| Records |
| Author |
Langbein, J.; Nurnberg, G.; Puppe, B.; Manteuffel, G. |
| Title |
Self-Controlled Visual Discrimination Learning of Group-Housed Dwarf Goats (Capra hircus): Behavioral Strategies and Effects of Relocation on Learning and Memory |
Type |
Journal Article |
| Year |
2006 |
Publication |
Journal of Comparative Psychology |
Abbreviated Journal |
J. Comp. Psychol. |
| Volume |
120 |
Issue |
1 |
Pages |
58-66 |
| Keywords |
dwarf goats; visual discrimination; operant learning; learning strategies; context |
| Abstract |
In most studies on animal learning, individual animals are tested separately in a specific learning environment and with a limited number of trials per day. An alternative approach is to test animals in a familiar environment in their social group. In this study, the authors--applying a fully automated learning device--investigated voluntary, self-controlled visual shape discrimination learning of group-housed dwarf goats (Capra hircus). The majority of the tested goats showed successful shape discrimination, which indicates the adaptive value of an effective learning strategy. However, in each group, a few individual goats developed behavioral strategies different from shape discrimination to get reward. Relocation impairs memory retrieval (probably by attention shifting) only temporarily for previously learnt shapes. The results demonstrate the usefulness of a self-controlled learning paradigm to assess learning abilities of social species in their normal social settings. This may be especially relevant for captive animals to improve their welfare. |
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2140 |
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Saucier, D.M.; Shultz, S.R.; Keller, A.J.; Cook, C.M.; Binsted, G. |
| Title |
Sex differences in object location memory and spatial navigation in Long-Evans rats |
Type |
Journal Article |
| Year |
2007 |
Publication |
Animal Cognition |
Abbreviated Journal |
Anim. Cogn. |
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In both humans and rodents, males typically excel on a number of tasks requiring spatial ability. However, human females exhibit advantages in memory for the spatial location of objects. This study investigated whether rats would exhibit similar sex differences on a task of object location memory (OLM) and on the watermaze (WM). We predicted that females should outperform males on the OLM task and that males should outperform females on the WM. To control for possible effects of housing environment, rats were housed in either complex environments or in standard shoebox housing. Eighty Long-Evans rats (40 males and 40 females) were housed in either complex (Complex rats) or standard shoebox housing (Control rats). Results indicated that males had superior performance on the WM, whereas females outperformed males on the OLM task, regardless of housing environment. As these sex differences cannot be easily attributed to differences in cognitive style related to linguistic processing of environmental features or to selection pressures related to the hunting gathering evolutionary prehistory of humans, these data suggest that sex differences in spatial ability may be related to traits selected for by polygynous mating strategies. |
| Address |
Canadian Centre for Behavioural Neuroscience, Department of Neuroscience, University of Lethbridge, 4401 University Dr., Lethbridge, AB, Canada, T1K 3M4, Deborah.Saucier@ULeth.ca |
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English |
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1435-9448 |
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PMID:17562087 |
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no |
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Equine Behaviour @ team @ |
Serial |
2391 |
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Sinclair, M.; Buhrmann, G.; Gummow, B. |
| Title |
An epidemiological investigation of the African horsesickness outbreak in the Western Cape Province of South Africa in 2004 and its relevance to the current equine export protocol |
Type |
Journal Article |
| Year |
2006 |
Publication |
Journal of the South African Veterinary Association |
Abbreviated Journal |
J S Afr Vet Assoc |
| Volume |
77 |
Issue |
4 |
Pages |
191-196 |
| Keywords |
African Horse Sickness/diagnosis/*epidemiology; African horse sickness virus/*isolation & purification; Animals; Ceratopogonidae/virology; Diagnosis, Differential; Disease Outbreaks/*veterinary; Female; Horses; Insect Vectors/virology; Male; Prevalence; Retrospective Studies; Sentinel Surveillance; South Africa/epidemiology; Viral Vaccines/administration & dosage |
| Abstract |
African Horsesickness (AHS) is a controlled disease in South Africa. The country is divided into an infected area and a control area. An outbreak of AHS in the control area can result in a ban of exports for at least 2 years. A retrospective epidemiological study was carried out on data collected during the 2004 AHS outbreak in the surveillance zone of the AHS control area in the Western Cape Province. The objective of this study was to describe the 2004 outbreak and compare it with the 1999 AHS outbreak in the same area. As part of the investigation, a questionnaire survey was conducted in the 30 km radius surrounding the index case. Spatial, temporal and population patterns for the outbreak are described. The investigation found that the outbreak occurred before any significant rainfall and that the main AHS vector (Culicoides imicola) was present in abundance during the outbreak. Furthermore, 63% of cases occurred at temperatures < or = 15 degrees C, the Eerste River Valley was a high risk area, only 17% of owners used vector protection as a control measure and 70% of horses in the outbreak area were protected by means of vaccination at the start of the outbreak. The study revealed that the current AHS control measures do not function optimally because of the high percentage of vaccinated horses in the surveillance zone, which results in insufficient sentinel animals and the consequent failure of the early warning system. Alternative options for control that allow continued export are discussed in the paper. |
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State Veterinarian Epidemiology, Elsenburg, South Africa. marnas@elsenburg.com |
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1019-9128 |
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| Notes |
PMID:17458343 |
Approved |
no |
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Equine Behaviour @ team @ |
Serial |
2354 |
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| Author |
Venter, G.J.; Koekemoer, J.J.O.; Paweska, J.T. |
| Title |
Investigations on outbreaks of African horse sickness in the surveillance zone in South Africa |
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Journal Article |
| Year |
2006 |
Publication |
Revue Scientifique et Technique (International Office of Epizootics) |
Abbreviated Journal |
Rev Sci Tech |
| Volume |
25 |
Issue |
3 |
Pages |
1097-1109 |
| Keywords |
African Horse Sickness/*epidemiology; African horse sickness virus/genetics/*isolation & purification; Animals; Ceratopogonidae/*virology; Disease Outbreaks/*veterinary; Horses; Insect Vectors/*virology; Prevalence; Sentinel Surveillance/veterinary; South Africa/epidemiology |
| Abstract |
Confirmed outbreaks of African horse sickness (AHS) occurred in the surveillance zone of the Western Cape in 1999 and 2004, both of which led to a two-year suspension on the export of horses. Light trap surveys in the outbreak areas showed that known vector competent Culicoides species, notably C. imicola, were abundant and present in numbers equal to those in the traditional AHS endemic areas. Isolations of AHS virus serotypes 1 and 7, equine encephalosis virus, and bluetongue virus from field-collected C. imicola in the surveillance zone demonstrated that this species was highly competent and could transmit viruses belonging to different serogroups of the Orbivirus genus. Molecular identification of recovered virus isolates indicated that at least two incursions of AHS into the surveillance zone had taken place in 2004. The designation of an AHS-free zone in the Western Cape remains controversial since it can be easily compromised, as evidenced by the two recent outbreaks. In light of the results reported in the present study, the policy of maintaining a large population of unvaccinated horses in the surveillance zone should be reconsidered, as it leaves them vulnerable to infection with AHS virus, which is the most pathogenic of all equine viruses. |
| Address |
Agricultural Research Council-Onderstepoort Veterinary Institute, Private Bag X5, Onderstepoort, 0110 South Africa |
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English |
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0253-1933 |
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| Notes |
PMID:17361773 |
Approved |
no |
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Equine Behaviour @ team @ |
Serial |
2355 |
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Hvorecny, L.M.; Grudowski, J.L.; Blakeslee, C.J.; Simmons, T.L.; Roy, P.R.; Brooks, J.A.; Hanner, R.M.; Beigel, M.E.; Karson, M.A.; Nichols, R.H.; Holm, J.B.; Boal, J.G. |
| Title |
Octopuses (Octopus bimaculoides) and cuttlefishes (Sepia pharaonis, S. officinalis) can conditionally discriminate |
Type |
Journal Article |
| Year |
2007 |
Publication |
Animal Cognition |
Abbreviated Journal |
Anim. Cogn. |
| Volume |
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Pages |
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In complex navigation using landmarks, an animal must discriminate between potential cues and show context (condition) sensitivity. Such conditional discrimination is considered a form of complex learning and has been associated primarily with vertebrates. We tested the hypothesis that octopuses and cuttlefish are capable of conditional discrimination. Subjects were trained in two maze configurations (the conditions) in which they were required to select one of two particular escape routes within each maze (the discrimination). Conditional discrimination could be demonstrated by selecting the correct escape route in each maze. Six of ten mud-flat octopuses (Octopus bimaculoides), 6 of 13 pharaoh cuttlefish (Sepia pharaonis), and one of four common cuttlefish (S. officinalis) demonstrated conditional discrimination by successfully solving both mazes. These experiments demonstrate that cephalopods are capable of conditional discrimination and extend the limits of invertebrate complex learning. |
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Department of Biology, Millersville University, 50 East Frederick Street, Millersville, PA, 17551-0302, USA, jean.boal@millersville.edu |
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1435-9448 |
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PMID:17437139 |
Approved |
no |
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Equine Behaviour @ team @ |
Serial |
2405 |
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Mauck, B.; Dehnhardt, G. |
| Title |
Spatial multiple-choice matching in a harbour seal (Phoca vitulina): differential encoding of landscape versus local feature information? |
Type |
Journal Article |
| Year |
2007 |
Publication |
Animal Cognition |
Abbreviated Journal |
Anim. Cogn. |
| Volume |
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Issue |
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Pages |
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The nature of spatial information used for memorizing and recalling places is largely unclear. Earlier studies tested integration of geometric and feature information mostly during reorientation in artificial environments without including time as a memory-critical component. Here, we tested a harbour seal in a delayed matching-to-sample task (DMTS) in a familiar environment under two spatial multiple-choice conditions. The feature condition consisted of a DMTS task with four comparison stimuli presented on fixed positions in a classic matching apparatus and was designed to make stimulus features the most prominent information. The landscape condition consisted of a DMTS task in a familiar environment with four places marked by comparison stimuli and allowed the use of all available spatial information including geometrical and feature information. The seal's performance was impaired by delays of 3, 6, 9 or 12 s only in the feature condition; a delay of 12 s resulted in chance level performance. Replacing the comparison stimuli at the apparatus with identical spheres resulted in impaired performance. Performance in the landscape condition was impaired neither by delays nor by replacing comparison stimuli with spheres. Landscape information obviously was encoded redundantly and could be recalled more reliably and longer than feature information, which reveals feature information to be a less valuable type of spatial information for memorizing and recalling places. |
| Address |
Allgemeine Zoologie and Neurobiologie, Ruhr-Universitat Bochum, ND6/33, 44780, Bochum, Germany, Bjoern.Mauck@rub.de |
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1435-9448 |
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| Notes |
PMID:17377825 |
Approved |
no |
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Equine Behaviour @ team @ |
Serial |
2412 |
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Westergaard, G.C.; Evans, T.A.; Howell, S. |
| Title |
Token mediated tool exchange between tufted capuchin monkeys (Cebus apella) |
Type |
Journal Article |
| Year |
2007 |
Publication |
Animal Cognition |
Abbreviated Journal |
Anim. Cogn. |
| Volume |
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Issue |
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Three experiments were conducted to test whether a pair of tufted capuchin monkeys (Cebus apella) could generalize their ability to exchange tokens and tool objects with a human experimenter to similar exchanges with a conspecific partner. Monkeys were tested in side-by-side enclosures, one enclosure containing a tool-use apparatus and one or more token(s), and the other enclosure containing one or more tool object(s). The monkeys willingly transferred tokens and tools to a conspecific with little practice. Following a small amount of training, we also found that the monkeys would select situation-appropriate tokens to exchange for specific tools, but did not select appropriate tool objects in response to another monkey's token transfers. Implications regarding role reversal are discussed. |
| Address |
Alpha Genesis, Inc., 95 Castle Hall Road, P.O. Box 557, Yemassee, SC, 29945, USA |
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English |
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1435-9448 |
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PMID:17345056 |
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no |
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Equine Behaviour @ team @ |
Serial |
2415 |
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Gibbs, S.E.B.; Lea, S.E.G.; Jacobs, L.F. |
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Flexible use of spatial cues in the southern flying squirrel (Glaucomys volans) |
Type |
Journal Article |
| Year |
2007 |
Publication |
Animal Cognition |
Abbreviated Journal |
Anim. Cogn. |
| Volume |
10 |
Issue |
2 |
Pages |
203-209 |
| Keywords |
Animals; Male; Orientation; *Sciuridae; *Space Perception; *Spatial Behavior |
| Abstract |
Insects, birds, and mammals have been shown capable of encoding spatial information in memory using multiple strategies or frames of reference simultaneously. These strategies include orientation to a goal-specific cue or beacon, to the position of the goal in an array of local landmarks, or to its position in the array of distant landmarks, also known as the global frame of reference. From previous experiments, it appears that birds and mammals that scatter hoard rely primarily on a global frame of reference, but this generalization depends on evidence from only a few species. Here we examined spatial memory in a previously unstudied scatter hoarder, the southern flying squirrel. We dissociated the relative weighting of three potential spatial strategies (beacon, global, or relative array strategy) with three probe tests: transposition of beacon and the rotation or the expansion of the array. The squirrels' choices were consistent with a spatial averaging strategy, where they chose the location dictated by at least two of the three strategies, rather than using a single preferred frame of reference. This adaptive and flexible heuristic has not been previously described in animal orientation studies, yet it may be a common solution to the universal problem of encoding and recalling spatial locations in an ephemeral physical landscape. |
| Address |
Department of Psychology, University of California, Berkeley, CA 94720-1650, USA |
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English |
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1435-9448 |
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| Notes |
PMID:17265151 |
Approved |
no |
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Equine Behaviour @ team @ |
Serial |
2422 |
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| Author |
Zucca, P.; Milos, N.; Vallortigara, G. |
| Title |
Piagetian object permanence and its development in Eurasian jays (Garrulus glandarius) |
Type |
Journal Article |
| Year |
2007 |
Publication |
Animal Cognition |
Abbreviated Journal |
Anim. Cogn. |
| Volume |
10 |
Issue |
2 |
Pages |
243-258 |
| Keywords |
Animals; *Behavior, Animal; Birds/*physiology; *Cognition; *Cues |
| Abstract |
Object permanence in Eurasian jays (Garrulus glandarius) was investigated using a complete version of the Uzgiris and Hunt scale 1. Nine hand-raised jays were studied, divided into two groups according to their different developmental stages (experiment 1, older jays: 2-3 months old, n = 4; experiment 2, younger jays: 15 days old, n = 5). In the first experiment, we investigated whether older jays could achieve piagetian stage 6 of object permanence. Tasks were administered in a fixed sequence (1-15) according to the protocols used in other avian species. The aim of the second experiment was to check whether testing very young jays before their development of “neophobia” could influence the achievement times of piagetian stages. Furthermore, in this experiment tasks were administered randomly to investigate whether the jays' achievement of stage 6 follows a fixed sequence related to the development of specific cognitive abilities. All jays tested in experiments 1 and 2 fully achieved piagetian stage 6 and no “A not B” errors were observed. Performance on visible displacement tasks was better than performance on invisible ones. The results of experiment 2 show that “neophobia” affected the response of jays in terms of achievement times; the older jays in experiment 1 took longer to pass all the tasks when compared with the younger, less neophobic, jays in experiment 2. With regard to the achieving order, jays followed a fixed sequence of acquisition in experiment 2, even if tasks were administered randomly, with the exception of one subject. The results of these experiments support the idea that piagetian stages of cognitive development exist in avian species and that they progress through relatively fixed sequences. |
| Address |
Department of Psychology, Laboratory of Animal Cognition and Comparative Neuroscience, Via S. Anastasio 12, 34100, Trieste, Italy. zucca@units.it |
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English |
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1435-9448 |
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| Notes |
PMID:17242935 |
Approved |
no |
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Equine Behaviour @ team @ |
Serial |
2423 |
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| Author |
Chiandetti, C.; Regolin, L.; Sovrano, V.A.; Vallortigara, G. |
| Title |
Spatial reorientation: the effects of space size on the encoding of landmark and geometry information |
Type |
Journal Article |
| Year |
2007 |
Publication |
Animal Cognition |
Abbreviated Journal |
Anim. Cogn. |
| Volume |
10 |
Issue |
2 |
Pages |
159-168 |
| Keywords |
Animals; Chickens/*physiology; *Feeding Behavior; Male; Orientation/*physiology; Pattern Recognition, Visual/*physiology; *Space Perception |
| Abstract |
The effects of the size of the environment on animals' spatial reorientation was investigated. Domestic chicks were trained to find food in a corner of either a small or a large rectangular enclosure. A distinctive panel was located at each of the four corners of the enclosures. After removal of the panels, chicks tested in the small enclosure showed better retention of geometrical information than chicks tested in the large enclosure. In contrast, after changing the enclosure from a rectangular-shaped to a square-shaped one, chicks tested in the large enclosure showed better retention of landmark (panels) information than chicks tested in the small enclosure. No differences in the encoding of the overall arrangement of landmarks were apparent when chicks were tested for generalisation in an enclosure differing from that of training in size together with a transformation (affine transformation) that altered the geometric relations between the target and the shape of the environment. These findings suggest that primacy of geometric or landmark information in reorientation tasks depends on the size of the experimental space, likely reflecting a preferential use of the most reliable source of information available during visual exploration of the environment. |
| Address |
Department of Psychology and B.R.A.I.N. Centre for Neuroscience, University of Trieste, Via S. Anastasio 12, 34123, Trieste, Italy. cchiandetti@univ.trieste.it |
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1435-9448 |
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| Notes |
PMID:17136416 |
Approved |
no |
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Equine Behaviour @ team @ |
Serial |
2433 |
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