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| Author | Hemelrijk, C. K.; Wantia, J,; Isler, K. | ||||
| Title | Female Dominance over Males in Primates: Self-Organisation and Sexual Dimorphism | Type | Journal Article | ||
| Year | 2008 | Publication | PLoS ONE | Abbreviated Journal | PLoS ONE |
| Volume | 3 | Issue | 7 | Pages | e2678 |
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| Abstract | The processes that underlie the formation of the dominance hierarchy in a group are since long under debate. Models of self-organisation suggest that dominance hierarchies develop by the self-reinforcing effects of winning and losing fights (the so-called winner-loser effect), but according to ‘the prior attribute hypothesis’, dominance hierarchies develop from pre-existing individual differences, such as in body mass. In the present paper, we investigate the relevance of each of these two theories for the degree of female dominance over males. We investigate this in a correlative study in which we compare female dominance between groups of 22 species throughout the primate order. In our study female dominance may range from 0 (no female dominance) to 1 (complete female dominance). As regards ‘the prior attribute hypothesis’, we expected a negative correlation between female dominance over males and species-specific sexual dimorphism in body mass. However, to our surprise we found none (we use the method of independent contrasts). Instead, we confirm the self-organisation hypothesis: our model based on the winner-loser effect predicts that female dominance over males increases with the percentage of males in the group. We confirm this pattern at several levels in empirical data (among groups of a single species and between species of the same genus and of different ones). Since the winner-loser effect has been shown to work in many taxa including humans, these results may have broad implications.3 | ||||
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| Call Number | Equine Behaviour @ team @ | Serial  |
5115 | ||
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| Author | Fraser, O.N.; Bugnyar, T. | ||||
| Title | Do Ravens Show Consolation? Responses to Distressed Others | Type | Journal Article | ||
| Year | 2010 | Publication | PLoS ONE | Abbreviated Journal | PLoS ONE |
| Volume | 5 | Issue | 5 | Pages | e10605 |
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| Abstract | <sec> <title>Background</title> <p>Bystander affiliation (post-conflict affiliation from an uninvolved bystander to the conflict victim) may represent an expression of empathy in which the bystander consoles the victim to alleviate the victim's distress (“consolation”). However, alternative hypotheses for the function of bystander affiliation also exist. Determining whether ravens spontaneously offer consolation to distressed partners may not only help us to understand how animals deal with the costs of aggressive conflict, but may also play an important role in the empathy debate.</p> </sec><sec> <title>Methodology/Principal findings</title> <p>This study investigates the post-conflict behavior of ravens, applying the predictive framework for the function of bystander affiliation for the first time in a non-ape species. We found weak evidence for reconciliation (post-conflict affiliation between former opponents), but strong evidence for both bystander affiliation and solicited bystander affiliation (post-conflict affiliation from the victim to a bystander). Bystanders involved in both interactions were likely to share a valuable relationship with the victim. Bystander affiliation offered to the victim was more likely to occur after intense conflicts. Renewed aggression was less likely to occur after the victim solicited affiliation from a bystander.</p> </sec><sec> <title>Conclusions/Significance</title> <p>Our findings suggest that in ravens, bystanders may console victims with whom they share a valuable relationship, thus alleviating the victims' post-conflict distress. Conversely victims may affiliate with bystanders after a conflict in order to reduce the likelihood of renewed aggression. These results stress the importance of relationship quality in determining the occurrence and function of post-conflict interactions, and show that ravens may be sensitive to the emotions of others.</p> </sec> | ||||
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| Publisher | Public Library of Science | Place of Publication | Editor | ||
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| Notes | Approved | no | |||
| Call Number | Equine Behaviour @ team @ | Serial |
5195 | ||
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| Author | Gácsi, M.; Gyoöri, B.; Virányi, Z.; Kubinyi, E.; Range, F.; Belényi, B.; Miklósi, Á. | ||||
| Title | Explaining Dog Wolf Differences in Utilizing Human Pointing Gestures: Selection for Synergistic Shifts in the Development of Some Social Skills | Type | Journal Article | ||
| Year | 2009 | Publication | PLoS ONE | Abbreviated Journal | PLoS ONE |
| Volume | 4 | Issue | 8 | Pages | e6584 |
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| Abstract | <sec> <title>Background</title> <p>The comparison of human related communication skills of socialized canids may help to understand the evolution and the epigenesis of gesture comprehension in humans. To reconcile previously contradicting views on the origin of dogs' outstanding performance in utilizing human gestures, we suggest that dog-wolf differences should be studied in a more complex way.</p> </sec><sec> <title>Methodology/Principal Findings</title> <p>We present data both on the performance and the behaviour of dogs and wolves of different ages in a two-way object choice test. Characteristic behavioural differences showed that for wolves it took longer to establish eye contact with the pointing experimenter, they struggled more with the handler, and pups also bit her more before focusing on the human's signal. The performance of similarly hand-reared 8-week-old dogs and wolves did not differ in utilizing the simpler proximal momentary pointing. However, when tested with the distal momentary pointing, 4-month-old pet dogs outperformed the same aged hand reared wolves. Thus early and intensive socialisation does not diminish differences between young dogs and wolves in behaviour and performance. Socialised adult wolves performed similarly well as dogs in this task without pretraining. The success of adult wolves was accompanied with increased willingness to cooperate.</p> </sec><sec> <title>Conclusion/Significance</title> <p>Thus, we provide evidence for the first time that socialised adult wolves are as successful in relying on distal momentary pointing as adult pet dogs. However, the delayed emergence of utilising human distal momentary pointing in wolves shows that these wild canines react to a lesser degree to intensive socialisation in contrast to dogs, which are able to control agonistic behaviours and inhibition of actions in a food related task early in development. We suggest a “synergistic” hypothesis, claiming that positive feedback processes (both evolutionary and epigenetic) have increased the readiness of dogs to attend to humans, providing the basis for dog-human communication.</p> </sec> | ||||
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| Publisher | Public Library of Science | Place of Publication | Editor | ||
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| Notes | Approved | no | |||
| Call Number | Equine Behaviour @ team @ | Serial |
5196 | ||
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| Author | Karenina, K.; Giljov, A.; Baranov, V.; Osipova, L.; Krasnova, V.; Malashichev, Y. | ||||
| Title | Visual Laterality of Calf–Mother Interactions in Wild Whales | Type | Journal Article | ||
| Year | 2010 | Publication | PLoS ONE | Abbreviated Journal | PLoS ONE |
| Volume | 5 | Issue | 11 | Pages | e13787 |
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| Abstract | Background Behavioral laterality is known for a variety of vertebrate and invertebrate animals. Laterality in social interactions has been described for a wide range of species including humans. Although evidence and theoretical predictions indicate that in social species the degree of population level laterality is greater than in solitary ones, the origin of these unilateral biases is not fully understood. It is especially poorly studied in the wild animals. Little is known about the role, which laterality in social interactions plays in natural populations. A number of brain characteristics make cetaceans most suitable for investigation of lateralization in social contacts. Methodology/Principal Findings Observations were made on wild beluga whales (Delphinapterus leucas) in the greatest breeding aggregation in the White Sea. Here we show that young calves (in 29 individually identified and in over a hundred of individually not recognized mother-calf pairs) swim and rest significantly longer on a mother's right side. Further observations along with the data from other cetaceans indicate that found laterality is a result of the calves' preference to observe their mothers with the left eye, i.e., to analyze the information on a socially significant object in the right brain hemisphere. Conclusions/Significance Data from our and previous work on cetacean laterality suggest that basic brain lateralizations are expressed in the same way in cetaceans and other vertebrates. While the information on social partners and novel objects is analyzed in the right brain hemisphere, the control of feeding behavior is performed by the left brain hemisphere. Continuous unilateral visual contacts of calves to mothers with the left eye may influence social development of the young by activation of the contralateral (right) brain hemisphere, indicating a possible mechanism on how behavioral lateralization may influence species life and welfare. This hypothesis is supported by evidence from other vertebrates. |
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| Publisher | Public Library of Science | Place of Publication | Editor | ||
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| Notes | Approved | no | |||
| Call Number | Equine Behaviour @ team @ | Serial |
5297 | ||
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| Author | Wascher, C.A.F.; Fraser, O.N.; Kotrschal, K. | ||||
| Title | Heart Rate during Conflicts Predicts Post-Conflict Stress-Related Behavior in Greylag Geese | Type | Journal Article | ||
| Year | 2010 | Publication | PLoS ONE | Abbreviated Journal | PLoS ONE |
| Volume | 5 | Issue | 12 | Pages | e15751 |
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| Abstract | Background Social stressors are known to be among the most potent stressors in group-living animals. This is not only manifested in individual physiology (heart rate, glucocorticoids), but also in how individuals behave directly after a conflict. Certain ‘stress-related behaviors’ such as autopreening, body shaking, scratching and vigilance have been suggested to indicate an individual's emotional state. Such behaviors may also alleviate stress, but the behavioral context and physiological basis of those behaviors is still poorly understood. Methodology/Principal Findings We recorded beat-to-beat heart rates (HR) of 22 greylag geese in response to agonistic encounters using fully implanted sensor-transmitter packages. Additionally, for 143 major events we analyzed the behavior shown by our focal animals in the first two minutes after an interaction. Our results show that the HR during encounters and characteristics of the interaction predicted the frequency and duration of behaviors shown after a conflict. Conclusions/Significance To our knowledge this is the first study to quantify the physiological and behavioral responses to single agonistic encounters and to link this to post conflict behavior. Our results demonstrate that ‘stress-related behaviors’ are flexibly modulated by the characteristics of the preceding aggressive interaction and reflect the individual's emotional strain, which is linked to autonomic arousal. We found no support for the stress-alleviating hypothesis, but we propose that stress-related behaviors may play a role in communication with other group members, particularly with pair-partners. |
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| Publisher | Public Library of Science | Place of Publication | Editor | ||
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| Notes | Approved | no | |||
| Call Number | Equine Behaviour @ team @ | Serial |
5298 | ||
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| Author | Bourjade, M.; de Boyer des Roches, A.; Hausberger, M. | ||||
| Title | Adult-Young Ratio, a Major Factor Regulating Social Behaviour of Young: A Horse Study | Type | Journal Article | ||
| Year | 2009 | Publication | PLoS ONE | Abbreviated Journal | PLoS ONE |
| Volume | 4 | Issue | 3 | Pages | e4888 |
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| Abstract | <sec> <title>Background</title> <p>Adults play an important role in regulating the social behaviour of young individuals. However, a few pioneer studies suggest that, more than the mere presence of adults, their proportions in social groups affect the social development of young. Here, we hypothesized that aggression rates and social cohesion were correlated to adult-young ratios. Our biological model was naturally-formed groups of Przewalski horses, <italic>Equus f. przewalskii</italic>, varying in composition.</p> </sec><sec> <title>Methodology/Principal Findings</title> <p>We investigated the social interactions and spatial relationships of 12 one- and two-year-old Przewalski horses belonging to five families with adult-young ratios (AYR) ranging from 0.67 to 1.33. We found striking variations of aggression rates and spatial relationships related to the adult-young ratio: the lower this ratio, the more the young were aggressive, the more young and adults segregated and the tighter the young bonded to other young.</p> </sec><sec> <title>Conclusion/Significance</title> <p>This is the first study demonstrating a correlation between adult-young ratios and aggression rates and social cohesion of young individuals in a naturalistic setting. The increase of aggression and the emergence of social segregation in groups with lower proportions of adults could reflect a related decrease of the influence of adults as regulators of the behaviour of young. This social regulation has both theoretical and practical implications for understanding the modalities of the influence of adults during ontogeny and for recommending optimal settings, as for instance, for schooling or animal group management.</p> </sec> | ||||
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| Publisher | Public Library of Science | Place of Publication | Editor | ||
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| Notes | Approved | no | |||
| Call Number | Equine Behaviour @ team @ | Serial |
5334 | ||
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| Author | Roth, L.S.V.; Balkenius, A.; Kelber, A. | ||||
| Title | The Absolute Threshold of Colour Vision in the Horse | Type | Journal Article | ||
| Year | 2008 | Publication | PLoS ONE | Abbreviated Journal | PLoS ONE |
| Volume | 3 | Issue | 11 | Pages | e3711 EP - |
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| Abstract | <p>Arrhythmic mammals are active both during day and night if they are allowed. The arrhythmic horses are in possession of one of the largest terrestrial animal eyes and the purpose of this study is to reveal whether their eye is sensitive enough to see colours at night. During the day horses are known to have dichromatic colour vision. To disclose whether they can discriminate colours in dim light a behavioural dual choice experiment was performed. We started the training and testing at daylight intensities and the horses continued to choose correctly at a high frequency down to light intensities corresponding to moonlight. One Shetland pony mare, was able to discriminate colours at 0.08 cd/m2, while a half blood gelding, still discriminated colours at 0.02 cd/m2. For comparison, the colour vision limit for several human subjects tested in the very same experiment was also 0.02 cd/m2. Hence, the threshold of colour vision for the horse that performed best was similar to that of the humans. The behavioural results are in line with calculations of the sensitivity of cone vision where the horse eye and human eye again are similar. The advantage of the large eye of the horse lies not in colour vision at night, but probably instead in achromatic tasks where presumably signal summation enhances sensitivity.</p> | ||||
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| Publisher | Public Library of Science | Place of Publication | Editor | ||
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| Notes | Approved | no | |||
| Call Number | Equine Behaviour @ team @ | Serial |
5625 | ||
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| Author | Meagher, R.K.; Mason, G.J. | ||||
| Title | Environmental Enrichment Reduces Signs of Boredom in Caged Mink | Type | Journal Article | ||
| Year | 2012 | Publication | PLoS ONE | Abbreviated Journal | PLoS ONE |
| Volume | 7 | Issue | 11 | Pages | e49180 |
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| Abstract | <p>Animals housed in impoverished cages are often labelled ‘bored’. They have also been called ‘apathetic’ or ‘depressed’, particularly when profoundly inactive. However, these terms are rarely operationally defined and validated. As a negative state caused by under-stimulation, boredom should increase interest in stimuli of all kinds. Apathy (lack of interest), by contrast, should manifest as decreased interest in all stimuli, while anhedonia (loss of pleasure, a depressive symptom) should specifically decrease interest in normally rewarding stimuli. We tested the hypotheses that mink, a model carnivore, experience more boredom, depression-like apathy, or anhedonia in non-enriched (NE) cages than in complex, enriched (E) cages. We exposed 29 subjects (13 E, 16 NE) to ten stimuli categorized <italic>a priori</italic> as aversive (e.g. air puffs), rewarding (e.g. evoking chasing) or ambiguous/neutral (e.g. candles). Interest in stimuli was assessed via latencies to contact, contact durations, and durations oriented to stimuli. NE mink contacted all stimuli faster (P = 0.003) than E mink, and spent longer oriented to/in contact with them, albeit only significantly so for ambiguous ones (treatment*type P<0.013). With stimulus category removed from statistical models, interest in all stimuli was consistently higher among NE mink (P<0.0001 for all measures). NE mink also consumed more food rewards (P = 0.037). Finally, we investigated whether lying down while awake and stereotypic behaviour (both increased by NE housing) predicted these responses. Lying awake positively co-varied with certain measures of increased exploration. In contrast, stereotypic ‘scrabbling’ or locomotion (e.g. pacing) did not. Overall, NE mink showed no evidence of apathy or depression, but instead a heightened investigation of diverse stimuli consistent with boredom. This state was potentially indicated by spending much time lying still but awake (although this result requires replication). Boredom can thus be operationalized and assessed empirically in non-human animals. It can also be reduced by environmental enrichment.</p> | ||||
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| Publisher | Public Library of Science | Place of Publication | Editor | ||
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| Notes | Approved | no | |||
| Call Number | Equine Behaviour @ team @ | Serial |
5635 | ||
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| Author | Briefer Freymond, S.; Briefer, E.F.; Niederhäusern, R.V.; Bachmann, I. | ||||
| Title | Pattern of Social Interactions after Group Integration: A Possibility to Keep Stallions in Group | Type | Journal Article | ||
| Year | 2013 | Publication | PLoS ONE | Abbreviated Journal | PLoS ONE |
| Volume | 8 | Issue | 1 | Pages | e54688 EP - |
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| Abstract | <p>Horses are often kept in individual stables, rather than in outdoor groups, despite such housing system fulfilling many of their welfare needs, such as the access to social partners. Keeping domestic stallions in outdoor groups would mimic bachelor bands that are found in the wild. Unfortunately, the high level of aggression that unfamiliar stallions display when they first <italic>encounter each other</italic> discourages owners from keeping them in groups. However, this level of aggression is likely to be particularly important only during group integration, when the dominance hierarchy is being established, whereas relatively low aggression rates have been observed among stable feral bachelor bands. We investigated the possibility of housing breeding stallions owned by the Swiss National Stud in groups on a large pasture (5 stallions in 2009 and 8 stallions in 2010). We studied the pattern of agonistic, ritual and affiliative interactions after group integration (17–23 days), and the factors influencing these interactions (time after group integration, dominance rank, age or experience of group housing). We found that stallions displayed generally more ritual than agonistic and than affiliative interactions. The frequency of agonistic and ritual interactions decreased quickly within the first three to four days. The frequency of affiliative interactions increased slowly with time before decreasing after 9–14 days. A stable hierarchy could be measured after 2–3 months. The highest-ranking males had less ritual interactions than the lowest-ranking. Males had also less agonistic, ritual and affiliative interactions if they had already been housed in a group the previous year. Therefore, we found that breeding stallions could be housed together on a large pasture, because the frequency of agonistic interactions decreased quickly and remained at a minimal level from the fourth day following group integration. This housing system could potentially increase horse welfare and reduce labour associated with horse management.</p> | ||||
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| Publisher | Public Library of Science | Place of Publication | Editor | ||
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| Call Number | Equine Behaviour @ team @ | Serial |
5656 | ||
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| Author | Proops, L.; Rayner, J.; Taylor, A.M.; McComb, K. | ||||
| Title | The Responses of Young Domestic Horses to Human-Given Cues | Type | Journal Article | ||
| Year | 2013 | Publication | PLoS ONE | Abbreviated Journal | PLoS ONE |
| Volume | 8 | Issue | 6 | Pages | e67000 EP - |
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| Abstract | <p>It has been suggested that the process of domestication, at least in some species, has led to an innate predisposition to be skilled at reading human communicative and attentional cues. Adult domestic horses (<italic>Equus caballus</italic>) are highly sensitive to subtle bodily cues when determining if a person is attending to them but they are less adept at using human communicative cues in object choice tasks. Here we provide the first study into the ontogeny of such skills in order to gain insights into the mechanisms underlying these abilities. Compared with adult horses, youngsters under the age of three could use body orientation but not more subtle cues such as head movement and open/closed eyes to correctly choose an attentive person to approach for food. Across two object choice experiments, the performance of young horses was comparable to that of adult horses – subjects were able to correctly choose a rewarded bucket using marker placement, pointing and touching cues but could not use body orientation, gaze, elbow pointing or tapping cues. Taken together these results do not support the theory that horses possess an innate predisposition to be particularly skilled at using human cues. Horses' ability to determine whether humans are attending to them using subtle body cues appears to require significant experience to fully develop and their perhaps less remarkable use of limited cues in object choice tasks, although present at a much earlier age, is likely to reflect a more general learning ability related to stimulus enhancement rather than a specific ‘human-reading’ skill.</p> | ||||
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| Publisher | Public Library of Science | Place of Publication | Editor | ||
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| Notes | Approved | no | |||
| Call Number | Equine Behaviour @ team @ | Serial |
5676 | ||
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