27 research outputs found
The nest-holding grass goby (Zosterisessor ophiocephalus) male adjusts the spawning activity in relation to parasitic nest intrusions.
This study examines the temporal pattern of spawning behavior by the territorial (i.e. nest-holding) grass goby male, Zosterisessor ophiocephalus, in response to sneak intrusions by the small parasitic male under controlled laboratory conditions. The spawning activity of the territorial male consists of a sequence of upside-down movements on the ceiling of the nest accompanied by undulations of the body and sperm release. Five pairs of one territorial male and one parasitic male, each kept inside a large tank provided with an artificial buried nest (always occupied by the territorial male) and one small tunnel-shaped shelter (always occupied by the small male), were observed during one-female spawning taking place in the innermost part of the nest (i.e. the nest chamber). During the spawning, the presence of the small male nearby the nest openings elicited aggressive behavior and increased nest patrolling by the territorial male. In one spawn the small male never attempted to enter the nest. In four spawns the small male entered one to three times the nest chamber (sneaks), staying there from 2 to 203 s until the large male chased him away. The temporal patterning of the spawning activity by the territorial male (bouts of upside-down, U-D), and its changes following a sneak by the small male, were investigated using bout analysis and correlative tests. Results showed the length of bouts U-D did not change significantly after a sneak intrusion. whereas gap length (i.e. the period between subsequent bouts U-D) decreased significantly after each sneak intrusion. The mean duty cycle of bouts U-D tended to be positively correlated to the number of sneaker intrusions of each replicate. Results are discussed in the light of current knowledge on sperm competition among externally fertilizing teleosts
Neonatal imitation predicts infant rhesus macaque (Macaca mulatta) social and anxiety-related behaviours at one year
The identification of early markers that predict the development of specific social trajectories is critical to understand the developmental and neurobiological underpinnings of healthy social development. We investigated, in infant rhesus macaques (Macaca mulatta), whether newbornsâ capacity to imitate facial gestures is a valid predictive marker for the emergence of social competencies later in development, at one year of age. Here we first assessed whether infant macaques (Nâ=â126) imitate lipsmacking gestures (a macaque affiliative expression) performed by a human experimenter in their first week of life. We then collected data on infantsâ social interactions (aggression, grooming, and play) and self-scratching (a proxy indicator of anxiety) at 11â14 months when infants were transferred into a new enclosure with a large social group. Our results show that neonatal imitators exhibit more dominant behaviours, are less anxious, and, for males only, spend more time in play at one year old. These findings suggest that neonatal imitation may be an early predictor of infant sociality and may help identify infants at risk of neurodevelopmental social deficits
Glucocorticoids and the Development of Agonistic Behaviour during Puberty in Male Golden Hamsters
Characterizing Student Perceptions of and Buy-In toward Common Formative Assessment Techniques
Sex Differences in the Development of Social Relationships in Rhesus Macaques (Macaca mulatta)
Emotionality and intentionality in bonobo playful communication
Great apes show very complex systems for
communicating emotions and intentions. Whereas gestures
are intentional signals, facial expressions can disclose both
emotions and intentions. The playful context is a good field
to explore the possible dichotomy between intentionally
and emotionally driven signals as it has been suggested that
one of its functions is to learn producing and decoding
communicative patterns. To understand how signals are
produced during play and how they are modified in the
course of ontogeny, we investigated the use of playful
facial expressions and gestures in bonobos (Pan paniscus),
a tolerant species showing a high propensity to play even as
adults. Our results showed that the use of play faces and
gestures is strongly influenced by the characteristics of the
play session. Both play faces and gestures were more often
performed when social play involved physical contact and
when the receiver was visually attending, thus suggesting
that both signals can be strategically employed when
communicating becomes more urgent. Compared to play
faces, gestures were more frequent during dyadic than
polyadic sessions, when a unique receiver was involved.
Being gestures not context specific, they are probably used
more selectively by the sender. On the contrary, play faces
are context specific and transmit an unequivocal positive
message that cannot be misconceived. These features
legitimize a broad use of playful facial expressions, independently
of the number of playmates. The similarities and
differences in the production of these signals are probably
linked to the different degree of emotionality and intentionality
characterizing them