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Author |
Smith, D.G.; Pearson, R.A. |
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Title |
A review of the factors affecting the survival of donkeys in semi-arid regions of sub-Saharan Africa |
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Journal Article |
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Year |
2005 |
Publication |
Tropical Animal Health and Production |
Abbreviated Journal |
Trop Anim Health Prod |
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Volume |
37 Suppl 1 |
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Pages |
1-19 |
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Keywords |
Africa South of the Sahara; Animal Nutrition Physiology; Animals; Behavior, Animal; Cattle; Equidae/growth & development/*physiology; Socioeconomic Factors |
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Abstract |
The large fluctuations seen in cattle populations during periods of drought in sub-Saharan Africa are not evident in the donkey population. Donkeys appear to have a survival advantage over cattle that is increasingly recognized by smallholder farmers in their selection of working animals. The donkey's survival advantages arise from both socioeconomic and biological factors. Socioeconomic factors include the maintenance of a low sustainable population of donkeys owing to their single-purpose role and their low social status. Also, because donkeys are not usually used as a meat animal and can provide a regular income as a working animal, they are not slaughtered in response to drought, as are cattle. Donkeys have a range of physiological and behavioural adaptations that individually provide small survival advantages over cattle but collectively may make a large difference to whether or not they survive drought. Donkeys have lower maintenance costs as a result of their size and spend less energy while foraging for food; lower energy costs result in a lower dry matter intake (DMI) requirement. In donkeys, low-quality diets are digested almost as efficiently as in ruminants and, because of a highly selective feeding strategy, the quality of diet obtained by donkeys in a given pasture is higher than that obtained by cattle. Lower energy costs of walking, longer foraging times per day and ability to tolerate thirst may allow donkeys to access more remote, under-utilized sources of forage that are inaccessible to cattle on rangeland. As donkeys become a more popular choice of working animal for farmers, specific management practices need to be devised that allow donkeys to fully maximize their natural survival advantages. |
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Department of Agriculture and Forestry, University of Aberdeen, Aberdeen, AB24 3FX, Scotland, UK. d.g.smith@abdn.ac.uk |
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0049-4747 |
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PMID:16335068 |
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Call Number |
Equine Behaviour @ team @ |
Serial |
4231 |
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Author |
Osthaus, B.; Proops, L.; Hocking, I.; Burden, F. |
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Title |
Spatial cognition and perseveration by horses, donkeys and mules in a simple A-not-B detour task |
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Journal Article |
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Year |
2013 |
Publication |
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Abbreviated Journal |
Animal Cognition |
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Volume |
16 |
Issue |
2 |
Pages |
301-305 |
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Keywords |
Equids; Donkeys; Horses; Mules; Dogs; Detour; Spatial reasoning; A-not-B; Perseveration |
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Abstract |
We investigated perseveration and detour behaviour in 36 equids (Equus caballus, E. asinus, E. caballus × E. asinus) and compared these data to those of a previous study on domestic dogs (Canis familiaris). The animals were required to make a detour through a gap at one end of a straight barrier in order to reach a visible target. After one, two, three or four repeats (A trials), the gap was moved to the opposite end of the barrier (B trials). We recorded initial deviations from the correct solution path and the latency to crossing the barrier. In the A trials, mules crossed the barrier significantly faster than their parental species, the horses and donkeys. In the B trials, following the change of gap location, all species showed a reduction in performance. Both dogs and horses exhibited significant spatial perseveration, going initially to the previous gap location. Donkeys and mules, however, performed at chance level. Our results suggest that hybrid vigour in mules extends to spatial abilities. |
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Springer-Verlag |
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English |
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1435-9448 |
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Equine Behaviour @ team @ |
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5694 |
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Author |
Valenchon, M.; Lévy, F.; Górecka-Bruzda, A.; Calandreau, L.; Lansade, L. |
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Title |
Characterization of long-term memory, resistance to extinction, and influence of temperament during two instrumental tasks in horses |
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Journal Article |
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Year |
2013 |
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Abbreviated Journal |
Animal Cognition |
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Volume |
16 |
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6 |
Pages |
1001-1006 |
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Keywords |
Personality; Learning; Individuality; Fearfulness; Equid; Cognitive flexibility |
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Abstract |
The present study investigated the influence of temperament on long-term recall and extinction of 2 instrumental tasks in 26 horses. In the first task (backward task), horses learned to walk backward, using commands given by an experimenter, in order to obtain a food reward. In the second task (active avoidance task), horses had to cross an obstacle after a bell rang in order to avoid emission of an air puff. Twenty-two months after acquisition, horses exhibited perfect recall performance in both tasks. Accordingly, no influence of temperament on recall performance could be observed for either task. In contrast, in the absence of positive or negative outcomes, the horses’ ability to extinguish their response to either task was highly variable. Resistance to extinction was related to some indicators of temperament: The most fearful horses tended to be the most resistant to extinction in the backward task, while the least sensitive horses tended to be the most resistant to extinction in the active avoidance task. These findings reveal extensive long-term memory abilities in horses and suggest an influence of temperament on learning processes other than acquisition. |
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Springer Berlin Heidelberg |
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English |
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1435-9448 |
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no |
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Call Number |
Equine Behaviour @ team @ |
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5735 |
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