Spacing Behavior Flashcards
define spacing behavior
◼ Maintain & negotiate space
◼ Physical & social requirements
2 general categories of spacing behavior
◼ Individual space
◼ Home range & territory
Spacing & social organization: static or dynamic
dynamic
Spacing depends on _______ of group members
activities
what are contact species and provide an example
Allow fairly close physical proximity between one another
- farm animals
flight distance
The radius of space within which the animal will not voluntarily permit intrusion of a person or other animals which might be dangerous
what contributes to flight distance decreasing?
husbandry & socialization to humans
why may flight distance disappear?
maintain avoidance zone
what defense reactions will intrusion into flight zone cause?
Startle, alarm, fight-or-flight, vocalization
define agnostic behavior
Both aggressive & submissive acts, including
escape of submissive animal from dominant one
what is the purpose of agnostic behavior
Serves to organize social groups & to maintain social hierarchies because organized groups are better adapted than disorganized ones
what is agnostic behavior used against
behavior involving threat,
attack, defense
what type of action is involved in agnostic behavior so that members of the same group are involved in the same behavior?
synchrony
why are there little fighting or threat in grazing animals?
Because of system of social organization
home range
Animal learns thoroughly & habitually uses
◼ Core Area – area of heaviest use in home range
territory
◼ Defended by fight or demarcation
◼ Not always permanent
individual space
Minimum distance from other animals
what is individual space required for?
basic movements
Advantages of maintaining an individual space include reductions in:
◼ Damages to body due to contact
◼ Interference/competition during feeding
◼ Impedance when starting to flee
◼ Chance of forced copulation
Personal space declines to zero during:
◼ Mating behavior
◼ Shelter seeking for warmth
social distance
◼ Maximum distance a group living animal
will tolerate before moving toward others
◼ Affiliative social force vs. dispersal force reflected by personal space
Association typically seen between:
mother & offspring and
animals reared together
“Distance to nearest neighbor”
Special type of spacing behavior results when individuals with close bonds arrange themselves
which type of animals maintain close contact with one another?
grazing herbivore
Distance to nearest neighbor varies much ____ than distance to others in group
less
In __-__% of animals an individual is the nearest neighbor of it’s nearest neighbor
60-70
Minimum spatial needs:
◼ Amount of room for physical size & basic
movement requirements
◼ Even stalled animal needs distance of length, breadth & height to stand, lie, stretch, etc.
what is the last portion of personal space to be surrendered?
bubble of space around head
how may personal space be altered by adjusted living conditions? what is the last portion of personal space to be surrendered?
- Enforced groupings
- Last portion of personal space to be surrendered is bubble of space around head
long term loss of head space:
◼ Futile negotiations of interpersonal space
needs
◼ Increases the incidence of aggressive exchanges within an enclosed group
◼ OK for short-term crowding/resting
Corners in enclosures increase ________________ of an enclosure
conceptual space
arrange shapes in idealness of corners
□ > Δ > O
Variables that influence spatial needs:
◼ Group size
◼ Available area
◼ Stocking density
◼ Shape of available area
Corners can be dangerous for what animals?
weak, subordinate
define crowding
Groups of animals whose movements are restricted by the physical presence of others
what happens when there is high density crowding?
◼ More likely one animal will come into
contact w/ another one
- Intrusion into individual space
~Aggression
~Avoidancedoes crowding always lead to agnostic behavior?
no
define over-crowded
High social density causes adverse effects of the fitness of the individuals
what can prevent overcrowding
Good distribution of resources
what are symptoms of overcrowding
◼ Adrenal hypertrophy ◼ High blood pressure ◼ Kidney failure ◼ Reduced immune response ◼ Reproductive failure ◼ Reduced weight gain ◼ Reduced egg production
what increases competitive behavior in terms of crowding?
High social density & large number of individuals in group
why would we want constant floor space (.4 m2) for birds?
Frequency of aggressive pecks 3x higher if group size was 28 vs. 8 birds
what was the result when with constant stocking density of large number of birds (100-400)
Competitive interaction did not increase
how do cattle show territorial aggressive acts?
butting or threatening to butt
how do cattle defend their head space
“hook” with sharp, oblique head swings
what age do bulls show strong territorial behavior?
~4 years
how do bulls show territorial behavior?
◼ Dig soil with forefeet, scooping loose soil over back ◼ Horn ruts in soil, rub head on ground ◼ Stand and bellow repeatedly ◼ May occur on selected site
where does pairing of cattle tend to occur
on pasture
describe crowding in cattle
Tend to position themselves around outer edges of pen
◼ Alleviates crowding
what’s the benefit of animals on a slotted floor?
require less area per individual
describe rangeland and cattle
Bulls require more individual space which is located on margins of herd
which dairy cows prefer to occupy adjacent stalls?
dominant
Cows of low social status keep to ______ of group
periphery
what happens with cows when it’s crowded and feeding time?
low social status cows move around more to avoid impinging on personal space of dominant cows
territorial aggression in horses
◼ Bite, kick out w/ hind feet or strike w/ fore feet
◼ Back up to intruder & kick w/ both hind feet
- Double kick with no aim
◼ Kicking out defensively w/ one hind limb
- Mule kick
- Precisely directed
what are some equine territorial rituals?
◼ Stallions pass feces in specific sites
◼ Mark territory
All horses use certain territorial sites for ________
defecation
do they graze “roughs”, where do they graze?
no, only “lawns”
will only consume roughs if it is all they have
how do sheep threaten one another?
head movements
◼ May push or butt if no submissive response
◼ Look may be enough of a threat & lead to
avoidance
spacing varies with what two things?
breeds and location
true or false: Flock of sheep drawn from different sources do not readily integrate
true
how do pigs threaten?
head movements
◼ May be followed by barking, pushing with nose & shoulder barges
what happens if stocking density is too high?
◼ Reduce productivity
◼ Low social status
- Cannot avoid aggressive encounters
what type of behavior do pigs practice more than any other farm animal?
contact behavior, show little territorialism
define social limit (social distance)
◼ Maximum distance any animal will move away from the group
◼ Maximum distance that a group-living animal will tolerate before moving toward others
when do poultry show territorial behavior?
Dominant males during mating season
Males maintain ______ throughout the year
harems
Harems utilize overlapping ____ ranges
home
Territorial arrangement of flock members seems dependent on ____ alignment of nearby birds
facial, 90 -180°
Territorial organization of flock is evident in what kind of birds?
free range birds
if birds territories overlap, what kind of behavior is likely to happen?
agnostic behavior
where do high ranking birds orient to feeders?
beside or in front
what is a perch?
serves as refuge for subordinates rather than controlling position
“site attachment”
when bird is moving away from its area in the building, the bird is gonna get pressured into staying in its specific area. the more it moves away from its area, the more pecking will occur to that bird
What happens when a dog or human enters the space that an individual dog regards as constituting a serious risk to its person or territory?
◼ Attack may be presaged by louder and more frightening signs of intent
◼ Speed of movement associated with bites is often a surprise to humans
how do cats mark certain individuals and objects?
facial and tail based glands
how do cats show aggressive behavior?
clawing and biting at head area
vocalization
why is there much violation of feline territory
in human urban environments, 6-8 cats in 20 adjacent human houses, territories overlap
