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Author Cinková, I.; Policht, R. url  doi
openurl 
  Title Discrimination of familiarity and sex from chemical cues in the dung by wild southern white rhinoceros Type Journal Article
  Year 2015 Publication (up) Animal Cognition Abbreviated Journal Anim. Cogn.  
  Volume 18 Issue 1 Pages 385-392  
  Keywords  
  Abstract Communication in rhinos is primarily mediated by the vocal and olfactory signals as they have relatively poor eyesight. White rhinos are the most social of all the rhinoceros species, they defecate at common dungheaps and the adult bulls use dung and urine to mark their territory. Chemical communication may therefore be particularly important in the social interactions of white rhinos, and its knowledge could be very helpful in their management and conservation. However, no studies have investigated up until now the olfactory discrimination in any rhinoceros species in the wild. We have experimentally studied the reactions of the wild southern white rhinos (Ceratotherium simum) to the dung of familiar and unfamiliar adult females and adult territorial males. We registered the number of sniffing events, the duration of sniffing and the latency of the vigilance posture from the onset of sniffing. The dung of unfamiliar rhinos was sniffed longer than that of familiar rhinos. The rhinos showed a shorter latency of vigilance posture to the familiar dung of males than that of females. For unfamiliar dung, they displayed a shorter latency of vigilance posture to female than male dung. Our results indicate that the rhinos are able to discriminate the familiarity and sex of conspecifics from the smell of their dung. Olfactory cues could therefore play an important role in the social relationships and spatial organization of the southern white rhinoceros.  
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  ISSN 1435-9456 ISBN Medium  
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  Call Number Equine Behaviour @ team @ Cinková2015 Serial 6143  
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Author Cinková, I.; Policht, R. url  doi
openurl 
  Title Sex and species recognition by wild male southern white rhinoceros using contact pant calls Type Journal Article
  Year 2016 Publication (up) Animal Cognition Abbreviated Journal Anim. Cogn.  
  Volume 19 Issue 2 Pages 375-386  
  Keywords  
  Abstract Recognition of information from acoustic signals is crucial in many animals, and individuals are under selection pressure to discriminate between the signals of conspecifics and heterospecifics or males and females. Here, we first report that rhinos use information encoded in their calls to assess conspecifics and individuals of closely related species. The southern (Ceratotherium simum) and critically endangered northern (C. cottoni) white rhinos are the most social out of all the rhinoceros species and use a contact call pant. We found that southern white rhino pant calls provide reliable information about the caller’s sex, age class and social situation. Playback experiments on wild territorial southern white rhinoceros males revealed that they responded more strongly to the pant calls of conspecific females compared to the calls of other territorial males. This suggests that pant calls are more important form of communication between males and females than between territorial males. Territorial southern males also discriminated between female and territorial male calls of northern species and reacted more intensively to the calls of northern than southern males. This might be caused by a novelty effect since both species naturally live in allopatry. We conclude that white rhinos can directly benefit from assessing individuals at long distances using vocal cues especially because their eyesight is poor. Pant calls thus likely play a significant role in their social relationships and spatial organization. In addition, better understanding of vocal communication in white rhinos might be helpful in conservation management particularly because of their low reproduction in captivity.  
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  Notes Approved no  
  Call Number Equine Behaviour @ team @ Cinková2016 Serial 6144  
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Author Gabor, V.; Gerken, M. url  doi
openurl 
  Title Shetland ponies (Equus caballus) show quantity discrimination in a matching-to-sample design Type Journal Article
  Year 2014 Publication (up) Animal Cognition Abbreviated Journal Anim. Cogn.  
  Volume 17 Issue 6 Pages 1233-1243  
  Keywords  
  Abstract Numerical competence is one of the aspects of animal cognition with a long history of research interest, but few results are available for the horse. In the present study, we investigated the ability of three Shetland ponies to discriminate between different quantities of geometric symbols presented on a computer screen in a matching-to-sample arrangement. In Experiment 1, the ponies had to relate two similar quantities to another, paired in contrasts (1 vs. 2, 3 vs. 4 and 4 vs. 5) of the same stimulus (dot). Specific pairs of quantities (all differing by one) of up to five different geometrical symbols were displayed in Experiment 2. In each session, both quantities (more and less) were used as sample in such a way that each of the two quantities presented in one test served as positive and as negative stimulus, respectively. The three Shetland ponies were able to discriminate between the given quantities of dots by showing more than 80 % correct responses in two consecutive sessions. Only one of the ponies distinguished different shapes of geometric symbols at a level of 4 versus 5 items. The results show that all ponies were capable of visual quantity discrimination in the present matching-to-sample design, but task solving seemed more difficult when quantities were composed of heterogeneous stimuli. The present results confirm our hypothesis that the ponies based their decision on the matching concept of sameness and were not biased by a spontaneous preference for higher quantities.  
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  Call Number Equine Behaviour @ team @ Gabor2014 Serial 6174  
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Author Riley, J.L.; Noble, D.W.A.; Byrne, R.W.; Whiting, M.J. url  doi
openurl 
  Title Does social environment influence learning ability in a family-living lizard? Type Journal Article
  Year 2017 Publication (up) Animal Cognition Abbreviated Journal Anim. Cogn.  
  Volume 20 Issue 3 Pages 449-458  
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  Abstract Early developmental environment can have profound effects on individual physiology, behaviour, and learning. In birds and mammals, social isolation during development is known to negatively affect learning ability; yet in other taxa, like reptiles, the effect of social isolation during development on learning ability is unknown. We investigated how social environment affects learning ability in the family-living tree skink (Egernia striolata). We hypothesized that early social environment shapes cognitive development in skinks and predicted that skinks raised in social isolation would have reduced learning ability compared to skinks raised socially. Offspring were separated at birth into two rearing treatments: (1) raised alone or (2) in a pair. After 1 year, we quantified spatial learning ability of skinks in these rearing treatments (N = 14 solitary, 14 social). We found no effect of rearing treatment on learning ability. The number of skinks to successfully learn the task, the number of trials taken to learn the task, the latency to perform the task, and the number of errors in each trial did not differ between isolated and socially reared skinks. Our results were unexpected, yet the facultative nature of this species' social system may result in a reduced effect of social isolation on behaviour when compared to species with obligate sociality. Overall, our findings do not provide evidence that social environment affects development of spatial learning ability in this family-living lizard.  
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  Call Number Equine Behaviour @ team @ Riley2017 Serial 6190  
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Author Liedtke, J.; Schneider, J.M. url  doi
openurl 
  Title Social makes smart: rearing conditions affect learning and social behaviour in jumping spiders Type Journal Article
  Year 2017 Publication (up) Animal Cognition Abbreviated Journal Anim. Cogn.  
  Volume 20 Issue 6 Pages 1093-1106  
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  Abstract There is a long-standing debate as to whether social or physical environmental aspects drive the evolution and development of cognitive abilities. Surprisingly few studies make use of developmental plasticity to compare the effects of these two domains during development on behaviour later in life. Here, we present rearing effects on the development of learning abilities and social behaviour in the jumping spider Marpissa muscosa. These spiders are ideally suited for this purpose because they possess the ability to learn and can be reared in groups but also in isolation without added stress. This is a critical but rarely met requirement for experimentally varying the social environment to test its impact on cognition. We split broods of spiders and reared them either in a physically or in a socially enriched environment. A third group kept under completely deprived conditions served as a 'no-enrichment' control. We tested the spiders' learning abilities by using a modified T-maze. Social behaviour was investigated by confronting spiders with their own mirror image. Results show that spiders reared in groups outperform their conspecifics from the control, i.e. 'no-enrichment', group in both tasks. Physical enrichment did not lead to such an increased performance. We therefore tentatively suggest that growing up in contact with conspecifics induces the development of cognitive abilities in this species.  
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  Notes Approved no  
  Call Number Equine Behaviour @ team @ Liedtke2017 Serial 6191  
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Author Whalen, A.; Cownden, D.; Laland, K. url  doi
openurl 
  Title The learning of action sequences through social transmission Type Journal Article
  Year 2015 Publication (up) Animal Cognition Abbreviated Journal Anim. Cogn.  
  Volume 18 Issue 5 Pages 1093-1103  
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  Abstract Previous empirical work on animal social learning has found that many species lack the ability to learn entire action sequences solely through reliance on social information. Conversely, acquiring action sequences through asocial learning can be difficult due to the large number of potential sequences arising from even a small number of base actions. In spite of this, several studies report that some primates use action sequences in the wild. We investigate how social information can be integrated with asocial learning to facilitate the learning of action sequences. We formalize this problem by examining how learners using temporal difference learning, a widely applicable model of reinforcement learning, can combine social cues with their own experiences to acquire action sequences. The learning problem is modeled as a Markov decision process. The learning of nettle processing by mountain gorillas serves as a focal example. Through simulations, we find that the social facilitation of component actions can combine with individual learning to facilitate the acquisition of action sequences. Our analysis illustrates that how even simple forms of social learning, combined with asocial learning, generate substantially faster learning of action sequences compared to asocial processes alone, and that the benefits of social information increase with the length of the action sequence and the number of base actions.  
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  Notes Approved no  
  Call Number Equine Behaviour @ team @ Whalen2015 Serial 6192  
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Author Kis, A.; Huber, L.; Wilkinson, A. url  doi
openurl 
  Title Social learning by imitation in a reptile (Pogona vitticeps) Type Journal Article
  Year 2015 Publication (up) Animal Cognition Abbreviated Journal Anim.Cogn.  
  Volume 18 Issue 1 Pages 325-331  
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  Abstract The ability to learn through imitation is thought to be the basis of cultural transmission and was long considered a distinctive characteristic of humans. There is now evidence that both mammals and birds are capable of imitation. However, nothing is known about these abilities in the third amniotic class--reptiles. Here, we use a bidirectional control procedure to show that a reptile species, the bearded dragon (Pogona vitticeps), is capable of social learning that cannot be explained by simple mechanisms such as local enhancement or goal emulation. Subjects in the experimental group opened a trap door to the side that had been demonstrated, while subjects in the ghost control group, who observed the door move without the intervention of a conspecific, were unsuccessful. This, together with differences in behaviour between experimental and control groups, provides compelling evidence that reptiles possess cognitive abilities that are comparable to those observed in mammals and birds and suggests that learning by imitation is likely to be based on ancient mechanisms.  
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  Call Number Equine Behaviour @ team @ Kis2015 Serial 6193  
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Author Brust, V.; Guenther, A. url  doi
openurl 
  Title Domestication effects on behavioural traits and learning performance: comparing wild cavies to guinea pigs Type Journal Article
  Year 2015 Publication (up) Animal Cognition Abbreviated Journal Anim. Cogn.  
  Volume 18 Issue 1 Pages 99-109  
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  Abstract The domestication process leads to a change in behavioural traits, usually towards individuals that are less attentive to changes in their environment and less aggressive. Empirical evidence for a difference in cognitive performance, however, is scarce. Recently, a functional linkage between an individual's behaviour and cognitive performance has been proposed in the framework of animal personalities via a shared risk-reward trade-off. Following this assumption, bolder and more aggressive animals (usually the wild form) should learn faster. Differences in behaviour may arise during ontogeny due to individual experiences or represent adaptations that occurred over the course of evolution. Both might singly or taken together account for differences in cognitive performance between wild and domestic lineages. To test for such possible linkages, we compared wild cavies and domestic guinea pigs, both kept in a university stock for more than 30 years under highly comparable conditions. Animals were tested in three behavioural tests as well as for initial and reversal learning performance. Guinea pigs were less bold and aggressive than their wild congeners, but learnt an association faster. Additionally, the personality structure was altered during the domestication process. The most likely explanation for these findings is that a shift in behavioural traits and their connectivity led to an altered cognitive performance. A functional linkage between behavioural and cognitive traits seems to exist in the proposed way only under natural selection, but not in animals that have been selected artificially over centuries.  
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  Notes Approved no  
  Call Number Equine Behaviour @ team @ Brust2015 Serial 6194  
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Author Farmer, K.; Krüger, K.; Byrne, R.W.; Marr, I. pdf  url
doi  openurl
  Title Sensory laterality in affiliative interactions in domestic horses and ponies (Equus caballus) Type Journal Article
  Year 2018 Publication (up) Animal Cognition Abbreviated Journal Anim. Cogn.  
  Volume 21 Issue 5 Pages 631-637  
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  Abstract Many studies have been carried out into both motor and sensory laterality of horses in agonistic and stressful situations. Here we examine sensory laterality in affiliative interactions within four groups of domestic horses and ponies (N = 31), living in stable social groups, housed at a single complex close to Vienna, Austria, and demonstrate for the first time a significant population preference for the left side in affiliative approaches and interactions. No effects were observed for gender, rank, sociability, phenotype, group, or age. Our results suggest that right hemisphere specialization in horses is not limited to the processing of stressful or agonistic situations, but rather appears to be the norm for processing in all social interactions, as has been demonstrated in other species including chicks and a range of vertebrates. In domestic horses, hemispheric specialization for sensory input appears not to be based on a designation of positive versus negative, but more on the perceived need to respond quickly and appropriately in any given situation.  
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  Notes Approved no  
  Call Number Equine Behaviour @ team @ Farmer2018 Serial 6386  
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Author Miyata, H.; Gajdon, G.K.; Huber, L.; Fujita, K. url  doi
openurl 
  Title How do keas (Nestor notabilis) solve artificial-fruit problems with multiple locks? Type Journal Article
  Year 2011 Publication (up) Animal Cognition Abbreviated Journal Anim. Cogn.  
  Volume 14 Issue 1 Pages 45-58  
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  Abstract Keas, a species of parrots from New Zealand, are an interesting species for comparative studies of problem solving and cognition because they are known not only for efficient capacities for object manipulation but also for explorative and playful behaviors. To what extent are they efficient or explorative, and what cognitive abilities do they use? We examined how keas would solve several versions of artificial-fruit box problems having multiple locks. After training keas to remove a metal rod from over a Plexiglas lid that had to be opened, we exposed the birds to a variety of tasks having two or more locks. We also introduced a preview phase during which the keas had extended opportunity to look at the tasks before the experimenter allowed the birds to solve them, to examine whether the preview phase would facilitate the birds' performance on the tasks. In a large number of tests, the keas showed a strong trend to solve the tasks with no positive effect of previewing the tasks. When the tasks became complex, however, the keas corrected inappropriate responses more quickly when they had had chance to preview the problems than when they had not. The results suggest that the keas primarily used explorative strategies in solving the lock problems but might have obtained some information about the tasks before starting to solve them. This may reflect a good compromise of keas' trial-and-error tendency and their good cognitive ability that result from a selection pressure they have faced in their natural habitat.  
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  Notes Approved no  
  Call Number Equine Behaviour @ team @ Miyata2011 Serial 6549  
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