Looking for Human Help: a pilot study on Czechoslokvakian Wolfdog using the Impossible Task

Il gazing behaviour è una forma di comunicazione interspecifica tra uomo e un'altra specie animale studiato soprattutto negli animali domestici. Si tratta di una interazione face-to-face in cui l’animale guarda dritto negli occhi l’uomo. Vari studi hanno cercato di capire se questo comportamento sia una conseguenza della domesticazione (e quindi abbia basi genetiche) oppure se sia un comportamento appreso. Nei lupi e nei dingo questo comportamento è poco frequente, anche se essi sono stati allevati a mano dall’uomo e quindi esposti ad un ambiente sociale umano fin dalla nascita. Nei cani invece esso e sempre presente, anche se con diverse intensità a seconda della razza. Questo potrebbe far pensare che il gazing behaviour abbia effettivamente delle basi genetiche. Altri studi però dimostrano come questo comportamento migliori e aumenti con l’età dell’animale, andando a supportare l’ipotesi che esso sia sottoposto a un processo di apprendimento. Ho scelto come modello di studio il Cane Lupo Cecoslovacco perché è una razza di cane nata recentemente (approvata negli anni ’80) ed è nata dall’incrocio tra un Pastore Tedesco e un Lupo dei Carpazi, rendendola particolarmente interessante perché potrebbe rappresentare una via di mezzo tra il cane e il suo antenato selvatico, il lupo, essendo geneticamente molto vicina ad esso. Per testare gli animali ho scelto l’impossible task, un test molto utile per studiare il gazing behaviour, semplice da applicare e poco ambiguo, che restituisce dati comparabili. Si tratta di prove successive in cui viene posato del cibo su un apparato e coperto con un contenitore metallico. Il cane può liberamente spostare il contenitore ed accedere al cibo nelle prima 6 prove, che servono come training. Nell'ultima prova, della durata complessiva di un minuto, il contenitore è fissato all'apparato e il cane non potrà quindi ottenere la ricompensa. E' durante questa fase che si va a testare il gazing behaviour verso gli umani. Per rendere il lavoro più solido ho scelto di comparare i risultati di questa razza con il Labrador Retriever (una razza antica andata in contro ad una lunga selezione artificiale per collaborare a stretto contatto con l’uomo) e con il Pastore Tedesco (la razza più vicina geneticamente al Cane Lupo Cecoslovacco)

Don’t stop me now, I’m having such a good time! Czechoslovakian Wolfdogs renovate the motivation to play with a bow

Dogs engage in play behavior at every age and the play bow is their most iconic playful posture. However, the function of this posture is still under debate. Here, we selected the Czechoslovakian Wolfdog (CWD) as a model breed to clarify the function of the play bow. We analyzed frame-byframe 118 sessions of 24 subjects and recorded 76 play bow events. We found that all the play bows were performed in the visual field of the playmate suggesting that the sender takes into account the attentional state of the receiver when releasing the signal. By drawing survival curves and using log-rank test we found that play bow was mainly performed during a short pause in an ongoing session and that its performance triggered the playmate’s reaction again. These findings show that play bow functions in restoring the partner motivation to play. Finally, by using a sequential analysis and a generalized mixed model, we found no evidence supporting the metacommunicative function of the play bow. The signal did not necessarily precede a contact offensive behavior (e.g., play biting and play pushing) and it was not affected by the level of asymmetry of the play session. In conclusion, in CWDs play bow can be considered a visual signal useful to maintain the motivation to play in the receiver. Therefore, we suggest that the mismatched number of play bows emitted by the 2 players in a given session can be predictive of their different motivations to pla

Not all yawns tell the same story: the case of Tonkean macaques

Here we show for the first time that the plasticity in morphology and duration of yawning in Macaca tonkeana can be associated with different functional contexts. Macaca tonkeana is classified as a tolerant macaque species characterized by social interactions minimally constrained by dominance rank or kinship. Tonkean macaques, as other egalitarian species, rely on a complex facial communicative system. We found that the degree of mouth opening (ranging from covered to uncovered tooth yawns) and the duration of yawning were not strictly dependent. The shortest uncovered tooth yawns were associated with an intense locomotor/physical activity and peaked immediately after stressful social events thus indicating an increase in arousal. In contrast, longer yawns, independently from teeth exposure, were primarily associated with a relaxed state of the subject. In conclusion, our study suggests that to explore the potential different functions of yawning, it is necessary to focus on the variability of its expression both in terms of morphology and duration, because not all yawns tell the same story

Levelling playing field: synchronization and rapid facial mimicry in dog-horse play

Social play is a window on cognitive and communicative abilities of species. Inter-specific play, in particular, is a fertile venue to explore the capacity to correctly perceive and interpret signals emitted by partners. Up to now, most studies have focussed on dog-human play due to the important implications such studies have in understanding the peculiar relationship we establish with our pets. Here, we focussed on social play between dogs and horses. By using a set of specific keywords (dog, horse, play, friend) we selected 20 videos of dog-horse social play (with each session lasting>30 s) from the open video-sharing website YouTube. We described the behavioural patterns composing each session by defining analogous and species-specific patterns shown by dogs and horses. The rates of self-handicapping and variability in playful actions did not differ between the two interacting subjects thus suggesting well-balanced playful tactics. The Relaxed Open Mouth (ROM, a widespread playful facial expression in mammals) was also similarly performed by dogs and horses. The Rapid Facial Mimicry (RFM) is an automatic, fast response in which individuals mimic others’ expressions (less than 1 s) that seems to have a role in mood sharing during social interactions. The dogs and horses under study showed a stronger and rapid mimicry response (less than 1 s) after perceiving ROM than after perceiving an attempt to bite (a play pattern resembling ROM in its motor performance). Taken together, our results suggest that, despite the difference in size, the phylogenetic distance, and differences in the behavioural repertoire, dogs and horses are able to fine-tune their actions thus reducing the probability of misunderstanding and escalating into aggression. One of the future challenges is to explore the role of ontogenetic pathways and familiarity in shaping inter-specific communicative ability of animals that can be at the basis of a universal language of pla

Table_S1

Data of the possible and impossible trials. The Table contains: name, breed, age and sex of the subjects that participated in the study (cfr age); all the behavioral data for each dog during each of the six possible trials (Possible trials); all the behavioral data for each dog in the impossible trial (Impossible trial). Behaviors are reported as durations and latencies (secs) or as occurrences (gaze alternation). A detailed explanation of the behaviors and of the recording method is reported in the method section of the associated paper

Navigating from live to virtual social interactions: looking at but not manipulating smartphones provokes a spontaneous mimicry response in the observers

By gathering data on people during their ordinary daily activities, we tested if looking at, but not manipulating, smartphones led to a mimicry response in the observer. Manipulating and looking at the device (experimental condition), more than its mere manipulation (control condition), was critical to elicit a mimicry response in the observer. Sex, age and relationship quality between the experimenter and the observer had no effect on the smartphone mimicry response that tended to decrease during social meals. Due to the role of food as a tool in increasing social affiliation, it is possible that during communal eating, people engage in other forms of mimicry involving facial expressions and postures rather than the use of objects. Understanding the ethological mechanisms of the use of smartphones at everyday-social scale could unveil the processes at the basis of the widespread/increasing use of these devices at a large scale

Familiarity modulates both intra- and interspecific yawn contagion in red-capped mangabeys

International audienceYawn contagion (YC) is, compared to spontaneous yawning, an evolutionary recent phenomenon probably linked to behavioral synchronization in highly social species that is more likely when it involves familiar subjects. Here, we investigate for the first time in monkeys which factors modulate intra- and interspecific YC. Through an experimental approach, we exposed 17 red-capped mangabeys to video stimuli (Yawn vs Control) depicting familiar/unfamiliar red-capped mangabeys and humans, and unfamiliar hamadryas. We found that mangabeys yawned more often in response to Yawn than Control videos independently from the species depicted, demonstrating both intra- and interspecific YC in the tested species. Moreover, both mangabey and human familiar yawning stimuli evoked a stronger yawning response in the subjects compared to the unfamiliar counterparts. Neither the amount of time spent looking frontally at the screen (probability of stimulus perception) nor the levels of self-directed behaviors (a proxy of anxiety) accounted for the results. In conclusion, we provide the first evidence that in non-human primate familiarity modulates both intra- and inter-specific YC. Stimuli emitted by familiar faces somehow ease the mechanisms underlying YC, and this modulation can also apply to heterospecific subjects when previous shared experiences provide the prerequisites for the development of social bonds