toggle visibility Search & Display Options

Select All    Deselect All
 |   | 
Details
   print
  Records Links
Author (down) Punzo, F.; Ludwig, L. doi  openurl
  Title Contact with maternal parent and siblings affects hunting behavior, learning, and central nervous system development in spiderlings of Hogna carolinensis (Araeneae: Lycosidae) Type Journal Article
  Year 2002 Publication Animal Cognition Abbreviated Journal Anim. Cogn.  
  Volume 5 Issue 2 Pages 63-70  
  Keywords Animals; Central Nervous System/*growth & development; Female; *Learning; Male; *Predatory Behavior; Social Isolation; *Spiders  
  Abstract The purpose of this study was to determine the effects of early experience (rearing conditions) on the central nervous system (CNS) and behavior of spiderlings of Hogna carolinensis (Lycosidae). We were interested in whether or not spiderlings that were allowed to remain in contact with their maternal parent and siblings (enriched condition, EC) would exhibit differences in CNS development or subsequent behavior when compared with those reared in isolation (improverished condition, IC). Spiderlings emerged from their egg sacs and climbed onto the dorsal surface of their mother's abdomen where they remained until their yolk supply was depleted (5 days). They dispersed on day 6 after emergence. We compared the ability of 16-day-old EC and IC spiderlings to capture prey in a linear runway and to learn a complex maze (spatial learning). We also compared certain aspects of CNS development (brain weight, total number of brain cells, volume of central body and protocerebral neuropil) in EC and IC spiderlings. Results indicated that EC subjects are more efficient at capturing moving prey (crickets) and exhibited improved performance (significantly fewer blind alley errors) in the maze. The volume of the protocerebral neuropil in 6-day-old EC animals increased 30% over a 5-day period after emergence as compared to IC animals of the same age. The volume of the central body of EC animals increased 34.8% over the same time period. On day 6 after emergence, the weight of the protocerebrum was significantly greater in EC versus IC subjects. There were no significant effects of rearing condition (EC vs IC) or age (1- and 6-day-old spiderlings) on the total number of nerve cells in the protocerebrum, suggesting that the difference in protocerebral weight was due primarily to differences in supporting glial tissues and neuropil matrix. In conclusion, the data suggest that early contact with the maternal parent and siblings is of vital importance to CNS development in lycosid spiderlings and can influence the capacity for spatial learning as well as the ability to capture prey.  
  Address Box 5F-Dept. of Biology, University of Tampa, 401 W. Kennedy Blvd., Tampa, FL 33606, USA. fpunzo@ut.edu  
  Corporate Author Thesis  
  Publisher Place of Publication Editor  
  Language English Summary Language Original Title  
  Series Editor Series Title Abbreviated Series Title  
  Series Volume Series Issue Edition  
  ISSN 1435-9448 ISBN Medium  
  Area Expedition Conference  
  Notes PMID:12150037 Approved no  
  Call Number Equine Behaviour @ team @ Serial 2607  
Permanent link to this record
 

 
Author (down) Proops, L.; McComb, K. url  doi
openurl 
  Title Attributing attention: the use of human-given cues by domestic horses (Equus caballus) Type Journal Article
  Year 2010 Publication Animal Cognition Abbreviated Journal Anim. Cogn.  
  Volume 13 Issue 2 Pages 197-205  
  Keywords  
  Abstract Abstract  Recent research has shown that domestic dogs are particularly good at determining the focus of human attention, often outperforming chimpanzees and hand-reared wolves. It has been suggested that the close evolutionary relationship between humans and dogs has led to the development of this ability; however, very few other domestic species have been studied. We tested the ability of 36 domestic horses to discriminate between an attentive and inattentive person in determining whom to approach for food. The cues provided were body orientation, head orientation or whether the experimenters’ eyes were open or closed. A fourth, mixed condition was included where the attentive person stood with their body facing away from the subjects but their head turned towards the subject while the inattentive person stood with their body facing the subject but their head turned away. Horses chose the attentive person significantly more often using the body cue, head cue, and eye cue but not the mixed cue. This result suggests that domestic horses are highly sensitive to human attentional cues, including gaze. The possible role of evolutionary and environmental factors in the development of this ability is discussed.  
  Address  
  Corporate Author Thesis  
  Publisher Place of Publication Editor  
  Language Summary Language Original Title  
  Series Editor Series Title Abbreviated Series Title  
  Series Volume Series Issue Edition  
  ISSN ISBN Medium  
  Area Expedition Conference  
  Notes Approved no  
  Call Number Equine Behaviour @ team @ Serial 4984  
Permanent link to this record
 

 
Author (down) Proops, L.; Burden, F.; Osthaus, B. doi  openurl
  Title Mule cognition: a case of hybrid vigour? Type Journal Article
  Year 2009 Publication Animal Cognition Abbreviated Journal Anim. Cogn.  
  Volume 12 Issue 1 Pages 75-84  
  Keywords  
  Abstract Abstract: This study compares the behaviour of the mule (Equus asinus x Equus caballus) with that of its parent species to assess the effects of hybridization on cognition. Six mules, six ponies (E. caballus) and six donkeys (E. asinus) were given a two choice visual discrimination learning task. Each session consisted of 12 trials and pass level was reached when subjects chose the correct stimulus for at least 9 out of the 12 trials in three consecutive sessions. A record was made of how many pairs each subject learnt over 25 sessions. The mules" performance was significantly better than that of either of the parent species (Kruskal-Wallis: Hx = 8.11, P = 0.017). They were also the only group to learn enough pairs to be able to show a successive reduction in the number of sessions required to reach criterion level. This study provides the first empirical evidence that the improved characteristics of mules may be extended from physical attributes to cognitive function.  
  Address  
  Corporate Author Thesis  
  Publisher Place of Publication Editor  
  Language Summary Language Original Title  
  Series Editor Series Title Abbreviated Series Title  
  Series Volume Series Issue Edition  
  ISSN ISBN Medium  
  Area Expedition Conference  
  Notes Approved no  
  Call Number Equine Behaviour @ team @ Serial 4714  
Permanent link to this record
 

 
Author (down) Prato-Previde, E.; Marshall-Pescini, S.; Valsecchi, P. url  doi
openurl 
  Title Is your choice my choice` The owners effect on pet dogs? ( Canis lupus familiaris ) performance in a food choice task Type Journal Article
  Year 2008 Publication Animal Cognition Abbreviated Journal Anim. Cogn.  
  Volume 11 Issue 1 Pages 167-174  
  Keywords Dog – Dog-owner relationship – Food choice task – Quantity discrimination  
  Abstract Abstract  This study investigates the influence of owners on their dogs performance in a food choice task using either different or equal quantities of food. Fifty-four pet dogs were tested in three different conditions. In Condition 1 we evaluated their ability to choose between a large and small amount of food (quantity discrimination task). In Condition 2 dogs were again presented with a choice between the large and small food quantity, but only after having witnessed their owner favouring the small quantity. In Condition 3 dogs were given a choice between two equally small quantities of food having witnessed their owner favouring either one or the other. A strong effect of the owner on the dogs`` performance was observed. In Condition 1 dogs as a group chose significantly more often the large food quantity, thus showing their ability to solve the quantity discrimination task. After observing their owner expressing a preference for the small food quantity they chose the large quantity of food significantly less than in the independent choice situation. The tendency to conform to the owner`s choice was higher when the dogs had to choose between equally small quantities of food (Condition 3) rather than between a large and a small one (Condition 2). These results provide evidence that dogs can be influenced by their owners even when their indications are clearly in contrast with direct perceptual information, thus leading dogs to ultimately make counterproductive choices.  
  Address  
  Corporate Author Thesis  
  Publisher Place of Publication Editor  
  Language Summary Language Original Title  
  Series Editor Series Title Abbreviated Series Title  
  Series Volume Series Issue Edition  
  ISSN ISBN Medium  
  Area Expedition Conference  
  Notes Approved no  
  Call Number Admin @ knut @ Serial 4216  
Permanent link to this record
 

 
Author (down) Potì, P.; Langer, J.; Savage-Rumbaugh, S.; Brakke, K.E. doi  openurl
  Title Spontaneous logicomathematical constructions by chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes, P. paniscus) Type Journal Article
  Year 1999 Publication Animal Cognition Abbreviated Journal Anim. Cogn.  
  Volume 2 Issue 3 Pages 147-156  
  Keywords  
  Abstract Two experiments investigated the spontaneous construction of precursory logicomathematical operations by human-enculturated and language-reared chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes, Pan paniscus) when they were interacting freely with objects. In experiment 1, three chimpanzees ranging in age from 6 to 18 years were presented with sets of six objects. Chimpanzees constructed equivalence, order and reversibility relations within single sets of objects as well as between two or three contemporaneous sets of objects. The chimpanzees' logicomathematical operations were more advanced, including infrequent and minimal operations on three sets, than those of some previously investigated younger nonenculturated common chimpanzees. In experiment 2, six chimpanzees ranging in age from 6 to 21 years were presented with sets of 12 objects. Chimpanzees constructed more advanced operations on single sets, but not on contemporaneous sets. The results suggest partial convergence and partial divergence between development of logicomathematical cognition in chimpanzees and humans.  
  Address  
  Corporate Author Thesis  
  Publisher Place of Publication Editor  
  Language Summary Language Original Title  
  Series Editor Series Title Abbreviated Series Title  
  Series Volume Series Issue Edition  
  ISSN ISBN Medium  
  Area Expedition Conference  
  Notes Approved no  
  Call Number Equine Behaviour @ team @ Serial 3125  
Permanent link to this record
 

 
Author (down) Potì, P. doi  openurl
  Title Aspects of spatial cognition in capuchins (Cebus apella): frames of reference and scale of space Type Journal Article
  Year 2000 Publication Animal Cognition Abbreviated Journal Anim. Cogn.  
  Volume 3 Issue 2 Pages 69-77  
  Keywords  
  Abstract Frames of reference (i.e. sets of loci defining spatial locations) determine animals' performances in object search tasks. Reference frames are used at different scales. Although much behavioural research has been conducted on search strategies in many animal species, relatively little has been done on nonhuman primates. The two experiments reported here focused on the relative strength and the level of functioning of different reference frames at the small-scale level in four capuchins (Cebus apella). Two identical boxes and a landmark were placed on a round platform that could be rotated. A reward was hidden in subject's view under one box, and then a sash-screen was lowered to hide the rotation of the platform; the sash-screen was then lifted and the subject allowed to search for the reward. In experiment 1 the rewarded box was always the closer to the landmark, in experiment 2 it could be either the box closer to or the box farther from the landmark. Capuchins were successful after invisible rotations in experiment 1, but they failed after invisible rotations in experiment 2. Two possible explanations are proposed: (1) capuchins relied heavily on the left-right body-axis as a frame, and they could only substitute it with a simple association between the rewarded position and the landmark; or (2) capuchins failed because they chose external cues in the room, therefore on a inappropriate scale. The latter explanation allows two further inferences: (a) the capuchins' choice was indirectly related to their body-axes; and (b) the capuchins revealed a cognitive asymmetry between small-scale and large-scale spaces, thus differing from humans.  
  Address  
  Corporate Author Thesis  
  Publisher Place of Publication Editor  
  Language Summary Language Original Title  
  Series Editor Series Title Abbreviated Series Title  
  Series Volume Series Issue Edition  
  ISSN ISBN Medium  
  Area Expedition Conference  
  Notes Approved no  
  Call Number Equine Behaviour @ team @ Serial 3085  
Permanent link to this record
 

 
Author (down) Pongrácz, P.; Vida, V.; Bánhegyi, P.; Miklósi, Á. doi  openurl
  Title How does dominance rank status affect individual and social learning performance in the dog (Canis familiaris)? Type Journal Article
  Year 2008 Publication Animal Cognition Abbreviated Journal Anim. Cogn.  
  Volume 11 Issue Pages 75-82  
  Keywords  
  Abstract Dogs can learn effectively to detour around a V-shaped fence after observing a demonstration from either an unfamiliar human or dog demonstrator. We found earlier that there is substantial individual variation between the dogs' performance, even when using the same experimental conditions. Here, we investigate if the subjects' relative dominance rank with other dogs had an effect on their social learning performance. On the basis of the owners' answers to a questionnaire, subjects from multi-dog homes were sorted into groups of dominant and subordinate dogs. In Experiment 1, dominant and subordinate dogs were tested without demonstration and we did not find any difference between the groups-they had similarly low detour performances on their own. In Experiment 2 and 3, dogs from single dog and multi-dog households were tested in the detour task with demonstration by an unfamiliar dog, or human, respectively. The results showed that social learning performance of the single dogs fell between the dominant and subordinate multi-dogs with both dog and human demonstration. Subordinate dogs displayed significantly better performance after having observed a dog demonstrator in comparison to dominant dogs. In contrast, the performance of dominant and subordinate dogs was almost similar, when they observed a human demonstrator. These results suggest that perceived dominance rank in its own group has a strong effect on social learning in dogs, but this effect seems to depend also on the demonstrator species. This finding reveals an intricate organization of the social structure in multi-dog households, which can contribute to individual differences existing among dogs.  
  Address Department of Ethology, Eotvos Lorand University, Pazmany Peter setany 1/C, 1117, Budapest, Hungary, peter.celeste.pongracz@gmail.com  
  Corporate Author Thesis  
  Publisher Place of Publication Editor  
  Language English Summary Language Original Title  
  Series Editor Series Title Abbreviated Series Title  
  Series Volume Series Issue Edition  
  ISSN 1435-9448 ISBN Medium  
  Area Expedition Conference  
  Notes PMID:17492317 Approved no  
  Call Number Equine Behaviour @ team @ Serial 2400  
Permanent link to this record
 

 
Author (down) Petruso, E.J.; Fuchs, T.; Bingman, V.P. doi  openurl
  Title Time-space learning in homing pigeons (Columba livia): orientation to an artificial light source Type Journal Article
  Year 2007 Publication Animal Cognition Abbreviated Journal Anim. Cogn.  
  Volume 10 Issue 2 Pages 181-188  
  Keywords Animals; Circadian Rhythm; Columbidae/*physiology; Homing Behavior/physiology; Learning/*physiology; *Light; Orientation/*physiology; Space Perception/*physiology; Time Perception/*physiology  
  Abstract Time-space learning reflects an ability to represent in memory event-stimulus properties together with the place and time of the event; a capacity well developed in birds. Homing pigeons were trained in an indoor octagonal arena to locate one food goal in the morning and a different food goal in the late afternoon. The goals differed with respect to their angular/directional relationship to an artificial light source located outside the arena. Further, the angular difference in reward position approximated the displacement of the sun's azimuth that would occur during the same time period. The experimental birds quickly learned the task, demonstrating the apparent ease with which birds can adopt an artificial light source to discriminate among alternative spatial responses at different times of the day. However, a novel midday probe session following successful learning revealed that the light source was interpreted as a stable landmark and not as a surrogate sun that would support compass orientation. Probe sessions following a phase shift of the light-dark cycle revealed that the mechanism employed to make the temporal discrimination was prevailingly based on an endogenous circadian rhythm and not an interval timing mechanism.  
  Address Department of Psychology and J.P. Scott Center for Neuroscience, Mind and Behavior Bowling Green State University, Bowling Green, OH 43403, USA  
  Corporate Author Thesis  
  Publisher Place of Publication Editor  
  Language English Summary Language Original Title  
  Series Editor Series Title Abbreviated Series Title  
  Series Volume Series Issue Edition  
  ISSN 1435-9448 ISBN Medium  
  Area Expedition Conference  
  Notes PMID:17160343 Approved no  
  Call Number Equine Behaviour @ team @ Serial 2432  
Permanent link to this record
 

 
Author (down) Pepperberg, I.M. doi  openurl
  Title Grey parrot numerical competence: a review Type Journal Article
  Year 2006 Publication Animal Cognition Abbreviated Journal Anim. Cogn.  
  Volume 9 Issue 4 Pages 377-391  
  Keywords Animals; *Behavior, Animal; *Comprehension; *Concept Formation; *Mathematics; *Parrots  
  Abstract The extent to which humans and nonhumans share numerical competency is a matter of debate. Some researchers argue that nonhumans, lacking human language, possess only a simple understanding of small quantities, generally less than four. Animals that have, however, received some training in human communication systems might demonstrate abilities intermediate between those of untrained nonhumans and humans. Here I review data for a Grey parrot (Psittacus erithacus) that has been shown to quantify sets of up to and including six items (including heterogeneous subsets) using vocal English labels, to comprehend these labels fully, and to have a zero-like concept. Recent research demonstrates that he can also sum small quantities. His success shows that he understands number symbols as abstract representations of real-world collections, and that his sense of number compares favorably to that of chimpanzees and young human children.  
  Address Department of Psychology, Brandeis University, Waltham, MA 02454, USA  
  Corporate Author Thesis  
  Publisher Place of Publication Editor  
  Language English Summary Language Original Title  
  Series Editor Series Title Abbreviated Series Title  
  Series Volume Series Issue Edition  
  ISSN 1435-9448 ISBN Medium  
  Area Expedition Conference  
  Notes PMID:16909236 Approved no  
  Call Number Equine Behaviour @ team @ Serial 2448  
Permanent link to this record
 

 
Author (down) Pepperberg, I.M. doi  openurl
  Title “Insightful” string-pulling in Grey parrots (Psittacus erithacus) is affected by vocal competence Type Journal Article
  Year 2004 Publication Animal Cognition Abbreviated Journal Anim. Cogn.  
  Volume 7 Issue 4 Pages 263-266  
  Keywords Animals; *Association Learning; *Discrimination Learning; Humans; Male; *Parrots; *Problem Solving; Verbal Behavior; Verbal Learning; *Vocalization, Animal  
  Abstract Four Grey parrots (Psittacus erithacus) were tested on their ability to obtain an item suspended from a string such that mutiple, repeated, coordinated beak-foot actions were required for success (e.g., Heinrich 1995). Those birds with little training in referential English requests (e.g. “I want X”) succeeded, whereas birds who could request the suspended item failed to obtain the object but engaged in repeated requesting.  
  Address MIT School of Architecture and Planning, Bldg 7-231, 77 Massachusetts Ave, MA 02139, Cambridge, USA. impepper@media.mit.edu  
  Corporate Author Thesis  
  Publisher Place of Publication Editor  
  Language English Summary Language Original Title  
  Series Editor Series Title Abbreviated Series Title  
  Series Volume Series Issue Edition  
  ISSN 1435-9448 ISBN Medium  
  Area Expedition Conference  
  Notes PMID:15045620 Approved no  
  Call Number Equine Behaviour @ team @ Serial 2537  
Permanent link to this record
Select All    Deselect All
 |   | 
Details
   print