| |
Records |
Links |
|
Author  |
Traversa, D.; Otranto, D.; Iorio, R.; Giangaspero, A. |
|
| |
Title |
Molecular characterization of Thelazia lacrymalis (Nematoda, Spirurida) affecting equids: a tool for vector identification |
Type |
Journal Article |
| |
Year |
2005 |
Publication |
Molecular and Cellular Probes |
Abbreviated Journal |
Mol Cell Probes |
|
| |
Volume |
19 |
Issue |
4 |
Pages |
245-249 |
|
| |
Keywords |
Animals; Horse Diseases/parasitology; Horses/*parasitology; Insect Vectors/*parasitology; Muscidae/*parasitology; Polymerase Chain Reaction; Polymorphism, Restriction Fragment Length; Spirurida Infections/parasitology/veterinary; Thelazioidea/chemistry/*genetics |
|
| |
Abstract |
Equine thelaziosis caused by the eyeworm Thelazia lacrymalis is a parasitic disease transmitted by muscid flies. Although equine thelaziosis is known to have worldwide distribution, information on the epidemiology and presence of the intermediate hosts of T. lacrymalis is lacking. In the present work, a PCR-RFLP based assay on the first and/or second internal transcribed spacer (ITS1 and ITS2) of ribosomal DNA was developed for the detection of T. lacrymalis DNA in its putative vector(s). The sensitivity of the technique was also assessed. The restriction patterns obtained readily differentiated T. lacrymalis from four species of Musca (Diptera, Muscidae) (i.e. Musca autumnalis, Musca domestica, Musca larvipara and Musca osiris), which are potential vectors of equine eyeworms. The molecular assay presented herein is a useful tool to identify the intermediate host(s) of T. lacrymalis in natural conditions and to study its/their ecology and epidemiology. |
|
| |
Address |
Department of Biomedical Comparative Sciences, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, University of Teramo, Piazza Aldo Moro 45, 64100 Teramo, Italy. dtraversa@unite.it |
|
| |
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 |
0890-8508 |
ISBN |
|
Medium |
|
|
| |
Area |
|
Expedition |
|
Conference |
|
|
| |
Notes |
PMID:16038792 |
Approved |
no |
|
| |
Call Number |
Equine Behaviour @ team @ |
Serial |
2626 |
|
| Permanent link to this record |
| |
|
| |
|
Author |
Traversa, D.; Giangaspero, A.; Iorio, R.; Otranto, D.; Paoletti, B.; Gasser, R.B. |
|
| |
Title |
Semi-nested PCR for the specific detection of Habronema microstoma or Habronema muscae DNA in horse faeces |
Type |
Journal Article |
| |
Year |
2004 |
Publication |
Parasitology |
Abbreviated Journal |
Parasitology |
|
| |
Volume |
129 |
Issue |
Pt 6 |
Pages |
733-739 |
|
| |
Keywords |
Animals; DNA, Helminth/*analysis; DNA, Ribosomal Spacer/*chemistry; Feces/*chemistry; Female; Horse Diseases/*diagnosis/parasitology; Horses; Male; Polymerase Chain Reaction/*methods; Species Specificity; Spirurida Infections/diagnosis/*veterinary; Spiruroidea/*genetics |
|
| |
Abstract |
Habronema microstoma and Habronema muscae (Spirurida: Habronematidae) are parasitic nematodes which infect the stomach and/or skin of equids. The accurate diagnosis of gastric habronemosis is central to studying its epidemiology, but data on its distribution and prevalence are lacking, mainly due to the limitations of clinical and coprological diagnosis in live horses. To overcome this constraint, a two-step, semi-nested PCR-based assay was validated (utilizing genetic markers in the nuclear ribosomal DNA) for the specific amplification of H. microstoma or H. muscae DNA from the faeces from horses (n = 46) whose gastrointestinal parasite status had been determined at autopsy and whose faeces were examined previously using a conventional parasitological approach. Of these horses examined at autopsy, some harboured adults of either H. microstoma (n= 19) or H. muscae (n =4), and others (n = 7) harboured both species. Most of them were also infected with other parasites, including strongylid nematodes (subfamilies Cyathostominae and Strongylinae), bots and/or cestodes; there was no evidence of metazoan parasites in 2 horses. Larvated spirurid eggs were detected in the faeces of 1 of the 30 horses (3.3 %) shown to be infected with Habronema at autopsy. For this set of 46 samples, the PCR assay achieved a diagnostic specificity of 100 % and a sensitivity of approximately 97 % (being able to specifically detect as little as approximately 0.02 fg of Habronema DNA). The specificity of the assay was also tested using a panel of control DNA samples representing horse, the gastric spirurid Draschia megastoma and 26 other species of parasites from the alimentary tract of the horse. H. microstoma, H. muscae and D. megastoma could be readily differentiated from one another based on the sizes of their specific amplicons in the PCR. The results of this study showed that the performance of the PCR for the diagnosis of gastric habronemosis was similar to that of autopsy but substantially better than the traditional coprological examination procedure used. The ability to specifically diagnose gastric habronemosis in equids should have important implications for investigating the epidemiology and ecology of H. microstoma and H. muscae. |
|
| |
Address |
Department of Biomedical Comparative Sciences, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, University of Teramo, Teramo, Italy. traversa@unite.it |
|
| |
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 |
0031-1820 |
ISBN |
|
Medium |
|
|
| |
Area |
|
Expedition |
|
Conference |
|
|
| |
Notes |
PMID:15648696 |
Approved |
no |
|
| |
Call Number |
Equine Behaviour @ team @ |
Serial |
2631 |
|
| Permanent link to this record |
| |
|
| |
|
Author |
Traversa, D.; Giangaspero, A.; Galli, P.; Paoletti, B.; Otranto, D.; Gasser, R.B. |
|
| |
Title |
Specific identification of Habronema microstoma and Habronema muscae (Spirurida, Habronematidae) by PCR using markers in ribosomal DNA |
Type |
Journal Article |
| |
Year |
2004 |
Publication |
Molecular and Cellular Probes |
Abbreviated Journal |
Mol Cell Probes |
|
| |
Volume |
18 |
Issue |
4 |
Pages |
215-221 |
|
| |
Keywords |
Animals; Base Sequence; DNA, Ribosomal/blood/*genetics; Feces/parasitology; Genetic Markers; Horses/*parasitology; Molecular Sequence Data; Muscidae/*genetics; Polymerase Chain Reaction; Spirurida Infections/genetics; Spiruroidea/*genetics; Stomach/*parasitology |
|
| |
Abstract |
Gastric or cutaneous habronemosis caused by Habronema microstoma Creplin, 1849 and Habronema muscae Carter, 1865 is a parasitic disease of equids transmitted by muscid flies. There is a paucity of information on the epidemiology of this disease, which is mainly due to limitations with diagnosis in the live animal and with the identification of the parasites in the intermediate hosts. To overcome such limitations, a molecular approach, based on the use of genetic markers in the second internal transcribed spacer (ITS-2) of ribosomal DNA, was established for the two species of Habronema. Characterisation of the ITS-2 revealed sequence lengths and G+C contents of 296 bp and 29.5% for H. microstoma, and of 334 bp and 35.9% for H. muscae, respectively. Exploiting the sequence difference (approximately 40%) between the two species of nematode, primers were designed and tested by the polymerase chain reaction (PCR) for their specificity using a panel of control DNA samples from common equid endoparasites, and from host tissues, faeces or muscid flies. Effective amplification from each of the two species of Habronema was achieved from as little as 10 pg of genomic DNA. Hence, this molecular approach allows the specific identification and differentiation of the DNA from H. microstoma and H. muscae, and could thus provide a molecular tool for the specific detection of Habronema DNA (irrespective of developmental stage) from faeces, skin and muscid fly samples. The establishment of this tool has important implications for the specific diagnosis of clinical cases of gastric and cutaneous habronemosis in equids, and for studying the ecology and epidemiology of the two species of Habronema. |
|
| |
Address |
Department of Biomedical Comparative Sciences, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, University of Teramo, Teramo, Italy |
|
| |
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 |
0890-8508 |
ISBN |
|
Medium |
|
|
| |
Area |
|
Expedition |
|
Conference |
|
|
| |
Notes |
PMID:15271381 |
Approved |
no |
|
| |
Call Number |
Equine Behaviour @ team @ |
Serial |
2634 |
|
| Permanent link to this record |
| |
|
| |
|
Author |
Touma, C.; Sachser, N.; Mostl, E.; Palme, R. |
|
| |
Title |
Effects of sex and time of day on metabolism and excretion of corticosterone in urine and feces of mice |
Type |
Journal Article |
| |
Year |
2003 |
Publication |
General and Comparative Endocrinology |
Abbreviated Journal |
Gen Comp Endocrinol |
|
| |
Volume |
130 |
Issue |
3 |
Pages |
267-278 |
|
| |
Keywords |
Animals; Chromatography, High Pressure Liquid; Circadian Rhythm/*physiology; Corticosterone/*metabolism/urine; Feces/*chemistry; Female; Immunoenzyme Techniques; Kinetics; Male; Mice; Mice, Inbred C57BL; Reference Values; Sex Factors; Stress/metabolism; Time Factors; Tritium |
|
| |
Abstract |
Non-invasive techniques to monitor stress hormones in small animals like mice offer several advantages and are highly demanded in laboratory as well as in field research. Since knowledge about the species-specific metabolism and excretion of glucocorticoids is essential to develop such a technique, we conducted radiometabolism studies in mice (Mus musculus f. domesticus, strain C57BL/6J). Each mouse was injected intraperitoneally with 740 kBq of 3H-labelled corticosterone and all voided urine and fecal samples were collected for five days. In a first experiment 16 animals (eight of each sex) received the injection at 9 a.m., while eight mice (four of each sex) were injected at 9 p.m. in a second experiment. In both experiments radioactive metabolites were recovered predominantly in the feces, although males excreted significantly higher proportions via the feces (about 73%) than females (about 53%). Peak radioactivity in the urine was detected within about 2h after injection, while in the feces peak concentrations were observed later (depending on the time of injection: about 10h postinjection in experiment 1 and about 4h postinjection in experiment 2, thus proving an effect of the time of day). The number and relative abundance of fecal [3H]corticosterone metabolites was determined by high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC). The HPLC separations revealed that corticosterone was extensively metabolized mainly to more polar substances. Regarding the types of metabolites formed, significant differences were found between males and females, but not between the experiments. Additionally, the immunoreactivity of these metabolites was assessed by screening the HPLC fractions with four enzyme immunoassays (EIA). However, only a newly established EIA for 5alpha-pregnane-3beta,11beta,21-triol-20-one (measuring corticosterone metabolites with a 5alpha-3beta,11beta-diol structure) detected several peaks of radioactive metabolites with high intensity in both sexes, while the other EIAs showed only minor immunoreactivity. Thus, our study for the first time provides substantial information about metabolism and excretion of corticosterone in urine and feces of mice and is the first demonstrating a significant impact of the animals' sex and the time of day. Based on these data it should be possible to monitor adrenocortical activity non-invasively in this species by measuring fecal corticosterone metabolites with the newly developed EIA. Since mice are extensively used in research world-wide, this could open new perspectives in various fields from ecology to behavioral endocrinology. |
|
| |
Address |
Department of Behavioral Biology, Institute of Neuro and Behavioral Biology, University of Muenster, Badestrasse 9, D-48149 Muenster, Germany. touma@uni-muenster.de |
|
| |
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 |
0016-6480 |
ISBN |
|
Medium |
|
|
| |
Area |
|
Expedition |
|
Conference |
|
|
| |
Notes |
PMID:12606269 |
Approved |
no |
|
| |
Call Number |
Equine Behaviour @ team @ |
Serial |
4086 |
|
| Permanent link to this record |
| |
|
| |
|
Author |
Touma, C.; Palme, R.; Sachser, N. |
|
| |
Title |
Analyzing corticosterone metabolites in fecal samples of mice: a noninvasive technique to monitor stress hormones |
Type |
Journal Article |
| |
Year |
2004 |
Publication |
Hormones and Behavior |
Abbreviated Journal |
Horm Behav |
|
| |
Volume |
45 |
Issue |
1 |
Pages |
10-22 |
|
| |
Keywords |
Adrenal Cortex/drug effects; Adrenal Cortex Function Tests; Adrenocorticotropic Hormone/pharmacology; Analysis of Variance; Animals; Circadian Rhythm; Corticosterone/*analysis/metabolism; Dexamethasone/pharmacology; Feces/*chemistry; Female; Immunoenzyme Techniques/*methods; Male; Mice; Mice, Inbred C57BL; Models, Animal; Reproducibility of Results; Stress, Psychological/*metabolism |
|
| |
Abstract |
In small animals like mice, the monitoring of endocrine functions over time is constrained seriously by the adverse effects of blood sampling. Therefore, noninvasive techniques to monitor, for example, stress hormones in these animals are highly demanded in laboratory as well as in field research. The aim of our study was to evaluate the biological relevance of a recently developed technique to monitor stress hormone metabolites in fecal samples of laboratory mice. In total, six experiments were performed using six male and six female mice each. Two adrenocorticotropic hormone (ACTH) challenge tests, two dexamethasone (Dex) suppression tests and two control experiments [investigating effects of the injection procedure itself and the diurnal variation (DV) of glucocorticoids (GCs), respectively] were conducted. The experiments clearly demonstrated that pharmacological stimulation and suppression of adrenocortical activity was reflected accurately by means of corticosterone metabolite (CM) measurements in the feces of males and females. Furthermore, the technique proved sensitive enough to detect dosage-dependent effects of the ACTH/Dex treatment and facilitated to reveal profound effects of the injection procedure itself. Even the naturally occurring DV of GCs could be monitored reliably. Thus, our results confirm that measurement of fecal CM with the recently established 5alpha-pregnane-3beta,11beta,21-triol-20-one enzyme immunoassay is a very powerful tool to monitor adrenocortical activity in laboratory mice. Since mice represent the vast majority of all rodents used for research worldwide and the number of transgenic and knockout mice utilized as animal models is still increasing, this noninvasive technique can open new perspectives in biomedical and behavioral science. |
|
| |
Address |
Department of Behavioural Biology, University of Muenster, D-48149 Muenster, Germany. touma@uni-muenster.de |
|
| |
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 |
0018-506X |
ISBN |
|
Medium |
|
|
| |
Area |
|
Expedition |
|
Conference |
|
|
| |
Notes |
PMID:14733887 |
Approved |
no |
|
| |
Call Number |
Equine Behaviour @ team @ |
Serial |
4084 |
|
| Permanent link to this record |
| |
|
| |
|
Author |
Touma, C.; Palme, R. |
|
| |
Title |
Measuring fecal glucocorticoid metabolites in mammals and birds: the importance of validation |
Type |
Journal Article |
| |
Year |
2005 |
Publication |
Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences |
Abbreviated Journal |
Ann N Y Acad Sci |
|
| |
Volume |
1046 |
Issue |
|
Pages |
54-74 |
|
| |
Keywords |
Animals; Birds/*metabolism; Circadian Rhythm; Feces/*chemistry; Glucocorticoids/*analysis; Mammals/*metabolism; Reproducibility of Results; Seasons; Sex Factors |
|
| |
Abstract |
In recent years, the noninvasive monitoring of steroid hormone metabolites in feces of mammals and droppings of birds has become an increasingly popular technique. It offers several advantages and has been applied to a variety of species under various settings. However, using this technique to reliably assess an animal's adrenocortical activity is not that simple and straightforward to apply. Because clear differences regarding the metabolism and excretion of glucocorticoid metabolites (GCMs) exist, a careful validation for each species and sex investigated is obligatory. In this review, general analytical issues regarding sample storage, extraction procedures, and immunoassays are briefly discussed, but the main focus lies on experiments and recommendations addressing the validation of fecal GCM measurements in mammals and birds. The crucial importance of scrutinizing the physiological and biological validity of fecal GCM analyses in a given species is stressed. In particular, the relevance of the technique to detect biologically meaningful alterations in adrenocortical activity must be shown. Furthermore, significant effects of the animals' sex, the time of day, season, and different life history stages are discussed, bringing about the necessity to seriously consider possible sex differences as well as diurnal and seasonal variations. Thus, comprehensive information on the animals' biology and stress physiology should be carefully taken into account. Together with an extensive physiological and biological validation, this will ensure that the measurement of fecal GCMs can be used as a powerful tool to assess adrenocortical activity in diverse investigations on laboratory, companion, farm, zoo, and wild animals. |
|
| |
Address |
Max Planck Institute of Psychiatry, Department of Behavioral Neuroendocrinology, Kraepelinstrasse 2-10, D-80804 Munich, Germany. touma@mpipsykl.mpg.de |
|
| |
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 |
0077-8923 |
ISBN |
|
Medium |
|
|
| |
Area |
|
Expedition |
|
Conference |
|
|
| |
Notes |
PMID:16055843 |
Approved |
no |
|
| |
Call Number |
Equine Behaviour @ team @ |
Serial |
4073 |
|
| Permanent link to this record |
| |
|
| |
|
Author |
Toro, J.M.; Trobalon, J.B.; Sebastian-Galles, N. |
|
| |
Title |
The use of prosodic cues in language discrimination tasks by rats |
Type |
Journal Article |
| |
Year |
2003 |
Publication |
Animal Cognition |
Abbreviated Journal |
Anim. Cogn. |
|
| |
Volume |
6 |
Issue |
2 |
Pages |
131-136 |
|
| |
Keywords |
*Animal Communication; Animals; *Discrimination Learning; Female; *Language; Male; Periodicity; Rats; Rats, Long-Evans; Speech Perception |
|
| |
Abstract |
Recent research with cotton-top tamarin monkeys has revealed language discrimination abilities similar to those found in human infants, demonstrating that these perceptual abilities are not unique to humans but are also present in non-human primates. Specifically, tamarins could discriminate forward but not backward sentences of Dutch from Japanese, using both natural and synthesized utterances. The present study was designed as a conceptual replication of the work on tamarins. Results show that rats trained in a discrimination learning task readily discriminate forward, but not backward sentences of Dutch from Japanese; the results are particularly robust for synthetic utterances, a pattern that shows greater parallels with newborns than with tamarins. Our results extend the claims made in the research with tamarins that the capacity to discriminate languages from different rhythmic classes depends on general perceptual abilities that evolved at least as far back as the rodents. |
|
| |
Address |
SPPB, Departament de Psicologia Basica, Universitat de Barcelona, Passeig de la Vall d'Hebron, 171, 08035 Barcelona, Spain. jmtoro@psi.ub.es |
|
| |
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:12728358 |
Approved |
no |
|
| |
Call Number |
Equine Behaviour @ team @ |
Serial |
2571 |
|
| Permanent link to this record |
| |
|
| |
|
Author |
Topál, J.; Byrne, R.W.; Miklósi, Á.; Csányi, V. |
|
| |
Title |
Reproducing human actions and action sequences: “Do as I Do!” in a dog |
Type |
Journal Article |
| |
Year |
2006 |
Publication |
Animal Cognition |
Abbreviated Journal |
Anim. Cogn. |
|
| |
Volume |
9 |
Issue |
4 |
Pages |
355-367 |
|
| |
Keywords |
Animals; *Comprehension; Conditioning, Operant; *Discrimination Learning; Dogs/*psychology; Humans; *Imitative Behavior; Male; *Serial Learning |
|
| |
Abstract |
We present evidence that a dog (Philip, a 4-year-old tervueren) was able to use different human actions as samples against which to match his own behaviour. First, Philip was trained to repeat nine human-demonstrated actions on command ('Do it!'). When his performance was markedly over chance in response to demonstration by one person, testing with untrained action sequences and other demonstrators showed some ability to generalise his understanding of copying. In a second study, we presented Philip with a sequence of human actions, again using the 'Do as I do' paradigm. All demonstrated actions had basically the same structure: the owner picked up a bottle from one of six places; transferred it to one of the five other places and then commanded the dog ('Do it!'). We found that Philip duplicated the entire sequence of moving a specific object from one particular place to another more often than expected by chance. Although results point to significant limitations in his imitative abilities, it seems that the dog could have recognized the action sequence, on the basis of observation alone, in terms of the initial state, the means, and the goal. This suggests that dogs might acquire abilities by observation that enhance their success in complex socio-behavioural situations. |
|
| |
Address |
Comparative Ethology Research Group, Hungarian Academy of Sciences, Budapest, Pazmany, P. 1/c H-1117, Hungary. kea@t-online.hu |
|
| |
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:17024511 |
Approved |
no |
|
| |
Call Number |
Equine Behaviour @ team @ |
Serial |
2434 |
|
| Permanent link to this record |
| |
|
| |
|
Author |
Tommasi, L.; Vallortigara, G. |
|
| |
Title |
Searching for the center: spatial cognition in the domestic chick (Gallus gallus) |
Type |
Journal Article |
| |
Year |
2000 |
Publication |
Journal of Experimental Psychology. Animal Behavior Processes |
Abbreviated Journal |
J Exp Psychol Anim Behav Process |
|
| |
Volume |
26 |
Issue |
4 |
Pages |
477-486 |
|
| |
Keywords |
Animals; Behavior, Animal/physiology; Chickens; Cognition/*physiology; Learning/physiology; Male; Space Perception/*physiology; Spatial Behavior/*physiology |
|
| |
Abstract |
Chicks learned to find food hidden under sawdust by ground-scratching in the central position of the floor of a closed arena. When tested inan arena of identical shape but a larger area, chicks searched at 2 different locations, one corresponding to the correct distance (i.e., center) in the smaller (training) arena and the other to the actual center of the test arena. When tested in an arena of the same shape but a smaller area, chicks searched in the center of it. These results suggest that chicks are able to encode information on the absolute and relative distance of the food from the walls of the arena. After training in the presence of a landmark located at the center of the arena, animals searched at the center even after the removal of the landmark. Marked changes in the height of the walls of the arena produced some displacement in searching behavior, suggesting that chicks used the angular size of the walls to estimate distances. |
|
| |
Address |
Department of General Psychology, University of Padua, Italy |
|
| |
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 |
0097-7403 |
ISBN |
|
Medium |
|
|
| |
Area |
|
Expedition |
|
Conference |
|
|
| |
Notes |
PMID:11056887 |
Approved |
no |
|
| |
Call Number |
Equine Behaviour @ team @ |
Serial |
2774 |
|
| Permanent link to this record |
| |
|
| |
|
Author |
Tommasi, L.; Polli, C. |
|
| |
Title |
Representation of two geometric features of the environment in the domestic chick ( Gallus gallus) |
Type |
Journal Article |
| |
Year |
2004 |
Publication |
Animal Cognition |
Abbreviated Journal |
Anim. Cogn. |
|
| |
Volume |
7 |
Issue |
1 |
Pages |
53-59 |
|
| |
Keywords |
Animals; Chickens/*physiology; *Cues; Feeding Behavior/*physiology; Male; Pattern Recognition, Visual/*physiology |
|
| |
Abstract |
We report experiments based on a novel test in domestic chicks ( Gallus gallus), designed to examine the encoding of two different geometric features of an enclosed environment: relative lengths of the walls and amplitude of the corners. Chicks were trained to search for a food reward located in one corner of a parallelogram-shaped enclosure. Between trials, chicks were passively disoriented and the enclosure was rotated, making reorientation possible only on the basis of the internal spatial structure of the enclosure. In order to reorient, chicks could rely on two sources of information: the relative lengths of the walls of the enclosure (associated to their left-right sense order) and the angles subtended by walls at corners. Chicks learned the task choosing equally often the reinforced corner and its rotational equivalent. Results of tests carried out in novel enclosures, the shapes of which were chosen ad hoc (1) to induce reorientation based only on the ratio of walls lengths plus sense (rectangular enclosure), or (2) to induce reorientation based only on corner angles (rhombus-shaped enclosure), suggested that chicks encoded both features of the environment. In a third test, in which chicks faced a conflict between these geometric features (mirror parallelogram-shaped enclosure), reorientation seemed to depend on the salience of corner angles. These results shed light on the elements of the environmental geometry which control spatial reorientation, and broaden the knowledge on the geometric representation of space in animals. |
|
| |
Address |
Department of General Psychology, University of Padua, Via Venezia 8, 35131 Padua, Italy. ltommasi@unipd.it |
|
| |
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:12884079 |
Approved |
no |
|
| |
Call Number |
Equine Behaviour @ team @ |
Serial |
2561 |
|
| Permanent link to this record |
