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Author Parker, G.A.
Title Assessment strategy and the evolution of fighting behaviour Type Journal Article
Year 1974 Publication Journal of Theoretical Biology Abbreviated Journal J. Theor. Biol.
Volume 47 Issue 1 Pages 223-243
Keywords
Abstract The view is examined that the adaptive value of conventional aspects of fighting behaviour is for assessment of relative RHP (resource holding power) of the combatants. Outcomes of aggressive disputes should be decided by each individual's fitness budget available for expenditure during a fight (determined by the fitness difference between adoption of alternative strategies, escalation or withdrawal without escalation) and on the rate of expenditure of the fitness budget if escalation occurs (determined by the RHPs of the combatants). Thus response thresholds for alternative strategies (“assessments”) will be determined by natural selection on a basis of which opponent is likely to expend its fitness budget first, should escalation occur. This “loser” should retreat (before escalation) and the winner should stay in possession of the resource. Many aggressive decisions depend on whether one is a resource holder, or an attacker. Assuming the RHP of the combatants to be equal, there are many instances of fitness pay-off imbalances between holder and attacker which should weight the dispute outcome in favour of one or other opponent by allowing it a greater expendable fitness budget. Usually the weighting favours the holder; the attacker therefore needs a correspondingly higher RHP before it may be expected to win. This is not invariably the case, and much observed data fits the predictions of this sort of model. If assessments are perfect and budget expenditure rates exactly predictable, then there would never seem to be any case for escalation. Escalation can be explained in terms of injury inflictions (expenditures) occurring as discrete events; i.e. as “bouts” won or lost during fighting. Assessment can give only a probabilistic prediction of the outcome of a bout. A simple model is developed to investigate escalation situations. Each combatant assesses relative RHP; this correlates with an absolute probability of winning the next bout (cabs). The stake played for is infliction of loss of RHP and is determined by the fitness budgets of the opponents. (Each individual plays for the withdrawal of its opponent.) This defines a critical probability of winning (ccrit) for each combatant, above which escalation is the favourable strategy (cabs > ccrit) and below which withdrawal is favourable (cabs < ccrit). Escalation should occur only where cabs-ccrit is positive for both combatants. This model gives predictions compatible with the observations, indicating that RHP loss alone can be adequate to explain withdrawal: escalation behaviour. Withdrawal tendency will be increased by low searching costs. Escalations should be restricted to closely matched RHP opponents if RHP disparity is the major imbalance. Outside the “escalation range” of a given individual, the higher RHP individual wins and the lower one loses (i.e. it should withdraw after conventional display). RHP disparity and holder: attacker imbalance should both interact to shape the observed pattern, though their relative importances will depend on species and situation. In some instances selection may favour immediate withdrawal from an occupied territory even without assessment of RHP.
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ISSN 0022-5193 ISBN Medium
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Notes Approved no
Call Number Equine Behaviour @ team @ Serial 4935
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Author Rappolt, G. A.; John, J.; Thompson, N. S.
Title Canine responses to familiar and unfamiliar humans Type Journal Article
Year 1979 Publication Aggressive Behavior Abbreviated Journal Aggressive Behavior
Volume 5 Issue 2 Pages 155-161
Keywords
Abstract Dogs were observed during controlled approaches by their owners and by strangers. Significant differences between the dogs' responses to their owners and their responses to strangers were found. These results supported the popular belief that dogs respond differently to different persons, and not merely to different situations in which persons are usually encountered.
Address Departments of Biology and Psychology, Clark University, Worcester, Massachusetts DOI – 10.1002/1098-2337(1979)5 – 2<155 – - AID-AB2480050206>3.0.CO;2-D
Corporate Author Thesis
Publisher Place of Publication Copyright © 1979 Wiley-Liss, Inc., A Wiley Company Editor
Language (up) Summary Language Original Title
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Notes Approved no
Call Number Equine Behaviour @ team @ Serial 4978
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Author Breuer, K.; Hemsworth, P.H.; Coleman, G.J.
Title The effect of positive or negative handling on the behavioural and physiological responses of nonlactating heifers Type Journal Article
Year 2003 Publication Applied Animal Behaviour Science Abbreviated Journal Appl. Anim. Behav. Sci.
Volume 84 Issue 1 Pages 3-22
Keywords Dairy heifer; Fear; Handling; Stress response; Milk production; Stimulus generalisation
Abstract This experiment investigated the effects of positive and negative tactile handling on the stress physiology and behaviour of dairy heifers. Forty-eight 5-14-month-old nonlactating Holstein-Friesian heifers were allocated to one of two handling treatments, either positive or negative tactile handling, over four time replicates. Handling was imposed twice daily, 2-5 min per session and involved moving animals individually along a 64 m outdoor route. The negatively handled heifers took longer to approach within 1 and 2 m of a stimulus person in a standard test, than their positively handled counterparts (P<0.001) and had a greater flight distance to an approaching stimulus (P<0.001). The time taken by the heifers to approach within 1 and 2 m of a familiar person was similar to that taken to approach within 1 and 2 m of an unfamiliar person in the standard test (P<0.05). There was a tendency for heifers to have a greater flight distance from the approaching unfamiliar person than from the approaching familiar person (P=0.06). The negatively handled heifers had greater (P<0.05) increases in total cortisol concentrations 5, 10 and 15 min after exposure to a human and had higher (P<0.05) free cortisol concentrations in the afternoon than the positively handled heifers. It is concluded that the nature of the human contact affects the subsequent behavioural response of heifers to humans. This behavioural response may extend to other humans through the process of stimulus generalisation, although there was some evidence of moderate discrimination. Negative handling results in an acute stress response in the presence of humans and also leads to a chronic stress response. Further research into the effect of these stress responses on milk production and welfare in fearful cows in a commercial situation is suggested.
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Series Editor Series Title Abbreviated Series Title
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ISSN 0168-1591 ISBN Medium
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Notes Approved no
Call Number Equine Behaviour @ team @ Serial 4980
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Author Raquel Monclús; Heiko G. Rödel
Title Influence of Different Individual Traits on Vigilance Behaviour in European Rabbits Type Journal Article
Year 2009 Publication Ethology Abbreviated Journal Ethology
Volume 115 Issue 8 Pages 758-766
Keywords
Abstract An animal's level of vigilance depends on various environmental factors such as predator presence or the proximity of conspecific competitors. In addition, several individual traits may influence vigilance. We investigated the effects of body condition, social rank and the state of pregnancy on individual vigilance (scanning) rates in individually marked European rabbits (Oryctolagus cuniculus) of a field enclosure population. We found lower rates in young rabbits than in adult females, but male and female juveniles did not differ. Vigilance of juveniles was positively correlated with their age-dependent body mass (used as a measure of body condition), i.e. young rabbits with lower body condition scanned less. We suggest that juveniles with low body condition were trading off vigilance against feeding to maximise their growth. In contrast, there was no significant correlation between body mass and vigilance in adult females. Adult females increased scanning rates during late pregnancy, which might constitute a behavioural compensation because of their lower capacity to escape predator attacks. In addition, adult females with low social ranks scanned more than high ranking individuals, likely because of their higher risk of attacks by conspecifics. In summary, our results highlight various individual characteristics that influence vigilance behaviour in European rabbits.
Address Unidad de Zoologa, Dpto. Biologa, Universidad Autnoma de Madrid, Madrid, Spain; Department of Animal Physiology, University of Bayreuth, Bayreuth, Germany
Corporate Author Thesis
Publisher Place of Publication © 2009 Blackwell Verlag GmbH Editor
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Notes Approved no
Call Number Equine Behaviour @ team @ Serial 4994
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Author Gallese, V.; Fadiga, L.; Fogassi, L.; Rizzolatti, G.
Title Action recognition in the premotor cortex Type Journal Article
Year 1996 Publication Brain Abbreviated Journal
Volume 119 Issue 2 Pages 593-609
Keywords action encoding; visual responses; premotor cortex; macaque monkey
Abstract We recorded electrical activity from 532 neurons in the rostral part of inferior area 6 (area F5) of two macaque monkeys. Previous data had shown that neurons of this area discharge during goal-directed hand and mouth movements. We describe here the properties of a newly discovered set of F5 neurons ( mirror neurons', n = 92) all of which became active both when the monkey performed a given action and when it observed a similar action performed by the experimenter. Mirror neurons, in order to be visually triggered, required an interaction between the agent of the action and the object of it. The sight of the agent alone or of the object alone (three-dimensional objects, food) were ineffective. Hand and the mouth were by far the most effective agents. The actions most represented among those activating mirror neurons were grasping, manipulating and placing. In most mirror neurons (92%) there was a clear relation between the visual action they responded to and the motor response they coded. In [~]30% of mirror neurons the congruence was very strict and the effective observed and executed actions corresponded both in terms of general action (e.g. grasping) and in terms of the way in which that action was executed (e.g. precision grip). We conclude by proposing that mirror neurons form a system for matching observation and execution of motor actions. We discuss the possible role of this system in action recognition and, given the proposed homology between F5 and human Brocca's region, we posit that a matching system, similar to that of mirror neurons exists in humans and could be involved in recognition of actions as well as phonetic gestures.
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Notes 10.1093/brain/119.2.593 Approved no
Call Number Equine Behaviour @ team @ Serial 5012
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Author Rizzolatti, G.; Fogassi, L.; Gallese, V.
Title Neurophysiological mechanisms underlying the understanding and imitation of action Type Journal Article
Year 2001 Publication Nature Reviews Neuroscience Abbreviated Journal Nat Rev Neurosci
Volume 2 Issue 9 Pages 661-670
Keywords
Abstract What are the neural bases of action understanding? Although this capacity could merely involve visual analysis of the action, it has been argued that we actually map this visual information onto its motor representation in our nervous system. Here we discuss evidence for the existence of a system, the ‘mirror system’, that seems to serve this mapping function in primates and humans, and explore its implications for the understanding and imitation of action.
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Series Editor Series Title Abbreviated Series Title
Series Volume Series Issue Edition
ISSN 1471-003x ISBN Medium
Area Expedition Conference
Notes 10.1038/35090060 Approved no
Call Number Equine Behaviour @ team @ Serial 5013
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Author Fabbri-Destro, M.; Rizzolatti, G.
Title Mirror Neurons and Mirror Systems in Monkeys and Humans Type Journal Article
Year 2008 Publication Physiology Abbreviated Journal Physiology
Volume 23 Issue 3 Pages 171-179
Keywords
Abstract Mirror neurons are a distinct class of neurons that transform specific sensory information into a motor format. Mirror neurons have been originally discovered in the premotor and parietal cortex of the monkey. Subsequent neurophysiological (TMS, EEG, MEG) and brain imaging studies have shown that a mirror mechanism is also present in humans. According to its anatomical locations, mirror mechanism plays a role in action and intention understanding, imitation, speech, and emotion feeling.
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Notes 10.1152/physiol.00004.2008 Approved no
Call Number Equine Behaviour @ team @ Serial 5014
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Author Nagy, K.; Bodó, G.; Bárdos, G.; Bánszky, N.; Kabai, P.
Title Differences in temperament traits between crib-biting and control horses Type Journal Article
Year 2010 Publication Applied Animal Behaviour Science Abbreviated Journal Appl. Anim. Behav. Sci.
Volume 122 Issue 1 Pages 41-47
Keywords Crib-biting; Stereotypic behaviour; Equine temperament; Trainability; Coping strategies
Abstract Recent studies have suggested that crib-biting in horses is associated with diminished capacity of learning or coping with stress. Such findings raise the question whether trainability, which is fundamentally important in practice, could also be affected by stereotypic behaviour. Trainability of a horse is difficult to assess in simple tests, however, it is reliably estimated by experienced riders. To assess trainability and other characteristics related to that, a questionnaire survey was conducted with the owners of 50 crib-biting and 50 control horses. Where possible, control horses were selected from the same establishment as crib-biters. Groups did not differ significantly regarding age, breed, gender, training level or usage. Principal component analysis revealed three main factors which can be labelled as [`]Anxiety', [`]Affability' and [`]Trainability'. The [`]Anxiety' factor consisted of the items [`]Nervousness', [`]Excitability', [`]Panic', [`]Inconsistent emotionality', [`]Vigilance', [`]Skittishness', and [`]Timidity'. [`]Affability' consisted of [`]Friendliness toward people', [`]Cooperation', [`]Docility' and [`]Friendliness toward horses'. [`]Trainability' involved [`]Concentration', [`]Trainability', [`]Memory', and [`]Perseverance'. Temperament traits were not affected by age, gender, breed or training level, but the usage of the horse and the presence of crib-biting behaviour had significant effects. Competition horses had lower level of [`]Anxiety' (p = 0.032) and higher level of [`]Trainability' (p = 0.068) than leisure horses. Crib-biting horses had significantly lower level of [`]Anxiety' than control horses (p < 0.001), while [`]Trainability' and [`]Affability' did not differ between groups (p = 0.823 and p = 0.543, respectively). Competition horses are more often exposed to novel environment and to frightening stimuli (e.g. colourful obstacles) than leisure horses and therefore might have also become more habituated to these types of stimuli. Coping with novel situation may be enhanced by defusing nervous behaviour by the more experienced riders of competition. Previous studies indicated crib-biting horses to be less reactive when challenged as compared to control horses. We suggest that the virtual calmness and lower nervousness of the crib-biting horses might be due to the passive coping style of these animals. [`]Affability' of horses might be more related to housing and management conditions than to crib-biting. Contrary to expectations, scores on [`]Trainability' had not coincided with the impaired learning of crib-biting horses reported in laboratory tests. However, previous behavioural tests on equine learning rarely had a direct relevance to the training abilities of the horses. Our results do not support crib-biting stereotypy to affect performance in training, which is a complex learning process involving cooperation and docility in the social environment.
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Publisher Place of Publication Editor
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Series Editor Series Title Abbreviated Series Title
Series Volume Series Issue Edition
ISSN 0168-1591 ISBN Medium
Area Expedition Conference
Notes Approved no
Call Number Equine Behaviour @ team @ Serial 5078
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Author Siniscalchi, M.; Sasso, R.; Pepe, A.M.; Vallortigara, G.; Quaranta, A.
Title Dogs turn left to emotional stimuli Type Journal Article
Year 2010 Publication Behavioural Brain Research Abbreviated Journal Behav. Brain. Res.
Volume 208 Issue 2 Pages 516-521
Keywords Dog; Laterality; Vision; Behaviour; Physiology; Cognition; Emotion; Animal welfare
Abstract During feeding behaviour, dogs were suddenly presented with 2D stimuli depicting the silhouette of a dog, a cat or a snake simultaneously into the left and right visual hemifields. A bias to turn the head towards the left rather than the right side was observed with the cat and snake stimulus but not with the dog stimulus. Latencies to react following stimulus presentation were lower for left than for right head turning, whereas times needed to resume feeding behaviour were higher after left rather than after right head turning. When stimuli were presented only to the left or right visual hemifields, dogs proved to be more responsive to left side presentation, irrespective of the type of stimulus. However, cat and snake stimuli produced shorter latencies to react and longer times to resume feeding following left rather than right monocular visual hemifield presentation. Results demonstrate striking lateralization in dogs, with the right side of the brain more responsive to threatening and alarming stimuli. Possible implications for animal welfare are discussed.
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Series Editor Series Title Abbreviated Series Title
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ISSN 0166-4328 ISBN Medium
Area Expedition Conference
Notes Approved no
Call Number Equine Behaviour @ team @ Serial 5080
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Author Nagy, K.; Bodó, G.; Bárdos, G.; Harnos, A.; Kabai, P.
Title The effect of a feeding stress-test on the behaviour and heart rate variability of control and crib-biting horses (with or without inhibition) Type Journal Article
Year 2009 Publication Applied Animal Behaviour Science Abbreviated Journal Appl. Anim. Behav. Sci.
Volume 121 Issue 2 Pages 140-147
Keywords Stereotypic behaviour; Crib-biting; Modified Forssell's operation; Cribbing collar; Equine welfare; Stress coping
Abstract Crib-biting is a form of oral stereotypy affecting 4-5% of horses. Once fixed, crib-biting is difficult to eliminate by behaviour therapy, however, its performance can be inhibited by collar or surgery treatment (modified Forssell's procedure). Although surgical intervention is widespread, the effects on stress coping in horses have not been studied. In the present study we evaluated changes in behaviour response and heart rate variability in 9 control, 10 crib-biting, 10 collar and 11 surgically treated horses in a feeding stress-test, in which a feeding-bowl was placed in front but out of the reach of the horses, from which tidbits were given 3 times. We found that stress triggers high oral activity, mainly cribbing in crib-biting horses, elevates other forms of oral activities in the inhibited groups and does not affect oral activities of controls. Instead of performing oral activities, control horses tended to target an unavailable feeding-bowl by pawing or head-tossing. Changes in stress level were indistinguishable in controls and crib-biters as heart rate variability returned to baseline values in both groups. In contrast, horses inhibited to perform crib-biting showed elevated stress level throughout the test period. Our results suggest that crib-biting may develop to cope with stress, and such coping function diminishes when inhibited.
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Publisher Place of Publication Editor
Language (up) Summary Language Original Title
Series Editor Series Title Abbreviated Series Title
Series Volume Series Issue Edition
ISSN 0168-1591 ISBN Medium
Area Expedition Conference
Notes Approved no
Call Number Equine Behaviour @ team @ Serial 5091
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