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Author de Waal, F.B.M.
Title 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.
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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 Hemelrijk, C.K.; Hildenbrandt, H.
Title Self-Organized Shape and Frontal Density of Fish Schools Type Journal Article
Year 2008 Publication Ethology Abbreviated Journal Ethology
Volume 114 Issue 3 Pages 245-254
Keywords
Abstract Abstract Models of swarming (based on avoidance, alignment and attraction) produce patterns of behaviour also seen in schools of fish. However, the significance of such similarities has been questioned, because some model assumptions are unrealistic [e.g. speed in most models is constant with random error, the perception is global and the size of the schools that have been studied is small (up to 128 individuals)]. This criticism also applies to our former model, in which we demonstrated the emergence of two patterns of spatial organization, i.e. oblong school form and high frontal density, which are supposed to function as protection against predators. In our new model we respond to this criticism by making the following improvements: individuals have a preferred ‘cruise speed’ from which they can deviate in order to avoid others or to catch up with them. Their range of perception is inversely related to density, with which we take into account that high density limits the perception of others that are further away. Swarm sizes range from 10 to 2000 individuals. The model is three-dimensional. Further, we show that the two spatial patterns (oblong shape and high frontal density) emerge by self-organization as a side-effect of coordination at two speeds (of two or four body lengths per second) for schools of sizes above 20. Our analysis of the model leads to the development of a new set of hypotheses. If empirical data confirm these hypotheses, then in a school of real fish these patterns may arise as a side-effect of their coordination in the same way as in the model.
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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 5202
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Author Prather, J.F.; Peters, S.; Nowicki, S.; Mooney, R.
Title Precise auditory-vocal mirroring in neurons for learned vocal communication Type Journal Article
Year 2008 Publication Nature Abbreviated Journal Nature
Volume 451 Issue 7176 Pages 305-310
Keywords
Abstract Brain mechanisms for communication must establish a correspondence between sensory and motor codes used to represent

the signal. One idea is that this correspondence is established at the level of single neurons that are active when the

individual performs a particular gesture or observes a similar gesture performed by another individual. Although neurons

that display a precise auditory–vocal correspondence could facilitate vocal communication, they have yet to be identified.

Here we report that a certain class of neurons in the swamp sparrow forebrain displays a precise auditory–vocal

correspondence. We show that these neurons respond in a temporally precise fashion to auditory presentation of certain

note sequences in this songbird’s repertoire and to similar note sequences in other birds’ songs. These neurons display

nearly identical patterns of activity when the bird sings the same sequence, and disrupting auditory feedback does not alter

this singing-related activity, indicating it is motor in nature. Furthermore, these neurons innervate striatal structures

important for song learning, raising the possibility that singing-related activity in these cells is compared to auditory

feedback to guide vocal learning.
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Publisher Nature Publishing Group Place of Publication Editor
Language Summary Language Original Title
Series Editor Series Title Abbreviated Series Title
Series Volume Series Issue Edition
ISSN 0028-0836 ISBN Medium
Area Expedition Conference
Notes 10.1038/nature06492 Approved no
Call Number Equine Behaviour @ team @ Serial 5062
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Author Knubben,; J. M. Knubben; Gygax,; L. Gygax; Auer,; J. Auer; Fürst,; A. Fürst; Stauffacher,; Dr. M. Stauffacher
Title Häufigkeiten von Erkrankungen und Verletzungen in der Schweizer Pferdepopulation Type Journal Article
Year 2008 Publication Schweizer Archiv für Tierheilkunde Abbreviated Journal
Volume 150 Issue 8 Pages 399-408
Keywords
Abstract Bei einer für die Schweiz repräsentativ und zufällig ausgewählten Stichprobe von 2912 Pferden und Ponys wurden mittels Fragebogen Daten zum aktuellen Gesundheitszustand und zum Auftreten von Erkrankungen und Verletzungen während der vergangenen 12 Monate erfasst. 718 Pferde (24.7%) wurden im Erfassungszeitraum wegen 897 gesundheitlichen Problemen einem Tierarzt vorgestellt. Orthopädische und traumatische Fälle machten den grössten Anteil aus (41.5%), gefolgt von Erkrankungen des Gastrointestinal- (27.1%) und des Respirationstrakts (14.0%). Die Hälfte der Lahmheiten entstand als unmittelbare Folge einer Verletzung. Die Verletzungen waren assoziiert mit Weidegang/Auslauf (38.1%), Schläge/Bissen durch Artgenossen (21.6%), Stall (7.8%), Gelände (13.4%), Training (3.5%), Wettkampf (3.5%), Transport (3.0%) oder mit anderen Umständen (9.1%). In 26.5% der Kolikfälle wurde im Monat vor der Erkrankung Futterumstellung vorgenommen. Bei den Atmungserkrankungen wurde in 13.8% die gleiche Krankheit auch bei anderen Pferden im Stall diagnostiziert. Bei 8.1% aller Fälle erfolgte eine Operation, 6.7% waren mit einem mehrtägigem Klinikaufenthalt verbunden. Bei 25.6% aller tiermedizinisch diagnostizierten Fälle wurden ergänzend oder ausschliesslich komplementärmedizinische Therapiemethoden eingesetzt.
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Notes Approved no
Call Number Equine Behaviour @ team @ Serial 5761
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Author Sueur, C.; Petit, O.
Title Organization of Group Members at Departure Is Driven by Social Structure in Macaca Type Journal Article
Year 2008 Publication International Journal of Primatology Abbreviated Journal Int. J. Primatol.
Volume 29 Issue 4 Pages 1085-1098
Keywords dominance – kinship – Macaca tonkeana – M. mulatta – network metrics – order – movement
Abstract Abstract  Researchers have often explained order of progression of group members during joint movement in terms of the influence of ecological pressures but rarely that of social constraints. We studied the order of joining by group members to a movement in semifree-ranging macaques with contrasting social systems: 1 group of Tonkean macaques (Macaca tonkeana) and 1 group of rhesus macaques (M. mulatta). We used network metrics to understand roles and associations among individuals. The way the macaques joined a movement reflected the social differences between the species in terms of dominance and kinship. Old and dominant male rhesus macaques were more often at the front of the movement, contrary to the Tonkean macaques, which exhibited no specific order. Moreover, rhesus macaques preferred to join high-ranking or related individuals, whereas Tonkean macaques based associations during joining mostly on sexual relationships with a subgroup of peripheral males.
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Notes Approved no
Call Number Equine Behaviour @ team @ Serial 5125
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Author Dacke, M.; Srinivasan, M.
Title Evidence for counting in insects Type Journal Article
Year 2008 Publication Animal Cognition Abbreviated Journal Anim. Cogn.
Volume 11 Issue 4 Pages 683-689
Keywords
Abstract Abstract  Here we investigate the counting ability in honeybees by training them to receive a food reward after they have passed a specific number of landmarks. The distance to the food reward is varied frequently and randomly, whilst keeping the number of intervening landmarks constant. Thus, the bees cannot identify the food reward in terms of its distance from the hive. We find that bees can count up to four objects, when they are encountered sequentially during flight. Furthermore, bees trained in this way are able count novel objects, which they have never previously encountered, thus demonstrating that they are capable of object-independent counting. A further experiment reveals that the counting ability that the bees display in our experiments is primarily sequential in nature. It appears that bees can navigate to food sources by maintaining a running count of prominent landmarks that are passed en route, provided this number does not exceed four.
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Notes Approved no
Call Number Equine Behaviour @ team @ Serial 4938
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Author Subiaul, F.; Vonk, J.; Okamoto-Barth, S.; Barth, J.
Title Do chimpanzees learn reputation by observation? Evidence from direct and indirect experience with generous and selfish strangers Type Journal Article
Year 2008 Publication Animal Cognition Abbreviated Journal Anim. Cogn.
Volume 11 Issue 4 Pages 611-623
Keywords
Abstract Abstract  Can chimpanzees learn the reputation of strangers indirectly by observation? Or are such stable behavioral attributions made exclusively by first-person interactions? To address this question, we let seven chimpanzees observe unfamiliar humans either consistently give (generous donor) or refuse to give (selfish donor) food to a familiar human recipient (Experiments 1 and 2) and a conspecific (Experiment 3). While chimpanzees did not initially prefer to beg for food from the generous donor (Experiment 1), after continued opportunities to observe the same behavioral exchanges, four chimpanzees developed a preference for gesturing to the generous donor (Experiment 2), and transferred this preference to novel unfamiliar donor pairs, significantly preferring to beg from the novel generous donors on the first opportunity to do so. In Experiment 3, four chimpanzees observed novel selfish and generous acts directed toward other chimpanzees by human experimenters. During the first half of testing, three chimpanzees exhibited a preference for the novel generous donor on the first trial. These results demonstrate that chimpanzees can infer the reputation of strangers by eavesdropping on third-party interactions.
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Notes Approved no
Call Number Equine Behaviour @ team @ Serial 4837
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Author Prato-Previde, E.; Marshall-Pescini, S.; Valsecchi, P.
Title Is your choice my choice` The owners effect on pet dogs? ( Canis lupus familiaris ) performance in a food choice task Type Journal Article
Year 2008 Publication Animal Cognition Abbreviated Journal Anim. Cogn.
Volume 11 Issue 1 Pages 167-174
Keywords Dog – Dog-owner relationship – Food choice task – Quantity discrimination
Abstract Abstract  This study investigates the influence of owners on their dogs performance in a food choice task using either different or equal quantities of food. Fifty-four pet dogs were tested in three different conditions. In Condition 1 we evaluated their ability to choose between a large and small amount of food (quantity discrimination task). In Condition 2 dogs were again presented with a choice between the large and small food quantity, but only after having witnessed their owner favouring the small quantity. In Condition 3 dogs were given a choice between two equally small quantities of food having witnessed their owner favouring either one or the other. A strong effect of the owner on the dogs`` performance was observed. In Condition 1 dogs as a group chose significantly more often the large food quantity, thus showing their ability to solve the quantity discrimination task. After observing their owner expressing a preference for the small food quantity they chose the large quantity of food significantly less than in the independent choice situation. The tendency to conform to the owner`s choice was higher when the dogs had to choose between equally small quantities of food (Condition 3) rather than between a large and a small one (Condition 2). These results provide evidence that dogs can be influenced by their owners even when their indications are clearly in contrast with direct perceptual information, thus leading dogs to ultimately make counterproductive choices.
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Notes Approved no
Call Number Admin @ knut @ Serial 4216
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Author Ferkin, M.; Combs, A.; delBarco-Trillo, J.; Pierce, A.; Franklin, S.
Title Meadow voles, Microtus pennsylvanicus , have the capacity to recall the “what”, “where”, and “when” of a single past event Type Journal Article
Year 2008 Publication Animal Cognition Abbreviated Journal Anim. Cogn.
Volume 11 Issue 1 Pages 147-159
Keywords Recollection for what, when, and where – Voles – Reproductive state – Postpartum estrus
Abstract Abstract  Some non-human animals may possess the ability to recall the “what”, “where”, and “when” of a single past event. We tested the hypothesis that male meadow voles posses the capacity to recall the “what”, “where”, and “when” of a single past event associated with mate selection in two experiments. Briefly, male voles were allowed to explore an apparatus that contained two chambers. One chamber contained a day-20 pregnant female (24 h prepartum). The other chamber contained a sexually mature female that was neither pregnant nor lactating (REF female). Twenty-four hour after the exposure, the males were placed in the same apparatus, which was empty and clean. At this time, the pregnant female would have entered postpartum estrus (PPE), a period of heightened sexual receptivity. Males initially chose and spent significantly more time investigating the chamber that originally housed the pregnant female (now a PPE female) than the chamber that originally housed the REF female. Male voles also explored an apparatus containing a chamber with a PPE female and one chamber containing a REF female. Twenty-four hour later, males were placed into an empty and clean apparatus. The males did not display an initial choice and they spent similar amounts of time investigating the chamber that originally housed the PPE female (now a lactating female) and the chamber that originally housed the REF female. The results of these and additional experiments suggest that male voles may have the capacity to recall the “what”, “where”, and “when” of a single past event, which may allow males to remember the location of females who would currently be in heightened states of sexual receptivity.
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Notes Approved no
Call Number Admin @ knut @ Serial 4215
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Author Sovrano, V.; Bisazza, A.
Title 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  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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