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Abstract-Ground penetrating radar (GPR) has become a popular geophysical tool for locating subsurface karst features such as cavities, conduits and solutionally enlarged fractures. This study examines the usefulness of GPR [...]

To link to full-text access for this article, visit this link: http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.anbehav.2008.07.009 Byline: Elissa Z. Cameron, Wayne L. Linklater, Kevin J. Stafford, Edward O. Minot Abstract: Play behaviour is widespread in mammals, but benefits to play have been difficult to demonstrate. Physical training is one of the many proposed hypotheses, suggesting that males and females should play differently, that increased maternal investment should lead to increases in play, and that increases in play should result in physical advantages. In a population of feral horses, Equus caballus, males and females did not differ in their play behaviour except that males initiated more of their play bouts than females. Maternal condition influenced play behaviour only in males, with sons of mothers in good condition playing more. However, when we controlled for maternal effects by comparing a son and a daughter of the same mother, daughters played more when their mother was in poor condition and sons played more when their mother was in good condition. Mothers of foals that played more lost more condition. Therefore, the difference in play behaviour could not be explained by offspring sex or maternal condition alone, but play behaviour mirrored variation in maternal investment. In addition, those individuals that played more survived better and had better body condition as yearlings despite weaning earlier. Since increased activity has been linked to enhanced musculoskeletal development in domestic horses, we suggest that play provides a link between increased maternal investment, increased body condition and future reproductive success in feral horses, and probably in other species. Author Affiliation: (a) Mammal Research Institute, Department of Zoology & Entomology, University of Pretoria, South Africa (a ) Ecology Group, Institute of Natural Resources, Massey University, New Zealand (a ) Institute of Veterinary, Animal & Biomedical Sciences, Massey University, New Zealand Article History: Received 9 November 2007; Revised 11 January 2008; Accepted 2 July 2008 Article Note: (miscellaneous) MS. number: 9581R

Direct eye contact may function as a warning cue during interspecific interactions, and human staring has been shown to influence the behavior of many species. The authors used an arena test to assess whether human staring altered the behavior of domestic sheep (Ovis aries) compared with no human eye contact. Sheep glanced at the staring human's face more often in the first 2 min of the test, indicating that they perceived a difference between the human stimuli. Staring also elicited more locomotor activity and urination than averted gaze. However, there were no differences in fear-related behaviors, suggesting that a staring human did not represent a greater immediate threat than a nonwatching human. These results imply that human stating is a warning cue for domestic sheep, but no more. Without further reinforcement, sheep quickly habituated to the warning cue. Keywords: sheep behavior, human-animal interactions, human eye contact, domestication

Milk transfer is a costly parental input for mammals, and has been measured through suckling behavior, since actual milk intake is not easy to assess. The assumption has often been that offspring that suckle for longer will obtain more milk, but this should be questioned. Mare's milk was labeled using radioactive isotope methods, and the amount of milk taken by foals was not measurable by suckling behavior. Studies that assume that milk intake is in line with suckling behavior will contain errors.

This article discusses the political problems of feral horse management. The authors, maintaining research funding often effects research goals in that biologists are obligated to appease the funding body, argue researchers need more flexibility in research to advance knowledge concerning behavior, ecology, welfare, and management.

The commecialization of recombinant DNA technology has mainly involved the use of convenient microbial or animal cell hosts for the manufacture of foreign proteins. However, the application of this technology [...]

Horses have a unique mating system and is similar to that of some primates. Feral horses live in breeding groups, called bands, usually containing one to five stallions. A new study investigates the behaviors of individuals in single and multi-stallion bands and puts forward a new theory, the consort hypothesis, as an explanation for multistallion bands.