Highlights of published papers in Applied Animal Behaviour Science in 2025

Faces are highly emotive stimuli and we find smiling or familiar faces both attractive and comforting, even as young babies. Do other species with sophisticated face recognition skills, such as sheep, also respond to the emotional significance of familiar faces? We report that when sheep experience social isolation, the sight of familiar sheep face pictures compared with those of goats or inverted triangles significantly reduces behavioural (activity and protest vocalizations), autonomic (heart rate) and endocrine (cortisol and adrenaline) indices of stress. They also increase mRNA expression of activity-dependent genes (c-fos and zif/268) in brain regions specialized for processing faces (temporal and medial frontal cortices and basolateral amygdala) and for emotional control (orbitofrontal and cingulate cortex), and reduce their expression in regions associated with stress responses (hypothalamic paraventricular nucleus) and fear (central and lateral amygdala). Effects on face recognition, emotional control and fear centres are restricted to the right brain hemisphere. Results provide evidence that face pictures may be useful for relieving stress caused by unavoidable social isolation in sheep, and possibly other animal species, including humans. The finding that sheep, like humans, appear to have a right brain hemisphere involvement in the control of negative emotional experiences also suggests that functional lateralization of brain emotion systems may be a general feature in mammals.

La Superstition raisonnable est titre qui apparait contradictoire, mais il donne en deux mots l'ensemble de la pensee des Lumieres sur la culture et la civilisation pharaoniques. Les philosophes et les ecrivains du XVIIIe siecle considerent que l'Egypte ancienne est le berceau des arts et des sciences, mais aussi elle est l'origine des cultes irrationnels. Cependant, la production litteraire et philosophique des Lumieres ne se contente pas a etudier cette question d'origine des cultes en evoquant le pharaonisme, mais elle s'y inspire aussi dans certains romans tels Le Taureau blanc, Semeramis. Et Durant tout le XVIIIe siecle, le sujet Egyptien est present, chez les franc-macons, les antiquaires, les historiens d'arts, les erudits les historiens, comme chez certains poetes et romanciers. C'est pourquoi, une des difficultes qui surgit est de trouver un fil conducteur pour etudier la representation de l’Egypte antique dans la pensee du XVIIIe siecle en raison de la diversite de la representation de l’Egypte, non pas seulement au cours du siecle, mais aussi a l’interieur d’un meme ouvrage. C’est en raison de ces diverses approches du pharaonisme par les ecrivains des Lumieres que cette these emprunte des chemins interdisciplinaires, qui se refletent dans la diversite de la bibliographie. Ainsi Cette etude essaie de donner quelques eclaircissements sur des textes qui n’ont pas fait l’objet de reflexion suffisante de la part des dix-huitiemistes alors qu’ils le meritent, car ces textes sont representatifs de l’inquietude philosophique.

Mating Behavior and the Social Hierarchy in Small Flocks of White Leghorns

This report provides a summary of four systematic reviews on the impact of perch height on laying hen keel bone fractures, deformation and injuries, bone strength, foot lesions and perching behavior. After conducting a scoping review and identifying outcomes of interest, the review protocols were developed. An extensive literature search was conducted in information sources such as CABI, PUBMED and relevant conference proceedings. 1518 abstracts were assessed for relevance and 9 studies reported perch use and 1 reported keel injuries. No studies reported summary effect sizes; therefore it was not possible to conduct a meta-analysis. In lieu of a formal meta-analysis, a descriptive analysis was conducted, which plotted reported perch height against metrics of perch use. This descriptive analysis was not able to account for lack of independence, differences in sample size and other importance sources of heterogeneity such as cage height. The descriptive analysis suggested a positive association with metrics that measured perch use and height, i.e., increased usage was associated with increased height. © European Food Safety Authority, 2015

Environmental enrichment in zoos and aquariums is often evaluated at two overlapping levels: published research and day-to-day institutional record keeping. Several authors have discussed ongoing challenges with small sample sizes in between-groups zoological research and have cautioned against the inappropriate use of inferential statistics (Shepherdson, , International Zoo Yearbook, 38, 118-124; Shepherdson, Lewis, Carlstead, Bauman, & Perrin, Applied Animal Behaviour Science, 147, 298-277; Swaisgood, , Applied Animal Behaviour Science, 102, 139-162; Swaisgood & Shepherdson, , Zoo Biology, 24, 499-518). Multi-institutional studies are the typically-prescribed solution, but these are expensive and difficult to carry out. Kuhar ( Zoo Biology, 25, 339-352) provided a reminder that inferential statistics are only necessary when one wishes to draw general conclusions at the population level. Because welfare is assessed at the level of the individual animal, we argue that evaluations of enrichment efficacy are often instances in which inferential statistics may be neither necessary nor appropriate. In recent years, there have been calls for the application of behavior-analytic techniques to zoo animal behavior management, including environmental enrichment (e.g., Bloomsmith, Marr, & Maple, , Applied Animal Behaviour Science, 102, 205-222; Tarou & Bashaw, , Applied Animal Behaviour Science, 102, 189-204). Single-subject (also called single-case, or small-n) designs provide a means of designing evaluations of enrichment efficacy based on an individual's behavior. We discuss how these designs might apply to research and practice goals at zoos and aquariums, contrast them with standard practices in the field, and give examples of how each could be successfully applied in a zoo or aquarium setting.

In many sexually dimorphic mammal species, the sexes live outside the mating season in separate social groups ('social segregation'). Social segregation occurs in a wide range of environmental conditions, but its cause in unknown. I suggest that social segregation is caused by a lower level of activity synchrony between individuals in mixed-sex groups than in single-sex groups, owing to sex differences in activity rhythm. As a consequence, mixed-sex groups are more likely to break up than single-sex groups, resulting in a predominance of single-sex groups at equilibrium. To test this hypothesis in red deer (Cervus elaphus L.), I developed an index of activity synchronization and showed that deer in mixed-sex groups were significantly less synchronized in their activity than deer in single-sex groups. Thus, low intersexual synchrony in activity can lead to social segregation. However, a lower level of intrasexual (female-female and male-male) activity synchrony within mixed-sex than within single-sex groups implies that additional factors (other than sex differences in foraging rhythm) contribute to the higher degree of instability of mixed-sex groups.

Social Factors Influencing the Hierarchies of Small Flocks of the Domestic Hen: Interactions between Resident and Part-Time Members of Organized Flocks

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.

Previous articleNext article No AccessDisgorging of Food to the Puppies by the Lactating DogThales MartinsThales Martins Search for more articles by this author PDFPDF PLUS Add to favoritesDownload CitationTrack CitationsPermissionsReprints Share onFacebookTwitterLinkedInRedditEmail SectionsMoreDetailsFiguresReferencesCited by Volume 22, Number 2Apr., 1949 Article DOIhttps://doi.org/10.1086/physzool.22.2.30152039 Views: 1Total views on this site Citations: 11Citations are reported from Crossref Journal History This article was published in Physiological Zoology (1928-1998), which is continued by Physiological and Biochemical Zoology (1999-present). PDF download Crossref reports the following articles citing this article:Clive D. L. Wynne The Indispensable Dog, Frontiers in Psychology 12 (Jul 2021).https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2021.656529Clive D.L. Wynne Dogs' (Canis lupus familiaris) behavioral adaptations to a human-dominated niche: A review and novel hypothesis, (Jan 2021): 97–162.https://doi.org/10.1016/bs.asb.2021.03.004S.K. Pal, S. Roy, B. Ghosh Pup rearing: the role of mothers and allomothers in free-ranging domestic dogs, Applied Animal Behaviour Science (Dec 2020): 105181.https://doi.org/10.1016/j.applanim.2020.105181Kathryn Lord, Mark Feinstein, Bradley Smith, Raymond Coppinger Variation in reproductive traits of members of the genus Canis with special attention to the domestic dog (Canis familiaris), Behavioural Processes 92 (Jan 2013): 131–142.https://doi.org/10.1016/j.beproc.2012.10.009S.K. Pal Parental care in free-ranging dogs, Canis familiaris, Applied Animal Behaviour Science 90, no.11 (Jan 2005): 31–47.https://doi.org/10.1016/j.applanim.2004.08.002K.M. Pratschke, E. Fitzpatrick, D. Campion, H. McAllister, C.R. Bellenger Topography of the gastro-oesophageal junction in the dog revisited: possible clinical implications, Research in Veterinary Science 76, no.33 (Jun 2004): 171–177.https://doi.org/10.1016/j.rvsc.2003.12.001Kerstin Malm Regurgitation in relation to weaning in the domestic dog: a questionnaire study, Applied Animal Behaviour Science 43, no.22 (May 1995): 111–122.https://doi.org/10.1016/0168-1591(95)00556-8Kerstin Malm, Per Jensen Regurgitation as a weaning strategy — a selective review on an old subject in a new light, Applied Animal Behaviour Science 36, no.11 (Mar 1993): 47–64.https://doi.org/10.1016/0168-1591(93)90098-AH. Hörnicke, G. Björnhag Coprophagy and related strategies for digesta utilization, (Jan 1980): 707–730.https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-011-8067-2_34O. Anne E. Rasa Prey Capture, Feeding Techniques, and their Ontogeny in the African Dwarf Mongoose, Helogale undulata rufula, Zeitschrift für Tierpsychologie 32, no.55 (Apr 2010): 449–488.https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1439-0310.1973.tb01117.xR. F. Ewer The Behaviour of the African Giant Rat (Cricetomys gambianus Waterhouse), Zeitschrift für Tierpsychologie 24, no.11 (Apr 2010): 6–79.https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1439-0310.1967.tb01228.x

The ability of fish to recognize and preferentially associate with familiar conspecifics has been well documented in a series of laboratory experiments. In this paper we investigate the schooling preferences of wild female guppies, Poecilia reticulata, in the Upper Tunapuna River in Trinidad and confirm that they do indeed prefer to associate with familiar individuals. The guppies in this river occur in a series of pools that become isolated during the dry season. These fish interact solely with other individuals in their pool for periods of several months at a time and thus have ample opportunity to become accustomed to one another. Our study also reveals that the tendency of female guppies to school with familiar fish declines as the group size in which they naturally live increases. Preferences are strong when there are small numbers of females in a pool, but diminish thereafter. This indicates that the expression of familiarity is constrained by group size. The basis of recognition and the consequences of schooling preferences for familiar individuals are discussed.

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Sources of variation of antimicrobial use in Charolaise and Limousine beef breeds in Veneto region (Italy)