Natural Behavior Of Animals Research Articles

Multifunctional ultraflexible neural probe for wireless optogenetics and electrophysiology

Electrophysiology and optogenetics are pivotal in neuroscience for probing and modulating neural activities, playing a vital role in unraveling the complexities of brain functionality. Despite their importance, the efficacy of existing devices is hampered by insufficient functional integration, pronounced foreign body reactions, and physical constraints that impede natural animal behaviors. Here, we develop a multifunctional, ultraflexible neural probe designed for simultaneous electrophysiological monitoring and optical neural modulation, along with mechanical properties that are conducive to flexibility and compliance. By integrating a wireless neural signal acquisition and stimulation circuit, we achieved wireless recording of brain signals in mice and wireless optogenetic control over their locomotor behavior. The multifunctional ultraflexible probe presented in this study holds substantial promise for closed-loop brain-machine interfaces and deepening our understanding of neural circuit functions. This innovative approach addresses the aforementioned limitations by a comprehensive solution for in vivo neural interrogation and manipulation, marking a significant advancement in the tools available for neuroscience research.

A scientist’s guide to Solifugae: how solifuges could advance research in ecology, evolution, and behaviour

Abstract Despite having >1200 described species and despite their nearly worldwide distribution and prevalence in many xeric ecosystems, relative to many other arachnid groups, we know little about the natural history and behaviour of animals in the order Solifugae (camel spiders, sun spiders, sun scorpions, etc.). Here, we review the current solifuge literature through the lens of conceptual research areas in ecology, evolution, and behaviour and propose ways in which solifuges can contribute to research in specific subfields, as follows: (i) ecology: community and trophic dynamics; connecting food webs; habitat specialization; and biodiversity and conservation; (ii) evolution: speciation and diversification; activity cycles and associated traits; adaptations for speed; and living in extreme environments; and (iii) behaviour and sensory systems: sleep, quiescence, and diapause; sensory systems and sensory ecology; learning and cognition; and mating systems, sexual selection, and sexual conflict. This resource can provide a starting point for identifying research programmes that will simultaneously contribute basic natural history information about this under-studied group and provide a broader understanding of fundamental concepts and theories across the life sciences. We hope that scientists will take this review as a challenge to develop creative ways of leveraging the unique features of solifuges to advance scientific knowledge and understanding.

Clinical observation of wild animals near the CRAS lake (Mato Grosso do Sul, Brazil) submitted to homeopathic treatment by a slow dispersion device: a possible indication of environmental balance.

Abstract The environmental imbalance in all its parts (land, plant, animal, man) is one of the most significant challenges of modern times due to the difficulty of a comprehensive, effective, and non-aggressive corrective approach. Due to its biophysical qualities, water seems able to propagate physicochemical signals capable of producing effects on living systems, as recently demonstrated by the method of solvatochromic dyes. For this reason, a slow dispersion device containing a solid base soaked in a homeopathic ingredient was developed to treat animals living in defined ecosystems. This work aimed to evaluate the behavior and clinical status of tapirs (Tapirus terrestris) and capybaras (Hydrochoerus hydrochaeris) that inhabit the neighborhood of a lake subjected to the device's action as indicators of a possible balance of the entire system. The area under study was CRAS (Center for the Recovery of Wild Animals), inserted in an urban forest in Campo Grande - MS, Brazil. The anamnesis carried out with the park managers revealed the occurrence of attacks and mutilations among the animals due to stress and the vast infestation of ticks (Amblyomma cajennense) in wild mammals and their larvae in humans that visited the trails, which caused the closure of the park for school excursions given the risk of spreading zoonoses. The device contained a solid base of hydrocolloid and calcium carbonate soaked in a homeopathic formulation containing Chamomilla 12 cH, Artemisia absinthium 12 cH, Calcarea carbonica 30 cH, Psorinum 12 cH, Sulphur 12 cH, Artemisia lerchiana 12 cH, and Apis mellifica 12 cH, indicated for the treatment of animals whose signs of stress are an increase in ectoparasites and misbehavior. The devices were installed at three points: at the source, 500 meters away from the lake, at the watercourse, 200 meters from the lake, and at the lake itself on 10/08/2021, repeating the placement on 12/10/2021. The animals observed were four tapirs and three capybaras. Fifteen days after the date of the 1st placement of the devices, the manifestation of natural animal behavior was observed, such as teaching puppies to swim, indicating well-being. Twenty days after installation, a gradual decrease in teleogynes (adult forms) and larvae was observed, with the disappearance of ticks in all animals after six months of the device installation without chemical intervention to control the parasites. Park employees who frequent the trails and surroundings report that they have not suffered any more attacks from larvae (so-called “micuins”), even in times of greater occurrence, such as the dry seasons. Thus, it is suggested that installing slow dispersion devices in natural springs, dams, and lakes could be used as a resource for ecological balance, and the clinical observation of resident animals could be a possible indicator of environmental recovery. More studies using this approach are needed to consolidate these findings. Keywords: Homeopathic complexes, ecosystems, environmental homeopathy.

Efecto del clima sobre la respuesta térmica en vacas de diferentes grupos raciales en trópico bajo

Objective. The main idea of this study was to quantify the relationship between climatic variables and tympanic body temperature recorded through the use of wireless sensors in grazing cows located in low tropic. Material and methods. The tympanic temperature of twenty-eight cross breed grazing cows in early lactation was monitored. The sensors were manually installed in the tympanic cavity, recording hourly for 17 days. The climate data was obtained from the network of weather stations of the Centro de Investigación de la Caña de Azúcar “Cenicaña”, which is a research center for sugarcane located in Cali, Colombia, this data was analyzed for the same time interval of the temperature. The information was analyzed using descriptive statistics, correlation matrices and Random Forest models, through the R software. Results. From the physiological data from automatic collection systems, the response variables that would allow the evaluation of thermoregulation processes were analyzed using big data. We find that the variables environmental temperature, relative humidity and, solar radiation were the factors that most influenced the homeothermic adaptation process of the animals. Conclusions. The introduction of remote devices, and the use of a large amount of data for the analysis of physiological indicators, avoid modifying natural animal behavior and emerges as an important diagnostic and management strategy in the livestock farm, helping in the studies of heat stress, physiological adaptation and, prevalence to hemotropic diseases, which reduce the productivity of the systems.

Behaviour of farmed fallow deer fawns in the rearing period depends on weather conditions

Farmed fallow deer (Dama dama) fawns need to receive care and help from their mothers and be stimulated by other individuals, including their peers. This helps them to learn to live in a group, establish their place in the herd, acquire food, perceive dangers, survive, and initiate reproductive behavior. Adequate analysis of changes in behaviour conducted by deer breeders can be helpful in management of the animals. Furthermore, the knowledge of the time when any disturbance in the natural behaviour of animals should be avoided may contribute to improvement of their welfare. The aim of the research was to analyse the behaviour of fawns in the early rearing period and the influence of weather conditions. The observations were conducted in July 2017 and 2018. The fawns most frequently performed the observed activities in the morning and evening. The ritual playing and suckling bouts were most often noted in the evening. With an increase in air temperature and a decrease in humidity, the young fallow deer followed the doe and vocalized to call the mother, probably to persuade her to hide in a shaded place. A higher frequency of suckling was noted at an increased air temperature and humidity, but the suckling time was reduced with the increasing air temperature. A greater wind speed was associated with a higher frequency of allosuckling. The study showed that the natural behaviour of fawns, which has an impact on their functioning in the herd, should not be disturbed in the morning and evening.

Conhecimento de tutores sobre o bem-estar de cães e o fenômeno humanização

The most tutors do not have knowledge about welfare, natural animal behavior and humanization of animals. With that, the objective of the present study is to characterize the human and dog interaction, evaluating their well-being and relating it to the humanization phenomenon. The study took place through a structured questionnaire, where 263 questionnaires were applied. The tutors stated that the main form of acquisition was through buying, when evaluating the well-being, the vast majority answered that the dogs live in houses, with a medium area, having access to the whole house. There was a low level of humanization and little understanding of what is well-being and humanization.

Global and Brazilian Scenario of Guidelines and Legislation on Welfare in Pig Farming.

Simple SummaryAs with all production animals, pigs need environments suitable for their species, which results in less stress and suffering and more productivity. Therefore, there are quality standards and good management and production practices that must be followed to ensure their well-being. In this sense, over the last few years, many advances have been made, banning or restricting practices capable of causing suffering to animals in most producing countries. This review seeks to explore current global and Brazilian regulations on good production practices in swine farming.The evolution of scientific knowledge regarding animal sentience, together with the growing concerns of consumers regarding current production models, has brought with it the responsibility of reviewing many practices carried out in industrial swine farming, with the purpose of improving the life quality of animals throughout the entire production cycle. In this sense, many initiatives have been taken by European Union, OIE and other countries to abolish questionable practices from an animal welfare point of view, being signed through legislation or normative instructions, which guide governments and companies on the best practices to be adopted. Among the main changes that have taken place in swine farming are the ban or reduction in the use of cages for sows, restrictions on the age at weaning, ban on painful procedures such as surgical castration, tail and teeth clipping, as routine procedures or without the use of anesthesia/analgesia. In addition, these acts also prescribe practices that must be adopted in order to respect the natural behavior of animals, such as the use of environmental enrichment. This review aims to address the main advances made over the last few years in the protection of swine, as well as Brazilian initiatives in this regard.

Eavesdropping on the brain at sea: development of a surface-mounted system to detect weak electrophysiological signals from wild animals

Despite rapid advances in sensor development and technological miniaturization, it remains challenging to non-invasively record small-amplitude electrophysiological signals from an animal in its natural environment. Many advances in ecophysiology and biologging have arisen through sleep studies, which rely on detecting small signals over multiple days and minimal disruption of natural animal behavior. This paper describes the development of a surface-mounted system that has allowed novel electrophysiological recordings of sleep in wild marine mammals. We discuss our iterative design process by providing sensor-comparison data, detailed technical illustrations, and material recommendations. We describe the system’s performance over multiple days in 12 freely moving northern elephant seals (Mirounga angustirostris) sleeping on land and in water in captivity and the wild. We leverage advances in signal processing by applying independent components analysis and inertial motion sensor calibrations to maximize signal quality across large (> 10 gigabyte), multi-day datasets. Our study adds to the suite of biologging tools available to scientists seeking to understand the physiology and behavior of wild animals in the context in which they evolved.

INSIGHTS INTO THE HABITS OF THE ELUSIVE NOCTURNAL CURASSOW (NOTHOCRAX URUMUTUM)

Nocturnal curassows (Nothocrax urumutum) are one of the most enigmatic birds from South American rainforests. Their elusive habits and their nocturnal vocal behavior have led to the generalized assumption that they differ from other curassows in their presumable nocturnal habits. Here, we compiled camera trap data from long term projects in the Amazon rainforest and the Andes Cordillera piedmont to describe the temporal activity of Nocturnal Curassows. Based on an overall sampling effort of 68838 camera nights we obtained 274 independent records of their activity. The results of this study evidence that Nothocrax has diurnal habits and resembles in activity patterns to all other cracids more than previously expected. This study highlights the use of novel technologies and collaborative research towards the understanding of the natural history, ecology and behavior of animals with cryptic behaviors such as the Nocturnal Curassows.

SLEAP: A deep learning system for multi-animal pose tracking

The desire to understand how the brain generates and patterns behavior has driven rapid methodological innovation in tools to quantify natural animal behavior. While advances in deep learning and computer vision have enabled markerless pose estimation in individual animals, extending these to multiple animals presents unique challenges for studies of social behaviors or animals in their natural environments. Here we present Social LEAP Estimates Animal Poses (SLEAP), a machine learning system for multi-animal pose tracking. This system enables versatile workflows for data labeling, model training and inference on previously unseen data. SLEAP features an accessible graphical user interface, a standardized data model, a reproducible configuration system, over 30 model architectures, two approaches to part grouping and two approaches to identity tracking. We applied SLEAP to seven datasets across flies, bees, mice and gerbils to systematically evaluate each approach and architecture, and we compare it with other existing approaches. SLEAP achieves greater accuracy and speeds of more than 800 frames per second, with latencies of less than 3.5 ms at full 1,024 × 1,024 image resolution. This makes SLEAP usable for real-time applications, which we demonstrate by controlling the behavior of one animal on the basis of the tracking and detection of social interactions with another animal.

Penguatan Ketangguhan Bencana Melalui Pendidikan Mitigasi Bencana Berbasis Traditional Ecological Knowledge (TEK) dan Optimalisasi Peran Social Capital (SC) bagi Masyarakat Nagari KBKA Pesisir Selatan

Nagari Kampung Baru Korong nan Ampek (KBKA) Koto XI Tarusan District, Pesisir Selatan Regency has a high risk of natural disaster threats, namely earthquakes, tsunamis, landslides and floods. Meanwhile, Nagari KBKA is a potential village as one of the producers of Gambir in West Sumatra. The high threat of disaster risk and the impact of disasters on community activities, including economic activities, need serious attention. Many disaster mitigation education programs have been carried out, but have not touched on the empowerment of the KBKA natural local potential and the KBKA social system. This Community Service activity aims to strengthen community resilience to disasters by optimizing the existing natural resources and human resources in Nagari KBKA. This activity is carried out in 3 stages in the time span of July - November 2021 involving students, teachers, youth groups and housewives. The forms of activity consist of 1) Socialization on the potential, characteristics, symptoms and risks of disasters in coastal, hilly and mountainous areas and the importance of preparedness aspects, 2) Training to identify and utilize various social capital owned by the KBKA community, 3) Training to identify plants/vegetation potential in a disaster emergency period for preventing disasters, medicinal plants and alternative food), 4) Training to understand natural phenomena and changes in animal behavior before a disaster occurs, 5) Workshop on processing waste into ecoenzymes and 6) Planting Bungur Trees to reduce the risk of erosion in watersheds . The results of the activity show 1) an increase in the knowledge of students and teachers about natural phenomena, animal behavior, and potential disaster prevention plants, 2) an increase in the enthusiasm of the community for disaster preparedness, and 3) the acquisition of disaster prevention skills through waste processing into ecoenzymes.

Kesejahteraan Ayam Petelur di PT Inti Tani Satwa Kabupaten Maros

Animal welfare relates to physical and mental states that conform to the natural behavior of animals and need to be implemented to protect animals. Laying hens are very vulnerable to violating animal welfare principles because of high production targets but demands to minimize costs. The study was conducted in the laying hens of the grower phase of PT. ITS with direct observations, interviews, and discussions. The results were analyzed descriptively according to five principles of animal welfare, namely freedom from pain, injury, and disease, freedom from hunger and thirst, freedom from heat and discomfort, freedom from fear and suffering, and freedom to express normal and natural behavior. The results show that the implementation of animal welfare at PT. ITS has been carried out, but there are also aspects that are not fulfilled, namely the aspect of being free to express normal and natural behavior that has not been fully implemented because the density of the rang or cage makes the animals very crowded so this must be corrected so that the livestock welfare aspects can be met.

A learning automata-based hybrid MPA and JS algorithm for numerical optimization problems and its application on data clustering

Nature-inspired meta-heuristic algorithms possess various actions inspired by natural phenomena, animal behaviors, chemistry or physics laws etc. The actions are utilized to relocate agents in the problem space and update solutions. Selecting the best action to update a particle is a challenging responsibility in solving real-world NP-Hard problems. The selection process in meta-heuristic algorithms is predominantly random or quasi-random, which is not suitable enough. The Learning-Automata (LA) is a mechanism to make the selection process more dynamic. The LA chooses the most optimal action regarding history and status and balances exploration and exploitation intelligently. In the current paper, a neoteric LA-based hybrid optimization algorithm is presented for global optimization problems. In the proposed algorithm, the artificial Jellyfish search algorithm (JS) and Marine Predator Algorithm (MPA) are rectified to reduce their computational complexity while retaining their strengths. Furthermore, the LA’s probability vector is augmented to make it more efficient. Afterward, the JS and MPA algorithm are redeveloped using the proposed LA mechanism. The proposed LA-based hybrid is tested on thirty-eight low- and high-dimensional benchmark functions compared with state-of-the-art algorithms, statistically and visually. Moreover, proficiency of the proposed LA-based hybrid algorithm is investigated on the data clustering problem. The proposed algorithm is applied to ten datasets, and the results are compared with competitor algorithms using various metrics. The experimental results exposed the preponderance of the proposed LA-based hybrid algorithm.

What, how, and how much do herbivores eat? The Continuous Bite Monitoring method for assessing forage intake of grazing animals.

Determining herbage intake is pivotal for studies on grazing ecology. Direct observation of animals allows describing the interactions of animals with the pastoral environment along the complex grazing process. The objectives of the study were to evaluate the reliability of the continuous bite monitoring (CBM) method in determining herbage intake in grazing sheep compared to the standard double‐weighing technique method during 45‐min feeding bouts; evaluate the degree of agreement between the two techniques; and to test the effect of different potential sources of variation on the reliability of the CBM. The CBM method has been used to describe the intake behavior of grazing herbivores. In this study, we evaluated a new approach to this method, that is, whether it is a good proxy for determining the intake of grazing animals. Three experiments with grazing sheep were carried out in which we tested for different sources of variations, such as the number of observers, level of detail of bite coding grid, forage species, forage allowance, sward surface height heterogeneity, experiment site, and animal weight, to determine the short‐term intake rate (45 min). Observer (Pexp1 = 0.018, Pexp2 = 0.078, and Pexp3 = 0.006), sward surface height (Pexp2 < 0.001), total number of bites observed per grazing session (Pexp2 < 0.001 and Pexp3 < 0.001), and sward depletion (Pexp3 < 0.001) were found to affect the absolute error of intake estimation. The results showed a high correlation and agreement between the two methods in the three experiments, although intake was overestimation by CBM on experiments 2 and 3 (181.38 and 214.24 units, respectively). This outcome indicates the potential of CBM to determining forage intake with the benefit of a greater level of detail on foraging patterns and components of the diet. Furthermore, direct observation is not invasive nor disrupts natural animal behavior.

Traumatic memory: Molecular and cellular mechanisms of post‐traumatic stress disorder

The mechanisms of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) have attracted increasing attention in recent years. However, despite the great success in the study of PTSD at the behavioral, psychological and physiological level in humans, as well as large number animal models of PTSD, the phenomenon of PTSD remains largely incomprehensible in theoretical terms. The aim of this project is to establish the neural basis for the pathological stability of traumatic memory that formed when encountering a stressful situation leading to the development of PTSD and to study the differences between the mechanisms of normal and traumatic memory formation at the neural level. First, we subjected mice to single traumatic experience and studied the dependence of PTSD development on protein synthesis during the consolidation and reconsolidation of traumatic memory. Mice injected with protein synthesis inhibitor cycloheximide (90 mg/kg, i.p.) 30 min before PTSD induction retained contextual associative memory but did not show a pronounced contextual fear. The results of elevated plus maze test suggests that the protein synthesis inhibition during the consolidation of traumatic memory can not only prevent the development of PTSD, but also disrupt the natural defensive behavior of animals, making them less anxious than control mice who had no previous negative experience. Than we showed that protein synthesis inhibition during the reconsolidation of traumatic memory almost completely abolish non-specific symptoms of trauma in mice, such as increased sensitization, fear generalization and anxiety. At the same time, however, cycloheximide injection during reminder did not affect the associative fear memory. These results show a dissociation between associative and nonassociative consequences of a traumatic experience in terms of their sensitivity to impairment during memory retrieval. We also studied the dependence of PTSD development on de novo methylation processes. Methyltransferase inhibitors 5-AZA and RG108 injection (0.5 mg/kg, i.p.) 30 min before traumatic episode reduced PTSD symptoms in mice: it decreased the level of conditioned fear and affected the level of behavioral sensitization and anxiety, but not the generalization. The inhibition of methylation processes during the reconsolidation of traumatic memory did not affect the symptoms of PTSD according to our data. We analyzed the c-Fos activity of the brain in the formation of normal contextual fear memory (FC) and traumatic memory in order to answer the second question of this project. The formation of traumatic memory was accompanied by activation of a pattern of brain areas similar to that activated during formation of FC memory. However, in PTSD the activity of amygdala, prelimbic cortex and dentate gyrus was considerably more pronounced. These results show important differences between normal and traumatic forms of memory at the time of their formation. In addition we hypothesize that increased activation of the amygdala and prefrontal cortex in PTSD may be associated with pathological persistence of traumatic memory.

Sensory Ecology &amp; Evolution

From a young age, children are fascinated by hide-and-seek games. These visual acuity games strengthen observational skills while increasing a competitive spirit to find a fellow playmate or a hidden object in an image. Unknowingly, children are using ecological and evolutionary principles of camouflage, mimicry, and adaptation when playing these classic games.The website Sensory Ecology & Evolution (https://www.sensoryecology.com/games), curated by the Centre for Ecology & Conservation at the University of Exeter in the United Kingdom, utilizes citizen science games to develop new tools to study visual observations in reference to organism coloration in a variety of realistic habitats. Human “predators” participate in computer experiments to contribute to an understanding of camouflage, disruptive coloration, and distractive markings. The center’s research also focuses on laboratory and field data with the aim of understanding animal vision, with applications to ecology, evolution, and animal behavior. Organisms, ranging from beetles to moths to crabs to frogs to hares to birds’ eggs to plants, are highlighted in the various citizen science games that will be sure to test your students’ visual acuity and be a perfect springboard for discussion around natural selection, adaptation, camouflage, and animal behavior, to name a few.When selecting a game for classroom or individual use, teachers should play the game first to test their own visual acuity. The habitats and various backgrounds are real images recorded and curated directly from the natural environments of the organisms. By clicking “start,” the participant agrees to have their data included in the larger research study. General instructions are included in the beginning of each game, with an example of the organism with size reference to be located. Silhouettes with various designs, ranging from solid colors to stripes to polka dots to more realistic-looking organisms such as frogs or herbs, are also featured in the games.Most of the games have a timer and bar count across the bottom of the screen where the observer is tasked with finding a particular number of organisms within a set time limit. Each game also asks whether the observer has played the game before. When one’s score and visual spotting percentage is revealed at the end of the game, it becomes a springboard for friendly competition with students. Most high school students would immediately jump at the chance to compete with me and with one another. The game provides a leaderboard at the end for quick identification, but an individual class leaderboard could also be easily generated as a class. Once the students recognize the organism’s shape and possible coloration and patterns, they will become invested in finding the organisms in the real images of habitats.The games can be utilized to introduce and reinforce observational skills or prior to evolution or ecology laboratories. For example, “Find the Camouflaged Moth” uses a simple triangular moth shape to see whether coloration or a particular pattern can evade predators more successfully. “Evolving Bugs” employs a beetle image to study whether a particular pattern optimizes camouflage. When introducing variation in a population, natural selection, and differential survival and reproduction, these games are perfect and contribute to a larger research endeavor.One of the highlights of these citizen science games is the ability to differentiate them for all grade levels. For example, “Spot the Hares” or “Frog Finder” can be utilized by lower elementary school students as they spot the hares or frogs among the field sites. Younger students can test their identification speed with a race against the clock and a chance to obtain a high score on the leaderboard, whereas an older student may connect the ability to spot the hare to climate change that could alter the snowy landscape over time. Furthermore, students can access the official publications and connect the games to the field studies, which enables the games to evolve into another educational opportunity for reading and evaluating scientific literature.When one thinks of camouflage, plants are not usually considered. However, one of the games, “Spot the Plant,” focuses on plant evolution of fritillaries used as medicinal plants in southwest China. This game is unique, in that one can play the game as a human or a yak. It is interesting to see how the selective pressure varies when the predators’ vision differs.As children explore the natural world, the classic hide-and-seek games can demonstrate the universal biological importance of observation, camouflage, and visual acuity. Biological principles and NGSS standards of natural selection, adaptation, environmental conditions, and biodiversity are evident in these citizen science games through Sensory Ecology & Evolution. A fun, competitive childhood game evolves into a research study worthy of further exploration.

An implantable optogenetic stimulator wirelessly powered by flexible photovoltaics with near-infrared (NIR) light

Optogenetics is a cutting-edge tool in neuroscience that employs light-sensitive proteins and controlled illumination for neuromodulation. Its main advantage is the ability to demonstrate causal relationships by manipulating the activity of specific neuronal populations and observing behavioral phenotypes. However, the tethering system used to deliver light to optogenetic tools can constrain both natural animal behaviors and experimental design. Here, we present an optically powered and controlled wireless optogenetic system using near-infrared (NIR) light for high transmittance through live tissues. In vivo optogenetic stimulations using this system induced whisker movement in channelrhodopsin-expressing mice, confirming the photovoltaics-generated electrical power was sufficient, and the remote controlling system operated successfully. The proposed optogenetic system provides improved optogenetic applications in freely moving animals.

The Equipment Used in the SF6 Technique to Estimate Methane Emissions Has No Major Effect on Dairy Cow Behavior.

The natural behavior of animals can be disrupted by the techniques and materials of research methodologies. This study aimed to evaluate the effect of the equipment used in the SF6 tracer technique to estimate enteric methane emissions on the behavior of lactating dairy cows. The cows (n = 24) were allocated to one of two diets: CONTROL and experimental diet (MIX). Behavior was assessed through video recordings between milking times during four phases: 3 days before fitting the cows with the SF6 equipment (PRE), first 2 days after the cows were fitted with the SF6 equipment (ADAP), 3 days during methane emission measurements (MEAS), and 2 days after the SF6 equipment removal (POST). The behaviors recorded included eating, ruminating or idling, resting, and others. Affiliative or agonistic and discomfort behaviors (scratching or pushing the equipment) were also recorded. Lying time was recorded over 14 days using dataloggers fitted to the cows' leg. Milk production and feed intake were recorded daily. MIX cows ruminated more than CONTROL cows (P = 0.05). The cows ruminated more at MEAS than in any other phase (P < 0.01). Time spent idling gradually decreased from PRE to MEAS for MIX cows (P < 0.01). The cows were lying down longer in MEAS than in ADAP and POST (P < 0.01). The time spent lying with the head down was shorter during PRE and ADAP than during POST (P < 0.05). No difference was observed in the occurrence of discomfort or agonistic behaviors (P > 0.05). Affiliative behaviors occurred more often in ADAP than in MEAS (P < 0.05). There was no difference between phases in daily lying time, number of lying bouts per day, or mean bout duration (P > 0.05). Milk production was not influenced by the SF6 equipment (P > 0.05). Dry matter intake was higher for CONTROL cows (P < 0.01), and it decreased from PRE to MEAS (P < 0.01). However, milk yield did not differ between cows wearing the SF6 equipment and those without it (P > 0.05). We conclude that the SF6 equipment had a minimal effect on dairy cow behavior.

Behavioral responses of rural and urban greater white-toothed shrews (Crocidura russula) to sound disturbance

The development of urban areas imposes challenges that wildlife must adapt to in order to persist in these new habitats. One of the greatest changes brought by urbanization has been an increase in anthropogenic noise, with negative consequences for the natural behavior of animals. Small mammals are particularly vulnerable to urbanization and noise, despite some species having successfully occupied urban environments. To understand some of the traits that have enabled small mammals to deal with the consequences of urbanization, we compared the behavioral responses of urban and rural greater white-toothed shrews, Crocidura russula, to different sound stimuli. A total of 32 shrews, 16 from each habitat, were exposed in captivity to four sound treatments: silence, tawny owl calls, traffic noise, and white noise. Urban and rural shrews showed different behaviors, with urban animals being more active, feeding more frequently, and using less torpor than rural individuals. However, responses to sound treatments were similar in both populations: urban and rural shrews exhibited a slight decrease in activity and feeding behavior, as well as more fleeing responses, when exposed to traffic noise or white noise, but not to owl calls. These results suggest urbanization induces long-term changes in the general activity of C. russula, but the short-term behavioral response to sound disturbance remains similar in rural and urban populations.

Metastable Attractors Explain the Variable Timing of Stable Behavioral Action Sequences

Natural animal behavior displays rich lexical and temporal dynamics, even in a stable environment. This implies that behavioral variability arises from sources within the brain, but the origin and mechanics of these processes remain largely unknown. Here, we focus on the observation that the timing of self-initiated actions shows large variability even when they are executed in stable, well-learned sequences. Could this mix of reliability and stochasticity arise within the same circuit? We trained rats to perform a stereotyped sequence of self-initiated actions and recorded neural ensemble activity in secondary motor cortex (M2), which is known to reflect trial-by-trial action timing fluctuations. Using hidden Markov models we established a robust and accurate dictionary between ensemble activity patterns and actions. We then showed that metastable attractors, representing activity patterns with the requisite combination of reliable sequential structure and high transition timing variability, could be produced by reciprocally coupling a high dimensional recurrent network and a low dimensional feedforward one. Transitions between attractors were generated by correlated variability arising from the feedback loop between the two networks. This mechanism predicted a specific structure of low-dimensional noise correlations that were empirically verified in M2 ensemble dynamics. This work suggests a robust network motif as a novel mechanism to support critical aspects of animal behavior and establishes a framework for investigating its circuit origins via correlated variability. Funding Information: L.M. was supported by a National Institute of Deafness and Other Communication Disorders Grant K25-DC013557, by National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke Grant R01-NS118461 (BRAIN Initiative), and by a Swartz Foundation Award 66438.