Records |
Author |
Cameron, E.Z.; du Toit, J.T. |
Title |
Winning by a neck: tall giraffes avoid competing with shorter browsers |
Type |
Journal Article |
Year |
2007 |
Publication |
The American naturalist |
Abbreviated Journal |
Am Nat |
Volume |
169 |
Issue |
1 |
Pages |
130-135 |
Keywords |
Acacia/growth & development; Animals; Feeding Behavior/*physiology; Neck/*anatomy & histology; Plant Leaves/growth & development; Ruminants/*anatomy & histology/*physiology; South Africa |
Abstract |
With their vertically elongated body form, giraffes generally feed above the level of other browsers within the savanna browsing guild, despite having access to foliage at lower levels. They ingest more leaf mass per bite when foraging high in the tree, perhaps because smaller, more selective browsers deplete shoots at lower levels or because trees differentially allocate resources to promote shoot growth in the upper canopy. We erected exclosures around individual Acacia nigrescens trees in the greater Kruger ecosystem, South Africa. After a complete growing season, we found no differences in leaf biomass per shoot across height zones in excluded trees but significant differences in control trees. We conclude that giraffes preferentially browse at high levels in the canopy to avoid competition with smaller browsers. Our findings are analogous with those from studies of grazing guilds and demonstrate that resource partitioning can be driven by competition when smaller foragers displace larger foragers from shared resources. This provides the first experimental support for the classic evolutionary hypothesis that vertical elongation of the giraffe body is an outcome of competition within the browsing ungulate guild. |
Address |
Mammal Research Institute, Department of Zoology and Entomology, University of Pretoria, Pretoria 0002, South Africa. ezcameron@zoology.up.ac.za |
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 |
1537-5323 |
ISBN |
|
Medium |
|
Area |
|
Expedition |
|
Conference |
|
Notes |
PMID:17206591 |
Approved |
no |
Call Number |
refbase @ user @ |
Serial |
410 |
Permanent link to this record |
|
|
|
Author |
Bonnie, K.E.; Horner, V.; Whiten, A.; de Waal, F.B.M. |
Title |
Spread of arbitrary conventions among chimpanzees: a controlled experiment |
Type |
Journal Article |
Year |
2007 |
Publication |
Proceedings. Biological sciences / The Royal Society |
Abbreviated Journal |
Proc Biol Sci |
Volume |
274 |
Issue |
1608 |
Pages |
367-372 |
Keywords |
|
Abstract |
Wild chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes) have a rich cultural repertoire--traditions common in some communities are not present in others. The majority of reports describe functional, material traditions, such as tool use. Arbitrary conventions have received far less attention. In the same way that observations of material culture in wild apes led to experiments to confirm social transmission and identify underlying learning mechanisms, experiments investigating how arbitrary habits or conventions arise and spread within a group are also required. The few relevant experimental studies reported thus far have relied on cross-species (i.e. human-ape) interaction offering limited ecological validity, and no study has successfully generated a tradition not involving tool use in an established group. We seeded one of two rewarded alternative endpoints to a complex sequence of behaviour in each of two chimpanzee groups. Each sequence spread in the group in which it was seeded, with many individuals unambiguously adopting the sequence demonstrated by a group member. In one group, the alternative sequence was discovered by a low ranking female, but was not learned by others. Since the action-sequences lacked meaning before the experiment and had no logical connection with reward, chimpanzees must have extracted both the form and benefits of these sequences through observation of others. |
Address |
Living Links, Yerkes National Primate Research Center, Atlanta, GA 30329, USA. kebonni@emory.edu |
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 |
0962-8452 |
ISBN |
|
Medium |
|
Area |
|
Expedition |
|
Conference |
|
Notes |
PMID:17164200 |
Approved |
no |
Call Number |
refbase @ user @ |
Serial |
157 |
Permanent link to this record |
|
|
|
Author |
Bouchard, J.; Goodyer, W.; Lefebvre, L. |
Title |
Social learning and innovation are positively correlated in pigeons (Columba livia) |
Type |
Journal Article |
Year |
2007 |
Publication |
Animal Cognition |
Abbreviated Journal |
Anim. Cogn. |
Volume |
10 |
Issue |
2 |
Pages |
259-266 |
Keywords |
Animals; Behavior, Animal/*physiology; Columbidae/*physiology; *Learning; *Problem Solving |
Abstract |
When animals show both frequent innovation and fast social learning, new behaviours can spread more rapidly through populations and potentially increase rates of natural selection and speciation, as proposed by A.C. Wilson in his behavioural drive hypothesis. Comparative work on primates suggests that more innovative species also show more social learning. In this study, we look at intra-specific variation in innovation and social learning in captive wild-caught pigeons. Performances on an innovative problem-solving task and a social learning task are positively correlated in 42 individuals. The correlation remains significant when the effects of neophobia on the two abilities are removed. Neither sex nor dominance rank are associated with performance on the two tasks. Free-flying flocks of urban pigeons are able to solve the innovative food-finding problem used on captive birds, demonstrating it is within the range of their natural capacities. Taken together with the comparative literature, the positive correlation between innovation and social learning suggests that the two abilities are not traded-off. |
Address |
Department of Biology, McGill University, 1205, Avenue Docteur Penfield, Montreal, Quebec, H3A 1B1, Canada |
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:17205290 |
Approved |
no |
Call Number |
Equine Behaviour @ team @ |
Serial |
2425 |
Permanent link to this record |
|
|
|
Author |
Dalmau, A.; Ferret, A.; Chacon, G.; Manteca, X. |
Title |
Seasonal Changes in Fecal Cortisol Metabolites in Pyrenean Chamois |
Type |
Journal Article |
Year |
2007 |
Publication |
Journal of Wildlife Management |
Abbreviated Journal |
J Wildl Manag |
Volume |
71 |
Issue |
1 |
Pages |
190-194 |
Keywords |
Cadí-Moixeró, Nature Reserve, chamois, cortisol metabolites, feces, hunting reserve, Pyrenees, Rupicapra pyrenaica pyrenaica, seasonal rhythm, stress |
Abstract |
We studied seasonal changes in fecal cortisol metabolites (FCM), which have been widely used as indicators of stress, in a population of Pyrenean chamois (Rupicapra pyrenaica pyrenaica) in the Cadí Range of northeastern Spain. We collected fecal samples from 2001 to 2003 in 3 particular locations with different altitudes and male or female presence, and we analyzed them for FCM and fecal nitrogen as an indicator of diet quality. We observed a clear seasonal pattern, with the highest FCM in winter, and we obtained correlations between FCM and monthly mean minimum temperatures and fecal nitrogen. We observed no effects of tourism presence, trophy hunting, or rut season on FCM. Analysis of cortisol metabolites in feces can be a good measure of winter stress in Pyrenean chamois. |
Address |
|
Corporate Author |
|
Thesis |
|
Publisher |
|
Place of Publication |
|
Editor |
|
Language |
|
Summary Language |
|
Original Title |
|
Series Editor |
|
Series Title |
|
Abbreviated Series Title |
|
Series Volume |
|
Series Issue |
|
Edition |
|
ISSN |
|
ISBN |
|
Medium |
|
Area |
|
Expedition |
|
Conference |
|
Notes |
|
Approved |
no |
Call Number |
Equine Behaviour @ team @ |
Serial |
4254 |
Permanent link to this record |
|
|
|
Author |
Reimers, M.; Schwarzenberger, F.; Preuschoft, S. |
Title |
Rehabilitation of research chimpanzees: stress and coping after long-term isolation |
Type |
Journal Article |
Year |
2007 |
Publication |
Hormones and Behavior |
Abbreviated Journal |
Horm Behav |
Volume |
51 |
Issue |
3 |
Pages |
428-435 |
Keywords |
Adaptation, Psychological/*physiology; Animals; *Animals, Laboratory; Exploratory Behavior; Hydrocortisone/analysis/metabolism; Male; Models, Biological; *Pan troglodytes; Social Dominance; Social Environment; *Social Isolation/psychology; Stress/*rehabilitation/veterinary; Time |
Abstract |
We report on the permanent retirement of chimpanzees from biomedical research and on resocialization after long-term social isolation. Our aim was to investigate to what extent behavioral and endocrine measures of stress in deprived laboratory chimpanzees can be improved by a more species-typical social life style. Personality in terms of novelty responses, social dominance after resocialization and hormonal stress susceptibility were affected by the onset of maternal separation of infant chimpanzees and duration of deprivation. Chimpanzees, who were separated from their mothers at a younger age and kept in isolation for more years appeared to be more timid personalities, less socially active, less dominant and more susceptible to stress, as compared to chimpanzees with a less severe deprivation history. However, permanent retirement from biomedical research in combination with therapeutic resocialization maximizing chimpanzees' situation control resulted in reduced fecal cortisol metabolite levels. Our results indicate that chimpanzees can recover from severe social deprivation, and may experience resocialization as less stressful than solitary housing. |
Address |
Department of Natural Sciences, Institute of Biochemistry, University of Veterinary Medicine, Veterinarplatz 1, 1210 Vienna, Austria. reimers@wild-vet.at |
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:17292368 |
Approved |
no |
Call Number |
Equine Behaviour @ team @ |
Serial |
4188 |
Permanent link to this record |
|
|
|
Author |
Russon, A.E.; Handayani, D.P.; Kuncoro, P.; Ferisa, A. |
Title |
Orangutan leaf-carrying for nest-building: toward unraveling cultural processes |
Type |
Journal Article |
Year |
2007 |
Publication |
Animal Cognition |
Abbreviated Journal |
Anim. Cogn. |
Volume |
10 |
Issue |
2 |
Pages |
189-202 |
Keywords |
Animals; Ecosystem; Female; Indonesia; Male; *Nesting Behavior; Pongo pygmaeus/*physiology; *Trees |
Abstract |
We report an empirical study on leaf-carrying, a newly discovered nest-building technique that involves collecting nest materials before reaching the nest site. We assessed whether leaf-carrying by rehabilitant orangutans on Kaja Island, Central Kalimantan, owes to cultural influences. Findings derive from ca 600 h observational data on nesting skills and nesting associations in Kaja's 42 resident rehabilitants, which yielded 355 nests and 125 leaf-carrying cases by 34 rehabilitants. Regional contrasts with 14 other communities (7 rehabilitant, 7 wild) indicated cultural influences on leaf-carrying on Kaja. Association data showed exceptional social learning opportunities for leaf-carrying on Kaja, with residents taking differential advantage of these opportunities as a function of development, experience, and social position. Juvenile males with basic nesting skills were most influenced by social input. Most (27) leaf-carriers had probably learned leaf-carrying when caged and 7 probably learned it on Kaja. Social priming was probably the main impetus to leaf-carrying on Kaja, by simply prompting observers to copy when leaf-carrying associates collected nesting materials, what they collected, and where they used their collected materials. Implications concern acquisition processes and ontogenetic schedules that orchestrate sets of features-needs or interests, cognitive abilities, social preferences-which enable cultural transmission. |
Address |
Department of Psychology, Glendon College of York University, 2275 Bayview Avenue, Toronto, ON, M4N 3M6, Canada. arusson@gl.yorku.ca |
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:17160669 |
Approved |
no |
Call Number |
Equine Behaviour @ team @ |
Serial |
2431 |
Permanent link to this record |
|
|
|
Author |
Dunbar, R.I.M.; Shultz, S. |
Title |
Understanding primate brain evolution |
Type |
Journal Article |
Year |
2007 |
Publication |
Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society of London. Series B, Biological Sciences |
Abbreviated Journal |
Philos Trans R Soc Lond B Biol Sci |
Volume |
362 |
Issue |
1480 |
Pages |
649-658 |
Keywords |
|
Abstract |
We present a detailed reanalysis of the comparative brain data for primates, and develop a model using path analysis that seeks to present the coevolution of primate brain (neocortex) and sociality within a broader ecological and life-history framework. We show that body size, basal metabolic rate and life history act as constraints on brain evolution and through this influence the coevolution of neocortex size and group size. However, they do not determine either of these variables, which appear to be locked in a tight coevolutionary system. We show that, within primates, this relationship is specific to the neocortex. Nonetheless, there are important constraints on brain evolution; we use path analysis to show that, in order to evolve a large neocortex, a species must first evolve a large brain to support that neocortex and this in turn requires adjustments in diet (to provide the energy needed) and life history (to allow sufficient time both for brain growth and for 'software' programming). We review a wider literature demonstrating a tight coevolutionary relationship between brain size and sociality in a range of mammalian taxa, but emphasize that the social brain hypothesis is not about the relationship between brain/neocortex size and group size per se; rather, it is about social complexity and we adduce evidence to support this. Finally, we consider the wider issue of how mammalian (and primate) brains evolve in order to localize the social effects. |
Address |
British Academy Centenary Research Project, School of Biological Sciences, University of Liverpool, Liverpool L69 7ZB, UK. rimd@liv.ac.uk |
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 |
0962-8436 |
ISBN |
|
Medium |
|
Area |
|
Expedition |
|
Conference |
|
Notes |
PMID:17301028 |
Approved |
no |
Call Number |
|
Serial |
2099 |
Permanent link to this record |
|
|
|
Author |
Ninomiya, S.; Sato, S.; Kusunose, R.; Mitumasu, T.; Obara, Y. |
Title |
A note on a behavioural indicator of satisfaction in stabled horses |
Type |
Journal Article |
Year |
2007 |
Publication |
Applied Animal Behaviour Science |
Abbreviated Journal |
Appl. Anim. Behav. Sci. |
Volume |
106 |
Issue |
1-3 |
Pages |
184-189 |
Keywords |
Animal welfare; Satisfaction; Horses; Operant response; Stable |
Abstract |
We observed the behaviour of six stabled horses (stallions n = 3; geldings n = 3) in an attempt to identify behavioural measures of eating satisfaction. The horses were required to perform an operant response (pressing a button with the muzzle) in order to access a food reward in an experimental box stall. After each horse had successfully learned the experimental situation, it participated in the experimental protocol on 4 days. Horses were brought to the experimental box stall for the operant response sessions (1 h duration per session), and upon completion, they were returned to their own (home) box stalls. The number of presses for the reward was a Fixed Ratio schedule of either 3 or 12 muzzle presses (FR3, FR12) and the FR procedure for each horse was as follows: FR3 FR12 FR12 FR3 or FR12 FR3 FR3 FR12. Number of rewards obtained during each session, and behaviour and heart rate after each session were recorded for each horse. A repeated measures ANOVA showed that the number of rewards obtained in FR3 was higher than in FR12 (P < 0.05). The horses spent more time in standing-rest, (with ears rotating laterally and exhibiting a low neck position) indicating sleep, in the home box stall, after FR3 compared to FR12 treatments (P < 0.05). Mean heart rate after standing-sleep was significantly lower than mean heart rate in the home box stall (P < 0.01). These results suggest that eating satisfaction induces sleep in stabled horses, and that episodes of standing-sleep behaviour may be a useful indicator of appropriate or enhanced welfare in the horse. |
Address |
|
Corporate Author |
|
Thesis |
|
Publisher |
|
Place of Publication |
|
Editor |
|
Language |
|
Summary Language |
|
Original Title |
|
Series Editor |
|
Series Title |
|
Abbreviated Series Title |
|
Series Volume |
|
Series Issue |
|
Edition |
|
ISSN |
|
ISBN |
|
Medium |
|
Area |
|
Expedition |
|
Conference |
|
Notes |
|
Approved |
no |
Call Number |
refbase @ user @ |
Serial |
281 |
Permanent link to this record |
|
|
|
Author |
Austin, N.P.; Rogers, L.J. |
Title |
Asymmetry of flight and escape turning responses in horses |
Type |
Journal Article |
Year |
2007 |
Publication |
Laterality |
Abbreviated Journal |
Laterality |
Volume |
12 |
Issue |
5 |
Pages |
464-474 |
Keywords |
|
Abstract |
We investigated whether horses display greater reactivity to a novel stimulus presented in the left compared to the right monocular visual field, and whether a population bias exists for escape turning when the same stimulus was presented binocularly. Domestic horses (N=30) were tested on three occasions by a person opening an umbrella five metres away and then approaching. The distance each horse moved away before stopping was measured. Distance was greatest for approach on the left side, indicating right hemisphere control of flight behaviour, and thus followed the same pattern found previously in other species. When order of monocular presentation was considered, an asymmetry was detected. Horses tested initially on the left side exhibited greater reactivity for left approach, whereas horses tested on the right side first displayed no side difference in reactivity. Perhaps left hemisphere inhibition of flight response allowed horses to learn that the stimulus posed no threat and this information was transferred to the right hemisphere. No population bias existed for the direction of escape turning, but horses that turned to the right when approached from the front were found to exhibit longer flight distances than those that turned to the left. |
Address |
University of New England, Armidale, NSW, Australia |
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 |
1357-650X |
ISBN |
|
Medium |
|
Area |
|
Expedition |
|
Conference |
|
Notes |
PMID:17712716 |
Approved |
no |
Call Number |
Equine Behaviour @ team @ |
Serial |
4304 |
Permanent link to this record |
|
|
|
Author |
Li, C.; Jiang, Z.; Tang, S.; Zeng, Y. |
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 |
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 |