Lecture 3: Intro to Behaviour pt. 2 Flashcards
Why do we care about animal behaviour?
-Ethics
-Animals Welfare
-Pet management
-Animal Production
-Veterinary medicine
-Animal Breeding
-Sustainability
-Pest management
-Conservation
Why do we use animals for research?
To understand humans, and we use them as models for physiology, depression, anxiety etc.
What is anthropomorphism?
Applying human characteristics (attributes) to/on animals ex smiling.
Can be bad when it doesn’t recognize species differences, and its about unmeasurable things like feelings
Extrapolating between species is legitimate when evidence of biological homology between organisms (similarities and sameness) and it is about variables that can be measured (behavioural responses, hormone levels, muscle action)
How does ethics affect what we care about animal behaviour?
Ethics-moral status of animals, concepts of respect and dignity. Animals capabilities, integrity, rights that also influences consumer choices.
Animal welfare=state within the animals, relates to subjective experiences
INPUTS ———————————————-> OUTPUTS
-Internal functioning states. -Health
-Environment -Behaviour
-Feed -Feelings
-Procedures -Productivity
-etc -etc
How do humans and animal bonds relate to behaviour? Why does pet management matter?
Human-Animal bonds
-Culture
-companionship
-Health
-Mental well-being
-Animal-assisted interventions
Behavioural problems often a reason for relinquishment but may be within normal range of animals behaviour (ex cat scraping but owners don’t want their crunch ruined)
Why does animal production behaviour on the farm matter?
good stockmen-ship: Knowing how to respond to behaviour of animals (know to avoid injury) influences farm design.
Managing the farm and operations: Feeding behaviour, reproductive behaviour, housing design etc. (ex estrus detection in pigs by mounting other pigs, seeing out boar, standing reflex)
Why do we care about animal behaviour in terms of Vet medicine and animal breeding?
Diagnosis: Recognize signs of sickness, pain, discomfort.
Breeding: Domestication selection, breeding for or against specific behaviours
What is SDG’s and how does that relate to sustainability?
Livestock production can influence Sustainable Developmental Goals (SDG).
Improving animal welfare <—–> Achieving sustainable developmental goals
Why do we care about animal behaviour in term of Pest Management?
Pest Management:
1. Reduce pest populations (ex attract animal to traps)
2. Deter individuals from areas (ex repellents applied to plants)
Often applied to “average” individuals, some might not respond as well as others.
What are the 4 F’s?
The 4F’s are leverage animal behaviour related to 4 core motivations:
1. Feeding
2. Fleeing
3. Fighting
4. Fornication
Why do we care about animal behaviour in terms of Conservation?
Can help with environmental management, human-wiildlife conflict.
EX. Stephens kangaroo rat is endangered but no successful translocation bc highly territorial, considered ‘asocial’. Territorial animals respond less aggressively to neighbours. When translocated with neighbours higher survival rates, and higher reproductive sucess.
Why do we do behavioural test?
Can be used to answer specific questions in an option way. Can be applied to different species (often developed from rodent studies) and measure different aspects of the animal.
What can you do with a behavioural test?
-Tests to characterize the animal
-Choice, reference and motivation
-Ability to detect and distinguish (items, shapes colours)
-effects of age and treatment
-Reinforcement and punishment
-Learning capacity, memory, and cognitive ability
-Genetic components of behaviour
What are some tests to characterize the animal?
Open field test: usually put in arena to find fear and exploratory motivation, and motivation to reach conspecifics (member of same species) (usually individually)
Novel object test: Fear and exploratory motivation
-shapes/colours ex balloon with pigs if don’t approach are they 1. afraid or 2. not interested
-how long did it take them to explore
Elevated plus maze: Anxiety, based on rodents’ avoidance of brightly lit areas (ones that spend more time in open lit areas are less stressed, nocturnal so usually avoid bright areas)
Tonic Immobility: Animal enters catatonic state of immobility (feigning death or faking dead)
-Faced with scary situation when put upside down, time how long they take to wake up
What are choice, preference and motivation tests?
Choice tests:
-single or multi choice
-Preference or avoidance (fresh vs soiled vs ammonia reducing treated, vs no substrate shavings)
Motivation (operant conditioning) - how willing are they to work
-Step further from choice
-strength of preference-willingness to pay a price ie walk through heavy door to get to what they want, the heavier the door the more willing
