Abstract: Dustbathing is known to be motivated by complex interactions between internal factors which build up over time and external factors, such as the sight of a dusty substrate. In this study, the effects of other external factors were investigated. Environmental temperature was shown to be important; frequencies of dustbathing were greater when hens were held at 22 than at 10[degree sign]C (P<0.01). In a second experiment, a radiant heat source or a radiant heat+light source, balanced to give the same radiant heat, resulted in more dustbathing behaviour during a 1-h stimulus period than during the same period with no stimulus (P<0.05). Components of dustbathing were increased more by the heat+light stimulus than by the heat stimulus alone (P<0.03). In a third experiment, the amount of dustbathing performed by individual hens in cages with dustbaths was increased by the presence of a group of hens dustbathing in an adjoining pen with a dustbath compared with the amount occurring when the hens were absent from the pen.

Abstract: Social learning is taxonomically widespread and can provide distinct behavioural advantages, such as in finding food or avoiding predators more efficiently. Although extensively studied in bony fishes, no such empirical evidence exists for cartilaginous fishes. Our aim in this study was to experimentally investigate the social learning capabilities of juvenile lemon sharks, Negaprion brevirostris. We designed a novel food task, where sharks were required to enter a start zone and subsequently make physical contact with a target in order to receive a food reward. Naive sharks were then able to interact with and observe (a) pre-trained sharks, that is, ‘demonstrators’, or (b) sharks with no previous experience, that is, ‘sham demonstrators’. On completion, observer sharks were then isolated and tested individually in a similar task. During the exposure phase observers paired with ‘demonstrator’ sharks performed a greater number of task-related behaviours and made significantly more transitions from the start zone to the target, than observers paired with ‘sham demonstrators’. When tested in isolation, observers previously paired with ‘demonstrator’ sharks completed a greater number of trials and made contact with the target significantly more often than observers previously paired with ‘sham demonstrators’. Such experience also tended to result in faster overall task performance. These results indicate that juvenile lemon sharks, like numerous other animals, are capable of using socially derived information to learn about novel features in their environment. The results likely have important implications for behavioural processes, ecotourism and fisheries.

Abstract: We studied experimentally whether horse dams influenced foals' relationships with humans. We investigated the influence of the establishment of positive human-mare relationships on foals' behaviour toward humans. Forty-one foals and their dams were involved in this experiment. Half of the mares were softly brushed and fed by hand during a short period (total of 1.25 h) during the first 5 days of their foals' lives (experimental group, n = 21). The other mares were not handled experimentally and their foals received no contact with the experimenter (control group, n = 20). The reactions of both experimental and control foals were recorded under various conditions, first, for 5 min in the presence of a motionless experimenter, when foals were 15 and 30-35 days old, then in an approach test when they were 15 days old and in a saddle-pad tolerance test when they were 30-35 days old. Finally, approach-stroking tests were performed successively by the familiar experimenter when foals were 11-13 months old and by an unfamiliar person when they were 13-15 months old. Several observations strongly suggest that mares can influence their foals' behaviour toward humans: (1) during the handling procedure, experimental foals of protective mares were further from the handler than foals of calm mares (p < 0.001); (2) experimental foals remained, at all ages, closer to the experimenter (p < 0.05) and initiated more physical contacts (sniffing, licking, etc.) with the experimenter (p < 0.05) than control foals; (3) avoidance and flight responses of experimental foals were considerably reduced during approaches by the experimenter (p < 0.01) and they accepted saddle-pads on their backs more easily (p < 0.01) and more quickly (p < 0.01) than control foals. Lastly, the consequences of handling mares had effects that lasted at least until foals were one year old (p < 0.05) and became generalized from experimenter to unfamiliar humans, who could approach and stroke experimental foals rapidly during a test (p < 0.05). This is the first report of an attempt to use observation of mother by foals to facilitate human-foal relationships. The procedure is simple, takes little time and can easily be applied to any dam-foal pair, as it is not intrusive and presents no risks of disrupting mare-foal bonds.

Abstract: Social influences on established behaviour and on the acquisition of new information and behaviour are reviewed. Distinctions between social facilitation and contagious behaviour are drawn and suggestions for further research on contagious behaviour are made. Socially derived visual, olfactory and auditory cues are considered as important influences on behaviour and subsequent learning. The evidence supporting two potential mechanisms of social learning, i.e. stimulus enhancement followed by individual learning, and imitation, is reviewed in detail. It is argued that the functions of social learning are similarly heterogeneous and include motor skill acquisition, gathering of environmental information, and social conformity. Factors affecting the spread of socially acquired skills, including the social relationship between demonstrator and observer, are highlighted. Lastly, the few studies of social learning that have been conducted with domestic species are reviewed and potential applied goals that could stimulate further research in this area are suggested.

Abstract: Individuals consistently differ in behavioural phenotypes. Here we examine the interaction between behavioural phenotype and response to social context during novel object exploration in a neophobic corvid species, the raven (Corvus corax). The presence of conspecifics tends to encourage object exploration and learning but may also delay or even inhibit exploratory behaviour. Factors such as individual differences in response to social context may determine whether the presence of a conspecific facilitates or inhibits approach to novel objects. We confronted eleven six-month-old hand-raised ravens with novel objects, both individually and in dyadic combinations. We defined individuals as “fast” and “slow” explorers on the basis of their approach latency to novel objects when tested individually. The presence of a conspecific delayed the approach of fast birds to novel objects. Slow birds, in contrast, approached the novel objects with lower latencies and spent more time close to them when in dyads with fast siblings than when alone. The individuals" approach behaviour seemed to determine whether social context facilitated or delayed exploratory behaviour. This may contribute to explaining ambiguous results concerning the effects of social context in previous studies.