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Author Walzer, C.; Kaczensky, P.; Ganbaatar, O.; Stauffer, C. pdf  openurl
  Title (up) Przewalski Horses, Satellites and Wild Asses Type Conference Article
  Year 2008 Publication IESM 2008 Abbreviated Journal  
  Volume Issue Pages  
  Keywords  
  Abstract The Przewalski`s horse (Equus f. przewalskii) was extinct in the wild by the mid-sixties of the past century. The species only survived due to captive breeding from 13 founder individuals. In 1992 a reintroduction program was initiated in the Great Gobi B Strictly Protected Area in southwestern Mongolia. During it“s initial years, the project concentrated exclusively on P-horses. In the past decade activities have expanded significantly. The ecological project start point can be summed up as follows: i) species is extinct in the wild, ii) severe bottleneck, iii) practically no ecological data prior to extinction, iv) released into an extremely harsh, highly variable and poorly understood environment. The ecological knowledge constraints were compounded by i) highly emotional species, ii) simultaneous and competitive projects, iii) logistic nightmare, iv) non-scientific basis in planning phase. By the late 1990s project leadership and management was overhauled with research and scientific data firmly integrated into the decision-making process. Early scientific input concentrated on determining causes of death and low reproductive rates. The elucidation of the effects of endemic piroplasmosis on the population and subsequent management changes lead to remediation this deadly problem. P-horses have been fitted with ARGOS and GPS-ARGOS collars in order to determine home range and habitat preferences. Simultaneously the Mongolian wild ass and the wolf have been studied with these methods in the shared habitat. Satellite-based technologies provide the backbone for all habitat related project issues. At the onset (digitized Russian maps) data collection was restricted to the Eastern part of the Gobi B. Subsequently the spatial scale encompasses the entire Gobi Region in Mongolia and Northern Xingjian in China (e.g. Landsat, MODIS, NOAA, SRTM). Research has also focused on the role, needs and possible impacts of local semi-nomadic herders that use the protected area. Capacity building and training workshops (e.g. construction of fuel efficient stoves, felting) have been initiated. In 2007 a trans-boundary project in collaboration with the Xingjian Institute of Ecology and Geography of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, was initiated. This project aims to support rural communities of nomadic pastoralists living in the trans-boundary area of the Dzungarian Gobi, in China and Mongolia. Today, this project and the one in Hustain Nuruu (Mongolia) are the only ones that have resulted in free-ranging non-supplemented populations. In the Gobi B area some 120 (status 05.2008) P-horses roam in the protected area. In 2003 the IUCN downlisted the Przewalski\'s horse from to . Further downlisting to is predicted to occur in 2011. There is no consensus on when a reintroduction program is deemed successful. Clearly viewing the self-sustainable re-establishment of a population as a successful end-point is at best a short-term approach, constrained by time (today and now). Comprehensive interdisciplinary monitoring and research was and is the foundation for management strategies and decisions in this project. However, a self-sustaining financial base in conjunction with dedicated training and empowerment of local scientists and residents constitute essential prerequisites for the project”s future. Defining success and thereby inferring an end-point can easily lead to complacency compromising species persistence. As others have stated the ultimate project objective must be a constantly re-evaluated state of population persistence without intervention.  
  Address Research Institute of Wildlife Ecology University of Veterinary Medicine Vienna, Austria and International Takhi Group, Takhin Tal, Mongolia  
  Corporate Author Walzer, C. Thesis  
  Publisher Place of Publication Editor  
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  ISSN ISBN Medium  
  Area Expedition Conference IESM 2008  
  Notes Invited speaker IESM 2008 Approved yes  
  Call Number Equine Behaviour @ team @ Serial 4459  
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Author Kaczensky, P.; Ganbaatar, O.; von Wehrden,H.; Walzer, C. pdf  openurl
  Title (up) Przewalski`s horses (Equus ferus przewalskii) and Asiatic wild asses (Equus hemionus): Similar Species, Same Habitat – Same Use? Type Conference Article
  Year 2008 Publication IESM 2008 Abbreviated Journal  
  Volume Issue Pages  
  Keywords  
  Abstract Historic overlap zones of wild equids were small in Africa but extensive for Przewalski`s horses and Asiatic wild asses in Asia. Currently the Great Gobi B Strictly Protected Area in SW Mongolia is the only place where sympatric, free-ranging populations of these equids occur. This provides an unique opportunity to examine the co-existence of these little studied species and test the hypothesis that Przewalski`s horses are primarily adapted to mesic steppe habitats, whereas Asiatic wild asses are adapted to arid desert steppes and semi-deserts.

We monitored 9 Przewalski`s horses and 7 wild asses with satellite telemetry and superimposed the data on a habitat map derived from remote sensing (LANDSAT TM & ETM+-data) and ground sample plots. We tested for habitat preferences comparing use and availability with a logistic regression mixed model approach. Individuals were treated as random factors. Factor variables were tested for significant differences in subsequent Tukey post-hoc tests. Przewalski`s horses had non-exclusive home ranges of 152-826 km² and heavily selected for the most productive riparian plant communities. Asiatic wild asses also had non-exclusive home ranges, but with 4,449-6,835 km² they were 10 times larger than those of Przewalski`s horses. Asiatic wild asses seem to use plant communities more or less relative to their availability. Our results provide evidence for two parallel resource selection strategies. Our findings indicate that the Gobi areas provide an edge, rather than an optimal habitat for Przewalski`s horses. This leaves only small and isolated pockets of suitable habitat for future re-introductions. Asiatic wild asses, on the other hand, need access to large tracts of land to cope with the unpredictable resource distribution of the Gobi. Thus, Asiatic wild ass conservation requires a large scale approach.
 
  Address  
  Corporate Author Kaczensky, P. Thesis  
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  Area Expedition Conference IESM 2008  
  Notes Talk 15 min IESM 2008 Approved yes  
  Call Number Equine Behaviour @ team @ Serial 4490  
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Author de Waal, F.B.M. url  doi
openurl 
  Title (up) Putting the Altruism Back into Altruism: The Evolution of Empathy Type Journal Article
  Year 2008 Publication Annual Review of Psychology Abbreviated Journal Annu Rev Psychol  
  Volume 59 Issue 1 Pages 279-300  
  Keywords  
  Abstract Evolutionary theory postulates that altruistic behavior evolved for the return-benefits it bears the performer. For return-benefits to play a motivational role, however, they need to be experienced by the organism. Motivational analyses should restrict themselves, therefore, to the altruistic impulse and its knowable consequences. Empathy is an ideal candidate mechanism to underlie so-called directed altruism, i.e., altruism in response to anothers's pain, need, or distress. Evidence is accumulating that this mechanism is phylogenetically ancient, probably as old as mammals and birds. Perception of the emotional state of another automatically activates shared representations causing a matching emotional state in the observer. With increasing cognition, state-matching evolved into more complex forms, including concern for the other and perspective-taking. Empathy-induced altruism derives its strength from the emotional stake it offers the self in the other's welfare. The dynamics of the empathy mechanism agree with predictions from kin selection and reciprocal altruism theory.  
  Address  
  Corporate Author Thesis  
  Publisher Annual Reviews Place of Publication Editor  
  Language Summary Language Original Title  
  Series Editor Series Title Abbreviated Series Title  
  Series Volume Series Issue Edition  
  ISSN 0066-4308 ISBN Medium  
  Area Expedition Conference  
  Notes doi: 10.1146/annurev.psych.59.103006.093625 Approved no  
  Call Number Equine Behaviour @ team @ Serial 5058  
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Author Ward, A.J.W.; Sumpter, D.J.T.; Couzin, I.D.; Hart, P.J.B.; Krause, J. url  doi
openurl 
  Title (up) Quorum decision-making facilitates information transfer in fish shoals Type Journal Article
  Year 2008 Publication Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America Abbreviated Journal Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A.  
  Volume 105 Issue 19 Pages 6948-6953  
  Keywords  
  Abstract Despite the growing interest in collective phenomena such as “swarm intelligence” and “wisdom of the crowds,” little is known about the mechanisms underlying decision-making in vertebrate animal groups. How do animals use the behavior of others to make more accurate decisions, especially when it is not possible to identify which individuals possess pertinent information? One plausible answer is that individuals respond only when they see a threshold number of individuals perform a particular behavior. Here, we investigate the role of such “quorum responses” in the movement decisions of fish (three-spine stickleback, Gasterosteus aculeatus). We show that a quorum response to conspecifics can explain how sticklebacks make collective movement decisions, both in the absence and presence of a potential predation risk. Importantly our experimental work shows that a quorum response can reduce the likelihood of amplification of nonadaptive following behavior. Whereas the traveling direction of solitary fish was strongly influenced by a single replica conspecific, the replica was largely ignored by larger groups of four or eight sticklebacks under risk, and the addition of a second replica was required to exert influence on the movement decisions of such groups. Model simulations further predict that quorum responses by fish improve the accuracy and speed of their decision-making over that of independent decision-makers or those using a weak linear response. This study shows that effective and accurate information transfer in groups may be gained only through nonlinear responses of group members to each other, thus highlighting the importance of quorum decision-making.  
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  Area Expedition Conference  
  Notes 10.1073/pnas.0710344105 Approved no  
  Call Number Equine Behaviour @ team @ Serial 5252  
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Author Charif, R.A.; Waack, A.M.; Strickman, L.M. openurl 
  Title (up) Raven Pro 1.3 User's Manual Type Book Whole
  Year 2008 Publication Abbreviated Journal  
  Volume Issue Pages  
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  Corporate Author Thesis  
  Publisher Cornell Laboratory of Ornithology Place of Publication Ithaca, New York Editor  
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  Area Expedition Conference  
  Notes Approved no  
  Call Number Equine Behaviour @ team @ Charif2008 Serial 6488  
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Author Lansade, L.; Bouissou, M.-F. url  doi
openurl 
  Title (up) Reactivity to humans: A temperament trait of horses which is stable across time and situations Type Journal Article
  Year 2008 Publication Applied Animal Behaviour Science Abbreviated Journal Appl. Anim. Behav. Sci.  
  Volume 114 Issue 3-4 Pages 492-508  
  Keywords Horse; Equus caballus; Reactivity to humans; Temperament trait; Personality; Behavioural consistency  
  Abstract The aim of this study was to test the existence of a “reactivity-to-humans” trait which is stable over time and across situations. For this purpose, four test situations were repeated on the same animals at 8 months, 1.5 years (N = 110 horses) and 2.5 years of age (N = 54 horses). These situations involved a “familiar passive human test” during which a familiar person stayed motionless in the test pen, a “familiar active human test” and an “unfamiliar active human test” during which a familiar or unfamiliar person attempted to touch the horse, and a “halter-fitting and heart-rate measurement test”, during which the horse was haltered and equipped with a surcingle and then had its heart-rate measured. Many behavioural variables were recorded during the tests, and correlations between ages and variables measured during other situations were investigated. When correlations were found, we concluded that the variables corresponded to temperament traits which are stable over time and across situations. The horses tested were divided into four groups according to breed (Anglo-Arab and Welsh) and year of birth (2001 and 2002). Data for each group were analysed separately with Spearman rank correlations. Regarding stability over time, there was a strong correlation between ages in the frequency of licking/nibbling the passive human, the time taken by a familiar or unfamiliar person to touch the horse, and the time taken to fit a halter (e.g. the time taken to touch the horse's muzzle was significantly correlated between ages in 7 out of the 8 possible cases: 0.40 <= R <= 0.67). Regarding stability across situations, results indicate that the more frequently a horse sniffed, licked or nibbled a passive human, the easier it was for either a familiar or unfamiliar active human to touch and halter it. Moreover, a horse which could be touched easily by a familiar human could also be touched and haltered easily by an unfamiliar human. These behaviours, which are linked directly to humans, therefore indicate good stability over time and across situations. In conclusion, this stability suggests the existence of a “reactivity-to-humans” temperament trait, whether the human is passive or active, familiar or unfamiliar. When the animals do not have frequent contact with humans, this reactivity is stable over time and can be measured as early as 8 months of age using the behavioural variables cited above.  
  Address  
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  Series Editor Series Title Abbreviated Series Title  
  Series Volume Series Issue Edition  
  ISSN 0168-1591 ISBN Medium  
  Area Expedition Conference  
  Notes Approved no  
  Call Number Equine Behaviour @ team @ Serial 4710  
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Author Lansade, L.; Bouissou, M.-F.; Erhard, H.W. url  doi
openurl 
  Title (up) Reactivity to isolation and association with conspecifics: A temperament trait stable across time and situations Type Journal Article
  Year 2008 Publication Applied Animal Behaviour Science Abbreviated Journal Appl. Anim. Behav. Sci.  
  Volume 106 Issue 2-4 Pages 355-373  
  Keywords Horse; Equus caballus; Temperament; Trait; Isolation; Conspecific association; Stability  
  Abstract A temperament trait is generally defined as individual differences in behaviour that are present early in life and relatively stable across situations and over time. The aim of this study was to test the existence of a trait <<gregariousness>> in horses, by testing the stability across situations and over time of the responses to different social events. Sixty-six Welsh ponies and 44 Anglo-Arab horses were successively tested at 8 months and 1.5 years of age. Among them, 33 ponies and 21 horses were also tested at 2.5 years of age. They were submitted to four test situations: isolation and separation from, attraction towards and passing conspecifics. We carried out the analysis using each of four test groups as a unit (e.g. 33 Welsh ponies born in 2001, tested in isolation). Isolation and separation stood out as tests that showed a high consistency within test, across tests and across time. The most interesting behavioural parameter was the frequency of neighing, which was well correlated with other parameters measured in the same tests, such as defecation, locomotion and vigilance, as well as across the 3 years (e.g. for separation test: 0.41 < R < 0.61). Therefore, the behaviour of neighing observed in separation or isolation tests as early as 8 months of age appears to be a good indicator of similar behaviour in similar situations later in life, but also of other behaviours which can render the horse difficult to use. No parameter recorded during the attraction test presented stability across situations and time: the reactions to this test were not the expression of a stable characteristic of the individual and did not reflect the same characteristic as the three other tests. Of the different parameters recorded during the passing conspecifics test, the time to cross the arrival line near conspecifics showed good stability across years (0.35 < R < 0.68). This parameter was also correlated with many others recorded during the same test, and also, to a certain extent, to the frequency of neighing in the isolation and separation tests. This stability across responses expressed in various social contexts, and this stability over time, from 8 months to 2.5 years of age suggest the existence of a trait of gregariousness in the horse. From a practical point of view, that means it is possible to estimate the level of gregariousness of a horse as early as 8 months of age. Furthermore, additional analysis shows that gregariousness decreases with age.  
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  Notes Approved no  
  Call Number Admin @ knut @ Serial 4350  
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Author Romero, T.; Aureli, F. doi  openurl
  Title (up) Reciprocity of support in coatis (Nasua nasua) Type Journal Article
  Year 2008 Publication Journal of Comparative Psychology Abbreviated Journal  
  Volume 122 Issue 1 Pages 19-25  
  Keywords *Animal Aggressive Behavior; *Animal Social Behavior; *Mammals; Reciprocity  
  Abstract Primate sociality has received much attention and its complexity has been viewed as a driving force for the evolution of cognitive abilities. Improved analytic techniques have allowed primate researchers to reveal intricate social networks based on the exchange of cooperative acts and services. Although nonprimates are known to show similar behavior (e.g., cooperative hunting, food sharing, coalitions) there seems a consensus that social life is less complex than in primates. Here the authors present the first group-level analysis of reciprocity of social interactions in a social carnivore, the ring-tailed coati (<xh:i xmlns:search=“http://marklogic.com/appservices/search” xmlns=“http://apa.org/pimain” xmlns:xsi=“http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema-instance” xmlns:xh=“http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml”>Nasua nasua</xh:i>). The authors found that support in aggressive conflicts is a common feature in coatis and that this behavior is reciprocally exchanged in a manner seemingly as complex as in primates. Given that reciprocity correlations persisted after controlling for the effect of spatial association and subunit membership, some level of scorekeeping may be involved. Further studies will be needed to confirm our findings and understand the mechanisms underlying such reciprocity, but our results contribute to the body of work that has begun to challenge primate supremacy in social complexity and cognition. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved)  
  Address Romero, Teresa: Living Links, Yerkes National Primate Research Center, Emory University, 954 N. Gatewood Road, Atlanta, GA, US, 30329, mromer2@emory.edu  
  Corporate Author Thesis  
  Publisher American Psychological Association Place of Publication Us Editor  
  Language Summary Language Original Title  
  Series Editor Series Title Abbreviated Series Title  
  Series Volume Series Issue Edition  
  ISSN 1939-2087(Electronic);0735-7036(Print) ISBN Medium  
  Area Expedition Conference  
  Notes Approved no  
  Call Number Equine Behaviour @ team @ 2008-01944-003 Serial 5812  
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Author Sovrano, V.; Bisazza, A. url  doi
openurl 
  Title (up) Recognition of partly occluded objects by fish Type Journal Article
  Year 2008 Publication Animal Cognition Abbreviated Journal Anim. Cogn.  
  Volume 11 Issue 1 Pages 1435-9448  
  Keywords Visual completion – Amodal completion – Occlusion – Visual recognition – Fish  
  Abstract Abstract&nbsp;&nbsp;The ability to visually complete partly occluded objects (so-called `“amodal completion”) has been documented in mammals and birds. Here, we report the first evidence of such a perceptual ability in a fish species. Fish (Xenotoca eiseni) were trained to discriminate between a complete and an amputated disk. Thereafter, the fish performed test trials in which hexagonal polygons were either exactly juxtaposed or only placed close to the missing sectors of the disk in order to produce or not produce the impression (to a human observer) of an occlusion of the missing sectors of the disk by the polygon. In another experiment, fish were first trained to discriminate between hexagonal polygons that were either exactly juxtaposed or only placed close to the missing sectors of a disk, and then tested for choice between a complete and an amputated disk. In both experiments, fish behaved as if they were experiencing visual completion of the partly occluded stimuli. These findings suggest that the ability to visually complete partly occluded objects may be widespread among vertebrates, possibly inherited in mammals, birds and fish from early vertebrate ancestors.  
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  Notes Approved no  
  Call Number Admin @ knut @ Serial 4217  
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Author Giada Cordoni; Elisabetta Palagi doi  openurl
  Title (up) Reconciliation in Wolves (Canis lupus) – New Evidence for a Comparative Perspective Type Journal Article
  Year 2008 Publication Ethology Abbreviated Journal Ethology  
  Volume 114 Issue Pages 298 - 308  
  Keywords  
  Abstract Social animals gain benefits from cooperative behaviours. However, social systems also imply competition and conflict of interest. To cope with dispersal forces, group-living animals use several peace-keeping tactics, which have been deeply investigated in primates. Other taxa, however, have been often neglected in this field research. Wolves (Canis lupus) with their high sociality and cooperative behaviour may be a good model species to investigate the reconciliation process. In this study, we provide the first evidence for the occurrence of reconciliation in a group of zoo-kept wolves. The conciliatory contacts were uniformly distributed across the different sex-class combinations. We found a linear dominance hierarchy in the colony under study, although the hierarchical relationships did not seem to affect the reconciliation dynamics. Moreover, both aggressors and victims initiated first post-conflict affinitive contact with comparable rates and both high- and low-intensity conflicts were reconciled with similar percentages. Finally, we found that coalitionary support may be a good predictor for high level of conciliatory contacts in this species.  
  Address Centro Interdipartimentale Museo di Storia Naturale e del Territorio, Universit di Pisa, Pisa, Italy; Giardino Zoologico di Pistoia, Pistoia, Italy DOI – 10.1111/j.1439-0310.2008.01474.x  
  Corporate Author Thesis  
  Publisher Place of Publication © 2008 The Authors Editor  
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  Area Expedition Conference  
  Notes Approved no  
  Call Number Equine Behaviour @ team @ Serial 4937  
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