| Records |
| Author |
Mesterton-Gibbons, M.; Gavrilets, S.; Gravner, J.; Akçay, E. |
Title  |
Models of coalition or alliance formation |
Type |
Journal Article |
| Year |
2011 |
Publication |
Journal of Theoretical Biology |
Abbreviated Journal |
J. Theor. Biol. |
| Volume |
274 |
Issue |
1 |
Pages |
187-204 |
| Keywords |
Game theory; Cooperation |
| Abstract |
More than half a century has now elapsed since coalition or alliance formation theory (CAFT) was first developed. During that time, researchers have amassed a vast amount of detailed and high-quality data on coalitions or alliances among primates and other animals. But models have not kept pace, and more relevant theory is needed. In particular, even though CAFT is primarily an exercise in polyadic game theory, game theorists have devoted relatively little attention to questions that motivate field research, and much remains largely unexplored. The state of the art is both a challenge and an opportunity. In this review we describe a variety of game-theoretic and related modelling approaches that have much untapped potential to address the questions that field biologists ask. |
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0022-5193 |
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Equine Behaviour @ team @ |
Serial |
5322 |
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Sheriff, M.J.; Dantzer, B.; Delehanty, B.; Palme, R.; Boonstra, R. |
| Title |
Measuring stress in wildlife: techniques for quantifying glucocorticoids |
Type |
Journal Article |
| Year |
2011 |
Publication |
Oecologia |
Abbreviated Journal |
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| Volume |
166 |
Issue |
4 |
Pages |
869-887 |
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| Abstract |
Stress responses play a key role in allowing animals to cope with change and challenge in the face of both environmental certainty and uncertainty. Measurement of glucocorticoid levels, key elements in the neuroendocrine stress axis, can give insight into an animal’s well-being and can aid understanding ecological and evolutionary processes as well as conservation and management issues. We give an overview of the four main biological samples that have been utilized [blood, saliva, excreta (feces and urine), and integumentary structures (hair and feathers)], their advantages and disadvantages for use with wildlife, and some of the background and pitfalls that users must consider in interpreting their results. The matrix of choice will depend on the nature of the study and of the species, on whether one is examining the impact of acute versus chronic stressors, and on the degree of invasiveness that is possible or desirable. In some cases, more than one matrix can be measured to achieve the same ends. All require a significant degree of expertise, sometimes in obtaining the sample and always in extracting and analyzing the glucocorticoid or its metabolites. Glucocorticoid measurement is proving to be a powerful integrator of environmental stressors and of an animal’s condition. |
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1432-1939 |
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Equine Behaviour @ team @ Sheriff2011 |
Serial |
6150 |
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Baragli, P.; Paoletti, E.; Vitale, V.; Sighieri, C. |
| Title |
Looking in the correct location for a hidden object: brief note about the memory of donkeys (Equus asinus) |
Type |
Journal Article |
| Year |
2011 |
Publication |
Ethology Ecology & Evolution |
Abbreviated Journal |
Ethology Ecology & Evolution |
| Volume |
23 |
Issue |
2 |
Pages |
187-192 |
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| Abstract |
In recent years, considerable literature has been published on cognition in horses; however, much less is known about the cognitive abilities of domestic donkey (Equus asinus). This study aimed to expand our knowledge of donkey cognition by assessing their short-term memory capacity. We employed a detour problem combined with the classic delayed-response task, which has been extensively used to compare working memory duration in a variety of different species. A two-point choice apparatus was used to investigate location recall and search behaviour for a food target, after a short delay following its disappearance. Four donkeys completed the task with a 10 sec delay, while four others were tested with a 30 sec delay. Overall, each group performed above chance level on the test, showing that subjects had successfully encoded, maintained, and retrieved the existence and location of the target despite the loss of visual contact. |
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Taylor & Francis |
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0394-9370 |
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doi: 10.1080/03949370.2011.554885 |
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Equine Behaviour @ team @ |
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6177 |
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Gesquiere, L.R.; Learn, N.H.; Simao, M.C.M.; Onyango, P.O.; Alberts, S.C.; Altmann, J. |
| Title |
Life at the Top: Rank and Stress in Wild Male Baboons |
Type |
Journal Article |
| Year |
2011 |
Publication |
Science |
Abbreviated Journal |
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| Volume |
333 |
Issue |
6040 |
Pages |
357-360 |
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| Abstract |
In social hierarchies, dominant individuals experience reproductive and health benefits, but the costs of social dominance remain a topic of debate. Prevailing hypotheses predict that higher-ranking males experience higher testosterone and glucocorticoid (stress hormone) levels than lower-ranking males when hierarchies are unstable but not otherwise. In this long-term study of rank-related stress in a natural population of savannah baboons (Papio cynocephalus), high-ranking males had higher testosterone and lower glucocorticoid levels than other males, regardless of hierarchy stability. The singular exception was for the highest-ranking (alpha) males, who exhibited both high testosterone and high glucocorticoid levels. In particular, alpha males exhibited much higher stress hormone levels than second-ranking (beta) males, suggesting that being at the very top may be more costly than previously thought. |
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10.1126/science.1207120 |
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Equine Behaviour @ team @ |
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5655 |
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Clayton, H.M.; Larson, B.; Kaiser, L.A.J.; Lavagnino, M. |
| Title |
Length and elasticity of side reins affect rein tension at trot |
Type |
Journal Article |
| Year |
2011 |
Publication |
The Veterinary Journal |
Abbreviated Journal |
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| Volume |
188 |
Issue |
3 |
Pages |
291-294 |
| Keywords |
Horse; Equitation; Training; Rein aids |
| Abstract |
This study investigated the horse’s contribution to tension in the reins. The experimental hypotheses were that tension in side reins (1) increases biphasically in each trot stride, (2) changes inversely with rein length, and (3) changes with elasticity of the reins. Eight riding horses trotted in hand at consistent speed in a straight line wearing a bit and bridle and three types of side reins (inelastic, stiff elastic, compliant elastic) were evaluated in random order at long, neutral, and short lengths. Strain gauge transducers (240 Hz) measured minimal, maximal and mean rein tension, rate of loading and impulse. The effects of rein type and length were evaluated using ANOVA with Bonferroni post hoc tests. Rein tension oscillated in a regular pattern with a peak during each diagonal stance phase. Within each rein type, minimal, maximal and mean tensions were higher with shorter reins. At neutral or short lengths, minimal tension increased and maximal tension decreased with elasticity of the reins. Short, inelastic reins had the highest maximal tension and rate of loading. Since the tension variables respond differently to rein elasticity at different lengths, it is recommended that a set of variables representing different aspects of rein tension should be reported. |
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1090-0233 |
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Equine Behaviour @ team @ |
Serial |
6124 |
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McComb, K.; Shannon, G.; Durant, S.M.; Sayialel, K.; Slotow, R.; Poole, J.; Moss, C. |
| Title |
Leadership in elephants: the adaptive value of age |
Type |
Journal Article |
| Year |
2011 |
Publication |
Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences |
Abbreviated Journal |
Proc. R. Soc. Lond. B. |
| Volume |
278 |
Issue |
1722 |
Pages |
3270-3276 |
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The value of age is well recognized in human societies, where older individuals often emerge as leaders in tasks requiring specialized knowledge, but what part do such individuals play in other social species? Despite growing interest in how effective leadership might be achieved in animal social systems, the specific role that older leaders may play in decision-making has rarely been experimentally investigated. Here, we use a novel playback paradigm to demonstrate that in African elephants (Loxodonta africana), age affects the ability of matriarchs to make ecologically relevant decisions in a domain critical to survival—the assessment of predatory threat. While groups consistently adjust their defensive behaviour to the greater threat of three roaring lions versus one, families with younger matriarchs typically under-react to roars from male lions despite the severe danger they represent. Sensitivity to this key threat increases with matriarch age and is greatest for the oldest matriarchs, who are likely to have accumulated the most experience. Our study provides the first empirical evidence that individuals within a social group may derive significant benefits from the influence of an older leader because of their enhanced ability to make crucial decisions about predatory threat, generating important insights into selection for longevity in cognitively advanced social mammals. |
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Equine Behaviour @ team @ |
Serial |
5652 |
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| Author |
Krueger, K; Farmer, K. |
| Title |
Laterality in the Horse [Lateralität beim Pferd ] |
Type |
Journal Article |
| Year |
2011 |
Publication |
mensch & pferd international |
Abbreviated Journal |
mup |
| Volume |
4 |
Issue |
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Pages |
160-167 |
| Keywords |
Laterality, horse, information processing, training, welfare, human-animal interaction |
| Abstract |
Horses are one-sided, not only on a motor level, but they also prefer to use one eye, ear or nostril over the other under particular circumstances. Horses usually prefer using the left eye to observe novel objects and humans. This preference is more marked in emotional situations and when confronted with unknown persons. Thus the horse’s visual laterality provides a good option for assessing its mental state during training or in human-horse interactions. A strong preference for the left eye may signal that a horse cannot deal with certain training situations or is emotionally affected by a particular person.
Pferde benutzen für die Begutachtung von Objekten und Menschen bevorzugt eine bestimmte Nüster, ein Ohr oder ein Auge. So betrachten die meisten Pferde Objekte und Menschen mit dem linken Auge. Die Lateralitätsforschung erklärt diese sensorische Lateralität mit der Verarbeitung von Informationen unterschiedlicher Qualität in verschiedenen Gehirnhälften und zeigt auf, dass positive und negative emotionale Informationen sowie soziale Sachverhalte mit dem linken Auge aufgenommen und vorwiegend an die rechte Gehirnhälfte weitergegeben werden. In diesem Zusammenhang ermöglicht die visuelle Lateralität, den Gemütszustand des Pferdes im Training und im therapeutischen Fördereinsatz zu erkennen und zu berücksichtigen. |
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Equine Behaviour @ team @ |
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5444 |
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| Author |
Morand-Ferron, J.; Quinn, J.L. |
| Title |
Larger groups of passerines are more efficient problem solvers in the wild |
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Journal Article |
| Year |
2011 |
Publication |
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America |
Abbreviated Journal |
Proc Natl Acad Sci USA |
| Volume |
108 |
Issue |
38 |
Pages |
15898-15903 |
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| Abstract |
Group living commonly helps organisms face challenging environmental conditions. Although a known phenomenon in humans, recent findings suggest that a benefit of group living in animals generally might be increased innovative problem-solving efficiency. This benefit has never been demonstrated in a natural context, however, and the mechanisms underlying improved efficiency are largely unknown. We examined the problem-solving performance of great and blue tits at automated devices and found that efficiency increased with flock size. This relationship held when restricting the analysis to naive individuals, demonstrating that larger groups increased innovation efficiency. In addition to this effect of naive flock size, the presence of at least one experienced bird increased the frequency of solving, and larger flocks were more likely to contain experienced birds. These findings provide empirical evidence for the “pool of competence” hypothesis in nonhuman animals. The probability of success also differed consistently between individuals, a necessary condition for the pool of competence hypothesis. Solvers had a higher probability of success when foraging with a larger number of companions and when using devices located near rather than further from protective tree cover, suggesting a role for reduced predation risk on problem-solving efficiency. In contrast to traditional group living theory, individuals joining larger flocks benefited from a higher seed intake, suggesting that group living facilitated exploitation of a novel food source through improved problem-solving efficiency. Together our results suggest that both ecological and social factors, through reduced predation risk and increased pool of competence, mediate innovation in natural populations. |
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Equine Behaviour @ team @ |
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6539 |
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| Author |
Bugnyar, T. |
| Title |
Knower–guesser differentiation in ravens: others' viewpoints matter |
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Journal Article |
| Year |
2011 |
Publication |
Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences |
Abbreviated Journal |
Proc. Roy. Soc. Lond. B Biol. Sci. |
| Volume |
278 |
Issue |
1705 |
Pages |
634-640 |
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Differentiating between individuals with different knowledge states is an important step in child development and has been considered as a hallmark in human evolution. Recently, primates and corvids have been reported to pass knower–guesser tasks, raising the possibility of mental attribution skills in non-human animals. Yet, it has been difficult to distinguish ‘mind-reading’ from behaviour-reading alternatives, specifically the use of behavioural cues and/or the application of associatively learned rules. Here, I show that ravens (Corvus corax) observing an experimenter hiding food are capable of predicting the behaviour of bystanders that had been visible at both, none or just one of two caching events. Manipulating the competitors' visual field independently of the view of the test-subject resulted in an instant drop in performance, whereas controls for behavioural cues had no such effect. These findings indicate that ravens not only remember whom they have seen at caching but also take into account that the other's view was blocked. Notably, it does not suffice for the birds to associate specific competitors with specific caches. These results support the idea that certain socio-ecological conditions may select for similar cognitive abilities in distantly related species and that some birds have evolved analogous precursors to a human theory-of-mind. |
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raven; Corvus corax; knowledge attribution; perspective; competitive food retrieval; caching |
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Equine Behaviour @ team @ |
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5287 |
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Mazurek, M.; McGee, M.; Minchin, W.; Crowe, M.A.; Earley, B. |
| Title |
Is the avoidance distance test for the assessment of animals' responsiveness to humans influenced by either the dominant or flightiest animal in the group? |
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Journal Article |
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2011 |
Publication |
Applied Animal Behaviour Science |
Abbreviated Journal |
Appl. Anim. Behav. Sci. |
| Volume |
132 |
Issue |
3-4 |
Pages |
107-113 |
| Keywords |
Cattle; Avoidance distance; Human-animal relationship (HAR); Dominance |
| Abstract |
A previously described (Windschnurer et al., 2009) avoidance distance test was used to assess animals’ fear of humans in order to quantify the human–animal relationship (HAR). This study investigated the influence of the dominant and flightiest animals within a group on the responsiveness of animals during the avoidance distance test. Eighty-eight pregnant heifers comprised of four different genotypes were used (22 animals per genotype): Limousin × Holstein-Friesian, Limousin × Simmental, Charolais × Limousin, and Charolais × Simmental. Sixty of the 88 heifers were group housed (n = 5) into 12 pens with 3 pens per breed, while 28 heifers were singly housed (seven heifers per breed). A reactivity test was performed on days 10, 18, 25 and 30 post-housing on the singly housed heifers, and then on the group housed heifers, on the same days, to calculate a reactivity score. On days 33 and 37 flight and dominance tests, respectively, were performed to identify the flightiest and the dominant animal within each group. On day 41, an avoidance test, measuring both the avoidance distance towards a familiar and an unfamiliar human, was performed on all heifers. No difference (P > 0.05) in reactivity scores was found between the genotypes, between pens for the group housed heifers or between singly housed and group housed heifers (P = 0.28). The avoidance distance (AD) of singly (S) housed heifers towards a familiar (F) (ADSF) human was shorter (P < 0.001) than the avoidance distance of group (G) housed heifers towards an unfamiliar human (ADSU). The ADSF and ADGF were correlated with the ADSU and ADGU (R = 0.87 for singly housed heifers; R = 0.61 for group housed heifers, P < 0.001). For the singly housed heifers, no correlation was observed between reactivity score and ADSF (R = 0.36, P = 0.18), whereas the reactivity score and ADSU were correlated (R = 0.68, P = 0.004). For the group housed heifers no significant correlation was detected between the reactivity score and ADGF (R = 0.18, P = 0.22) or ADGU (R = −0.11, P = 0.39). No influence of the most dominant animal and the flightiest animals was found on the behaviour of the group in term of avoidance distance and reactivity (P > 0.05). It is concluded that the assessment of the fear of the animals towards humans using the avoidance test at the feed bunk may be useful for singly and group housed heifers and that the leaders of a group such as the flightiest animal or the dominant animal did not influence the avoidance distance test. |
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0168-1591 |
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Equine Behaviour @ team @ |
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5376 |
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