08 November 2010 |
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Hockenhull, J., & Creighton, E. (2010). Unwanted oral investigative behaviour in horses: A note on the relationship between mugging behaviour, hand-feeding titbits and clicker training. Appl. Anim. Behav. Sci., 127(3-4), 104–107.
Abstract: Unwanted oral investigative in horses has been anecdotally attributed to the practice of hand-feeding. Fears over such behaviour developing as a consequence of using food rewards, for example in clicker training, have been implicated as a common reason for not employing food-based positive reinforcement training techniques. This study used data generated as part of a larger research project, and explored associations between five common oral investigative behaviours and the practices of hand-feeding and clicker training. Data were from a convenience sample of UK leisure horse owners using two self-administered Internet surveys. Ninety-one percent of respondents reported giving their horse food by hand and this practice was significantly associated with three of the five oral investigative behaviours, licking hands (P = 0.006), gently searching clothing (P < 0.001) and roughly searching clothing (P = 0.003). Nipping hands and biting clothes were not associated with hand-feeding, suggesting that risk factors for these behaviours originate outside of this practice. Clicker training techniques were employed by 14% of respondents and their use was not associated with the incidence of any of the five oral investigative behaviours. These findings suggest that horse owners should not be deterred from using food-based positive reinforcement techniques with their horses, as fears that this practice will result in unwanted oral investigative behaviours from their horses appear unfounded.
Keywords: Equine; Horse; Titbits; Food rewards; Clicker training; Mugging behaviour
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Pluhácek, J., Bartos, L., Bartosová, J., & Kotrba, R. (2010). Feeding behaviour affects nursing behaviour in captive plains zebra (Equus burchellii). Appl. Anim. Behav. Sci., 128(1-4), 97–102.
Abstract: Equids spend more than half of the day feeding. Lactation is a very demanding form of maternal investment. In an environment such as a zoo, where no grass but several feeding sites are present, conflict between suckling behaviour of the foal and feeding behaviour of the lactating mother should occur. We observed 20 foals of captive plains zebra, Equus burchellii, at the Dvur Králové Zoo, Czech Republic, and collected data concerning suckling events during 17 months of observation. First, we examined whether feeding by the mother while nursing affected suckling behaviour. We found that when the mother was feeding, the proportion of suckling bouts she terminated decreased with increasing age of the foal, whereas it did not change when she was not feeding. This result supported the trade-off between suckling and feeding behaviour which has been reported in other ungulates. Second, we examined what affected interruptions of feeding behaviour of the mother during the suckling bout. The proportion of interruptions of feeding by the mother during nursing increased with increasing age of her foal. This coincides with declining time spent nursing. In addition, younger mothers interrupted their feeding behaviour during suckling bouts more often than older ones. Mothers interrupted feeding during the suckling bout more often when they nursed a daughter than when they nursed a son. The results of our study show that feeding while suckling could reduce parent-offspring conflict and improve welfare of captive foals and mares.
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Ransom, J. I., Cade, B. S., & Hobbs, N. T. (2010). Influences of immunocontraception on time budgets, social behavior, and body condition in feral horses. Appl. Anim. Behav. Sci., 124(1-2), 51–60.
Abstract: Managers concerned with shrinking habitats and limited resources for wildlife seek effective tools for limiting population growth in some species. Fertility control is one such tool, yet little is known about its impacts on the behavioral ecology of wild, free-roaming animals. We investigated influences of the immunocontraceptive porcine zona pellucida (PZP) on individual and social behavior in bands of feral horses (Equus caballus) in three discrete populations and used 14 hierarchical mixed effect models to gain insight into the influences of PZP treatment on feral horse behavior. A model of body condition was the strongest predictor of feeding, resting, maintenance, and social behaviors, with treated females allocating their time similarly to control females. Time spent feeding declined 11.4% from low condition to high condition females (F1,154 = 26.427, P < 0.001) and was partially reciprocated by a 6.0% increase in resting (F1,154 = 7.629, P = 0.006), 0.9% increase in maintenance (F1,154 = 7.028, P = 0.009), and 1.8% increase in social behavior (F1,154 = 15.064, P < 0.001). There was no difference detected in body condition of treated versus control females (F1,154 = 0.033, P = 0.856), but females with a dependent foal had lower body condition than those without a foal (F1,154 = 4.512, P = 0.038). Herding behavior was best explained by a model of treatment and the interaction of band fidelity and foal presence (AICc weight = 0.660) which estimated no difference in rate of herding behavior directed toward control versus treated females (F1,102 = 0.196, P = 0.659), but resident females without a dependent foal were herded 50.9% more than resident females with a foal (F3,102 = 8.269, P < 0.001). Treated females received 54.5% more reproductive behaviors from stallions than control mares (F1,105 = 5.155, P = 0.025), with the model containing only treatment being the most-supported (AICc weight = 0.530). Treated and control females received harem-tending behaviors from stallions equally (F1,105 = 0.001, P = 0.969) and agonistic behaviors from stallions equally (F1,105 < 0.001, P = 0.986). Direct effects of PZP treatment on the behavior of feral horses appear to be limited primarily to reproductive behaviors and most other differences detected were attributed to the effects of body condition, band fidelity, or foal presence. PZP is a promising alternative to traditional hormone-based contraceptives and appears to contribute few short-term behavioral modifications in feral horses.
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Sankey, C., Richard-Yris, M. - A., Leroy, H., Henry, S., & Hausberger, M. (2010). Positive interactions lead to lasting positive memories in horses, Equus caballus. Anim. Behav., 79(4), 869–875.
Abstract: Social relationships are important in social species. These relationships, based on repeated interactions, define each partner's expectations during the following encounters. The creation of a relationship implies high social cognitive abilities which require that each partner is able to associate the positive or negative content of an interaction with a specific partner and to recall this association. In this study, we tested the effects of repeated interactions on the memory kept by 23 young horses about humans, after 6 and 8 months of separation. The association of a reward with a learning task in an interactional context induced positive reactions towards humans during training. It also increased contact and interest, not only just after training, but also several months later, despite no further interaction with humans. In addition, this ‘positive memory’ of humans extended to novel persons. Overall, positive reinforcement enhanced learning and memorization of the task itself. These findings suggest remarkable social cognitive abilities that can be transposed from intraspecific to interspecific social contexts.
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Hopewell, L., Leaver, L., Lea, S., & Wills, A. (2010). Grey squirrels (Sciurus carolinensis) show a feature-negative effect specific to social learning. Anim. Cogn., 13(2), 219–227.
Abstract: Abstract Previous laboratory studies on social learning suggest that some animals can learn more readily if they first observe a conspecific demonstrator perform the task unsuccessfully and so fail to obtain a food reward than if they observe a successful demonstrator that obtains the food. This effect may indicate a difference in how easily animals are able to associate different outcomes with the conspecific or could simply be the result of having food present in only some of the demonstrations. To investigate we tested a scatter-hoarding mammal, the eastern grey squirrel, on its ability to learn to choose between two pots of food after watching a conspecific remove a nut from one of them on every trial. Squirrels that were rewarded for choosing the opposite pot to the conspecific chose correctly more frequently than squirrels rewarded for choosing the same pot (a feature-negative effect). Another group of squirrels was tested on their ability to choose between the two pots when the rewarded option was indicated by a piece of card. This time, squirrels showed no significant difference in their ability to learn to choose the same or the opposite pot. The results add to anecdotal reports that grey squirrels can learn by observing a conspecific and suggest that even when all subjects are provided with demonstrations with the same content, not all learning occurs equally. Prior experience or expectations of the association between a cue (a conspecific) and food influences what can be learned through observation whilst previously unfamiliar cues (the card) can be associated more readily with any outcome.
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Genty, E., & Byrne, R. (2010). Why do gorillas make sequences of gestures? Anim. Cogn., 13(2), 287–301.
Abstract: Abstract Great ape gestures have attracted considerable research interest in recent years, prompted by their flexible and intentional pattern of use; but almost all studies have focused on single gestures. Here, we report the first quantitative analysis of sequential gesture use in western gorillas (Gorilla gorilla gorilla), using data from three captive groups and one African study site. We found no evidence that gesture sequences were given for reasons of increased communicative efficiency over single gestures. Longer sequences of repeated gestures did not increase the likelihood of response, and using a sequence was seldom in reaction to communicative failure. Sequential combination of two gestures with similar meanings did not generally increase effectiveness, and sometimes reduced it. Gesture sequences were closely associated with play contexts. Markov transition analysis showed two networks of frequently co-occurring gestures, both consisting of gestures used to regulate play. One network comprised only tactile gestures, the other a mix of silent, audible and tactile gestures; apparently, these clusters resulted from gesture use in play with proximal or distal contact, respectively. No evidence was found for syntactic effects of sequential combination: meanings changed little or not at all. Semantically, many gestures overlapped massively with others in their core information (i.e. message), and gesture messages spanned relatively few functions. We suggest that the underlying semantics of gorilla gestures is highly simplified compared to that of human words. Gesture sequences allow continual adjustment of the tempo and nature of social interactions, rather than generally conveying semantically referential information or syntactic structures.
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Rogers, L. J. (2010). Relevance of brain and behavioural lateralization to animal welfare. Appl. Anim. Behav. Sci., 127(1-2), 1–11.
Abstract: The left and right sides of the brain are specialised to process information in different ways and to control different categories of behaviour. Research on a range of species has shown that the left hemisphere controls well-established patterns of behaviour performed in non-stressful situations, whereas the right hemisphere responds to unexpected stimuli and controls escape and other emergency responses. The known functions of each hemisphere are summarised in this paper. Then it is hypothesised that stressed animals rely on predominant use of the right hemisphere, and that a bias to use the right or left hemisphere, respectively, may explain the behavioural differences between animals with a negative cognitive bias and those with a positive cognitive bias. In some species of primates it has been shown that the preferred limb used to pick up food when the animal is in a relaxed state reflects the dominant hemisphere and may be an accessible measure indicating susceptibility to stress and tendency towards positive versus negative cognitive bias. Hence, limb preference might be a useful measure of such tendencies in domesticated species. Some difficulties in determining a relevant measure of limb preference in non-primate species are mentioned, followed by the suggestion that eye preferences for viewing certain stimuli may be a useful measure in species with laterally placed eyes. Finally, effects of experience on the development of hemispheric dominance are discussed, leading to a suggestion that the welfare of domestic animals may be enhanced by ensuring development of left hemisphere dominance (e.g. by exposing chick embryos to light) and by shifting right to left hemisphere dominance in animals with negative cognitive bias.
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