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Rousing, T., & Waiblinger, S. (2004). Evaluation of on-farm methods for testing the human-animal relationship in dairy herds with cubicle loose housing systems--test-retest and inter-observer reliability and consistency to familiarity of test person. Appl. Anim. Behav. Sci., 85(3-4), 215–231.
Abstract: The human-animal relationship is an important factor when considering animal welfare at herd level. In the present study, two behavioural tests for the on-farm assessment of the human-animal relationship at herd level of dairy cows housed in loose housing cubicle systems were evaluated with respect to inter-observer reliability, test-retest reliability, effect of familiarity of test person as well as inter-correlation of the two tests. In a voluntary animal approach (VAA) test, the number of cows and the latencies to approach and touch a stationary test person was measured. In an avoidance (AV) test, the cows' avoidance reactions to an approaching test person were categorised. A first study was carried out in 12 commercial Danish and Austrian dairy farms. On each farm, both behaviour tests were carried out on the same day and repeated within 4-5 days. For each test, cows were tested by both an unfamiliar and a familiar test person (the stock-person) and two observers simultaneously registered the animals' test responses. The inter-observer reliability of both behavioural tests was found to be high (VAA: 2.5-m approach r=0.98 (P<0.001) and touch r=0.97 (P<0.001); AV: Kappa coefficientweighted=0.886 (prevalence index for flight distance>=2 m is 0.636)). The cows at herd level showed shortest latency for touching an unfamiliar test person on the first test day (P=0.006). Further, the AV test had a high test-retest reliability (Kappa coefficientweighted=0.503 (prevalence index for flight distance>=2 m is -0.660)) and results indicated no effect of familiarity of test person (Kappa coefficientweighted=0.463 (prevalence index for flight distance>=2 m is -0.677)). In a second study, the correlation between the two behavioural tests (similar measures) was evaluated. On each of 10 commercial Danish dairy farms with loose housing cubicle systems at four repeated sessions, both behaviour tests were carried out on the same day. For each test cows were tested by the stock-person. The VAA and AV tests at herd level were highly correlated (rs=-0.84; P=0.002). The results suggest that the AV test is valid and applicable for on-farm assessment of the human-animal relationship at herd level. This accounts only partly for the VAA test, which seem to be more unclear regarding motivation for the animals' approach behaviour.
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Mormède, P., Andanson, S., Aupérin, B., Beerda, B., Guémené, D., Malmkvist, J., et al. (2007). Exploration of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal function as a tool to evaluate animal welfare. Physiol. Behav., 92(3), 317–339.
Abstract: Measuring HPA axis activity is the standard approach to the study of stress and welfare in farm animals. Although the reference technique is the use of blood plasma to measure glucocorticoid hormones (cortisol or corticosterone), several alternative methods such as the measurement of corticosteroids in saliva, urine or faeces have been developed to overcome the stress induced by blood sampling itself. In chronic stress situations, as is frequently the case in studies about farm animal welfare, hormonal secretions are usually unchanged but dynamic testing allows the demonstration of functional changes at several levels of the system, including the sensitization of the adrenal cortex to ACTH and the resistance of the axis to feedback inhibition by corticosteroids (dexamethasone suppression test). Beyond these procedural aspects, the main pitfall in the use of HPA axis activity is in the interpretation of experimental data. The large variability of the system has to be taken into consideration, since corticosteroid hormone secretion is usually pulsatile, follows diurnal and seasonal rhythms, is influenced by feed intake and environmental factors such as temperature and humidity, age and physiological state, just to cite the main sources of variation. The corresponding changes reflect the important role of glucocorticoid hormones in a number of basic physiological processes such as energy metabolism and central nervous system functioning. Furthermore, large differences have been found across species, breeds and individuals, which reflect the contribution of genetic factors and environmental influences, especially during development, in HPA axis functioning. Usually, these results will be integrated with data from behavioral observation, production and pathology records in a comprehensive approach of farm animal welfare.
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Landaeta-Hernández, A. J., Chenoweth, P. J., Randles, R., Littell, R., Rae, O., & Chase, C. C. (2005). Identifying the social dominance order in a mixed breed herd: a practical methodology. Revista Científica, 15(2), 148–154.
Abstract: The major objective of this study was to identify a simple and accurate method of assessing differences in female social status. Three methods of estimating dominance value (DV) were compared in beef cows of three breed-types; Angus (A; n=10), Brahman (B; n=10), and Senepol (S; n=10). Cows were equitably assigned to two groups of fifteen each, allocated into separate pastures and containing equal number of animals by breed. Agonistic interactions were recorded for 45 d of study, in two 1 h periods during concentrate feeding using the method of competitive orders winner/loser. Methods of estimating DV included: I) Ratio between individuals dominated and total encountered, II) Ratio between encounters won to total encounters, III) Proportion of individuals dominated to total herdmates. Due to the different level of interactivity evidenced among animals as well as between and within social orders, method III with subsequent arc-sin transformation was considered as the most practical and accurate method for estimating DV and subsequent allocation of cows into a social dominance order. In addition, a breed effect was found on social dominance. Senepol cows obtained greater DV`s (1.24 ± 0.08) than Angus (0.97 ± 0.08; P<0.03) and Brahman cows (0.76 ± 0.08; P<0.005).
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Forkman, B., Boissy, A., Meunier-Salaün, M. - C., Canali, E., & Jones, R. B. (2007). A critical review of fear tests used on cattle, pigs, sheep, poultry and horses. Physiol. Behav., 92(3), 340–374.
Abstract: FORKMAN, B., A., BOISSY, M.-C., SALAUN, E., CANALI, AND R.B., JONES. A critical review of fear tests used on cattle, pigs, sheep, poultry and horses. PHYSIOL. BEHAV. 000-000, 2007. Fear is arguably the most commonly investigated emotion in domestic animals. In the current review we attempt to establish the level of repeatability and validity found for fear tests used on cattle, pigs, sheep and goats, poultry and horses. We focus the review on the three most common types of fear tests: the arena test (open field), the novel object test, and the restraint test. For some tests, e.g. tonic immobility in poultry, there is a good and broad literature on factors that affect the outcome of the test, the validity of the test and its age dependency. However, there are comparatively few of these well defined and validated tests and what is especially missing for most tests is information on the robustness, i.e., what aspects can be changed without affecting the validity of the tests. The relative absence of standardized tests hampers the development of applied ethology as a science.
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Heffner, R. S., & Heffner, H. E. (1983). Hearing in large mammals: Horses (Equus caballus) and cattle (Bos taurus). Behavioral Neuroscience, 97(2), 299–309.
Abstract: Determined behavioral audiograms for 3 horses and 2 cows. Horses' hearing ranged from 55 Hz to 33.3 kHz, with a region of best sensitivity from 1 to 16 kHz. Cattle hearing ranged from 23 Hz to 35 kHz, with a well-defined point of best sensitivity at 8 kHz. Of the 2 species, cattle proved to have more acute hearing, with a lowest threshold of –21 db (re 20 μN/m–2) compared with the horses' lowest threshold of 7 db. Comparative analysis of the hearing abilities of these 2 species with those of other mammals provides further support for the relation between interaural distance and high-frequency hearing and between high- and low-frequency hearing. (39 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved)
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Sárová, R., Spinka, M., Panamá, J. L. A., & Simecek, P. (2010). Graded leadership by dominant animals in a herd of female beef cattle on pasture. Anim. Behav., 79(5), 1037–1045.
Abstract: The role of dominant individuals in leading groups of animals is not yet well understood. We investigated whether dominant beef cows, Bos taurus, have more influence on herd movement on pasture than more subordinate cows. A herd of 15 Gasconne cows was observed for a 3-week period between dawn and dusk. The positions of all adult cows were recorded with GPS collars at 1 min intervals and the behaviour of each cow was recorded in 5 min scans. The dominance hierarchy was recorded by ad libitum sampling. Through cluster analysis of the recorded data, we distinguished three herd behaviour patterns: resting, foraging and travelling. Dominant cows were closer to the front of the herd during both travelling and foraging. During travelling, more dominant cows also had more direct trajectories and were more aligned both with their nearest neighbours and with the whole herd. During foraging, the trajectories of dominant cows were shorter than those of subordinate cows. The results indicate that foraging and short-distance travelling movements by female beef cattle are not led by any particular individual but rather are influenced by a graded type of leadership; that is, the more dominant a cow is, the stronger the influence it may have on the movements of the herd.
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Mazurek, M., McGee, M., Minchin, W., Crowe, M. A., & Earley, B. (2011). Is the avoidance distance test for the assessment of animals' responsiveness to humans influenced by either the dominant or flightiest animal in the group? Appl. Anim. Behav. Sci., 132(3-4), 107–113.
Abstract: A previously described (Windschnurer et al., 2009) avoidance distance test was used to assess animals’ fear of humans in order to quantify the human–animal relationship (HAR). This study investigated the influence of the dominant and flightiest animals within a group on the responsiveness of animals during the avoidance distance test. Eighty-eight pregnant heifers comprised of four different genotypes were used (22 animals per genotype): Limousin × Holstein-Friesian, Limousin × Simmental, Charolais × Limousin, and Charolais × Simmental. Sixty of the 88 heifers were group housed (n = 5) into 12 pens with 3 pens per breed, while 28 heifers were singly housed (seven heifers per breed). A reactivity test was performed on days 10, 18, 25 and 30 post-housing on the singly housed heifers, and then on the group housed heifers, on the same days, to calculate a reactivity score. On days 33 and 37 flight and dominance tests, respectively, were performed to identify the flightiest and the dominant animal within each group. On day 41, an avoidance test, measuring both the avoidance distance towards a familiar and an unfamiliar human, was performed on all heifers. No difference (P > 0.05) in reactivity scores was found between the genotypes, between pens for the group housed heifers or between singly housed and group housed heifers (P = 0.28). The avoidance distance (AD) of singly (S) housed heifers towards a familiar (F) (ADSF) human was shorter (P < 0.001) than the avoidance distance of group (G) housed heifers towards an unfamiliar human (ADSU). The ADSF and ADGF were correlated with the ADSU and ADGU (R = 0.87 for singly housed heifers; R = 0.61 for group housed heifers, P < 0.001). For the singly housed heifers, no correlation was observed between reactivity score and ADSF (R = 0.36, P = 0.18), whereas the reactivity score and ADSU were correlated (R = 0.68, P = 0.004). For the group housed heifers no significant correlation was detected between the reactivity score and ADGF (R = 0.18, P = 0.22) or ADGU (R = −0.11, P = 0.39). No influence of the most dominant animal and the flightiest animals was found on the behaviour of the group in term of avoidance distance and reactivity (P > 0.05). It is concluded that the assessment of the fear of the animals towards humans using the avoidance test at the feed bunk may be useful for singly and group housed heifers and that the leaders of a group such as the flightiest animal or the dominant animal did not influence the avoidance distance test.
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Dumont, B., Rossignol, N., Loucougaray, G., Carrère, P., Chadoeuf, J., Fleurance, G., et al. (2012). When does grazing generate stable vegetation patterns in temperate pastures? Agriculture, Ecosystems & Environment, 153, 50–56.
Abstract: The stability of grazing-induced spatial patterns of vegetation was analyzed at two spatial scales (25 m × 20 m areas and 1.6 m × 0.8 m grids) in pastures of contrasting productivity (maximum standing biomass: 130–800 gDM/m2). At both scales, the mosaic of grazed and ungrazed patches was modeled as a Boolean process, calculating cross-variograms to quantify the temporal stability of grazing patterns and its links with local floristic composition were tested. The scale at which stability of vegetation patterns took place in two successive years depended on pasture productivity. Inter-annual stability of large-scale patterns mainly occurred in extensively used fertile pastures grazed by cattle, and in pastures grazed by horses. Less-fertile grasslands were mainly characterized by a fine-scale stability of grazing patterns. Stable fine-scale patterns were often related to the local abundance of legumes and forbs. Stable large-scale patterns of grazing within lightly grazed productive grasslands could result in divergent local vegetation dynamics, which can be seen as an opportunity for restoring biodiversity in fertile grasslands.
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Begall, S., Malkemper, E. P., Cervený, J., Nemec, P., & Burda, H. (2013). Magnetic alignment in mammals and other animals. Mamm. Biol., 78(1), 10–20.
Abstract: Magnetic alignment (MA) constitutes the simplest directional response to the geomagnetic field. In contrast to magnetic compass orientation, MA is not goal directed and represents a spontaneous, fixed directional response. Because animals tend to align their bodies along or perpendicular to the magnetic field lines, MA typically leads to bimodal or quadrimodal orientation, although there is also growing evidence for a fixed unimodal orientation not necessarily coinciding with the magnetic cardinal directions. MA has been demonstrated in diverse animals including insects, amphibians, fish, and mammals. Alignment can be expressed by animals during resting as well as on the move (e.g. while grazing, hunting, feeding, etc.). Here, we briefly survey characteristic features and classical examples of MA and review the current knowledge about the occurrence of MA in mammals. In addition, we summarize what is known about mechanisms underlying MA and discuss its prospective biological functions. Finally, we highlight some physiological effects of alignment along the magnetic field axes reported in humans. We argue that the phenomenon of MA adds a new paradigm that can be exploited for investigation of magnetoreception in mammals.
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Hagen, K., & Broom, D. M. (2004). Emotional reactions to learning in cattle. Appl. Anim. Behav. Sci., 85(3), 203–213.
Abstract: It has been suggested that during instrumental learning, animals are likely to react emotionally to the reinforcer. They may in addition react emotionally to their own achievements. These reactions are of interest with regard to the animals' capacity for self-awareness. Therefore, we devised a yoked control experiment involving the acquisition of an operant task. We aimed to identify the emotional reactions of young cattle to their own learning and to separate these from reactions to a food reward. Twelve Holstein-Friesian heifers aged 7-12 months were divided into two groups. Heifers in the experimental group were conditioned over a 14-day period to press a panel in order to open a gate for access to a food reward. For heifers in the control group, the gate opened after a delay equal to their matched partner's latency to open it. To allow for observation of the heifers' movements during locomotion after the gate had opened, there was a 15m distance in the form of a race from the gate to the food trough. The heart rate of the heifers, and their behaviour when moving along the race towards the food reward were measured. When experimental heifers made clear improvements in learning, they were more likely than on other occasions to have higher heart rates and tended to move more vigorously along the race in comparison with their controls. This experiment found some, albeit inconclusive, indication that cattle may react emotionally to their own learning improvement.
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