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Author Dunbar, R. I. M.; Bever, J.
Title Neocortex size predicts group size in carnivores and some insectivores Type Journal Article
Year 1998 Publication Ethology Abbreviated Journal Ethology
Volume 108 Issue (down) 8 Pages 695-708
Keywords
Abstract Neocortex size has been shown to correlate with group size in primates. Data for carnivores and insectivores are used to test the generality of this relationship. The data suggest that carnivores lie on the same grade as the primates, but that insectivores lie on a separate grade to the left of these two orders. Among the insectivores, there appears to be a distinction between the 'advanced' genera (which show a relationship between group size and neocortex size) and the 'basal' genera (which do not).
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Call Number Equine Behaviour @ team @ Serial 4734
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Author Conradt, L.; Roper, T.J.
Title Consensus decision making in animals Type Journal Article
Year 2005 Publication Trends in Ecology & Evolution (Personal Edition) Abbreviated Journal Trends Ecol Evol
Volume 20 Issue (down) 8 Pages 449-456
Keywords
Abstract Individual animals routinely face decisions that are crucial to their fitness. In social species, however, many of these decisions need to be made jointly with other group members because the group will split apart unless a consensus is reached. Here, we review empirical and theoretical studies of consensus decision making, and place them in a coherent framework. In particular, we classify consensus decisions according to the degree to which they involve conflict of interest between group members, and whether they involve either local or global communication; we ask, for different categories of consensus decision, who makes the decision, what are the underlying mechanisms, and what are the functional consequences. We conclude that consensus decision making is common in non-human animals, and that cooperation between group members in the decision-making process is likely to be the norm, even when the decision involves significant conflict of interest.
Address Department of Biology and Environmental Science, John Maynard Smith Building, University of Sussex, Brighton, UK, BN1 9QG. L.Conradt@sussex.ac.uk
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Publisher Place of Publication Editor
Language English Summary Language Original Title
Series Editor Series Title Abbreviated Series Title
Series Volume Series Issue Edition
ISSN 0169-5347 ISBN Medium
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Notes PMID:16701416 Approved no
Call Number Equine Behaviour @ team @ Serial 4802
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Author Noë, R.; Hammerstein, P.
Title Biological markets Type Journal Article
Year 1995 Publication Trends in Ecology & Evolution Abbreviated Journal Trends. Ecol. Evol
Volume 10 Issue (down) 8 Pages 336-339
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Abstract In biological markets, two classes of traders exchange commodities to their mutual benefit. Characteristics of markets are: competition within trader classes by contest or outbidding; preference for partners offering the highest value; and conflicts over the exchange value of commodities. Biological markets are currently studied under at least three different headings: sexual selection, intraspecific cooperation and interspecific mutualism. The time is ripe for the development of game theoretic models that describe the common core of biological markets and integrate existing knowledge from the separate fields.
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ISSN 0169-5347 ISBN Medium
Area Expedition Conference
Notes Approved no
Call Number Equine Behaviour @ team @ Serial 4993
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Author Raquel Monclús; Heiko G. Rödel
Title Influence of Different Individual Traits on Vigilance Behaviour in European Rabbits Type Journal Article
Year 2009 Publication Ethology Abbreviated Journal Ethology
Volume 115 Issue (down) 8 Pages 758-766
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Abstract An animal's level of vigilance depends on various environmental factors such as predator presence or the proximity of conspecific competitors. In addition, several individual traits may influence vigilance. We investigated the effects of body condition, social rank and the state of pregnancy on individual vigilance (scanning) rates in individually marked European rabbits (Oryctolagus cuniculus) of a field enclosure population. We found lower rates in young rabbits than in adult females, but male and female juveniles did not differ. Vigilance of juveniles was positively correlated with their age-dependent body mass (used as a measure of body condition), i.e. young rabbits with lower body condition scanned less. We suggest that juveniles with low body condition were trading off vigilance against feeding to maximise their growth. In contrast, there was no significant correlation between body mass and vigilance in adult females. Adult females increased scanning rates during late pregnancy, which might constitute a behavioural compensation because of their lower capacity to escape predator attacks. In addition, adult females with low social ranks scanned more than high ranking individuals, likely because of their higher risk of attacks by conspecifics. In summary, our results highlight various individual characteristics that influence vigilance behaviour in European rabbits.
Address Unidad de Zoologa, Dpto. Biologa, Universidad Autnoma de Madrid, Madrid, Spain; Department of Animal Physiology, University of Bayreuth, Bayreuth, Germany
Corporate Author Thesis
Publisher Place of Publication © 2009 Blackwell Verlag GmbH Editor
Language Summary Language Original Title
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Call Number Equine Behaviour @ team @ Serial 4994
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Author Purvis, A.
Title The h index: playing the numbers game Type Journal Article
Year 2006 Publication Trends in Ecology & Evolution Abbreviated Journal Trends. Ecol. Evol
Volume 21 Issue (down) 8 Pages 422-422
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Abstract Article Outline

References

The ‘h index’ was developed recently as a measure of research performance [1]: a researcher's h is the number of his or her papers that have been cited at least h times. In their thoughtful critique of the index, Kelly and Jennions [2] point out many ways in which h is no better than ‘traditional’ bibliometrics, such as total citation counts. However, there is one way in which, for researchers, it could be very much better, especially if (as Hirsch suggests [1]) it is to inform hiring and promotion decisions. The skewed nature of the distribution of citations among publications means that most researchers have several papers that nearly but not quite count. Consequently, h can be distorted much more easily than can total citation count just by finding a subtle way to cite one's own papers that are ‘bubbling under’. Incidentally, bats show broadly the same life-history allometries as other mammalian clades [3].
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ISSN 0169-5347 ISBN Medium
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Notes Approved no
Call Number Equine Behaviour @ team @ Serial 5046
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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 (down) 8 Pages e6584
Keywords
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 Hemelrijk, C.K.
Title Understanding Social Behaviour with the Help of Complexity Science (Invited Article) Type Journal Article
Year 2002 Publication Ethology Abbreviated Journal Ethology
Volume 108 Issue (down) 8 Pages 655-671
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Abstract Abstract In the study of complexity, a new kind of explanation has been developed for social behaviour. It shows how patterns of social behaviour can arise as a side-effect of the interaction of individuals with their social or physical environment (e.g. by self-organization). This development may influence our ideas about the direct causation and evolution of social behaviour. Furthermore, it may influence our theories about the integration of different traits. This new method has been made possible by the increase in computing power. It is now applied in many areas of science, such as physics, chemistry, sociology and economics. However, in zoology and anthropology it is still rare. The major aim of this paper is to make this method more generally accepted among behavioural scientists.
Address
Corporate Author Thesis
Publisher Blackwell Verlag, GmbH Place of Publication Editor
Language Summary Language Original Title
Series Editor Series Title Abbreviated Series Title
Series Volume Series Issue Edition
ISSN 1439-0310 ISBN Medium
Area Expedition Conference
Notes Approved no
Call Number Equine Behaviour @ team @ Serial 5200
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Author Biondi, L.M.; García, G.O.; Bó, M.S.; Vassallo, A.I.
Title Social Learning in the Caracara Chimango, Milvago chimango (Aves: Falconiformes): an Age Comparison Type Journal Article
Year 2010 Publication Ethology Abbreviated Journal Ethology
Volume 116 Issue (down) 8 Pages 722-735
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Abstract Abstract Milvago chimango is a gregarious raptor showing great ecological plasticity. Their ability to explore new resources has allowed them to survive in areas with increasing human modification. In this study, we evaluated the social learning ability in wild-caught individuals of M. chimango. In particular, we tested whether an ‘observer’ individual could improve the acquisition of a novel behaviour by watching a ‘demonstrator,’ and we examined the effects of age of both observers and demonstrators on social learning. We measured the ability of 18 observers to open an opaque Plexiglas box containing food, and we compared their performance to that of 10 control birds who did not watch a demonstrator solve the task. Prior to watching a demonstrator, only two of the observers and two of the control birds were able to open the box. After watching a demonstrator, 67% of observers were able to open the box, outperforming control birds in speed and success. Juvenile observers were more successful and faster than adults at contacting and opening the box. The age of the demonstrator did not influence the observers’ likelihood of success. These results showed that M. chimango are able to learn a box-opening task with a hidden food reward by observing the behaviour of a conspecific and that this behaviour persisted over several days. Social learning ability in M. chimango might allow certain behavioural patterns, such as those related to novel resource acquisition in modified environments, to be socially transmitted among individuals in a population.
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Publisher Blackwell Publishing Ltd Place of Publication Editor
Language Summary Language Original Title
Series Editor Series Title Abbreviated Series Title
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ISSN 1439-0310 ISBN Medium
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Notes Approved no
Call Number Equine Behaviour @ team @ Serial 5283
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Author Mersmann, D.; Tomasello, M.; Call, J.; Kaminski, J.; Taborsky, M.
Title Simple Mechanisms Can Explain Social Learning in Domestic Dogs (Canis familiaris) Type Journal Article
Year 2011 Publication Ethology Abbreviated Journal Ethology
Volume 117 Issue (down) 8 Pages 675-690
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Abstract Abstract Recent studies have suggested that domestic dogs (Canis familiaris) engage in highly complex forms of social learning. Here, we critically assess the potential mechanisms underlying social learning in dogs using two problem-solving tasks. In a classical detour task, the test dogs benefited from observing a demonstrator walking around a fence to obtain a reward. However, even inexperienced dogs did not show a preference for passing the fence at the same end as the demonstrator. Furthermore, dogs did not need to observe a complete demonstration by a human demonstrator to pass the task. Instead, they were just as successful in solving the problem after seeing a partial demonstration by an object passing by at the end of the fence. In contrast to earlier findings, our results suggest that stimulus enhancement (or affordance learning) might be a powerful social learning mechanism used by dogs to solve such detour problems. In the second task, we examined whether naïve dogs copy actions to solve an instrumental problem. After controlling for stimulus enhancement and other forms of social influence (e.g. social facilitation and observational conditioning), we found that dogs’ problem solving was not influenced by witnessing a skilful demonstrator (either an unknown human, a conspecific or the dog’s owner). Together, these results add to evidence suggesting that social learning may often be explained by relatively simple (but powerful) mechanisms.
Address
Corporate Author Thesis
Publisher Blackwell Publishing Ltd Place of Publication Editor
Language Summary Language Original Title
Series Editor Series Title Abbreviated Series Title
Series Volume Series Issue Edition
ISSN 1439-0310 ISBN Medium
Area Expedition Conference
Notes Approved no
Call Number Equine Behaviour @ team @ Serial 5409
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Author Viry, S.; Sleimen-Malkoun, R.; Temprado, J.-J.; Frances, J.-P.; Berton, E.; Laurent, M.; Nicol, C.
Title Patterns of Horse-Rider Coordination during Endurance Race: A Dynamical System Approach Type Journal Article
Year 2013 Publication PLoS ONE Abbreviated Journal PLoS ONE
Volume 8 Issue (down) 8 Pages e71804 EP -
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Abstract <p>In riding, most biomechanical studies have focused on the description of the horse locomotion in unridden condition. In this study, we draw the prospect of how the basic principles established in inter-personal coordination by the theory of <italic>Coordination Dynamics</italic> may provide a conceptual and methodological framework for understanding the horse-rider coupling. The recent development of mobile technologies allows combined horse and rider recordings during long lasting natural events such as endurance races. Six international horse-rider dyads were thus recorded during a 120 km race by using two tri-axial accelerometers placed on the horses and riders, respectively. The analysis concentrated on their combined vertical displacements. The obtained shapes and angles of Lissajous plots together with values of relative phase between horse and rider displacements at lower reversal point allowed us to characterize four coordination patterns, reflecting the use of two riding techniques per horse's gait (trot and canter). The present study shows that the concepts, methods and tools of self-organizing dynamic system approach offer new directions for understanding horse-rider coordination. The identification of the horse-rider coupling patterns constitutes a firm basis to further study the coalition of multiple constraints that determine their emergence and their dynamics in endurance race.</p>
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Corporate Author Thesis
Publisher Public Library of Science Place of Publication Editor
Language Summary Language Original Title
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Notes Approved no
Call Number Equine Behaviour @ team @ Serial 5706
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