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| Author |
Cameron, E.Z.; Linklater, W.L.; Stafford, K.J.; Minot, E.O. |
| Title |
Maternal investment results in better foal condition through increased play behaviour in horses |
Type |
Journal Article |
| Year |
2008 |
Publication |
Animal Behaviour. |
Abbreviated Journal |
Anim. Behav. |
| Volume |
76 |
Issue |
5 |
Pages |
1511-1518 |
| Keywords |
Equus caballus; feral horse; maternal investment; play |
| Abstract |
Play behaviour is widespread in mammals, but benefits to play have been difficult to demonstrate. Physical training is one of the many proposed hypotheses, suggesting that males and females should play differently, that increased maternal investment should lead to increases in play, and that increases in play should result in physical advantages. In a population of feral horses, Equus caballus, males and females did not differ in their play behaviour except that males initiated more of their play bouts than females. Maternal condition influenced play behaviour only in males, with sons of mothers in good condition playing more. However, when we controlled for maternal effects by comparing a son and a daughter of the same mother, daughters played more when their mother was in poor condition and sons played more when their mother was in good condition. Mothers of foals that played more lost more condition. Therefore, the difference in play behaviour could not be explained by offspring sex or maternal condition alone, but play behaviour mirrored variation in maternal investment. In addition, those individuals that played more survived better and had better body condition as yearlings despite weaning earlier. Since increased activity has been linked to enhanced musculoskeletal development in domestic horses, we suggest that play provides a link between increased maternal investment, increased body condition and future reproductive success in feral horses, and probably in other species. |
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Equine Behaviour @ team @ |
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4709 |
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| Author |
Boesch, C. |
| Title |
Teaching among wild chimpanzees |
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Journal Article |
| Year |
1991 |
Publication |
Animal Behaviour. |
Abbreviated Journal |
Anim. Behav. |
| Volume |
41 |
Issue |
3 |
Pages |
530-532 |
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Equine Behaviour @ team @ |
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4707 |
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| Author |
Griffin, A.S. |
| Title |
Social learning in Indian mynahs, Acridotheres tristis: the role of distress calls |
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Journal Article |
| Year |
2008 |
Publication |
Animal Behaviour. |
Abbreviated Journal |
Anim. Behav. |
| Volume |
75 |
Issue |
1 |
Pages |
79-89 |
| Keywords |
Acridotheres tristis; distress vocalizations; head saccades; Indian mynah; predator avoidance learning; social learning |
| Abstract |
Socially acquired predator avoidance is a phenomenon in which individuals acquire an avoidance response towards an initially neutral stimulus after they have experienced it together with the antipredator signals of social companions. Earlier research has established that alarm calls used for intraspecific communication are effective stimuli for triggering acquisition. However, animals produce a large range of other antipredator responses that might engage antipredator learning. Here, I examine the effects of conspecific distress calls, a signal that is produced by birds when restrained by a predator, and that appears to be directed towards predators, rather than conspecifics, on predator avoidance learning in Indian mynahs, Acridotheres tristis. Distress calls reflect high levels of alarm in the caller and should, therefore, mediate robust learning. Experiment 1 revealed that subjects performed higher rates of head movements in response to a previously unfamiliar avian mount after it had been presented simultaneously with playbacks of conspecific distress vocalizations. Experiment 2 revealed that increased rates of head saccades resembled the spontaneous response evoked by a novel stimulus more closely than it resembled the response evoked by a perched raptor, suggesting that distress calls inculcated a visual exploratory response, rather than an antipredator response. While it is usually thought that the level of acquisition in learners follows a simple relationship with the level of alarm shown by demonstrators, the present results suggest that this relationship may be more complex. Antipredator signals with different functions may have differential effects on learners. |
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0003-3472 |
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Equine Behaviour @ team @ |
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4696 |
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Hewitt, S.E.; Macdonald, D.W.; Dugdale, H.L. |
| Title |
Context-dependent linear dominance hierarchies in social groups of European badgers, Meles meles |
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Journal Article |
| Year |
2009 |
Publication |
Animal Behaviour. |
Abbreviated Journal |
Anim. Behav. |
| Volume |
77 |
Issue |
1 |
Pages |
161-169 |
| Keywords |
David's score; directed aggression; dominance rank; European badger; grooming behaviour; linear dominance hierarchy; Meles meles; reproductive success; relatedness; social status |
| Abstract |
A social hierarchy is generally assumed to exist in those mammalian societies in which the costs and benefits of group living are distributed unevenly among group members. We analysed infrared closed-circuit television footage, collected over 3 years in Wytham Woods, Oxfordshire, to test whether social groups of European badgers have dominance hierarchies. Analysis of directed aggression between dyads revealed linear dominance hierarchies in three social-group-years, but patterns within social groups were not consistent across years. Dominance hierarchies were significantly steeper than random in five out of six social-group-years. In those social-group-years where a linear hierarchy was determined, there was an effect of sex on dominance rank, with females gaining significantly higher rank than males in two social-group-years. Overall, rank was not related to age, nor did it appear to affect the likelihood of an individual being wounded, or an individual's breeding status. The latter resulted from nonorthogonality between sex and breeding status, as there were only two breeding males. Overall, hierarchies were primarily dominated by breeding females, and may occur when breeding competition arises. Relatedness, unreciprocated allogrooming and sequential allomarking were not consistently related to levels of directed aggression across social-group-years. We suggest that dominance structures within European badger groups may be context dependent, with future study required to complete our understanding of where, and when, they arise. |
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0003-3472 |
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Equine Behaviour @ team @ |
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4695 |
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Palagi, E.; Antonacci, D.; Norscia, I. |
| Title |
Peacemaking on treetops: first evidence of reconciliation from a wild prosimian (Propithecus verreauxi) |
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Journal Article |
| Year |
2008 |
Publication |
Animal Behaviour. |
Abbreviated Journal |
Anim. Behav. |
| Volume |
76 |
Issue |
3 |
Pages |
737-747 |
| Keywords |
conflict resolution; good relationships; lemur; Madagascar; Propithecus verreauxi; valuable relationship hypothesis; Verreaux's sifaka |
| Abstract |
Reconciliation is defined as the first postconflict affinitive contact between former opponents. While reconciliation in anthropoid primates has been widely investigated, few studies have focused on postconflict mechanisms in prosimians, and only in captivity. Unlike anthropoids, Malagasy prosimians show female dominance, lack of sexual dimorphism and seasonal breeding. However, they share features with anthropoids such as cohesive societies, female philopatry and individual recognition. Comparing social prosimians with anthropoids is crucial for understanding the evolution of reconciliation dynamics. Here we present the first study on reconciliation in a wild prosimian. We focused on the Propithecus verreauxi (sifaka) of the Berenty forest (southern Madagascar). We examined postconflict behaviour in the light of theoretical expectations based on potential costs and benefits of the individuals involved. Our results indicate that P. verreauxi can evaluate possible risks and benefits of engaging in postconflict reunions. Victims were most likely to interact affinitively with the aggressor after low-intensity aggression. Moreover, only the conflicts occurring outside the feeding context were reconciled. Such results are consonant with the fact that, in P. verreauxi, social dominance is translated more into feeding priority than into a framework of despotic relationships. In agreement with the valuable relationship hypothesis, P. verreauxi were more likely to reconcile with valuable partners: reconciliation preferentially occurred between subordinates and top-ranking individuals, and between animals sharing good relationships (high levels of affinitive behaviours). Over the short term, reconciliation in P. verreauxi seems to have an important role in reducing the probability of further attacks by the aggressor. |
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0003-3472 |
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Equine Behaviour @ team @ |
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4693 |
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| Author |
Whitehead, H. |
| Title |
Precision and power in the analysis of social structure using associations |
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Journal Article |
| Year |
2008 |
Publication |
Animal Behaviour. |
Abbreviated Journal |
Anim. Behav. |
| Volume |
75 |
Issue |
3 |
Pages |
1093-1099 |
| Keywords |
association; precision; social structure; statistical power |
| Abstract |
I develop guidelines for assessing the precision and power of statistical techniques that are frequently used to study nonhuman social systems using observed dyadic associations. Association indexes estimate the proportion of time that two individuals are associated. Binomial approximation and nonparametric bootstrap methods produce similar estimates of the precision of association indexes. For a mid-range (0.4-0.9) association index to have a standard error of less than 0.1 requires about 15 observations of the pair associated, and for it to be less than 0.05, this rises to 50 observations. The coefficient of variation among dyads of the proportion of time that pairs of individuals are actually associated describes social differentiation (S), and this may be estimated from association data using maximum likelihood. With a poorly differentiated population (S~0.2), a data set needs about five observed associations per dyad to achieve a correlation between true and estimated association indexes of r=~0.4. It requires about 10 times as much data to achieve a representation with r=~0.8. Permutation tests usually reject the null hypothesis that individuals have no preferred associates when S2H>5, where H is the mean number of observed associations per individual. Thus most situations require substantial numbers of observations of associations to give useful portrayals of social systems, and sparse association data inform only when social differentiation is high. |
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0003-3472 |
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no |
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Equine Behaviour @ team @ |
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4692 |
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Wey, T.; Blumstein, D.T.; Shen, W.; Jordán, F. |
| Title |
Social network analysis of animal behaviour: a promising tool for the study of sociality |
Type |
Journal Article |
| Year |
2008 |
Publication |
Animal Behaviour. |
Abbreviated Journal |
Anim. Behav. |
| Volume |
75 |
Issue |
2 |
Pages |
333-344 |
| Keywords |
animal behaviour; quantifying sociality; social network analysis; social structure |
| Abstract |
Social animals live and interact together, forming complex relationships and social structure. These relationships can have important fitness consequences, but most studies do not explicitly measure those relationships. An approach that explicitly measures relationships will further our understanding of social complexity and the consequences of both direct and indirect interactions. Social network analysis is the study of social groups as networks of nodes connected by social ties. This approach examines individuals and groups in the context of relationships between group members. Application of social network analysis to animal behaviour can advance the field by identifying and quantifying specific attributes of social relationships, many of which are not captured by more common measures of sociality, such as group size. Sophisticated methods for network construction and analysis exist in other fields, but until recently, have seen relatively little application to animal systems. We present a brief history of social network analysis, a description of basic concepts and previous applications to animal behaviour. We then highlight relevance and constraints of some network measures, including results from an original study of the effect of sampling on network parameter estimates, and we end with promising directions for research. By doing so, we provide a prospective overview of social network analysis' general utility for the study of animal social behaviour. |
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0003-3472 |
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Equine Behaviour @ team @ |
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4691 |
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Poisbleau, M.; Fritz, H.; Valeix, M.; Perroi, P.-Y.; Dalloyau, S.; Lambrechts, M.M. |
| Title |
Social dominance correlates and family status in wintering dark-bellied brent geese, Branta bernicla bernicla |
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Journal Article |
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2006 |
Publication |
Animal Behaviour. |
Abbreviated Journal |
Anim. Behav. |
| Volume |
71 |
Issue |
6 |
Pages |
1351-1358 |
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In many gregarious species, including ducks and geese, being dominant provides more benefits than costs, because dominants have better access to resources essential for survival or reproduction. In geese, being in better body condition during migration towards the breeding grounds positively influences reproductive success. However, underlying proximate mechanisms linking prebreeding body condition on the wintering grounds to breeding success remain poorly understood. We investigated social dominance correlates and family status, in three consecutive winters, in a free-ranging, migrating, dark-bellied brent goose population. Families with juveniles dominated pairs, and pairs dominated singletons. Dominance rank did not increase with the number of juveniles per family. Males were dominant over females. Social dominance and reproductive status for a given winter were significantly correlated with body mass, body size and body condition during the previous winter, suggesting that body condition in winter also affects subsequent breeding success and hence also dominance. Levels of testosterone and triiodothyronine were not correlated with immediate or later dominance or reproductive status. We discuss the role of family status as a signal of social status in determining reproductive strategies. |
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Equine Behaviour @ team @ |
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4690 |
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Smith, J.E.; Kolowski, J.M.; Graham, K.E.; Dawes, S.E.; Holekamp, K.E. |
| Title |
Social and ecological determinants of fission-fusion dynamics in the spotted hyaena |
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Journal Article |
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2008 |
Publication |
Animal Behaviour. |
Abbreviated Journal |
Anim. Behav. |
| Volume |
76 |
Issue |
3 |
Pages |
619-636 |
| Keywords |
competition; conflict resolution; cooperative hunting; Crocuta crocuta; ecological constraints; group living; social rank |
| Abstract |
Theory predicts that individuals living in fission-fusion societies, in which group members frequently change subgroups, should modify grouping patterns in response to varying social and environmental conditions. Spotted hyaenas, Crocuta crocuta, are long-lived carnivores that reside in permanent social groups called clans. Clans are complex, fission-fusion societies in which individual members travel, rest and forage in subgroups that frequently change composition. We studied two clans in Kenya to provide the first detailed description of fission-fusion dynamics in this species. Because social and ecological circumstances can influence the cohesiveness of animal societies, we evaluated the extent to which specific circumstances promote the formation of subgroups of various sizes. We found that cooperative defence of shared resources during interclan competition and protection from lions were cohesive forces that promoted formation of large subgroups. We also tested hypotheses suggesting factors limiting subgroup size. Mothers with small cubs avoided conspecifics, thereby reducing infanticide risk. Victims of aggression either reconciled fights or separated from former opponents to reduce the immediate costs of escalated aggression in the absence of food. As predicted by the ecological constraints hypothesis, hyaenas adjusted their grouping patterns over both short and long time scales in response to feeding competition. Crocuta were most gregarious during periods of abundant prey, joined clanmates at ephemeral kills in numbers that correlated with the energetic value of the prey and gained the most energy when foraging alone because cooperative hunting attracted numerous competitors. Overall, our findings indicate that resource limitation constrains grouping in this species. |
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Equine Behaviour @ team @ |
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4676 |
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Scordato, E.S.; Drea, C.M. |
| Title |
Scents and sensibility: information content of olfactory signals in the ringtailed lemur, Lemur catta |
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Journal Article |
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2007 |
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Animal Behaviour. |
Abbreviated Journal |
Anim. Behav. |
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73 |
Issue |
2 |
Pages |
301-314 |
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chemical communication; female dominance; individual recognition; intrasexual competition; Lemur catta; mate choice; reproductive signalling; ringtailed lemur; scent marking; seasonality |
| Abstract |
The function of olfactory signalling in social species is less well understood than in asocial species. Consequently, we examined olfactory communication in the ringtailed lemur, a socially complex primate that retains a functional vomeronasal organ, has well-developed scent glands and shows a suite of scent-marking behaviour. To assess the information content of different types of scent gland secretions, we decoupled olfactory cues from the visual and behavioural modalities with which scent marking is normally associated. We presented male and female subjects (signal receivers) with a series of choice tests between odours derived from conspecific donors (signal senders) varying by sex, age, social status and reproductive condition. We additionally examined the influence of the receivers' reproductive state and familiarity with the signaller. The reproductive condition, social status and familiarity of senders and receivers affected signal transmission; specifically, male receivers attended most to the odours of conspecifics in breeding condition and to the odours of familiar, dominant animals. By contrast, females varied their responses according to both their own reproductive state and that of the sender. Based on male and female patterns of countermarking, we suggest that scent marking serves a function in intergroup spacing and intrasexual competition for both sexes, as might be expected in a female-dominant species. By contrast, minimal female interest in male odours counters a female mate choice function for scent marking in this species. Nevertheless, scent marks are critical to male-male competition and, therefore, may be subject to sexual selection. |
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Equine Behaviour @ team @ |
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4648 |
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