Behaviour of the Bilby, Macrotis lagotis (Reid), (Marsupialia : Thylacomyidae) in Captivity

1983 ◽  
Vol 10 (1) ◽  
pp. 77 ◽  
Author(s):  
CN Johnson ◽  
KA Johnson

The behaviour was observed, in captivity, of the bilby Macrotis lagotis, a fossorial bandicoot of central Australia. Most of the observations were made at night, but some were of below-ground behaviour during the daylight hours. Bilbies proved to be relatively passive in comparison with other bandicoots, and a rigid dominance hierarchy amongst males was maintained without destructive fighting. Dominant males chased subordinate males out of and away from burrows and the alpha male maintained priority of access to all the well used burrows in the enclosure. Males scent-marked around burrows; the dominant male usually marked over scents left by other bilbies. Males shared burrows freely with females, and copulation appears to take place down burrows. Information is also given on female-female and mother-young behaviour, and some suggestions are made concerning the social structure of wild bilbies. Activity cycles, feeding behaviour, etc. are described.

Koedoe ◽  
1979 ◽  
Vol 22 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
B. L Penzhorn

The social structure of Cape mountain zebras con- sists of breeding herds of one stallion, one to five mares and their offspring, as well as bachelor groups. Breeding herds remain stable over many years and when the stallion is displaced by another, the mares remain together. A dominance hierarchy exists, but leadership is random. Foals leave their maternal herds at a mean age of 22,3 months. The herd stallion tries to prevent the foals from leaving the herd. Bachelor groups are not as well defined as breeding herds, but core groups could be identified through a principal components analysis ordination. Family ties may be important in the establishment of core groups. Bachelors succeed in becoming herd stallions when about five years old. Aspects of the possible evolution of the social structure are discussed.


2021 ◽  
Vol 8 (2) ◽  
pp. 201985
Author(s):  
Yuri Robbers ◽  
Mayke M. H. Tersteeg ◽  
Johanna H. Meijer ◽  
Claudia P. Coomans

In this study, we investigated the effect of social environment on circadian patterns in activity by group housing either six male or six female mice together in a cage, under regular light–dark cycles. Based on the interactions among the animals, the social dominance rank of individual mice was quantitatively established by calculating Elo ratings. Our results indicated that, during our experiment, the social dominance hierarchy was rapidly established, stable yet complex, often showing more than one dominant mouse and several subordinate mice. Moreover, we found that especially dominant male mice, but not female mice, displayed a significantly higher fraction of their activity during daytime. This resulted in reduced rhythm amplitude in dominant males. After division into separate cages, male mice showed an enhancement of their 24 h rhythm, due to lower daytime activity. Recordings of several physiological parameters showed no evidence for reduced health as a potential consequence of reduced rhythm amplitude. For female mice, transfer to individual housing did not affect their daily activity pattern. We conclude that 24 h rhythms under light–dark cycles are influenced by the social environment in males but not in females, and lead to a decrement in behavioural rhythm amplitude that is larger in dominant mice.


2021 ◽  
Vol 10 (4) ◽  
Author(s):  
Gianna Perugini ◽  
Jamela Orrego

Beluga whales in captivity currently show signs of mental distress through stereotypical behaviors such as repetitive pacing. It is currently well established that the social structure of beluga whale pods can alter beluga whale social behavior. This study aims to determine how differing social structures of beluga whale pods correlate to the frequency of repetitive pacing. In this context repetitive pacing is when a beluga whale paces three or more laps in the same pattern and direction. To test the hypothesis that beluga whales in larger more diverse pods will repetitively pace less than beluga whales in smaller more uniform pods, a behavioral observation was conducted at Seaworld Orlando and Georgia Aquarium. Over 20 observation periods, the amount of times repetitively paced, amount of laps while repetitively pacing, and the amount of laps repetitively paced per hour were all noted. The results supported the hypothesis, correlating the more diverse pod to less frequent repetitive pacing. These results suggest that pod social structure can play a role in captive beluga whales’ mental wellbeing. On this basis, during future transfers, more diverse pods should be put together to try to limit the amount of repetitive pacing and improve the mental wellbeing of captive beluga whales.


2017 ◽  
Vol 6 (3) ◽  
pp. 90-97
Author(s):  
Alexis Pauline Gumbs

Ladeedah is an audio novella that takes place in a Black utopic space after “the improvised revolution.” Ladeedah is a tone-deaf, rhythm-lacking Black girl in a world where everyone dances and sings at all times. What is Ladeedah's destiny as a quiet, clumsy genius in a society where movement and sound are the basis of the social structure and the definition of freedom? This excerpt from Ladeedah focuses on Ladeedah's attempts to understand the meaning of revolution from her own perspectives—at home, at school, and in her own mind and body.


2017 ◽  
Vol 24 (2) ◽  
pp. 678-700
Author(s):  
V Christides

Based on two important hagiographical works written in Greek, the Martyrdom of St. Arethas and his companions and the Acts of St. Gregentius, the aim of this paper is to continue my preliminary study of the countries around the Red Sea in pre-Islamic times, especially in the sixth century A.D. The most valuable information in the Martyrdom concerns the hazardous voyage of the Ethiopian army from the main port of Adulis across the Red Sea to South Arabia (ca 525 A.D.). This work illuminates aspects of that expedition which do not appear in such detail in any other source. In addition, it describes the ports of the Red Sea in the sixth century, i.e., Klysma, Bereniki, Adulis, etc., corroborating the finds of archaeology and epigraphy. Concerning the controversial Acts of St. Gregentius, the present author has tried to discuss only some vital information reflecting the social structure of South Arabia during its Ethiopian occupation until the Persian conquest of it (ca 525 A.D. – ca 570 A.D.), and attempted to trace the origin of just one law (the treatment of animals) among those supposedly imposed on the Himyarites by the so-called archbishop Gregentius.


2017 ◽  
Vol 25 (2) ◽  
pp. 788-832
Author(s):  
Lukas M. Muntingh

Egyptian domination under the 18th and 19th Dynasties deeply influenced political and social life in Syria and Palestine. The correspondence between Egypt and her vassals in Syria and Palestine in the Amarna age, first half of the fourteenth century B.C., preserved for us in the Amarna letters, written in cuneiform on clay tablets discovered in 1887, offer several terms that can shed light on the social structure during the Late Bronze Age. In the social stratification of Syria and Palestine under Egyptian rule according to the Amarna letters, three classes are discernible:1) government officials and military personnel, 2) free people, and 3) half-free people and slaves. In this study, I shall limit myself to the first, the upper class. This article deals with terminology for government officials.


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