bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
The Social Facilitation of Drinking: What is Facilitated, and Who is Affected?
Authors: Forkman Björn 
Published: May 2010

AbstractThe effect of a drinking companion on conspecifics was investigated using domestic hens (Callus gallus domesticus). The two aims of the investigation were firstly to see whether drinking is sensitive to social facilitation, and if so, to see whether it follows the same pattern as that of feeding, i.e. whether it acts primarily on the drinking behaviour rather than the amount ingested. The second aim was to see whether differences in how influenced the birds were by a drinking companion correlated with one or more social or non‐social traits. Social facilitation was measured by comparing the intake and number of ‘head‐ups’ (i.e. swallowing) of an individual in the presence of a thirsty or non‐thirsty companion. The traits measured were as follows: the rank within each pair, social dependence/fear, reaction to a novel object, reaction in a feeding‐inhibition test, and finally weight (as a possible index of the overall rank of the birds in the group). Social facilitation of drinking occurs but acts primarily on drinking behaviour (number of ‘head ups’); birds do not swallow as much per ‘head up’ as when they themselves are thirsty. The lightest (possibly most subdominant) birds were also the ones most influenced by the drinking conspecific. Furthermore, the heaviest (possibly most dominant) individuals were the ones with the shortest social distance and the longest latency in approaching a novel object. This meant that the birds that were most influenced by a drinking companion were also the individuals that were least fearful and showed the highest degree of exploration.
The Function of Embryonic Vocalization in the Little Tern (Sterna albifrons)
Authors: Saino N. , Fasola M. 
Published: May 2010

AbstractVarious functional explanations can be proposed for the evolution of bird embryonic vocalizations during the pre‐hatching period, namely: 1. To elicit switching of parents from incubation to parental behaviour typical of the chick period; 2. To allow thermoregulation of embryos by soliciting parents to incubate; or 3. To establish parent—offspring individual recognition. In this paper, we present the results of field experiments designed to test hypotheses 1 and 3 in the colonial, ground‐nesting little tern. Parents that had their hatching eggs cross‐fostered with foreign eggs at the same hatching stage exhibited a parental behaviour similar to unmanipulated controls. Parents that incubated foreign eggs up to a stage in which embryos were not yet vocalizing, and were challenged with their own hatching eggs that had been incubated in foster nests, performed less efficient parental cares than unmanipulated control pairs and pairs that had cross‐fostered hatching eggs. The results do not support the hypothesis of early individual recognition and suggest that embryonic vocalizations in little terns have the function of promoting switching of parents from incubation to accepting and feeding hatchlings. Similar to other tern and gull species, the duration of incubation period in the little tern varies markedly among pairs and years. In these species, embryonic vocalizations can be adaptive since they provide parents a cue to switch at a proper time from incubation to parental cares typical of the chick period.
Sexual Selection and Information Content in Gibbon Song Bouts
Authors: Cowlishaw Guy 
Published: May 2010

AbstractMale and female gibbons (Hylobates) produce sexually dimorphic song bouts which appear to serve to guard mates and defend territories respectively. On the basis of differences in both the familiarity and the costs of conflict between sender and receiver, males but not females are hypothesized to use high‐energy assessment signals to advertise resource‐holding potential. This hypothesis is tested by examining the evidence for differential energy constraints in the production of male and female song bouts across 21 gibbon populations. The results indicate that song performance is reduced when the availability of high‐energy foods is reduced and that this effect is greatest in males. Male song bout frequency also declines in populations where the energetic costs of thermoregulation are likely to be greater (i.e. in high‐latitude populations). Females do not show this pattern. Females appear to perform the minimum number of songs per bout required for signal transmission and may perform bouts less often when more songs are required. In contrast, males sing for longer periods the more frequently bouts are performed. Overall, these results support the hypothesis that the song bouts of males but not females act as assessment signals. Observational and experimental studies which would provide a more powerful test of this hypothesis are briefly outlined.
Courtship Behavior of the Cumberland Plateau Woodland Salamander, Plethodon kentucki (Amphibia: Plethodontidae), with a Review of Courtship in the Genus Plethodon
Authors: Marvin Glenn A. , Hutchison Victor H. 
Published: May 2010

AbstractComplete catalogs of courtship behavior are available for only seven of the 42 currently recognized species of Plethodon. Additional detailed studies of courtship behavior in Plethodon species are needed to analyze the evolution of courtship behavior in this genus. We investigated the courtship behavior of the Cumberland Plateau woodland salamander (Plethodon kentucki) and compared it to previous accounts of courtship in other Plethodon species. In the laboratory, we videotaped the complete courtship of 30 different P. kentucki pairs, which included 46 tail‐straddling walks that resulted in spermatophore deposition. From a transition matrix of observed motor patterns, we constructed a flow diagram of significant motor‐pattern transitions during courtship. In general, the courtship behavior of this species is very similar to that of other large eastern Plethodon; however, there are some notable differences. Prior to the tail‐straddling walk, the male transfers courtship pheromone from his mental gland to the female's nasolabial grooves (via mental‐gland tapping and ‘chin‐to‐chin’ behavior patterns) more frequently than in other Plethodon. In most courtships, the female initiates contact leading to the tail‐straddling walk. Males exhibit a greater propensity to deposit multiple spermatophores per courtship (two deposited in 33% of courtships, three deposited in 10% of courtships, X = 1.53 spermatophores per courtship) than males of other plethodontids. Mean size of the spermatophore is smaller than in other large eastern Plethodon. Overall, the courtship behavior of this species is most similar to that of P. jordani.
Behavioral Tactics of Male Sockeye Salmon (Oncorhynchus nerka) under Varying Operational Sex Ratios
Authors: Quinn Thomas P. , Adkison Milo D. , Ward Michael B. 
Published: May 2010

AbstractPrevious studies have demonstrated several reproductive‐behavior patterns in male salmon, including competitive and sneaking tactics, the formation of hierarchies, and non‐hierarchical aggregations around ripe females. Through behavioral observations at varying spatial and temporal scales, we examined the hypothesis that operational sex ratio (OSR) determines male sockeye salmon (Oncorhynchus nerka) distribution and breeding tactics. Patterns of male distribution and behavior varied over both coarse and fine scales, associated with apparent shifts in reproductive opportunities, the physical characteristics of the breeding sites, and the deterioration of the fish as they approached death. Females spawned completely within a few days of arriving on the spawning grounds, whereas males courted the available ripe females from the date of their arrival on the spawning ground until their death. This difference in reproductive lifespans tended to elevate late‐season OSRs but was partially counterbalanced by male departures and the arrival of other ripe females. The proportion of males able to dominate access to ripe females decreased and the number of large courting groups increased over the course of the season, apparently related to both increasing OSR and the deteriorating physical condition of males. However, great variation in OSR was observed within the spawning sites on a given day. OSRs were generally higher in shallow than in deep water, perhaps because larger females or more desirable breeding sites were concentrated in shallow water. The aggregations of males courting females were not stable (i.e. many arrivals and departures took place) and male aggression varied with group size. Aggression was most frequent at low OSRs and in groups of intermediate size (2–4 males per female), and much less frequent in larger groups, consistent with the needs of maximizing reproductive opportunities while minimizing unproductive energy expenditure. These results indicate that, while OSR strongly influences male distribution and behavior, other factors such as physical condition, limited movement and habitat choice may also affect male reproductive opportunities.
Effect of Foraging Distance on the Thermal Behaviour of Honeybees during Dancing, Walking and Trophallaxis
Authors: Stabentheiner Anton 
Published: May 2010

AbstractBy means of infrared thermography and without disturbing social interactions, the correlation between thoracic temperature in honeybees, Apis mellifera carnica, upon their return to the hive and their foraging distance was investigated. Thoracic temperature while dancing and walking and during trophallactic contact with hive bees decreased with increasing flight distance. In bees foraging 0.5, 1, 1.5 and 2 molar sucrose solutions from a distance of 120 m, dancing temperature amounted to 38.4, 40.1, 40.9 and 40.6 °C, respectively; while in bees foraging from a distance of 2950 m it amounted to 36.6, 38.4, 38.6 and 39.1 °C, respectively. The rate of decrease in dancing temperature per 1000 m increase in flight distance was 0.64, 0.47, 0.81 and 0.54 °C with a 0.5, 1, 1.5 and 2 molar sucrose solution, respectively. Both at short and at long flight distances, the relationship between thoracic temperature and sucrose concentration of the food followed a non‐linear curve, which flattened at concentrations higher than 1 mol/1. The experiments showed that inside the hive the foragers' level of thermoregulation depends not only on the energy (sugar) content of the food; but rather, the level of thermoregulation corresponds to the general quality of the food source, which includes both energy content and distance from the hive. Because the thermal behaviour of foragers correlates with several behavioural parameters indicating the bees' foraging tendency and their eagerness to dance, thoracic temperature seems to be a correlate of the profitability of foraging.
Stereotypies in Laboratory Mice — Quantitative and Qualitative Description of the Ontogeny of ‘Wire‐gnawing’ and ‘Jumping’ in Zur:ICR and Zur:ICR nu
Authors: Würbel Hanno , Stauffacher Markus , von Holst Dietrich 
Published: May 2010

AbstractThe ontogeny of two stereotypic patterns, wire‐gnawing and jumping, was studied in 24 laboratory mice: six males and six females each of two closely related outbred strains, kept under standard housing conditions, a conventional albino strain (ICR) and a nude, athymic mutant (ICR nu; hereafter: NU). All 24 individuals developed wire‐gnawing after weaning at 20 d of age. In ICR one female and in NU five males and three females additionally developed jumping. ICR developed wire‐gnawing between the age of 20 and 30 d, in NU jumping started at the age of 20 d, but intense jumping and wire‐gnawing comparable to that of ICR did not develop in NU before the age of 40–50 d. Within each strain there was no significant difference between males and females with respect to the development of stereotypic behaviour. By contrast, ICR showed significantly more wire‐gnawing but less jumping than NU.Stereotypy level increased with age up to a mean of 10.7 % of total activity in ICR and up to 7.4 % in NU at 100 d of age. However, there was huge inter‐ and intra‐individual variability with respect to all parameters assessed in this study, i.e. total duration, number of bouts and bout length of the two stereotyped patterns.Wire‐gnawing developed from outside‐directed explorative climbing at the cage lid, whereas the source behaviour pattern (Mason 1991 a, Anim. Behav. 41, 1015–1037) of jumping was outside‐directed explorative rearing at the cage wall. At 20 d of age, before the onset of stereotypy development, ICR showed significantly more climbing but less rearing than NU. Physical retardation of NU at weaning may account for decreased climbing ability during early ontogeny, and hence for the retarded development of wire‐gnawing. The difference in early experience with either of the two patterns rather than genetic effects may be responsible for the qualitative difference between the strains with respect to the form of later stereotypy.
Food Intake, Growth and Relatedness in the Subsocial Spider,Stegodyphus lineatus(Eresidae)
Authors: Schneider Jutta M. 
Published: May 2010

AbstractOne of the presumed benefits of sociality in spiders is an improved foraging success although it has been shown that group feeding is less efficient than feeding alone. In spiders, communal feeding only occurs amongst kin. The effects of relatedness on the consequences of group feeding were investigated in the subsocial spiderStegodyphus lineatus. A significant difference between short‐term intake rates and long‐term growth rates was shown in a comparison between groups of siblings and groups of non‐siblings. Groups of siblings extracted more out of a prey item in a given time and they had higher growth rates than groups of non‐siblings.
Frequency‐dependent Food Selection by Domestic Cats: A Comparative Study
Authors: Church Stuart C. , Allen John A. , Bradshaw John W. S. 
Published: May 2010

AbstractPreferences for common food types (‘apostatic selection’) have been demonstrated in a wide variety of vertebrate predators, yet there are few examples of preferences for rare food types (‘anti‐apostatic selection’). Anti‐apostatic selection is predicted to occur when, among other things, there are nutritional benefits to be gained from the consumption of a mixed diet. We tested this hypothesis by examining the frequency‐dependent food preferences of domestic cats (Felis silvestris catus) with different nutritional histories. Subjects were classified as being either nutritionally ‘experienced’ (farm and rescue shelter cats, with a history of scavenging for nutritionally variable foods) or nutritionally ‘inexperienced’ (cats reared indoors on high‐quality, nutritionally complete diets). We tested for frequency dependence by allowing individuals and groups of cats from the two groups to select from high‐density mixtures of two types of artificial food pellet. In experiments on individual cats, nutritionally experienced subjects showed significant anti‐apostatic selection, whereas inexperienced cats produced only a weak anti‐apostatic trend. In experiments on groups of cats, both inexperienced and experienced groups showed significant anti‐apostatic selection. The apparent inconsistency between individual and group results could be explained in terms of the additional anti‐apostatic effects that result from variation among individuals in group foraging situations (i.e. when the effects of individuals are pooled). Because other behavioural explanations, such as perceptual contrast and sampling effects, were unlikely to have influenced our results, we conclude that the differences in selection between experienced and inexperienced individuals were probably due to the differing extent to which the consumption of a mixed diet was beneficial. These experiments may offer some insight into the success of the domestic cat in urban areas: although obligate carnivores, they appear to possess flexible feeding strategies which will tend to allow them to select a reasonably balanced diet from nutritionally variable resources in, for example, refuse bins.
Apparent Dear‐enemy Phenomenon and Environment‐based Recognition Cues in the Ant Leptothorax nylanderi
Authors: Heinze Jürgen , Foitzik Susanne , Hippert Andreas , Hölldobler Bert 
Published: May 2010

AbstractInter‐ and intraspecific competition was investigated in ants of the myrmicine genus leptothorax in a deciduous woodland near Würzburg, Germany. The most common species, A. (Myrafant) nylanderi, lives in rotting pine, oak, and elder sticks and may locally reach densities of 10 nests per m2. In the studied sites, only a small fraction of colonies were polydomous, i.e. single colonies typically did not inhabit several nest sites. The home ranges of nylanderi colonies overlap the ranges of other conspecific colonies and colonies of other species, especially L. (s.str.) gredleri. Foragers from different colonies encountering one another in the field back off without exhibiting strong aggression, suggesting that colonies do not defend absolute foraging territories. In laboratory experiments, the frequency and severity of agonistic interactions among workers from different colonies, all living in pine sticks, increased significantly with the distance between their nests. Workers from colonies nesting in different types of wood exhibited significantly more aggression. Experiments in which we transferred colonies from pine sticks into artificial pine or oak nests corroborate the hypothesis that nesting material strongly influences colony odour in L. nylanderi. The evolutionary significance of this apparent dear‐enemy phenomenon is discussed.
Undirected Song Encourages the Breeding Female Zebra Finch to Remain in the Nest
Authors: Dunn A. M. , Zann R. A. 
Published: May 2010

AbstractWild zebra finches sing frequently during the breeding season, but the vast majority of song is of the undirected song type that is not directed at any individual, and the function of which is obscure — it appears to be ignored by all potential recipients. It is sung close to the nest‐site, has a peak in production during the egg‐laying period, and diminishes thereafter. The incidence of undirected song is positively correlated with extra‐pair courtship, a finding consistent with the hypothesis that it is a means of advertising availability for extra‐pair matings. Typically, undirected song occurred outside the nest when the female was inside, and a positive relationship was found between the amount of singing given by the male during the 5‐min interval immediately after the female entered the nest and the time she subsequently spent inside the nest. Keeping the partner inside the nest during her fertile period is an advantage to the male: it serves as a form of paternity protection against other males and it allows him opportunities to pursue his own extra‐pair matings. Occupancy of the nest during laying is also a means of guarding against intraspecific brood parasitism, which was high at this colony.
Territory Establishment and Antler Cycle in Male Roe Deer
Authors: Johansson Agneta 
Published: May 2010

AbstractTerritory establishment and antler cycle in male roe deer, Capreolus capreolus, were studied in two areas in south‐eastern Sweden during 1989–1993. Initial territorial behaviour was observed in early Mar., when overlap between male ranges decreased from 66 % to 0 % over a 3–6‐wk period, as determined from telemetry data. The decrease was associated with an increased number of agonistic interactions. Most territories were established at the end of Mar. to early Apr., with a tendency for males re‐establishing old territories to be first. In all years, territories were taken up 1–3 wk before males shed velvet from their antlers. The distance between geometric centres of neighbouring males in winter and after territory establishment increased from 164 to 364 m. Former territory holders moved the geometric centres of their winter range and subsequent territory a shorter distance than first‐year territorials, 129 and 267 m respectively. Territory defence ceased after the rut in late Aug., and the spatial relations between neighbours reverted to the situation before the territorial season. Neither velvet shedding nor antler casting was correlated with male age (yearlings excluded), which contradicts earlier statements. Neither were there any associations between timing of antler casting and subsequent velvet shedding, nor vice versa. Hence, a male casting antlers early one year derives no advantage by early shedding the next season. Furthermore, to be in hard antlers is not a prerequisite for territory take‐up, whereas antlers probably are necessary for maintaining the area throughout the season. Functional aspects on roe buck territoriality are also discussed.
Genetic Analysis of the Drifting of Drones in Apis mellifera Using Multilocus DNA Fingerprinting
Authors: Moritz Robin F. A. , Neumann Peter 
Published: May 2010

AbstractThe presence of non‐native drones in colonies of Apis mellifera was studied using multilocus DNA fingerprinting. Drones revealing a fingerprinting DNA banding pattern that did not correspond to the queen's genotype were classified as non‐native animals. As previously reported for the drifting of workers, the position of the hive in relation to neighbouring colonies and the orientation of the flight entrance towards the sun showed significant correlations to the number of drifted drones in a colony. The frequency of non‐native drones was low in central colonies (13 %) but high in marginal colonies (24 %). Furthermore, there was a significant correlation (r = 0.56) between the band‐sharing coefficient of the non‐native drones and the queen, and the number of drifted drones in the colony, which might indicate that genetically based nestmate recognition is involved in the drifting and/or acceptance of foreign drones in the colony.
Evidence for Resetting the Directional Component of Path Integration in the House Mouse (Mus musculus)
Authors: Alyan Sofyan H. 
Published: May 2010

AbstractPath integration is the animal's running computation of its position relative to a starting point based on recording all displacements. This process is known to be prone to cumulative errors and hence must somehow be corrected with the help of local spatial cues. In the reported experiments, the relative role of local spatial cues at two target locations was appraised. These two targets were the peripheral box of a female house mouse (Mus musculus) and a central box from where she retrieved her pups over a distance of 50 cm. The experimental conditions required the mouse to navigate between the two targets solely by means of path integration. To find out whether the mice continued integrating at the two target locations, directional misinformation was fed into their path integrating system. Hence, passive rotation of 90° proved to be sufficient to decide unambiguously whether the mice were misdirected. Such experimental interference consistently documented ongoing path integration at the target location outside the residential nest. In contrast, the same interference when the mouse was in the residential nest documented discontinuation of path integration in most cases. It is inferred that mice, when departing from residential nests, initially direct themselves by means of local guiding stimuli.