Abstract: Although reconciliation in bonobos (Pan paniscus) has previously been described, it has not been analyzed heretofore by the postconflict (PC) match-control (MC) method. Furthermore, although reconciliation has been investigated before in this species, consolation has not. In this study we analyzed agonistic and affiliative contacts in all sex-class combinations to clarify and reevaluate the occurrence of reconciliation in bonobos via the PC-MC method. We also investigated the occurrence of consolation by analyzing the victims' triadic contact tendency (TCT), the influence of the sex of victims, and the relative occurrence of consolation and reconciliation. We collected 167 pairs of PC-MC observations in a captive group of bonobos (in Apeldoorn, The Netherlands). The conciliatory tendency (CCT) we obtained was tendentially lower than the mean value previously found for Yerkes captive chimpanzees. Close relationships, which were present in all female-female (FF) and some male-female (MF) dyads, positively affected reconciliation rates. When only adult PC-MC pairs (157) were considered, the mean TCTs and CCTs did not differ significantly. When we focused on types of PC affiliative contact, in the case of consolation we found a striking preference for sociosexual patterns. As to the relative occurrence of consolation and reconciliation, the highest level of the former was found in the absence of the latter. When reconciliation took place, consolation generally preceded it, suggesting that consolation may be a substitutive behavior. Our findings suggest that even if reconciliation remains the best option, consolation may be an alternative substitute for reconciliation that is used to buffer the tension originating from an unresolved conflict. Reconciliation and consolation are complex phenomena that are probably related to the life history of a group. Given that few studies have been conducted on this subject, we can not at this time make any generalizations regarding conflict resolution in certain species by comparing results among studies.

Abstract: In the present research, we asked whether pigeons tended to judge time intervals not only in terms of their absolute value but also relative to a duration from which they must be discriminated (i.e., longer or shorter). Pigeons were trained on two independent temporal discriminations. In one discrimination, sample durations of 2 and 8 sec were associated with, for example, red and green hue comparisons, respectively, and in the other discrimination, sample durations of 4 and 16 sec were associated with vertical and horizontal line comparisons, respectively. If pigeons are trained on a temporal discrimination and tested with intermediate durations, the subjective midpoint typically occurs close to the geometric mean of the two trained values. The 4- and 8-sec values were selected to be the geometric mean of the two values in the other discrimination. When a 4-sec test sample was presented with the comparisons from the 2- and 8-sec discrimination, the pigeons preferred the comparison associated with the shorter sample. Similarly, when an 8-sec test sample was presented with the comparisons from the 4- and 16-sec discrimination, the pigeons preferred the comparison associated with the longer sample. Thus, a relative grouping effect was found. That is, durations that should have produced indifferent choice were influenced by their relative durations (shorter than or longer than the alternative) during training.

Abstract: REASONS FOR PERFORMING STUDY: There is limited knowledge available of factors influencing response to treatments of the DIP-joint in horses with lameness responding to diagnostic analgesia of the DIP-joint. For this reason a multivariable statistical analysis was performed. HYPOTHESIS: Horses with lameness reduced by > or = 75% 10 min after intra-articular analgesia of the DIP-joint, can be treated successfully by intra-articular medication of the joint. Multiple factors influence the response to treatment. METHODS: The study was performed retrospectively based on clinical records of horses treated with either polysulphated glycosaminoglycan (PSGAG) or methylprednisolone acetate (MPA) in the DIP-joint between January 1996 and January 2003. Information was collected from clinical records and from the owners of the horses via a detailed questionnaire, in which they described their perception of the outcome a minimum of one year after treatment. Allocation of the horses to the 2 treatment groups was done mainly because of a change in treatment policy. In Regime A all horses received 3 intra-articular injections of PSGAG approximately 8 days apart, whereas in Regime B all horses received a single intra-articular injection of MPA as a first treatment. If the horse did not improve sufficiently to return to work by 4 weeks, a series of 3 intra-articular PSGAG injections was administered. RESULTS: Of the horses receiving Regime A, 67% had a successful outcome, compared with 46% of the group receiving Regime B. A significantly better result was obtained in dressage horses than in jumping horses (eventing and showjumping). Other variables such as age, duration of lameness, distribution of lameness, degree of lameness, response to DIP-joint analgesia and radiographic observations were also associated with success of treatment. CONCLUSIONS AND POTENTIAL RELEVANCE: There is a rationale for using either PSGAG or MPA intra-articularly in the treatment of lameness, reduced > or = 75% within 10 min of analgesia of the DIP-joint.

Abstract: A greater knowledge of the effect of management factors is required to investigate the ontogeny of abnormal behaviour in the stabled horse. A postal survey of racehorse (flat) trainers yielded information about 22 yard and management factors. The relationship of the factors to the prevalence of abnormal behaviour was analysed by logistic regression. Management factors related to the time spent in the stable showed the strongest associations with stereotypic behaviour. The risk of horses performing abnormal behaviour increased: 1) as the amount of forage fell below 6.8 kg/day, 2) when bedding types other than straw were used, 3) when the total number of horses on the yard was fewer than 75, 4) in association with box designs that minimised contact between neighbouring horses, 5) when hay, rather than other types of forage, was used.

Abstract: An adult California sea lion ( Zalophus californianus) with extensive experience in performing discrimination learning tasks was tested to evaluate her long-term memory for two previously learned concepts. An associative concept, that of equivalence classification, was retested after a retention interval of approximately 1 year. The sea lion had originally shown emergent equivalence classification with nonsimilarity-based classes of stimuli in a simple discrimination repeated-reversal procedure as well as in a matching-to-sample procedure. The 1-year memory test revealed no decrement in classification performance in either procedure. A relational concept, that of generalized identity matching, was retested after approximately 10 years. The sea lion had originally received trial-and-error exemplar training with identity matching-to-sample problems prior to transferring the concept to novel stimulus configurations. In the 10-year memory test, the sea lion immediately and reliably applied the previously established identity concept to familiar and novel sets of matching problems. These are the first reports of long-term conceptual memory in a nonprimate species. The experimental findings are consistent with a variety of observations of sea lions in natural settings, which indicate that natal sites, feeding areas, and individuals may be remembered over long periods of time.