Social Housing & Companionship

Attenuation of fear through social transmission in groups of same and differently aged horses

Transmission of fear and attenuation of fear within groups of farm animals remain relatively unexplored, despite the importance for human and animal safety. This paper reports the results of two separate experiments, aiming to explore social transmission of habituation in...

Year Published: 2018Topics: Emotion, Pain, & Sentience, Social Housing & CompanionshipAnimal Type: Equine

Citation: Rørvang, M. V., Christensen, J. W. 2018. Attenuation of fear through social transmission in groups of same and differently aged horses. Applied Animal Behaviour Science 209, 41-46.

Female social behaviour during three male introductions in captive groups of rhesus macaques

Introductions of new males into captive primate groups are often necessary to prevent inbreeding, but also bear high social risks. To minimize these risks, it is crucial to understand the social behaviour accompanying male introductions. While the behaviour of new...

Year Published: 2018Topics: Reproduction, Social Housing & CompanionshipAnimal Type: Macaque, Nonhuman Primate

Citation: Rox, A., de Vries, H., Louwerse, A. L. et al. 2018. Female social behaviour during three male introductions in captive groups of rhesus macaques. Applied Animal Behaviour Science 207, 89-97.

Intergenerational sex-specific transmission of maternal social experience

The social environment is a major determinant of individual stress response and lifetime health. The present study shows that (1) social enrichment has a significant impact on neuroplasticity and behaviour particularly in females; and (2) social enrichment in females can...

Year Published: 2018Topics: Reproduction, Social Housing & CompanionshipAnimal Type: Rat, Rodent

Citation: Faraji, J., Karimi, M., Soltanpour, N. et al. 2018. Intergenerational sex-specific transmission of maternal social experience. Scientific Reports 8, 10529.

Breaking up is hard to do: Does splitting cages of mice reduce aggression?

Injurious aggression in group housed male laboratory mice is a common welfare issue that can also negatively affect study outcomes. Often, one mouse in the cage appears unwounded, and the current standard practice is to remove this presumed aggressor. This...

Year Published: 2018Topics: Social Housing & CompanionshipAnimal Type: Mouse, Rodent

Citation: Blankenberger, W. B., Weber, E. M., Chu, D. K. et al. 2018. Breaking up is hard to do: Does splitting cages of mice reduce aggression? Applied Animal Behaviour Science 206, 94-101.

Long term benefits on social behaviour after early life socialization of piglets

Early life socialization of piglets has been shown to reduce piglet aggression at weaning, but information on sow health and long-term benefits is lacking. We aimed to assess how socialization impacts sow udder quality and long-term pig behaviour and growth....

Year Published: 2018Topics: Social Housing & CompanionshipAnimal Type: Pig

Citation: Camerlink, I., Farish, M., D'Eath, R. B. et al. 2018. Long term benefits on social behaviour after early life socialization of piglets. Animals 8(11), 192.

Provision point-source materials stimulates play in sows but does not affect aggression at regrouping

When sows are mixed into groups, hierarchies form and resulting aggression and stress can affect production and welfare. This study determined the effect of providing point-source materials on aggressive and play behaviors in gestating sows. Large white cross Landrace sows...

Year Published: 2019Topics: Environmental Enrichment, Social Housing & CompanionshipAnimal Type: Pig

Citation: Greenwood, E. C., van Wettere, W. H. E. J., Rayner, J. et al. 2019. Provision point-source materials stimulates play in sows but does not affect aggression at regrouping. Animals 9(1), 8.

Does group size matter? Captive chimpanzee (Pan troglodytes) behavior as a function of group size and composition

The National Institutes of Health and the Association of Zoos and Aquariums recommend that captive chimpanzees be housed in multi‐male, multi‐female, age‐diverse groups of no less than seven individuals. These recommendations are rooted in the idea that captive chimpanzee groups...

Year Published: 2019Topics: Social Housing & CompanionshipAnimal Type: Chimpanzee, Nonhuman Primate

Citation: Webb, S. J. N., Hau, J., Schapiro, S. J. 2019. Does group size matter? Captive chimpanzee (Pan troglodytes) behavior as a function of group size and composition. American Journal of Primatology 81(1), e22947.

Individuals in larger groups are more successful on spatial discrimination tasks

To understand how natural selection may act on cognitive processes, it is necessary to reliably determine interindividual variation in cognitive abilities. However, an individual's performance in a cognitive test may be influenced by the social environment. The social environment explains...

Year Published: 2018Topics: Social Housing & CompanionshipAnimal Type: Bird, Fowl

Citation: Langley, E. J. G., van Horik, J. O., Whiteside, M. A. et al. 2018. Individuals in larger groups are more successful on spatial discrimination tasks. Animal Behaviour 142, 87-93.

Do social factors related to allostatic load affect stereotypy susceptibility? Management implications for captive social animals

Stereotypies are frequently associated with sub-optimal captive environments and are used as welfare indicators. However, susceptibility to stereotypy can vary across individuals of the same group. As such, identifying which individuals are more susceptible to this behaviour may be helpful...

Year Published: 2019Topics: Abnormal/Problematic Behavior, Natural Behavior, Social Housing & CompanionshipAnimal Type: Capuchin, Nonhuman Primate

Citation: Nagy-Reis, M. B., Mendonça-Furtado, O., Resende, B. 2019. Do social factors related to allostatic load affect stereotypy susceptibility? Management implications for captive social animals. Animal Welfare 28(2), 183-190.

Is heightened-shoaling a good candidate for positive emotional behavior in zebrafish?

Zebrafish, a highly-social species of freshwater fish, are widely studied across many fields of laboratory science including developmental biology, neuroscience, and genomics. Nevertheless, as standard housing for zebrafish typically consists of small and simplistic environments, less is known about their...

Year Published: 2018Topics: Emotion, Pain, & Sentience, Social Housing & CompanionshipAnimal Type: Fish, Zebrafish

Citation: Franks, B., Graham, C., Von Keyserlingk, M. A. G. 2018. Is heightened-shoaling a good candidate for positive emotional behavior in zebrafish? Animals 8(9), 152.