Animal behavior has become a frequently used tool in modern ecology and ecotoxicology, where laboratory behavioral traits are recognized as sensitive endpoints for assessing natural behavior or non-lethal effects of pollutants on animals. Within these research fields, behavioral traits measured in laboratory environments have been used to formulate predictions of ecological consequences that accompany specific behavior. However, the predictive power of behavioral traits measured in simplified laboratory environments for complex natural aquatic ecosystems has been questioned. In this study, I have examined to what extent behavioral changes, noted in laboratory settings in response to chemical stressors (an anxiolytic drug) or visual cues of black and white bottom substrates, are also expressed in the wild. In my first experiment, I scrutinized whether reduced social behavior previously shown to occur in the lab for European perch (Perca fluvatilis) in response to oxazepam also occurs within a natural lake subjected to oxazepam. The in situ behavior was measured using high temporal resolution (3 sec) acoustic telemetry. In my second experiment, I assessed if the Atlantic salmon’s (Salmo salar) preference for black bottom substrates (scototaxis) in laboratory assays could be utilized for guiding migrating Atlantic salmon in situ. I show that: i) Oxazepam does not affect the social (association) behavior or the social network structure of perch in natural settings, in contrast to laboratory-based predictions; ii) Atlantic salmon show a preference for black bottom substrates both in laboratory- and natural environments. My study with oxazepam underlines that abiotic environmental factors and collective decision making in-situ, can override the anti-social behavioral effects of oxazepam on perch in a natural Lake. However, there seems to be potential in using laboratory behavioral assays to predict behavior in the wild, given that there is a tendency for migrating salmon to follow black bottom substrates both in laboratory environments and in streams.

Sammanfattning Användningen av korttidsreglering av vattenkraftverk kommer troligen öka då det är kostnadseffektivt och efterfrågan av förnybar energi är hög. Jag undersökte effekten av habitatkomplexitet och flödesändringar på simaktiviteten hos harr (Thymallus thymallus) i experimentella vattenrännor. Två olika habitat användes, ett beståendes av bara en grusbotten och en med större stenar placerade på grusbotten. I experimentet användes en behandling där flödet var stabilt och en där flödet varierade. Det fanns en signifikant interaktionseffekt mellan en ändring i flödet och habitat, som visade att simaktivitet ökade i samband med flödesändring, men endast i habitatet utan större stenar. I jämförelse av två konstanta flöden visade också studien att simaktivitet minskade med högre vattenhastighet. Effekter som dessa bör uppmärksammas för att bättre förstå påverkan korttidsreglering kan ha på fiskar i rinnande vatten. / Abstract The use of hydropeaking by hydropower plants will probably increase due to it being cost-effective and the demand for renewable energy being high. I examined the effect of habitat complexity and changes in flow on the swimming behaviour of graylings (Thymallus thymallus) in experimental flumes. Two types of habitats were used, one consisting only of a bed of gravel and the other with large stones added to the gravel bottom. In the experiment, one treatment with stable flow and one with variable flow were used. There was a significant interaction effect between change of the flow and type of habitat, indicating that swimming activity increased in changing flow, but only in the habitat without large stones. When comparing two constant flows the study also showed that swimming activity decreased with increased water velocity. Effects such as these should be considered when trying to understand how hydropeaking affects riverine fishes.

Unsocialized stray dogs live unrestrained in urban areas, having limited to no direct contact with humans. Aggressive behaviour towards humans leads to their apprehension to shelters, where they tend to stay permanently. This study aimed to determine if unsocialized stray dogs could be rehabilitated and develop the social skills needed for adoption. Six unsocialized stray dogs (Group Stray) and 12 socialized dogs (C1: Control Group 1, n=6; C2: Control Group 2, n=6) housed in a shelter were selected. Stray and C2 dogs went through two training phases: social rehabilitation towards humans and leash training. Sociability towards humans and behaviour on a leash were tested in all groups following Valsecchi et al. (2011). Sociability Tests (ST) and Leash Tests (LT) were conducted before any intervention (ST1), after sociability training (ST2, LT1) and after leash training (ST3, LT2). Training sessions and tests were video recorded and posteriorly analysed by four observers. Results showed that for Stray, but not for C1 and C2, there was a significant increase in sociability from ST1 to ST3. Moreover, for Stray Group there was a significant decrease in the frequency of fear-related behaviours between ST1 and ST3. For leash behaviour, no significant changes were found from LT1 to LT2 for neither group. However, there was considerable individual variation, as not all strays overcame their extreme fear towards humans. These findings suggest that dog­–human interactions can be improved through training for dogs who do not show extreme fear and/or aggression towards humans.

For about 14 000 years ago the domestication of the wolf, Canis lupus, began. This initiated the extensive work of breeding that resulted in man´s best friend, the dog. Its Latin name, Canis lupus familiaris, clearly shows how close they stand us people today. The Swedish Kennel Club has 343 registered breeds which are very different from each other in terms of the exterior, but also behaviourally. The behavioural differences in adult dogs of different breeds are commonly known. Something that is still in dispute is when these differences begin to manifest in the dog´s life. In this study two interview investigations were conducted with the aim to see whether distinct behavioural differences between breeds could be identified in the puppy stage. The breeds that were included in the study were American Staffordshire terrier, Border collie and Whippet. Two questionnaires were designed. One was sent to breeders because they were considered to have the most experience of the breeds in question. The other questionnaire was sent to veterinarians to get a more objective picture of the puppies’ behaviour. The results from the breeders showed that there was a statistically significant difference between the American Staffordshire terrier and Whippet puppies in their curiosity and the way they behaved socially. The outcome of the study is very interesting because it could mean that the breeding not only affects the behaviours of the adult dogs, but also the behavioural patterns of puppies. The results from the veterinarians showed that there was no difference between the breeds. The difference in results between the two groups could be due to the fact that different questions were asked, they have different preferences for the breeds, meet them in different environments, for different lengths of time or other sources of error. Further studies in this area are needed to investigate when the differences, which give dogs the title of the most varied species ethologically speaking, begin to appear.

Animal personality is a fairly new branch of biology and has been defined as a difference in behaviour between individuals that is relatively consistent across time and/or context. What researchers now are interested in is to find out what it is that creates and maintains this relatively consistent difference between individuals. One possibility is the stress hormone, corticosterone. I have in this report summed up some of the available studies regarding animal personality and its possible correlation to corticosterone. The personality traits that have been reviewed in this report are boldness, exploration, activity, aggressiveness and sociability. The result of these studies show that boldness have both a negative and a positive correlation; exploration showed different correlations between studies; aggressiveness showed different correlation between different animal types and sociability showed both a negative and none correlations. The only one that I could not determent the correlation for was activity. The research regarding animal personality and corticosterone can be of use when looking at animal welfare and how stress affects different individuals. This can give us a direction in our work to reduce stress for animals in research facilities and food production.

Syftet med denna litteraturstudie var att skapa en sammanhängande bild över djurbeteendets grund och ram. I arbetet analyserades faktorer som påverkar djurbeteendet på grundläggande nivå bl.a. gener, tidiga erfarenheter, hormonnivåer och personlighetstyper. Utöver det skapades en tydlig kategorisering av djurbeteendet med indelning i det medfödda, det inlärda och prägling. Inom de inlärda beteendena identifierades även underklasser där urskildes bl.a. associativ, icke-associativ och social inlärning. Slutligen, för att göra ämnet mer begripligt och belysa den gråa zonen i vilken prägling befinner sig, skapades jämförelse mellan prägling och klassisk betingning hos kycklingar. I det avsnittet analyserades alla överlappningar mellan dessa två kategorier av beteende och alla inkonsekvenser som finns i idéen att kategorisera prägling som en typ av associativ inlärning. Denna studie hade även ett didaktiskt syfte att kartlägga faktorer som bidrar till effektivisering av etologiundervisning i den svenska gymnasieskolan. I analysen identifierades först generella riktlinjer för effektiv undervisning, sedan analyserades strategier och faktorer som effektiviserar biologiundervisning och slutligen konkretiserades metodik för effektiv etologiundervisning. Resultaten tyder på att effektiv undervisning grundas i goda relationer mellan lärare och elever, variation i undervisningsmetoder samt lärarens kompetens i undervisningsanpassningar. I biologiundervisning är bland de viktigaste faktorerna att stimulera elevernas deltagande, skapa begripligt undervisningsinnehåll samt variera undervisningsmiljö. Strategier för framgångsrik etologiundervisning preciserar vikten av bl.a. etologiska studier, undervisningsinnehåll som berör aktuella problem och praktiska övningar där modern teknik används.

Play is a behavior mainly observed in young individuals that can differ greatly between species in both function and appearance. Presence of play indicates positive experiences in animals, making play a useful assessment tool for animal welfare. Commercial hatcheries expose chicks to several stressors that can affect both behavior and welfare. Unfortunately, our understanding of play behavior in chickens is still limited as only a few studies have been conducted.Therefore, the aim of this study was to describe the ontogeny of various play behaviors in modern laying hens and to investigate how stress affects play behavior in chicks. A total of 80 chicks were used whereas 40 were hatched at a hatchery and 40 were hatched under controlled conditions. The chicks were tested in groups of four in enriched test arenas twice a week during five weeks. Each test lasted 30 minutes and novel objects were placed inside the arena after 10 and 20 minutes. Behaviors were noted while analyzing videos from the experiment using one–zero sampling and later divided into the categories of solitary, social, and total play. A linear mixed model with repeated measures was used to investigate how treatment, age, and the interaction treatment*age affect play behavior. Chicks played more during certain ages and all forms of play showed a similar change with age over both treatments. The amount of play did not differ significantly between treatments but there was a numerical (non-significant) tendency for hatchery chicks to play more, which may indicate compensatory play.

One important part of the management of zoo populations is the exchange of animals. The removal of an individual can have unknown effects on the social dynamics of the group. Social network studies are a well-established method to describe the social interactions within a group. This study aims to describe the social interactions in a group of chimpanzees and to test how social dominance rank predicts social interaction patters using a social network approach. Data was collected via observations on Kolmarden Wildlife Parks chimpanzee group, which is composed of seven males and eleven females. A total of 50 h of data was collected over 16 days. This resulted in a dominance rank and four different social networks for different behaviors (touch proximity, proximity, affiliative and agonistic behavior). The eigenvector coefficient, with the notable exception of the proximity network, was rarely correlated with the dominance rank and the highest ranked individual was never the most central. The more dominate individuals had fewer links to others through proximity and affiliative interactions. My analysis of the social network structure provides some evidence that the removal of high-ranking individuals would be unlikely to disproportionally affect the structure of the social network in this group. I highlight the possibility of further analysis such as knock-out analysis (where you examine the consequences of the removal of specific individuals) on existing data and argue that more observations would help to draw up a well-structured plan for translocations of individuals in this group. / En viktig del i förvaltningen av djurparkspopulationer är utbytet av djur. Att flytta en individ från en grupp kan ha okända effekter på gruppens sociala dynamik. Studier av djurs sociala nätverk är en väletablerad metod för att beskriva sociala interaktioner inom en grupp av djur. Syftet med denna studie är att beskriva de sociala interaktionerna i en grupp av schimpanser och testa huruvida en ranking av dominans förutspår mönster i dessa sociala interaktioner genom att tillämpa ’social network analysis’ metoden. Observationsdata samlades in på Kolmårdens djurparks schimpansgrupp, som består av sju hanar och elva honor. Totalt samlades 50 timmar av data under 16 dagar. Detta resulterade i en dominansrankning och fyra olika nätverk för olika typer av sociala interaktioner (närhet med beröring, närhet, affiliativa och agnostiska beteenden). Egienvector koefficienten, med det anmärkningsvärda undantaget för närhets nätverket, var sällan korrelerat med dominansrankningen och den högst rankade individen var aldrig mest central. Mer dominanta individer hade färre länkar till andra genom närhet med beröring och affiliativa interaktioner. Mina analyser av de sociala nätverkens struktur ger vissa bevis för att borttagandet av högt rankade individer inte skulle ge oproportionerliga effekter på den sociala strukturen i denna grupp. Jag uppmärksammar också möjligheterna att med mer analyser som t.ex. knock-out analyser (där man undersöker konsekvensen av att ta bort individer från olika nätverk) på befintlig data, samt mer observationer skulle hjälpa för att kunna göra en väl strukturerad plan för flytt av individer från denna grupp.

The evolutionary origins of human handedness are not yet fully understood as evidence of lateralized behavior in nonhuman primates is inconclusive. In the present study, lateralized behavior in both spontaneously occurring motor patterns and a tube task was examined in 15 white-handed gibbons (Hylobates lar). Significant side preferences at the individual level were found within all 15 studied motor patterns. However, no population-level side bias was found for any of the spontaneously occurring or task-related motor patterns and none of the gibbons were consistent in their hand preference across all motor patterns. When only considering the individuals with a significant preference, a significant majority was left-preferent for resting foot. Strength of side preference was significantly higher for the tube task than for all spontaneously occurring motor patterns. Side preferences for manipulation and resting position were significantly stronger than those for supporting hand. Additionally, the preferences for manipulation were significantly stronger than those for leading limb. In the bimanual tube task, females displayed a tendency towards a left-side bias, while males tended to display a bias to the right. Furthermore, females had a significantly stronger hand preference for supporting hand than males. No other sex differences were found. Age, posture, and kinship had no significant effect on lateralized behavior for any of the motor patterns. As in other nonhuman primates, the white-handed gibbons were only consistent in their hand preference across tasks that required similar movements. Altogether, these findings support the notion that population-level handedness may be restricted to human subjects.

Individuals in social species commonly form dominance relationships among each other, and are often observed to differ in behaviour depending on their social status. However, whether such behavioural differences are a consequence of dominance position, or also a cause to it, remains unclear. In this thesis I therefore investigated two perspectives of the relationship between social dominance and personality in the domestic fowl (Gallus gallus domesticus), a social species that forms relatively stable dominance hierarchies. In paper I I investigated the influence of social status on the expression and consistency of behaviours by experimentally changing status between repeated personality assays. The level of vigilance, activity and exploration changed with social status, while boldness and territorial crows appeared as stable individual properties, independent of status. These results showed that social status contribute to both variation and consistency in behavioural responses. Social status should therefore be taken into account when investigating and interpreting variation in personality. In paper II I showed that behaviour in a novel arena test and during encounter with an opponent can predict social status, more specifically that fast exploration and aggressiveness predicted a dominant social position. Together, these results highlight the dynamics of the two-way relationship between social position and individual behaviour and indicate that individual behaviour can both be a cause and a consequence of social status.