Natural Behavior

Responses by wild house mice (Mus musculus) to various stimuli in a novel environment

House mice (Mus musculus) pose a threat to the native flora and fauna on islands, and can cause significant damage wherever they have been introduced. Methods used to eradicate invasive rodents, like house mice, at high population densities may not...

Year Published: 2014Topics: Natural BehaviorAnimal Type: Mouse, Rodent

Citation: Witme, G. W., Snow, N. P., Moulton, R. S. 2014. Responses by wild house mice (Mus musculus) to various stimuli in a novel environment. Applied Animal Behaviour Science 159, 99-106.

The relationship of dominance, reproductive state and stress in female horses (Equus caballus)

Maintaining a dominant position in a hierarchy requires energetically expensive aggressive displays and physical exertion. Lab based winner–loser studies, often conducted with individuals from non-social species, have shown that subordinates have higher stress hormone levels than dominant individuals. However, in...

Year Published: 2014Topics: Natural BehaviorAnimal Type: Equine

Citation: York, C. A., Schulte, B. A. 2014. The relationship of dominance, reproductive state and stress in female horses (Equus caballus). Behavioral Processes 107, 15-21.

Is the left forelimb preference indicative of a stressful situation in horses?

Evidence for behavioural and brain lateralisation is now widespread among the animal kingdom; lateralisation of limb use (pawedness) occurs in several mammals including both feral and domestic horses. We investigated limb preferences in 14 Quarter Horse during different motor tasks...

Year Published: 2014Topics: Natural BehaviorAnimal Type: Equine

Citation: Siniscalchi, M., Padalino, B., Lusito, R. et al. 2014. Is the left forelimb preference indicative of a stressful situation in horses? Behavioral Processes 107, 61-67.

Are 50-kHz calls used as play signals in the playful interactions of rats? II

During playful interactions, juvenile rats emit many 50-kHz ultrasonic vocalizations, which are associated with a positive affective state. In addition, these calls may also serve a communicative role – as play signals that promote playful contact. Consistent with this hypothesis,...

Year Published: 2015Topics: Natural Behavior, VocalizationAnimal Type: Rat, Rodent

Citation: Kisko, T. M., Himmler, B. T., Himmler, S. M. et al. 2015. Are 50-kHz calls used as play signals in the playful interactions of rats? II. Evidence from the effects of devocalization. Behavoural Processes 111, 25-33.

Are 50-khz calls used as play signals in the playful interactions of rats? III

When playing, rats emit 50-kHz calls which may function as play signals. A previous study using devocalized rats provides support for the hypothesis that 50-kHz function to promote and maintain playful interactions (Kisko et al., 2015). However, in that study,...

Year Published: 2015Topics: Natural Behavior, VocalizationAnimal Type: Rat, Rodent

Citation: Kisko, T. M., Euston, D. R., Pellis, S. M. 2015. Are 50-khz calls used as play signals in the playful interactions of rats? III. The effects of devocalization on play with unfamiliar partners as juveniles and as adults. Behavioural Processes 113, 113-121.

Behavioural expression of positive anticipation for food or opportunity to play in lambs

Anticipatory behaviours may serve a useful tool in studying positive emotional states in animals. This study aimed to investigate if lambs express anticipatory behaviours for opportunities to play or a food reward and if these behaviours would differ depending on...

Year Published: 2015Topics: Emotion, Pain, & Sentience, Natural BehaviorAnimal Type: Sheep

Citation: Anderson, C., Yngvesson, J., Boissy, A. et al. 2015. Behavioural expression of positive anticipation for food or opportunity to play in lambs. Behavioural Processes 113, 152-158.

Strain differences in temporal changes of nesting behaviors in C57BL/6N, DBA/2N, and their F1 hybrid mice assessed by a three-dimensional monitoring system

Nest building is one of the innate behaviors that are widely observed throughout the animal kingdom. Previous studies have reported specific brain regions and genetic loci associated with nest building in mice. These studies mainly evaluated the nest structure, without...

Year Published: 2015Topics: Environmental Enrichment, Natural BehaviorAnimal Type: Mouse, Rodent

Citation: Goto, T., Okayama, T., Toyoda, A. 2015. Strain differences in temporal changes of nesting behaviors in C57BL/6N, DBA/2N, and their F1 hybrid mice assessed by a three-dimensional monitoring system. Behavioural Processes 119, 86-92.