Ett stort antal utrotningshotade djurarter ingår idag i bevarandeprogram världen över. Små populationer hålls då i skyddade miljöer, exempelvis i djurparker, och i många fall är målet att återintroducera djur till naturen. Dessvärre är det vanligt att det uppstår problem när djur återintroduceras vilket kan bero på beteendemässiga anpassningar som uppkommit under tiden i fångenskap. Syftet med den här studien var därför att undersöka beteendemässiga aspekter på bevarandeavel och försöka ta reda på om och hur djur påverkas beteendemässigt av att hållas i skyddade fångenskapsmiljöer. I projektet användes röda djungelhöns (Gallus gallus) som en fallstudie. En granskning av beteendevariation mellan olika populationer av röda djungelhöns i fångenskap konstaterade skillnader i antipredatorbeteende, socialt beteende och födosöksbeteende. Vid en genetisk studie av samma populationer upptäcktes dessutom ett samband mellan genetisk diversitet och beteendevariation som potentiellt kan vara intressant ur ett bevarandeperspektiv. Socialt beteende, födosöksbeteende och olika aspekter av rädsla studerades vidare i populationer med olika bakgrund som fick växa upp tillsammans i en grupp. Resultaten visade att populationerna bara skilde sig åt i rädslebeteenden vilket antyder att denna typ av beteende i större utsträckning påverkas av långvarig avel i en viss fångenskapsmiljö medan socialt beteende och födosöksbeteende istället kan bero på den omedelbara sociala eller fysiska miljön. Antipredatorbeteende studerades också i en longitudinell studie av två populationer över fyra generationer och det visade sig att populationerna blev mer lika varandra ju längre tiden gick då de hölls under likadana miljöförhållanden. Det verkar alltså som om antipredatorbeteende kan förändras av avel i en viss miljö efter bara ett fåtal generationer. Utöver detta studerades även dagliga beteendemönster i olika djurparksmiljöer samt dygnsrytm av galanden hos både vilda populationer och djurparkspopulationer inom artens naturliga utbredningsområde. Resultaten tyder på att sådana beteendemönster inte påverkas nämnvärt av att djur hålls i fångenskap. Fallstudien som presenteras här är ett av de första försöken att, ur ett bevarandeperspektiv, studera hur fångenskapsmiljöer kan påverka djurs beteende och resultaten talar för att dessa aspekter är viktiga att ta hänsyn till vid planering av bevarandeavel. / A number of endangered species are currently involved in conservation breeding programs worldwide. Conservation breeding deals with propagation of captive populations, often with the ultimate aim of releasing animals into the wild. However, an alarmingly high proportion of reintroductions have not been successful in establishing viable populations, possibly due to behavioural problems caused by genetic adaptation to captivity. The main aim of this thesis was to study behavioural aspects of conservation breeding and investigate whether, and how, maintenance of small populations in captivity cause behavioural modifications, which could affect the success of reintroductions. Throughout the project, the red junglefowl (Gallus gallus) was used as a case study, representing animals maintained in captive populations. A screening of behavioural variation revealed that captive populations differ in antipredator, social and exploratory behaviours, all of which are central components of life in the wild. A correlation was also found between genetic diversity and behavioural variation. This has not been reported before and may potentially have interesting implications for conservation breeding. When studying the behaviour of populations with different backgrounds being raised together as one group, the results suggested that fear-related behaviours may be more affected by long-term breeding in a certain captive environment than social and exploratory behaviours which seem to be more influenced by the immediate social or physical environment. A longitudinal study of antipredator behaviour in two populations across four generations revealed that the populations became more similar over time when maintained under identical conditions. This demonstrates that effects of a new environment can appear after only a few generations. Furthermore, daily behavioural routines in different captive environments as well as diurnal crowing rhythms in both wild and captive populations were studied in the species’ natural region of distribution and the results suggest that such behavioural patterns are not affected by the captive environments to any notable extent. The present case study is one of the first attempts to, from a conservation perspective, study how captive environments can affect behaviour and the results imply that these aspects are important to take into consideration in conservation breeding programs.

The aim of this thesis was to study chickens of an F7 intercross between red junglefowl and White Leghorn layers in five behavioural tests to see if there were any correlations between traits in the intercross. 80 animals were used (40 males, 40 females); they were tested in a tonic immobility test, an open field, a fear of human test, an aggression test and lastly a sociality test. The results indicate a pair of correlations between the different variables; chickens with long tonic immobility duration were less aggressive, and chickens with a high fear of humans were more social towards other chickens, which could suggest a correlation between fear and social behaviour/aggression. The results from this study also support previous studies showing that one QTL controls chickens’ behaviour in the tonic immobility test based on the correlations found between the variables in the tonic immobility test. Differences between the genders were found in variables that correlated with each other; this could lead to a speculative suggestion that those behaviours are affected by genes on the X-chromosome. There was also a significant relationship between the weight of the male chickens and their behaviour in the open field test and in the fear of human test, in which the heavier males were less fearful than the lighter ones.

Domestication of animals has given rise to a great phenotypic divergence in selected animals and rapidly generated species of animals more accustomed to human contact and social interactions within the species. Previous studies in chickens (Gallus gallus) have managed to find behavioral and adaptive differences between Red Junglefowl (RJF) and White Leghorn (WL), differences inherent to the domestication process. These phenotypic changes could spawn from a variety of different genomic factors, including an epigenetic gene expression regulatory mechanism known as CpG methylation, a DNA modification of CpG dinucleotides that in turn affect nucleosome formation. In this study we investigated the methylation differences between RJF and WL. This by selecting genes that has previously been shown to be both differentially expressed (DE) and differentially methylated (DM) between RJF and WL, and had shown the same kind of differences in both parental animals and their offspring. By using methylation-sensitive high-resolution melting (MSHRM) we tried to confirm previous DM result, and four genes; FUCA1, RUFY3, PCDHAC1 and TXNDC16 were tested and verified to be DM between RJF and WL.

Den biologiska studien har visat att värphöns genom domesticeringen förändrat och anpassat sina beteenden till att leva med människor. De har utvecklat en minskad rädsla för människor och en ökad stresstålighet. I denna studie har höns återhämtning efter en stressupplevelse studerats. För att se hur domesticeringen har påverkat återhämtningen jämfördes beteenden mellan raserna White Leghorn och red junglefowl. Frågeställningarna som användes för att undersöka detta var: Hur lång tid tar det innan höns återhämtar sina naturliga beteenden, ej stressrelaterade, efter en stressupplevelse? Finns det några skillnader i återhämtningen beroende av kön eller mellan raserna White Leghorn och red junglefowl? Resultatet visade inte på en specifik tid för återhämtning men på att en tydlig återhämtning förekom. Återhämtningen visades i beteendena Relaxed Behaviour, Comfort Behaviour, Perch, Vocalisation och Stand Alert genom att uppvisandet av beteendena skiljde sig signifikant med tiden. Även signifikanta skillnader visades mellan raserna, både i beteenden som visade på återhämtning och i beteenden som inte gjorde det. En slutsats om vilken ras som återhämtade sig snabbast var svår att dra. Detta på grund av att beteendeskillnaderna visade på olika tendenser gällande återhämtning. Skillnaderna i återhämtningen mellan könen, visades tendenser på att hanarna återhämtade sig snabbare. Domesticering har även i denna studie studerats utifrån ett lärarperspektiv. Undersökningen visade att domesticering kan ingå i biologiundervisningen i områdena evolution och genetik i år 7-9. / The biological study has shown that behaviour of laying hens has changed through domestication and the hens have adapted to live with humans. They have developed less fear of humans and more resistance to stress. In this study hens’ recovery after a stressful experience has been studied. A comparison between the breeds White Leghorn and red junglefowl has been made to see how the domestication has affected the recovery. The questions of this study are therefore: How long does it take for hens’ to recover their natural behaviour, not stressrelated, after a stressful experience? Are there any differences in recovery between the different breeds White Leghorn and red junglefowl? The results did not show a specific time for recovery, but a distinct recovery was noticed in Relaxed Behaviour, Comfort Behaviour, Perch, Vocalisation and Stand Alert. This beacause of the behaviours differed significantly with time. Also significant differences existed between the breeds, both in behaviours that showed recovery and in behavious that did not. A conclusion of what breed that recovered fastest was difficult to make. This because of the differences of behaviour showed different tendencies in recovery. The differences in recovery between the sexes showed tendencies that the males recovered fastest. The domestication has also been studied from a teacherperspective. The study showed that domestication can be a part of biologyeducation in the fields of evolution and genetics in the grades 7-9.

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.

Heart rate is tonically regulated by the two branches of the autonomic nervous system (ANS); parasympathetic activation decreases heart rate while sympathetic activation increases it. Previous studies on the ANS in chickens have focused mainly on embryonic development, but it is largely unknown what happens in the weeks following hatching. The present study focused on the development of the autonomic nervous system in 2 and 5 week old broiler and Red Junglefowl (RJF). Since broilers are less fearful, less stressed and less active than their wild ancestor RJF, a possible domestication effect on the sympathetic nervous system was investigated by evaluating both physiological and behavioural responses during stress. I found that the heart is mainly under control from the sympathetic nervous system in 2 and 5 week old broiler and RJF as propranolol significantly decreased heart rate during baseline and stress conditions while injection of atropine had little or no effect on baseline heart rates. When the adrenergic tone was blocked, heart rate still increased during stress, more so in 5 week old birds than in 2 week old birds. This suggests that some other physiological regulatory mechanism with fast recruitment is involved in the stress response and it matures in the weeks following hatch. No differences in behaviour between broiler and RJF were observed when the sympathetic nervous system was blocked. As both breeds show similar responses, a domestication effect on the ANS from these results cannot be confirmed.

The purpose of this study was to design and test five SNP markers in an inbred chicken cross between Red Junglefowl and domestic White Leghorn of the 8th generation. The markers lie in a region affecting the tonic immobility behaviour which differs significantly between the two species. The markers could be identified by usage of PCR and pyrosequencing. The data obtained were further used in a small scale quantitative trait locus (QTL) analysis. QTL analysis is a statistical method to link phenotypic traits to genotypic data. Four out of five markers could be genotypes and thereby, made it possible to proceed with the QTL analysis. The results showed that there is no QTL associated with the markers identified. The two flanking markers were closest to a significant difference between genotypes and it is therefore a possibility that a QTL lies close further down or up the searched region. From the line map it is indicated that there is little recombination in the marker region.

Stress cannot be fully avoided in an animal´s life, and the way that animals handle stress can be crucial for their health. Coping styles in animals are describing consistent sets of behaviour and physiological stress responses. Two forms of coping are typically described; a more proactive type that is more bold, active, and aggressive, and, in contrast, a less active, more shy reactive type. Coping styles can be used to learn how animals react to stress, and thus improve our handling of stress in captive animals. To investigate the existence of the reactive-proactive coping styles in the red junglefowl (Gallus gallus), both male and female red junglefowl were exposed to behavioural assays measuring boldness, activity, exploration, and aggression. These behavioural measures were compared to blood plasma concentrations of the stress hormone corticosterone, hence exploring the link between behaviour and physiological response to stress. I show positive correlations between boldness, activity, and exploration measured in a novel arena test, and boldness and activity measured in a novel object test. This somewhat confirms the inter-related behavioural aspect of reactive-proactive coping styles. Further, some of these behaviours correlated with post-stress concentrations of corticosterone, which somewhat links behaviour to the physiological aspect of coping styles. This study tentatively supports the reactive-proactive coping styles by showing a link between behaviours and the physiological stress response in the red junglefowl, with some similarities to what have been observed in other species across taxa.

Significant heart and liver increase in hatching and neonates has been found evident in multiple different species such as the emu, Peking Duck, and pigs. The relative mechanism behind heart growth could be tied to closing of the ductus arteriosus, however there is still a debate whether it’s significant impact in avian species. Liver and heart mass were measured at four different transition stages before and after hatching on Red junglefowls (Gallus gallus). Heart mass was found to vary between 83-170mg, with the lowest values most often found in pre pipped chickens while higher values found more often in hatchlings. The relative heart mass was found to be significant (P<0,05) across all groups except between internally pipped and externally pipped chickens. Therefore, the results can conclude that an increase in relative heart mass was found to be directly tied to age. Liver mass was found to be significant (P<0,05) but changes in mass was found to occur only between EP and hatchling stage. Further analysis on absolute heart and liver mass showed in both cases hatchlings having a higher mean mass compared to the other three stages. Both absolute liver and heart mass was found to be statistically significant (P<0,05) which indicates there are no major differences between analysis on relative or absolute mass. These findings suggest that red junglefowls follow the same growth pattern found in other precocial birds such as emu or Peking duck.