Ethological Data Research Articles

Nuancing 'Emotional' Social Play: Does Play Behaviour Always Underlie a Positive Emotional State?

This review focuses on social play, a complex behaviour that is often difficult to categorize. Although play has been typically associated with positive emotional states, a thorough examination of the literature indicates that it may relate to different emotional systems, from attachment to conflict. Play oscillates between competition and cooperation, and includes a spectrum in between; thus, quantitatively identifying and demonstrating the emotional nature of play remains challenging. We considered examples from human and non-human animal studies and explored the emotional and neuro-hormonal systems involved in play. We assessed ethological data possibly indicating the emotional states underlying play, and we focused on the cooperative and competitive elements of play. We investigated the relationship between play and affiliative/aggressive behaviours, the communicative meaning of play signals (especially primate play faces), and the motor and possibly emotional contagion function of rapid motor mimicry during play. From all the literature on play, this review selects and combines studies in an innovative way to present the methods (e.g., play indices and social network analysis), tools (e.g., sequential analysis and facial coding software), and evidence indicative of the emotional states underlying play, which is much more complex than previously thought.

Unpacking the navigation toolbox: insights from comparative cognition.

The study of navigation is informed by ethological data from many species, laboratory investigation at behavioural and neurobiological levels, and computational modelling. However, the data are often species-specific, making it challenging to develop general models of how biology supports behaviour. Wiener et al. outlined a framework for organizing the results across taxa, called the 'navigation toolbox' (Wiener et al. In Animal thinking: contemporary issues in comparative cognition (eds R Menzel, J Fischer), pp. 51-76). This framework proposes that spatial cognition is a hierarchical process in which sensory inputs at the lowest level are successively combined into ever-more complex representations, culminating in a metric or quasi-metric internal model of the world (cognitive map). Some animals, notably humans, also use symbolic representations to produce an external representation, such as a verbal description, signpost or map that allows communication of spatial information or instructions between individuals. Recently, new discoveries have extended our understanding of how spatial representations are constructed, highlighting that the hierarchical relationships are bidirectional, with higher levels feeding back to influence lower levels. In the light of these new developments, we revisit the navigation toolbox, elaborate it and incorporate new findings. The toolbox provides a common framework within which the results from different taxa can be described and compared, yielding a more detailed, mechanistic and generalized understanding of navigation.

Visual and acoustic exploratory behaviors toward novel stimuli in Antillean manatees (Trichechus manatus manatus) under human care.

Exploratory behaviors describe the actions performed by an animal to obtain information on an object, environment, or individual by using its different senses. Exploration is described in some marine mammals, but not yet in manatees. Our study investigated behavioral and acoustic responses of two groups of Antillean manatees (N = 12 and N = 4) housed in zoological parks toward various stimuli involving three sensory modalities: visual, tactile, and auditory. Simultaneous audio and video recordings were collected during three periods of time (i.e., before, during, and after the presentation of all stimuli). Behaviors related to interest, social behaviors, the number and type of calls produced, and their frequency and duration were recorded and analyzed. Manatees reacted more to submerged stimuli than to out-of-water and sound stimuli, with an increase in approach, social contacts, and number of vocalizations. The proportion of squeaks and squeals call types also varied according to stimuli, and call entropy and F0 range varied according to periods. Our results suggest that manatees display sensory preferences when exploring stimuli, with more interest in manipulable stimuli, supporting the importance of their somatic perception. We highlight the need for particular enrichment programs (i.e., involving submerged objects) in zoological facilities. By displaying social contacts and by producing vocalizations, manatees communicate information such as their motivational state. The increase in call rate, harsh calls, and entropy values could be valid indicators of heightened arousal. We encourage further studies to associate acoustic recordings with ethological data collection to increase the understanding of manatees' behaviors andperception. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2024 APA, all rights reserved).

Female bonobos show social swelling by synchronizing their maximum swelling and increasing bonding

Different Old World primates show conspicuous anogenital swelling, with the Maximum Swelling Phase (MSP) signaling the ovulatory phase. MSP synchronization between females has been linked to social dynamics. In bonobos, characterized by female dominance, MSP is not a fully reliable signal of fertility because it may cover anovulatory periods. We investigated whether bonobo females synchronized their MSP and whether this phenomenon was modulated by social factors. Data were collected at LaValléedesSinges (France). In the period 2009–2022, swelling cycles data were collected daily on bonobo females (N = 9). In the period 2018–2022, ethological data (aggression/affiliation/socio-sexual behaviors) were also collected. We found that: (i) females synchronized their MSP and most likely experienced MSP onset following the MSP onset in other females; (ii) synchronization increased as the years spent together by females increased; (iii) synchronization preferentially occurred between females that affiliated less; (iv) synchronization on the MSP was linked to increased female-female socio-sexual contacts, which probably favored MSP synchronization maintenance. Hence, in bonobos MSP can be modulated by social factors and its synchronization, possibly underlying autonomic contagion, might have been positively selected during evolution in relation to the benefits females obtain in terms of intra-group cohesion.

Buchnerillo atlanticus sp. nov., a new halophilic woodlouse (Isopoda: Oniscidea: incertae sedis) from the Atlantic coast of the Iberian Peninsula, with ecological remarks

A new woodlouse species of the genus Buchnerillo Verhoeff, 1942 is described and illustrated from the Cantabrian Coast of Asturias (Eastern Atlantic Ocean of the Iberian Peninsula). Buchnerillo atlanticus sp. nov. is a halophilic woodlouse that lives under embedded rocks in fine-grained sand areas of its type locality beach. Its morphological features, including secondary sexual characteristics, allow it to be distinguished from the other three known species of the genus Buchnerillo. Biological, ecological and ethological data of the new species are commented. To facilitate the separation of the four known species of Buchnerillo, the main diagnostic features are summarized and their known distribution is commented.

Osteometric Study of Metapodial Bones and Phalanges as Indicators of the Behavioural Ecology of Modern Reindeer (<i>Rangifer tarandus</i>) and Implications for Reconstruction of Paleo Mobility

Paleolithic reindeer (Rangifer tarandus) played an important role for human populations in western and central Europe during much of the Paleolithic period. In southwestern France and in particular during the Magdalenian, reindeer frequently figures among the privileged prey of hunter-gatherer groups. However, and despite numerous attempts to reconstruct the migratory behavior of Paleolithic reindeer, there is no agreement on the degree of mobility of this prey. Modern ethological data indicate that reindeer herds adopt different mobility strategies depending on the type of habitat and the topography of the environment. Thus, our project (Emorph) aims to explore morphometric criteria (through metapodial bones and phalanges) in combination with cutting-edge methodologies like Machine Learning to identify the extent of reindeer migrations. Based initially on the study of modern caribou populations with distinct migratory behaviors, the results obtained could be applied to several Magdalenian assemblages from southwestern France in the future, with the goal of reconstructing the mobility of these tardiglacial reindeer.

The ecomorphology of Caribou (Rangifer tarandus): a geometric morphometric study.

Paleolithic reindeer (Rangifer tarandus) was a key species for human populations in western and central Europe during much of the Paleolithic period. In Southwestern France, and in particular during the Magdalenian, reindeer frequently figures among the privileged prey of hunter-gatherer groups. However, and despite numerous attempts to reconstruct the migratory behaviour of Paleolithic reindeer, there is no agreement on the degree of mobility of this prey. Modern ethological data indicate that reindeer herds adopt different mobility strategies depending on the type of habitat and the topography of the environment. Through metapodial bones and phalanges cross-sections, our project ‘Reconstructing habitat type and mobility patterns of Rangifer tarandus during the Late Pleistocene in Southwestern France: an ecomorphological study’ (Emorph) quantifies the link between habitat type, mobility, bone density and morphology using computer tomography (CT) and geometric morphometry (GMM). Based initially on the study of extant caribou populations with distinct migratory behaviours, the results obtained could be applied to several Magdalenian assemblages from southwestern France in the future, with the aim of reconstructing the mobility of these tardiglacial reindeer.

When Nerve Growth Factor Met Behavior.

Since its first characterization in the early 1950s, the role of the polypeptidic nerve growth factor (NGF) in controlling behavior remained elusive. Since the mid-1980s, we undertook a series of experiments aimed at elucidating the biological role(s) played by neurotrophins, particularly NGF, in adult rodents. At the beginning, we concentrated on the submandibular salivary gland of the male mouse, which was known to store massive amount of NGF. We found that under specific stress conditions, the salivary NGF is released in the bloodstream: intermale fighting between isolated males was the first reported context in which salivary NGF was released, thus providing a physiological significance for its presence in the adult, territorial males. We also found that dominant males release less NGF than subordinates and provided a loop-type model which includes intermale social confrontation, adrenal gland size, and functional status, corticosterone release, a model resulting in likelihood to be stabilized in a "dominant" or a "subordinate" social status. A variety of social anxiety contexts of mammals, humans included, has been described since then, and further studies carried out on humans showed that NGF is released in the bloodstream of parachutists at their first skydiving experience and in the case of ranking high on the Passionate Love Scale (amour fou). Ethological data from lab rodents helped in understanding NGF function in subtly controlling social "status" of male mice: the considerations about the interplay among neurobiological, physiological, and behavioral factors in structuring the dominant vs subordinate phenotypes may well apply to other vertebrate species, specifically addressing the underlying role of neurotrophins in relating behavior and brain neuroplasticity.

Middle Permian trace fossil assemblages from the Carnarvon Basin of Western Australia: Implications for the evolution of ichnofaunas in wave-dominated siliciclastic shoreface settings across the Permian-Triassic boundary

Guadalupian (middle Permian) ichnoassemblages are described from the Mungadan Sandstone Formation (Kennedy Group), Merlinleigh sub-basin, Carnarvon Basin of Western Australia. In this formation, we recognize five facies (pebbly sandstone, intensely bioturbated sandstone, medium- to coarse-grained cross-stratified sandstone, fine-grained sandstone, and planar laminated siltstone), assigned to two facies associations, interpreted as the deposits of wave-dominated upper shoreface and lower shoreface settings. Ichnoassemblages, which contain 23 ichnospecies in 18 ichnogenera, are assigned to the Skolithos and Cruziana ichnofacies, as well as mixed types, and include representatives of cubichnia, repichnia, pascichnia, fodinichnia, domichnia, and agrichnia, indicating diverse trace-making behaviours. High burrow-density with monospecific occurrences of Skolithos indicate R-selected life strategies and burrow production over a short time period. The anomalous occurrence of Paleodictyon implies that the trace-making organisms of graphoglyptids could inhabit resource-rich shoreface environments as well as resource-limited deep sea niches. To better understand ichnological evolution across the Permian-Triassic (P-Tr) boundary, a database of Permian to Middle Triassic ichnoassemblages was also compiled for wave-dominated shoreface settings (WDSS) globally, and three ichno-ecological measures (ichnodiversity, ethological category, and ichnodisparity) were evaluated. Ichnodiversity shows a stepwise decline in ichnotaxa through the Permian, a pronounced increase in the Early Triassic, and a second phase of decline towards the Middle Triassic. Ethological data exhibit a different trend, with mean and median values dramatically dropping to a late Permian nadir, followed by a significant increase across the P-Tr boundary, culminating in an Early Triassic acme. The globally depauperate nature of late Permian ichnoassemblages may reflect sampling bias or decreased preservation potential resulting from abundant benthos and well-developed mixed layer in the seafloor. The presence of anomalously diverse Early Triassic ichnoassemblages may be due to the WDSS habitat providing a ‘habitable zone’ for trace-making organisms to survive when most marine environments were stressful in the aftermath of the P-Tr mass extinction. We emphasise that caution is needed in interpreting ichnodiversity variations across the P-Tr mass extinction event, as it may reflect shifting of trace-making behaviours of the same animals, or replacement of different animals with the same behaviours. • A new Guadalupian ichnofauna comprising 18 ichnogenera is described; • The Carnarvon ichnofauna represents the Skolithos and Cruziana Ichnofacies; • Paleodictyon occurs in wave-dominated siliciclastic shoreline (WDSS) settings; • The depauperate of ichnotaxa in the late Permian reflect sampling bias or decreased preservation potential of ichnofossils. • The diverse ichnoassemblages in WDSS settings during the Early Triassic results from ‘habitable zone’.

Microgaster godzilla (Hymenoptera, Braconidae, Microgastrinae), an unusual new species from Japan which dives underwater to parasitize its caterpillar host (Lepidoptera, Crambidae, Acentropinae)

A new species of Microgastrinae (Hymenoptera: Braconidae) parasitoid wasp, Microgaster godzilla Fernandez-Triana & Kamino, is described from Japan. From a biological and morphological perspective this is a very unusual species. It represents only the third known microgastrine to be aquatic, and the first one to be found entering the water. The female wasp searches for its hosts, aquatic larvae of Elophila turbata (Lepidoptera: Crambidae), mostly by walking over floating plants, but occasionally diving underwater for several seconds to force the larva out of its case, when it is quickly parasitized (parasitization was always observed above water). The unique searching behaviour of M. godzilla as well as its parasitization of aquatic larvae was filmed and it is presented here. The wasp has simple tarsal claws, which are elongate and strongly curved, similar to those found in the related genus Hygroplitis; they seem to represent an adaptation for gripping to the substrate when entering the water. The new species is described based on morphological, molecular (DNA barcoding), biological and ethological data. Additionally, we provide detailed diagnoses to recognize M. godzilla from all other described species of Microgaster and Hygroplitis in the Palearctic, Nearctic and Oriental regions.

The Present is the Key to the Past: How Living Fossils in Namibia Share Insights on the Insects of Tertiary European Forests

Mantophasmatodean insects have been widely recorded in Cretaceous and Eocene amber. Although rare, Mantophasmatodeans are famous for a quite widespread occurrence in the Baltic area until the Eocene extinction, living in a Tertiary flora commonly associated with forested ecosystems. Close relatives are still alive in southern Africa, like those belonging to the Mantophasma genus, probably one of the most intriguing living fossils in the world. Some nymphs were collected in a Namibian plateau east of the Erongo Complex and carefully cultivated in a laboratory. Our main purpose was to investigate the entire life cycle of these Namibian living fossils to share novel insights in the palaeoclimate of Baltic Eocene. We unravelled the adult morphology and the postembryonic development of these intriguing insects, commonly called heelwalkers, and performed a comparison of the morphometric, ecological and ethological data between our specimens and the living species described so far in literature. Furthermore, we analysed the vibrational male–female communication of these primitive insects. The robust evidence provided here supports some controversial recent palynological assessments of the Eocene and show that the Baltic landscape was much more open than commonly thought.

Philaenus spumarius: when an old acquaintance becomes a new threat to European agriculture

The unique color pattern polymorphism and the foamy nymphal case of the meadow spittlebug Philaenus spumarius have attracted the attention of scientists for centuries. Nevertheless, since this species has never been considered a major threat to agriculture, biological, ecological and ethological data are missing and rather scattered. To date this knowledge has become of paramount importance, in view of the discovery of P. spumarius main role in the transmission of the bacterium Xylella fastidiosa in Italy, and possibly in other European countries. The aim of this review is to provide a state of the art about this species, with particular focus on those elements that could help developing environmental friendly and sustainable control programs to prevent transmission of X. fastidiosa. Moreover, recent findings on the role of the meadow spittlebug as vector of the fastidious bacterium within the first reported European bacterium outbreak in Apulia (South Italy) will be discussed.

Extraordinary Creatures: The Role of Birds in Early Iron Age Slovenia

ABSTRACTDepictions of birds are overrepresented in the Dolenjska Hallstatt culture, and appear on over a quarter of artefacts depicting animals. A wide variety of artefacts with birds have been found primarily in graves, and crosscut gender, status, and age. However, poor preservation of zooarchaeological remains has made reconstructions of lived human-bird interactions difficult. This study uses ecological and ethological data, combined with local imagery, to provide insight into prehistoric human-bird interfaces in this area, and the cultural conceptions surrounding these interactions. Birds would have been a constant presence in the lives of Dolenjska Hallstatt people; however, human relationships with them were based more on observation than direct interaction. Birds were ubiquitous in imagery, and it is proposed that this stemmed from Dolenjska Hallstatt conceptions of birds as important observers of human actions, ritual mediators, and possibly guides or guardians. Their differences from humans and other animals distinguished them – they were set apart, and depictions highlighted non-normative behaviours. Birds in the Dolenjska Hallstatt worldview were more than animals, ascribed extraordinary capabilities that made them ritually potent and richly symbolic creatures.

Biogeography and taxonomy of racket-tail hummingbirds (Aves: Trochilidae: Ocreatus): evidence for species delimitation from morphology and display behavior.

We analyzed geographic variation, biogeography, and intrageneric relationships of racket-tail hummingbirds Ocreatus (Aves, Trochilidae). Presently, the genus is usually considered monospecific, with O. underwoodii including eight subspecies (polystictus, discifer, underwoodii, incommodus, melanantherus, peruanus, annae, addae), although up to three species have been recognized by some authors. In order to evaluate the current taxonomy we studied geographic variation in coloration, mensural characters, and behavioral data of all Ocreatus taxa. We briefly review the taxonomic history of the genus. Applying the Biological Species Concept, species delimitation was based on a qualitative-quantitative criteria analysis including an evaluation of character states. Our results indicate that the genus should be considered a superspecies with four species, the monotypic Ocreatus addae, O. annae, and O. peruanus, and the polytypic O. underwoodii (including the subspecies underwoodii, discifer, incommodus, melanantherus, polystictus). In this taxonomic treatment, O. annae becomes an endemic species to Peru and O. addae is endemic to Bolivia. We recommend additional sampling of distributional, ethological, and molecular data for an improved resolution of the evolutionary history of Ocreatus.

Ethological studies in Swiss albino mice with special reference to the histology of the cerebellar tissue after an acute as well as a continuous low-dose tritiated water (HTO) exposure

Health and environmental impact of tritium released from fusion reactor technology may end up as a worldwide problem in the final analysis. Pregnant Swiss albino mice were irradiated with 11.1 kBq ml–1 tritiated drinking water. The young ones born to them were maintained on tritiated water (HTO) at the same dose level and in adulthood, when tested in a maze showed an apparent increased learned behaviour over the controls, though statistically not significant. Similar results have been obtained when mice were acutely irradiated at a dose 185 kBq gm–1 body weight of tritiated water. Histologically, in the cerebellar tissue excised from mice brain after the ethology experiments, there was a depopulation of granule cells and the Purkinje cells appeared pyknotic and shrunken at certain places. At the cellular level, definitely there are radiopathological changes in brain, however, very contrastingly, at the organism level ethological data show a better learned behaviour in mice post tritiated water exposure.

The Mars-500 crew in daily life activities: An ethological study

A Mars mission is a new challenge for scientific investigators in the space field. What would be the behavioral profile of an interplanetary crew with long-duration social isolation and spatial restriction? The current study addresses this question with the first ethological data from the Mars-500 experiment. It took place in Moscow, Russia from June 3, 2010 to November 4, 2011. It was designed to simulate the living and working conditions of an isolated and confined crew over 250 days for reaching Mars, 30 days for Mars orbiting with Mars landing and 240 days for returning to Earth. The Mars-500 crew was composed of three Russians, two Europeans and one Chinese. The Mars-500 facilities comprised four hermetically sealed, interconnected modules and a Martian surface module. We applied the ethological method based on observation, description and quantification of the individual and inter-individual behaviors in terms of personal actions, visual interactions, object interactions, body interactions, facial expressions and collateral acts. These events were scored on the Observer XT® software, from video recordings made every two weeks at breakfast time inside the habitat module. We found the following results: a diminishing collective time from the first phase corresponding to the 250-day trip to Mars to the second phase corresponding to the 240-day return to Earth; 35-day cycles then 70-day cycles of high duration of personal actions within these phases; periodic oscillations of duration of inter-personal actions; decreasing then increasing occurrences of facial expressions with temporal points of decrements, around day 159 and day 355, after 6 months and one year of simulation; increasing occurrences of collateral acts over the full 520-day journey. We discuss the findings with regard to a Mars mission scenario. Time has a major impact on the behavioral profile, as shown by indicators of physical and psychological states of fatigue, stress, well being and good spirit. The interplanetary crew follows phasic, cyclic, periodic and punctual behavioral changes in a temporal dynamic as a positive adaptation.

Selection for increased voluntary wheel-running affects behavior and brain monoamines in mice

Selective-breeding of house mice for increased voluntary wheel-running has resulted in multiple physiological and behavioral changes. Characterizing these differences may lead to experimental models that can elucidate factors involved in human diseases and disorders associated with physical inactivity, or potentially treated by physical activity, such as diabetes, obesity, and depression. Herein, we present ethological data for adult males from a line of mice that has been selectively bred for high levels of voluntary wheel-running and from a non-selected control line, housed with or without wheels. Additionally, we present concentrations of central monoamines in limbic, striatal, and midbrain regions. We monitored wheel-running for 8 weeks, and observed home-cage behavior during the last 5 weeks of the study. Mice from the selected line accumulated more revolutions per day than controls due to increased speed and duration of running. Selected mice exhibited more active behaviors than controls, regardless of wheel access, and exhibited less inactivity and grooming than controls. Selective-breeding also influenced the longitudinal patterns of behavior. We found statistically significant differences in monoamine concentrations and associated metabolites in brain regions that influence exercise and motivational state. These results suggest underlying neurochemical differences between selected and control lines that may influence the observed differences in behavior. Our results bolster the argument that selected mice can provide a useful model of human psychological and physiological diseases and disorders.

A Multi-Species Etho-Ethnographic Approach to Filmmaking

Through the filming of herders and herd animals within a multi-species hybrid community - essentially two herding encampments in Mongolia - I provide an example of an alternative methodological approach to both ethnographic filmmaking and multi-species research. This paper is a call for scholars engaging in the exciting and emerging area of multi-species ethnography to adopt a multisensory, etho-ethnographic approach to filmmaking in the field with attention to both visual and auditory communication between human and non-human agents.The paper includes links to video segments from footage filmed in the Khangai mountains of Mongolia. Through a description of the stylistic and logistic techniques employed while filming these key video segments, this paper demonstrates an original approach to the study of humans and other animals in the production of video-based, multi-species etho-ethnography, accompanied by a description of how filmmaking can be used in conjunction with participant observation as a means of engaging in this kind of cross-disciplinary research in the field. My approach includes an orientation towards phenomenology and an attention to bodily and sensory ways of being in the world.1The first part of the paper foregrounds how my work resonates within the emerging field of multi-species ethnography and how my filmmaking and research have been influenced by David MacDougall's theoretical and practical approaches to filmmaking, with particular reference to his Doon School Series of films. The second part of the paper provides an explanation of my own filmmaking approach through links to three separate online video segments: 'Saikhanaa and the Calves', 'Lhagva the Herder' and 'Training for Naadam' .2BackgroundWhen starting my anthropologically based PhD research - an investigation into domestication as an ongoing process between herders and herd animals in Mongolia - my initial intention was to use video as a methodological tool during my fieldwork, much as a zoologist uses video: to collect data on social interactions and behaviour with the aim of being as objective as possible. My approach has changed considerably, however, through the influence of David and Judith MacDougall's filmmaking philosophy and practice.In previous field-based ethological research, I had become disillusioned with the disciplinary restrictions on the level of engagement with my research subjects. The aim ofthat research was to investigate how kea [Nestor notabilis), a mountain parrot, learned in social situations and to test their problem-solving capabilities. I was to observe the behaviour of the animal in question but was to avoid direct contact with individuals during field experiments. Over time the population became habituated to my presence and my whistles but there was an expectation not to engage with the kea on a personal level. Contrary to this species-level, or population-scale, approach, kea are particularly curious individuals and would often initiate communication and interaction with me as an individual of their own volition, investigating my shoelaces or flying onto my head and shoulders. Through this ethological fieldwork, I had learnt skills in long-term observation but had not had the opportunity to participate crossspecifically, across species boundaries, as anthropologists do cross-culturally.3The use of a video camera for obtaining ethological data is normally restricted to having the camera fixed on a tripod, while the person running the camera remains silent and as immobile as possible throughout. The camera may even be left in a fixed position with the researcher viewing the footage remotely in order to ensure that the animal is likely to behave as it would 'in the wild' without any human presence. Such circumstances are not entirely realistic, however, as kea, for instance, often engage with humans in their quest for food or are intent on investigating any object that is colourful and new in their immediate environment, such as windscreen wipers, bicycle seats, rubbish bins, a vacant mountain hut or a sleeping person's nose. …

Bovine viral diarrhea virus in free-ranging wild ruminants in Switzerland: low prevalence of infection despite regular interactions with domestic livestock.

BackgroundIn the frame of an eradication program for bovine viral diarrhea (BVD) in Swiss livestock, the question was raised whether free-ranging wildlife could threaten the success of this sanitary measure. Therefore, we conducted serological and virological investigations on BVD virus (BVDV) infections in the four indigenous wild ruminant species (roe deer, red deer, Alpine chamois and Alpine ibex) from 2009 to 2011, and gathered information on interactions between wild and domestic ruminants in an alpine environment by questionnaire survey.ResultsThirty-two sera out of 1’877 (1.7%, 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.2-2.4) were seropositive for BVDV, and a BVDV1 sub genotype h virus was found in a seropositive chamois (0.05%, 95% CI 0.001-0.3). The seropositive animals originated from sub-alpine or alpine regions and significantly more seropositive red deer, chamois and ibex than roe deer were found. There were no statistically significant differences between sampling units, age classes, genders, and sampling years. The obtained prevalences were significantly lower than those documented in livestock, and most positive wild ruminants were found in proximity of domestic outbreaks. Additionally, BVDV seroprevalence in ibex was significantly lower than previously reported from Switzerland. The survey on interspecific interactions revealed that interactions expected to allow BVDV transmission, from physical contacts to non-simultaneous use of the same areas, regularly occur on pastures among all investigated ruminant species. Interactions involving cervids were more often observed with cattle than with small ruminants, chamois were observed with all three domestic species, and ibex interacted mostly with small ruminants. Interactions related to the use of anthropogenic food sources were frequently observed, especially between red deer and cattle in wintertime.ConclusionsTo our knowledge, this is the first report of BVDV RNA isolated from an Alpine chamois. Nevertheless, our results suggest that BVDV infections are only sporadic in Swiss wild ruminants, despite regular occurrence of interactions with potentially infected livestock. Overall, serological, virological and ethological data indicate that wildlife is currently an incidental spill-over host and not a reservoir for BVDV in Switzerland.

Information-theoretic Analysis for Understanding the Behavior of Song Learning by the Bengalese Finch

Songbirds have been actively studied for their complex brain mechanism of sensor-motor integration during song learning. Male Bengalese finches learn singing by imitating external models to produce songs. In general, birdsong which is string of sounds is represented by a sequence of letters called song notes. In this study, we focus on information-theoretic analysis of these sequential data to explore the complexity and diversity of birdsong, and learning process throughout song development. We design and develop the analysis tool which has many features to do analysis for the sequential data. For experiment, we employ thirteen male Bengalese finches, each with different bouts of song data. By applying ethological data mining to these data, we discover that the finches follow two types of song learning mechanism: practice mode and adopt mode. In addition, over the analysis we find that it is possible to visualize the song features, e.g., traditional transmission, by contour surface diagram of the transition matrix. Furthermore, we can easily identify the families from these contour surface diagrams, which is a very challenging task in general. Our obtained results indicate that analysis based on data mining is a versatile technique to explore new aspects related to behavioral science.