Influence of rearing environment on development of perching and dustbathing behaviour in laying hens

Studies have shown that perching and dustbathing behaviour in birds can be affected by how and when the behaviour develops. With the increasing trend away from cages and towards keeping laying hens in larger, more complex housing systems, it is important to improve our knowledge about what chicks need to learn if they are going to be able to fully use perches and litter when these are provided to them as adults. In the first part of this thesis the early use of perches and how this was influenced by the bird´s behaviour during the first weeks of life was investigated at the individual level. Furthermore the relationship between a bird’s spatial ability as a chick and as an adult was investigated by testing birds in two different two-dimensional spatial tests and by observing their use of perches. The aim was to investigate the degree to which birds are hatched with spatial skills or acquire these by using perches. The second part of the thesis dealt with the importance of access to an appropriate, that is to say, functional substrate for the development of dustbathing behaviour. Here comparisons of dustbathing behaviour by birds with different experiences of peat, a preferred dustbathing substrate, were carried out. In addition it was investigated whether birds that had only ever known sham dustbathing would be as motivated to get access to peat for dustbathing as birds reared and used to performing functional dustbathing. It was found that behaviour, such as spending more time underneath the perches, related positively with early perch use and the ability to solve a two dimensional spatial test was related to use of perches in a novel situation as adult. However, the results did not shed any light on whether chicks hatched with good spatial ability or if the spatial ability mostly developed through the use of perches. Dustbathing behaviour was influenced mainly by the substrate and the birds which gained or lost access to peat changed their dustbathing behaviour according to if they dustbathed in peat or on paper. Birds dustbathing on paper performed a less coherent dustbathing behaviour with more long and short bouts than birds dustbathing on peat. Irrespective of treatment all birds were motivated to get access to peat for dustbathing. These results imply that sham dustbathing can not replace functional dustbathing for a hen. In combination, the results of this thesis confirm the importance of giving early access to litter and perches also to the young chick

\u3ci\u3eLycaeides Melissa Samuelis\u3c/i\u3e (Lepidoptera: Lycaenidae) Response to an Aggregation of \u3ci\u3eLytta Sayi\u3c/i\u3e (Coleoptera: Meloidae) on \u3ci\u3eLupinus Perennis\u3c/i\u3e (Fabaceae

Lycaeides melissa samuelis Nabokov, frequently called the Karner blue butterfly, is a Federally endangered species found in savanna/barren type ecosystems of New England and the Great Lakes region of North America. We observed sporadic and localized feeding aggregations of Lytta sayi LeConte (Coleoptera: Meloidae) on Lupinus perennis L. (Fabaceae) occupied by L. m. samuelis during the summers of 2000-2004, in Eau Claire County, Wisconsin. In 2004, we quantified the phenology and behavior of an aggregation (\u3e 900 beetles) within a 1,020 m2 stand of lupine and measured its effect upon adult L. m. samuelis behavior. The L. sayi aggregation formed and dispersed within 11 days with three beetles observed on day one and a maximum of 951 beetles on day seven. By the eighth day of the aggregation, the beetles had consumed 100% of the lupine flowers, 2% of lupine seeds and no lupine leaves. In comparisons of L. m. samuelis activity before and during the beetle aggregation, L. m. samuelis males spent significantly less time perching on Potentilla simplex Michaux (Rosaceae) and more time flying during the beetle aggregation. L. m. samuelis females spent significantly less time under lupine leaves during the beetle aggregation. Distribution of L. m. samuelis larval feeding damage suggests adult females avoided ovipositing in areas containing large numbers of beetles

Determination of Minimum Horizontal Distance between Laying-Hen Perches

The objective of the study was to determine minimum horizontal distance (HD) between perches for laying hens using qualitative and quantitative behavioral analysis. A real-time monitoring system was developed to record hen’s perching behaviors, such as the number of perching hens, perching duration, perching trips, and the pattern of perch occupancy. Three groups of sixteen W-36 laying hens (68 weeks old at test onset) with prior perching experience were used. For each group, hens were kept in an enriched wire-mesh floor pen (1.2×1.2×1.2m) equipped with two parallel perches (15 cm perch space/hen). The HD between the perches were varied sequentially at 60, 40, 30, 25, 20, and 15 cm; then varied again in a reversed order. The minimum HD that led to no significant change in hen’s perching behavior was determined. Results showed that reduction of HD to 25 cm did not significantly restrain hen’s perching behavior; however, HD \u3c25 cm significantly reduced the proportion of perching hens. When HD was insufficient, more perching trips occurred during the 45 min prior to dark period, indicating increase in perching competition. Meanwhile, hens perched interlacing with one another and tended to perch outwards from the opposite perch or hens during dark period, which might be a strategy to use the perch more efficiently. Horizontal distance of 60 cm increased the perching duration and reduced the perching trips during light period; however these two behavioral responses were not affected by HD \u3c60 cm. Therefore, 25 cm is suggested as the minimum HD between laying-hen perches, 30 cm being preferable, and large HD’s such as 60 cm not advisable

Additional Observations on \u3ci\u3eTachypompilus Ferrugineus\u3c/i\u3e With Emphasis on Male Behavior (Hymenoptera: Pompilidae)

An aggregation of 11 males and 5 females of Tachypompilus ferrugineus was studied during August and September 1989 at a 2 m-high cemetery monument i Syracuse, NY. Male perching behavior and male-male and male-female interactions are described. Male-male interactions included acceptance, perching in close proximity, wing fanning, circling, following, and flight chases. Overt territoriality was not demonstrated by individual males, although several wasps each maintained a few or several stations. Despite noticeable size variation among wasps, there was no dominant-subordinate hierarchy. Male attachment to the cemetery monument waned as the season progressed due to mortality, increased floral feeding, and decreased female receptivity. Several males often simultaneously pursued an incoming female in an attempt to mate and such males exhibited extensive wing fanning and antennal waving

Parking and the visual perception of space

Using measured data we demonstrate that there is an amazing correspondence among the statistical properties of spacings between parked cars and the distances between birds perching on a power line. We show that this observation is easily explained by the fact that birds and human use the same mechanism of distance estimation. We give a simple mathematical model of this phenomenon and prove its validity using measured data

Observations of Spring Larvae of \u3ci\u3eLycaeides Melissa Samuelis (Lepidoptera: Lycaenidae) in Central Wisconsin

At 36 sampling sites in central Wisconsin 1991-94, 358 spring larvae of the Karner blue (Lycaeides melissa samuelis) ranged from 1.9-17.0 mm in length, with only two \u3e15.0 mm. The number of attending ants (mean 2.0, range 0-25) covaried strongly with larval size, with ants attending all larval instars. Height of wild lupine (Lupinus perennis), this butterfly\u27s only larval food plant, correlated significantly with larval length, and larvae did not appear to hatch too soon in cool springs to have adequate forage. Larval presence and size correlated significantly with five of seven types of feeding signs on the lupines. Larval perching sites, feeding locations, and disturbance behaviors varied somewhat by instar. In 1991-93, no larvae were found in seven samplings of recently burned areas, although larvae were found in unburned sites nearby. In 1994, two larvae were found in a very patchily and incompletely burned area. Many larvae were found in areas mowed since or during the previous adult flight. Larval counts correlated positively with adult counts later in the same year. Adult surveys appeared more efficient than larval surveys, which are more effective when based on a knowledge of larval phenology, feeding signs, perching sites, feeding locations, and disturbance tolerances

On the alleged phonetic value /p/ of the frog hieroglyph in Ptolemaic

The present article deals with two passages (Esna n° 379, 9 and Edfu III, 190, 2) which feature the frog hieroglyph with a supposed phonetic value /p/. While an alternative reading /H/ is suggested for the first text, the other requires returning to Nefertari’s tomb for disclosure of the frog’s meaning

Discriminating between nesting and non-nesting habitat in a vulnerable bird species: Implications for behavioural ecology

Nowadays, partitioning amongst nesting and non-nesting habitats is not much studied. Here, I investigate whether or not the turtle dove (Streptopelia turtur) nesting habitats overlap with those used for other purposes in a North African agroforestry system. A total of 33 nest points and 33 turtle dove presence points were considered. The study, conducted in May to June 2017, attempted to determine the factors that may play a role in discriminating between the nesting habitats and non-nesting habitats. I used a linear discriminant analysis (LDA) to test the relevance of proximity of food resources, forest edge and human presence variables in the distribution of the species. The results show substantial segregation in the habitats selected for nesting and those selected for other uses [average distance was 1129.69 ± 169.40 m (n = 66) with a maximum of 1518.6 m and a minimum of 617.72 m], with selection depending primarily on the proximity to forest edge and feeding areas. I discuss these findings and their implications on behavioural ecology and future researches of this vulnerable species. I suggest guidelines for future studies that will seek to better understand the behavioural dynamics of turtle doves in the Mediterranean agroforestry systems. This can only be done when disturbance covariates, such as: (i) forest logging, (ii) cereal harvesting and (iii) hunting and predation pressures, were imperatively taken into account