Historically during domestication of animals, tameness towards humans was likely the most desired trait and therefore bred on. The red junglefowl (Gallus gallus) is the wild progenitor of all domestic chicken breeds and earlier studies present clear morphological, physiological and behavioural differences between domesticated breeds and the non-domesticated red junglefowl. These changes may be the result of altered gene expression - pleiotropy or linked genes. The aim of this thesis was to evaluate (1) effects of tameness selection on social behaviour towards conspecifics and (2) social behaviour differences between the sexes. Two generations of red junglefowl, P0 and its offspring F1, were studied. Both generations were divided into three selection lines (tame, intermediate or fearful), depending on their results in a fear of humans test.  A novel type of social reinstatement test was set up, containing a non-social area without stimulus, and a social area containing a mirror serving as stimulus animals. The social and aggressive behaviours performed towards the mirror were recorded, so was the time spent in the social versus non-social part. An undisturbed behaviour test was performed, as well as a standardized social reinstatement test. The P0-females performed significantly more social behaviour (p=0.008) at 26 weeks than males in the mirror test, and females also displayed significantly more social (p=0.04) and agonistic behaviour (p<0.001) than males in the undisturbed behaviour test. The social reinstatement test displayed a significant effect between the selection lines with regards to sociality. This suggests that there are immediate selection responses in early domestication.

Domestication is a process in which animals become adapted to a life among humans by means of selection. A reduced fear of humans is probably one of the first aims of selection, intentionally or unintentionally. Animals that have undergone the process of domestication have a different appearance than animals in the wild (domestic phenotype) and behave in a different way towards humans. In this study I have looked at foraging and explorative behaviours in an unselected parental generation of red junglefowl and their offspring. The parental generation were bred in three lines, a high line, with birds displaying a strong fear of humans, an intermediate line, birds showing a modest fear, and one low line, with birds performing a more tame behaviour towards humans. I presented the birds with three different feeding alternatives, familiar chicken food, meal worms camouflaged with wood shavings and just wood shavings. I counted number of pecks in the different food options, number of changes between sites and how many sites a bird visited. The results show that females of both generations were more explorative than males, by pecking more in cups of meal worms hidden in wood shavings whereas the males pecked more in cups containing chicken food. Females also moved around more in the arena. Results from the first selected generation show significant differences between the selection lines among the females, with females from the high and low groups being the most explorative.

In salmonids, the decision to migrate or remain resident is influenced by the status, and hence condition, of individuals. Status has been suggested to arise from the temperament of fish. In this study the links between standard metabolic rate and the levels of aggressiveness and shy/boldness were examined for 0+, hatchery-raised brown trout (Salmo trutta). I hypothesized, from the results of earlier studies (Cutts et al., 1998; Yamamoto et al., 1998), that high metabolic rates (MR) would be positively correlated to levels of aggression and boldness. The study was conducted in 200 L aquaria in which aggressiveness was measured by allowing each fish to interact with a mirror image of itself, and shy/boldness was tested by measuring the amount of time a fish used before exploring a new area. Standard metabolic rate was measured in a flow-through respirometer. In contrast to my expectations, there was no correlation between the different behavioural measures and the metabolic rate of fish. Also, no correlation between boldness and aggressiveness of fish was found. In additional testing aggressiveness correlated positively with the condition of fish (in coherence with Harwood et al., 2003) but, contrary to earlier studies (Överli et al., 2004; Schjolden & Winberg, 2007), not with the speed of acclimatization. The difference in results between this test and earlier studies, concerning the degree of correlation between MR and aggressiveness, suggests that the strength of this link differs between species of salmonids. Also, it may suggest changeability in the MR – behaviour link in different environments. Last, the status and condition of individuals cannot be unambiguously explained by temperament alone, but arise from a wider array of physiological and environmental factors.

<p>In this thesis, I experimentally investigate feeding selectivity in fallow deer (Dama dama), with respect to plant secondary compounds, especially tannins, which can decrease the quality of foods. I found that fallow deer avoided foods with higher amounts of tannic acid and Quebracho tannin, even though the deer ate some high-tannin food. The food choice was strongly dependent on the context in which the food was presented, so that the food choice in relation to tannin content was relative rather than absolute. When high-tannin food occurred at low frequency, the deer ate proportionally less from this type of food, at least when the difference in tannin content between the two foods was large. A basic implication is that an unpalatable plant type could benefit from its unpalatability, especially when occurring at low frequency. In experiments with two patches, the finding of a stronger within- than between-patch selectivity was mirrored in associational effects. First, low-tannin, palatable food was more eaten when occurring in a high-tannin patch, which corresponds to neighbour contrast susceptibility. Second, high-tannin, unpalatable food in a less defended patch was less eaten, which corresponds to neighbour contrast defence. A proximate cause of the associational effects can be the presence of a simultaneous negative contrast, which was experimentally demonstrated in an additional study. Individual differences in selectivity were present early in life and were consistent over five years, and selectivity was correlated with foraging exploratory behaviour. The results from this thesis suggest that fallow deer are selective in their food choice with respect to tannins from the beginning, and that the frequency of occurrence of different foods, but also the distance between foods and the complexity of presentation, influence the food choice. It is also suggested that a foraging behavioural syndrome is present in mammalian herbivores.</p>

<p>The evolutionary goal of individuals is reproduction and sexual selection favours traits improving reproductive success. When males invest less than females in offspring, males have potentially a higher reproductive rate than females. This typically results in sex-specific reproductive strategies of male-male competition and female choice of mating partner. Under polyandry, sexual selection can continue after copulation as sperm competition and cryptic female choice. This thesis focuses on male and female pre- and post-copulatory reproductive strategies in the promiscuous red junglefowl, <i>Gallus</i> <i>gallus ssp.</i>, and its domestic subspecies the domestic fowl, <i>Gallus gallus</i> <i>domesticus</i>. Males impose high re-mating rates on females, which triggers female resistance in copulations. In addition, when sexual harassment increases, females re-mate at times of day when male mating propensity is lower, to avoid intense sexual harassment. Males allocate sperm supplies differentially according to (i) variation in female polyandry and own competitive ability, (ii) earlier sperm investment in a female, and (iii) female reproductive quality, signalled by female comb size. Males also perform ‘aspermic’ copulations (i.e. copulations with no semen transfer), which inhibit polyandry and in turn reduce sperm competition. In mating opportunities with relatives, males do not avoid inbreeding. However, females avoid inbreeding before copulation through kin recognition and after copulation by selecting against related males’ sperm. These results show that selection on males to re-mate at higher rates than females and copulate indiscriminately according to partner relatedness, trigger counteracting female responses, creating the potential for sexual conflict over fertilisation. Teasing apart pre- and post-copulatory strategies and the contribution of each sex therefore becomes crucial in order to understand the evolution of reproductive strategies and the mechanisms affecting paternity.</p>

<p>When breeding wild species in captivity, the animals may gradually become more adapted to captivity and therefore less suited for reintroduction which is the ultimate goal for some species. This study measured the activity budget of European bison (<em>Bison bonasus</em>) in six enclosures in Sweden with the aim to find out how the characteristics of the enclosures – with and without pasture - influenced the activity budget. The results show that there were significant differences in the activity budget, i.e. the activity was higher in the enclosures with pasture than in enclosures with barren ground. However, since barren enclosures were smaller than naturalistic, it was not possible to exclude the effect of size. Judged from observations of bison in the wild, there seems to be a direct correlation between food availability and ranging, indicating that enclosure characteristics affect activity more than size. The bison foraged differently in the two enclosure categories, but the total amount of time spent on feeding did not differ. A feeding enrichment experiment showed to have more positive effects in the barren enclosures than in the naturalistic ones, as the amount of time of inactivity decreased in the former. Since the genetic characteristics of all Swedish bison are very similar, the differences between the two enclosure groups indicate that the animals still have the ability to respond appropriately to improved environmental quality. Hence the next step in the assessment of the suitability of these bison for release would be to study them during an acclimatisation program.</p>

<p>Syftet med denna studie var att undersöka om det fanns olika personlighetstyper hos mjölkkor av raserna SRB och SLB och om dessa personlighetstyper skilde sig mellan ras, ålder och vilken sida djuren stått på i lösdriften. Korna observerades i tre olika testmiljöer för att se huruvida konsistenta de var i deras beteenden: ostörda i lösdriften, vid mjölkning och med ett främmande objekt i lösdriften. Beteenden som studerades var normala beteenden, sociala beteenden, tramp och sparkningar vid mjölkning och interaktioner med det främmande objektet. Tolv beteendevariabler användes i en PCA (principal component analysis) och visade två komponenter som tillsammans kunde förklara 51,2 % av den totala variansen. Den första komponenten speglade aggression och extraversion, som ingår i medgörlighet och extraversion i den mänskliga femfaktorsmodellen. Den andra komponenten speglade ett mer introvert beteende och rädsla, som går under extraversion och neuroticism i samma modell. Oberoende T-test visade inga signifikanta skillnader mellan någon av komponenterna och ras eller sida i lösdriften p>0,05, däremot en tendens till skillnad mellan den första komponenten och ålder, där den äldre gruppen individer visade tydligare personlighetsdrag p<0.1. Tidigare studier har visat att personlighetsdimensioner som medgörlighet, neuroticism och extraversion ofta förekommer bland flera arter. Då olika personligheter hanterar stressfulla situationer på olika sätt, är detta ämne av stor vikt när det gäller förbättrandet av djurens välfärd.</p> / <p>The purpose of this study was to investigate if different personality dimensions existed in dairy cows of two breeds (SRB and Holstein) and if these personality dimensions differed between breed, age and how the animals were placed in the loose housing system. To investigate behavioural consistency, the cows were observed in three different situations: uninterrupted in their home pen, during milking and with a novel object in their home pen. Normal and social behaviour was observed as well as stepping and kicking during milking and interactions with the novel object. Twelve behavioural variables were used in a principal component analysis, which showed two components that together explained 51,2 % of the total variance. The first component reflected aggression and extraversion, which are included in agreeableness and extraversion in the human five-factor model. The second component reflected fear and introversion, which are included in neuroticism and extraversion in the same model. Independent-samples T test showed no significant differences between any of the components and breed or placement in the loose housing system p>0,05, however there was a tendency between the first component and age, where the older group showed a more defined personality p<0,1. Other studies have showed that personality dimensions such as agreeableness, neuroticism and extraversion often exist in several species. Different personalities cope with stressful situations in different ways, making this topic relevant to the improvement of animal welfare.</p>

In this thesis, I experimentally investigate feeding selectivity in fallow deer (Dama dama), with respect to plant secondary compounds, especially tannins, which can decrease the quality of foods. I found that fallow deer avoided foods with higher amounts of tannic acid and Quebracho tannin, even though the deer ate some high-tannin food. The food choice was strongly dependent on the context in which the food was presented, so that the food choice in relation to tannin content was relative rather than absolute. When high-tannin food occurred at low frequency, the deer ate proportionally less from this type of food, at least when the difference in tannin content between the two foods was large. A basic implication is that an unpalatable plant type could benefit from its unpalatability, especially when occurring at low frequency. In experiments with two patches, the finding of a stronger within- than between-patch selectivity was mirrored in associational effects. First, low-tannin, palatable food was more eaten when occurring in a high-tannin patch, which corresponds to neighbour contrast susceptibility. Second, high-tannin, unpalatable food in a less defended patch was less eaten, which corresponds to neighbour contrast defence. A proximate cause of the associational effects can be the presence of a simultaneous negative contrast, which was experimentally demonstrated in an additional study. Individual differences in selectivity were present early in life and were consistent over five years, and selectivity was correlated with foraging exploratory behaviour. The results from this thesis suggest that fallow deer are selective in their food choice with respect to tannins from the beginning, and that the frequency of occurrence of different foods, but also the distance between foods and the complexity of presentation, influence the food choice. It is also suggested that a foraging behavioural syndrome is present in mammalian herbivores.

The evolutionary goal of individuals is reproduction and sexual selection favours traits improving reproductive success. When males invest less than females in offspring, males have potentially a higher reproductive rate than females. This typically results in sex-specific reproductive strategies of male-male competition and female choice of mating partner. Under polyandry, sexual selection can continue after copulation as sperm competition and cryptic female choice. This thesis focuses on male and female pre- and post-copulatory reproductive strategies in the promiscuous red junglefowl, Gallus gallus ssp., and its domestic subspecies the domestic fowl, Gallus gallus domesticus. Males impose high re-mating rates on females, which triggers female resistance in copulations. In addition, when sexual harassment increases, females re-mate at times of day when male mating propensity is lower, to avoid intense sexual harassment. Males allocate sperm supplies differentially according to (i) variation in female polyandry and own competitive ability, (ii) earlier sperm investment in a female, and (iii) female reproductive quality, signalled by female comb size. Males also perform ‘aspermic’ copulations (i.e. copulations with no semen transfer), which inhibit polyandry and in turn reduce sperm competition. In mating opportunities with relatives, males do not avoid inbreeding. However, females avoid inbreeding before copulation through kin recognition and after copulation by selecting against related males’ sperm. These results show that selection on males to re-mate at higher rates than females and copulate indiscriminately according to partner relatedness, trigger counteracting female responses, creating the potential for sexual conflict over fertilisation. Teasing apart pre- and post-copulatory strategies and the contribution of each sex therefore becomes crucial in order to understand the evolution of reproductive strategies and the mechanisms affecting paternity.

When breeding wild species in captivity, the animals may gradually become more adapted to captivity and therefore less suited for reintroduction which is the ultimate goal for some species. This study measured the activity budget of European bison (Bison bonasus) in six enclosures in Sweden with the aim to find out how the characteristics of the enclosures – with and without pasture - influenced the activity budget. The results show that there were significant differences in the activity budget, i.e. the activity was higher in the enclosures with pasture than in enclosures with barren ground. However, since barren enclosures were smaller than naturalistic, it was not possible to exclude the effect of size. Judged from observations of bison in the wild, there seems to be a direct correlation between food availability and ranging, indicating that enclosure characteristics affect activity more than size. The bison foraged differently in the two enclosure categories, but the total amount of time spent on feeding did not differ. A feeding enrichment experiment showed to have more positive effects in the barren enclosures than in the naturalistic ones, as the amount of time of inactivity decreased in the former. Since the genetic characteristics of all Swedish bison are very similar, the differences between the two enclosure groups indicate that the animals still have the ability to respond appropriately to improved environmental quality. Hence the next step in the assessment of the suitability of these bison for release would be to study them during an acclimatisation program.