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Gholib, G., Heistermann, M., Agil, M., Supriatna, I., Purwantara, B., Nugraha, T. P., et al. (2018). Comparison of fecal preservation and extraction methods for steroid hormone metabolite analysis in wild crested macaques. Primates, 59(3), 281–292.
Abstract: Since the non-invasive field endocrinology techniques were developed, several fecal preservation and extraction methods have been established for a variety of species. However, direct adaptation of methods from previous studies for use in crested macaques should be taken with caution. We conducted an experiment to assess the accuracy and stability of fecal estrogen metabolite (E1C) and glucocorticoid metabolite (GCM) concentrations in response to several preservation parameters: (1) time lag between sample collection and fecal preservation; (2) long-term storage of fecal samples in 80% methanol (MeOH) at ambient temperature; (3) different degrees of feces drying temperature using a conventional oven; and (4) different fecal preservation techniques (i.e., freeze-drying, oven-drying, and field-friendly extraction method) and extraction solvents (methanol, ethanol, and commercial alcohol). The study used fecal samples collected from crested macaques (Macaca nigra) living in the Tangkoko Reserve, North Sulawesi, Indonesia. Samples were assayed using validated E1C and GCM enzyme immunoassays. Concentrations of E1C and GCM in unprocessed feces stored at ambient temperature remained stable for up to 8 h of storage after which concentrations of both E1C and GCM changed significantly compared to controls extracted at time 0. Long-term storage in 80% MeOH at ambient temperature affected hormone concentrations significantly with concentrations of both E1C and GCM increasing after 6 and 4 months of storage, respectively. Drying fecal samples using a conventional oven at 50, 70, and 90 °C did not affect the E1C concentrations, but led to a significant decline for GCM concentrations in samples dried at 90 °C. Different fecal preservation techniques and extraction solvents provided similar results for both E1C and GCM concentrations. Our results confirm previous studies that prior to application of fecal hormone analysis in a new species, several preservation parameters should be evaluated for their effects on hormone metabolite stability. The results also provide several options for fecal preservation, extraction, and storage methods that can be selected depending on the condition of the field site and laboratory.
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Fisher, J., & Hinde, R. A. (1994). The opening of milk bottles by birds. British Birds, (42), 347–357.
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Kuczaj, S. A., Makecha, R., Trone, M., Paulos, R. D., & Ramos, J. A. (2006). Role of Peers in Cultural Innovation and Cultural Transmission: Evidence from the Play of Dolphin Calves. Int. J. Comp. Psychol, 19(2), 223–240.
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Lonsdorf, E. V. (2005). Sex differences in the development of termite-fishing skills in the wild chimpanzees, Pan troglodytes schweinfurthii, of Gombe National Park, Tanzania. Anim. Behav., 70(3), 673–683.
Abstract: By the age of 5.5 years, all of the young chimpanzees of Gombe National Park have acquired a skill known as 'termite fishing'. Termite fishing involves inserting a flexible tool made from vegetation into a termite mound and extracting the termites that attack and cling to the tool. Although tool use is a well-known phenomenon in chimpanzees, little is known about how such skills develop in the wild. Prior studies have found adult sex differences in frequency, duration and efficiency of tool-using tasks, with females scoring higher on all measures. To investigate whether these sex differences occurred in youngsters, I performed a 4-year longitudinal field study during which I observed and videotaped young chimpanzees' development of the termite-fishing behaviour. Critical elements of the skill included identifying a hole, making a tool, inserting a tool into a hole and extracting termites. These elements appeared in the same order during the development of all subjects, but females typically peaked at least a year earlier than males in their performance of the skills that precede termite fishing. In addition, young females successfully termite-fished an average of 27 months earlier than young males and were more proficient at the skill after acquisition had occurred. Furthermore, the techniques of female offspring closely resembled those of their mothers whereas the techniques of male offspring did not, suggesting that the process by which termite fishing is learned differs for male and female chimpanzees.
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Liker, A., & Bókony, V. (2009). Larger groups are more successful in innovative problem solving in house sparrows. Proc Natl Acad Sci USA, 106(19), 7893–7898.
Abstract: Group living offers well-known benefits to animals, such as better predator avoidance and increased foraging success. An important additional, but so far neglected, advantage is that groups may cope more effectively with unfamiliar situations through faster innovations of new solutions by some group members. We tested this hypothesis experimentally by presenting a new foraging task of opening a familiar feeder in an unfamiliar way to house sparrows in small and large groups (2 versus 6 birds). Group size had strong effects on problem solving: sparrows performed 4 times more and 11 times faster openings in large than in small groups, and all members of large groups profited by getting food sooner (7 times on average). Independently from group size, urban groups were more successful than rural groups. The disproportionately higher success in large groups was not a mere consequence of higher number of attempts, but was also related to a higher effectiveness of problem solving (3 times higher proportion of successful birds). The analyses of the birds' behavior suggest that the latter was not explained by either reduced investment in antipredator vigilance or reduced neophobia in large groups. Instead, larger groups may contain more diverse individuals with different skills and experiences, which may increase the chance of solving the task by some group members. Increased success in problem solving may promote group living in animals and may help them to adapt quickly to new situations in rapidly-changing environments.
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Morand-Ferron, J., & Quinn, J. L. (2011). Larger groups of passerines are more efficient problem solvers in the wild. Proc Natl Acad Sci USA, 108(38), 15898–15903.
Abstract: Group living commonly helps organisms face challenging environmental conditions. Although a known phenomenon in humans, recent findings suggest that a benefit of group living in animals generally might be increased innovative problem-solving efficiency. This benefit has never been demonstrated in a natural context, however, and the mechanisms underlying improved efficiency are largely unknown. We examined the problem-solving performance of great and blue tits at automated devices and found that efficiency increased with flock size. This relationship held when restricting the analysis to naive individuals, demonstrating that larger groups increased innovation efficiency. In addition to this effect of naive flock size, the presence of at least one experienced bird increased the frequency of solving, and larger flocks were more likely to contain experienced birds. These findings provide empirical evidence for the “pool of competence” hypothesis in nonhuman animals. The probability of success also differed consistently between individuals, a necessary condition for the pool of competence hypothesis. Solvers had a higher probability of success when foraging with a larger number of companions and when using devices located near rather than further from protective tree cover, suggesting a role for reduced predation risk on problem-solving efficiency. In contrast to traditional group living theory, individuals joining larger flocks benefited from a higher seed intake, suggesting that group living facilitated exploitation of a novel food source through improved problem-solving efficiency. Together our results suggest that both ecological and social factors, through reduced predation risk and increased pool of competence, mediate innovation in natural populations.
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Burden, F., & Thiemann, A. (2015). Donkeys Are Different. Proceedings of the 2015 Equine Science Society Symposium, 35(5), 376–382.
Abstract: As a unique species of equine, the donkey has certain specific variations from the horse. This review highlights the origins of the donkey and how this impacts on its behavior, physiology, and propensity to disease. The donkey is less of a flight animal and has been used by humans for pack and draught work, in areas where their ability to survive poorer diets, and transboundary disease while masking overt signs of pain and distress has made them indispensable to human livelihoods. When living as a companion animal, however, the donkey easily accumulates adipose tissue, and this may create a metabolically compromised individual prone to diseases of excess such as laminitis and hyperlipemia. They show anatomic variations from the horse especially in the hoof, upper airway, and their conformation. Variations in physiology lead to differences in the metabolism and distribution of many drugs. With over 44 million donkeys worldwide, it is important that veterinarians have the ability to understand and treat this equid effectively.
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Miyata, H., Gajdon, G. K., Huber, L., & Fujita, K. (2011). How do keas (Nestor notabilis) solve artificial-fruit problems with multiple locks? Anim. Cogn., 14(1), 45–58.
Abstract: Keas, a species of parrots from New Zealand, are an interesting species for comparative studies of problem solving and cognition because they are known not only for efficient capacities for object manipulation but also for explorative and playful behaviors. To what extent are they efficient or explorative, and what cognitive abilities do they use? We examined how keas would solve several versions of artificial-fruit box problems having multiple locks. After training keas to remove a metal rod from over a Plexiglas lid that had to be opened, we exposed the birds to a variety of tasks having two or more locks. We also introduced a preview phase during which the keas had extended opportunity to look at the tasks before the experimenter allowed the birds to solve them, to examine whether the preview phase would facilitate the birds' performance on the tasks. In a large number of tests, the keas showed a strong trend to solve the tasks with no positive effect of previewing the tasks. When the tasks became complex, however, the keas corrected inappropriate responses more quickly when they had had chance to preview the problems than when they had not. The results suggest that the keas primarily used explorative strategies in solving the lock problems but might have obtained some information about the tasks before starting to solve them. This may reflect a good compromise of keas' trial-and-error tendency and their good cognitive ability that result from a selection pressure they have faced in their natural habitat.
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Harlow, H. F. (1950). Learning and satiation of response in intrinsically motivated complex puzzle performance by monkeys. J Comp Physiol Psychol, 43(4), 289–294.
Abstract: Two rhesus monkeys, given 60 two-hour sessions with a six-device mechanical puzzle showed clear evidence of learning, the curve showing ratio of incorrect to correct responses appearing quite comparable to similar curves obtained during externally rewarded situations. When, on the thirteenth day of tests, the subjects were presented with the puzzle 100 times at 6-minute intervals, the number of devices manipulated decreased regularly throughout the day, although there was no significant change in the number of times the problem assembly was attacked.
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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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