Animal Studies Commons^™

The Ontogeny And Organization Of Comfort Behavior In Adelie Penguins, Marc Bekoff, David G. Ainley, Anne Bekoff

Ethology Collection

No abstract provided.

Quantitative Analyses Of The Ontogeny Of Predatory Behaviour In Coyotes, Canis Latrans, Louis E. Vincent, Marc Bekoff

Ethology Collection

Four infant coyotes (Canis latrans) were studied in order to describe quantitatively the development of predatory behaviour. Our results indicated that prior play and agonistic experience had virtually no effect on later predatory success. Also, there was no relationship between an individual's social rank and its prey-killing ability. Latency to kill was shortened when animals were tested in, pair and hunger level was not related to latency to kill. The results are discussed with respect to current 'functionalist' theories of play behaviour and Leyhausen's concept of the relative hierarchy of moods. The practice theory of play should be reconsidered in …

Learned Helplessness Through Observation: Failure To Escape Traumatic Shock As A Result Of Observing A Helpless Situation, Donald Jary

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

Twenty naïve male and female hooded rats were randomly divided into four groups of five subjects each. The Observe Helpless group was allowed to observe Helpless subjects receive signaled, inescapable electric shock, after which they were tested for effective escape response acquisition. Subjects in the Observe Naïve group were allowed to observe Naïve subjects being given escape-avoidance training using signaled presentations of electric shock, after which the Observe Helpless group was given similar escape-avoidance training. Results indicate that there were significant differences in the acquisition of effective escape responses between the Observe Helpless group and the other two groups. Possible …

Social Communication In Canids: Evidence For The Evolution Of A Stereotyped Mammalian Display, Marc Bekoff

Ethology Collection

The variability in the duration and form of the canid play bow was studied in infant coyotes, wolves, wolf-dog hybrids, beagles, and adult free-ranging dogs. Both duration and form showed marked stereotypy. It appears that the role of this context-specific social signal in the communication of play intention has been fostered by selection for "morphological" stereotypy.

Visual Detection Of Cryptic Prey By Blue Jays (Cyanocitta Cristata), Alexandra T. Pietrewicz, Alan Kamil

Avian Cognition Papers

Blue jays learned to respond differentially to the presence or absence of Catocala moths in slides. This detection of the moths by the jays was affected by the background upon which the moth was placed and its body orientation, thus providing an objective measure of crypticity. These procedures are useful for the study of visual detection of prey.

The Nursing Posture Of Domestic Sows And Related Behaviour, D. Fraser

Rearing Behavior Collection

The nursing behaviour of the sow commonly involves upward rotation of the udder, movements of the head and legs, and rhythmic grunting. Aspects of this behaviour were studied in several experiments with pregnant females, juveniles males, and suckling piglets. Many pregnant females lay down and assumed the nursing posture when their udders were first rubbed by hand. Those which initially appeared agitated in the experimenter's presence often failed to do so until after some habituation to the procedure. When the upper and lower rows of teats were rubbed alternately, the udder was usually rotated toward the stimulation. This rotation, like …

The Effects Of Crowding, Density, And The Duration Of Each On Learning, Richard A. Neetz

Masters Theses

Ninety-six male albino rats were housed from weaning in groups of 4, 8, or 16 animals. For all group sizes, animals were housed either in cages of a constant size (crowding) or in cages with floor space proportional to group size (density). Six animals from each of these conditions were tested for learning after either 55 or 109 days on a straight alley, a Lashley III maze, and a Y-maze. On the straight alley, no significant differences in running speed were found between durations, crowding and density, or group size. A significant trials effect was obtained (F=63.28, df=15/900, p < .01). On the Lashley III, a significant trials effect was obtained for running speed (F=102.27, df=8/480, p < .01) and errors (F=63.80, df=8/480, p < .01). The duration comparison showed the 55 day group making significantly more errors than the 109 day group (F=5.36, df=1/60, p < .05). No significant differences were found on running speed or errors between crowding and density or group size. On the Y-maze, the 55 day group had significantly more avoidances than the 109 day group (F=6.47, df=1/60, p < .05). …

An Attempt To Find Auditory Communication In The Squirrel Monkey Via Cooperative Conditioning, Michael T. Bardo

Masters Theses

No abstract provided.

Vocalizations Of Isolated Piglets. Ii. Some Environmental Factors, D. Fraser

Communication Skills Collection

The vocalizations of suckling piglets were studied during brief tests which involved social isolation, restriction of movement, and exposure to unfamiliar surroundings. Similar trends were shown in most cases by the three classes of call studied - closed mouth grunts, open mouth grunts, and squeals. The rate of calling was much lower when a piglet was in the home pen than when alone in an unfamiliar pen, and more calls were given in both situations when the animal’s movement was restricted by caging. The presence of the dam and four littermates in unfamiliar surroundings caused a large reduction in calling, …

Vocalizations Of Isolated Piglets. I. Sources Of Variation And Relationships Among Measures, D. Fraser

Communication Skills Collection

The vocalizations and activity of suckling piglets aged 4 to 25 days were studied during 5-min periods of social isolation in an unfamiliar enclosure. The animals became very active and vocalized repeatedly during the test, but the reaction was attenuated among older litters. Calls were predominantly closed mouth grunts at low rates of calling, and mainly squeals and open mouth grunts at high overall rates. Squealing correlated with open mouth grunting and with the activity measure both within and between litters. Even so, the measures appeared to be affected independently by the piglets’ behaviour in the home pen just before …

The Communication Of Play Intention: Are Play Signals Functional?, Marc Bekoff

Sentience Collection

No abstract provided.

Social Play In Coyotes, Wolves, And Dogs, Marc Bekoff

Ethology Collection

No abstract provided.

Social Play And Play-Soliciting By Infant Canids, Marc Bekoff

Ethology Collection

The development of social interaction was studied in infant coyotes, beagles, and wolves. In this paper, social play behavior is discussed. Social play may be characterized in a number of ways: (i) actions from various contexts are incorporated into labile (unpredictable) temporal sequences; (ii) the "play bout" is typically preceded by a metacommunicative signal which indicates "what follows is play"; these signals are also observed during the bout; (iii) certain actions may be repeated and performed in an exaggerated manner; (iv) the activity appears "pleasurable" to the players.

By comparing these three species, some insight into the dynamics of social …

Food Intake In Rats As A Function Of Shock-Avoiding Eating Behavior, Kathleen A. Carlton

All Master's Theses

Consumption of a liquid nutrient by rats under several different circumstances was studied. A restraining apparatus and tailshock were used to train one group to lick a drinkometer tube, creating a forced drinking situation. It was hypothesized that rats in this group would consume significantly more than Ss in the other three groups during a testing phase. The hypothesis was disconfirmed by statistical analysis, though there appeared to be a tendency for avoidance training to produce effective results.

The Development Of Social Interaction, Play, And Metacommunication In Mammals: An Ethological Perspective, Marc Bekoff

Ethology Collection

Analysis of the dynamics of the ontogeny of social interaction is of critical importance in order that behavioral development may be comprehended in its own right, and the relationship between infant and adult behavior understood. In this review, general concepts of behavioral development in mammals are discussed and analyzed, and the many variables that are involved are considered. When it is impossible to control or observe the social interaction of the developing organism in its natural environment, captive subjects should be used. There is increasing evidence that results obtained with the latter are related to social organization observed in the …

Grooming Behavior And Competitive Dominance In The Albino Rat, Irwin M. Spigel, Susan Trivett, David Fraser

Social Behavior Collection

An experiment sought to compare dominance manifested in water competition under two levels of deprivation, with grooming activity in a non-deprived state. While competitive dominance was significantly related to motivational level, grooming emerged as a more stable indicator of social ascendance, and did not require prior manipulation of a biological state. The implications of this observation for broader aspects of social motivation arc discussed.

The Role Of Adventitious Reinforcement In Operant Discrimination, Alan Kamil, John W. Davenport

Avian Cognition Papers

Rats were trained in 2 S^D-S^Δ discrimination experiments in which the effects of an S^D-postponement contingency during S^Δ and temporal regularity of S^Δ duration were assessed. Experiment I showed that discrimination is markedly facilitated by the presence of an S^D-postponement contingency of either fixed or variable duration. Experiment II showed that variable-duration S^Δ periods in a noncontingent schedule can also greatly enhance formation of an operant discrimination. These effects were attributed to differences in the probability of adventitious reinforcement of S^Δ behavior by S^D events.

An Investigation Of Food Deprivation And Competition On Hoarding Behavior In The Domestic Cat, Jo Ann Sinclair

Masters Theses

No abstract provided.

Are Animals Intelligent?, Francis D. Kelly

Bachelors’ Theses

The radicalism or modern psychology presents a complex labyrinth to the average mind. An amateur investigator who desires information about animal psychology is confronted with ten or twelve schools of thought, each one of which sets forth bevy of theories tending either to deny or affirm the power of reasoning in animals. An elimination process, however, will disclose in the main two opposing doctrines, Behaviorism and Evolution, and Scholastic ism. The Behaviorits are interest din lowering the human to the brute and the Evolutionists are concerned with the elevation of the brute to the status of the human. Hence, these …