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Curtis, S. E., & Stricklin, W. R. (1991). The importance of animal cognition in agricultural animal production systems: an overview. J. Anim Sci., 69(12), 5001–5007.
Abstract: To describe and then fulfill agricultural animals' needs, we must learn more about their fundamental psychological and behavioral processes. How does this animal feel? Is that animal suffering? Will we ever be able to know these things? Scientists specializing in animal cognition say that there are numerous problems but that they can be overcome. Recognition by scientists of the notion of animal awareness has been increasing in recent years, because of the work of Griffin and others. Feeling, thinking, remembering, and imagining are cognitive processes that are factors in the economic and humane production of agricultural animals. It has been observed that the animal welfare debate depends on two controversial questions: Do animals have subjective feelings? If they do, can we find indicators that reveal them? Here, indirect behavioral analysis approaches must be taken. Moreover, the linear additivity of several stressor effects on a variety of animal traits suggests that some single phenomenon is acting as a “clearinghouse” for many or all of the stresses acting on an animal at any given time, and this phenomenon might be psychological stress. Specific situations animals may encounter in agricultural production settings are discussed with respect to the animals' subjective feelings.
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Capela, R., Sousa, C., Pena, I., & Caeiro, V. (1993). Preliminary note on the distribution and ecology of Culicoides imicola in Portugal. Med Vet Entomol, 7(1), 23–26.
Abstract: Data on Culicoides imicola were obtained during studies carried out during the recent outbreak of African horse sickness in Portugal. The previous most northerly published record of C. imicola in Portugal was 38 degrees 40'N (Pegoes). In the present work the geographical distribution of this species is extended to the parallel of 41 degrees 17'N. We have also confirmed the continuous presence of adult C. imicola in Southern Portugal (Alentejo and Algarve) throughout the year. In the laboratory we obtained this species from a sample of cattle faeces and from another of soil contaminated with animal excreta. In relation to host association 57.37% of C. imicola were trapped in the vicinity of pigsties. Finally, we collected 11,463 Culicoides of which 12.47% were C. imicola.
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Judge, P. G., & de Waal, F. B. (1994). Intergroup grooming relations between alpha females in a population of free-ranging rhesus macaques. Folia Primatol (Basel), 63(2), 63–70.
Abstract: Intergroup affiliation among female rhesus macaques, Macaca mulatta, was examined in the captive free-ranging colony of Morgan Island, S.C., USA. The provisioned colony has many social groups (35) and is maintained at a relatively high population density (21 animals/ha) with a relatively low adult male to female ratio (1:8.8). Focal and ad libitum samples were collected on 32 adults (3 males and 29 females) from two groups. Although infrequent, grooming was observed between adult females from different groups, and alpha females were the main participants in these interactions. Colony records indicated that none of the intergroup grooms was between females formerly from a common group. Relations between familiar neighboring groups may be maintained by a combination of both affiliative and aggressive behavior.
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Aureli, F., & de Waal, F. B. (1997). Inhibition of social behavior in chimpanzees under high-density conditions. Am. J. Primatol., 41(3), 213–228.
Abstract: This is the first study to investigate the short-term effects of high population density on captive chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes). Subjects of the study were 45 chimpanzees living in five different groups at the Yerkes Regional Primate Research Center. The groups were observed under two conditions: 1) when they had access to both the indoor and outdoor sections of their enclosures; 2) during cold days when they were locked into the indoor runs, which reduced the available space by more than half. Under the high-density condition, allogrooming and submissive greetings decreased, but juvenile play increased. Remarkably, the rate of various forms of agonistic behavior, such as aggression, bluff charge, bluff display, and hooting, occurred less frequently under the high-density condition. This general decrease in adult social activity, including agonistic behavior, can be interpreted as an inhibition strategy to reduce opportunities for conflict when interindividual distances are reduced. This strategy is probably effective only in the short run, however. Behavioral indicators of anxiety, such as rough scratching and yawning, showed elevated rates, suggesting increased social tension under the high-density condition.
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Wasserman, E. A. (1997). The science of animal cognition: past, present, and future. J Exp Psychol Anim Behav Process, 23(2), 123–135.
Abstract: The field of animal cognition is strongly rooted in the philosophy of mind and in the theory of evolution. Despite these strong roots, work during the most famous and active period in the history of our science-the 1930s, 1940s, and 1950s-may have diverted us from the very questions that were of greatest initial interest to the comparative analysis of learning and behavior. Subsequently, the field has been in steady decline despite its increasing breadth and sophistication. Renewal of the field of animal cognition may require a return to the original questions of animal communication and intelligence using the most advanced tools of modern psychological science. Reclaiming center stage in contemporary psychology will be difficult; planning that effort with a host of strategies should enhance the chances of success.
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Czaran, T. (1999). Game theory and evolutionary ecology: Evolutionary Games & Population Dynamics by J. Hofbauer and K. Sigmund, and Game Theory & Animal Behaviour, edited by L.A. Dugatkin and H.K. Reeve. Trends. Ecol. Evol, 14(6), 246–247.
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de Waal, F. B., Aureli, F., & Judge, P. G. (2000). Coping with crowding. Sci Am, 282(5), 76–81.
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Morton, D. B. (2000). Self-consciousness and animal suffering. Biologist (London), 47(2), 77–80.
Abstract: Animals with relatively highly developed brains are likely to experience some degree of self-awareness and the ability to think. As well as being interesting in its own right, self-consciousness matters from an ethical point of view, since it can give rise to forms of suffering above and beyond the immediate physical sensations of pain or distress. This article surveys the evidence for animal self-consciousness and its implications for animal welfare.
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Barros, A. T. (2001). Seasonality and relative abundance of Tabanidae (Diptera) captured on horses in the Pantanal, Brazil. Mem Inst Oswaldo Cruz, 96(7), 917–923.
Abstract: Once a month, from June 1992 to May 1993, collections of tabanids on horse were conducted in the Nhecolandia, Pantanal State of Mato Grosso do Sul, Brazil. Tabanid catches using hand nets were conducted from sunrise to sunset at grassland and cerradao (dense savanna) habitats. A total of 3,442 tabanids from 21 species,12 genera, and 3 subfamilies were collected. Although species abundance varied seasonally depending on habitat, no habitat specificity was observed for the most abundant species. In the grassland, 1,625 (47.2%) tabanids belonging to 19 species were collected, while 1,817 (52.8%) tabanids from 17 species were caught in the cerradao. The number of tabanid species varied from 7 during winter (July/August) to 15 in the spring (October). Tabanus importunus (56%) was the most abundant species, followed by T. occidentalis (8.2%), and T. claripennis (8.1%). The tabanid peak, in October, coincided with the beginning of the rainy season. The population peak of most species, including those with higher vector potential, suggests that the rainy season can be considered as the period of potentially higher risk of mechanical transmission of pathogens by tabanids to horses in the region.
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Marfin, A. A., Petersen, L. R., Eidson, M., Miller, J., Hadler, J., Farello, C., et al. (2001). Widespread West Nile virus activity, eastern United States, 2000. Emerg Infect Dis, 7(4), 730–735.
Abstract: In 1999, the U.S. West Nile (WN) virus epidemic was preceded by widespread reports of avian deaths. In 2000, ArboNET, a cooperative WN virus surveillance system, was implemented to monitor the sentinel epizootic that precedes human infection. This report summarizes 2000 surveillance data, documents widespread virus activity in 2000, and demonstrates the utility of monitoring virus activity in animals to identify human risk for infection.
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