Records |
Author |
Nicol, C.J.; Brown, S.N.; Glen, E.; Pope, S.J.; Short, F.J.; Warriss, P.D.; Zimmerman, P.H.; Wilkins, L.J. |
Title |
Effects of stocking density, flock size and management on the welfare of laying hens in single-tier aviaries |
Type |
Journal Article |
Year |
2006 |
Publication |
British poultry science |
Abbreviated Journal |
Br Poult Sci |
Volume |
47 |
Issue |
2 |
Pages |
135-146 |
Keywords |
Animal Husbandry/*methods; *Animal Welfare; Animals; Body Constitution/*physiology; Chickens/*physiology; Crowding; Feathers; Female; *Housing, Animal/standards; Mortality; Organ Size; Oviposition/physiology; Population Density; Population Dynamics; Random Allocation |
Abstract |
Management practices, stocking rate and flock size may affect laying hen welfare but there have been few replicated studies in commercial non-cage systems that investigate this. This study used a broad range of physical and physiological indicators to assess the welfare of hens in 36 commercial flocks. Six laying period treatments were examined with each treatment replicated 6 times. It was not possible to randomly allocate treatments to houses, so treatment and house were largely confounded. Three stocking rates were compared: 7 birds/m(2) (n = 2450), 9 birds/m(2) (n = 3150) and 12 birds/m(2) in either small (n = 2450) or large (n = 4200) flocks. In addition, at 12 birds/m(2), in both small and large flocks, birds were subjected to either standard (SM) or modified (MM) management. MM flocks had nipple drinkers and no nest-box lights. Bone strength, fracture incidence, heterophil:lymphocyte (H:L) ratio, live weight, organ weights, serum creatine, serum osmolality, muscle pH and faecal corticosterone were measured on samples of birds at the end of the rearing period and at the end of lay. During the laying period, mortality, production and integument condition were recorded at regular intervals. Birds housed at 9 birds/m(2) had higher mortality than birds housed at 12 birds/m(2) by the end of lay, but not higher than birds housed at 7 birds/m(2). Birds housed at 7 and 9 birds/m(2) had lower percent liver weight, and worse plumage condition than most of the 12 bird/m(2) treatments. Modified management tended to improve plumage condition. There were no clear effects of flock size on the welfare indicators recorded. At the end of the rearing period fracture incidence was almost negligible and H:L ratio was within a normal range. By the end of lay fracture incidence was 60% and H:L ratio was high, with no treatment effect for either measure. This, together with information on faecal corticosterone, feather loss and mortality, suggests that the welfare of birds in all treatments was relatively poor by the end of lay. |
Address |
School of Veterinary Science, University of Bristol, Langford House, Langford BS40 5DU and ADAS Gleadthorpe, Meden Vale, Mansfield, Notts NG20 9PF, England. c.j.nicol@bristol.ac.uk |
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0007-1668 |
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PMID:16641024 |
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refbase @ user @ |
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65 |
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Author |
Zentall, T.R. |
Title |
Mental time travel in animals: a challenging question |
Type |
Journal Article |
Year |
2006 |
Publication |
Behavioural processes |
Abbreviated Journal |
Behav. Process. |
Volume |
72 |
Issue |
2 |
Pages |
173-183 |
Keywords |
Animals; *Behavior, Animal; Columbidae; Concept Formation; Conditioning, Operant; *Imagination; *Memory; Mental Recall; Planning Techniques; Rats; *Time Perception; Transfer (Psychology) |
Abstract |
Humans have the ability to mentally recreate past events (using episodic memory) and imagine future events (by planning). The best evidence for such mental time travel is personal and thus subjective. For this reason, it is particularly difficult to study such behavior in animals. There is some indirect evidence, however, that animals have both episodic memory and the ability to plan for the future. When unexpectedly asked to do so, animals can report about their recent past experiences (episodic memory) and they also appear to be able to use the anticipation of a future event as the basis for a present action (planning). Thus, the ability to imagine past and future events may not be uniquely human. |
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Department of Psychology, University of Kentucky, Lexington, KY 40506-0044, USA. zentall@uky.edu |
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0376-6357 |
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PMID:16466863 |
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refbase @ user @ |
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218 |
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Author |
Melis, A.P.; Hare, B.; Tomasello, M. |
Title |
Engineering cooperation in chimpanzees: tolerance constraints on cooperation |
Type |
Journal Article |
Year |
2006 |
Publication |
Animal Behaviour. |
Abbreviated Journal |
Anim. Behav. |
Volume |
72 |
Issue |
2 |
Pages |
275-286 |
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Abstract |
The cooperative abilities of captive chimpanzees, Pan troglodytes, in experiments do not match the sophistication that might be predicted based on their naturally occurring cooperative behaviours. This discrepancy might partly be because in previous experiments potential chimpanzee cooperators were partnered without regard to their social relationship. We investigated the ability of chimpanzee dyads to solve a physical task cooperatively in relation to their interindividual tolerance levels. Pairs that were most capable of sharing food outside the test were also able to cooperate spontaneously (by simultaneously pulling two ropes) to obtain food. In contrast, pairs that were less inclined to share food outside of the test were unlikely to cooperate. Furthermore, previously successful subjects stopped cooperating when paired with a less tolerant partner, even when the food rewards were presented in a dispersed and divisible form to reduce competition between subjects. These results show that although chimpanzees are capable of spontaneous cooperation in a novel instrumental task, tolerance acts as a constraint on their ability to solve such cooperative problems. This finding highlights the importance of controlling such social constraints in future experiments on chimpanzee cooperation, and suggests that the evolution of human-like cooperative skills might have been preceded by the evolution of a more egalitarian social system and a more human-like temperament. |
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287 |
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Author |
Heitor, F.; do Mar Oom, M.; Vicente, L. |
Title |
Social relationships in a herd of Sorraia horses Part I. Correlates of social dominance and contexts of aggression |
Type |
Journal Article |
Year |
2006 |
Publication |
Behavioural Processes |
Abbreviated Journal |
Behav. Process. |
Volume |
73 |
Issue |
2 |
Pages |
170-177 |
Keywords |
Age Factors; *Aggression; Animals; Female; *Hierarchy, Social; Horses/*psychology; Male; Sex Factors; *Social Dominance; *Social Environment; Statistics, Nonparametric |
Abstract |
Factors related to dominance rank and the functions of aggression were studied in a herd of Sorraia horses, Equus caballus, under extensive management. Subjects were 10 adult mares 5-18 years old and a stallion introduced into the group for breeding. Dominance relationships among mares were clear, irrespective of rank difference, and remained stable after introduction of the stallion. The dominance hierarchy was significantly linear and rank was positively correlated with age and total aggressiveness. Higher-ranking mares received lower frequency and intensity of agonistic interactions. Nevertheless, higher-ranking dominants were not more likely to elicit submission from their subordinates than lower-ranking dominants. Neither close-ranking mares nor mares with less clear dominance relationships were more aggressive towards each other. Agonistic interactions seemed to be used more importantly in regulation of space than to obtain access to food or to reassert dominance relationships. Contexts of aggression were related to mare rank. The results suggest that dominance relationships based on age as a conventional criterion were established to reduce aggressiveness in a herd where the costs of aggression are likely to outweigh the benefits. |
Address |
Centro de Biologia Ambiental, Faculdade de Ciencias da Universidade de Lisboa, Campo Grande, Edificio C2, 1749-016 Lisboa, Portugal |
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0376-6357 |
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PMID:16815645 |
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no |
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refbase @ user @ |
Serial |
292 |
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Author |
McGregor, A.; Saggerson, A.; Pearce, J.; Heyes, C. |
Title |
Blind imitation in pigeons, Columba livia |
Type |
Journal Article |
Year |
2006 |
Publication |
Animal Behaviour. |
Abbreviated Journal |
Anim. Behav. |
Volume |
72 |
Issue |
2 |
Pages |
287-296 |
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Abstract |
Pigeons that had been trained with a food reward both to peck at and to step on a horizontal plate were allowed to observe a conspecific demonstrator pecking at or stepping on the plate before a test in which the observers were not rewarded for either pecking or stepping. In experiment 1, the demonstrators were not rewarded while being observed. In spite of this, the observers provided evidence of imitation: those that had observed pecking made a greater proportion of pecking responses on test than observers of stepping. In experiment 2, each observer was exposed to a pecking or a stepping conspecific on two occasions. On one occasion, the demonstrator received a food reward for each demonstrated response (continuous reinforcement condition), and on the other the demonstrator's responses were rewarded only rarely (variable interval condition). The observers provided equally strong evidence of imitation in each of these conditions; on test, they made proportionally more of the observed response both when the demonstrators had been richly rewarded and when they had been rarely rewarded. These results show that pigeons engage in `blind' imitation, that is, their imitative behaviour is not always guided by observational learning about response outcomes. |
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294 |
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Author |
Miklósi, Á.; Soproni, K. |
Title |
A comparative analysis of animals' understanding of the human pointing gesture |
Type |
Journal Article |
Year |
2006 |
Publication |
Animal cognition |
Abbreviated Journal |
Anim. Cogn. |
Volume |
9 |
Issue |
2 |
Pages |
81-93 |
Keywords |
*Animal Communication; Animals; *Behavior, Animal; Child; Child, Preschool; Dogs; Fixation, Ocular; *Gestures; Hand; Humans; *Nonverbal Communication; Pinnipedia; Primates; Problem Solving; *Recognition (Psychology); Species Specificity |
Abstract |
We review studies demonstrating the ability of some animals to understand the human pointing gesture. We present a 3-step analysis of the topic. (1) We compare and evaluate current experimental methods (2) We compare available experimental results on performance of different species and investigate the interaction of species differences and other independent variables (3) We evaluate how our present understanding of pointing comprehension answers questions about function, evolution and mechanisms. Recently, a number of different hypotheses have been put forward to account for the presence of this ability in some species and for the lack of such comprehension in others. In our view, there is no convincing evidence for the assumption that the competitive lifestyles of apes would inhibit the utilization of this human gesture. Similarly, domestication as a special evolutionary factor in the case of some species falls short in explaining high levels of pointing comprehension in some non-domestic species. We also disagree with the simplistic view of describing the phenomenon as a simple form of conditioning. We suggest that a more systematic comparative research is needed to understand the emerging communicative representational abilities in animals that provide the background for comprehending the human pointing gesture. |
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Department of Ethology, Eotvos Lorand University, Budapest, Pazmany P 1/c, H-1117, Budapest, Hungary. miklosa@ludens.elte.hu |
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1435-9448 |
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PMID:16235075 |
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refbase @ user @ |
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463 |
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Author |
Dzieweczynski, T.L.; Eklund, A.C.; Rowland, W.J. |
Title |
Male 11-ketotestosterone levels change as a result of being watched in Siamese fighting fish, Betta splendens |
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Journal Article |
Year |
2006 |
Publication |
General and comparative endocrinology |
Abbreviated Journal |
Gen Comp Endocrinol |
Volume |
147 |
Issue |
2 |
Pages |
184-189 |
Keywords |
Aggression; Animals; Female; Fishes/*blood; Male; Nesting Behavior; *Social Behavior; Social Environment; Testosterone/*analogs & derivatives/blood |
Abstract |
This study investigated the effects of nesting status and the presence of an audience on 11-ketotestosterone (11KT) levels in male Siamese fighting fish, Betta splendens. Prior studies have demonstrated that both nesting status, an indicator of territory-holding power and reproductive state, and the sex of a conspecific audience lead to differences in male behavior during aggressive encounters. Since behavioral changes have already been demonstrated, we chose to investigate whether 11KT levels were also influenced by nesting status and audience presence as 11KT both stimulates, and is stimulated by, reproductive and aggressive behaviors in male teleosts. Male 11KT levels were measured from water samples taken from containers holding fish both before and after interaction. Males interacted under three treatment conditions: no audience, female audience, and male audience. Within these treatments were two nest paradigms: both males had nests or neither male had a nest. 11KT levels varied depending on nesting status and audience type. In general, 11KT levels were lower in interacting males when a female audience was present or when males had nests. Overall, 11KT showed increases or decreases as aggression increased or decreased, as shown by already established behavioral findings [see Dzieweczynski T.L., Green T.M., Earley R.L., Rowland W.J., 2005. Audience effect is context dependent in Siamese fighting fish, Betta splendens. Behav. Ecol. 16, 1025-1030; Doutrelant, C., McGregor, P.K., Oliveira, R.F., 2001. Effect of an audience on intrasexual communication in male Siamese fighting fish (Betta splendens). Behav. Ecol. 12, 283-286.]. Our results suggest that 11KT levels are influenced by reproductive status, as indicated by nest ownership, and audience presence and are most likely modulated by territorial behavior and social environment. |
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Department of Psychology, University of New England, Biddeford, ME 04005, USA. tdzieweczynski@une.edu |
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0016-6480 |
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PMID:16473353 |
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502 |
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Izar, P.; Ferreira, R.G.; Sato, T. |
Title |
Describing the organization of dominance relationships by dominance-directed tree method |
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Journal Article |
Year |
2006 |
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American journal of primatology |
Abbreviated Journal |
Am. J. Primatol. |
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68 |
Issue |
2 |
Pages |
189-207 |
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Animals; Cebus/physiology; *Models, Biological; *Social Dominance |
Abstract |
Methods to describe dominance hierarchies are a key tool in primatology studies. Most current methods are appropriate for analyzing linear and near-linear hierarchies; however, more complex structures are common in primate groups. We propose a method termed “dominance-directed tree.” This method is based on graph theory and set theory to analyze dominance relationships in social groups. The method constructs a transitive matrix by imposing transitivity to the dominance matrix and produces a graphical representation of the dominance relationships, which allows an easy visualization of the hierarchical position of the individuals, or subsets of individuals. The method is also able to detect partial and complete hierarchies, and to describe situations in which hierarchical and nonhierarchical principles operate. To illustrate the method, we apply a dominance tree analysis to artificial data and empirical data from a group of Cebus apella. |
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Department of Experimental Psychology, University of Sao Paulo, Brazil. patrizar@usp.br |
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0275-2565 |
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PMID:16429416 |
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refbase @ user @ |
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723 |
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Hoshaw, B.A.; Evans, J.C.; Mueller, B.; Valentino, R.J.; Lucki, I. |
Title |
Social competition in rats: Cell proliferation and behavior |
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Journal Article |
Year |
2006 |
Publication |
Behavioural Brain Research |
Abbreviated Journal |
Behav. Brain. Res. |
Volume |
175 |
Issue |
2 |
Pages |
343-351 |
Keywords |
Social stress; Depression; Forced swim test; Neurogenesis |
Abstract |
Behavioral and physiological changes were studied following prolonged exposure to social competition in pairs of non-food-deprived rats competing daily for a limited supply of graham cracker crumbs. Stable dominant-subordinate relationships developed in most pairs, as measured by feeding time, which were maintained over a 5-6-week study period. In other behavioral tests, subordinates demonstrated a decreased latency to immobility in the forced swim test compared with dominants, but no difference in locomotor activity. Subordinates had increased bladder size, decreased adrenal gland size, and a 35% reduction of hippocampus cell proliferation compared with the dominant member. Therefore, prolonged social competition, based on restricted access to palatable substances, produced hierarchies among individuals that were associated with differences in behavior, physiology and hippocampal cell proliferation. |
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802 |
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Author |
Shi, J.; Dunbar, R. |
Title |
Feeding competition within a feral goat population on the Isle of Rum, NW Scotland |
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Journal Article |
Year |
2006 |
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Journal of Ethology |
Abbreviated Journal |
J. Ethol. |
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24 |
Issue |
2 |
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117-124 |
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This study investigated feeding competition within and between different age-sex classes of feral goats (Capra hircus) on the Isle of Rum (northwest Scotland) from August to November 2000 (inclusive). Although contests in a feeding context were common, most were relatively passive: little overt agonistic behaviour was observed between opponents and the distance between feeding animals involved did not change significantly after an interaction. Month (but not sex or habitat type) had a significant effect on feeding interaction rates, and the proportion of interactions involving more intense forms of conflict was highest in November when forage availability was beginning to decline. The results show that the initiator won most feeding encounters, with adult males being dominant over females. The ability to win conflicts increased with age for both males and females. However, it decreased sharply for adult males older than 5 years, which may, in part, explain the reduced overwinter survival of these individuals. |
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805 |
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