Abstract: African wild dog (Lycaon pictus) pup vocalizations were studied in Hwange National Park, Zimbabwe for weeks 3 through 7 of the socialization period. Here we present the vocal repertoire, including the use of repetitive and mixed sounds, and investigate the extent to which the emerging sound system of Lycaon conforms to predicted design features of Morton's (MS) motivation-structural rules. Features of the pup sound system are highlighted by comparison with adults and other social canids.TAGSTARTBRTAGEND Data were collected at three den sites (litter sizes: 8, 8, and 9) of two study packs. A total of 1903 vocalizations were classified, and eight vocal classes and seven subclasses were identified. Although all sounds identified persist into adulthood, observations indicate a delayed onset in some vocal classes, including both the lowest (i.e. rumbles) and highest (i.e. twitters) frequency sounds. As predicted by the (MS) model, pups invested heavily in high frequency, harmonic care/social soliciting sounds (91%, N = 1586 unmixed vocalizations), however, no clear association between acoustic structure and sound repetition was found. Significantly more repetition was heard in all vocal classes with the exception of moans and barks. Intra-pack aggression is generally muted in this obligate social carnivore suggesting that repetition may be a low cost strategy to induce social outcomes and obtain food. The patterning of mixed vocalizations (N = 317) was consistent with the (MS) model. Given the high degree of cooperation necessary for individual survival, the predominant use of cross-mixed sounds may serve to minimize conflict as pups begin to form relationships with littermates and adults. Noisy/noisy sounds were exceptionally rare. Comparative data suggest a relationship between the early patterning of mixed sounds and species-specific social organization in canids.

Abstract: 1. The social relationships in a group of Icelandic horses without a mature stallion were studied. The horses were all familiar to each other. Mutual grooming and play relationships, spatial associations, dominance-subordinate relations and the effect of kinship on these relationships were analysed.TAGSTARTBRTAGEND 2. The social structure was clearly dominated by the behaviour of the adult mares. The horses preferred to form bonds within their social class (sex/age) and they kept close proximity with their friends. The group was effectively divided into two social subgroups, adult mares as one group and adult geldings and sub-adults as another group. The sub-adults and adult geldings formed associations, which were based on mutual grooming and play, while the adult mares did not play. Differences between the sexes were evident. Males played more than the females, had more playing partners and were more popular as playmates.TAGSTARTBRTAGEND 3. Aggression rates were low. The dominance hierarchy was linear. Adult mares ranked higher than adult geldings, sub-adults and the foals. Rank was significantly correlated with age. The closer the adult mares were in rank, the more they groomed with each other. Such relationships were not found amongst the other social group.TAGSTARTBRTAGEND 4. Kinship was calculated between all pairs of animals for up to 4 or 5 generations. Allogrooming and play frequencies and proximity were all positively correlated with kinship. Adult mares, which were close in the dominance hierarchy, were on average more related than those further apart.TAGSTARTBRTAGEND 5. The social relationships in the Icelandic herd were, to some extent, different from relationships reported from unmanaged and feral horse-herds with mature stallions and bachelors. Our results suggest that adult mares groom more in groups without a stallion. Furthermore, they have more preferred partners than in natural harems and their partners are other adult mares, not their weaned offspring as seems to be the case in feral herds. The sub-adults also seem to be more socially active in the absence of stallions. Interestingly, in the Icelandic group, the adult mares showed stallion like behaviours, like mounting and protecting foals. Only by studying the behaviour and the nature of the relationships of horses in groups of different compositions, can we expect to gain a comprehensive understanding about individual social strategies and cognitive capabilities of the species. Such knowledge is valuable for management and welfare of the horse.

Abstract: During the period when females are sexually attractive – but only then – males of certain species of primates, such as chimpanzees, allow females access to resources. Because males are usually dominant over females, such male 'tolerance' is explained as a special, reproductive strategy to gain access to females. In this paper a simpler hypothesis is proposed on the basis of an individual-based model (called DomWorld): male 'tolerance' towards females arises in 'despotic' artificial societies as a kind of 'respectful timidity', because sexual attraction automatically increases female dominance over males as a side-effect. The model consists in a homogeneous, virtual world with agents that group and perform dominance-interactions in which the effects of victory and defeat are self-reinforcing. The artificial sexes differ in that VirtualMales have a higher intensity of aggression, they start with a greater capacity to win conflicts than VirtualFemales and they are especially attracted to the opposite sex during certain periods, whereas VirtualFemales are not. I shall explain how the introduction into DomWorld of the attraction of VirtualMales by VirtualFemales leads to female dominance, why it does so only in despotic, but not in egalitarian societies, and how it leads to other phenomena that are relevant to the study of primate behaviour.

Abstract: Raising endangered species in captivity for reintroduction necessarily results in animals that lack appropriate skills for coping with problems to be faced in the wild, such as predators. Using classical conditioning techniques involving linking fear of a live dog with the image of a fox, we demonstrate an adjusted fear response for two wallaby species (rufous bettongs Aepyprymnus rufescens, quokkas Setonix brachyurus). No differences in response to the fox were found for wild-caught and captive-born bettongs, even though wild-caught subjects were likely to have encountered canids prior to capture. Attempts to condition a fear response by quokkas to an odour were unsuccessful. An attempt to induce fear of the stuffed fox by linking to fear of humans in quokkas was unsuccessful, but quokkas generalised from fear of the dog to fear of the fox, despite a delay of several weeks. Trained dogs offer a valuable and ethically acceptable mechanism for improving the ability of captive-reared (or sequestered) animals to recognise and cope with predators.

Abstract: This study investigated the role of dominance and level of activity and exploration on leadership in zebra finches (Taenopygia guttata) searching for food. In pairs of zebra finches fairly matched in size and that experienced the same level of food deprivation, the same bird consistently reached first one foraging patch over several trials. The same pattern of arrival to food occurred when resources were provided in two distant patches available concurrently, a situation that would potentially allow subordinates a greater access to resources. In further testing, the formation of new pairs with the same birds led to several changes in leadership, indicating that leadership is not an absolute feature. The member of a pair that proved to be the most active and exploratory during independent, solitary trials became the leader in nearly all pairs tested. The same pattern held true in newly rearranged pairs where individuals often experienced changes in dominance status. Dominance failed to be associated with leadership in all tests. The results suggest that in a relatively egalitarian species, level of activity and exploration may be a stronger predictor of leadership than dominance.