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Author Sárová, R.; Spinka, M.; Panamá, J.L.A.; Simecek, P. url  doi
openurl 
  Title Graded leadership by dominant animals in a herd of female beef cattle on pasture Type Journal Article
  Year 2010 Publication Animal Behaviour. Abbreviated Journal Anim. Behav.  
  Volume 79 Issue 5 Pages (up) 1037-1045  
  Keywords Bos taurus; cattle; dominance; foraging; Gps; group movement; leadership  
  Abstract The role of dominant individuals in leading groups of animals is not yet well understood. We investigated whether dominant beef cows, Bos taurus, have more influence on herd movement on pasture than more subordinate cows. A herd of 15 Gasconne cows was observed for a 3-week period between dawn and dusk. The positions of all adult cows were recorded with GPS collars at 1 min intervals and the behaviour of each cow was recorded in 5 min scans. The dominance hierarchy was recorded by ad libitum sampling. Through cluster analysis of the recorded data, we distinguished three herd behaviour patterns: resting, foraging and travelling. Dominant cows were closer to the front of the herd during both travelling and foraging. During travelling, more dominant cows also had more direct trajectories and were more aligned both with their nearest neighbours and with the whole herd. During foraging, the trajectories of dominant cows were shorter than those of subordinate cows. The results indicate that foraging and short-distance travelling movements by female beef cattle are not led by any particular individual but rather are influenced by a graded type of leadership; that is, the more dominant a cow is, the stronger the influence it may have on the movements of the herd.  
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  Corporate Author Thesis  
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  Language Summary Language Original Title  
  Series Editor Series Title Abbreviated Series Title  
  Series Volume Series Issue Edition  
  ISSN 0003-3472 ISBN Medium  
  Area Expedition Conference  
  Notes Approved no  
  Call Number Equine Behaviour @ team @ Serial 5271  
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Author Shultz, S.; Finlayson, L.V. url  doi
openurl 
  Title Large body and small brain and group sizes are associated with predator preferences for mammalian prey Type Journal Article
  Year 2010 Publication Behavioral Ecology Abbreviated Journal Behav. Ecol.  
  Volume 21 Issue 5 Pages (up) 1073-1079  
  Keywords  
  Abstract Predation is a major force in shaping biological communities, both over ecological and evolutionary timescales. In response to predation pressure, prey have evolved characteristics designed to mitigate predation pressure. We evaluated predator foraging biases in relation to prey characteristics across 16 vertebrate communities. We show that although predator biases vary, some prey traits are consistently associated with predator diet composition. Within their acceptable prey size range, predators show positive bias toward larger bodied prey, small-brained prey (controlling for body size), small group size, and terrestriality. Thus, whether predator foraging decisions are passive or active, predator choice exerts differential pressure on prey species according to prey characteristics. Predator biases also were positively associated with early age at maturity, supporting the role of mortality in driving life-history characteristics. These results support several theoretical models of predation including its role as a selective force driving evolutionary changes in life history, brain size and sociality, optimal diet theory, and antiapostatic predation.  
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  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 10.1093/beheco/arq108 Approved no  
  Call Number Equine Behaviour @ team @ Serial 5262  
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Author Tricomi, E.; Rangel, A.; Camerer, C.F.; O/'Doherty, J.P. url  doi
openurl 
  Title Neural evidence for inequality-averse social preferences Type Journal Article
  Year 2010 Publication Abbreviated Journal Nature  
  Volume 463 Issue 7284 Pages (up) 1089-1091  
  Keywords  
  Abstract A popular hypothesis in the social sciences is that humans have social preferences to reduce inequality in outcome distributions because it has a negative impact on their experienced reward1, 2, 3. Although there is a large body of behavioural and anthropological evidence consistent with the predictions of these theories1, 4, 5, 6, there is no direct neural evidence for the existence of inequality-averse preferences. Such evidence would be especially useful because some behaviours that are consistent with a dislike for unequal outcomes could also be explained by concerns for social image7 or reciprocity8, 9, which do not require a direct aversion towards inequality. Here we use functional MRI to test directly for the existence of inequality-averse social preferences in the human brain. Inequality was created by recruiting pairs of subjects and giving one of them a large monetary endowment. While both subjects evaluated further monetary transfers from the experimenter to themselves and to the other participant, we measured neural responses in the ventral striatum and ventromedial prefrontal cortex, two areas that have been shown to be involved in the valuation of monetary and primary rewards in both social and non-social contexts10, 11, 12, 13, 14. Consistent with inequality-averse models of social preferences, we find that activity in these areas was more responsive to transfers to others than to self in the ‘high-pay’ subject, whereas the activity of the ‘low-pay’ subject showed the opposite pattern. These results provide direct evidence for the validity of this class of models, and also show that the brain’s reward circuitry is sensitive to both advantageous and disadvantageous inequality.  
  Address  
  Corporate Author Thesis  
  Publisher Macmillan Publishers Limited. All rights reserved 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/nature08785 Approved no  
  Call Number Equine Behaviour @ team @ Serial 5119  
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Author Llusia, D.; Márquez, R.; Beltrán, J.F. url  doi
openurl 
  Title Non-Selective and Time-Dependent Behavioural Responses of Common Toads (Bufo bufo) to Predator Acoustic Cues Type Journal Article
  Year 2010 Publication Ethology Abbreviated Journal Ethology  
  Volume 116 Issue 12 Pages (up) 1146-1154  
  Keywords  
  Abstract Abstract Acoustic predator recognition has rarely been studied in anurans, in spite of the fact that hearing is widespread in these animals and that it has been demonstrated to play an important role in both arthropods and other vertebrates. Using field playback experiments, we tested the hypothesis that adult common toads (Bufo bufo) are capable of recognizing natural vocalizations of a common predator, the Eurasian otter (Lutra lutra), and show antipredator responses. We found that toads exposed to both natural (two types of otter sounds) and synthetic stimuli [white noise (WN) and otter sound-based amplitude modulated WN] increased time allocated to locomotion and escape behaviour. These responses were correlated with time elapsed from sunset to the onset of testing and were independent from the type of acoustic signal, toad features and other environmental factors monitored. We conclude that B. bufo has not developed a selective recognition of predator vocalizations, suggesting that low-frequency or seismic sounds associated with predator movements may provide anurans with better cues about an approaching risk. We propose that the time-dependent response to acoustic stimuli of common toads represents a case of threat-sensitivity and demonstrates that it can occur even when the response to the threat is not predator specific.  
  Address  
  Corporate Author Thesis  
  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 5282  
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Author Proops, L.; Walton, M.; McComb, K. url  doi
openurl 
  Title The use of human-given cues by domestic horses, Equus caballus, during an object choice task Type Journal Article
  Year 2010 Publication Animal Behaviour. Abbreviated Journal Anim. Behav.  
  Volume 79 Issue 6 Pages (up) 1205-1209  
  Keywords domestication; Equus caballus; horse; interspecific communication; marker cue; pointing; social cognition  
  Abstract Selection pressures during domestication are thought to lead to an enhanced ability to use human-given cues. Horses fulfil a wide variety of roles for humans and have been domesticated for at least 5000 years but their ability to read human cues has not been widely studied. We tested the ability of 28 horses to attend to human-given cues in an object choice task. We included five different cues: distal sustained pointing, momentary tapping, marker placement, body orientation and gaze (head) alternation. Horses were able to use the pointing and marker placement cues spontaneously but not the tapping, body orientation and gaze alternation cues. The overall pattern of responding suggests that horses may use cues that provide stimulus enhancement at the time of choice and do not have an understanding of the communicative nature of the cues given. As such, their proficiency at this task appears to be inferior to that of domestic dogs, Canis lupus familiaris, but similar to that of domestic goats, Caprus hircus.  
  Address  
  Corporate Author Thesis  
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  Language Summary Language Original Title  
  Series Editor Series Title Abbreviated Series Title  
  Series Volume Series Issue Edition  
  ISSN 0003-3472 ISBN Medium  
  Area Expedition Conference  
  Notes Approved no  
  Call Number Equine Behaviour @ team @ Serial 5083  
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Author Stennett, C.R.; Strauss, R.E. url  doi
openurl 
  Title Behavioural lateralization in zebrafish and four related species of minnows (Osteichthyes: Cyprinidae) Type Journal Article
  Year 2010 Publication Animal Behaviour. Abbreviated Journal Anim. Behav.  
  Volume 79 Issue 6 Pages (up) 1339-1342  
  Keywords binary data; Cyprinidae; Danio rerio; fish; laterality; monocular test; motor bias; score test; zebrafish  
  Abstract Behavioural lateralization has been observed in many species of fishes during stimulus-specific tasks. However, one area that has been overlooked is the study of naïve side bias in motor behaviour of fishes in the absence of direct visual stimulus. To this end, we examined naïve side biases in motor behaviour in five species of minnows (Osteichthyes: Cyprinidae). Fifteen individuals of each species were subjected to a T-shaped test arena, with 40 randomized replicates per individual. We took advantage of rheotaxis by running a slow current of water through each arm of the test apparatus. Of the 75 individuals tested, 55 showed a rightward turning preference. The overall right-biased behaviour observed in these fishes in the absence of systematic stimulus strongly suggests that a stimulus-free control condition be included in the experimental design whenever plausible for studies of laterality in fishes and presumably in other organisms.  
  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 0003-3472 ISBN Medium  
  Area Expedition Conference  
  Notes Approved no  
  Call Number Equine Behaviour @ team @ Serial 5358  
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Author Hildenbrandt, H.; Carere, C.; Hemelrijk, C.K. url  doi
openurl 
  Title Self-organized aerial displays of thousands of starlings: a model Type Journal Article
  Year 2010 Publication Behavioral Ecology Abbreviated Journal Behav. Ecol.  
  Volume 21 Issue 6 Pages (up) 1349-1359  
  Keywords  
  Abstract Through combining theoretical models and empirical data, complexity science has increased our understanding of social behavior of animals, in particular of social insects, primates, and fish. What are missing are studies of collective behavior of huge swarms of birds. Recently detailed empirical data have been collected of the swarming maneuvers of large flocks of thousands of starlings (Sturnus vulgaris) at their communal sleeping site (roost). Their flocking maneuvers are of dazzling complexity in their changes in density and flock shape, but the processes underlying them are still a mystery. Recent models show that flocking may arise by self-organization from rules of co-ordination with nearby neighbors, but patterns in these models come nowhere near the complexity of those of the real starlings. The question of this paper, therefore, is whether such complex patterns can emerge by self-organization. In our computer model, called StarDisplay, we combine the usual rules of co-ordination based on separation, attraction, and alignment with specifics of starling behavior: 1) simplified aerodynamics of flight, especially rolling during turning, 2) movement above a “roosting area” (sleeping site), and 3) the low fixed number of interaction neighbors (i.e., the topological range). Our model generates patterns that resemble remarkably not only qualitative but also quantitative empirical data collected in Rome through video recordings and position measurements by stereo photography. Our results provide new insights into the mechanisms underlying complex flocking maneuvers of starlings and other birds.  
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  Corporate Author Thesis  
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  Language Summary Language Original Title  
  Series Editor Series Title Abbreviated Series Title  
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  Notes Approved no  
  Call Number Equine Behaviour @ team @ Serial 5403  
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Author Massen, J.; Sterck, E.; de Vos, H. url  openurl
  Title Close social associations in animals and humans: functions and mechanisms of friendship Type
  Year 2010 Publication Behaviour Abbreviated Journal  
  Volume 147 Issue 11 Pages (up) 1379  
  Keywords Both humans and group-living animals associate and behave affiliatively more with some individuals than others. Human friendship has long been acknowledged, and recently scientists studying animal behaviour have started using the term friendship for close social associates in animals. Yet, while biologists describe friends as social tools to enhance fitness, social scientists describe human friendship as unconditional. We investigate whether these different descriptions reflect true differences in human friendship and animal close social associations or are a by-product of different research approaches: namely social scientists focussing on proximate and biologists on ultimate explanations. We first stress the importance of similar measures to determine close social associations, thereafter examine their ultimate benefits and proximate motivations, and discuss the latest findings on the central-neural regulation of social bonds. We conclude that both human friendship and animal close social associations are ultimately beneficial. On the proximate level, motivations for friendship in humans and for close social associations in animals are not necessarily based on benefits and are often unconditional. Moreover, humans share with many animals a similar physiological basis of sociality. Therefore, biologists and social scientist describe the same phenomenon, and the use of the term friendship for animals seems justified.  
  Abstract Both humans and group-living animals associate and behave affiliatively more with some individuals than others. Human friendship has long been acknowledged, and recently scientists studying animal behaviour have started using the term friendship for close social associates in animals. Yet, while biologists describe friends as social tools to enhance fitness, social scientists describe human friendship as unconditional. We investigate whether these different descriptions reflect true differences in human friendship and animal close social associations or are a by-product of different research approaches: namely social scientists focussing on proximate and biologists on ultimate explanations. We first stress the importance of similar measures to determine close social associations, thereafter examine their ultimate benefits and proximate motivations, and discuss the latest findings on the central-neural regulation of social bonds. We conclude that both human friendship and animal close social associations are ultimately beneficial. On the proximate level, motivations for friendship in humans and for close social associations in animals are not necessarily based on benefits and are often unconditional. Moreover, humans share with many animals a similar physiological basis of sociality. Therefore, biologists and social scientist describe the same phenomenon, and the use of the term friendship for animals seems justified.  
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  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 5813  
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Author Horváth, G.; Blahó, M.; Kriska, G.; Hegedüs, R.; Gerics, B.; Farkas, R.; Åkesson, S. url  doi
openurl 
  Title An unexpected advantage of whiteness in horses: the most horsefly-proof horse has a depolarizing white coat Type Journal Article
  Year 2010 Publication Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences Abbreviated Journal  
  Volume 277 Issue 1688 Pages (up) 1643-1650  
  Keywords  
  Abstract White horses frequently suffer from malign skin cancer and visual deficiencies owing to their high sensitivity to the ultraviolet solar radiation. Furthermore, in the wild, white horses suffer a larger predation risk than dark individuals because they can more easily be detected. In spite of their greater vulnerability, white horses have been highly appreciated for centuries owing to their natural rarity. Here, we show that blood-sucking tabanid flies, known to transmit disease agents to mammals, are less attracted to white than dark horses. We also demonstrate that tabanids use reflected polarized light from the coat as a signal to find a host. The attraction of tabanids to mainly black and brown fur coats is explained by positive polarotaxis. As the host's colour determines its attractiveness to tabanids, this parameter has a strong influence on the parasite load of the host. Although we have studied only the tabanid–horse interaction, our results can probably be extrapolated to other host animals of polarotactic tabanids, as the reflection–polarization characteristics of the host's body surface are physically the same, and thus not species-dependent.  
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  Series Editor Series Title Abbreviated Series Title  
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  Area Expedition Conference  
  Notes Approved no  
  Call Number Equine Behaviour @ team @ Serial 5702  
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Author Schülke, O.; Bhagavatula, J.; Vigilant, L.; Ostner, J. url  doi
openurl 
  Title Social Bonds Enhance Reproductive Success in Male Macaques Type Journal Article
  Year 2010 Publication Current Biology Abbreviated Journal Curr. Biol.  
  Volume 20 Issue 24 Pages (up) 2207-2210  
  Keywords  
  Abstract Summary For animals living in mixed-sex social groups, females who form strong social bonds with other females live longer and have higher offspring survival [1–3]. These bonds are highly nepotistic, but sometimes strong bonds may also occur between unrelated females if kin are rare [2, 3] and even among postdispersal unrelated females in chimpanzees and horses [4, 5]. Because of fundamental differences between the resources that limit reproductive success in females (food and safety) and males (fertilizations), it has been predicted that bonding among males should be rare and found only for kin and among philopatric males [6] like chimpanzees [7–9]. We studied social bonds among dispersing male Assamese macaques (Macaca assamensis) to see whether males in multimale groups form differentiated social bonds and whether and how males derive fitness benefits from close bonds. We found that strong bonds were linked to coalition formation, which in turn predicted future social dominance, which influenced paternity success. The strength of males' social bonds was directly linked to the number of offspring they sired. Our results show that differentiated social relationships exert an important influence on the breeding success of both sexes that transcends contrasts in relatedness.  
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  Series Editor Series Title Abbreviated Series Title  
  Series Volume Series Issue Edition  
  ISSN 0960-9822 ISBN Medium  
  Area Expedition Conference  
  Notes Approved no  
  Call Number Equine Behaviour @ team @ Serial 5811  
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