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Author Hemelrijk,C. K.; Wantia,J.; Gygax,L.
Title (down) The construction of dominance order: comparing performance of five methods using an individual-based model Type Journal Article
Year 2005 Publication Behaviour Abbreviated Journal Behaviour
Volume 142 Issue 8 Pages 1043-1064
Keywords dominance order, ranking method, agent-based model, statistical method, aggression
Abstract In studies of animal behaviour investigators correlate dominance with all kinds of behavioural

variables, such as reproductive success and foraging success. Many methods are used to

produce a dominance hierarchy from a matrix reflecting the frequency of winning dominance

interactions. These different methods produce different hierarchies. However, it is difficult to

decide which ranking method is best. In this paper, we offer a new procedure for this decision:

we use an individual-based model, called DomWorld, as a test-environment. We choose this

model, because it provides access to both the internal dominance values of artificial agents

(which reflects their fighting power) and the matrix of winning and losing among them and,

in addition, because its behavioural rules are biologically inspired and its group-level patterns

resemble those of real primates. We compare statistically the dominance hierarchy based on

the internal dominance values of the artificial agents with the dominance hierarchy produced

by ranking individuals by (a) their total frequency of winning, (b) their average dominance

index, (c) a refined dominance index, the David`s score, (d) the number of subordinates each

individual has and (e) a ranking method based on maximizing the linear order of the hierarchy.

Because dominance hierarchies may differ depending on group size, type of society, and the

interval of study, we compare these ranking methods for these conditions.We study complete

samples as well as samples randomly chosen to resemble the limitations of observing real

animals. It appears that two methods of medium complexity (the average dominance index

and David`s score) lead to hierarchical orders that come closest to the hierarchy based on

internal dominance values of the agents. We advocate usage of the average dominance index,

because of its computational simplicity.
Address
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Notes Approved no
Call Number refbase @ user @ Serial 445
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Author Piccione, G.; Caola, G.; Refinetti, R.
Title (down) Temporal relationships of 21 physiological variables in horse and sheep Type Journal Article
Year 2005 Publication Comparative Biochemistry and Physiology. Part A, Molecular & Integrative Physiology Abbreviated Journal Comp Biochem Physiol A Mol Integr Physiol
Volume 142 Issue 4 Pages 389-396
Keywords Animals; Behavior, Animal/physiology; Blood Glucose/physiology; Body Temperature/*physiology; Circadian Rhythm/*physiology; Female; Horses/*physiology; Melatonin/blood/*physiology; Motor Activity/*physiology; Rectum/physiology; Sheep/*physiology; Time Factors
Abstract Daily or circadian oscillation has been documented in a variety of physiological and behavioral processes. Although individual variables have been studied in great detail, very few studies have been conducted on the temporal relationships between the rhythms of different variables. It is not known whether the circadian pacemaker generates each and every rhythm individually or whether most rhythms are simply derived from a few clock-controlled rhythms. As a first step in elucidating this issue, 21 physiological variables were recorded simultaneously in horse and sheep. The results indicated that, in both species, different variables exhibit different degrees of daily rhythmicity and reach their daily peaks at different times of the day. The variables exhibiting strongest rhythmicity were locomotor activity, rectal temperature, and plasma concentrations of melatonin and glucose. Comparison of rhythmicity and acrophase in the various rhythms allowed inferences to be made about mechanisms of causation.
Address Dipartimento di Morfologia, Biochimica, Fisiologia e Produzioni Animali, Facolta di Medicina Veterinaria, Universita degli Studi di Messina, 98168 Messina, Italy
Corporate Author Thesis
Publisher Place of Publication Editor
Language English Summary Language Original Title
Series Editor Series Title Abbreviated Series Title
Series Volume Series Issue Edition
ISSN 1095-6433 ISBN Medium
Area Expedition Conference
Notes PMID:16290083 Approved no
Call Number Serial 1884
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Author Coleman, K.; Tully, L.A.; McMillan, J.L.
Title (down) Temperament correlates with training success in adult rhesus macaques Type Journal Article
Year 2005 Publication American journal of primatology Abbreviated Journal Am. J. Primatol.
Volume 65 Issue 1 Pages 63-71
Keywords Animals; Female; *Inhibition (Psychology); *Learning; Macaca mulatta/*psychology; *Reinforcement (Psychology); *Temperament
Abstract In recent years there has been a marked increase in awareness of issues involving the psychological well-being of nonhuman primates (NHPs) used in biomedical research. As a result, many facilities are starting to train primates to voluntarily cooperate with veterinary, husbandry, and research procedures, such as remaining still for blood draws or injections. Such training generally reduces the stress associated with these procedures, resulting in calmer animals and, ultimately, better research models. However, such training requires great investments in time, and there can be vast individual differences in training success. Some animals learn tasks quickly, while others make slower progress in training. In this study, we examined whether temperament, as measured by response to a novel food object, correlated with the amount of time it took to train 20 adult female rhesus macaques to perform a simple task. The monkeys were categorized as “exploratory” (i.e., inspected a novel object placed in the home cage within 10 sec), “moderate” (i.e., inspected the object within 10-180 sec), or “inhibited” (i.e., did not inspect the object within 3 min). We utilized positive reinforcement techniques to train the monkeys to touch a target (PVC pipe shaped like an elbow) hung on their cage. Temperament correlated with training success in this study (Pearson chi2=7.22, df=2, P=0.03). We easily trained over 75% of the animals that inspected the novel food (i.e., exploratory or moderate individuals) to touch the target. However, only 22% of the inhibited monkeys performed the task. By knowing which animals may not respond to conventional training methods, we may be able to develop alternate training techniques to address their specific needs. In addition, these results will allow us to screen monkeys to be assigned to research projects in which they will be trained, with the goal of obtaining the best candidates for those studies.
Address Oregon National Primate Research Center, Beaverton, Oregon 97006, USA. colemank@ohsu.edu
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 0275-2565 ISBN Medium
Area Expedition Conference
Notes PMID:15645460 Approved no
Call Number Equine Behaviour @ team @ Serial 4112
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Author Shettleworth, S.J.
Title (down) Taking the best for learning Type Journal Article
Year 2005 Publication Behavioural processes Abbreviated Journal Behav. Process.
Volume 69 Issue 2 Pages 147-9; author reply 159-63
Keywords *Algorithms; Animals; *Behavior, Animal; Decision Making; Evolution; *Learning; *Models, Theoretical
Abstract Examples of how animals learn when multiple, sometimes redundant, cues are present provide further examples not considered by Hutchinson and Gigerenzer that seem to fit the principle of taking the best. “The best” may the most valid cue in the present circumstances; evolution may also produce species-specific biases to use the most functionally relevant cues.
Address Department of Psychology, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ont., Canada M5S 3G3. shettle@psych.utoronto.ca
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 0376-6357 ISBN Medium
Area Expedition Conference
Notes PMID:15845301 Approved no
Call Number refbase @ user @ Serial 361
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Author Vallortigara, G.; Rogers, L.J.
Title (down) Survival with an asymmetrical brain: advantages and disadvantages of cerebral lateralization Type Journal Article
Year 2005 Publication The Behavioral and Brain Sciences Abbreviated Journal Behav Brain Sci
Volume 28 Issue 4 Pages 575-89; discussion 589-633
Keywords Animals; Attention/*physiology; Behavior/*physiology; Behavior, Animal/*physiology; Dominance, Cerebral/*physiology; *Evolution; Humans; Models, Biological; Visual Perception/physiology
Abstract Recent evidence in natural and semi-natural settings has revealed a variety of left-right perceptual asymmetries among vertebrates. These include preferential use of the left or right visual hemifield during activities such as searching for food, agonistic responses, or escape from predators in animals as different as fish, amphibians, reptiles, birds, and mammals. There are obvious disadvantages in showing such directional asymmetries because relevant stimuli may be located to the animal's left or right at random; there is no a priori association between the meaning of a stimulus (e.g., its being a predator or a food item) and its being located to the animal's left or right. Moreover, other organisms (e.g., predators) could exploit the predictability of behavior that arises from population-level lateral biases. It might be argued that lateralization of function enhances cognitive capacity and efficiency of the brain, thus counteracting the ecological disadvantages of lateral biases in behavior. However, such an increase in brain efficiency could be obtained by each individual being lateralized without any need to align the direction of the asymmetry in the majority of the individuals of the population. Here we argue that the alignment of the direction of behavioral asymmetries at the population level arises as an “evolutionarily stable strategy” under “social” pressures occurring when individually asymmetrical organisms must coordinate their behavior with the behavior of other asymmetrical organisms of the same or different species.
Address Department of Psychology and B.R.A.I.N. Centre for Neuroscience, University of Trieste, 34123 Trieste, Italy. vallorti@univ.trieste.it
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 0140-525X ISBN Medium
Area Expedition Conference
Notes PMID:16209828 Approved no
Call Number Equine Behaviour @ team @ Serial 4622
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Author Nicol, C.J.; Badnell-Waters, A.J.
Title (down) Suckling behaviour in domestic foals and the development of abnormal oral behaviour Type Journal Article
Year 2005 Publication Animal Behaviour. Abbreviated Journal Anim. Behav.
Volume 70 Issue 1 Pages 21-29
Keywords
Abstract We investigated how the behaviour of domestic foals, Equus caballus, living at pasture with their dams was associated with foal gender, mare rank and the development of abnormal oral behaviour, both during the preweaning period, and over a period of up to 4 years postweaning. A population of 186 foals belonging to private owners and commercial studs was studied. The behaviour of male and female foals hardly differed, but mare rank affected patterns of foal social interaction and suckling behaviour, with foals of subordinate mares involved in more affiliative interactions. These foals also spent more time in perisuckling activities such as teat nuzzling than foals of other mares. During the study, 18 foals developed abnormal oral behaviour before weaning and 42 foals developed abnormal oral behaviour after weaning. The development of abnormal oral behaviour was associated with suckling behaviour in a variety of ways. Foals that had already developed abnormal oral behaviour at the time of the preweaning observations were involved in more suckling terminations within bouts than normal foals or foals that developed future abnormal behaviour, and pushing the udder with the muzzle was most frequent in these foals. Foals that had no current abnormal oral behaviour, but that would develop this in the future, spent more time suckling and twice as much time teat nuzzling as other foals. The results add to the growing evidence of associations between digestive function and abnormal oral behaviour in horses.
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Call Number Equine Behaviour @ team @ Serial 3631
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Author Treichler, F.R.
Title (down) Successive reversal of concurrent discriminations by macaques (Macaca mulatta): proactive interference effects Type Journal Article
Year 2005 Publication Animal Cognition Abbreviated Journal Anim. Cogn.
Volume 8 Issue 2 Pages 75-83
Keywords Animals; Choice Behavior; *Discrimination Learning; Female; Macaca mulatta/*psychology; *Memory; *Proactive Inhibition; Random Allocation; *Reversal Learning
Abstract Rhesus monkeys received concurrent within-session training on eight, two-choice object pairs and then underwent successive reversals of these problems. Initially, reversals required about six times more training than acquisition with no improvement over seven successive reversals. Surprisingly, performance on these eight problems was unimpaired if they were embedded in different eight-problem tasks, thereby indicating a release from proactive interference. When the original eight problems again underwent successive reversal, no improvement was seen over seven reversals, although there was significantly less error-per-reversal than in the initial test. Subsequently, monkeys appeared to be developing a learning set for successive reversal because performance on successive reversal of eight novel problems was not different from that seen with the old familiar task. Set acquisition was confirmed when proficient reversal was eventually achieved on both old and new concurrent tasks. Thus, “concurrent reversal set” did develop, but it required arduous training to overcome proactive interference effects on memory. The ubiquitous influence of measurement context on organization of monkey memory was noted.
Address Kent State University, Kent, Ohio 44242, USA. rtreichl@kent.edu
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 PMID:15365875 Approved no
Call Number Equine Behaviour @ team @ Serial 2512
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Author Palme, R.; Rettenbacher, S.; Touma, C.; El-Bahr, S.M.; Mostl, E.
Title (down) Stress hormones in mammals and birds: comparative aspects regarding metabolism, excretion, and noninvasive measurement in fecal samples Type Journal Article
Year 2005 Publication Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences Abbreviated Journal Ann N Y Acad Sci
Volume 1040 Issue Pages 162-171
Keywords Adrenal Glands/chemistry/metabolism; Animals; Birds; Catecholamines/analysis/chemistry/*metabolism; Feces/*chemistry; Glucocorticoids/analysis/chemistry/*metabolism; Hormones/analysis/metabolism; Mammals; Species Specificity; Stress/*metabolism
Abstract A multitude of endocrine mechanisms are involved in coping with challenges. Front-line hormones to overcome stressful situations are glucocorticoids (GCs) and catecholamines (CAs). These hormones are usually determined in plasma samples as parameters of adrenal activity and thus of disturbance. GCs (and CAs) are extensively metabolized and excreted afterwards. Therefore, the concentration of GCs (or their metabolites) can be measured in various body fluids or excreta. Above all, fecal samples offer the advantages of easy collection and a feedback-free sampling procedure. However, large differences exist among species regarding the route and time course of excretion, as well as the types of metabolites formed. Based on information gained from radiometabolism studies (reviewed in this paper), we recently developed and successfully validated different enzyme immunoassays that enable the noninvasive measurement of groups of cortisol or corticosterone metabolites in animal feces. The determination of these metabolites in fecal samples can be used as a powerful tool to monitor GC production in various species of domestic, wildlife, and laboratory animals.
Address Institute of Biochemistry, Department of Natural Sciences, University of Veterinary Medicine, Vienna, Austria. rupert.palme@vu-wien.ac.at
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Series Editor Series Title Abbreviated Series Title
Series Volume Series Issue Edition
ISSN 0077-8923 ISBN Medium
Area Expedition Conference
Notes PMID:15891021 Approved no
Call Number Equine Behaviour @ team @ Serial 4083
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Author Bykov, S.; Lednev, I.; Ianoul, A.; Mikhonin, A.; Munro, C.; Asher, S.A.
Title (down) Steady-state and transient ultraviolet resonance Raman spectrometer for the 193-270 nm spectral region Type Journal Article
Year 2005 Publication Applied Spectroscopy Abbreviated Journal Appl Spectrosc
Volume 59 Issue 12 Pages 1541-1552
Keywords Animals; Equipment Design; Equipment Failure Analysis; Horses; Kinetics; Metmyoglobin/*analysis; Myocardium/*metabolism; Reproducibility of Results; Sensitivity and Specificity; Spectrophotometry, Ultraviolet/*instrumentation/methods; Spectrum Analysis, Raman/*instrumentation/methods
Abstract We describe a state-of-the-art tunable ultraviolet (UV) Raman spectrometer for the 193-270 nm spectral region. This instrument allows for steady-state and transient UV Raman measurements. We utilize a 5 kHz Ti-sapphire continuously tunable laser (approximately 20 ns pulse width) between 193 nm and 240 nm for steady-state measurements. For transient Raman measurements we utilize one Coherent Infinity YAG laser to generate nanosecond infrared (IR) pump laser pulses to generate a temperature jump (T-jump) and a second Coherent Infinity YAG laser that is frequency tripled and Raman shifted into the deep UV (204 nm) for transient UV Raman excitation. Numerous other UV excitation frequencies can be utilized for selective excitation of chromophoric groups for transient Raman measurements. We constructed a subtractive dispersion double monochromator to minimize stray light. We utilize a new charge-coupled device (CCD) camera that responds efficiently to UV light, as opposed to the previous CCD and photodiode detectors, which required intensifiers for detecting UV light. For the T-jump measurements we use a second camera to simultaneously acquire the Raman spectra of the water stretching bands (2500-4000 cm(-1)) whose band-shape and frequency report the sample temperature.
Address Department of Chemistry, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania 15260, USA
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Language English Summary Language Original Title
Series Editor Series Title Abbreviated Series Title
Series Volume Series Issue Edition
ISSN 0003-7028 ISBN Medium
Area Expedition Conference
Notes PMID:16390595 Approved no
Call Number Equine Behaviour @ team @ Serial 3767
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Author Pompilio, L.; Kacelnik, A.
Title (down) State-dependent learning and suboptimal choice: when starlings prefer long over short delays to food Type Journal Article
Year 2005 Publication Animal Behaviour. Abbreviated Journal Anim. Behav.
Volume 70 Issue 3 Pages 571-578
Keywords
Abstract Recent studies have used labels such as `work ethics', `sunk costs' and `state-dependent preferences' for apparent anomalies in animals' choices. They suggest that preference between options relates to the options' history, rather than depending exclusively on the expected payoffs. For instance, European starlings, Sturnus vulgaris, trained to obtain identical food rewards from two sources while in two levels of hunger preferred the food source previously associated with higher hunger, regardless of the birds' state at the time of testing. We extended this experimentally and theoretically by studying starlings choosing between sources that differed not only in history but also in the objective properties (delay until reward) of the payoffs they delivered. Two options (PF and H) were initially presented in single-option sessions when subjects were, respectively, prefed or hungry. While option PF offered a delay until reward of 10 s in all treatments, option H delivered delays of 10, 12.5, 15 and 17.5 s in four treatments. When training was completed, we tested preference between the options. When delays in both options were equal (10 s), the birds strongly preferred H. When delay in H was 17.5 s, the birds were indifferent, with intermediate results for intermediate treatments. Preference was not mediated by disrupted knowledge of the delays. Thus, preferences were driven by past state-dependent gains, rather than by the joint effect of the birds' state at the time of choice and knowledge of the absolute properties of each alternative, as assumed in state-dependent, path-independent models of optimal choice.
Address
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Notes Approved no
Call Number Serial 2104
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