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Author Dreier, S.; van Zweden, J.S.; D'Ettorre, P. url  doi
openurl 
  Title Long-term memory of individual identity in ant queens Type Journal Article
  Year 2007 Publication Biology Letters Abbreviated Journal Biol Lett  
  Volume 3 Issue 5 Pages 459-462  
  Keywords Aggression; Animals; Ants/*physiology; Conditioning, Operant; Evolution; Female; *Memory; *Recognition (Psychology); Social Dominance  
  Abstract Remembering individual identities is part of our own everyday social life. Surprisingly, this ability has recently been shown in two social insects. While paper wasps recognize each other individually through their facial markings, the ant, Pachycondyla villosa, uses chemical cues. In both species, individual recognition is adaptive since it facilitates the maintenance of stable dominance hierarchies among individuals, and thus reduces the cost of conflict within these small societies. Here, we investigated individual recognition in Pachycondyla ants by quantifying the level of aggression between pairs of familiar or unfamiliar queens over time. We show that unrelated founding queens of P. villosa and Pachycondyla inversa store information on the individual identity of other queens and can retrieve it from memory after 24h of separation. Thus, we have documented for the first time that long-term memory of individual identity is present and functional in ants. This novel finding represents an advance in our understanding of the mechanism determining the evolution of cooperation among unrelated individuals.  
  Address Institute of Biology, Department of Population Biology, University of Copenhagen, Universitetsparken 15, 2100 Copenhagen, Denmark. sdreier@bi.ku.dk  
  Corporate Author Thesis  
  Publisher Place of Publication Editor  
  Language (up) English Summary Language Original Title  
  Series Editor Series Title Abbreviated Series Title  
  Series Volume Series Issue Edition  
  ISSN 1744-9561 ISBN Medium  
  Area Expedition Conference  
  Notes PMID:17594958 Approved no  
  Call Number Equine Behaviour @ team @ Serial 4649  
Permanent link to this record
 

 
Author Li, C.; Jiang, Z.; Tang, S.; Zeng, Y. doi  openurl
  Title Influence of enclosure size and animal density on fecal cortisol concentration and aggression in Pere David's deer stags Type Journal Article
  Year 2007 Publication General and Comparative Endocrinology Abbreviated Journal Gen Comp Endocrinol  
  Volume 151 Issue 2 Pages 202-209  
  Keywords *Aggression; Animals; *Deer; *Environment; Feces/*chemistry; Handling (Psychology); Housing, Animal; Hydrocortisone/*analysis; Male; Population Density  
  Abstract We investigated the impact of enclosure size and animal density on behavior and adrenocortical secretion in Pere David's deer in Dafeng Nature Reserve, China. From February 15 to April 16 in 2004, we conducted two experiments. First, we studied maintenance behavior and conflict behavior of Pere David's deer stags in a large enclosure (200 ha) with low animal density (0.66 deer/ha) and a small display pen (0.75 ha) with high animal density (25.33 deer/ha). The maintenance behavior we recorded included standing, locomotion, foraging and rest. During the behavioral observations, we collected fresh voided fecal samples from the stags periodically, and analyzed the fecal cortisol concentrations in those samples using radioimmunoassay technique. Second, we monitored the fecal cortisol concentrations of one group of stags (12 deer lived in an enclosure of 100 ha) before and after transferred into a small pen (0.5 ha). We found that in the first experiment: (1) there were significant differences in standing and rest whereas no significant differences of locomotion and foraging between the free-ranging group and the display group; (2) frequency of conflict behavior in the display group was significantly higher than those in the free-ranging group; and (3) fecal cortisol concentration of the display group (326.17+/-16.98 ng/g dry feces) was significantly higher than that of the free-ranging group (268.98+/-15.21 ng/g dry feces). In the second experiment, there was no significant difference of the fecal cortisol concentrations among sampling days, but the mean fecal cortisol concentration of the day after transferring (337.46+/-17.88 ng/g dry feces) was significantly higher than that of the day before transferring (248.44+/-7.99 ng/g dry feces). Comparison with published findings, our results indicated that enclosure size and animal density affect not only behaviors, but also adrenocortical secretion in Pere David's deer. Small living space with high animal density may impose physiological stress to captive Pere David's deer. Moreover, long-term physiological stress and increase of conflict behavior may subsequently affect survival and reproduction of the deer.  
  Address Key Laboratory of Animal Ecology and Conservation Biology, Institute of Zoology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100080, China  
  Corporate Author Thesis  
  Publisher Place of Publication Editor  
  Language (up) English Summary Language Original Title  
  Series Editor Series Title Abbreviated Series Title  
  Series Volume Series Issue Edition  
  ISSN 0016-6480 ISBN Medium  
  Area Expedition Conference  
  Notes PMID:17324429 Approved no  
  Call Number Equine Behaviour @ team @ Serial 5475  
Permanent link to this record
 

 
Author Calcagnoli, F.; Boer, S.F.; Althaus, M.; Boer, J.A.; Koolhaas, J.M. url  doi
openurl 
  Title Antiaggressive activity of central oxytocin in male rats Type Journal Article
  Year 2013 Publication Abbreviated Journal Psychopharmacology  
  Volume 229 Issue 4 Pages 639-651  
  Keywords Oxytocin; Offensive aggression; Social exploration; Individual variability  
  Abstract Rationale A substantial body of research suggests that the

neuropeptide oxytocin promotes social affiliative behaviors

in a wide range of animals including humans. However, its

antiaggressive action has not been unequivocally demonstrated

in male laboratory rodents.

Objective Our primary goal was to examine the putative

serenic effect of oxytocin in a feral strain (wild type

Groningen, WTG) of rats that generally show a much

broader variation and higher levels of intermale aggression

than commonly used laboratory strains of rats.

Methods Resident animals were intracerebroventricularly

(icv) administered with different doses of synthetic oxytocin

and oxytocin receptor antagonist, alone and in combination,

in order to manipulate brain oxytocin functioning and to

assess their behavioral response to an intruder.

Results Our data clearly demonstrate that acute icv administered

oxytocin produces dose-dependent and receptorselective

changes in social behavior, reducing aggression

and potentiating social exploration. These antiaggressive

effects are stronger in the more offensive rats. On the other

hand, administration of an oxytocin receptor antagonist

tends to increase (nonsignificantly) aggression only in

low–medium aggressive animals.

Conclusions These results suggest that transiently enhancing

brain oxytocin function has potent antiaggressive effects,

whereas its attenuation tends to enhance aggressiveness. In

addition, a possible inverse relationship between trait aggression

and endogenous oxytocinergic signaling is revealed.

Overall, this study emphasizes the importance of brain

oxytocinergic signaling for regulating intermale offensive aggression.

This study supports the suggestion that oxytocin

receptor agonists could clinically be useful for curbing heightened

aggression seen in a range of neuropsychiatric disorders

like antisocial personality disorder, autism, and addiction.
 
  Address  
  Corporate Author Thesis  
  Publisher Springer Berlin Heidelberg Place of Publication Editor  
  Language (up) English Summary Language Original Title  
  Series Editor Series Title Abbreviated Series Title  
  Series Volume Series Issue Edition  
  ISSN 0033-3158 ISBN Medium  
  Area Expedition Conference  
  Notes Approved no  
  Call Number Equine Behaviour @ team @ Serial 5723  
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