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Author |
McPhee, M.E.; Segal, A.; Johnston, R.E. |
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Title |
Hamsters Use Predator Odors as Indirect Cues of Predation Risk |
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Journal Article |
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Year |
2010 |
Publication |
Ethology |
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Ethology |
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116 |
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6 |
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517-523 |
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Abstract Golden hamsters (Mesocricetus auratus) use olfactory cues to assess traits of conspecifics such as kinship, individual identity, and reproductive status. The environment, however, is full of a wide variety of other olfactory information such as signals emitted by some of the hamster’s primary predators. Given this, we hypothesized that hamsters use odors from predators as an indirect sign of increased predation risk in the environment. In addition, based on data that show that wild hamsters are diurnal while laboratory hamsters are nocturnal, we hypothesized that if golden hamsters did respond to the predator odors, perceived predator risk might influence daily activity patterns in hamsters. We tested male and female hamsters over 5 d with scent gland secretion from domestic ferrets (Mustela putorius furo) and compared their behavior to that observed when they were exposed to a clean arena. In response to the predator odor, subjects significantly decreased the amount of time active outside of their burrow, returned to their burrow more quickly, and spent less time near the predator odor than the clean control stimulus. These results strongly support our hypothesis that hamsters, like other species of small mammals, avoid predator odors. The results did not, however, support our second hypothesis that exposure to predator odors during the dark phase of the light cycle would elicit a switch to a more diurnal pattern of activity. More work is needed to understand how environmental cues and internal mechanisms interact to shape activity patterns. |
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Blackwell Publishing Ltd |
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1439-0310 |
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Equine Behaviour @ team @ |
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5212 |
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Author |
Haupt, M.; Eccard, J.; Winter, Y. |
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Title |
Does spatial learning ability of common voles (Microtus arvalis) and bank voles (Myodes glareolus) constrain foraging efficiency? |
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Journal Article |
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Year |
2010 |
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Animal Cognition |
Abbreviated Journal |
Anim. Cogn. |
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13 |
Issue |
6 |
Pages |
783-791-791 |
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Biomedical and Life Sciences |
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Place learning abilities represent adaptations that contribute also to foraging efficiency under given spatio-temporal conditions. We investigated if this ability in turn constrains decision making in two sympatric vole species: while the herbivorous common vole (Microtus arvalis) feeds on spatio-temporally predictable food resources (e.g. roots, tubers and shoots of plant tubers), the omnivorous bank vole (Myodes glareolus) additionally subsists on temporally unpredictable food resources (e.g. insects and seeds). Here, we compare the spatial reference memory and working memory of the two species. In an automated operant home cage with eight water places, female voles either had to learn the fixed position of non-depletable places (reference memory task) or learn and avoid previously visited water places depleted in a single visit (win-shift task). In the reference memory task, Microtus females required significantly more choices to find all water places, initially performed slightly worse than Myodes females, and displayed slightly lower asymptotic performance. Both species were highly similar in new learning of the same task. In the more complex win-shift task, asymptotic performance was significantly lower in Microtus (72% correct) than in Myodes (79%). Our results suggest that both vole species resemble each other in their efficiency to exploit habitats with low spatio-temporal complexity but may differ in their efficiency at exploiting habitats with temporally changing spatial food distributions. The results imply that spatial ability adjusted to specific food distributions may impair flexible use of habitats that differ in their food distribution and therefore, decrease a species’ chances of survival in highly dynamic environments. |
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Springer Berlin / Heidelberg |
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1435-9448 |
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Equine Behaviour @ team @ |
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5272 |
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Cartmill, E.; Byrne, R. |
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Title |
Semantics of primate gestures: intentional meanings of orangutan gestures |
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Journal Article |
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Year |
2010 |
Publication |
Animal Cognition |
Abbreviated Journal |
Anim. Cogn. |
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13 |
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6 |
Pages |
793-804-804 |
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Biomedical and Life Sciences |
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Great ape gesture has become a research topic of intense interest, because its intentionality and flexibility suggest strong parallels to human communication. Yet the fundamental question of whether an animal species’ gestures carry specific meanings has hardly been addressed. We set out a systematic approach to studying intentional meaning in the gestural communication of non-humans and apply it to a sample of orangutan gestures. We propose that analysis of meaning should be limited to gestures for which (1) there is strong evidence for intentional production and (2) the recipient’s final reaction matches the presumed goal of the signaller, as determined independently. This produces a set of successful instances of gesture use, which we describe as having goal–outcome matches. In this study, 28 orangutans in three European zoos were observed for 9 months. We distinguished 64 gestures on structural grounds, 40 of which had frequent goal–outcome matches and could therefore be analysed for meaning. These 40 gestures were used predictably to achieve one of 6 social goals: to initiate an affiliative interaction (contact, grooming, or play), request objects, share objects, instigate co-locomotion, cause the partner to move back, or stop an action. Twenty-nine of these gestures were used consistently with a single meaning. We tested our analysis of gesture meaning by examining what gesturers did when the response to their gesture did not match the gesture’s meaning. Subsequent actions of the gesturer were consistent with our assignments of meaning to gestures. We suggest that, despite their contextual flexibility, orangutan gestures are made with the expectation of specific behavioural responses and thus have intentional meanings as well as functional consequences. |
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Springer Berlin / Heidelberg |
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1435-9448 |
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Equine Behaviour @ team @ |
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5273 |
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Truppa, V.; Garofoli, D.; Castorina, G.; Piano Mortari, E.; Natale, F.; Visalberghi, E. |
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Title |
Identity concept learning in matching-to-sample tasks by tufted capuchin monkeys (Cebus apella) |
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Journal Article |
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Year |
2010 |
Publication |
Animal Cognition |
Abbreviated Journal |
Anim. Cogn. |
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Volume |
13 |
Issue |
6 |
Pages |
835-848-848 |
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Biomedical and Life Sciences |
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The abstract concept of equivalence is considered one of the bases of higher-order cognition, and it has been the subject of considerable research in comparative cognition. This study examined the conditions under which tufted capuchin monkeys (Cebus apella) are able to acquire an identity concept. Six capuchin monkeys were trained to solve a visual matching-to-sample (MTS) task on the basis of perceptual identity. The acquisition of the identity rule was inferred from the subject’s ability to solve transfer tests with novel stimuli. We evaluated the ability of the capuchin monkeys to match the shape of novel stimuli after training with both several small stimulus sets (Experiment 1) and a large stimulus set (Experiment 2). Moreover, we examined the ability of capuchins to transfer the concept to novel visual dimensions, such as colour and size and to transfer to novel spatial arrangements of the stimuli (Experiment 2). We demonstrated that the ability of capuchins to match novel stimuli was improved by increasing the number of stimuli used during training (Experiments 1 and 2) and that after a widely applicable identity concept based on the stimulus shape was acquired, the capuchins were able to match stimuli according to an identity rule based on both the colour and size of the stimuli and when the spatial arrangement of the stimuli was varied (Experiment 2). This study is the first to demonstrate that the size of the training set affects the acquisition of an abstract identity concept in an MTS task in non-human primates. |
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Springer Berlin / Heidelberg |
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1435-9448 |
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Equine Behaviour @ team @ |
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5274 |
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Author |
Kitchen, D.; Bergman, T.; Cheney, D.; Nicholson, J.; Seyfarth, R. |
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Title |
Comparing responses of four ungulate species to playbacks of baboon alarm calls |
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Journal Article |
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Year |
2010 |
Publication |
Animal Cognition |
Abbreviated Journal |
Anim. Cogn. |
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Volume |
13 |
Issue |
6 |
Pages |
861-870 |
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Biomedical and Life Sciences |
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A growing body of evidence suggests that a wide range of animals can recognize and respond appropriately to calls produced by other species. Social learning has been implicated as a possible mechanism by which heterospecific call recognition might develop. To examine whether familiarity and/or shared vulnerability with the calling species might influence the ability of sympatric species to distinguish heterospecific alarm calls, we tested whether four ungulate species (impala: Aepyceros melampus; tsessebe: Damaliscus lunatus; zebra: Equus burchelli; wildebeest: Connochaetes taurinus) could distinguish baboon (Papio hamadryas ursinus) alarm calls from other loud baboon calls produced during intra-specific aggressive interactions (‘contest’ calls). Overall, subjects’ responses were stronger following playback of alarm calls than contest calls. Of the species tested, impala showed the strongest responses and the greatest difference in composite response scores, suggesting they were best able to differentiate call types. Compared with the other ungulate species, impala are the most frequent associates of baboons. Moreover, like baboons, they are susceptible to both lion and leopard attacks, whereas leopards rarely take the larger ungulates. Although it seems possible that high rates of association and/or shared vulnerability may influence impala’s greater ability to distinguish among baboon call types, our results point to a stronger influence of familiarity. Ours is the first study to compare such abilities among several community members with variable natural histories, and we discuss future experiments that would more systematically examine development of these skills in young ungulates. |
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Springer Berlin / Heidelberg |
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1435-9448 |
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Equine Behaviour @ team @ |
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5275 |
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Author |
Osthaus, B.; Marlow, D.; Ducat, P. |
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Title |
Minding the gap: spatial perseveration error in dogs |
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Journal Article |
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Year |
2010 |
Publication |
Animal Cognition |
Abbreviated Journal |
Anim. Cogn. |
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Volume |
13 |
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6 |
Pages |
881-885-885 |
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Biomedical and Life Sciences |
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We investigated a combination of perseveration and detour behaviour in 50 domestic dogs (Canis familiaris). They were required to make a detour through a gap at one end of a straight barrier in order to reach a target. After one, two, three or four repeats, the gap was moved to the opposite end of the barrier, and the detour behaviour of the dogs was recorded. Although the dogs could solve simple detour tasks (80% correct in the first trial), they committed a perseveration error of following the previously learned route despite the clearly visible change in the location of the gap. This ‘misbehaviour’ occurred in 29 of 30 dogs after only two learning trials. They never reached a 100% correct performance level again even after four runs through the second gap location. The results suggest that dogs are reluctant to unlearn acquired spatial motor responses and reinforced navigation, which has important implications for experimental design, everyday dog training and our understanding of their mental capacities. |
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Springer Berlin / Heidelberg |
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1435-9448 |
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Equine Behaviour @ team @ |
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5276 |
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Huffman, M.; Spiezio, C.; Sgaravatti, A.; Leca, J.-B. |
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Leaf swallowing behavior in chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes): biased learning and the emergence of group level cultural differences |
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Journal Article |
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2010 |
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Animal Cognition |
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Anim. Cogn. |
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13 |
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6 |
Pages |
871-880-880 |
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Biomedical and Life Sciences |
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Demonstrating the ability to ‘copy’ the behavior of others is an important aspect in determining whether social learning occurs and whether group level differences in a given behavior represent cultural differences or not. Understanding the occurrence of this process in its natural context is essential, but can be a daunting task in the wild. In order to test the social learning hypothesis for the acquisition of leaf swallowing (LS), a self-medicative behavior associated with the expulsion of parasites, we conducted semi-naturalistic experiments on two captive groups of parasite-free, naïve chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes). Individuals in the group were systematically provided appropriate stimuli (rough hispid leaves) identical to those used by chimpanzees in the wild. Individuals initially responded in a variety of ways, ranging from total aversion to normal chewing and swallowing. Over time, however, the two groups adopted different variants for inserting and folding the leaves in the mouth prior to swallowing them (complete and partial LS), following the specific method spontaneously displayed by the first and primary LS models in their respective groups. These variants were similar to LS displayed by chimpanzees in the wild. Using the option-bias method, we found evidence for social learning leading to group-level biased transmission and group-level stabilization of these two variants. This is the first report on two distinct cultural variants innovated in response to the introduction of natural stimuli that emerged and spread spontaneously and concurrently within two adjacent groups of socially housed primates. These observations support the assertion that LS may reflect a generalized propensity for ingesting rough hispid leaves, which can be socially induced and transmitted within a group. Ingesting an adequate number of these leaves induces increased gut motility, which is responsible for the subsequent expulsion of particular parasite species in the wild. Cultural transmission and maintenance of LS within a group and associative learning by the individual of the positive consequences of this otherwise non-nutritive mode of ingestion is proposed to be the pivotal link between this feeding propensity and its maintenance as a self-medicative behavior by great apes in the wild. |
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Springer Berlin / Heidelberg |
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1435-9448 |
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Equine Behaviour @ team @ |
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5277 |
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Author |
Stennett, C.R.; Strauss, R.E. |
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Behavioural lateralization in zebrafish and four related species of minnows (Osteichthyes: Cyprinidae) |
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Journal Article |
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Year |
2010 |
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Animal Behaviour. |
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Anim. Behav. |
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79 |
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6 |
Pages |
1339-1342 |
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binary data; Cyprinidae; Danio rerio; fish; laterality; monocular test; motor bias; score test; zebrafish |
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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. |
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0003-3472 |
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Equine Behaviour @ team @ |
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5358 |
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Hildenbrandt, H.; Carere, C.; Hemelrijk, C.K. |
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Self-organized aerial displays of thousands of starlings: a model |
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Journal Article |
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2010 |
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Behavioral Ecology |
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Behav. Ecol. |
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21 |
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6 |
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1349-1359 |
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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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Equine Behaviour @ team @ |
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5403 |
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Author |
Gruber, T.; Clay, Z.; Zuberbühler, K. |
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A comparison of bonobo and chimpanzee tool use: evidence for a female bias in the Pan lineage |
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Journal Article |
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2010 |
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Animal Behaviour |
Abbreviated Journal |
Anim. Behav. |
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80 |
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6 |
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1023-1033 |
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culture; great ape; neoteny; Pan; primate evolution; sex difference; tool use |
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Chimpanzees, Pan troglodytes, are the most sophisticated tool-users among all nonhuman primates. From an evolutionary perspective, it is therefore puzzling that the tool use behaviour of their closest living primate relative, the bonobo, Pan paniscus, has been described as particularly poor. However, only a small number of bonobo groups have been studied in the wild and only over comparably short periods. Here, we show that captive bonobos and chimpanzees are equally diverse tool-users in most contexts. Our observations illustrate that tool use in bonobos can be highly complex and no different from what has been described for chimpanzees. The only major difference in the chimpanzee and bonobo data was that bonobos of all age–sex classes used tools in a play context, a possible manifestation of their neotenous nature. We also found that female bonobos displayed a larger range of tool use behaviours than males, a pattern previously described for chimpanzees but not for other great apes. Our results are consistent with the hypothesis that the female-biased tool use evolved prior to the split between bonobos and chimpanzees. |
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Equine Behaviour @ team @ |
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5856 |
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