What Do Zebrafish Want? Impact Of Social Grouping, Dominance And Gender On Preference For Enrichment,
2014
University of Nottingham
What Do Zebrafish Want? Impact Of Social Grouping, Dominance And Gender On Preference For Enrichment, Paul Schroeder, Soffia Jones, Iain S. Young, Lynne U. Sneddon
Sentience Collection
Although environmental enrichment is known to improve laboratory rodent wellbeing and enhance scientific data collection, relatively little is known with regards to the type of enrichment that might be useful for zebrafish (Danio rerio). Therefore, this study explored if zebrafish displayed preferences for a range of enrichments, including substrates, artificial plants, combinations thereof and airstones. Tanks divided into two compartments containing different enrichment cues were used to determine the preferences of zebrafish housed in pairs and groups of eight. When comparing time spent in enriched versus barren compartments, dominant individuals in a pair displayed a preference for substrate and behaviourally …
Individual Personality Traits Influence Group Exploration In A Feral Guppy Population,
2014
Macquarie University
Individual Personality Traits Influence Group Exploration In A Feral Guppy Population, Culum Brown, Eleanor Irving
Sentience Collection
We examined whether variation in group exploratory behavior was linked with variation in personality traits (boldness, activity, and sociability) in a population of feral guppies (Poecilia reticulata). A huge amount of variation was observed in dispersal tendency between shoals. Surprisingly, no significant correlations were found between group exploratory behavior and average group personality scores, which suggests that the movement of the shoal was not generated by group conformity. However, our analysis revealed correlations between group exploration and the activity score of the least active member of a group and the sociality index of the most social member of a group. …
Apes Communicate About Absent And Displaced Objects: Methodology Matters,
2014
University of Southern Mississippi
Apes Communicate About Absent And Displaced Objects: Methodology Matters, Heidi Lyn, Jamie L. Russell, David A. Leavens, Kim A. Bard, Sarah T. Boysen, Jennifer A. Schaeffer, William D. Hopkins
Sentience Collection
Displaced reference is the ability to refer to an item that has been moved (displaced) in space and/ or time, and has been called one of the true hallmarks of referential communication. Several studies suggest that nonhuman primates have this capability, but a recent experiment concluded that in a specific situation (absent entities) human infants display displaced reference but chimpanzees do not. Here we show that chimpanzees and bonobos of diverse rearing histories are capable of displaced reference to absent and displaced objects. It is likely that some of the conflicting findings from animal cognition studies are due to relatively …
Applying Ethological And Health Indicators To Practical Animal Welfare Assessment,
2014
Scotland's Rural College
Applying Ethological And Health Indicators To Practical Animal Welfare Assessment, F. Wemelsfelder, S. Mullan
Animal Welfare Collection
There is a growing effort worldwide to develop objective indicators for animal welfare assessment, which provide information on an animal’s quality of life, are scientifically trustworthy, and can readily be used in practice by professionals. Animals are sentient beings capable of positive and negative emotion, and so these indicators should be sensitive not only to their physical health, but also to their experience of the conditions in which they live. This paper provides an outline of ethological research aimed at developing practical welfare assessment protocols. The first section focuses on the development and validation of welfare indicators generally, in terms …
Hatching Success Of Rainbowfish Eggs Following Exposure To Air,
2014
Macquarie University
Hatching Success Of Rainbowfish Eggs Following Exposure To Air, Lois J. Oulton, Penelope Carbia, Culum Brown
Aquaculture Collection
Translocation of fishes within and between drainage basins is widely recognised as a threatening process to Australian native fishes. While many translocations are deliberate, for example for fisheries enhancement, it is possible that translocation can occur naturally. In the Wet Tropic region of Australia, the widespread eastern rainbowfish, Melanotaenia splendida, has begun to colonise the Atherton tablelands. This is of particular concern because the area is home to several endangered endemic species such as the Lake Eacham rainbowfish, M. eachamensis, and its allies. It is likely that some of the translocations have occurred through the use of this species as …
The Politics Of The Face-In-The-Crowd,
2014
University of Nebraska-Lincoln
The Politics Of The Face-In-The-Crowd, Mark S. Mills, Kevin B. Smith, John R. Hibbing, Michael Dodd
Faculty Publications, Department of Psychology
Recent work indicates that the more conservative one is, the faster one is to fixate on negative stimuli, whereas the less conservative one is, the faster one is to fixate on positive stimuli. The present series of experiments used the face-in-the-crowd paradigm to examine whether variability in the efficiency with which positive and negative stimuli are detected underlies such speed differences. Participants searched for a discrepant facial expression (happy or angry) amid a varying number of neutral distractors (Experiments 1 and 4). A combination of response time and eye movement analyses indicated that variability in search efficiency explained speed differences …
Seasonal And Diurnal Behavioral Patterns Of Bottlenose Dolphins, Tursiops Truncatus, That Exhibit High Site And Low Site Fidelity To Mississippi Sound,
2013
University of Southern Mississippi
Seasonal And Diurnal Behavioral Patterns Of Bottlenose Dolphins, Tursiops Truncatus, That Exhibit High Site And Low Site Fidelity To Mississippi Sound, Shauna Marisa Mcbride
Master's Theses
This study examined whether bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops truncatus) exhibit site fidelity to the Mississippi Sound and how the seasonal and diurnal behavioral patterns of dolphins that exhibit high site fidelity to the Mississippi Sound differ from those of dolphins with lower site fidelity. Opportunistic surveys conducted from July 2006 to April 2010 were analyzed. Statistical analyses consisted of nonparametric tests (Spearman's correlation, loglinear models, and Pearson's chi-square) to compare behavioral patterns of high site fidelity, mixed, and low site fidelity groups. Behavioral patterns significantly differed between site fidelity groups across seasons and diurnal periods. Feeding behavior was observed significantly more …
Laterality Influences Schooling Position In Rainbowfish, Melanotaenia Spp,
2013
Macquarie University
Laterality Influences Schooling Position In Rainbowfish, Melanotaenia Spp, Anne-Laurence Bibost, Culum Brown
Aquaculture Collection
Cerebral lateralization is a widespread trait among animals, is often manifested as side biases in behaviour (laterality) and has been suggested to provide fitness benefits. Here we examined the influence of laterality on the organisation of fish schools using rainbowfish (Melanotaenia spp) as model species. The pattern and strength of laterality for each individual was determined by examining eye preferences whilst examining their reflection in a mirror. Schools of four fish of known laterality were then created and the preferred position for each fish within the school was repeatedly observed in a flume. Fish which showed right eye preferences in …
Discrimination Of Familiar Human Faces In Dogs (Canis Familiaris),
2013
University of Vienna
Discrimination Of Familiar Human Faces In Dogs (Canis Familiaris), Ludwig Huber, Anaïs Racca, Billy Scaf, Zsófia Virányi, Friederike Range
Recognition Collection
Faces are an important visual category for many taxa, and the human face is no exception to this. Because faces differ in subtle ways and possess many idiosyncratic features, they provide a rich source of perceptual cues. A fair amount of those cues are learned through social interactions and are used for future identification of individual humans. These effects of individual experience can be studied particularly well in hetero-specific face perception. Domestic dogs represent a perfect model in this respect, due to their proved ability to extract important information from the human face in socio-communicative interactions. There is also …
Predator Recognition In Rainbowfish, Melanotaenia Duboulayi, Embryos,
2013
Macquarie University
Predator Recognition In Rainbowfish, Melanotaenia Duboulayi, Embryos, Lois J. Oulton, Vivian Haviland, Culum Brown
Aquaculture Collection
Exposure to olfactory cues during embryonic development can have long term impacts on birds and amphibians behaviour. Despite the vast literature on predator recognition and responses in fishes, few researchers have determined how fish embryos respond to predator cues. Here we exposed four-day-old rainbowfish (Melanotaenia duboulayi) embryos to cues emanating from a novel predator, a native predator and injured conspecifics. Their response was assessed by monitoring heart rate and hatch time. Results showed that embryos have an innate capacity to differentiate between cues as illustrated by faster heart rates relative to controls. The greatest increase in heart rate occurred in …
Strength, But Not Direction, Of Handedness Is Related To Height,
2013
Montclair State University
Strength, But Not Direction, Of Handedness Is Related To Height, Ruth E. Propper, Tad T. Brunyé, Karly Frank, Sean E. Mcgraw
Department of Psychology Faculty Scholarship and Creative Works
Left-handers are reputed to be shorter than right-handers. However, previous research has confounded handedness direction (left- versus right-handedness) with handedness strength (consistency with which one hand is chosen across a variety of tasks; consistent- versus inconsistent-handedness). Here, we support a relationship between handedness strength, but not direction, and stature, with increasing inconsistent-handedness associated with increasing self-reported height.
Goats Favour Personal Over Social Information In An Experimental Foraging Task,
2013
Queen Mary University of London
Goats Favour Personal Over Social Information In An Experimental Foraging Task, Luigi Baciadonna, Alan G. Mcelligott, Elodie F. Briefer
Ethology Collection
Animals can use their environments more efficiently by selecting particular sources of information (personal or social), according to specific situations. Group-living animals may benefit from gaining information based on the behaviour of other individuals. Indeed, social information is assumed to be faster and less costly to use than personal information, thus increasing foraging efficiency. However, when food sources change seasonally or are randomly distributed, individual information may become more reliable than social information. The aim of this study was to test the use of conflicting personal versus social information in goats (Capra hircus), in a foraging task.We found that goats …
A Note On Pigs’ Knowledge Of Hidden Objects,
2013
Martin Luther University
A Note On Pigs’ Knowledge Of Hidden Objects, Christian Nawroth, Mirjam Ebersbach, Eberhard Von Borell
Memory Collection
Object permanence is the notion that objects continue to exist even when they are out of observer’s sight. This ability is adaptive for free ranging animals who have to cope with a dangerous and highly changeable environment and allows them to be aware of predators sneaking in their proximity or to keep track of conspecifics or food sources, even when out of sight. Farm animals might also benefit from object permanence because the ability to follow the trajectory of hidden food or objects may lead to a higher predictability of subjects’ environment, which in turn might affect the level of …
Examining The Link Between Personality And Laterality In A Feral Guppy Poecilia Reticulata Population,
2013
Macquarie University
Examining The Link Between Personality And Laterality In A Feral Guppy Poecilia Reticulata Population, Eleanor Irving, Culum Brown
Sentience Collection
This study examined whether variation in the strength and direction of lateralization in a detour task was linked with variation in three common personality measurements: boldness, activity and sociability, in a population of wild guppies Poecilia reticulata. Additionally, the aim was to determine whether any consistent correlations between these behavioural traits, known as behavioural syndromes, were present in the study population. The results revealed that all three personality traits were highly repeatable over time in both sexes. Evidence of a complex syndrome in the form of a correlation between boldness, sociability and activity was found; however, this relationship was only …
Are Juvenile Domestic Pigs (Sus Scrofa Domestica) Sensitive To The Attentive States Of Humans? The Impact Of Impulsivity On Choice Behaviour,
2013
Martin Luther Universitat Halle-Wittenberg
Are Juvenile Domestic Pigs (Sus Scrofa Domestica) Sensitive To The Attentive States Of Humans? The Impact Of Impulsivity On Choice Behaviour, Christian Nawroth, Mirjam Ebersbach, Eberhard Von Borell
Attention Collection
Previous studies have shown that apes, dogs and horses seem to be able to attribute attentive states to humans. Subjects chose successfully between two persons: one who was able to see the animal and one who was not. Using a similar paradigm, we tested a species that does not rely strongly on visual cues, the domestic pig (Sus scrofa domestica). Subjects could choose between two unfamiliar persons, with only one showing attention, in three different conditions (body, head away, body turned - head front). Subjects (n = 16) only showed a tendency towards …
Conceptualising The Impact Of Arousal And Affective State On Operant Conditioning,
2013
University of Sydney
Conceptualising The Impact Of Arousal And Affective State On Operant Conditioning, Melissa J. Starling, Nicholas Branson, Denis Cody, Paul D. Mcgreevy
Animal Training and Obedience Collection
Animal training relies heavily on an understanding of species-specific behaviour as it integrates with operant conditioning principles. Following on from recent studies showing that affective states and arousal levels may correlate with behavioural outcomes, we explore the contribution of both affective state and arousal in behavioural responses to operant conditioning. This paper provides a framework for assessing how affective state and arousal may influence the efficacy of operant training methods. It provides a series of three-dimensional conceptual graphs as exemplars to describing putative influences of both affective state and arousal on the likelihood of dogs and horses performing commonly desired …
Rescued Goats At A Sanctuary Display Positive Mood After Former Neglect,
2013
Queen Mary University of London
Rescued Goats At A Sanctuary Display Positive Mood After Former Neglect, Elodie F. Briefer, Alan G. Mcelligott
Sentience Collection
Moods influence cognitive processes in that people in positive moods expect more positive events to occur and less negative ones (“optimistic bias”), whereas the opposite happens for people in negative moods (“pessimistic bias”). The evidence for an effect of mood on cognitive bias is also increasing in animals, suggesting that measures of optimism and pessimism could provide useful indicators of animal welfare. For obvious ethical reasons, serious poor treatments cannot be easily replicated in large mammals in order to study their long-term effects on moods. In this study, we tested the long-term effects (>2 years) of prior poor welfare …
Environmental Change Alters Personality In The Rainbow Trout, Oncorhynchus Mykiss,
2013
University of Liverpool
Environmental Change Alters Personality In The Rainbow Trout, Oncorhynchus Mykiss, Ashley J. Frost, Jack S. Thomson, Charlotte Smith, Hannah C. Burton, Ben Davis, Phillip C. Watts, Lynne U. Sneddon
Sentience Collection
Boldness is a personality trait that defines how individuals respond to risky situations and has clear fitness consequences. Since the adaptive value of boldness is context dependent, the benefit of a distinct personality is less clear when the environment is unpredictable. An ability to modulate behaviour can be beneficial, although as behavioural plasticity itself may be costly this depends on the levels of environmental stability. Both boldness and its plasticity are linked with physiological stress coping mechanisms, whereby animals with reduced glucocorticoid responses to stress are bolder and less flexible in behaviour. We investigated the behavioural changes made by bold …
Site Fidelity And Homing Behaviour In Intertidal Fishes,
2013
Macquarie University
Site Fidelity And Homing Behaviour In Intertidal Fishes, Gemma E. White, Culum Brown
Sentience Collection
The theory of ecological cognition poses that the brains and behaviour of animals are shaped by the environmental challenges they face in their everyday lives. Site fidelity and homing ability was tested for five species of intertidal rock pool fish by tagging and displacing them to new rock pools at various distances from their ‘home’ rock pools. Three of the species were rock pool specialists whilst the remaining two spend a small proportion of their life in rock pools during early ontogeny. The three specialists showed strong site fidelity with >50 % of individuals found in the same pool 42 …
Fallow Deer Polyandry Is Related To Fertilization Insurance,
2013
Queen Mary University of London
Fallow Deer Polyandry Is Related To Fertilization Insurance, Elodie F. Briefer, Mary E. Farrell, Thomas J. Hayden, Alan G. Mcelligott
Ethology Collection
Polyandry is widespread, but its adaptive significance is not fully understood. The hypotheses used to explain its persistence have rarely been tested in the wild and particularly for large, long-lived mammals. We investigated polyandry in fallow deer, using female mating and reproduction data gathered over 10 years. Females of this species produce a single offspring (monotocous) and can live to 23 years old. Overall, polyandry was evident in 12 % of females and the long-term, consistent proportion of polyandrous females observed, suggests that monandry and polyandry represent alternative mating strategies. Females were more likely to be polyandrous when their first …
