Records |
Author |
Shettleworth, S.J. |
Title |
Cognitive science: rank inferred by reason |
Type |
Journal Article |
Year |
2004 |
Publication |
Nature |
Abbreviated Journal |
Nature |
Volume |
430 |
Issue |
7001 |
Pages |
732-733 |
Keywords |
Animals; Cognition/*physiology; Group Structure; Male; *Social Dominance; Songbirds/*physiology |
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1476-4687 |
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PMID:15306792 |
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no |
Call Number |
refbase @ user @ |
Serial |
365 |
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Author |
Cameron, E.Z. |
Title |
Facultative adjustment of mammalian sex ratios in support of the Trivers-Willard hypothesis: evidence for a mechanism |
Type |
Journal Article |
Year |
2004 |
Publication |
Proceedings. Biological sciences / The Royal Society |
Abbreviated Journal |
Proc Biol Sci |
Volume |
271 |
Issue |
1549 |
Pages |
1723-1728 |
Keywords |
Age Factors; Animals; Body Constitution; *Evolution; Female; Glucose/metabolism/physiology; Litter Size; Male; Mammals/*physiology; *Models, Biological; Reproduction/physiology; Seasons; Sex Factors; *Sex Ratio; Time Factors |
Abstract |
Evolutionary theory predicts that mothers of different condition should adjust the birth sex ratio of their offspring in relation to future reproductive benefits. Published studies addressing variation in mammalian sex ratios have produced surprisingly contradictory results. Explaining the source of such variation has been a challenge for sex-ratio theory, not least because no mechanism for sex-ratio adjustment is known. I conducted a meta-analysis of previous mammalian sex-ratio studies to determine if there are any overall patterns in sex-ratio variation. The contradictory nature of previous results was confirmed. However, studies that investigated indices of condition around conception show almost unanimous support for the prediction that mothers in good condition bias their litters towards sons. Recent research on the role of glucose in reproductive functioning have shown that excess glucose favours the development of male blastocysts, providing a potential mechanism for sex-ratio variation in relation to maternal condition around conception. Furthermore, many of the conflicting results from studies on sex-ratio adjustment would be explained if glucose levels in utero during early cell division contributed to the determination of offspring sex ratios. |
Address |
Mammal Research Institute, Department of Zoology and Entomology, University of Pretoria, Pretoria 0002, South Africa. ezcameron@zoology.up.ac.za |
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ISSN |
0962-8452 |
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Notes |
PMID:15306293 |
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no |
Call Number |
refbase @ user @ |
Serial |
413 |
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Author |
Fenton, B.; Ratcliffe, J. |
Title |
Animal behaviour: eavesdropping on bats |
Type |
Journal Article |
Year |
2004 |
Publication |
Nature |
Abbreviated Journal |
Nature |
Volume |
429 |
Issue |
6992 |
Pages |
612-613 |
Keywords |
Acoustics; Animals; Chiroptera/anatomy & histology/classification/genetics/*physiology; Echolocation/*physiology; *Evolution; Phylogeny; Predatory Behavior/physiology; Species Specificity |
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1476-4687 |
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Notes |
PMID:15190335 |
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no |
Call Number |
refbase @ user @ |
Serial |
500 |
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Author |
Proudman, C.; Pinchbeck, G.; Clegg, P.; French, N. |
Title |
Equine welfare: risk of horses falling in the Grand National |
Type |
Journal Article |
Year |
2004 |
Publication |
Nature |
Abbreviated Journal |
Nature |
Volume |
428 |
Issue |
6981 |
Pages |
385-386 |
Keywords |
Accidental Falls/prevention & control/*statistics & numerical data; Animal Welfare; Animals; Great Britain; Horse Diseases/prevention & control; Horses/*physiology; Odds Ratio; Risk Assessment; *Sports |
Abstract |
As in other competitive sports, the famous Grand National steeplechase, which is held at Aintree in the United Kingdom and is watched by 600 million people worldwide, sometimes results in injury. By analysing data from the past 15 Grand National races (consisting of 560 starts by horses), we are able to identify several factors that are significantly associated with failure to complete the race: no previous experience of the course and its unique obstacles, unfavourable ground conditions (too soft or too hard), a large number of runners, and the length of the odds ('starting price'). We also find that there is an increased risk of falling at the first fence and at the jump known as Becher's Brook, which has a ditch on the landing side. Our findings indicate ways in which the Grand National could be made safer for horses and illustrate how epidemiological analysis might contribute to preventing injury in competitive sport. |
Address |
Epidemiology Group, Faculty of Veterinary Science, University of Liverpool, Leahurst, Neston, Wirral CH64 7TE, UK. c.j.proudman@liverpool.ac.uk |
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1476-4687 |
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Notes |
PMID:15042079 |
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no |
Call Number |
refbase @ user @ |
Serial |
535 |
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Author |
Lazareva, O.F.; Smirnova, A.A.; Bagozkaja, M.S.; Zorina, Z.A.; Rayevsky, V.V.; Wasserman, E.A. |
Title |
Transitive responding in hooded crows requires linearly ordered stimuli |
Type |
Journal Article |
Year |
2004 |
Publication |
Journal of the experimental analysis of behavior |
Abbreviated Journal |
J Exp Anal Behav |
Volume |
82 |
Issue |
1 |
Pages |
1-19 |
Keywords |
Animals; *Association; Cognition/physiology; Crows; Discrimination (Psychology); *Discrimination Learning; Feedback; Reinforcement (Psychology); Visual Perception/physiology |
Abstract |
Eight crows were taught to discriminate overlapping pairs of visual stimuli (A+ B-, B+ C-, C+ D-, and D+ E-). For 4 birds, the stimuli were colored cards with a circle of the same color on the reverse side whose diameter decreased from A to E (ordered feedback group). These circles were made available for comparison to potentially help the crows order the stimuli along a physical dimension. For the other 4 birds, the circles corresponding to the colored cards had the same diameter (constant feedback group). In later testing, a novel choice pair (BD) was presented. Reinforcement history involving stimuli B and D was controlled so that the reinforcement/nonreinforcement ratios for the latter would be greater than for the former. If, during the BD test, the crows chose between stimuli according to these reinforcement/nonreinforcement ratios, then they should prefer D; if they chose according to the diameter of the feedback stimuli, then they should prefer B. In the ordered feedback group, the crows strongly preferred B over D; in the constant feedback group, the crows' choice did not differ significantly from chance. These results, plus simulations using associative models, suggest that the orderability of the postchoice feedback stimuli is important for crows' transitive responding. |
Address |
Institute of Higher Nervous Activity, Moscow State University. olga-lazareva@uiowa.edu |
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0022-5002 |
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Notes |
PMID:15484868 |
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no |
Call Number |
refbase @ user @ |
Serial |
612 |
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Author |
Assersohn, C.; Whiten, A.; Kiwede, Z.T.; Tinka, J.; Karamagi, J. |
Title |
Use of leaves to inspect ectoparasites in wild chimpanzees: a third cultural variant? |
Type |
Journal Article |
Year |
2004 |
Publication |
Primates |
Abbreviated Journal |
Primates |
Volume |
45 |
Issue |
4 |
Pages |
255-258 |
Keywords |
Animals; Animals, Wild/physiology; Ape Diseases/*parasitology; Behavior, Animal/*physiology; Ectoparasitic Infestations/parasitology/*veterinary; Female; Grooming/*physiology; Male; Pan troglodytes/*physiology; *Plant Leaves; Protozoa/*isolation & purification; Uganda |
Abstract |
We report 26 cases of using leaves as tools with which wild chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes schweinfurthii) in the Sonso community, Budongo Forest, Uganda, appeared to inspect objects removed during grooming. Careful removal of potential ectoparasites and delicate lip or manual placement on leaves followed by intense visual examination characterised this behaviour. It appears to be done to judge whether either ingestion or discarding is most appropriate, the former occurring in most cases. This behaviour may represent a third variant of ectoparasite handling, different from those described at Tai and Gombe, yet sharing features with the latter. These two East African techniques may thus have evolved from leaf grooming. |
Address |
Scottish Primate Research Group, School of Psychology, University of St Andrews, St Andrews, KY16 9JU, Fife, UK |
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ISSN |
0032-8332 |
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Notes |
PMID:15179558 |
Approved |
no |
Call Number |
refbase @ user @ |
Serial |
733 |
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Author |
Whiten, A.; Horner, V.; Litchfield, C.A.; Marshall-Pescini, S. |
Title |
How do apes ape? |
Type |
Journal Article |
Year |
2004 |
Publication |
Learning & Behavior |
Abbreviated Journal |
Learn. Behav. |
Volume |
32 |
Issue |
1 |
Pages |
36-52 |
Keywords |
Adaptation, Psychological; Animals; Behavior, Animal; Hominidae/*psychology; *Imitative Behavior; Imprinting (Psychology); *Learning; Psychological Theory; *Social Environment; *Social Facilitation |
Abstract |
In the wake of telling critiques of the foundations on which earlier conclusions were based, the last 15 years have witnessed a renaissance in the study of social learning in apes. As a result, we are able to review 31 experimental studies from this period in which social learning in chimpanzees, gorillas, and orangutans has been investigated. The principal question framed at the beginning of this era, Do apes ape? has been answered in the affirmative, at least in certain conditions. The more interesting question now is, thus, How do apes ape? Answering this question has engendered richer taxonomies of the range of social-learning processes at work and new methodologies to uncover them. Together, these studies suggest that apes ape by employing a portfolio of alternative social-learning processes in flexibly adaptive ways, in conjunction with nonsocial learning. We conclude by sketching the kind of decision tree that appears to underlie the deployment of these alternatives. |
Address |
Centre for Social Learning and Cognitive Evolution, Scottish Primate Research Group, School of Psychology, University of St. Andrews, St. Andrews, Fife, Scotland. a.whiten@st-and.ac.uk |
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1543-4494 |
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PMID:15161139 |
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no |
Call Number |
refbase @ user @ |
Serial |
734 |
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Author |
Caldwell, C.A.; Whiten, A. |
Title |
Testing for social learning and imitation in common marmosets, Callithrix jacchus, using an artificial fruit |
Type |
Journal Article |
Year |
2004 |
Publication |
Animal cognition |
Abbreviated Journal |
Anim. Cogn. |
Volume |
7 |
Issue |
2 |
Pages |
77-85 |
Keywords |
Animals; *Association Learning; Callithrix/*psychology; Discrimination Learning; *Feeding Behavior; Female; Food Preferences; Fruit; *Imitative Behavior; Male; *Social Behavior; Social Environment |
Abstract |
We tested for social learning and imitation in common marmosets using an artificial foraging task and trained conspecific demonstrators. We trained a demonstrator marmoset to open an artificial fruit, providing a full demonstration of the task to be learned. Another marmoset provided a partial demonstration, controlling for stimulus enhancement effects, by eating food from the outside of the apparatus. We thus compared three observer groups, each consisting of four animals: those that received the full demonstration, those that received the partial demonstration, and a control group that saw no demonstration prior to testing. Although none of the observer marmosets succeeded in opening the artificial fruit during the test periods, there were clear effects of demonstration type. Those that saw the full demonstration manipulated the apparatus more overall, whereas those from the control group manipulated it the least of the three groups. Those from the full-demonstration group also contacted the particular parts of the artificial fruit that they had seen touched (localised stimulus enhancement) to a greater extent than the other two groups. There was also an interaction between the number of hand and mouth touches made to the artificial fruit for the full- and partial-demonstration groups. Whether or not these data represent evidence for imitation is discussed. We also propose that the clear differences between the groups suggest that social learning mechanisms provide real benefits to these animals in terms of developing novel food-processing skills analogous to the one presented here. |
Address |
Centre for Social Learning and Cognitive Evolution and Scottish Primate Research Group, University of St Andrews, KY16 9JU, St Andrews, Fife, Scotland. C.A.Caldwell@exeter.ac.uk |
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ISSN |
1435-9448 |
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PMID:15069606 |
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no |
Call Number |
refbase @ user @ |
Serial |
735 |
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Author |
Fragaszy, D.; Visalberghi, E. |
Title |
Socially biased learning in monkeys |
Type |
Journal Article |
Year |
2004 |
Publication |
Learning & behavior : a Psychonomic Society publication |
Abbreviated Journal |
Learn Behav |
Volume |
32 |
Issue |
1 |
Pages |
24-35 |
Keywords |
Adaptation, Psychological; Animal Communication; Animals; Behavior, Animal; *Feeding Behavior/psychology; Food Preferences/psychology; Haplorhini/*psychology; *Imitative Behavior; Imprinting (Psychology); *Learning; *Social Environment; *Social Facilitation |
Abstract |
We review socially biased learning about food and problem solving in monkeys, relying especially on studies with tufted capuchin monkeys (Cebus apella) and callitrichid monkeys. Capuchin monkeys most effectively learn to solve a new problem when they can act jointly with an experienced partner in a socially tolerant setting and when the problem can be solved by direct action on an object or substrate, but they do not learn by imitation. Capuchin monkeys are motivated to eat foods, whether familiar or novel, when they are with others that are eating, regardless of what the others are eating. Thus, social bias in learning about foods is indirect and mediated by facilitation of feeding. In most respects, social biases in learning are similar in capuchins and callitrichids, except that callitrichids provide more specific behavioral cues to others about the availability and palatability of foods. Callitrichids generally are more tolerant toward group members and coordinate their activity in space and time more closely than capuchins do. These characteristics support stronger social biases in learning in callitrichids than in capuchins in some situations. On the other hand, callitrichids' more limited range of manipulative behaviors, greater neophobia, and greater sensitivity to the risk of predation restricts what these monkeys learn in comparison with capuchins. We suggest that socially biased learning is always the collective outcome of interacting physical, social, and individual factors, and that differences across populations and species in social bias in learning reflect variations in all these dimensions. Progress in understanding socially biased learning in nonhuman species will be aided by the development of appropriately detailed models of the richly interconnected processes affecting learning. |
Address |
Psychology Department, University of Georgia, Athens, Georgia 30602, USA. doree@uga.edu |
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1543-4494 |
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PMID:15161138 |
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no |
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refbase @ user @ |
Serial |
828 |
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Author |
Staniar, W.B.; Kronfeld, D.S.; Hoffman, R.M.; Wilson, J.A.; Harris, P.A. |
Title |
Weight prediction from linear measures of growing Thoroughbreds |
Type |
Journal Article |
Year |
2004 |
Publication |
Equine veterinary journal |
Abbreviated Journal |
Equine Vet J |
Volume |
36 |
Issue |
2 |
Pages |
149-154 |
Keywords |
Animal Nutrition Physiology; Animals; Biometry; Body Weight/*physiology; Female; Horses/*anatomy & histology/*growth & development; Male; Mathematics; Predictive Value of Tests; Reproducibility of Results; Sensitivity and Specificity |
Abstract |
REASON FOR PERFORMING STUDY: Monitoring weight of foals is a useful management practice to aid in maximising athletic potential while minimising risks associated with deviations from normal growth. OBJECTIVE: To develop predictive equations for weight, based on linear measurements of growing Thoroughbreds (TBs). METHODS: Morphometric equations predicting weight from measurements of the trunk and legs were developed from data of 153 foals. The accuracy, precision and bias of the best fitting equation were compared to published equations using a naive data set of 22 foals. RESULTS: Accuracy and precision were maximised with a broken line relating calculated volumes (V(t + l)) to measured weights. Use of the broken line is a 2 step process. V(t + l) is calculated from linear measures (m) of girth (G), carpus circumference (C), and length of body (B) and left forelimb (F). V(t + I) = ([G2 x B] + 4[C2 x F]) 4pi. If V(t + l) < 0.27 m3, weight is estimated: Weight (kg) = V(t + l) x 1093. If V(t + l) > or = 0.27 m3: Weight (kg) = V(t + l) x 984 + 24. The broken line was more accurate and precise than 3 published equations predicting the weight of young TBs. CONCLUSIONS: Estimation of weight using morphometric equations requires attention to temporal changes in body shape and density; hence, a broken line is needed. Including calculated leg volume in the broken line model is another contributing factor to improvement in predictive capability. POTENTIAL RELEVANCE: The broken line maximises its value to equine professionals through its accuracy, precision and convenience. |
Address |
Department of Animal and Poultry Sciences, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, Blacksburg, Virginia 24061-0306, USA |
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0425-1644 |
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PMID:15038438 |
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1806 |
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