A thesis submitted to the Faculty of Science, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg in fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy 2017 / Social systems describe the social organisation, mating system and social interactions of a species, and are revealing of the nature of how animals live and the underlying mechanisms of living alone or in groups. The social system of the African woodland dormice Graphiurus murinus has not been documented. The aim of my study was to investigate sociality, the mechanisms promoting sociality, and to G. murinus along the continuum of sociality in respect of rodents. Investigations on nest sharing in free-living woodland dormice showed that sleeping associations were common in females than males but changed seasonally (females all year round; males in breeding and winter seasons), reflecting the reproductive and thermoregulatory needs. The social structure of these sleeping associations was assessed using association indices and social network analysis. Woodland dormice exhibited a web of relationships between sex and age groups, with adult female groups and juvenile groups forming strong and exclusive relationships, while male groups showed ephemeral and weak relationships. In staged dyadic encounters of same sex dyads in captivity, females were amicable and tolerated unfamiliar females, whereas males displayed low tolerance and aggression towards unfamiliar. The three-chamber paradigm tests for sociability and social preferences revealed that both adult males and females had an intrinsic motivation to be social. However, this motivation differed by sex, with females showing a greater affinity for both strangers and unfamiliar females, whereas males showed an affinity for familiar males. Observations of huddling in female dyads revealed that, under decreasing Ta, females huddled together and combined nest material, thus changing the local microclimate and the insulation capacities of nests. In addition, long-associations were maintained even after Ta was increased, revealing that thermal challenges might promote group formation and enhance familiarity amongst females. Both my field and laboratory data suggest that woodland dormice form small seasonally transient sleeping associations. In females, limited aggression, tolerance, and nest sharing and construction under low temperatures could also lead to prolonged group-living. In males, aggression towards unfamiliar males, possibly maintains intra-sexual territoriality, yet familiarity creates tolerance, leading to group-living. Group-living in this arboreal rodent is mediated by the apparently phylogenetically constrained energetic demands of thermoregulation, coupled with an inherent need to associate with conspecifics. The level of familiarity between conspecifics or the presence of social partners facilitates group formation and is shaped by prevailing ecological conditions. / MT 2017

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Chicago, Dept. of Anthropology, December 2000. / Includes bibliographical references. Also available on the Internet.

Thesis (M.Sc.)(Zoology) -- University of Pretoria, 1974. / Includes bibliographical references.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Wisconsin--Madison, 1970. / Vita. eContent provider-neutral record in process. Description based on print version record. Includes bibliographical references.

A comparative study was made of the social communication patterns of Pelecanus erythrorhynchos, P.onocrotalus, P.crispus, P.occidentalis, Morus bassanus, Sula sula, Anhinga anhinga, Phalacrocorax carbo, Ph.auritus, Ph.olivaceust Ph.aristotelis, Ph.urile, Ph.pelagicus, Ph.penicillatus, and Fregata magnificens. It was found that the signal patterns are combinations of a limited number of discrete postures, movements, and sounds, and that they are mainly derivatives from four main sources, locomotion, fighting, nest-building, and begging. The take-off was found to consist of three phases, look, crouch, and leap. From the look and crouch phases the Suloidea have evolved their pre-take off displays, while from the recovery after landing they have evolved their post-landing displays. The pre-take off and post-landing displays are combined into a hop display in this super-family. The sky-pointing, a male-advertising display of Sula, is a derivative of the pre-take off display of Morus and is the origin of the wing-waving as a male-advertising display in Anhinga and Phalacrocorax. The throw-back which is the second part of the male-advertising display of Phalacrocorax arlstotelis is a derivative of the wing-waving display of the other cormorants. Threat displays have evolved into recognition displays in the bill-raising of the Pelecanidae, the head-throwing of Sula sula, the gaping of the Phalacrocoracidae, and into the first part of a male-advertising display, the darting, of Phalacrocorax aristotelis. Nest-indicating displays have evolved from the reaching for nest-material into the reach-bowing of Pelecanus erythrorhynchos, and from nest-worrying movements into the wave-bowing of P.erythrorhynchos, the wing-bowing of Moras, the front-bowing of Sula sula, the quiver-bowing of S.leucogaster and S.dactylatra, the snap-bowing of Anhinga anhinga, the front-bowing of Ph.aristotelis and the gape-bowing of Ph.melanoleucus. The food-begging displays of the chicks have evolved into the pre-landing displays of the Pelecaniformes which in some species also serve as recognition and male-advertising displays on the nest site and in the Sulidae, Anhingidae, Phalacrocoracidae, and Fregatidae accompany the transfer of nest-material between members of a pair at the nest site. The food-begging derived displays also include the aerial displays of Pelecanus erythrorhynchos, the head-wagging of the Sulidae, the kink-throating of the Anhingidae and Phalacrocoracidae, the rattling of the Fregatidae, and the aerial displays of the Phaethontidae. From a comparison of the taxonomic distribution of the form, function and derivation of the social communication patterns in the Pelecaniformes, it was concluded that they reflect the phylogenetic implications of the current systematic classifications of the order. / Science, Faculty of / Zoology, Department of / Graduate

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Texas at Austin, 1999. / Vita. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 118-134). Available also in a digital version from Dissertation Abstracts.

No description available.

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No description available.

Thesis (MSc (Veterinary Science))--University of Pretoria, 2002. / Includes bibliographical references.