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Cerasoli, F., Podaliri Vulpiani, M., Saluti, G., Conte, A., Ricci, M., Savini, G., et al. (2022). Assessment of Welfare in Groups of Horses with Different Management, Environments and Activities by Measuring Cortisol in Horsehair, Using Liquid Chromatography Coupled to Hybrid Orbitrap High-Resolution Mass Spectrometry (Vol. 12). Animals, 12(14).
Abstract: Horses have always been animals used for companionship, work, transportation, and performance purposes over the history of humanity; there are different ways of managing horses, but studies on how horse welfare is influenced by different activities and managements are scanty. Understanding how the management, the environment, and the different uses of horses can affect the level of stress and well-being is important not only for people associated with horses. Three groups of horses with different management, environments, and activities were selected: (1) stabled horses ridden frequently, (2) horses that perform public order service under the Italian state police, and (3) free-ranging horses. Cortisol analysis was carried out on horsehair samples using liquid chromatography coupled to hybrid orbitrap high-resolution mass spectrometry (LC-HRMS/MS), a laboratory technique used for the first time to quantify horsehair cortisol. The selection of horses to be included in the three groups was carried out by including only subjects with positive welfare assessment in accordance with the horse welfare assessment protocol (AWIN). These analyses demonstrated that the cortisol levels detected in the horsehair of free-ranging animals were significantly higher compared to those detected in stabled and working horses. These results may have been a consequence of complex environmental, managerial, and behavioral factors, which should be worth further investigation
Keywords: cortisol; animal welfare; horse; Lc-Hrms/Ms
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Parker, G. A. (1974). Assessment strategy and the evolution of fighting behaviour. J. Theor. Biol., 47(1), 223–243.
Abstract: The view is examined that the adaptive value of conventional aspects of fighting behaviour is for assessment of relative RHP (resource holding power) of the combatants. Outcomes of aggressive disputes should be decided by each individual's fitness budget available for expenditure during a fight (determined by the fitness difference between adoption of alternative strategies, escalation or withdrawal without escalation) and on the rate of expenditure of the fitness budget if escalation occurs (determined by the RHPs of the combatants). Thus response thresholds for alternative strategies (“assessments”) will be determined by natural selection on a basis of which opponent is likely to expend its fitness budget first, should escalation occur. This “loser” should retreat (before escalation) and the winner should stay in possession of the resource. Many aggressive decisions depend on whether one is a resource holder, or an attacker. Assuming the RHP of the combatants to be equal, there are many instances of fitness pay-off imbalances between holder and attacker which should weight the dispute outcome in favour of one or other opponent by allowing it a greater expendable fitness budget. Usually the weighting favours the holder; the attacker therefore needs a correspondingly higher RHP before it may be expected to win. This is not invariably the case, and much observed data fits the predictions of this sort of model. If assessments are perfect and budget expenditure rates exactly predictable, then there would never seem to be any case for escalation. Escalation can be explained in terms of injury inflictions (expenditures) occurring as discrete events; i.e. as “bouts” won or lost during fighting. Assessment can give only a probabilistic prediction of the outcome of a bout. A simple model is developed to investigate escalation situations. Each combatant assesses relative RHP; this correlates with an absolute probability of winning the next bout (cabs). The stake played for is infliction of loss of RHP and is determined by the fitness budgets of the opponents. (Each individual plays for the withdrawal of its opponent.) This defines a critical probability of winning (ccrit) for each combatant, above which escalation is the favourable strategy (cabs > ccrit) and below which withdrawal is favourable (cabs < ccrit). Escalation should occur only where cabs-ccrit is positive for both combatants. This model gives predictions compatible with the observations, indicating that RHP loss alone can be adequate to explain withdrawal: escalation behaviour. Withdrawal tendency will be increased by low searching costs. Escalations should be restricted to closely matched RHP opponents if RHP disparity is the major imbalance. Outside the “escalation range” of a given individual, the higher RHP individual wins and the lower one loses (i.e. it should withdraw after conventional display). RHP disparity and holder: attacker imbalance should both interact to shape the observed pattern, though their relative importances will depend on species and situation. In some instances selection may favour immediate withdrawal from an occupied territory even without assessment of RHP.
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Ramos-Fernández, G., Boyer, D., Aureli, F., & Vick, L. (2009). Association networks in spider monkeys (Ateles geoffroyi). Behav. Ecol. Sociobiol., 63(7), 999-1013.
Abstract: We use two novel techniques to analyze association patterns in a group of wild spider monkeys (Ateles geoffroyi) studied continuously for 8 years. Permutation tests identified association rates higher or lower than chance expectation, indicating active processes of companionship and avoidance as opposed to passive aggregation. Network graphs represented individual adults as nodes and their association rates as weighted edges. Strength and eigenvector centrality (a measure of how strongly linked an individual is to other strongly linked individuals) were used to quantify the particular role of individuals in determining the network's structure. Female–female dyads showed higher association rates than any other type of dyad, but permutation tests revealed that these associations cannot be distinguished from random aggregation. Females formed tightly linked clusters that were stable over time, with the exception of immigrant females who showed little association with any adult in the group. Eigenvector centrality was higher for females than for males. Adult males were associated mostly among them, and although their strength of association with others was lower than that of females, their association rates revealed a process of active companionship. Female–male bonds were weaker than those between same-sex pairs, with the exception of those involving young male adults, who by virtue of their strong connections both with female and male adults, appear as temporary brokers between the female and male clusters of the network. This analytical framework can serve to develop a more complete explanation of social structure in species with high levels of fission–fusion dynamics.
Keywords: Biomedical and Life Sciences
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Muscatello, G., Anderson, G. A., Gilkerson, J. R., & Browning, G. F. (2006). Associations between the ecology of virulent Rhodococcus equi and the epidemiology of R. equi pneumonia on Australian thoroughbred farms. Appl Environ Microbiol, 72(9), 6152–6160.
Abstract: The ecology of virulent strains of Rhodococcus equi on horse farms is likely to influence the prevalence and severity of R. equi pneumonia in foals. This study examined the association between the ecology of virulent R. equi and the epidemiology of R. equi pneumonia by collecting air and soil samples over two breeding seasons (28 farm-year combinations) on Thoroughbred breeding farms with different reported prevalences of R. equi pneumonia. Colony blotting and DNA hybridization were used to detect and measure concentrations of virulent R. equi. The prevalence of R. equi pneumonia was associated with the airborne burden of virulent R. equi (both the concentration and the proportion of R. equi bacteria that were virulent) but was not associated with the burden of virulent R. equi in the soil. Univariable screening and multivariable model building were used to evaluate the effect of environmental and management factors on virulent R. equi burdens. Lower soil moisture concentrations and lower pasture heights were significantly associated with elevated airborne concentrations of virulent R. equi, as were the holding pens and lanes, which typically were sandy, dry, and devoid of pasture cover. Few variables appeared to influence concentrations of virulent R. equi in soil. Acidic soil conditions may have contributed to an elevated proportion of virulent strains within the R. equi population. Environmental management strategies that aim to reduce the level of exposure of susceptible foals to airborne virulent R. equi are most likely to reduce the impact of R. equi pneumonia on endemically affected farms.
Keywords: Actinomycetales Infections/epidemiology/microbiology/*veterinary; Air Microbiology; Animal Husbandry; Animals; Animals, Newborn; Australia/epidemiology; Colony Count, Microbial; DNA, Bacterial/genetics; Ecosystem; Horse Diseases/epidemiology/*microbiology; Horses; Pneumonia, Bacterial/epidemiology/microbiology/*veterinary; Rhodococcus equi/genetics/isolation & purification/*pathogenicity; Soil Microbiology; Virulence
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Quaranta, A., Siniscalchi, M., & Vallortigara, G. (2007). Asymmetric tail-wagging responses by dogs to different emotive stimuli. In Current biology : CB (Vol. 17, pp. R199–R201). Cell Press. |
Rose-Meierhöfer, S., Standke, K., & Hoffmann, G. (2010). Auswirkungen verschiedener Gruppengrößen auf Bewegungsaktivität, Body Condition Score, Liege- und Sozialverhalten bei Jungpferden. Züchtungskunde, 82(4), 282–291.
Abstract: Ziel der Untersuchung war es, herauszufinden, welche Auswirkungen eine Erhöhung der
Gruppengröße bei Jungpferden auf die Bewegungsaktivität, das Liege- und Sozialverhalten und die Körperkondition hat. Hierfür wurden insgesamt 42 Pferde im Alter von ein bis zwei Jahren in Laufstallhaltung in die Untersuchung einbezogen. Die Jungpferde aus der Bewegungs- und Liegeverhaltensanalyse waren in zwei Kleingruppen (acht und 11 Tiere) und einer Großgruppe (23 Tiere) aufgestallt. In der Bewegungsaktivität waren deutliche Unterschiede zu erkennen. Es ließ sich ein positiver Einfluss einer höheren Tierzahl nachweisen, aber kein Einfluss des Alters. Beim Ruheverhalten konnten höhere Liegezeiten und -frequenzen mit einer Zunahme der Gruppengröße und eine Abnahme der Liegezeit mit zunehmendem Alter ermittelt werden. Eine Störung des Liegeverhaltens durch Gruppengrößen, die nicht der natürlichen Herdenstruktur des Pferdes entsprechen, wurde nicht nachgewiesen. Jedoch hatte die Haltung der Jährlinge in der großen Gruppe einen Anstieg der repulsiven Verhaltensweisen zur Konsequenz. Zudem zeigte die Bestimmung des Body Condition Scores Unterschiede in der Körperkondition bei den Jährlingen der Groß- bzw. der Kleingruppe. Einem Mangel an Bewegung, der für das Auftreten von Gliedmaßenerkrankungen und Verhaltensstörungen verantwortlich gemacht wird, kann durch die Haltung von Jungpferden in großen Gruppen entgegengewirkt werden. [It is often discussed that the inactivity of horses causes diseases of their musculoskeletal system. Due to these problems the objective of the investigation was to quantify if the size of a group has an effect on the behaviour of young horses. Data from 42 horses in the age of one to two years have been involved in the investigation. The data of two small groups were compared with data of one big group with 23 horses. The movement and lying behaviour of 28 horses were measured with ALT pedometers. The social behaviour of 33 yearlings was documented by direct observation. The results show that the median of the movement time of horses in group A is 82 minutes per day. In group B this increases to a median of 101 and group C reaches the highest median of 149. In the case of lying time an increasing group size leads to a longer duration and a higher frequency of lying, whereas an increase in the age reduces the lying duration. International research studies have shown that keeping of horses in big group husbandry systems is not very common by the owners of horses. In contrast these investigations have shown that horse keeping in big groups has no negative influence on the social behaviour and the Body Condition Score of young horses.] |
Landsberg, G., & Araujo, J. A. (2005). Behavior problems in geriatric pets. Vet Clin North Am Small Anim Pract, 35(3), 675–698.
Abstract: Aging pets often suffer a decline in cognitive function (eg, memory,learning, perception, awareness) likely associated with age-dependent brain alterations. Clinically, cognitive dysfunction may result in various behavioral signs, including disorientation; forgetting of previously learned behaviors, such as house training; alterations in the manner in which the pet interacts with people or other pets;onset of new fears and anxiety; decreased recognition of people, places, or pets; and other signs of deteriorating memory and learning ability. Many medical problems, including other forms of brain pathologic conditions, can contribute to these signs. The practitioner must first determine the cause of the behavioral signs and then determine an appropriate course of treatment, bearing in mind the constraints of the aging process. A diagnosis of cognitive dysfunction syndrome is made once other medical and behavioral causes are ruled out.
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Matzke, S. M., Oubre, J. L., Caranto, G. R., Gentry, M. K., & Galbicka, G. (1999). Behavioral and immunological effects of exogenous butyrylcholinesterase in rhesus monkeys. Pharmacol Biochem Behav, 62(3), 523–530.
Abstract: Although conventional therapies prevent organophosphate (OP) lethality, laboratory animals exposed to such treatments typically display behavioral incapacitation. Pretreatment with purified exogenous human or equine serum butyrylcholinesterase (Eq-BuChE), conversely, has effectively prevented OP lethality in rats and rhesus monkeys, without producing the adverse side effects associated with conventional treatments. In monkeys, however, using a commercial preparation of Eq-BuChE has been reported to incapacitate responding. In the present study, repeated administration of commercially prepared Eq-BuChE had no systematic effect on behavior in rhesus monkeys as measured by a six-item serial probe recognition task, despite 7- to 18-fold increases in baseline BuChE levels in blood. Antibody production induced by the enzyme was slight after the first injection and more pronounced following the second injection. The lack of behavioral effects, the relatively long in vivo half-life, and the previously demonstrated efficacy of BuChE as a biological scavenger for highly toxic OPs make BuChE potentially more effective than current treatment regimens for OP toxicity.
Keywords: Animals; Antibody Formation/drug effects; Behavior, Animal/*drug effects; Butyrylcholinesterase/*immunology/pharmacokinetics/*pharmacology; Cognition/drug effects; Color Perception/drug effects; Conditioning, Operant/drug effects; Discrimination Learning/drug effects; Half-Life; Horses; Humans; Macaca mulatta; Male
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McClearn, G. E. (1971). Behavioral genetics. Behav Sci, 16(1), 64–81.
Keywords: Amino Acid Metabolism, Inborn Errors; Animals; Aptitude; Behavior, Animal; Chromosome Aberrations; Cognition; Cytogenetics; Female; *Genetics, Behavioral; Genetics, Population; Humans; Intelligence; Mental Retardation; Mice; Models, Biological; Personality; Phenylketonurias; Pregnancy; Research; Schizophrenia; Sex Chromosome Aberrations; Twins
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Heath-Lange, S., Ha, J. C., & Sackett, G. P. (1999). Behavioral measurement of temperament in male nursery-raised infant macaques and baboons. Am. J. Primatol., 47(1), 43–50.
Abstract: We define temperament as an individual's set of characteristic behavioral responses to novel or challenging stimuli. This study adapted a temperament scale used with rhesus macaques by Schneider and colleagues [American Journal of Primatology 25:137-155, 1991] for use with male pigtailed macaque (Macaca nemestrina, n = 7), longtailed macaque (M. fascicularis, n = 3), and baboon infants (Papio cynocephalus anubis, n = 4). Subjects were evaluated twice weekly for the first 5 months of age during routine removal from their cages for weighing. Behavioral measures were based on the subject's interactions with a familiar human caretaker and included predominant state before capture, response to capture, contact latency, resistance to tester's hold, degree of clinging, attention to environment, defecation/urination, consolability, facial expression, vocalizations, and irritability. Species differences indicated that baboons were more active than macaques in establishing or terminating contact with the tester. Temperament scores decreased over time for the variables Response to Capture and Contact Latency, indicating that as they grew older, subjects became less reactive and more bold in their interactions with the tester. Temperament scores changed slowly with age, with greater change occurring at younger ages. The retention of variability in reactivity between and within species may be advantageous for primates, reflecting the flexibility necessary to survive in a changing environment.
Keywords: Age Factors; Animal Technicians; Animals; Animals, Newborn/psychology; Behavior, Animal/*physiology; Defecation; Facial Expression; Humans; Irritable Mood; Macaca fascicularis/*psychology; Male; Papio/*psychology; Sex Characteristics; Species Specificity; Temperament/*physiology; Urination; Vocalization, Animal; Weaning
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