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Author Croneya, C.C.
Title Group size and cognitive processes Type Journal Article
Year 2007 Publication Applied Animal Behaviour Science Abbreviated Journal Appl. Anim. Behav. Sci.
Volume 103 Issue 3-4 Pages 15-228
Keywords Group size; Social complexity; Social learning; Cognitive processes
Abstract Animal group sizes may exert important effects on various cognitive mechanisms. Group

size is believed to exert pressures on fundamental brain structures that correlate with the

increased social demands placed on animals living in relatively large, complex and dynamic

social organizations. There is strong experimental evidence connecting social complexity,

social learning and development of other cognitive abilities in a broad range of wild and

domesticated animal species. In particular, group size seems to have significant effects on

animals? abilities to derive concrete and abstract relationships. Here, we review the literature

pertaining to cognitive processes and behaviours of various animal species relative to group

size, with emphasis on social learning. It is suggested that understanding the relationship

between group size and cognition in animals may yield practical animal management

benefits, such as housing and conservation strategies, and may also have implications for

improved animal welfare.
Address
Corporate Author Ruth C. Newberryb Thesis
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Notes (up) Approved no
Call Number refbase @ user @ Serial 277
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Author Murphy, J.; Arkins, S.
Title Equine learning behaviour Type Journal Article
Year 2007 Publication Behavioural Processes Abbreviated Journal Behav. Process.
Volume 76 Issue 1 Pages 1-13
Keywords Horse; Behaviour; Learning; Processes; Memory
Abstract Scientists and equestrians continually seek to achieve a clearer understanding of equine learning behaviour and its implications for training. Behavioural and learning processes in the horse are likely to influence not only equine athletic success but also the usefulness of the horse as a domesticated species. However given the status and commercial importance of the animal, equine learning behaviour has received only limited investigation. Indeed most experimental studies on equine cognitive function to date have addressed behaviour, learning and conceptualisation processes at a moderately basic cognitive level compared to studies in other species. It is however, likely that the horses with the greatest ability to learn and form/understand concepts are those, which are better equipped to succeed in terms of the human-horse relationship and the contemporary training environment. Within equitation generally, interpretation of the behavioural processes and training of the desired responses in the horse are normally attempted using negative reinforcement strategies. On the other hand, experimental designs to actually induce and/or measure equine learning rely almost exclusively on primary positive reinforcement regimes. Employing two such different approaches may complicate interpretation and lead to difficulties in identifying problematic or undesirable behaviours in the horse. The visual system provides the horse with direct access to immediate environmental stimuli that affect behaviour but vision in the horse is of yet not fully investigated or understood. Further investigations of the equine visual system will benefit our understanding of equine perception, cognitive function and the subsequent link with learning and training. More detailed comparative investigations of feral or free-ranging and domestic horses may provide useful evidence of attention, stress and motivational issues affecting behavioural and learning processes in the horse. The challenge for scientists is, as always, to design and commission experiments that will investigate and provide insight into these processes in a manner that withstands scientific scrutiny.
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Notes (up) Approved no
Call Number refbase @ user @ Serial 629
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Author Pennisi, E.
Title Are out primate cousins 'conscious'? Type
Year 1999 Publication Science (New York, N.Y.) Abbreviated Journal Science
Volume 284 Issue 5423 Pages 2073-2076
Keywords Animals; *Behavior, Animal; Cebus; *Consciousness; Empathy; Humans; Instinct; Intelligence; Learning; *Mental Processes; Pan troglodytes; *Primates
Abstract
Address
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Language English Summary Language Original Title
Series Editor Series Title Abbreviated Series Title
Series Volume Series Issue Edition
ISSN 0036-8075 ISBN Medium
Area Expedition Conference
Notes (up) PMID:10409060 Approved no
Call Number Equine Behaviour @ team @ Serial 2843
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Author Devienne, M.F.; Guezennec, C.Y.
Title Energy expenditure of horse riding Type Journal Article
Year 2000 Publication European Journal of Applied Physiology Abbreviated Journal Eur J Appl Physiol
Volume 82 Issue 5-6 Pages 499-503
Keywords Adult; Animals; Energy Metabolism/*physiology; Exercise/*physiology; Exercise Test; Female; Hemodynamic Processes/physiology; Horses; Humans; Male; Oxygen Consumption/physiology; Respiratory Mechanics/physiology
Abstract Oxygen consumption (VO2), ventilation (VE) and heart rate (HR) were studied in five recreational riders with a portable oxygen analyser (K2 Cosmed, Rome) telemetric system, during two different experimental riding sessions. The first one was a dressage session in which the rider successively rode four different horses at a walk, trot and canter. The second one was a jumping training session. Each rider rode two horses, one known and one unknown. The physiological parameters were measured during warm up at a canter in suspension and when jumping an isolated obstacle at a trot and canter. This session was concluded by a jumping course with 12 obstacles. The data show a progressive increase in VO2 during the dressage session from a mean value of 0.70 (0.18) l x min(-1) [mean (SD)] at a walk, to 1.47 (0.28) l x min(-1) at a trot, and 1.9 (0.3) l x min(-1) at a canter. During the jumping session, rider VO2 was 2 (0.33) l x min(-1) with a mean HR of 155 beats x min(-1) during canter in suspension, obstacle trot and obstacle canter. The jumping course significantly enhanced VO2 and HR up to mean values of 2.40 (0.35) l x min(-1) and 176 beats x min(-1), respectively. The comparison among horses and riders during the dressage session shows differences in energy expenditure according to the horse for the same rider and between riders. During the jumping session, there was no statistical difference between riders riding known and unknown horses. In conclusion these data confirm that riding induces a significant increase in energy expenditure. During jumping, a mean value of 75% VO2max was reached. Therefore, a good aerobic capacity seems to be a factor determining riding performance in competitions. Regular riding practice and additional physical training are recommended to enhance the physical fitness of competitive riders.
Address Universite Paris XII-STAPS-61, Creteil, France. Mfdevienne@aol.com
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Series Editor Series Title Abbreviated Series Title
Series Volume Series Issue Edition
ISSN 1439-6319 ISBN Medium
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Notes (up) PMID:10985607 Approved no
Call Number Equine Behaviour @ team @ Serial 3731
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Author Jackson, R.R.; Pollard, S.D.; Li, D.; Fijn, N.
Title Interpopulation variation in the risk-related decisions of Portia labiata, an araneophagic jumping spider (Araneae, Salticidae), during predatory sequences with spitting spiders Type Journal Article
Year 2002 Publication Animal Cognition Abbreviated Journal Anim. Cogn.
Volume 5 Issue 4 Pages 215-223
Keywords Animals; Female; Male; Mental Processes; *Predatory Behavior; Risk Factors; *Spiders
Abstract The extent to which decision-making processes are constrained in animals with small brains is poorly understood. Arthropods have brains much smaller and simpler than those of birds and mammals. This raises questions concerning limitations on how intricate the decision-making processes might be in arthropods. At Los Banos in the Philippines, Scytodes pallidus is a spitting spider that specialises in preying on jumping spiders, and Portia labiata is a jumping spider that preys on S. pallidus. Scytodid spit comes from the mouth, and egg-carrying females are less dangerous than eggless scytodids because the female uses her chelicerae to hold her eggs. Held eggs block her mouth, and she has to release them before she can spit. The Los Banos P. labiata sometimes adjusts its tactics depending on whether the scytodid encountered is carrying eggs or not. When pursuing eggless scytodids, the Los Banos P. labiata usually takes detour routes that enable it to close in from behind (away from the scytodid's line of fire). However, when pursuing egg-carrying scytodids, the Los Banos P. labiata sometimes takes faster direct routes to reach these safer prey. The Los Banos P. labiata apparently makes risk-related adjustments specific to whether scytodids are carrying eggs, but P. labiata from Sagada in the Philippines (allopatric to Scytodes) fails to make comparable risk-related adjustments.
Address Department of Zoology, University of Canterbury, Private Bag 4800, Christchurch, New Zealand
Corporate Author Thesis
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Language English 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 (up) PMID:12461599 Approved no
Call Number Equine Behaviour @ team @ Serial 2591
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Author Reichmuth Kastak, C.; Schusterman, R.J.
Title Long-term memory for concepts in a California sea lion ( Zalophus californianus) Type Journal Article
Year 2002 Publication Animal Cognition Abbreviated Journal Anim. Cogn.
Volume 5 Issue 4 Pages 225-232
Keywords Animals; Concept Formation; Female; Memory/*physiology; Mental Processes; Sea Lions/physiology/*psychology; Time Factors
Abstract An adult California sea lion ( Zalophus californianus) with extensive experience in performing discrimination learning tasks was tested to evaluate her long-term memory for two previously learned concepts. An associative concept, that of equivalence classification, was retested after a retention interval of approximately 1 year. The sea lion had originally shown emergent equivalence classification with nonsimilarity-based classes of stimuli in a simple discrimination repeated-reversal procedure as well as in a matching-to-sample procedure. The 1-year memory test revealed no decrement in classification performance in either procedure. A relational concept, that of generalized identity matching, was retested after approximately 10 years. The sea lion had originally received trial-and-error exemplar training with identity matching-to-sample problems prior to transferring the concept to novel stimulus configurations. In the 10-year memory test, the sea lion immediately and reliably applied the previously established identity concept to familiar and novel sets of matching problems. These are the first reports of long-term conceptual memory in a nonprimate species. The experimental findings are consistent with a variety of observations of sea lions in natural settings, which indicate that natal sites, feeding areas, and individuals may be remembered over long periods of time.
Address Long Marine Laboratory, University of California at Santa Cruz, 100 Shaffer Road, Santa Cruz, CA 95060, USA. coll@cats.ucsc.edu
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ISSN 1435-9448 ISBN Medium
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Notes (up) PMID:12461600 Approved no
Call Number Equine Behaviour @ team @ Serial 2590
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Author Conradt, L.; Roper, T.J.
Title Group decision-making in animals Type Journal Article
Year 2003 Publication Nature Abbreviated Journal Nature
Volume 421 Issue 6919 Pages 155-158
Keywords Animals; Behavior, Animal/*physiology; *Decision Making; Democracy; Group Processes; *Models, Biological; Population Density; Social Behavior
Abstract Groups of animals often need to make communal decisions, for example about which activities to perform, when to perform them and which direction to travel in; however, little is known about how they do so. Here, we model the fitness consequences of two possible decision-making mechanisms: 'despotism' and 'democracy'. We show that under most conditions, the costs to subordinate group members, and to the group as a whole, are considerably higher for despotic than for democratic decisions. Even when the despot is the most experienced group member, it only pays other members to accept its decision when group size is small and the difference in information is large. Democratic decisions are more beneficial primarily because they tend to produce less extreme decisions, rather than because each individual has an influence on the decision per se. Our model suggests that democracy should be widespread and makes quantitative, testable predictions about group decision-making in non-humans.
Address School of Biological Sciences, University of Sussex, Brighton BN1 9QG, UK. l.conradt@sussex.ac.uk
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Language English Summary Language Original Title
Series Editor Series Title Abbreviated Series Title
Series Volume Series Issue Edition
ISSN 0028-0836 ISBN Medium
Area Expedition Conference
Notes (up) PMID:12520299 Approved no
Call Number Equine Behaviour @ team @ Serial 5136
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Author Merchant, H.; Fortes, A.F.; Georgopoulos, A.P.
Title Short-term memory effects on the representation of two-dimensional space in the rhesus monkey Type Journal Article
Year 2004 Publication Animal Cognition Abbreviated Journal Anim. Cogn.
Volume 7 Issue 3 Pages 133-143
Keywords Analysis of Variance; Animals; Discrimination Learning/*physiology; Macaca mulatta; Male; Memory, Short-Term/*physiology; Mental Processes/*physiology; Pattern Recognition, Visual/*physiology; Space Perception/*physiology
Abstract Human subjects represent the location of a point in 2D space using two independent dimensions (x-y in Euclidean or radius-angle in polar space), and encode location in memory along these dimensions using two levels of representation: a fine-grain value and a category. Here we determined whether monkeys possessed the ability to represent location with these two levels of coding. A rhesus monkey was trained to reproduce the location of a dot in a circle by pointing, after a delay period, on the location where a dot was presented. Five different delay periods (0.5-5 s) were used. The results showed that the monkey used a polar coordinate system to represent the fine-grain spatial coding, where the radius and angle of the dots were encoded independently. The variability of the spatial response and reaction time increased with longer delays. Furthermore, the animal was able to form a categorical representation of space that was delay-dependent. The responses avoided the circumference and the center of the circle, defining a categorical radial prototype around one third of the total radial length. This radial category was observed only at delay durations of 3-5 s. Finally, the monkey also formed angular categories with prototypes at the obliques of the quadrants of the circle, avoiding the horizontal and vertical axes. However, these prototypes were only observed at the 5-s delay and on dots lying on the circumference. These results indicate that monkeys may possess spatial cognitive abilities similar to humans.
Address Brain Sciences Center (11B), Veterans Affairs Medical Center, One Veterans Drive, MN 55417, Minneapolis, USA
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Series Editor Series Title Abbreviated Series Title
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ISSN 1435-9448 ISBN Medium
Area Expedition Conference
Notes (up) PMID:14669074 Approved no
Call Number Equine Behaviour @ team @ Serial 2548
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Author Goto, K.; Wills, A.J.; Lea, S.E.G.
Title Global-feature classification can be acquired more rapidly than local-feature classification in both humans and pigeons Type Journal Article
Year 2004 Publication Animal Cognition Abbreviated Journal Anim. Cogn.
Volume 7 Issue 2 Pages 109-113
Keywords Adult; Animals; Behavior, Animal/physiology; *Classification; Columbidae/*physiology; *Discrimination Learning; Form Perception; Humans; *Mental Processes; *Pattern Recognition, Visual; Species Specificity
Abstract When humans process visual stimuli, global information often takes precedence over local information. In contrast, some recent studies have pointed to a local precedence effect in both pigeons and nonhuman primates. In the experiment reported here, we compared the speed of acquisition of two different categorizations of the same four geometric figures. One categorization was on the basis of a local feature, the other on the basis of a readily apparent global feature. For both humans and pigeons, the global-feature categorization was acquired more rapidly. This result reinforces the conclusion that local information does not always take precedence over global information in nonhuman animals.
Address School of Psychology, Washington Singer Laboratories, University of Exeter, EX4 4QG, Exeter, UK. K.Goto@exeter.ac.uk
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Series Editor Series Title Abbreviated Series Title
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ISSN 1435-9448 ISBN Medium
Area Expedition Conference
Notes (up) PMID:15069610 Approved no
Call Number Equine Behaviour @ team @ Serial 2530
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Author Brosnan, S.F.; Schiff, H.C.; de Waal, F.B.M.
Title Tolerance for inequity may increase with social closeness in chimpanzees Type Journal Article
Year 2005 Publication Proceedings. Biological sciences / The Royal Society Abbreviated Journal Proc Biol Sci
Volume 272 Issue 1560 Pages 253-258
Keywords Analysis of Variance; Animals; *Attitude; Group Processes; Pan troglodytes/*psychology; Reward; *Social Behavior; Socioeconomic Factors
Abstract Economic decision-making depends on our social environment. Humans tend to respond differently to inequity in close relationships, yet we know little about the potential for such variation in other species. We examine responses to inequity in several groups of chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes) in a paradigm similar to that used previously in capuchin monkeys (Cebus apella). We demonstrate that, like capuchin monkeys, chimpanzees show a response to inequity of rewards that is based upon the partner receiving the reward rather than the presence of the reward alone. However, we also found a great amount of variation between groups tested, indicating that chimpanzees, like people, respond to inequity in a variable manner, which we speculate could be caused by such variables as group size, the social closeness of the group (as reflected in length of time that the group has been together) and group-specific traditions.
Address Yerkes National Primate Research Center, Emory University, 954 North Gatewood Drive, Atlanta, GA 30329, USA. sbrosna@emory.edu
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Series Editor Series Title Abbreviated Series Title
Series Volume Series Issue Edition
ISSN 0962-8452 ISBN Medium
Area Expedition Conference
Notes (up) PMID:15705549 Approved no
Call Number refbase @ user @ Serial 169
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