Among primates, humans have the largest and most complex facial repertoires, followed not by their closest living hominid relatives but by hylobatids. Facial behavior is an important component of primate communication that transfers and modulates intentions and motivations. However, why great variation in primate facial expressions evolved and why hylobatid facial repertoires seem to be more similar to humans than other apes is unclear. The current study compared 206 hours of video and 103 hours of focal animal data of facial expression repertoires, measures of pair bond strength, and behavioral synchrony of ten hylobatid pairs from three genera (Nomascus, Hoolock, and Hylobates) living at the Gibbon Conservation Center, Santa Clarita, CA. This study explored whether facial repertoire breath or frequency were linked to social parameters of pair-bonds, how facial expressions related to behavioral synchrony, and if facial feedback (i.e., the transfer of behaviors and intentions by mimicking observed facial expressions) were important between pair-partners. Intra-pair facial repertoires correlated strongly with repertoire composition and rate of use, suggesting that facial feedback was important, while behavioral synchrony showed no correlation with facial behavior. The results of this study suggest that larger facial repertoires contribute to strengthening pair bonds, because richer facial repertoires provide more opportunities for facial feedback which effectively creates a better ‘understanding’ between partners through smoother and better coordinated interaction patterns.

An individual’s life history is a sequence of events which eventually determine its contribution to the next generation, or fitness. These events are affected by environmental factors, genetic make-up and decisions made by an individual and its breeding partner. Recognition of these determinants helps to understand both short-term ecological changes and long-term evolutionary dynamics in a population. In this thesis long-term individual-based data on common gull (Larus canus) is used to study age-dependent reproductive success, survival, pair retention and breeding time. Collected pedigree data enabled to study genetic variation of traits and the selection on them. The reproductive success of common gulls increased steadily until very old age. This increase cannot be explained by selection effects, since individuals with lower breeding success were shown not to have lower survival. Consequently, this gain must be ascribed primarily to an age-related improvements of individual competence and/or increased reproductive effort. Annual survival of adult birds was age- and year-dependent. The latter was partly explained by winter severity. The size of the white spots on five outermost primaries predicted the bird’s future survival and divorce probabilities and hence, pair endurance capability. Gulls with larger spots enjoyed higher survival and lower divorce rates compared to birds with smaller spots. This suggests that the wing tip pattern might function as a condition dependent signal, revealing individual variation in quality. One of the advantages of persistent pair bond was the ability to start breeding early in the season. The timing of breeding of firm pairs advanced with time not only due to mates’ increasing age, but also owing to their experience together. Although both sexes had phenotypic effects on laying date, it was heritable only in females. On the phenotypic and genotypic level, early laying was under positive fecundity and survival selection in females.

Made available in DSpace on 2014-06-11T19:27:17Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 0 Previous issue date: 2009-03-05Bitstream added on 2014-06-13T20:56:06Z : No. of bitstreams: 1 sabino_nsc_me_araca.pdf: 202070 bytes, checksum: 6ec90b3bae49b1d0f452bd855b8ca174 (MD5) / Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES) / A desidratação dos ovos de avestruz (Struthio camelus) na incubação artificial é a principal causa do desenvolvimento e qualidade do filhote. Neste estudo, a necessidade de avaliar e manejar os ovos durante a incubação, tornou-se evidente. No incubatório das instalações do Setor Experimental de Zootecnia (SEZ) – UNESP/Araçatuba-SP, foram utilizados 129 ovos férteis eclodidos e 70 ovos férteis não eclodidos para a avaliação da perda de água aos 38 dias; as características da casca, a porosidade e a espessura foram confrontadas à perda total de água do ovo. Observou-se uma diferença na perda total de água para ovos férteis eclodidos (15,45%) e ovos férteis não eclodidos (10,45%). Foram estudados 1303 ovos férteis eclodidos quanto ao posicionamento na incubadora e à desidratação. Para a obtenção dos resultados, a incubadora foi estratificada em 7 prateleiras, 8 gavetas e 3 profundidades. Verificou-se uma perda maior de água por evaporação, quando os ovos estavam localizados nas gavetas próximas ao aquecedor e à entrada de ar desumidificado. Porém, não foram detectadas alterações provocadas pela altura da prateleira ou mesmo pela proximidade dos ovos em relação à porta ou ao fundo da incubadora. Desta forma, concluiu-se que a avaliação e o manejo dos ovos de avestruz na incubação artificial devem fazer parte do controle diário do incubatório. / The dehydration of eggs of ostrich (Struthio camelus) in the artificial incubation is the main cause of the development and quality of the youngling. In this study, the necessity to evaluate and to handling eggs during the incubation, became evident. In the room incubation of the installations of the Experimental Zootechny Sector (EZS) - UNESP/Araçatuba- São Paulo, Brazil, 129 ecloded fertile eggs and 70 fertile not ecloded eggs was been followed for the evaluation of the loss of water to 38 days and samples randomly of rinds was collated the characteristics of the rind, porosity and thickness, to the total loss of water of the egg. A difference observed in the total loss of water for ecloded fertile eggs was (15.45%) and fertile not ecloded eggs was (10.45%). Studied of 1303 ecloded fertile eggs how much to the positioning in the incubator and the dehydration for the attainment of the results, the incubator was subdivided in seven shelves, eight drawers and three depths. A bigger loss for evaporation of eggs was verified, when located in the drawers next to the heater and the dry air entrance. Nevertheless, no effect related to the shelves height was detected, not even when the proximity of the egg to the incubator door or the deep one was concerned. In such a way, one concluded that the evaluation and the handling of eggs of ostrich in the artificial incubation must be part of the daily control of the room incubation.

Orientador: Manoel Garcia Neto / Banca: Antonio Carlos de Laurentiz / Banca: Max José de Araújo Faria Júnior / Resumo: A desidratação dos ovos de avestruz (Struthio camelus) na incubação artificial é a principal causa do desenvolvimento e qualidade do filhote. Neste estudo, a necessidade de avaliar e manejar os ovos durante a incubação, tornou-se evidente. No incubatório das instalações do Setor Experimental de Zootecnia (SEZ) - UNESP/Araçatuba-SP, foram utilizados 129 ovos férteis eclodidos e 70 ovos férteis não eclodidos para a avaliação da perda de água aos 38 dias; as características da casca, a porosidade e a espessura foram confrontadas à perda total de água do ovo. Observou-se uma diferença na perda total de água para ovos férteis eclodidos (15,45%) e ovos férteis não eclodidos (10,45%). Foram estudados 1303 ovos férteis eclodidos quanto ao posicionamento na incubadora e à desidratação. Para a obtenção dos resultados, a incubadora foi estratificada em 7 prateleiras, 8 gavetas e 3 profundidades. Verificou-se uma perda maior de água por evaporação, quando os ovos estavam localizados nas gavetas próximas ao aquecedor e à entrada de ar desumidificado. Porém, não foram detectadas alterações provocadas pela altura da prateleira ou mesmo pela proximidade dos ovos em relação à porta ou ao fundo da incubadora. Desta forma, concluiu-se que a avaliação e o manejo dos ovos de avestruz na incubação artificial devem fazer parte do controle diário do incubatório. / Abstract: The dehydration of eggs of ostrich (Struthio camelus) in the artificial incubation is the main cause of the development and quality of the youngling. In this study, the necessity to evaluate and to handling eggs during the incubation, became evident. In the room incubation of the installations of the Experimental Zootechny Sector (EZS) - UNESP/Araçatuba- São Paulo, Brazil, 129 ecloded fertile eggs and 70 fertile not ecloded eggs was been followed for the evaluation of the loss of water to 38 days and samples randomly of rinds was collated the characteristics of the rind, porosity and thickness, to the total loss of water of the egg. A difference observed in the total loss of water for ecloded fertile eggs was (15.45%) and fertile not ecloded eggs was (10.45%). Studied of 1303 ecloded fertile eggs how much to the positioning in the incubator and the dehydration for the attainment of the results, the incubator was subdivided in seven shelves, eight drawers and three depths. A bigger loss for evaporation of eggs was verified, when located in the drawers next to the heater and the dry air entrance. Nevertheless, no effect related to the shelves height was detected, not even when the proximity of the egg to the incubator door or the deep one was concerned. In such a way, one concluded that the evaluation and the handling of eggs of ostrich in the artificial incubation must be part of the daily control of the room incubation. / Mestre

Mémoire numérisé par la Division de la gestion de documents et des archives de l'Université de Montréal.

Mémoire numérisé par la Division de la gestion de documents et des archives de l'Université de Montréal

Chez les oiseaux, les espèces aux aptitudes cognitives avancées, et celles faisant face aux coûts et aux bénéfices de la vie en groupe, sont particulièrement intéressantes pour étudier l'émergence de formes complexes de socialité. Dans ma thèse, j'ai étudié les mécanismes comportementaux sous-jacents à la diversité et la dynamique des relations sociales dans un groupe de corbeaux freux captifs, une espèce de corvidé monogame et coloniale. J'ai montré que les freux peuvent former des relations en dehors du contexte reproducteur et changer de partenaire au cours de leur vie. De plus, j'ai montré : une certaine résilience de la structure sociale face aux variations temporelles des relations, de la composition du groupe et du sex-ratio; et l’absence d’effets stabilisateurs des relations de dominance sur la structure. Mon travail démontre que la structure sociale chez le corbeau freux est plus qu’un simple agrégat de paires, et forme la base d’une organisation sociale aux multiples niveaux. / Numerous avian species are good candidates to study the emergence of complex forms of sociality, in particular the species showing advanced cognitive skills, and the one living in groups all year long, coping with the costs and benefits of group living. In my thesis, I investigated the proximate mechanisms underlying the diversity and dynamic of social relationships in captive adult rooks, a colonial and monogamous corvid species. I found that rooks have the ability to form non-reproductive social bonds and several pair bonds throughout their life. In addition, I found: that the group social structure was flexible enough to allow temporal variations of relationships, group composition and sex-ratio; and that dominance relationships do not have any long lasting effects on the stabilisation of the structure. Overall, my work demonstrates that rooks social structure extends far beyond a simple aggregation of reproductive pairs, and may be acknowledged as a multi-level social organisation.