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Rutberg, A. T. (1987). Horse Fly Harassment and the Social Behavior of Feral Ponies. Ethology, 75(2), 145–154.
Abstract: Abstract Horse flies (Tabanidae) on and around feral ponies in harem groups were counted at Assateague Island National Seashore, Maryland, U.S.A., between June and August 1985. Harem stallions attracted the most flies; adult mares showed intermediate fly numbers, while few flies landed on foals under any circumstances. The use of thermal and chemical cues by flies selecting a host may have helped create this disparity. When flies were abundant, ponies reduced spacing within the group. Ponies in larger groups suffered from fewer flies than ponies in smaller groups. There was, however, no evidence that ponies merged into larger groups in response to fly harassment, suggesting that biting flies play little role in structuring pony social organization.
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Meriggi, A., Dagradi, V., Dondina, O., Perversi, M., Milanesi, P., Lombardini, M., et al. (2014). Short-term responses of wolf feeding habits to changes of wild and domestic ungulate abundance in Northern Italy. Ethology Ecology & Evolution, 27(4), 389–411.
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Hampton, R. R. (2001). Animal Minds: Beyond Cognition to Consciousness. Ethology, 107, 1055–1056.
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Rendall, D. (1999). Review of Machiavellian Intelligence II: Extensions and Evaluations. Ethology, 105(2), 178–182.
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Ceacero, F., Landete-Castillejos, T., Garcia, A. J., Estevez, J. A., & Gallego, L. (2007). Kinship Discrimination and Effects on Social Rank and Aggressiveness Levels in Iberian Red Deer Hinds. Ethology, 113(12), 1133–1140.
Abstract: Abstract Kin recognition is a widespread phenomenon that allows individuals to benefit by enhancing their inclusive fitness, and one of its most common forms is reducing aggressiveness towards relatives. We carried out an experiment with Iberian red deer hinds (Cervus elaphus hispanicus) in order to examine kin biases in dominance behaviour and its consequences on social rank. Three enclosed groups (n = 36, 23 and 21, respectively) were monitored during two lactation seasons and social rank hierarchies were assessed by analysing aggressive interactions matrices with Matman 1.1 software. Aggressive interactions between related hinds was significantly smaller than expected (chi2 = 5.02, df = 1, p = 0.025), not only between mother and daughter but also in second and third kinship degrees. Although rates of aggressiveness were similar to data published relating free-ranging C. e. scoticus, aggressive interactions with relatives were significantly smaller (chi2 = 39.0, df = 1, p < 0.001). This reduction of aggressiveness between related hinds was not the result of these hinds having a lower social rank: social rank was only related to age and weight, but not to kinship degree, calf sex or calving date. The decrease of aggressiveness towards first-, second- and third-degree relatives shows a complex kin recognition system in deer. Possible nepotistic roles in lactation include preventing milk thefts by non-kin and disturbing feeding of unrelated hinds.
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Pannozzo, P. L., Phillips, K. A., Haas, M. E., & Mintz, E. M. (2007). Social Monitoring Reflects Dominance Relationships in a Small Captive Group of Brown Capuchin Monkeys (Cebus apella). Ethology, 113(9), 881–888.
Abstract: Abstract In several studies of social monitoring in primates, subordinate animals directed more visual attention toward dominant animals than vice versa. This behavior is thought to enable subordinate animals to avoid conflict. We sought to clarify whether visual attention behavior functions in this manner in a small captive group of brown capuchin monkeys, Cebus apella. We tested the hypothesis that social monitoring is related to dominance status. Dominance status was determined based on the directionality of aggressive behavior, and visual attention was quantified by using focal animal sampling. Subordinate animals directed significantly more visual attention toward others than dominant animals. Subordinate animals also looked more frequently at the animals that attacked them and others the most. The results indicate that social monitoring behavior in this captive group was driven by conflict-avoidance.
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Huang, S. - P., Yang, S. - Y., & Hsu, Y. (2011). Persistence of Winner and Loser Effects Depends on the Behaviour Measured. Ethology, 117(2), 171–180.
Abstract: Abstract Recent contest experience can influence an individual’s behaviour in subsequent contests. When the probability of winning a subsequent contest is used to quantify experience effects, a loser effect usually lasts longer than a winner effect. This conclusion, however, may be caused by this probability understating the persistence of the influence of a winning experience on contest decisions. Using Kryptolebias marmoratus, a mangrove killifish, as the study organism, we investigated whether different conclusions about the relative persistence of winning and losing experiences would be reached when different aspects of contest behaviour (probability of initiating attacks, probability of winning non-escalated and escalated contests, escalation rate and contest duration) were measured. The results indicated that the apparent persistence of the effect of winning or losing experiences varied with the behaviour studied. When the likelihood to initiate attacks was used, no winner effect was detected while the loser effect lasted for <1 d. When escalation rate was used, the winner effect lasted for 2–4 d, while the loser effect lasted for 1–2 d. When the probability of winning non-escalated contests was used, the winner effect was detectable for <1 d, while the loser effect lasted for 2–4 d. And, when contest duration was used, the winner effect was detectable for 2–4 d, but no loser effect was detectable. These results show that (1) the probability of winning a subsequent contest understated the persistence of the influence of a winning experience on the fish’s contest decisions, (2) the measures most effective at detecting winner effects are different from those most effective at detecting loser effects and (3) in K. marmoratus, both effects can be detected 2 d after the completion of experience training but both dissipate in 4 d.
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Martín, J., López, P., Bonati, B., & Csermely, D. (2010). Lateralization When Monitoring Predators in the Wild: A Left Eye Control in the Common Wall Lizard (Podarcis muralis). Ethology, , no-no.
Abstract: Abstract Lateralization is the function specialization between left and right brain hemispheres. It is now ascertained in ectotherms too, where bias in eye use for different tasks, i.e., visual lateralization, is widespread. The lateral eye position on the head of ectotherm animals, in fact, allows them to observe left/right stimuli independently and allows lateralized individuals to carry out left and right perceived tasks at the same time. A recent study conducted on common wall lizards, Podarcis muralis, showed that lizards predominantly monitor a predator with the left eye while escaping. However, this work was conducted in a controlled laboratory setting owing to the difficulty of carrying out lateralization experiments under natural conditions. Nevertheless, field studies could provide important information to support what was previously found in the laboratory and demonstrate that these traits occur in nature. In this study, we conducted a field study on the antipredatory behavior of P. muralis lizards. We simulated predatory attacks on lizards in their natural environment. We found no lateralization in the measure of eye used by the lizard to monitor the predator before escaping from it, but the eye used was probably determined by the relative position of the lizard and the predator just before the attack. This first eye used did not affect escape decisions; lizards chose to escape toward the nearest refuge irrespective of whether it was located to the lizard’s left or right side. However, once they had escaped to a refuge, lizards had a left eye–mediated bias to monitor the predator when first emerging from the refuge, and this bias was likely independent of other environmental variables. Hence, these field findings support a left eye–mediated observation of the predator in P. muralis lizards, which confirms previous findings in this and other species.
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Bamford, A. J., Monadjem, A., & Hardy, I. C. W. (2010). Associations of Avian Facial Flushing and Skin Colouration with Agonistic Interaction Outcomes. Ethology, , no-no.
Abstract: Abstract Facial flushing, a colour change caused by variation of blood flow through highly vascularized skin, has been observed in taxonomically diverse bird species but the function of the behaviour has not been assessed. Lappet-faced vultures, Aegypius tracheliotos, have unfeathered heads that can rapidly flush from pink to dark red, and this has been hypothesized to indicate contest ability in vulture gatherings. We show that adults with flushed heads won most interactions against those with pale heads. A previously unnoticed colour variation of the throat, visible only when the head is flushed, was also related to the outcome of interactions: blue-throated adults participated in, and won, more interactions than red-throated adults. We suggest that the non-fixed groups of which lappet-faced vulture populations consist promote the evolution of signals of dominance that can be adjusted extremely rapidly.
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Llusia, D., Márquez, R., & Beltrán, J. F. (2010). Non-Selective and Time-Dependent Behavioural Responses of Common Toads (Bufo bufo) to Predator Acoustic Cues. Ethology, 116(12), 1146–1154.
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.
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