Optical Flow, Flock Behaviour and Chicken Welfare
We used a combination of inexpensive camera equipment and statistical analysis of optical flow patterns to analyse the behaviour of 24 commercial broiler (meat) chicken flocks, Gallus gallus. Individual birds were not tracked or marked but the skew and kurtosis of flow patterns produced by the collective movements of the flocks were significantly correlated with […]
Resource Influence on the Form of Fur Rubbing Behaviour in White-Faced Capuchins
Self-medicative behaviours have been largely documented in vertebrates and, in particular, the use of plants for pharmacological purposes has been mainly reported in primates. White-faced capuchins are known to rub specifically chosen plants and other substances on their fur. To better understand the mechanisms underlying this phenomenon and investigate the influence of different plant resources […]
Wolf-Pack (Canis lupus) Hunting Strategies Emerge From Simple Rules in Computational Simulations
We have produced computational simulations of multi-agent systems in which wolf agents chase prey agents. We show that two simple decentralized rules controlling the movement of each wolf are enough to reproduce the main features of the wolf-packhunting behavior: tracking the prey, carrying out the pursuit, and encircling the prey until it stops moving. The […]
Auditory disturbances promote temporal clustering of yawning and stretching in small groups of budgerigars (Melopsittacus undulatus)
Yawning may serve both social and nonsocial functions. When budgerigars ( Melopsittacus undulatus) are briefly held, simulating capture by a predator, the temporal pattern of yawning changes. When this species is observed in a naturalistic setting (undisturbed flock), yawning and also stretching, a related behavior, are mildly contagious. On the basis of these findings, we […]