No description available.

Behavioural shifts, or changes in behaviour patterns, are an often-overlooked aspect of ecological invasions and range expansions, that can nevertheless be key in determining how and why a species may or may not succeed in their expansion process. We looked at aggressive behaviour in a small insectivore passerine species, the collared flycatcher, on the island of Öland, where it is undergoing a range expansion to the detriment of the native, ecologically similar, pied flycatcher. We found collareds to react more aggressively to simulated intrusions by conspecifics rather than heterospecifics, consistent with previous research on the matter, as well as an increased aggressiveness on later days in the season. We also found a pattern hinting towards an effect of habitat quality on territory defence, with increased aggression on higher quality patches. There was no simple geographic signal in levels of aggression within this population, and we discuss the complex factors interacting to determine aggressive behaviour in this species, including the invasion front itself.

No description available.

No description available.

No description available.

Thesis (Ph.D.)--University of California, San Francisco, 2010. / Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 71-05, Section: B, page: . Adviser: Lily Y. Jan.

Due to increasing habitat loss, human-lion conflict, poaching and other reasons, African lion (Panthera leo) populations have suffered a drastic decline. The African Lion and Environmental Research Trust (ALERT) is working to stop this pattern and is the first organization with an ex-situ conservation project for lions. Before releasing lions raised by captive-bred adults, they must first be ensured to behave properly to make sure they have the highest chance of survival. One challenge in the wild is encountering and competition with unknown conspecifics. By conducting playback of unfamiliar lion roars, the behaviours of lions under this ex-situ reintroduction program were tested and compared with observations from earlier studies of wild lions. Social interactions were also collected and a social network analysis was done to give information about the social structure in the pride. This in turn was compared with boldness scores, calculated from behavioural responses in the playback experiments. Lastly, I searched for associations between age and sex with both boldness and social interactions.   The studied pride consisted of 12 lions. The lions were more vigilant when a playback consisted of numerous lions vocalizing, but playing more than three lions seemed to make them loose interest, suggesting either habituation or false information. One adult female and the alpha-male were most bold, followed by five sub-adults. Boldness did not vary according to sex or age differences, but the social network analysis showed that some social interactions were more dominated by one sex or age group. These behaviours were in agreement with comparisons of wild prides.   This study showed that captive-bred lions have developed natural social behaviours. Based on the behavioural responses observed by the captive-origin lions to the playbacks of unfamiliar lions, it is unclear whether these lions would appropriately respond when encountered with unfamiliar conspecifics in the wild post-release.

For some behavior there are consistent differences between individuals within a population, which is called animal personality. Across species, ranging from insects to mammals, personality has been described along behavioral gradients like activity, exploration, boldness and aggression. Monoamines such as dopamine have been shown to be essential for modulating animal behavior and could therefore be important also in explaining variation in animal personality. Supporting this, the dopaminergic system affect activity (in Confused flour beetles), and aggression (in Mediterranean field crickets). However, the causality and effect of dopamine on these behaviors, and also other behavioral traits used to describe personality is currently less explored. This study experimentally investigated how increased level of dopamine affects activity, boldness, exploration and aggression in Mediterranean field crickets (Gryllus bimaculatus). I show that dopamine manipulation had no effects on measured behavior. These results indicate that increased dopamine levels do not affect the scored personality traits in Mediterranean field crickets. The causality and generality of the relationship between dopamine and behavior used to score variation in personality is thus not clear in this species.

Aggressivitet är ett vanligt förekommande beteende hos många arter och kan signaleras via både vokalisering och visuella signaler. Beteendet kan grunda sig i exempelvis dominans, konkurrens om en partner eller på att individen försvarar en resurs eller ett revir. För omkring 15 000 år sedan domesticerades vargar Canis lupus, vilket resulterade i underarten hund Canis familiaris och genom ett gediget avelsarbete finns det idag över 400 godkända hundraser. I Sverige finns det omkring 300 aktiva ledarhundar i tjänst och varje år utbildas runt 40 nya hundar som ska komma att arbeta med en ledarhundsförare. Syftet med denna studie var att se i vilken frekvens och på vilket sätt som ledarhundar för synskadade blir störda när de är i tjänst ute i det offentliga rummet dvs. på allmän plats. För att inhämta data utfördes en enkätundersökning där 18 ledarhundsförare beskrev en till två typsituationer av störningar från andra hundar som uppkommer i ledarhundens arbete. Närmare 90 procent av ledarhundsförarna angav att en eller flera störningar inträffat, där utfall var den vanligaste typen av störning följt av aktiv lek och attacker. Majoriteten av de utsatta ledarhundarna i denna studie var hanar av rasen labrador retriever. Ett flertal av ledarhundarna fick psykiska och/eller fysiska skador i samband med störningen, vilket ledde till att de fick tas ur tjänst tillfälligt. Angreppen kan ha grundat sig i bristande kommunikation då ledarhunden var i tjänst och fokuserad på sin uppgift. Resultaten baserades på ett begränsat antal svarande, vilket medför att resultaten kanske inte är representativa för hur situationen ser ut för Sveriges ledarhundar överlag men de indikerar på att problem med störningar finns. Denna studie är den första i sitt slag att utföras i Sverige och lämnar plats åt ytterligare forskning på området. / Aggression is a common behavior among many species and can be signaled through both vocalization and visual signals. The behavior may be based on dominance, competition for a partner or because the individual defends a resource or a territory. Around 15 000 years ago the wolf Canis lupus was domesticated, which resulted in the subspecies dog Canis familiaris and through an extensive breeding program there are currently over 400 recognized breeds. In Sweden there are about 300 active guide dogs in service and every year around 40 new dogs are trained, that will come to work for a guide dog owner. The aim of this study was to see to which frequency and in what way guide dogs for the visually impaired are disturbed when they are on duty out in public places. In order to collect data a survey was conducted, where 18 guide dog owners described one to two typical situations of disturbance from other dogs, which occurs when the guide dog are on duty. Nearly 90 percent of the guide dog owners reported that one or more disturbance had occurred, where lunges was the most common type of disturbance followed by active play and attack. The majority of the affected guide dogs in this study were males of the breed Labrador retriever. Several of the guide dogs got mental and/or physical injuries due to the disturbance and had to be taken out of duty temporarily. The attacks may have been based on a lack of communication between the dogs. The results are based on a limited sample, therefore they may not be representative of the situation for the entire Swedish guide dog population but it is possible to sense a problem. This study is the first of its kind to be carried out in Sweden and leaves room for further research.

Domesticering av hunden har lett fram till en rad olika hundtyper världen över. Alla dessa togs från början fram för ett visst syfte. Dock används inte hundarna i samma utsträckning för sitt huvudsakliga mål, utan hunden hålls idag främst för sällskap. Trots att hundar alltså inte längre används i det syfte de var framavlade till finns deras beteende kvar i generna. Med detta arbete vill jag belysa det predatoriska beteendet som finns kvar hos hunden, samt hur vissa raser uppvisar en större predatorisk aggressivitet än andra. Vissa raser har större benägenhet att uppvisa detta beteende, oavsett om det är önskat eller inte. Eftersom att det är gener som styr hundens beteende kan man inte undkomma att vissa raser är mer benägna att utföra predatoriska beteenden och uppvisa predatorisk aggression. / Domestication of the dog has led to a number of different breeds worldwide. All these breeds were from the beginning bred for a specific purpose. However, the dogs are no longer used in the same order for their main goal. Today dogs are mainly kept for company. Although they are no longer used for the purpose they were developed, their behavior remains in the genes. With this work I want to highlight the predatory behavior that remains in the dog, and how certain breeds exhibit a greater predatory aggressiveness than others. Some breeds are more likely to show this behavior regardless if it is desired or not. Because there are genes that control the dog's behavior, we cannot avoid that some breeds are more likely to perform predatory behaviors and predatory aggression.