The Frequency of Solitary Behaviors in Captive Odontocetesis Modulated by Environmental and Social Factors

Agathe Serres,Yujiang Hao,Ding Wang

doi:10.46867/ijcp.2019.32.00.08

Abstract

The number of welfare-oriented studies is increasing in animals under human care, including odontocetes. However, validated welfare indicators are lacking for captive odontocetes. We studied the effect of several conditions (moment of the day, social grouping, public presence) and stimuli (enrichment, perturbations) on the solitary behaviour of Yangtze finless porpoises (Neophocaena asiaeorientalis asiaeorientalis), East-Asian finless porpoises (N. a. sunameri) and bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops truncatus). The frequency of solitary play increased in the three groups in positive conditions and decreased in negative contexts, which confirms that play is a useful indicator of welfare for captive odontocetes. Jumping seem to be indicative of stress for finless porpoises but could be ambiguous for bottlenose dolphins: indicating both positive and negative excitation. Stereotypical behaviours for Yangtze finless porpoises and environment hitting behaviours for bottlenose dolphins could indicate mild stress or frustration. Vigilant behaviours are not clear indicators since a high frequency could reflect boredom, but a low frequency was observed in poor social conditions. Finally, we suggest that environmental rubbing should be investigated further since our results for this behaviour were not clear.

Highlights

Title The frequency of solitary behaviours in captive odontocetes is modulated by environmental and social factors
We studied the effect of several conditions and stimuli on the solitary behavior of Yangtze finless porpoises (Neophocaena asiaeorientalis asiaeorientalis), East Asian finless porpoises (N. a. sunameri), and bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops truncatus)
Even though these behaviors denote the expectation of a pleasurable event, high levels of anticipatory behaviors are thought to be linked with poor welfare (Galhardo, Appleby, Waran, & Dos Santos, 1996; Spruijt, van den Bos, & Pijlman, 2001; van der Harst & Spruijt, 2007; Watters, 2014), but, because no work has been conducted on odontocete species to confirm this hypothesis, information about these behaviors is lacking

Summary

Introduction

Title The frequency of solitary behaviours in captive odontocetes is modulated by environmental and social factors. Anticipatory behaviors have been investigated to determine the rewarding value of different stimuli for captive bottlenose dolphins (Clegg et al, 2018) Even though these behaviors denote the expectation of a pleasurable event, high levels of anticipatory behaviors are thought to be linked with poor welfare (Galhardo, Appleby, Waran, & Dos Santos, 1996; Spruijt, van den Bos, & Pijlman, 2001; van der Harst & Spruijt, 2007; Watters, 2014), but, because no work has been conducted on odontocete species to confirm this hypothesis, information about these behaviors is lacking. The frustration state that could lead to the expression of abnormal behaviors has been scarcely discussed in studies conducted on odontocetes (Clark, 2013), and many behaviors still need to be understood better (Clegg & Delfour, 2018) Some behavioral patterns, such as behavioral diversity, exploration, and play, are thought to be potential indicators of welfare for captive dolphins (Galhardo et al, 1996). Variables that affect the animals’ physical, social, or sensorial environment and might cause changes in emotional state and behavior have to be studied more deeply (Clegg, Rödel, et al, 2017)

Objectives

Methods

Results

Discussion

Conclusion