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Article Details: Received: 2020-10-20 | Accepted: 2020-11-27 | Available online: 2021-01-31 https://doi.org/10.15414/afz.2021.24.mi-prap.62-66 Abstract Attractivity of two different enrichment objects was investigated in paper. Eight piglets were housed in pen with slatted floor. Pen environment was enriched with two hanging objects – PET bottle and horseshoe. Interactions with enrichment objects were evaluated during two consecutive days. PET bottle was more attractive, total number of interactions was 600 on day 1 and 451 on day 2. Horseshoe has very low attractiveness, number of interactions on day 1 was only 64 and 74 on day 2. Exploration of more attractive object was decreasing between days. Exploration of less attractive object was increasing. We recommend use of different enrichment objects for prolonged duration of exploration and occupation by manipulation, but both objects should be attractive for piglets. Keywords: environment, enrichment, piglets, keyword, keyword References Averos, X., et al. (2010). A meta-analysis of the combined effect of housing and environmental enrichment characteristics on the behaviour and performance of pigs. Applied Animal Behaviour Science , 127(3-4), 73–85. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.applanim.2010.09.010 Bolt, S. L. and George, A. J. (2019). The use of environmental enrichment on farms benefits animal welfare and productivity. Livestock, 24(4), 183–188. https://doi.org/10.12968/live.2019.24.4.183 Buijs, S. and Muns, R. (2019). A Review of the Effects of Non-Straw Enrichment on Tail Biting in Pigs. Animals , 9(10), 824. https://doi.org/10.3390/ani9100824 Chen, Ch. et al. (2020). A computer vision approach for recognition of the engagement of pigs with different enrichment objects. Computers and Electronics in Agriculture , 175, 105580. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.compag.2020.105580 Council directive 2008/120/EC of 18 December 2008 laying down minimum standards for the protection of pigs. Available online: http://data.europa.eu/eli/dir/2008/120/2019-12-14 (accessed on 15 October 2020). Elkmann, A. and Hoy, S. (2009). Frequency of occupation with different simultaneously offered devices by fattening pigs kept in pens with or without straw. Livestock Science, 124(1-3), 330–334. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.livsci.2008.12.008 Ernst, K. et al. (2018). Play behavior and environmental enrichment in pigs. Available online: https://www.wur.nl/upload_mm/e/f/b/6af2e2db-430e-4771-8f7d-6f5b974eab5e_final%20report%20ACT%202060%20juli%202018%20op%20website%20.pdf (accessed on 10 October 2020). Godyn, D. et al. (2019). Effects of environmental enrichment on pig welfare-A Review. Animals , 9(6), 383. https://doi.org/10.3390/ani9060383 Jensen, P. (2002). The ethology of domestic animals . New York: CABI Publishing. Wood-Gush, D. G. M. and Beilharz, R. G. (1983). The enrichment of a bare environment for animals in confined conditions. Applied Animal Ethology , 10(3), 209–217. https://doi.org/10.1016/0304-3762(83)90142-6 Young, R. J. (2003). Enrichment for captive animals . Oxford, UK: Blackwell Science Ltd.

Both animal ethology and studies of the attentional styles of the two cerebral hemispheres in human subjects suggest that there is a degree of specialization, with the left hemisphere tending to fo...

It has been suggested that domestic dogs-like young human children-have a "gravity bias"; they expect an unsupported object to fall straight down, regardless of any obstacles that redirect or halt its path. In the diagonal tube task, this bias is revealed by a persistent tendency to search the incorrect location directly beneath the top of the tube the item is dropped into, rather than the correct location attached to the bottom of the tube. We presented dogs (N = 112) with seven different versions of the diagonal tube task, to examine what factors influence their search behavior for an object dropped down a diagonal tube, and investigate their physical reasoning skills more generally. Contrary to previous claims, we found no evidence for dogs exhibiting a persistent, or even a Trial 1, gravity bias. However, dogs were also unable to search correctly for the reward, even when it could be heard rolling through the tube, though they succeeded when the tube was transparent (Experiments 1a-c). Experiment 2 suggested that dogs might search on the basis of proximity, but Experiments 3a-b ruled this out and showed that they prefer to commence searching at the center of the apparatus. Finally, when potential sources of bias were eliminated from the task (Experiment 4), dogs' performance was improved, but still not above chance, suggesting that they are unable to reason about the tube's physical-causal mechanism. We conclude that, on current evidence, the gravity bias might be unique to some primate species. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2019 APA, all rights reserved).

227 p. Los animales criados con fines productivos, como las gallinas de puesta, están frecuentemente expuestos a una amplia gamma de desafíos tanto sociales como ambientales desde el día en el que nacen. El objetivo principal de esta Tesis es: explorar los efectos que la alteración del contexto social y ambiental causan sobre el bienestar de las gallinas de puesta.Esta Tesis se divide en dos grandes partes: 1) La primera parte (Capítulos 2 y 3), tiene como objetivo investigar si la alteración de la apariencia fenotípica (AF) de distintas proporciones de aves puede afectar la frecuencia y dirección de sus interacciones sociales. Un segundo objetivo de esta investigación es, determinar si, estos efectos son dependientes del tamaño de grupo (TG) y de la frecuencia del fenotipo alterado dentro del grupo. 2) La segunda parte de esta Tesis (Capítulo 4), explora cómo la provisión de un ambiente complejo (Complex Environment_CENV) durante las primeras etapas de desarrollo, puede preparar mejor a las aves para hacer frente al estrés, e incluso funcionar como un atenuante en frente a episodios estresantes impredecibles que se pueden dar en el futuro. En conclusión, los resultados de esta Tesis proporcionan información importante respecto a las estrategias que pueden adoptar las aves para hacer frente a desafíos tanto sociales como ambientales. Los resultados obtenidos pueden ayudarnos a diseñar ambientes productivos más adaptados y protocolos de manejo que permitan mejorar el bienestar de las gallinas de puesta en condiciones comerciales. Estos resultados tomados en su conjunto destacan la importancia de los inputs sociales y físicos a lo largo de la ontogenia como posibles reguladores de las estrategias para hacer frente al estrés, y de la potencialidad de la respuesta de las gallinas de puesta Neiker; Ikerbasque

Este trabajo tiene como objetivo presentar la importancia de la ecología urbana para la gestión ambiental y el control poblacional de animales domésticos, considerandos un problema de salud pública y una amenaza a la fauna nativa. Con la adopción de una gestión pública responsable, bien como la observación y el cuidado del medio ambiente en los centros urbanos, es posible hacer que las ciudades sean equilibradas y armónicas en beneficio de la convivencia de todos los animales, sean eles domésticos, silvestres o exóticos. Como metodología para esta investigación, ser realizó un levantamiento del referencial teórico.

It is frequently assumed that infants are impaired in contextual memory and consequently, in recovery from extinction, a phenomenon considered to be context dependent. However, the evidence in the field is far from consistent with this interpretation, since several studies have shown context-dependent extinction in infant rats using a variety of procedures and behavioral measures. This discussion has primarily been based on studies using Pavlovian conditioning tasks. Three experiments were conducted to study reinstatement of an extinguished operant response and additionally to evaluate the context dependence of such an effect. Preweanling rats were trained on postnatal days (PDs) 16 and 17 to acquire an appetitive operant response using chocolate milk as reinforcer. At PD18 the operant response was extinguished and at PD19 animals received a reminder in the same (Experiment 1 and 2) or in a different context than the one used during the extinction phase (Experiment 3). Infant rats showed recovery from extinction after a reminder treatment (Experiments 2 and 3). This effect was dependent on the context in which the reminder was delivered (Experiment 3). Our results indicate that infant rats can recover an extinguished operant response by means of a reminder treatment in a context-dependent way, highlighting the importance of the context for modulating learning processes during infancy. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2018 APA, all rights reserved).

Traditional Chinese herbs (TCH) are currently gaining attention in disease prevention and health care plans. However, their general bitter taste hinders their use. Despite the development of a variety of taste evaluation methods, it is still a major challenge to establish a quantitative detection technique that is objective, authentic and sensitive. Based on the two-bottle preference test (TBP), we proposed a novel quantitative strategy using a standardized animal test and a unified quantitative benchmark. To reduce the difference of results, the methodology of TBP was optimized. The relationship between the concentration of quinine and animal preference index (PI) was obtained. Then the PI of TCH was measured through TBP, and bitterness results were converted into a unified numerical system using the relationship of concentration and PI. To verify the authenticity and sensitivity of quantified results, human sensory testing and electronic tongue testing were applied. The quantified results showed a good discrimination ability. For example, the bitterness of Coptidis Rhizoma was equal to 0.0579 mg/mL quinine, and Nelumbinis Folium was equal to 0.0001 mg/mL. The validation results proved that the new assessment method for TCH was objective and reliable. In conclusion, this study provides an option for the quantification of bitterness and the evaluation of taste masking effects., Graphical abstract A quantitative strategy for bitterness of traditional Chinese herbs was developed using a standardized animal test and a unified quantitative benchmark in this study. It provides an option for the quantification of bitterness and the evaluation of taste masking effects.fx1

© Comparative Cognition Society. Despite prolonged interest in comparing brain size and behavioral proxies of "intelligence" across taxa, the adaptive and cognitive significance of brain size variation remains elusive. Central to this problem is the continued focus on hominid cognition as a benchmark and the assumption that behavioral complexity has a simple relationship with brain size. Although comparative studies of brain size have been criticized for not reflecting how evolution actually operates, and for producing spurious, inconsistent results, the causes of these limitations have received little discussion. We show how these issues arise from implicit assumptions about what brain size measures and how it correlates with behavioral and cognitive traits. We explore how inconsistencies can arise through heterogeneity in evolutionary trajectories and selection pressures on neuroanatomy or neurophysiology across taxa. We examine how interference from ecological and life history variables complicates interpretations of brain-behavior correlations and point out how this problem is exacerbated by the limitations of brain and cognitive measures. These considerations, and the diversity of brain morphologies and behavioral capacities, suggest that comparative brain-behavior research can make greater progress by focusing on specific neuroanatomical and behavioral traits within relevant ecological and evolutionary contexts. We suggest that a synergistic combination of the "bottom-up" approach of classical neuroethology and the "top-down" approach of comparative biology/psychology within closely related but behaviorally diverse clades can limit the effects of heterogeneity, interference, and noise. We argue that this shift away from broad-scale analyses of superficial phenotypes will provide deeper, more robust insights into brain evolution.

In this dissertation, changes in human economic strategies and their relationship to climate, demography, and social factors are evaluated based on a throughout archeozoological analysis of the macro-mammal assemblages from El Mirón Cave (Ramales de la Victoria, Cantabria, Spain) dating between 48,000, and 14,500 uncal. BP. Dominated by the ungulates red deer and Spanish ibex, the more than 200,000 faunal remains analyzed with classic and latest methods allow studying the foraging economic behavior in its contexts. This investigation emphasizes the local environmental conditions (by stable isotopes on ungulate teeth, phytoliths in ungulate dental calculus and chemical bone surface staining) and resource exploitation strategies (by archeozoological and taphonomic means to reveal diet breadth and butchering processes) through time and space. Further taphonomic-spatial studies provide the specific sequences of chaînes opératoires of animal exploitation, demonstrating multifaceted alterations of economic components by the inhabitants of the El Mirón Cave. The El Mirón results combined with a meta-analysis of published late Middle and Upper Paleolithic (mainly the Magdalenian period) faunal studies from the Cantabrian region provides a substantial corpus of detailed archeozoological data from one of the most important Stone Age sites, excavated with modern methods, in this region in recent decades. This research would have not been possible without the initiative financial support of a one-year contract within the EUROREFUGIA project funded by the European Commission (FP7-PEOPLE-2012-CIG: 322112) and a four-year PhD grant (Ref.: BES-2013-063309) within the Project “Efecto de la variabilidad climática y geográfica en el comportamiento económico humano durante la transición Paleolítico medio/superior: la Región Cantábrica y Serbia central” (HAR2012-339569) funded by the ministry for economy and competitiveness, both directed by A.B. Marín-Arroyo. Also, I do appreciate to had a three-month stay abroad grant (Ref.: EEBB-I-17-12539) from the Spanish ministry for economy, industry and competetivness as well as travel grants from the University of Cantabria in 2014 to England, 2015 to Germany, and 2016 to France.

This chapter reviews the traditional view of learned behavior, emphasizing its scientific heritage of isolation and abstraction, and some disadvantages of its dependence on methodology to define the nature of learning. It aims to develop the behavior system approach which conceptualizes learning in terms of the modification of functional systems. The chapter explains the behavior system approach to research in animal learning, deals with predispositions in and constraints on learning and ending with a consideration of some traditional general principles. It examines several phenomena of traditional laboratory learning to show how a behavior system analysis can account for these phenomena and contribute to their further development. The chapter provides an opportunity to show that the behavior system approach, explores moderate knowledge of the species, readily generates specific explanations and predictions. It focuses on several instances of predispositions and constraints in learning. The chapter also aims to interpret and clarify examples of general learning principles.

Surprisingly little information is available about the behavior of newborn mammals in the functionally vital context of suckling. We have previously reported notable differences in the pattern of nipple use by kittens of the domestic cat and puppies of the domestic dog. Whereas kittens rapidly develop a "teat order," with each individual using principally 1 or 2 particular nipples, puppies show no such pattern. We asked whether the more "chaotic" behavior seen in puppies of the domestic dog (Canis familiaris) could be the result of relaxed selection due to domestication. In a first test of this hypothesis, we studied suckling behavior in 4 litters of wild-type captive dingoes (Canis dingo), a canid species that has inhabited the Australian mainland in substantial numbers for at least 5,000 years with minimal human influence. On all measures of individual puppies' behavior-time spent attached to nipples, lack of individual use of particular nipples and consequent absence of a teat order, lack of synchronized suckling with other littermates, lack of agonistic behavior-we found no differences between the 2 species. In conclusion, we suggest that the difference between the pattern of suckling behavior of kittens of the domestic cat (and other felids) and the domestic dog is not an artifact of domestication, but rather reflects phylogenetic differences between felids and canids as a consequence of their different lifestyles and associated patterns of parental care. These findings emphasize the need for comparative studies to avoid simplistic generalizations from 1 or 2 species across broad taxonomic groups. (PsycINFO Database Record

Under natural conditions, wild animals encounter situations where previously rewarded actions do not lead to reinforcement. In the laboratory, a surprising omission of reinforcement induces behavioral and emotional responses described as frustration. Frustration can lead to aggressive behaviors and to the persistence of noneffective responses, but it may also lead to new behavioral responses to a problem, a potential adaptation. We assessed the responses to inaccessible reinforcement in free-ranging fox squirrels (Sciurus niger). We trained squirrels to open a box to obtain food reinforcement, a piece of walnut. After 9 training trials, squirrels were tested in 1 of 4 conditions: a control condition with the expected reward, an alternative reinforcement (a piece of dried corn), an empty box, or a locked box. We measured the presence of signals suggesting arousal (e.g., tail flags and tail twitches) and found that squirrels performed fewer of these behaviors in the control condition and increased certain behaviors (tail flags, biting box) in the locked box condition, compared to other experimental conditions. When faced with nonreinforcement, that is, frustration, squirrels increased the number of interactions with the apparatus and spent more time interacting with the apparatus. This study of frustration responses in a free-ranging animal extends the conclusions of captive studies to the field and demonstrates that fox squirrels show short-term negatively valenced responses to the inaccessibility, omission, and change of reinforcement. (PsycINFO Database Record

Recent behavioral observations suggest an influence of prior expectancies on attention to neutral targets, whereas the detection of threatening targets remains comparably immune to these expectancies. The origin of this asymmetry, however, remains unclear. Here, therefore, we investigated its neural basis by using fMRI. Specifically, we tested whether, in accordance with the idea of a resetting attentional system during phylogenetic threat detection, neural responses for threatening compared with neutral targets would remain largely unaffected by prior expectancies. Alternatively, neural responses could reflect equally strong expectancy influences on both types of targets, with the respective patterns differing, thereby producing the asymmetric effect observed in behavior. Predictive cues in our study evoked specific behavioral and neural expectancy states and effectively modulated response latencies to detect neutral (bird) targets in a 3 × 3 visual search matrix: When threat-related (spider) rather than neutral targets were expected, bird detection was considerably slowed, and the neural response to expected birds differed from that to unexpected birds. Conversely, and in line with the hypothesis of a resetting attentional system for phylogenetic threat, expectancy cues had no impact on RTs or neural responses for spider targets-either in spider phobic participants or in non-spider-fearful control participants. Our data support the idea of bottom-up enhancement of threat-related information through processing pathways unaffected by top-down modulatory influences such as expectancy. These pathways may subserve rapid and comparably automatic responding to threat stimuli by safeguarding independence from more controlled and explicit expectancies, consequently promoting adaptive behavior and survival. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2019 APA, all rights reserved).

This work was supported by grants from the Agence Nationale de la Recherche (ANR-08-412 BLAN-0042-01) and the European Science Foundation (Compcog Exchange Grant N°3648). Many studies investigate the decisions made by animals by focussing on their individual attitudes towards risk, i.e., risk seeking, risk neutrality or risk aversion. However, little attention has been paid to how far individuals understand the different odds of outcomes. In a previous gambling task involving up to 18 different lotteries (Pelé et al., 2014), non-human primates used probabilities of gains and losses to make their decision. Although the use of complex mathematical calculation for decision-making seemed unlikely, we applied a gradual decrease in the chances to win throughout the experiment. This probably facilitated the extraction of information about odds. Here, we investigated whether individuals would still make efficient decisions if this facilitating factor was removed. To do so, we randomized the order of presentation of the 18 lotteries. Individuals from four ape and two monkey species were tested. Only capuchin monkeys differed in their gambling behaviour, playing even when there was nothing to win. Randomising the lottery presentation order leads all species to predominantly use a maximax heuristic in which individuals gamble as soon as there is at least one chance to win more than they already possess, whatever the risk. Most species also gambled more as the frequency of larger rewards increased. These results suggest the occurrence of optimistic behaviour. The maximax heuristic is sometimes observed in human managerial and financial decision-making, where risk is ignored for potential gains, however low they may be. Our results suggest a shared and strong propensity in primates to rely on heuristics whenever complexity in evaluation of outcome odds arises. Postprint Postprint

Although cooperative behaviours are common in animals, the cognitive processes underpinning such behaviours are very likely to differ between species. In humans, other-regarding preferences have been proposed to sustain long-term cooperation between individuals. The extent to which such psychological capacities exist in other animals is still under investigation. Five hand-reared ravens were first tested in an experiment where they could provide food to a conspecific at no cost to themselves. We offered them two behavioural options that provided identical amounts of food to the actor and where one of the two options additionally delivered a reward to a recipient. Subsequently, we made the ravens play a no-cost cooperation game with an experimenter. The experimenter had the same options as the animals and matched the ravens’ choices, making the prosocial choice the more profitable option. In both conditions, ravens were indifferent to the effects of their choices and hence failed to help conspecifics and to cooperate with the experimenter. While our negative results should be interpreted with care, overall, our findings suggest that the ravens had no understanding of the consequences of their actions for a potential recipient. This study adds to several others that have used a similar set-up and have reported negative results on other-regarding preferences in animals.

The century long publication of this journal overlapped major changes in the sciences it covers. We have been eyewitnesses to vast changes during the final third of the last century and beginning of this one, momentous enough to fundamentally alter our work separately and collectively. One (NBJ) from animal ethology, another from western North American archaeology (JOC), and a third (KH) from cultural anthropology came to longtime collaboration as evolutionary ecologists with shared focus on studying modern hunter-gatherers to guide hypotheses about human evolution. Our findings have radically revised hypotheses each of us took for granted when we began. Our (provisional) conclusions are not the consensus among hunter-gatherer specialists; but grateful that personal reflections are invited, we aim to explain how and why we continue to bet on them.

In laboratory studies of vocal behavior in animals, subjects are normally isolated in a sound-insulated chamber for recording, but such socially isolated conditions may reduce the chances that they will vocalize. Indeed, past studies using such methods have faced the challenge that subjects remained silent. Knowledge of conditions under which subjects are more likely to vocalize could thus improve experimental design. This study investigated (a) whether kea (Nestor notabilis) could be trained to increase vocal production using operant conditioning and (b) the conditions under which such training was feasible. We found that visual contact with other kea increased the chances that a subject would vocalize spontaneously, therefore making training through positive reinforcement possible. In the conditions where kea could only hear but not see the rest of the group, they were much less likely to vocalize. Subjects were quickly trained to increase vocal production while in visual contact with other kea, and the training remained effective even when visual access later was removed. The procedure described here could be used as a first step in future laboratory studies of vocal behavior, carried out before subjects are isolated, to overcome the challenge of inducing isolated subjects to vocalize. (PsycINFO Database Record

The use of pounding stone tools (PSTs) is a customary behaviour in several wild populations of capuchin monkeys; most of these monkeys use PSTs primarily to open hard palm nuts. Here, we describe the use of PSTs in two not previously studied groups of capuchin monkeys (Sapajus libidinosus) in Serra da Capivara National Park (SCNP), northeastern Brazil, and compare them to other groups and populations. Capuchins from SCNP are one of the only known population that habitually use PSTs for several purposes other than nut processing, including cracking seeds and fruits, breaking and/or enlarging holes in tree trunks or rocks, and pulverizing pebbles. Moreover, they use PSTs sequentially with probe stick tools to access hidden prey. The average size of PSTs was larger than the average locally available stones, suggesting active choice. The two groups exhibited more diversity in the use of PSTs than any other known population to date.

Humans quickly detect the presence of evolutionary threats through visual perception. Many theorists have considered humans to be predisposed to respond to both snakes and spiders as evolutionarily fear-relevant stimuli. Evidence supports that human adults, children, and snake-naive monkeys all detect pictures of snakes among pictures of flowers more quickly than vice versa, but recent neurophysiological and behavioral studies suggest that spiders may, in fact, be processed similarly to nonthreat animals. The evidence of quick detection and rapid fear learning by primates is limited to snakes, and no such evidence exists for spiders, suggesting qualitative differences between fear of snakes and fear of spiders. Here, we show that snake-naive Japanese monkeys detect a single snake picture among 8 nonthreat animal pictures (koala) more quickly than vice versa; however, no such difference in detection was observed between spiders and pleasant animals. These robust differences between snakes and spiders are the most convincing evidence that the primate visual system is predisposed to pay attention to snakes but not spiders. These findings suggest that attentional bias toward snakes has an evolutionary basis but that bias toward spiders is more due to top-down, conceptually driven effects of emotion on attention capture. (PsycINFO Database Record

The use of Global Positioning Systems (GPS) to discriminate foraging activities of dairy cattle was evaluated at the robotic and pasturebased dairy farm of the WK Kellogg Biological Station, Michigan State University, during August 11-20, 2010. Visual scans of foraging activities and recording of locations and activity sensors were conducted on 4 lactating Holstein dairy cows (650 kg LW; 23 kg.day-1) equipped with GPS collars that register head position, X-axis and Y-axis movement sensors. Results from GPS collars showed 82-86% probability of estimating animal locations with a 7 m error. GPS data suggested cows were on pasture most of the time 94.6% (±0.92) and under barn only 5.4% (±0.92). When cows were on pasture, they spent most of the time grazing (51%); the remaining time was devoted to resting (43%) and traveling (6%); cattle traveled an average 3385 m±712 SE per day. In low-temperature days the main activity of cows was grazing (92%), but under medium and high temperatures grazing was only 62.6 and 59.4%, respectively. On the contrary, resting was most important under medium and high temperaturas (33.6 and 31.8%, respectively). The usefulness of remote sensing and GPS to monitor animal behavior was demonstrated. Aplicación de GPS y GIS para estudiar el comportamiento en pastoreo de vacas lecheras. Se evaluó el uso de los Sistemas de Posicionamiento Global (GPS) para discriminar las actividades de pastoreo de vacas lecheras. El estudio se realizó en la granja robotizada de la Estación Biológica WK Kellogg de la Universidad Estatal de Michigan, entre 11 y 20 de agosto, 2010. Mediante observación de las actividades de forrajeo en diferentes sitios, usando sensores remotos se llevó un registro de la actividad de 4 vacas lactantes Holstein (650 kg PV; 23 kg.día-1) equipadas con collares GPS, que registran la posición de la cabeza con sensores de movimiento para los ejes X y Y. Los GPS mostraron 82-86% de probabilidad que la estimación de las ubicaciones de los animales tuviesen un error de 7 m. Estos datos sugirieron que las vacas permanecieron en las pasturas la mayor parte del tiempo (94,6±0,92%) y dentro del establo sólo un 5,4% (±0,92) del tiempo. Cuando las vacas estaban en las pasturas, la mayor parte del tiempo la dedicaron a pastoreo (51%); otra parte se dedicó a reposo (43%) y 6% a traslado. El ganado viajó en promedio 3385±712 m por día. En días de temperatura baja la actividad principal de las vacas fue el pastoreo (92%) y en días de media y alta temperatura el pastoreo fue sólo 62,6 y 59,4%, respectivamente. Por el contrario, el reposo fue la actividad más importante bajo media y alta temperatura (33,6 y 31,8%, respectivamente). Se demostró la utilidad de la teledetección y los GPS para monitorear el comportamiento animal.

Although orienting ability has been examined with numerous types of cues, most research has focused only on cues from the horizontal plane. The current study investigated pigeons' use of wall height, a vertical cue, in an open-field task and compared it with their use of horizontal cues. Pigeons were trained to locate food in 2 diagonal corners of a rectangular enclosure with 2 opposite high walls as height cues. Before each trial, pigeons were rotated to disorient them. In training, pigeons could use either the horizontal cues from the rectangular enclosure or the height information from the walls to locate the food. In testing, the apparatus was modified to provide (a) horizontal cues only, (b) height cues only, and (c) both height and horizontal cues in conflict. In Experiment 1 the lower and high walls, respectively, were 40 and 80 cm, whereas in Experiment 2 they were made more perceptually salient by shortening them to 20 and 40 cm. Pigeons accurately located the goal corners with horizontal cues alone in both experiments, but they searched accurately with height cues alone only in Experiment 2. When the height cues conflicted with horizontal cues, pigeons preferred the horizontal cues over the height cues in Experiment 1 but not in Experiment 2, suggesting that perceptual salience influences the relative weighting of cues. (PsycINFO Database Record

Metacognition consists of monitoring and control processes. Monitoring has been inferred when nonhumans use a “decline test” response to selectively escape difficult test trials. Cognitive control has been inferred from selective information seeking behavior by nonhumans ignorant of needed knowledge. Here we describe a computerized paradigm that extends previous work and begins to assess dynamic interactions between monitoring and control. Monkeys classified images as containing birds, fish, flowers, or people. To-be-classified images were initially masked, and monkeys were trained to gradually reveal the images by touching a “reveal button.” Monkeys could choose to classify images at any time or to reveal more of the images. Thus, they had the opportunity to assess when enough of an image had been revealed to support accurate classification. In Experiment 1, monkeys made more reveal responses before classifying when smaller amounts of the image were revealed by each button touch. In Experiment 2, to-be-classified images were shrunken and covered by one critical blocker among other blockers that did not provide information when removed. Monkeys made more reveal responses as the critical blocker was removed later in the trial. In Experiment 3, monkeys were re-presented with previously classified images with either more or fewer blockers obscuring the image than was the case when they chose to classify that image previously. Monkeys made more reveal responses when information was insufficient compared to when it was excessive. These results indicate that monkeys dynamically monitor evolving decision processes and adaptively collect information as necessary to maintain accuracy.

In two experiments, we investigated whether chimpanzees, Pan troglodytes, can use self-experience to infer what another sees. Subjects first gained self-experience with the visual properties of an object (either opaque or see-through). In a subsequent test phase, a human experimenter interacted with the object and we tested whether chimpanzees understood that the experimenter experienced the object as opaque or as see-through. Crucially, in the test phase, the object seemed opaque to the subject in all cases (while the experimenter could see through the one that they had experienced as see-through before), such that she had to use her previous self-experience with the object to correctly infer whether the experimenter could or could not see when looking at the object. Chimpanzees did not attribute their previous self-experience with the object to the experimenter in a gaze-following task (experiment 1); however, they did so successfully in a competitive context (experiment 2). We conclude that chimpanzees successfully used their self-experience to infer what the competitor sees. We discuss our results in relation to the well-known 'goggles experiment' and address alternative explanations. Postprint

Many studies have attempted to use music to influence the behavior of nonhuman animals; however, these studies have often led to conflicting outcomes. We have developed a theoretical framework that hypothesizes that in order for music to be effective with other species, it must be in the frequency range and with similar tempos to those used in natural communication by each species. We have used this framework to compose music that is species-appropriate for a few animal species. In this paper, we created species-appropriate music for domestic cats and tested this music in comparison with music with similar affective content composed for humans. We presented two examples of cat music in counterbalanced order with two examples of human music, and we evaluated the behavior and response latencies of cats to each piece. Cats showed a significant preference for and interest in species-appropriate music compared with human music (median (interquartile range (IQR)) 1.5 (0.5–2.0) acts for cat music, 0.25 (0.0–0.5) acts for human music, P P r 2 =0.477, P

The formations made by gregarious animals can range from loose aggregates to highly synchronized and ordered structures. For very large, coordinated groups, both physical and social environments are important for determining the physical arrangement of individuals in the group. Here we tested whether physical and social factors are also important in determining the structure of small, loosely coordinated groups of zebrafish. We found that even though our fish were not crowded and did not use most of the available space, the distance between individual fish was explained primarily by the amount of available space (i.e., density). Zebrafish in a larger space spread out more and the total dimensions of the shoal were an additive function also of group size. We, however, did not find any impact of social or physical environment on the orientation of individual fish or shoal. Thus, both physical and social factors were important for shoal spatial arrangements, but not individual orientation and shoal alignment.

Humans often must coordinate co-occurring activities, and their flexible skills for doing so would seem to be uniquely powerful. In 2 studies, we compared 4- and 5-year-old children and one of humans' nearest relatives, chimpanzees, in their ability to focus and shift their attention when necessary. The results of Study 1 showed that 4-year-old children and chimpanzees were very similar in their ability to monitor two identical devices and to sequentially switch between the two to collect a reward, and that they were less successful at doing so than 5-year-old children. In Study 2, which required subjects to alternate between two different tasks, one of which had rewards continuously available whereas the other one only occasionally released rewards, no species differences were found. These results suggest that chimpanzees and human children share some fundamental attentional control skills, but that such abilities continue to develop during human ontogeny, resulting in the uniquely human capacity to succeed at complex multitasking.

Public opinion and the scientific literature alike reflect a widespread assumption that there are differences in behavior between dog breeds. Direct empirical behavioral assessments of such differences, however, are rare and have produced mixed results. One area where breed differences are often assumed is olfaction, where German Shepherds, hounds, and Labradors are commonly used for odor-detection work, whereas toy breeds and brachycephalic dogs, such as Pugs, are not. Choice of breed for scent detection work, however, may be driven more by historical choices than data. In this article we directly assessed the ability of German Shepherds, Pugs, and Greyhounds to acquire a simple olfactory discrimination, and their ability to maintain performance when the target odorant was diluted. Our results show that contrary to expectations, Pugs significantly outperformed the German Shepherds in acquiring the odor discrimination and maintaining performance when the odorant concentration was decreased. Nine of 10 Greyhounds did not complete acquisition training because they failed a motivation criterion. These results indicate that Pugs outperformed German Shepherds in the dimensions of olfaction assessed. Greyhounds showed a general failure to participate. Overall, our results highlight the importance of direct behavioral measurement of assumed behavioral breed differences.

Allogrooming behaviour between adult mammals in non-sexual and non-parental contexts appears, on the whole, to be less common than in birds. It has been observed in a wide variety of ungulate and artiodactyl species in zoos, but the individuals may have been paired in most cases. Species which have evolved allogrooming or allopreening behaviour have ritualized invitation behaviour which often immediately precedes the partner starting to allogroom or allopreen. Allogrooming is accompanied by fixation on the area receiving attention, and this gives the impression that the grooming monkey is exercising extreme concentration. Under natural conditions, allogrooming may be important in the removal of ecto-parasites from the pelage. Many allogrooming bouts are initiated by invitation of the dominant animal. On comparative grounds, it would seem reasonable that higher-status individuals should allogroom those of lower status. There is a correlation between the rigidity of the hierarchy and the amount of allogrooming behaviour.

Unpredictable rewards increase the vigor of responses in autoshaping (a Pavlovian conditioning procedure) and are preferred to predictable rewards in free-choice tasks involving fixed- versus variable-delay schedules. The significance those behavioral properties may have in field conditions is currently unknown. However, it is noticeable that when exposed to unpredictable food, small passerines - such as robins, titmice, and starlings - get fatter than when food is abundant. In functional terms, fattening is viewed as an evolutionary strategy acting against the risk of starvation when food is in short supply. But this functional view does not explain the causal mechanisms by which small passerines come to be fatter under food uncertainty. Here, it is suggested that one of these causal mechanisms is that involved in behavioral invigoration and preference for food uncertainty in the laboratory. Based on a psychological theory of motivational changes under food uncertainty, we developed an integrative computational model to test this idea. We show that, for functional (adaptive) reasons, the excitatory property of reward unpredictability can underlie the propensity of wild birds to forage longer and/or more intensively in an unpredictable environment, with the consequence that they can put on more fat reserves.

In a fluctuating environment, the optimal level of exploratory behavior depends on the proportion of current risks and benefits. The exploratory behavior is, therefore, often subjected to heterogenous selection. In populations of commensal rodents living in close proximity of humans, this pressure is further increased by pest management. We hypothesize that the black rat (Rattus rattus) responds to this pressure by either high behavioral flexibility or by development of personality types. The aim of this study was to analyze exploratory behavior and boldness of wild black rats and its changes over time to determine whether exploratory behavior is a personality trait in black rats. Studies on animals with unreduced variability are necessary for determination of normal range of behaviors. The behavior in the open field and hole board tests yielded 1 multivariate variable representing exploratory behavior and 1 representing boldness. The hole board test additionally provided an axis representing exploratory behavior. Exploratory behavior showed moderate to high repeatability, even though we observed a considerable effect of habituation. Exploratory behavior was also strongly correlated across contexts; therefore, our results suggest that the black rat responds to heterogenous selection pressure by developing personality types. We also found a strong effect of litter identity on some aspects of the exploratory behavior. Boldness was less repeatable, which we interpret as high behavioral flexibility in this behavioral trait. In concordance with our hypothesis, the personality types in exploratory behavior, but not in boldness, are possibly maintained by heterogenous selection pressure created by human pest management. (PsycINFO Database Record

The first description of cannibalism in wild adult Octopus vulgaris is presented from 3 observations made in the Ría de Vigo (NW Spain), which were filmed by scuba divers. These records document common traits in cannibalistic behavior: (a) it was intercohort cannibalism; (b) attacks were made by both males and females; (c) in 2 of the records, the prey were transported to the den, which was covered with stones of different sizes; (d) the predator started to eat the tip of the arms of its prey; (e) predation on conspecifics occurred even if there were other abundant prey available (i.e., mussels); and (f) the prey/predator weight ratio in the 3 cases ranged from 20% to 25% body weight. The relationships between this behavior and sex, defense of territory, energy balance, food shortage, competition and predation, as well as how the attacker kills its victim are discussed., Project funded by the Organismo Autónomo de Parques Nacionales (CEFAPARQUES, Project number: 458/2011)

With this issue, the editors inaugurate the Featured Article Essay in the Journalof Comparative Psychology. This brief essay, written by one or both of the editors, highlights one of the articles in each issue that is found to be particularly important, interesting, or innovative. The editors' choice for this issue is the article by Pellis and Pellis (2018) about play fighting in gray mouse lemurs (Microcebus murinus). (PsycINFO Database Record

The aims of this study were to investigate behaviors exhibited by dogs without separation-related problems when left home alone and to compare the behaviors of this group of dogs (termed "nonclinical") with a group of dogs diagnosed with separation anxiety by a veterinary behaviorist (termed "clinical"), previously published. Thirty dogs divided into 3 groups according to age were video recorded when left home alone for 90 minutes. Thirteen behavioral categories were established to describe duration and frequency of dog activity. Descriptive analysis, nonparametric tests (Kruskal–Wallis test, Mann–Whitney test), and principal component analysis (PCA) were performed. Behavioral video analysis of our sample of nonclinical dogs showed that they spent most of their time when home alone exhibiting passive behavior (54.33 ± 22.27 minutes) as opposed to oriented to environment (8.6 ± 9.4 minutes), play (4.40 ± 5.54 minutes), whining (6.43 ± 2.14 minutes), howling (3.32 ± 4.49 minutes), barking (0.17 ± 0.00 minutes), locomotion (1.121 ± 1.48 minutes), and exploration (0.51 ± 1.25 minutes). Twenty-two dogs (73.3%) exhibited locomotion, 4 dogs (13.3%) whining, 3 dogs (10%) howling, 3 dogs (10%) barking, 17 dogs (56.7%) lip licking (8 times), and 10 dogs (33.3%) yawning (3 times). No statistically significant differences based on age were found. Comparison with data from a previous study about dogs with confirmed separation anxiety was performed using PCA. Analysis showed that passive behavior was exhibited for extended periods in nonclinical dogs contrary to clinical dogs, which displayed behaviors compatible with signs of anxiety.

Behavioral genetics, also commonly referred to as behavior genetics, can be broadly defined as the study of the inheritance of behavioral phenotypes (Crusio, 2015). Although it is a surprisingly old discipline going back to the 19th century, behavioral genetics is one of the most rapidly expanding areas of contemporary biology. In particular, the breathtaking speed of methodological development in the analysis of genes and genomes has transformed the understanding of the genetic basis of behavior and is paving the way for the emerging field of comparative behavioral genomics. Consequently, the limiting factor in the future of behavioral genetics might not be the gathering of genetic, genomic, or epigenetic data but rather gaining a deeper understanding of the behavioral variation explained by genes, the environment, and their interaction. In this chapter, our goal is to provide a concise introduction to the vast and wide-ranging research field of behavioral genetics and to describe its history and early controversies, conceptual and methodological advances, and outlook for the future. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2017 APA, all rights reserved)

Animals communicate with conspecifics to resolve conflicts over how resources are shared. Since signals reflect individuals' resource-holding potential and motivation to compete, it is crucial that opponents efficiently transmit and receive information to adjust investment optimally in competitive interactions. Acoustic communication is particularly flexible as it can be quickly modulated according to background noise and audience. Diverse mechanisms have evolved to minimize acoustic signal interference, one being the avoidance of signal overlap by adjusting the timing of call production to alternate calls with those of competitors. However, the occurrence and function of overlap avoidance in the resolution of competition among relatives have barely been studied. Using young barn owl siblings, Tyto alba, which vocally negotiate over who will have priority access to food provided by parents, we investigated the extent to which nestlings avoid calling simultaneously and the function of this behaviour. We found that nestlings overlapped both their live siblings' calls and experimentally broadcast calls at least five times less often than expected at random. Furthermore, a focal nestling engaged more intensely in vocal negotiation when competing with nestmates that called simultaneously compared to those that did not overlap their respective calls. This suggests that barn owl nestlings avoid calling simultaneously, as overlapped calls are less efficient at deterring siblings from competing. Overlap avoidance reduces signal interference and, as a consequence, would improve the efficiency of communication among kin.

In 1966 in Edinburgh, Scotland, a group of far-sighted veterinarians formed the Society for Veterinary Ethology with the aim of improving knowledge about the behaviour of domesticated animals. The findings of a UK government committee, investigating intensive livestock production methods, published in 1965, had made it clear that such information was urgently needed. In this chapter we describe the development of this society and how it changed from a group of 37, mostly Scottish, founder member veterinarians to an international society with about 550 members, the majority of whom are not veterinarians. This evolution in the interests of the membership led the society in 1991 to change its name to the International Society for Applied Ethology (ISAE). The Society has had a special relationship with the journal 'Applied Animal Behaviour Science' (formerly 'Applied Animal Ethology') since 1974 and it is now the official journal of the Society. The Society has had, and continues to have representation on committees and boards relating to animal behaviour and animal welfare throughout the world, and continues to evolve and work to raise both its profile and that of applied ethology globally; a bright future for the Society and applied ethology seems assured.

This paper examines the hunting strategies employed by Neanderthals at a series of kill or near-kill sites from the Middle Palaeolithic of Europe (Mauran, La Borde, Taubach, Zwolen and Salzgitter Lebenstedt). Using palaeolandscape reconstructions and animal ethology as our context, we adopt a multifaceted approach that views hunting as a chaine operatoire involving the decisions and actions of both the hunter and the hunted, which together help reconstruct a forensic picture of past events as they unfolded. Our conclusions indicate that Neanderthals did not necessarily pre-select individuals from a herd, who they then isolated, pursued and killed, but rather ambushed whole groups, which they slaughtered indiscriminately. There is strong evidence, however, that Neanderthals were highly selective in the carcasses they then chose to process. Our conclusions suggest that Neanderthals were excellent tacticians, casual executioners and discerning diners.