Physical and Physiological Indicators of Welfare in Guinea Pigs (Cavia porcellus) Serving as Ambassador Animals
Special encounters that allow contact between animals and guests are common in zoos and aquariums. Visitors to the Saint Louis Zoo may touch guinea pigs serving as ambassador animals. We evaluated two welfare indicators in ambassador guinea pigs by comparing glucocorticoid levels and body weights between periods when guinea pigs lived in a habitat accessible […]
Parental care in wild and captive zebra finches: measuring food delivery to quantify parental effort
Although the zebra finch, Taeniopygia guttata, has been a very important model system for the study of intrafamilial conflict and parental strategies, a detailed understanding of the variation in parental effort that can occur both within and between pairs is lacking. In part this is because many different methods have been used by individual studies […]
The role of the physical rearing environment in the domestication of the mongolian gerbil (Meriones unguiculatus)
Gerbils reared in tunnel systems responded to a visual stimulus by fleeing, foot-thumping and remaining concealed, whereas many gerbils reared in laboratory cages responded in the same situation by approaching the stimulus. The critical factor in tunnel-rearing was the opportunity to flee to shelter during maturation. Neither isolation from illumination nor isolation from stimuli associated […]
How well do dingoes, Canis dingo, perform on the detour task?
The [`]detour task’ assesses spatial problem-solving abilities, requiring the subject to travel around a transparent barrier to obtain a reward. Recent studies have found that domestic dogs, Canis familiaris, generally perform poorly on this task, and fail to improve performance significantly after repeated trials or generalize problem-solving strategies when conditions are reversed. In contrast, wolves, […]
Effects of domestication on filial motivation and imprinting in chicks: comparison of red junglefowl and White Leghorns
Domestication has been reported to reduce learning ability and to alter social behaviour. We compared the development of filial behaviour of domestic chickens, Gallus gallus domesticus, and the ancestral red junglefowl, Gallus gallus. We investigated the tendency of naïve chicks to approach conspicuous stimuli, as a measure of filial motivation, and the development of a […]
Effects of domestication on food deprivation-induced behaviour in red junglefowl, Gallus gallus, and White Leghorn layers
Domestication and selection for high production have selected animals with less energy-demanding behaviour. In the natural environment of the ancestors, fitness (reproductive success) is often favoured by an ability to locate and remember food sites, whereas in captivity, fitness may be more related to the ability to grow and reproduce efficiently under stable food conditions. […]
Could empathy for animals have been an adaptation in the evolution of Homo sapiens?
In humans, empathy has emotional and cognitive components, both of which are linked to caring and nurturant behaviour. Variations in each of these facets of empathy were likely to have been accessible to natural selection during the evolution of Homo, although the likely details of their respective adaptive values has so far only been considered […]
Trainability and boldness traits differ between dog breed clusters based on conventional breed categories and genetic relatedness
Modern dog breeding has given rise to more than 400 breeds differing both in morphology and behaviour. Traditionally, kennel clubs have utilized an artificial category system based on the morphological similarity and historical function of each dog breed. Behavioural comparisons at the breed-group level produced ambiguous results as to whether the historical function still has […]
Exploration and risk assessment: a comparative study of male house mice (Mus musculus musculus) and two laboratory strains
The ability to gather information and assess risks in novel environments is crucial for survival and fitness in the wild. Our aim was to characterise behavioural strategies of exploration and risk assessment in novel environments and to investigate in what respects wild house mice differ from domesticated mice. A total of 39 adult male mice […]
How has the risk of predation shaped the behavioural responses of sheep to fear and distress?
To use behaviours as indicators of stress it is important to understand their underlying causation. For a prey animal in the wild, such as a sheep, behavioural responses have evolved to evade detection and capture by predators. The behavioural responses of the wild ancestors of domestic sheep to the threat of predation are characterised predominantly […]