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Wingfield, J. C.,, & Ramenofsky, M. (1999). Hormones and the behavioral ecology of stress. In P. H. M. Balm (Ed.), Stress physiology in animals. (pp. 1–51). Sheffield, United Kingdom: Sheffield Academic Press.
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Miller-Butterworth, C. M., Kaplan, J. R., Barmada, M. M., Manuck, S. B., & Ferrell, R. E. (2007). The Serotonin Transporter: Sequence Variation in Macaca fascicularis and its Relationship to Dominance. Behav Genet, .
Abstract: Specific genotypes of the rhesus monkey and human serotonin transporter gene (SERT) promoter region are associated with personality traits and serotonergic activity. However, the most commonly studied promoter polymorphism (5-HTTLPR) is monomorphic in many other monkey species. To date, no systematic search for alternative potentially functional polymorphisms across the remaining coding parts of the gene has been undertaken in other primate species, despite the crucial role SERT plays in modulating serotonergic tone. We investigated whether sequence variation in this gene is associated with social rank and serotonin metabolite (5-HIAA) differences in 524 cynomolgus macaques. Sequence variation and extent of linkage disequilibrium (LD) across the regulatory and coding regions were initially characterized in 92 macaques. The exons and promoter contained 28 polymorphisms, more than double that recorded for human SERT. In further contrast to humans, the macaque SERT showed no significant LD. Potentially functional polymorphisms were genotyped in all animals. No individual variants or haplotypes were significantly associated with social rank or 5-HIAA concentrations; however, certain serotonin transporter diplotypes may modulate acquisition of dominance status.
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Kamil, A. C. (1998). On the Proper Definition of Cognitive Ethology. In Russell P. Balda, Irene M. Pepperberg, & Alan C. Kamil (Eds.), Animal Cognition in Nature (pp. 1–28). London: Academic Press.
Abstract: Summary The last 20-30 years have seen two `scientific revolutions' in the study of animal behavior: the cognitive revolution that originated in psychology, and the Darwinian, behavioral ecology revolution that originated in biology. Among psychologists, the cognitive revolution has had enormous impact. Similarly, among biologists, the Darwinian revolution has had enormous impact. The major theme of this chapter is that these two scientific research programs need to be combined into a single approach, simultaneously cognitive and Darwinian, and that this single approach is most appropriately called cognitive ethology.
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Janis, C. (2007). An Evolutionary History of Browsing and Grazing Ungulates. In The Ecology of Browsing and Grazing (pp. 21–45).
Abstract: Browsing (i.e., eating woody and non-woody dicotyledonous plants) and grazing (i.e., eating grass) are distinctively different types of feeding behaviour among ungulates today. Ungulates with different diets have different morphologies (both craniodental ones and in aspects of the digestive system) and physiologies, although some of these differences are merely related to body size, as grazers are usually larger than browsers. There is also a difference in the foraging behaviour in terms of the relationship between resource abundance and intake rate, which is linear in browsers but asymptotic in grazers. The spatial distribution of the food resource is also different for the different types of herbage, browse being more patchily distributed than grass, and thus browsers and grazers are likely to have a very different perception of food resources in any given ecosystem (see Gordon 2003, for review).
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Dyer, F. C. (2000). Individual cognition and group movement: insights from social insects. In P. Garber, & S. Boinski (Eds.), Group Movement in Social Primates and Other Animals: Patterns, Processes, and Cognitive Implications.. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.
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Moss, C. J., & Poole, J. H. (1983). Relationships and social structure in African elephants. In R. A. Hinde (Ed.), Primate social relationships: an integrated approach.. Blackwell Science Ltd.
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Connor, R. C., Wells, R. S., Mann, J., & Read, A. J. (2000). The bottlenose dolphin: Social relationships in a fission-fusion society. In J. Mann, R. C. Connor, P. L. Tyack, & H. Whitehead (Eds.), Cetacean Societies: Field Studies of Dolphins and Whales. (pp. 91–126). Chicago: University of Chicago Press.
Abstract: Book Description
“Part review, part testament to extraordinary dedication, and part call to get involved, Cetacean Societies highlights the achievements of behavioral ecologists inspired by the challenges of cetaceans and committed to the exploration of a new world.”-from the preface by Richard Wrangham
Long-lived, slow to reproduce, and often hidden beneath the water's surface, whales and dolphins (cetaceans) have remained elusive subjects for scientific study even though they have fascinated humans for centuries. Until recently, much of what we knew about cetaceans came from commercial sources such as whalers and trainers for dolphin acts. Innovative research methods and persistent efforts, however, have begun to penetrate the depths to reveal tantalizing glimpses of the lives of these mammals in their natural habitats.
Cetacean Societies presents the first comprehensive synthesis and review of these new studies. Groups of chapters focus on the history of cetacean behavioral research and methodology; state-of-the-art reviews of information on four of the most-studied species: bottlenose dolphins, killer whales, sperm whales, and humpback whales; and summaries of major topics, including group living, male and female reproductive strategies, communication, and conservation drawn from comparative research on a wide range of species.
Written by some of the world's leading cetacean scientists, this landmark volume will benefit not just students of cetology but also researchers in other areas of behavioral and conservation ecology as well as anyone with a serious interest in the world of whales and dolphins.
Contributors are Robin Baird, Phillip Clapham, Jenny Christal, Richard Connor, Janet Mann, Andrew Read, Randall Reeves, Amy Samuels, Peter Tyack, Linda Weilgart, Hal Whitehead, Randall S. Wells, and Richard Wrangham.
Keywords: cetacean social behavior, male alliance formation, most cetacean species, platanistid river dolphins, cetacean sociality, strategies and social bonds, female cetaceans, many cetologists, most mysticetes, sperm whale calves, passive fishing nets, variant whistles, historical whaling records, cetacean systematics, stable matrilineal groups, peak calving season, suction cup tags, mutualistic groups, cetacean vocalizations, focal animal studies, larger odontocetes, predictive signaling, individual cetaceans, sperm whale clicks, resident killer whales
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Heipertz- Hengst, C. (1999). Pferde richtig trainieren. Lüneburg: Cadmos.
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Walzer, C., Kaczensky, P., Ganbaatar, O., & Stauffer, C. (2008). Przewalski Horses, Satellites and Wild Asses. In IESM 2008.
Abstract: The Przewalski`s horse (Equus f. przewalskii) was extinct in the wild by the mid-sixties of the past century. The species only survived due to captive breeding from 13 founder individuals. In 1992 a reintroduction program was initiated in the Great Gobi B Strictly Protected Area in southwestern Mongolia. During it“s initial years, the project concentrated exclusively on P-horses. In the past decade activities have expanded significantly. The ecological project start point can be summed up as follows: i) species is extinct in the wild, ii) severe bottleneck, iii) practically no ecological data prior to extinction, iv) released into an extremely harsh, highly variable and poorly understood environment. The ecological knowledge constraints were compounded by i) highly emotional species, ii) simultaneous and competitive projects, iii) logistic nightmare, iv) non-scientific basis in planning phase. By the late 1990s project leadership and management was overhauled with research and scientific data firmly integrated into the decision-making process. Early scientific input concentrated on determining causes of death and low reproductive rates. The elucidation of the effects of endemic piroplasmosis on the population and subsequent management changes lead to remediation this deadly problem. P-horses have been fitted with ARGOS and GPS-ARGOS collars in order to determine home range and habitat preferences. Simultaneously the Mongolian wild ass and the wolf have been studied with these methods in the shared habitat. Satellite-based technologies provide the backbone for all habitat related project issues. At the onset (digitized Russian maps) data collection was restricted to the Eastern part of the Gobi B. Subsequently the spatial scale encompasses the entire Gobi Region in Mongolia and Northern Xingjian in China (e.g. Landsat, MODIS, NOAA, SRTM). Research has also focused on the role, needs and possible impacts of local semi-nomadic herders that use the protected area. Capacity building and training workshops (e.g. construction of fuel efficient stoves, felting) have been initiated. In 2007 a trans-boundary project in collaboration with the Xingjian Institute of Ecology and Geography of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, was initiated. This project aims to support rural communities of nomadic pastoralists living in the trans-boundary area of the Dzungarian Gobi, in China and Mongolia. Today, this project and the one in Hustain Nuruu (Mongolia) are the only ones that have resulted in free-ranging non-supplemented populations. In the Gobi B area some 120 (status 05.2008) P-horses roam in the protected area. In 2003 the IUCN downlisted the Przewalski\'s horse from to . Further downlisting to is predicted to occur in 2011. There is no consensus on when a reintroduction program is deemed successful. Clearly viewing the self-sustainable re-establishment of a population as a successful end-point is at best a short-term approach, constrained by time (today and now). Comprehensive interdisciplinary monitoring and research was and is the foundation for management strategies and decisions in this project. However, a self-sustaining financial base in conjunction with dedicated training and empowerment of local scientists and residents constitute essential prerequisites for the project”s future. Defining success and thereby inferring an end-point can easily lead to complacency compromising species persistence. As others have stated the ultimate project objective must be a constantly re-evaluated state of population persistence without intervention.
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Visser, E. K., Ellis, A. D., Rijksen, L., Van Reenen, C. G., & VanDierendonck, M. (2008). Effect of training method on response of horses to a human approach test. In IESM 2008.
Abstract: The human-horse relationship forms an essential component in the diversity of todays use of horses. The reactions of horses to interactions with humans are mostly the result of interplay between their own temperament; the temperament and skills of the human and their previous experience – with humans. Moreover, the understanding of the human-horse relationship may improve the welfare of horses and humans. Nowadays, “sympathetic” training methods are gaining tremendous attention of horse owners. In the “sympathetic” training method the focus lies on the use of body language in human-horse communication, as well as respecting the horses natural needs. With 28 horses the effect of a “sympathetic” training method versus a conventional training method on the horse“s response on a human-approach test was studied. Fourteen horses of 3.5 years of age were subjected to a five week training period with a conventional training method, the other fourteen horses were subjected to a ”sympathetic“ training method. The overall frequency of snorting during the human approach tests decreased on average from 4.4 (± 1.1) before the training period to 3.1 (± 0.9) after the training period (both groups). However, there was a significant (p=0.006) difference between training methods: the horses trained in the ”sympathetic“ method decreased snorting by 4.3 (±1.1) while the horses trained in the conventional method increased with 1.5 (±0.9). While horses trained in the conventional method whinnied less in the second human approach test, horses trained in the ”sympathetic“ method whinnied more after the period of training. This difference was found to be significant (p=0.006). Defecating decreased over time, but was not different between training methods. The frequency of touching the unfamiliar handler increased over time for both training methods. The horses trained in a conventional method increased from 1.5 to 2.5 and for the sympathetic trained horses from 1.9 to 3.7. This increase was not significantly different for the training methods. Heart rate showed a minor decrease between the human approach tests (before training period 85.3 bpm, after training period 74.3 bpm) but there were no significant differences between training methods. Similarly, there was a slight increase in heart rate variability (rmssd: from 37.0 to 45.2), but no significant differences between training methods. Overal it was concluded that horses trained with this ”sympathetic“ method tended to be more trustful and less stressful in the presence of an (unfamiliar) human compared to horses trained with a conventional method. This may have been due to reduced stress during horse-human contact in the ”sympathetic" training method used. The long term effects on the welfare of the horses, still needs to be investigated.
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