Can Greater Flamingo Recognize Fertile <i>vs.</i> Infertile Egg? A Single Case Study

Fertility of captive flamingos varies between flocks, species and seasons. Individuating infertile eggs could be helpful to facilitate important decisions. Wild animals could be encouraged to abandon the nest or not, whereas in captivity removing non-viable egg would lead birds to lay a new one. The aim of this study was to investigate the parental behaviour of a pair of greater flamingos (Phoenicopterus roseus ) in the presence of a fertile and an infertile egg. Data on the posture and behaviours of the pair on the nest were collected over two different periods: first period\u2014an infertile egg was laid; second period\u2014a fertile egg was laid. For each period, 28 ten-minute sessions per flamingo partner were run. Results revealed that female flamingo spent significantly more time standing on the nest in the first than in the second period (P = 0.010). Moreover, when standing on the nest, the female performed significantly more egg-care behaviour (attention to the egg, egg rotation/moving) in the first than in the second period (P = 0.010). No significant differences between periods emerged in the male flamingo posture on the nest and behaviours. Findings from this study suggest that female flamingos stand on the nest longer if the egg is infertile, paying more attention and examining it deeply. This study provides new insights into greater flamingo parent-embryo communication. Future research is needed to improve our knowledge on this topic, as well as on the husbandry of this species in the controlled environment

Preliminary study to investigate the Delboeuf illusion in ring-tailed lemurs (Lemur catta): Methodological challenges

Visual illusions are commonly used in animal cognition studies to compare visual perception among vertebrates. To date, researchers have focused their attention mainly on birds and mammals, especially apes and monkeys, but no study has investigated sensitivity to visual illusions in prosimians. Here we investigated whether lemurs (Lemur catta) perceive the Delboeuf illusion, a well-known illusion that occurs when subjects misperceive the relative size of an item because of its surrounding context. In particular, we adopted the spontaneous preference paradigm used in chimpanzees and observed lemurs’ ability to select the larger amount of food. In control trials, we presented two different amounts of food on two identical plates. In test trials, we presented equal food portion sizes on two plates differing in size: If lemurs were sensitive to the illusion, they were expected to select the food portion presented on the smaller plate. In control trials, they exhibited poor performance compared to other mammals previously observed, being able to discriminate between the two quantities only in the presence of a 0.47 ratio. This result prevented us from drawing any conclusion regarding the subjects’ susceptibility to the Delboeuf illusion. In test trials with the illusory pattern, however, the subjects’ choices did not differ from chance. Our data suggest that the present paradigm is not optimal for testing the perception of the Delboeuf illusion in lemurs and highlight the importance of using different methodological approaches to assess the perceptual mechanisms underlying size discrimination among vertebrates

How to be a great dad: Parental care in a flock of greater flamingo (Phoenicopterus roseus)

In the last years, studies on captive greater flamingos have increased. Research on zoo animals is important to improve the knowledge on these species and to improve their ex-situ and in-situ conservation. The aim of the present study was to investigate the parental behaviour of a captive colony of greater flamingo hosted at Parco Natura Viva, an Italian zoological garden, to improve the knowledge on this species in zoos. In particular, the present study investigated and compared the parental care of females and males in 35 breeding pairs of greater flamingos. For each pair, we collected durations of parental care behaviour of both females and males, recording their position in relation to the nest (near the nest, on the nest, away from the nest) and individual and social behaviours performed. First, both partners were involved in parental care and displayed species-specific behaviours reported in the wild. The main results were that males spent more time than females on the nest (P = 0.010) and near it (P = 0.0001) and were more aggressive toward other flamingos than females, both when sitting on the nest (P = 0.003) and when near the nest (P = 0.0003). Therefore, male flamingos seem to be more involved in incubation duties and nest protection than females. This kind of research is important not only to expand the knowledge on bird species such as flamingos, but also to improve their husbandry and breeding in controlled environment. Indeed, understanding animal behaviour allows us to gain insights into their individual and social needs, addressing potential animal welfare issues

Social environment elicits lateralized behaviors in Gorillas (Gorilla gorilla gorilla) and Chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes)

The influence of the social environment on lateralized behaviors has now been investigated across a wide variety of animal species. New evidence suggests that the social environment can modulate behavior. Currently, there is a paucity of data relating to how primates navigate their environmental space, and investigations that consider the naturalistic context of the individual are few and fragmented. Moreover, there are competing theories about whether only the right or rather both cerebral hemispheres are involved in the processing of social stimuli, especially in emotion processing. Here we provide the first report of lateralized social behaviors elicited by great apes. We employed a continuous focal animal sampling method to record the spontaneous interactions of a captive zoo-living colony of chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes) and a biological family group of peer-reared western lowland gorillas (Gorilla gorilla gorilla). We specifically focused on which side of the body (i.e., front, rear, left, right) the focal individual preferred to keep conspecifics. Utilizing a newly developed quantitative corpus-coding scheme, analysis revealed both chimpanzees and gorillas demonstrated a significant group-level prefer- ence for focal individuals to keep conspecifics positioned to the front of them compared with behind them. More interestingly, both groups also manifested a population-level bias to keep conspecifics on their left side compared with their right side. Our findings suggest a social processing dominance of the right hemisphere for context-specific social environments. Results are discussed in light of the evolu- tionary adaptive value of social stimulus as a triggering factor for the manifestation of group-level lateralized behaviors

Does positive reinforcement training affect the behaviour and welfare of zoo animals? The case of the ring-tailed lemur (Lemur catta)

Positive reinforcement training (PRT) is an established tool to facilitate animal husbandry, care and research in modern zoos, with potential positive implications for captive animal welfare. The study explored the role of an isolation PRT training programme on the well-being of ring-tailed lemurs (Lemur catta). Eleven subjects were observed during an isolation training protocol to induce the animals to enter an area (training area) calmly and retrieve rewards separated from group members. Duration of individual and social behaviours were collected over two different periods: the baseline period, before the beginning of the isolation training protocol and the training period, in which the collection of the data started at the end of the isolation training sessions. Additionally, behavioural data within the isolation training sessions (latency to enter the training area and retrieve the reward, display of stress-related behaviours) were recorded. Outside the training sessions, lemurs were out of sight significantly more in the baseline (Mean ± SD: 15.46 ± 5.20) than in the training (Mean ± SD: 4.36 ± 2.89) period. Social behaviour was performed significantly more in the training (Mean ± SD: 31.80 ± 12.34) than in the baseline (Mean ± SD: 12.52 ± 5.14) period; particularly, lemurs were in social contact significantly more in the training (Mean ± SD: 14.09 ± 6.00) than in the baseline period (Mean ± SD: 4.58 ± 2.73). Agonistic behaviours were performed significantly more in the baseline (Mean ± SD: 0.23 ± 0.15) than in the training (Mean ± SD: 0.07 ± 0.07) period. Within the training sessions, all the individuals entered the training area, were isolated from conspecifics, and retrieved the reward in 6 out of 9 sessions. Our findings show that, during the PRT period, lemurs displayed their natural behaviour in their everyday social life with significant increase of their affiliative behaviours and decrease of aggressive behaviours with benefits for their welfare status. Thus, lemurs were able to cope with the use of PRT to isolate each individual from its social group – a situation which, without training, might be very stressful. In conclusion, PRT may play a crucial role for the captive management of ring-tailed lemurs in captive facilities, including zoos

BUSINESS AS USUAL? A COMPARATIVE STUDY OF CHINA’S NEWS COVERAGE IN U.S. AND CHINESE ONLINE MEDIA

这份研究主要通过定量分析法，探究了对中国的网络新闻报道以及这些新闻报道体现出来的对中国的社会政治、经济和文化等方面的态度。本文采用四个新闻机构网站（两个美国的、两个中国的）在2010年早期10周内大约400条的新闻报道，通过分析发现，在对中国的报道方面，纽约时报一贯报道时事政治和文化，大多数带有负面基调，而其他的新闻机构，比如美国新闻信息网交互电视网、中国日报和环球日报，总体上说报道面广泛，持明确的、积极的立场。本文还对一些全球性媒体事件中的中国形象进行了分析，发现随着最近基于中国背景的在线或非在线的媒介出版物的增多，全球媒体对中国的报道开始发生改变。尽管对于这些新闻机构的实际影响力的评估还言...This comparative and mainly quantitative study explores the online news coverage on China and the attitudes of the outlets towards the country in its various socio-political, economic and cultural aspects. It sampled four news organizations’ websites, two in the United States and two in China and analyzed around 400 news items over a period of 10 weeks in early 2010. It found that while the NY Tim...学位：哲学硕士院系专业：人文学院哲学系_中国哲学学号：1012008115375

Oral Dosages of the NSAID Aspirin Decreased the Growth Rate of Species Found in the Human Gut Microbiome Including Akkermansia muciniphila, Bacteroides fragilis, Clostridium sordellii, and Clostridium difficile

Over past few decades, new insight has been revealed in the scientific community about the importance of the human gut microbiome relating to general health. It is known that imbalances in the species that reside in the human gut can cause organism-wide problems in humans. When prescribing or injecting oral medications, the thought of the downstream effects on the gut microbiome are not always considered. By exposing known healthy members of the gut; Akkermansia muciniphila, Bacteroides fragilis, Clostridium sordellii, and Clostridium difficile to the Aspirin, this study attempted to provide insight into the effects of the drug on bacterial growth. While these species only account for a small percentage of the total biodiversity of the gut microbiome, they are some of the most thoroughly studied and well known. A. muciniphila is known to occur in higher concentrations in healthy, low body mass index individuals which suggests that aspirin alternatives may be beneficial in some clinical cases. To accomplish the goal of this study, time courses were designed to analyze if different dosages of Aspirin inhibited the growth curve of each species when compared to growth curves of the same species in drug-free media. Aspirin was found to have a dose-dependent effect in growth rate of A. muciniphila, B. fragilis, C. sordellii, and C. difficile resulting in a significant decrease in the exponential growth phase of all four species. This suggested that aspirin inhibited cell culture growth in a dose-dependent manner. Aspirin’s toxic affect to these important commensal species of the human gut should be considered by practitioners prior to prescription

Duration dependence and discrimination in the youth labour market : experimental evidence from the decision-making of Italian employers

Defence date: 26 January 2023Examining Board : Prof. Klarita Gërxhani, (EUI, supervisor); Prof. Alicia Adsera, (Princeton University); Prof. Michèle Belot, (Cornell University); Prof. Bernhard Kittel, (University of Vienna)The International Labour Organization estimates that there will be 52 million jobs missing in 2022 and an additional 21 million people in unemployment compared to the pre-pandemic period. Women and those with an immigrant background will be adversely affected. These workers already faced a higher risk of losing jobs before the COVID-19 outbreak. The question then is whether, during the recovery, women and those with an immigrant background will also take longer to find a job than men and native workers. Longer job search entails increasing time in unemployment and employers may be less likely to consider hiring someone with extended periods of joblessness. Thus, longer unemployment duration might become an additional liability for women and workers with an immigrant background when looking for jobs. Research has documented the negative effect of unemployment duration on employment prospects, namely duration dependence, but some studies show this relationship might be spurious. Further, research on discrimination looked at the differential impact of unemployment duration based on gender or immigrant background but rarely investigated their intersection. This thesis, therefore, looks at the relationship between duration dependence and discrimination. It assesses how employers utilize unemployment duration, gender, and immigrant background, and their intersection in hiring processes. Using a correspondence study, 4,079 resumes were sent to 1,041 Italian employers who posted online vacancies between September 2019 and May 2020. Responses to these resumes show that duration dependence and discrimination are independent phenomena: unemployment duration is not more detrimental for any group of job seekers. Discrimination stems from employers’ bias and whether employers use gender to sort applicants depends on the immigrant background. Nonetheless, who gets discriminated against varies with job quality and the formalization of the hiring process. Overall, results suggest that Italian employers help push women and those with an immigrant background toward low-quality jobs

A therapeutic environmental enrichment programme for managing pathological behaviour in the fossa (Cryptoprocta ferox)

This study is based on an adult male fossa (Cryptoprocta ferox) that arrived at Garda Zoological Park (Italy) exhibiting stereotyped and self-injuring behaviours and follows its subsequent rehabilitation through a long-term environmental enrichment programme. Data were collected over a period of six months. Continuous focal animal sampling was used to collect behavioural data during 90-minute sessions; 24 sessions took place over the first two months and two sessions took place six months after his arrival. Data were analysed using non-parametric tests. At the beginning of the study period, the predatory behaviour of the fossa was not species-specific since he was not able to find food items when they were hidden in the enclosure. It usually interacted with items for just a few minutes. Rub-bing different scents on enclosure furniture promoted play only for a few minutes. After two months of behavioural observations, its behaviour only improved slightly and stereotyped and self-injuring behaviours were maintained. However, we continued the intense enrichment programme for a longer period. Six months after its arrival rare undesirable behaviours or noticeable side effects were ob-served whilst species-specific behaviours were recorded. Results showed that the environmental enrichment curtailed the aberrant behaviours. In conclusion, this case study provides evidence sup-porting the hypothesis that a suitable enrichment programme could have a therapeutic effect on pathological behaviour in captive animals

Red-green color vision in three catarrhine primates

The evolution of the red-green visual subsystem in trichromatic primates has been linked to foraging advantages, specifically the detection of either ripe fruits or young leaves amid mature foliage, and to the intraspecific socio-sexual communication, namely the signal of the male rank, the mate choice and the reproductive strategies in females. New data should be added to the debate regarding the evolution of trichromatic color vision. Three catarrhine primates were observed to achieve this goal. The research was performed on captive groups of vervet monkeys (Chlorocebus aethiops), pig-tailed macaques (Macaca nemestrina) and chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes) housed at Parco Natura Viva - Garda Zoological Park (Italy). Using pairs of red-green bags containing the same hidden reward in comparable outdoor enclosures, we recorded the choices by observed individuals (n = 25) to investigate the role of color cues in choosing an object. The results indicate that chimpanzees used red color as cue to choose an object that contains food by showing a preference toward red objects; in contrast, vervet monkeys and pig-tailed macaques do not demonstrate a clear choice based on the color of the object. Our findings highlight the importance of the foraging hypothesis but not rule out the potential role of the intraspecific socio-sexual communication and may serve to add useful information to the debate regarding the adaptive value of the evolution of color vision in order to fill a phylogenetic gap from Old World monkeys to humans. Future studies should address the role of socio-sexual communication, such as the selection of the reproductive partner of both high genetic quality and with compatible genes, to determine how this influenced the evolution of color vision in non-human primates