{"title":"Do ewe remember? Comparative foraging behaviour of sheep and alternative livestock species in a spatial memory task","authors":"Megan R. Quail, Mariecia D. Fraser","doi":"10.1016/j.applanim.2025.106580","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.applanim.2025.106580","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Foraging strategy is fundamentally linked with resource availability and dietary preference. Adaptive feeding behaviours, such as the role of spatial memory when navigating to food sites, are found in wild foraging species. We hypothesised that domesticated livestock species also possess adaptive foraging, with potential interspecies differences in this ability resulting from variations in foraging strategy. As such, this study aimed to compare foraging behaviour, in relation to ability to remember and prioritize food sites of different value, in livestock species that have different dietary preferences and backgrounds: sheep (<em>Ovis aries</em>), goats (<em>Capra hircus</em>) and alpacas (<em>Vicugna pacos</em>). A total of 705 trials were conducted across general training, criterion training and test trials. Eighteen sheep, 10 goats and 7 alpacas were presented with eight identical buckets, positioned on four cross mounts, that were placed into four corners of the test arena. Following acclimation and training, the subjects were required to search the arena for two randomly baited buckets, each of the two buckets containing either the large food reward or small food reward. After locating the reward, the animals re-entered the arena and were tasked to relocate the same buckets (Experiment 1). Each subject was allowed a maximum of two incorrect visits to non-baited buckets per trial, and the trial continued until both baits had been eaten or 7 min of inactivity had passed (more than two errors resulted in a ‘failure’ score for the individual trial). These conditions were then replicated, except that the animal was allowed to make a single selection between the large or small reward following their return to the arena after the initial search (Experiment 2). The goats passed the most trials across all three species (<em>p</em> < 0.001) and made fewer errors when relocating the baited buckets in training and test trials across both experiments (<em>p</em> < 0.05 and <em>p</em> < 0.01, respectively). In contrast, the alpacas failed to pass the training criterion, with the exception of one individual, primarily due to exceeding the time limit for inactivity. We detected no significant difference in preference for the larger food quantity between species in either experiment (<em>p</em> = 0.65 and <em>p</em> = 0.55, respectively). Equally, selection of either quantity did not deviate from random chance across all individuals (except for a single sheep, <em>p</em> < 0.05, Experiment 2). Thus, goats exhibited the greatest spatial memory of the three species across both test conditions, which may reflect the adaptive foraging strategy that is required to navigate patchy distributions of browse in the complex natural habitats of this species. We recommend that further work should be carried out to determine the scale of selectivity and role of habitat perception on grazing distribution in these species. This information could be us","PeriodicalId":8222,"journal":{"name":"Applied Animal Behaviour Science","volume":"285 ","pages":"Article 106580"},"PeriodicalIF":2.2,"publicationDate":"2025-02-27","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143526942","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Alexander J. Pritchard , Rosemary A. Blersch , Amy C. Nathman , Eli R. DeBruyn , Julia A. Salamango , Emily M. Dura , Brianne A. Beisner , Jessica J. Vandeleest , Brenda McCowan
{"title":"Establishing a predictable cue for catches to reduce reactivity to management events for captive rhesus macaques (Macaca mulatta)","authors":"Alexander J. Pritchard , Rosemary A. Blersch , Amy C. Nathman , Eli R. DeBruyn , Julia A. Salamango , Emily M. Dura , Brianne A. Beisner , Jessica J. Vandeleest , Brenda McCowan","doi":"10.1016/j.applanim.2025.106578","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.applanim.2025.106578","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Psychological duress can emerge from the perceived lack of predictability such that, in captive circumstances, reliable signals for aversive events can afford animals with the opportunity to behaviorally and physiologically prepare. Does a reliable and unique signal cue for an aversive management event reduce reactivity to management events that share unreliable cues? We recorded animal responses to management events near, or involving, outdoor-housed rhesus macaques (<em>Macaca mulatta</em>) in two large mixed-sex groups, with experimental periods that introduced a signal coupled to catch events. Management events varied in the severity and magnitude of animal responses. Our results validated that catches were more disruptive than management events that indirectly involved animal subjects, yet were comparable to management events involving direct interactions. Signal use reduced aversive responses to more routine management events that shared unreliable cues with catches. Due to the abundance of these routine events, we assert that the value of change with the implementation of the signal provided a detectable improvement across multiple measures of disruption.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":8222,"journal":{"name":"Applied Animal Behaviour Science","volume":"285 ","pages":"Article 106578"},"PeriodicalIF":2.2,"publicationDate":"2025-02-25","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143519005","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Clemence Lesimple , Ewa Jastrzębska , Katarzyna Paszek , Magdalena Drewka , Aleksandra Górecka-Bruzda
{"title":"To see or not to see: Horses’ ability to find the hidden treat","authors":"Clemence Lesimple , Ewa Jastrzębska , Katarzyna Paszek , Magdalena Drewka , Aleksandra Górecka-Bruzda","doi":"10.1016/j.applanim.2025.106577","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.applanim.2025.106577","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>In animal cognition, the acquisition of object permanence is critical in many species to apprehend the physical world, including the position of conspecifics, alimentary resources or potential dangers. If most of the “highly cognitive” species, including great apes and some birds were shown to reach stage 6 (retrieving an object hidden invisibly at a new location) of Piagetian development, the ability of other species to reach stage 4 (retrieve an object entirely hidden) is more at stake. Domestic horses are exposed to a highly partitioned environment, and being able to mentally figure out the presence of a hidden object represents a particularly relevant challenge. In this study, we used a simple Piagetian-like task to determine whether horses would be able to retrieve a hidden treat when the displacement was not visible. Sixty-three horses, distributed amongst three groups, were tested. The Experimental (E) and first control (C1) horses were familiarised with the task of searching for the treat (a carrot) hidden under an upside-down bucket. During the test procedure, a carrot was placed under the bucket for E horses, but not for C1 horses. The second control group (C2) did not follow the familiarisation procedure and was presented with the upside-down bucket only to test a potential intrinsic effect of the bucket for exploration. In the groups that followed the familiarisation procedure, the success rate achieved 93.1 % (E group, the horses exposed and ate the treat) and 100 % (C1 group, the horses pushed the bucket enough to uncover the location of the theoretical position of the treat) which was significantly above chance (p < 0.001in both cases). In the C2 group, only 60.0 % of the horses touched and/or pushed the bucket, which was not above chance (p = 0.303) Our results show that horses are able to locate and find a hidden treat, even when the displacement was performed out of their sight, suggesting that they can at least reach Piaget’s stage 4 of object permanence task.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":8222,"journal":{"name":"Applied Animal Behaviour Science","volume":"285 ","pages":"Article 106577"},"PeriodicalIF":2.2,"publicationDate":"2025-02-25","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143511869","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Kateřina Benediktová , Natalia Iakovenko , Jana Adámková , Luděk Bartoš , Hana Brinkeová , Vlastimil Hart , Jitka Bartošová , Hynek Burda
{"title":"Solitary working hunting dogs show a higher tendency for magnetic alignment, with decreased alignment in older dogs","authors":"Kateřina Benediktová , Natalia Iakovenko , Jana Adámková , Luděk Bartoš , Hana Brinkeová , Vlastimil Hart , Jitka Bartošová , Hynek Burda","doi":"10.1016/j.applanim.2025.106575","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.applanim.2025.106575","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Previous studies have suggested that domestic dogs may be able to sense the Earth's magnetic field. One way in which this sensory ability (magnetoreception) may be behaviourally expressed is via magnetic alignment, when animals align their bodies in a non-random direction relative to the geomagnetic field. Expression of magnetic alignment can vary depending on environmental and magnetic conditions, cognitive ability, motivation, experience, and possibly on dog breed. Here, we investigated whether magnetic alignment in domestic dogs varied according to breed working specialisation, particularly between breeds used for independent work away from their owners and those working closely with them. We analysed 4986 observations of dogs during excretion, categorising them into three groups based on their working specialisation: (1) non-hunting breeds cooperating closely with their owners, (2) hunting dogs working in visual contact with their owners, and (3) hunting dogs working independently of their owners out of sight. Although we did not observe a consistent pattern of magnetic alignment across all dogs, our results indicate that breeds working independently of their owners demonstrated a higher tendency to align their bodies along the North-South magnetic axis (N-S alignment) than those working closely with their owners. Additionally, the likelihood of N-S alignment decreased with the dogs' age, indicating that older dogs were less likely to exhibit this behaviour. Interestingly, dogs that defecated were more likely to align themselves than those that urinated. These findings highlight the importance of considering working specialisation and age in future studies of magnetoreception in dogs.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":8222,"journal":{"name":"Applied Animal Behaviour Science","volume":"285 ","pages":"Article 106575"},"PeriodicalIF":2.2,"publicationDate":"2025-02-22","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143508960","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Behavioural indicators of infectious disease in managed animals","authors":"Christine Janet Nicol","doi":"10.1016/j.applanim.2025.106573","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.applanim.2025.106573","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Identifying reliable and valid behavioural indicators of infection in managed animals is increasingly important as the risks of emergent diseases increase alongside concomitant concerns over pathogen resistance and the environmental and safety impacts of traditional therapeutic treatments. Early behavioural detection of disease could help to curb transmission, assist in selecting resilient animals and guide facility design to help animals avoid infection and to support their recovery. This review explores the adaptability and flexibility of animal responses to pathogens, including behaviours that (i) favour disease avoidance (ii) are associated with immune activation (iii) directly resist pathogens (iv) are dysregulated leading to hypersensitivity and (v) are associated with pathogen tolerance. A key theme is that all of these behavioural responses are strongly modulated by contextual factors such as pain, hunger and social priorities. Efforts to develop and validate, and increasingly automate, behavioural indicators of infection have so far primarily focused on infection-induced changes in core behaviours such as feeding and general activity or on hypothesis-free machine-learning comparison. However, such approaches have limited specificity, sensitivity and may be hard to generalise across contexts. The current review suggests ways in which specificity could be improved by monitoring changes in behaviours that are more closely linked to immune activation e.g. sleep, attention and motor function, by a more granular focus, and by integration with clinical symptoms. It also proposes that sensitivity could be improved by monitoring pliant (“luxury”) behaviours and by intentional challenges or tests. Improved knowledge of how animals behave when infected could be used to design environments where the costs of resistance or tolerance are reduced and where recovery is promoted.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":8222,"journal":{"name":"Applied Animal Behaviour Science","volume":"285 ","pages":"Article 106573"},"PeriodicalIF":2.2,"publicationDate":"2025-02-20","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143479595","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Fernanda M. Tahamtani, Kathe E. Kittelsen, Guro Vasdal
{"title":"Behavioural effects of feed dilution and daily roughage provision in male Hubbard M77 broiler breeders during rearing","authors":"Fernanda M. Tahamtani, Kathe E. Kittelsen, Guro Vasdal","doi":"10.1016/j.applanim.2025.106561","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.applanim.2025.106561","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>A growing public interest in broiler chicken welfare is leading to an increase in the number of private companies committing to switch to slower growing hybrids, particularly those approved by schemes such as the Better Chicken Commitment. These slow growing chickens are often, however, a result of cross breeding a slow growing hybrid with a conventional hybrid. The Hubbard JA787 for example, is fathered by the M77 which has a conventional growth rate. As such, these broiler breeder males still experience feed restriction as is routine with other conventional hybrids. This study, therefore, aimed at investigating the effects of a combination of qualitative feeding restriction strategies (i.e. feed dilution and daily roughage) on several behavioural indicators of welfare in Hubbard M77 broiler breeder cockerels during the rearing period. Two hundred M77 broiler breeder cockerels were housed from 5 to 10 weeks of age in 12 pens (6 pens/treatment). The treatments were conventional feed restriction (Control) and feed with 20 % dilution with oat hulls and a daily provision per pen of 150 g of alfalfa roughage (D+R). In the home pen, novel object (NO) tests and frustration assessments during thwarted feeding were conducted, with responses captured on video. Additionally, four birds from each pen underwent a tonic immobility (TI) test. These behavioural tests were carried out weekly at 6, 8, and 10 weeks of age. After euthanasia, two feathers from each bird were plucked and examined macroscopically for fault bars. The results from the NO test introduced doubt as to whether the D+R diet reduced hunger in the short term (4 hours) or increased it in the longer term (24 hours). In the frustration test, control birds performed more behavioural transitions and spent more time pacing and pecking the feed box than D+R birds (P < 0.05), but these results were not consistent across weeks of age. Finally, no diet treatment differences were observed in the tonic immobility test or in the assessment of feather fault bars. We conclude that a combination of feed dilution with 20 % oat hulls and daily provision of roughage did not significantly improve M77 broiler breeder cockerel welfare during rearing according to the indicators assessed. Furthermore, the present study contributes to the growing literature suggesting that qualitative feed restriction, while promising in theory, in practice fails to deliver strong and consistent improvements to animal welfare.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":8222,"journal":{"name":"Applied Animal Behaviour Science","volume":"285 ","pages":"Article 106561"},"PeriodicalIF":2.2,"publicationDate":"2025-02-18","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143464069","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Hair cortisol assessment of equine assisted therapy horses: Assessing long-term welfare and influencing management factors","authors":"Štěpán Zítek , Kristýna Machová , Radka Procházková , Zdislava Vaníčková , Ivona Svobodová","doi":"10.1016/j.applanim.2025.106570","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.applanim.2025.106570","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>This study aimed to evaluate the long-term welfare of horses involved in Equine Assisted Therapy (EAT) using hair cortisol concentration (HCC) as an indicator of chronic stress. A total of 102 horses from 21 stables across the Czech Republic were included, with 69 horses participating in EAT (experimental group) and 35 horses participating in recreational riding (control group). Hair samples were taken from the mane and analyzed for HCC, reflecting stress levels over a six-week period. Statistical analyses were performed to compare cortisol levels between groups and to assess the influence of biological and management factors on HCC. The results showed no significant difference in HCC between the EAT horses (mean: 17.06 pg/mg, SD: 3.528) and the recreational horses (mean: 17.33 pg/mg, SD: 2.816) (p = 0.85), indicating that EAT does not inherently increase chronic stress levels when horses are managed appropriately. Among the factors analyzed, sex significantly influenced cortisol levels, with mares having lower HCC (mean: 15.776 pg/mg) compared to geldings (mean: 18.248 pg/mg) (p = 0.003). Other factors, such as age and type of housing, did not significantly affect HCC. In EAT horses, the type of therapeutic work performed was an important determinant of cortisol levels. Horses involved in less physically demanding activities, such as equine-facilitated learning and social care, had significantly lower HCC than those involved in more intensive therapies, such as equine-facilitated physiotherapy and occupational therapy (p < 0.001). Time spent with a client was also significant. The number of clients per day has not significantly impacted HCC. In addition, management practices such as the frequency and distribution of rest periods were important. More frequent rest days throughout the year were associated with lower cortisol levels, with a moderate negative correlation (r = -0.492, p = 0.003). Factors such as breed, client weight, and the number of clients per day did not significantly impact cortisol levels This study highlights that EAT, when conducted under appropriate management conditions, does not compromise the welfare of horses when compared to recreational use. The results emphasize the importance of tailoring therapeutic activities to individual horses and ensuring consistent downtime to support their welfare. Further research is needed to explore additional factors influencing welfare and establish evidence-based guidelines for managing EAT horses. These findings provide valuable insights into the long-term welfare of horses used in therapeutic environments and contribute to optimizing EAT practices.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":8222,"journal":{"name":"Applied Animal Behaviour Science","volume":"285 ","pages":"Article 106570"},"PeriodicalIF":2.2,"publicationDate":"2025-02-18","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143464081","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Amir Sarrafchi , Natassja de Zwaan , Maya Tucker , Katrina Merkies
{"title":"Can I touch you? A pilot study comparing consensual and non-consensual human-dog touch interactions","authors":"Amir Sarrafchi , Natassja de Zwaan , Maya Tucker , Katrina Merkies","doi":"10.1016/j.applanim.2025.106560","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.applanim.2025.106560","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Choice and consent are critical welfare elements, especially in interactions between humans and animals. Dogs incorporated in therapeutic settings (therapy dogs) may encounter human touch interactions where they have limited control over their circumstances. The present study examined how forced and free-choice touch treatments during interaction with humans influenced the behaviour of therapy dogs and hypothesized that therapy dogs would display a higher frequency of stress-related behaviours during forced in comparison to free-choice touch treatment. The study involved 18 certified therapy dogs with 44 human participants. Each human interacted individually with up to four therapy dogs in forced and free-choice touch treatments for 3 min. During forced touch treatments, dogs were held on a leash by their owners while participants continuously touched the dog, but during free-choice touch treatments dogs roamed freely in a pen and participants were directed to touch them only if they approached within arm’s reach. Treatments were videoed for retrospective behavioural coding. A GLIMMIX for repeated measures tested the effect of treatment on dog behaviours. During forced touch there was a higher frequency of ear back behaviour (p = .0115) compared to free-choice touch treatment. Sniffing behaviour (p < .0001) and avoidance of the participants (p < .0001) occurred more frequently during free-choice touch compared to forced touch treatments. Dogs spent 77.9 % of their time within reach of the participants during free-choice touch treatments. Male dogs demonstrated a higher frequency of avoidance of participants (p = .0031) and interaction with owners (p = .0352) than female dogs, regardless of treatment. The findings revealed subtle behavioural differences in therapy dogs between forced and free-choice touch treatments with humans, highlighting the importance of incorporating choice and agency in human-dog interactions within therapy programs to enhance dog welfare.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":8222,"journal":{"name":"Applied Animal Behaviour Science","volume":"285 ","pages":"Article 106560"},"PeriodicalIF":2.2,"publicationDate":"2025-02-17","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143429755","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Fifty years of equine behavior research","authors":"Katherine A. Houpt , Charles E. Houpt","doi":"10.1016/j.applanim.2025.106553","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.applanim.2025.106553","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Horse behavior has been a steady topic of interest in Applied Animal Behavior Science. In order to quantify the number of papers on equine behavior published during the first fifty years, we searched Applied Animal Ethology and Applied Animal Behaviour Science on Science Direct for papers on horses (<em>Equus caballus</em>) from 1974 through 2023. The papers on equine behavior can be divided by subject matter into eleven categories: welfare, maintenance, learning, personality, communication, Przewalski horse, foal behavior and development, cribbing, sexual, and maternal behavior. For cross-species comparison, all papers were further classified by the most common domestic animals. There have been 428 research papers on equine behavior published in Applied Animal Ethology and Applied Animal Behaviour Science. The number of papers on equine behavior was smaller than those on the behavior of food producing animals, but larger than those on cats and wild animals.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":8222,"journal":{"name":"Applied Animal Behaviour Science","volume":"285 ","pages":"Article 106553"},"PeriodicalIF":2.2,"publicationDate":"2025-02-13","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143429754","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}