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Author Zentall, T.R.
Title Temporal discrimination learning by pigeons Type Journal Article
Year 2007 Publication Behavioural processes Abbreviated Journal Behav. Process.
Volume 74 Issue 2 Pages 286-292
Keywords (up)
Abstract Memory for time by animals appears to undergo a systematic shortening. This so-called choose-short effect can be seen in a conditional temporal discrimination when a delay is inserted between the sample and comparison stimuli. We have proposed that this temporal shortening may result from a procedural artifact in which the delay appears similar to the intertrial interval and thus, produces an inadvertent ambiguity or 'instructional failure'. When this ambiguity is avoided by distinguishing the intertrial interval from the delay, as well as the samples from the delay, the temporal shortening effect and other asymmetries often disappear. By avoiding artifacts that can lead to a misinterpretation of results, we may understand better how animals represent time. An alternative procedure for studying temporal discriminations is with the psychophysical bisection procedure in which following conditional discrimination training, intermediate durations are presented and the point of subjective equality is determined. Research using the bisection procedure has shown that pigeons represent temporal durations not only as their absolute value but also relative to durations from which they must be discriminated. Using this procedure, we have also found that time passes subjectively slower when animals are required to respond to the to-be-timed stimulus.
Address Department of Psychology, University of Kentucky, Lexington, KY 40506, United States. zentall@uky.edu
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Series Volume Series Issue Edition
ISSN 0376-6357 ISBN Medium
Area Expedition Conference
Notes PMID:17110057 Approved no
Call Number refbase @ user @ Serial 216
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Author Wittig, R.M.; Crockford, C.; Wikberg, E.; Seyfarth, R.M.; Cheney, D.L.
Title Kin-mediated reconciliation substitutes for direct reconciliation in female baboons Type Journal Article
Year 2007 Publication Proceedings. Biological sciences / The Royal Society Abbreviated Journal Proc Biol Sci
Volume 274 Issue 1613 Pages 1109-1115
Keywords (up)
Abstract It has been hypothesized that group-living mammals engage in reconciliation (post-conflict affiliation between former opponents) to reduce the disruptive costs of aggression and restore opponents' tolerance to baseline levels. Recipients of aggression are sometimes reluctant to tolerate the proximity of a recent opponent, however, in apparent fear that aggression will be renewed. In such cases, reconciliatory behaviour by the aggressor's close kin may substitute for direct reconciliation. We describe a playback experiment with free-ranging baboons (Papio hamadryas ursinus) that examines whether friendly behaviour by the aggressor's kin can substitute for direct reconciliation by the aggressor herself. In the test condition, female subjects who had recently been threatened heard the friendly grunt of one of their aggressor's relatives, mimicking kin-mediated vocal reconciliation. In the control condition, subjects heard the grunt of a dominant female from a different matriline. Subjects responded significantly more strongly in test than in control trials. Moreover, in the next hour they were significantly more likely to tolerate the proximity of both their aggressor and the relative whose grunt they had heard. In contrast, subjects' behaviour towards both control females and other members of their aggressor's matriline was unaffected. We conclude that kin-mediated vocal reconciliation can substitute for direct reconciliation in baboons.
Address Department of Biology, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA 19104-6018, USA
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Series Editor Series Title Abbreviated Series Title
Series Volume Series Issue Edition
ISSN 0962-8452 ISBN Medium
Area Expedition Conference
Notes PMID:17301022 Approved no
Call Number refbase @ user @ Serial 342
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Author Whiten, A.; van Schaik, C.P.
Title The evolution of animal 'cultures' and social intelligence 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 603-620
Keywords (up)
Abstract Decades-long field research has flowered into integrative studies that, together with experimental evidence for the requisite social learning capacities, have indicated a reliance on multiple traditions ('cultures') in a small number of species. It is increasingly evident that there is great variation in manifestations of social learning, tradition and culture among species, offering much scope for evolutionary analysis. Social learning has been identified in a range of vertebrate and invertebrate species, yet sustained traditions appear rarer, and the multiple traditions we call cultures are rarer still. Here, we examine relationships between this variation and both social intelligence-sophisticated information processing adapted to the social domain-and encephalization. First, we consider whether culture offers one particular confirmation of the social ('Machiavellian') intelligence hypothesis that certain kinds of social life (here, culture) select for intelligence: 'you need to be smart to sustain culture'. Phylogenetic comparisons, particularly focusing on our own study animals, the great apes, support this, but we also highlight some paradoxes in a broader taxonomic survey. Second, we use intraspecific variation to address the converse hypothesis that 'culture makes you smart', concluding that recent evidence for both chimpanzees and orang-utans support this proposition.
Address Centre for Social Learning and Cognitive Evolution, School of Psychology, University of St Andrews, St Andrews KY16 9JP, UK
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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:17255007 Approved no
Call Number refbase @ user @ Serial 729
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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 (up)
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
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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
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Author Saucier, D.M.; Shultz, S.R.; Keller, A.J.; Cook, C.M.; Binsted, G.
Title Sex differences in object location memory and spatial navigation in Long-Evans rats Type Journal Article
Year 2007 Publication Animal Cognition Abbreviated Journal Anim. Cogn.
Volume Issue Pages
Keywords (up)
Abstract In both humans and rodents, males typically excel on a number of tasks requiring spatial ability. However, human females exhibit advantages in memory for the spatial location of objects. This study investigated whether rats would exhibit similar sex differences on a task of object location memory (OLM) and on the watermaze (WM). We predicted that females should outperform males on the OLM task and that males should outperform females on the WM. To control for possible effects of housing environment, rats were housed in either complex environments or in standard shoebox housing. Eighty Long-Evans rats (40 males and 40 females) were housed in either complex (Complex rats) or standard shoebox housing (Control rats). Results indicated that males had superior performance on the WM, whereas females outperformed males on the OLM task, regardless of housing environment. As these sex differences cannot be easily attributed to differences in cognitive style related to linguistic processing of environmental features or to selection pressures related to the hunting gathering evolutionary prehistory of humans, these data suggest that sex differences in spatial ability may be related to traits selected for by polygynous mating strategies.
Address Canadian Centre for Behavioural Neuroscience, Department of Neuroscience, University of Lethbridge, 4401 University Dr., Lethbridge, AB, Canada, T1K 3M4, Deborah.Saucier@ULeth.ca
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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:17562087 Approved no
Call Number Equine Behaviour @ team @ Serial 2391
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Author Golden, J.W.; Kerley, M.S.; Kolath, W.H.
Title The relationship of feeding behavior to feed efficiency in crossbred Angus steers fed traditional and no roughage diets Type Journal Article
Year 2007 Publication Journal of Animal Science Abbreviated Journal J. Anim Sci.
Volume Issue Pages jas.2005-569-
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Abstract Two studies were conducted to determine the relationship of feeding behavior to the phenotypic expression of feed efficiency. In Exp. 1, a feedlot diet containing roughage was fed (traditional). In Exp. 2, a no-roughage diet was fed. Residual feed intake (RFI), a measure of feed efficiency, was calculated for both studies. In Exp. 1, 6 feed efficient (low RFI) steers and 6 feed inefficient steers (high RFI) were selected from a contemporary group of 80 steers, and feeding behaviors were analyzed. In Exp. 2, 9 feed efficient and 8 feed inefficient steers were selected from a contemporary group of 40 steers. There were no differences (P > 0.13) in initial or final BW or ADG between efficient and inefficient groups in either Exp. 1 or 2. In Exp. 1 DMI and average eating bouts daily differed (P < 0.001) with efficient steers consuming less feed and eating fewer times per day. In Exp. 2, efficient steers consumed less (P < 0.001) feed, and average eating bouts daily tended (P = 0.07) to be fewer in efficient animals. Limited differences were noted in feeding behavior between groups, with inefficient steers from both studies having a more variable eating pattern throughout the day. The average daily eating rate did not differ (P > 0.20) between groups in either experiment. The average number of days comprising a feeding pattern for both feed efficiency groups in Exp. 1 and 2 was found to be 2 to 3 d and multiples of 2 to 3 d. In Exp. 1 the feed intake pattern of efficient and inefficient steers changed once they reached a BW of approximately 391 kg and 381 kg, respectively. This occurred near d 47 for the efficient steers and near d 32 for inefficient steers. In Exp. 2 the feed intake pattern of both efficient and inefficient steers changed once they reached a BW of approximately 399 kg, which occurred on d 31 for the efficient steers and on d 33 for the inefficient steers. From the measured variables there were no differences in growth and limited differences noted in feeding behavior between feed efficient and feed inefficient groups. The results of the trials suggest increased variability of feed intake throughout the day for feed inefficient animals.
Address
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Notes 10.2527/jas.2005-569 Approved no
Call Number Equine Behaviour @ team @ Serial 4249
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Author Madden, J.R.
Title Do bowerbirds exhibit cultures? Type Journal Article
Year 2007 Publication Animal Cognition Abbreviated Journal Anim. Cogn.
Volume Issue Pages
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Abstract Definitions of what features constitute cultural behaviour, and hence define cultures are numerous. Many seem designed to describe those aspects of human behaviour which set us apart from other animals. A broad definition prescribing that the behaviour is: learned; learned socially; normative and collective is considered to apply to several species of great ape. In this paper, I review observations and experiments covering a suite of different behavioural characteristics displayed in members of the bowerbird family (Ptilonorhynchidae) and ask whether they fulfil these criteria. These include vocalisations, bower design, decoration use, bower orientation and display movements. Such a range of behaviours refutes the suggestion that these species are “one-trick ponies”-a criticism that is often levelled at claims for culture in non-primate species. I suggest that, despite a paucity of data in comparison with primate studies, it could be argued that bowerbirds may be considered to fulfil the same criteria on which we base our use of the term culture when applied to our close relatives, the great apes. If bowerbirds do have cultures, then their unusual natural history makes them a highly tractable system in which questions of social learning and culture can be tackled.
Address Department of Zoology, University of Cambridge, Downing Street, Cambridge, CB2 3EJ, UK, jrm54@cam.ac.uk
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ISSN 1435-9448 ISBN Medium
Area Expedition Conference
Notes PMID:17551758 Approved no
Call Number Equine Behaviour @ team @ Serial 2393
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Author Beran, M.J.
Title Capuchin monkeys (Cebus apella) succeed in a test of quantity conservation Type Journal Article
Year 2007 Publication Animal Cognition Abbreviated Journal Anim. Cogn.
Volume Issue Pages
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Abstract Nonhuman animals demonstrate a number of impressive quantitative skills such as counting sets of items, comparing sets on the basis of the number of items or amount of material, and even responding to simple arithmetic manipulations. In this experiment, capuchin monkeys were presented with a computerized task designed to assess conservation of discrete quantity. Monkeys first were trained to select from two horizontal arrays of stimuli the one with the larger number of items. On some trials, after a correct selection there was no feedback but instead an additional manipulation of one of those arrays. In some cases, this manipulation involved moving items closer together or farther apart to change the physical arrangement of the array but not the quantity of items in the array. In other cases, additional items were added to the initially smaller array so that it became quantitatively larger. Monkeys then made a second selection from the two arrays of items. Previous research had shown that rhesus monkeys (Macaca mulatta) succeeded with this task. However, there was no condition in that study in which items were added to the smaller array without increasing its quantity to a point where it became the new larger array. This new condition was added in the present experiment. Capuchin monkeys were sensitive to all of these manipulations, changing their selections when the manipulations changed which array contained the larger number of items but not when the manipulations changed the physical arrangement of items or increased the quantity in one array without also reversing which of the two arrays had more items. Therefore, capuchin monkeys responded on the basis of the quantity of items, and they were not distracted by non-quantitative manipulations of the arrays. The data indicate that capuchins are sensitive to simply arithmetic manipulations that involve addition of items to arrays and also that they can conserve quantity.
Address Language Research Center, Georgia State University, University Plaza, Atlanta, GA, 30303, USA, mjberan@yahoo.com
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ISSN 1435-9448 ISBN Medium
Area Expedition Conference
Notes PMID:17549530 Approved no
Call Number Equine Behaviour @ team @ Serial 2394
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Author Helton, W.S.
Title Expertise acquisition as sustained learning in humans and other animals: commonalities across species Type Journal Article
Year 2007 Publication Animal Cognition Abbreviated Journal Anim. Cogn.
Volume Issue Pages
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Abstract Expertise acquisition may be a universal attribute of animals. In this study data on foraging efficiency, or expertise, was compared for four species: honeybees (Apis mellifera), oystercatchers (Haematopus ostralegus), chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes), and humans (Homo sapiens). Polynomial regression models were constructed to investigate the relationship between age and foraging efficiency. There was a similar expertise-acquisition function between age and foraging efficiency across species, best described by a quadratic equation. The peak of performance was reached, in all cases, before the average age of death but well after reaching physical maturity and the percentage of lifespan devoted to the skill was more than 10% of the species-typical lifespan.
Address Department of Psychology, Michigan Technological University, 1400 Townsend Dr, Houghton, MI, 49931, USA, deak_helton@yahoo.com
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ISSN 1435-9448 ISBN Medium
Area Expedition Conference
Notes PMID:17534675 Approved no
Call Number Equine Behaviour @ team @ Serial 2395
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Author Buttelmann, D.; Call, J.; Tomasello, M.
Title Behavioral cues that great apes use to forage for hidden food Type Journal Article
Year 2007 Publication Animal Cognition Abbreviated Journal Anim. Cogn.
Volume Issue Pages
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Abstract We conducted three studies to examine whether the four great ape species (chimpanzees, bonobos, gorillas, and orangutans) are able to use behavioral experimenter-given cues in an object-choice task. In the subsequent experimental conditions subjects were presented with two eggs, one of which contained food and the other did not. In Study 1 the experimenter examined both eggs by smelling or shaking them, but only made a failed attempt to open (via biting) the egg containing food. In a control condition, the experimenter examined and attempted to open both eggs, but in reverse order to control for stimulus enhancement. The apes significantly preferred the egg that was first examined and then bitten, but had no preference in a baseline condition in which there were no cues. In Study 2, we investigated whether the apes could extend this ability to cues not observed in apes so far (i.e., attempting to pull apart the egg), as well as whether they made this discrimination based on the function of the action the experimenter performed. Subjects significantly preferred eggs presented with this novel cue, but did not prefer eggs presented with a novel but functionally irrelevant action. In Study 3, apes did not interpret human actions as cues to food-location when they already knew that the eggs were empty. Thus, great apes were able to use a variety of experimenter-given cues associated with foraging actions to locate hidden food and thereby were partially sensitive to the general purpose underlying these actions.
Address Department of Developmental and Comparative Psychology, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Deutscher Platz 6, 04103, Leipzig, Germany, buttelmann@eva.mpg.de
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ISSN 1435-9448 ISBN Medium
Area Expedition Conference
Notes PMID:17534674 Approved no
Call Number Equine Behaviour @ team @ Serial 2396
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