Temporal Behavioral Patterns Research Articles

Effects of Hydraulic Refuge and Irradiance on Grazer-Periphyton Interactions in Laboratory Streams

A 54-d experiment was conducted in laboratory streams to examine relationships between temporal and spatial patterns of algal development and grazing behavior of the snail Juga silicula in a patchy physical environment. Each stream contained nine channel-spanning blocks (22.5 × 22.5 × 4 cm) spaced 22.5 cm apart and was illuminated with a photon flux density of 375, 90 or 20 μ E m -2 s -2 . We monitored periphyton succession and the number of snails in fast current regimes on tops of blocks (exposed substrata) and in slower current regimes on surfaces recessed between blocks (sheltered substrata). At the end of the experiment, algal biomass in streams illuminated with high irradiance was approximately 80× and 8× greater than in streams with low and intermediate irradiance, respectively. Growth rates of Juga in streams with high and intermediate irradiances were similar and approximately 15× greater than rates at low irradiance. At all irradiances, snail densities were higher and algal bi...

Interaction of haloperidol and SCH 23390 with cocaine and dopamine receptor subtype-selective agonists on schedule-controlled behavior of squirrel monkeys

Involvement of D1 and D2 dopamine receptors in the effects of cocaine on schedule-controlled behavior was evaluated in squirrel monkeys responding under a multiple fixed-interval 5-min, fixed-ratio 10 schedule (mult FI FR) of food delivery. Cocaine and the D2 agonist quinpirole increased responding under the F1 at certain doses and disrupted the temporal patterning of behavior. Higher doses of these drugs decreased responding. In contrast, the D1 agonist SKF 38393 was devoid of behavioral activity up to 10 mg/kg where response suppression was obtained without significant modification of the temporal distribution of responding. The D2 antagonist haloperidol (0.001-0.03 mg/kg) did not alter the behavioral effects of cocaine up to doses that had pronounced behavioral effects on their own. However, haloperidol attenuated the behavioral effects of quinpirole. In contrast, the D1 antagonist SCH 23390 partially attenuated the response rate-suppressant effects of cocaine without blocking cocaine-induced disruptions of temporal response patterning. SCH 23390 did not antagonize the behavioral effects of SKF 38393. These results suggest that independent stimulation of either D1 or D2 receptors alone does not play a major role in the effects of cocaine on schedule-controlled behavior of squirrel monkeys.

Detection of temporal behaviour patterns of free-ranging cattle by means of diversity spectra

The aim of this paper is to detect temporal patterns of cattle behaviour. The method, diversity spectra, provides, on the one hand, the number of parts into which a temporary transect should be divided in order to understand the maximum segregation of cattle activities and, on the other, the clarity with which each segregation is defined. In the case under study (a 'dehesa' pasture-land in central Spain) the maximum segregation of fundamental activities in cattle behaviour is reached by considering the year as divided into two periods: spring-summer and autumn-winter. Cattle behaviour shows an annual coarse grain pattern, which is associated with management activities and with the meteorological seasonality of the Mediterranean climate. However, within each of the two annual periods, maximum segregation is reached considering separately the days of observation. This fine grain pattern indicates within each season, a certain capacity for response to a fluctuating environment and determines very different behaviour on close days. During autumn-winter period cattle show seasonal and daily activity segregations which are clearer than during spring-summer. In the former period, the lack of grass, more severe climatic conditions and management would seem to be determining factors of this temporal behaviour pattern.

Spatial and temporal patterning distinguishes the locomotor activating effects of dizocilpine and phencyclidine in rats

A behavioral pattern monitor was used to assess the effects of dizocilpine (MK-801) and phencyclidine on the spatial and temporal patterns of locomotion and investigatory behavior in rats. The monitor provided both quantitative measures of crossovers, rearings and holepokes and qualitative measurement of the spatial and temporal patterns of locomotion. Dizocilpine (0.004–0.5 mg kg ) and phencyclidine (0.25–5.0 mg kg ) produced similar, dose-dependent increases in locomotor activity. At small doses, dizocilpine and phencyclidine increased investigatory holepokes, while at larger doses, both drugs significantly decreased the number of holepokes. Rearings were reduced similarly by the larger doses of each drug. Both dizocilpine and phencyclidine produced perseverative spatial patterns of locomotion, especially at larger doses. However, the locomotor patterns produced by these drugs were found to be dissimilar in spatial quality. After phencyclidine, animals frequently circled the perimeter of the monitor chamber or moved repetitively in horseshoe or figure-8 patterns. By contrast, rats given dizocilpine completed small rotations about either end of the chamber. Pretreatment with a small dose (0.02 mg kg ) of haloperidol, prior to either dizocilpine (0.5 mg kg ) or phencyclidine (5.0 mg kg ) had no effect on the increase in locomotor activity or the decreases in investigatory holepokes produced by the drugs. However, haloperidol altered the effects of phencyclidine on the spatial and temporal patterns of locomotion, suggesting that sigma receptors or other haloperidol-sensitive binding sites, may influence the quality but not the quantity of phencyclidine-induced hyperactivity.

The role of timing in reinforcement schedule performance

Reinforcement schedules produce distinctive and reliable temporal patterns of behavior. Temporal discrimination is known to be an important ingredient in these patterns. We sketch a simple dynamic model for the discrimination of short time intervals, linear waiting, in terms of four assumptions: that the time before the onset of the reinforced response, waiting time, is determined by the food delay in the just-preceding interfood interval; that waiting is triggered by the most recent time marker; that different delays signaled by the same time marker are averaged; and that the effectiveness of a given stimulus as a time marker is limited by memory constraints. We show that recursive application of linear waiting can generate contiguity learning and many molecular patterns of behavior on interval schedules, such as the fixed-interval “scallop” and interresponse times on variable-interval schedules, as well as molar properties such as the hyperbolic relation between response and reinforcement rates on variable-interval schedules. Linear waiting also implies the high response rates on ratio schedules and their instability. Linear waiting does not seem able to account for differences in response rates between ratio and interval schedules equated for reinforcement rate, molar response functions on ratio schedules, and some features of responding on cyclic schedules. These failures highlight our limited understanding of the role of memory in timing and hint at additional mechanisms.

Herbivory and patch dynamics on rocky reefs in temperate Australasia: The roles of fish and sea urchins

AbstractSea urchins are widely considered to be the major grazers in temperate subtidal systems, with herbivorous fish being browsers of minor importance. This paper reviews spatial and temporal patterns in these herbivores on rocky reels in temperate Australasia, with the aim of assessing their relative impacts on patch structure and dynamics. Herbivorous fishes are widespread and make up a significant numerical component the reel fish fauna. Sea urchins are also abundant, but not all geographic locations support actively grazing species.Both fish and sea urchins exhibit distinct patterns of distribution among depth strata. Within depth strata, all herbivores are restricted to (sea urchins) or forage preferentially in (fish) particular habitat patches, causing a mosaic of different feeding activities. These patches are either related to specific features of the habitat (e.g. Kelp patches, topography) or behavioural interactions. Foraging by sea urchins and demersal‐nesting damselfishes is intense and persistent, whereas in the kelp‐feeding fish Odax cyanomelas, foraging reaches greatest intensity at predictable locations during a few months of every year.Many fish and sea urchins consume some algae in preference to others. However, feeding preferences may determine the nature of the impact only in fishes. For sea urchins, preference may occasionally determine the order in which algae are consumed, but at high densities they consume all available macroalgae.Impacts of both types of herbivore on the abundance of algae have been recorded. Some sea urchins (e.g. Evechinus chloroticus, Centrostephanus rodgersii) appear to severely modify biogenic habitat structure by maintaining ‘barrens’ (areas devoid of macroalgae) over long periods. In contrast to this, the effects of fishes may be more transitory (e.g. seasonal impact of Odax cyanomelas on brown algae) or occur at smaller spatial scales (e.g. nest sites maintained by male Parma victoriae) Herbivorous and other fishes appear to respond to spatial patterns in algal distributions, rallier than having it major impact upon them. The relative effects of fish and sea urchins on the long‐term dynamics of kelp forests are unknown, hut temporal patterns in herbivore abundance and behaviour, and algal demography arc urgent targets for research.

Local patterns in human operant behavior and a behaving model to interrelate animal and human performances.

College students pressed buttons for points delivered according to molecular concurrent reinforcement contingencies similar to those used in previous experiments with animal subjects. Relative frequency of reinforcement and the relative and absolute durations of two reinforced patterns of button pressing were experimentally varied. Qualitative effects of all three variables resembled those obtained previously with animals. Computer simulation of a cognitive processing model described these qualitative effects. A similar model was used previously to describe corresponding behavior in pigeons. Therefore, similar cognitive processing may underlie the local temporal patterning of animal and human operant behavior maintained by this concurrent reinforcement contingency.

Serial properties of behavior and their chemical modification

Certain features of operant behavior that are sensitive to the adverse effects of chemical exposure can be obscured by exclusive experimental reliance on global measures such as response rate. Temporal patterning of behavior is the clearest example. Reinforcement schedules studied in behavioral pharmacology and toxicology reveal novel consequences of chemical treatment when subjected to analyses of their temporal and serial properties. Fixed-ratio performance, for example, undergoes not only changes in response rate, but also displays distinctive shifts in inter-response time patterning, changes in the interresponse time distribution, and deterioration in what might be termed the cohesiveness of the ratio. Variable-interval performance also may change in distinctive ways that produce altered response patterning without marked changes in rate. Sequential dependencies, as measured by techniques of time series analysis, may also reveal effects not reflected by response rates. Spaced responding and autoregressive schedules provide examples. The serial and temporal properties alluded to above can be described and analyzed by a variety of quantitative techniques that also yield information of theoretical interest.

Temporal and sequential patterns of agonistic behavior: effects of alcohol, anxiolytics and psychomotor stimulants

Social and agonistic interactions are composed of a range of species-typical acts, postures, displays and other communicative signals that follow characteristic patterns. Descriptive and analytic methods permit an assessment of the temporal and sequential features of highly probable patterns of agonistic interactions. Analysis of the intervals that separate consecutive attacks by a resident mouse or rat toward an intruder identifies bursts or epochs of attacks. Amphetamine (1.25, 2.5 mg/kg), but not diazepam or alcohol, alters the burst pattern of attack behavior. Higher doses of alcohol, but not diazepam, in either resident male rats or in lactating rats confronting an intruder, reduce the sequences of aggressive acts and postures with high transition probabilities as identified by lag sequential analysis. These results suggest that temporal and sequential patterning mechanisms may be differentially altered by amphetamine- and alcohol-type substances. These neural for many types of behavior.

Sexual interactions between estrous female rats and castrated male rats treated with testosterone propionate or estradiol benzoate

Estrous female rats display ‘precopulatory behaviors’ such as ear wiggling and hopping/darting when castrated males treated with testosterone propionate (TP) are placed in their vicinity and before copulatory interactions have taken place. Castrated males treated with estradiol benzoate (EB) do not elicit these precopulatory behaviors in advance of copulatory interactions. It therefore seemed of interest to study females' sexual behavior with castrated males treated with TP or EB when males or females had primary control over the temporal patterning of the behavior. Unrestrained sexual behavior (=male control) with EB-treated males was characterized by large numbers of intromissions and long periods of time preceding ejaculation, as compared with interactions with TP-treated males. The temporal pattern of sexual behavior did not change importantly when the males were tethered (=sexual behavior controlled by females). When given a choice between two sexually active castrated and tethered males, one treated with TP and the other with EB, estrous females ‘preferred’ EB-treated animals in various respects. Fewer interactions occurred with, and less time was spent in the vicinity of, TP-treated males over prolonged observation periods (115–135 min). The preference for EB-treated males disappeared, and TP- and EB-treated animals became equally attractive, when the vaginal opening of the female animals was covered with adhesive tape to prevent the occurrence of penile intromissions during mounting. It is concluded that female control over copulatory behavior does not necessarily change the females' sexual behavior. ‘Preference’ of EB-treated males to TP-treated males seems due to aversive sensory actions, during intromissions, associated with insertion of the androgen-stimulated penis and the ejaculate. Genital stimulation during mating plays an important role in the maintenance of ‘sexual motivation’ in female rats.

Effects of Experimental Manipulation of Testosterone Levels on Parental Investment and Breeding Success in Male House Sparrows

-Breeding male House Sparrows (Passer domesticus) were implanted with testosterone (T), the antiandrogen flutamide (F), or an empty capsule as a control (C). Parental feeding rates by C-treated males were high until nestlings reached 10 days of age, then declined significantly. This is the typical temporal pattern of parental behavior for free-living males. In contrast, F-treated males fed young at a high rate throughout the nestling stage, while T-treated males fed young much less frequently and were more involved in male-male competition during this period of time. There was a significant decrease in the breeding success of T-treated males resulting from increased starvation of their nestlings. Despite lowered levels of testosterone, F-treated males were able to maintain control of their nest boxes and exhibited normal sexual behavior. During the subsequent brood, breeding success of T-treated males again was reduced by nestling starvation. Our results demonstrate that high levels of testosterone inhibit the expression of parental care in male House Sparrows. Moreover, they suggest that the typical pattern of testosterone levels in males (high when mate guarding and low when feeding young) represents an optimal compromise between allocation of effort to male-male competition vs. parental care. Received 10 July 1986, accepted 1 March 1987. CORRELATIONAL and experimental studies on House Sparrows (Passer domesticus) have suggested that the activities of breeding males represent a trade-off between investment in malemale competition vs. parental care. In males, circulating levels of testosterone reflect this trade-off, being elevated when male-male competition is high and low when parental investment is high. We have suggested that this pattern maximizes an individual's overall reproductive output, even if it results occasionally in a reduction of fecundity (Hegner and Wingfield 1986a, 1987). In this study, we tested experimentally whether the variable pattern of male investment represents an optimization by artificially altering that pattern. This was achieved by altering the endocrine and behavioral state of males with subcutaneous hormone implants. We tested specifically whether elevated levels of testosterone during the last portion of the nestling stage, the interbrood interval, and the egglaying stage are critical for (1) defense of the I Present address: Department of Zoology, NJ-15, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington 98195 USA. nesting site, (2) normal sexual behavior, and (3) successful mate guarding. We also tested (4) whether lowered levels of testosterone during incubation and the early portion of the nestling stage are necessary for the expression of parental care.

Temporal pattern of exploratory behavior during 24-hour sessions in a Japanese monkey (Macaca fuscata) troop

The temporal pattern of exploratory behavior of a troop of Japanese monkeys to a novel apparatus introduced into their habitat was examined during four successive 24-hour periods. An “exploratory behavior” was defined as a press to a transilluminated panel within the apparatus. These presses had no scheduled consequences. The results showed that: (1) there was no responding from 1900 to 0600 hours; and (2) that day-time responding was bimodal, with activity peaking between 1000 and 1100, and 1600 and 1700 hours. These findings were discussed in terms of field studies and operant-based research which have studied diurnal processes in monkeys.

After the New Wears off: The Temporal Context of Product Involvement

While product involvement has been identified as a significant variable in consumer behavior, the precise nature of such involvement is still not well understood. The study reported here utilizes a longitudinal design to provide evidence for the notion that there are two forms of product involvement. The study also documents the differing temporal patterns of behaviors associated with each form. Behaviors associated with enduring involvement were stable over time, while those behaviors resulting from situational involvement declined once the situation inducing the involvement changed.

Multivariate assessment of locomotor behavior: Pharmacological and behavioral analyses

A Behavioral Pattern Monitor (BPM) is described which is designed to assess the spatial and temporal sequences of the locomotor movements, investigatory holepokes, and rearings of rats. The system records these behavioral responses with 0.1 sec resolution in time and 1.5 inch resolution in space, and permenently stores all the resulting data. The sequences of these responses may then be displayed on a video terminal or on paper and are also available for the calculation of a variety of descriptive statistics. Studies are described in which rats were tested repeatedly without any pharmacological treatments or in single test sessions following the administration of saline or one of five stimulant drugs. A variety of desriptive measures of the temporal or spatial patterning of the animals' behavior are described and applied to the data resulting of the values stimulants It is concluded that the combination of these measures enables distinctions to be made among these drugs which cannot be made on the basis of measures of the amount of locomotor activity.

Temporal Patterns of Feeding Behaviour in Free-Ranging Horses

AbstractFeeding was patterned into meals separated by intervals of non-random length. Meal length, which showed a marked circadian rhythm, was positively correlated with the length of the preceding interval (preprandial correlation) in all seasons except the summer. This result implies the existence of a control mechanism which maintained gut-fill high. The organisation of feeding within meals (length of feeding, standing and walking bouts) did not vary consistently between vegetation types, but was strongly influenced by the activity of biting flies.

A Strategy for Investigating Autism as a Prelinguistic Disorder of Social Development

A research strategy is presented that uses the siblings of autistic children to investigate the possibility that autism involves a social deficit that can be detected prior to language development. Underlying the strategy is the assumption that a social deficit is reflected in the failure of the infant sibling and his or her mother to establish coordinated interpersonal timing, i.e., to mutually influence the temporal patterns of each other's vocal behaviors. The measurement of such mutual influence is accomplished by an automated microanalysis of the interactive behavior, the results of which are subjects to a time-series regression analysis. Various implications and limitations of the strategy are discussed.

A Sequential Analysis of Early Development of Behaviors in Chicks

Developmental studies of behavior have examined changes in temporal patterning of behavior as well as each appearance of new behavioral pattern (2). Of the various temporal aspects of behaviors mentioned by FAGEN et al (3), the present study deals with behavioral sequences. The sequence of behaviors occurring in a social setting involves two aspects : intra- and inter-subject behavioral sequences, which are not totally separate processes but partly dependent on each other. However, only one of these processes has been analysed thus far (4, 6, 9). In this connectionVAN DEN BERCKEN and COOLS (13) developed a new sequential model which considered both aspects of sequences simultaneously. Using this model the present study attempted to describe sequential patterning of behaviors and their developmental changes in socially reared chicks.

Showing-off and aggression in young children

Showing off or display behavior of children has gained little attention in child psychology research, while in the ethological literature the same behavior is a well known phenomenon. To see what role display behavior plays in peer-peer interaction compared to threat and physical aggression, the behavior of 18 children between 3 and 6 years of age was recorded over an entire school year. The frequencies of display behavior, threat and physical aggression were examined and related to the amount of attention a child received from his peers. The attention-rank had proved to be highly related to leadership abilities as well as dominance in children. The results show interesting similarities between the frequency and temporal patterns of display and threat behavior and the attention children pay to each other. Furthermore, older children with more kindergarten experience as well as high status children show a different temporal pattern (high frequencies after holidays and low frequencies before) as well as a higher frequency of display and threat behavior than younger and low status children. Physical aggression is related to attention-rank but shows quite a different temporal pattern. It seems that display or showing off behavior serves as a strategy for children to get high regard in the group.

COGNITION, BEHAVIOR, AND THE EXPERIMENTAL ANALYSIS OF BEHAVIOR

A case history illustrates how one research program in the experimental analysis of behavior evolved somewhat differently from the modal research program represented in this journal. A chief issue that seems to be responsible for this difference is the role attributed to theory in behavioral research: Skinner's views on the nature and function of theory and on the nature of observation combine to produce a certain kind of picture of behavior. The classic conception of reinforcement contingencies is tied to this particular picture. But this picture may be incompatible with, and certainly is different from, other possible pictures. Reinforcement contingencies that place greater emphasis on the local temporal patterning of behavior seem tied to some of these alternative pictures of what behavior is. These other pictures encourage a wide range of theoretical approaches, including cognitive ones, various kinds of mathematical analyses, and computer-simulation methods to characterize entire behavior streams. In the future, perhaps the experimental analysis of behavior will accept a somewhat different range of views on the nature and function of theory, a correspondingly different set of experimental methods, and alternative ways of talking about behavior.

Role of the suprachiasmatic nuclei in the circadian timing system of the squirrel monkey. I. The generation of rhythmicity

The circadian organization of squirrel monkey ( Saimiri sciureus) drinking behavior was evaluated before and after the placement of radiofrequency lesions which completely destroyed the suprachiasmatic nuclei (SCN) in 4 monkeys and partially ablated the SCN in another 4 animals. In continuous illumination (LL: 600 lux) prior to surgery, each monkey had a precise free-running circadian rhythm of drinking behavior with a period of 25.13 ± 0.21h(¯X±S.E.M.). By 4–6 weeks following the lesions, the temporal organization of drinking behavior had become disrupted, but a statistically significant free-running circadian rhythm was still detectable by time series analyses. Subsequently, the circadian organization of drinking behavior in 7 out of 8 monkeys gradually decayed with either no statistically significant rhythmicity or only weak circadian and/or ultradian rhythmicity detected by time series analyses by 10–92 weeks post-lesion. The remaining animal which maintained a statistically reliable free-running rhythm in drinking behavior received the least damage (<50%) to the SCN. Despite the major alterations in the temporal patterning of behavior, the overall amount of drinking behavior per 24 h was unchanged. The SCN are thus essential for maintaining the circadian organization of squirrel monkey drinking behavior However, the existence of residual circadian rhythmicity following SCN lesions and the gradual decay of circadian organization thereafter suggest that the SCN may coordinate the activity of circadian oscillators which lie outside its borders.