Water bathing alters the speed-accuracy trade-off of escape flights in European starlings

Birds of most species regularly bathe in water, but the function of this behaviour is unknown. We tested the hypothesis that water bathing is important in feather maintenance, and hence should enhance flight performance. We manipulated European starlings', Sturnus vulgaris, access to bathing water in a 2 × 2 design: birds were housed in aviaries either with or without water baths for a minimum of 3 days (long-term access) before being caught and placed in individual cages either with or without water baths for a further 24 h (short-term access). We subsequently assessed the speed and accuracy of escape flights through an obstacle course of vertical strings. Birds that had bathed in the short-term flew more slowly and hit fewer strings than birds that were deprived of bathing water in the short term, whereas long-term access to bathing water had no significant effect on flight performance. Thus recent access to bathing water alters flight performance by altering the trade-off between escape flight speed and accuracy. We hypothesize that lack of bathing water provision could increase anxiety in captive starlings because of an increase in their perceived vulnerability to predation. This study therefore potentially provides an important functional link between the expression of natural behaviours in captivity and welfare considerations. © 2009 The Association for the Study of Animal Behaviour

Vote Buying II: Legislatures and Lobbying

We examine the consequences of lobbying and vote buying, assuming this prac- tice were allowed and free of stigma. Two "lobbyists" compete for the votes of legislators by offering up-front payments to the legislators in exchange for their votes. We analyze how the lobbyists' budget constraints and legislator preferences determine the winner and the payments.vote buying, lobbying, legislatures, political economy.

Vote Bying I: General Elections

We examine the consequences of vote buying, assuming this practice were al- lowed and free of stigma. Two parties compete in a binary election and may purchase votes in a sequential bidding game via up-front binding payments and/or campaign promises (platforms) that are contingent upon the outcome of the elec- tion. We analyze the role of the parties' and voters' preferences in determining the winner and the payments to voters.vote buying, political economy, campaign promises.

Vote Buying

We examine the consequences of vote buying, assuming this practice were allowed and free of stigma. Two parties competing in a binary election may purchase votes in a sequential bidding game via up-front binding payments and/or campaign promises (platforms) that are contingent upon the outcome of the election. We analyze the role of the parties' budget constraints and voter preferences in determining the winner and the payments to voters.vote buying, elections, campaign promises

Quantification of abnormal repetitive behaviour in captive European starlings (Sturnus vulgaris).

Stereotypies are repetitive, unvarying and goalless behaviour patterns that are often considered indicative of poor welfare in captive animals. Quantifying stereotypies can be difficult, particularly during the early stages of their development when behaviour is still flexible. We compared two methods for objectively quantifying the development of route-tracing stereotypies in caged starlings. We used Markov chains and T-pattern analysis (implemented by the software package, Theme) to identify patterns in the sequence of locations a bird occupied within its cage. Pattern metrics produced by both methods correlated with the frequency of established measures of stereotypic behaviour and abnormal behaviour patterns counted from video recordings, suggesting that both methods could be useful for identifying stereotypic individuals and quantifying stereotypic behaviour. We discuss the relative benefits and disadvantages of the two approaches

Division of labour and risk taking in the dinosaur ant, Dinoponera quadriceps

The success of social insects can be largely attributed to division of labour. In contrast to most social insects, many species with simple societies contain workers which are capable of sexual reproduction. Headed by one or a few reproductive individuals, subordinate workers form a dominance hierarchy, queuing to attain the reproductive role. In these species task allocation may be influenced by individual choice based on future reproductive prospects. Individuals with a better chance of inheriting the colony may be less likely to take risks and high-ranking workers that spend a greater amount of time in proximity to the brood may be able to increase the ability to police egg-laying by cheating subordinates. We investigated division of labour and risk taking in relation to dominance rank in the queenless ponerine ant, Dinoponera quadriceps, a species with relatively simple societies. Using behavioural observations, we show that high-ranking workers spend more time performing egg care, less time foraging and are less likely to defend the nest against attack. High-rankers also spent a greater amount of time guarding and inspecting eggs, behaviours which are likely to improve detection of egg laying by cheating subordinates. We also show that high-ranking workers spend a greater amount of time idle, which may help increase lifespan by reducing energy expenditure. Our results suggest that both risk-taking and egg-care behaviours are related to future reproductive prospects in D. quadriceps. This highlights a mechanism by which effective division of labour could have been achieved during the early stages of eusocial evolution

Vote buying II: legislatures and lobbying

We examine the consequences of lobbying and vote buying, assuming this practice were allowed and free of stigma. Two .lobbyists. compete for the votes of legislators by oþering up-front payments to the legislators in exchange for their votes. We analyze how the lobbyists.budget constraints and legislator preferences determine the winner and the payments

Vote buying I: legislatures and lobbying

We examine the consequences of vote buying, assuming this practice were al-lowed and free of stigma. Two parties compete in a binary election and may purchase votes in a sequential bidding game via up-front binding payments and/or campaign promises (platforms) that are contingent upon the outcome of the elec-tion. We analyze the role of the parties.and voters.preferences in determining the winner and the payments to voters

SB09-22/23: Resolution Requesting the Removal of the Swastika Symbols from Corbin Hall

SB09-22/23: Resolution Requesting the Removal of the Swastika Symbols from Corbin Hall This resolution passed unanimously at the November 30, 2022 meeting of the Associated Students of the University of Montana (ASUM). This meeting was voided. This resolution officially passed at the December 7, 2022 meeting of the Associated Students of the University of Montana (ASUM)