scholarly journals Visual cues and parental favouritism in a nocturnal bird

2009 ◽  
Vol 6 (2) ◽  
pp. 171-173 ◽  
Author(s):  
Deseada Parejo ◽  
Jesús M. Avilés ◽  
Juan Rodríguez
Keyword(s):  
Experimental Evidence ◽  
Body Mass ◽  
Visual Cues ◽  
Visual Signals ◽  
Parental Preference ◽  
Uv Reflectance ◽  
Parental Bias

Visual signals are crucial for parent–offspring communication, although their functioning has been neglected for nocturnal birds. Here, we investigated parental preference for nestling coloration in nocturnal conditions—a question hitherto unexplored—in a nocturnal raptor, the scops owl ( Otus scops ). We assessed how parents allocated food during the night in relation to a manipulation of ultraviolet (UV) reflectance of the cere (skin above the beak) of their offspring. Reflectance of the cere shows a marked peak in the UV part of the spectrum, and location of the UV peak is related to nestling body mass (i.e. heavier nestlings have a UV peak at lower wavelengths). We found evidence of parental bias in favour of lighter offspring: UV-reduced nestlings gained more weight during the night than their control siblings. This study provides the first experimental evidence of the use of visual cues for parent–offspring communication in a nocturnal bird.

scholarly journals Domestic dogs and puppies can use human voice direction referentially

2014 ◽  
Vol 281 (1785) ◽  
pp. 20133201 ◽  
Author(s):  
Federico Rossano ◽  
Marie Nitzschner ◽  
Michael Tomasello
Keyword(s):  
Experimental Test ◽  
Visual Cues ◽  
Human Experience ◽  
Domestic Dogs ◽  
Visual Signals ◽  
Human Communication ◽  
Communicative Acts ◽  
Human Voice ◽  
The Right ◽  
Better Than

Domestic dogs are particularly skilled at using human visual signals to locate hidden food. This is, to our knowledge, the first series of studies that investigates the ability of dogs to use only auditory communicative acts to locate hidden food. In a first study, from behind a barrier, a human expressed excitement towards a baited box on either the right or left side, while sitting closer to the unbaited box. Dogs were successful in following the human's voice direction and locating the food. In the two following control studies, we excluded the possibility that dogs could locate the box containing food just by relying on smell, and we showed that they would interpret a human's voice direction in a referential manner only when they could locate a possible referent (i.e. one of the boxes) in the environment. Finally, in a fourth study, we tested 8–14-week-old puppies in the main experimental test and found that those with a reasonable amount of human experience performed overall even better than the adult dogs. These results suggest that domestic dogs’ skills in comprehending human communication are not based on visual cues alone, but are instead multi-modal and highly flexible. Moreover, the similarity between young and adult dogs’ performances has important implications for the domestication hypothesis.

Differential Involvement of Neurons in the Dorsal and Ventral Premotor Cortex During Processing of Visual Signals for Action Planning

2006 ◽  
Vol 95 (6) ◽  
pp. 3596-3616 ◽  
Author(s):  
Eiji Hoshi ◽  
Jun Tanji
Keyword(s):  
Neuronal Activity ◽  
Visual Information ◽  
Visual Cues ◽  
Target Location ◽  
Premotor Cortex ◽  
Action Planning ◽  
Visual Signals ◽  
Visual Cue ◽  
Ventral Premotor Cortex ◽  
Neuron Response

We examined neuronal activity in the dorsal and ventral premotor cortex (PMd and PMv, respectively) to explore the role of each motor area in processing visual signals for action planning. We recorded neuronal activity while monkeys performed a behavioral task during which two visual instruction cues were given successively with an intervening delay. One cue instructed the location of the target to be reached, and the other indicated which arm was to be used. We found that the properties of neuronal activity in the PMd and PMv differed in many respects. After the first cue was given, PMv neuron response mostly reflected the spatial position of the visual cue. In contrast, PMd neuron response also reflected what the visual cue instructed, such as which arm to be used or which target to be reached. After the second cue was given, PMv neurons initially responded to the cue's visuospatial features and later reflected what the two visual cues instructed, progressively increasing information about the target location. In contrast, the activity of the majority of PMd neurons responded to the second cue with activity reflecting a combination of information supplied by the first and second cues. Such activity, already reflecting a forthcoming action, appeared with short latencies (<400 ms) and persisted throughout the delay period. In addition, both the PMv and PMd showed bilateral representation on visuospatial information and motor-target or effector information. These results further elucidate the functional specialization of the PMd and PMv during the processing of visual information for action planning.

Automatic body mass index detection using correlation of face visual cues

2020 ◽  
Vol 28 (1) ◽  
pp. 107-112
Author(s):  
Shiv Bidani ◽  
R. Padma Priya ◽  
V. Vijayarajan ◽  
V.B. Surya Prasath
Keyword(s):  
Body Mass Index ◽  
Body Mass ◽  
Visual Cues

scholarly journals Ultraviolet reflectance by the cere of raptors

2006 ◽  
Vol 2 (2) ◽  
pp. 173-176 ◽  
Author(s):  
François Mougeot ◽  
Beatriz E Arroyo
Keyword(s):  
Mate Choice ◽  
Body Mass ◽  
Male Body ◽  
Sexual Signal ◽  
Future Studies ◽  
Circus Pygargus ◽  
Ultraviolet Reflectance ◽  
Uv Reflectance ◽  
Sexual Signalling ◽  
Carotenoid Pigmentation

Ultraviolet (UV) signals have been shown to play key roles in social and sexual signalling in birds. Using a spectrophotometer, we analysed the colour of the cere (skin above the beak) of a diurnal raptor, the Montagu's harrier ( Circus pygargus ), and show that it reflects in the UV part of the spectrum. The cere is a well-known sexual signal in raptors, with carotenoid based pigmentation being indicative of quality. We thus hypothesized that UV reflectance also signals quality. Accordingly, we found that in our sample of wild males, the location of the UV peak was related to the orangeness of cere and correlated with male body mass and condition (mass corrected for size). Also, males with brighter UV were mated to females that laid earlier, as expected if UV reflectance relates to a male's quality and attractiveness. Future studies should investigate the relationships between UV reflectance and carotenoid pigmentation of cere, and test how UV reflectance influences mate choice.

Physician assistant student assessment of body mass index in children using visual cues

2015 ◽  
Vol 28 (10) ◽  
pp. 1
Author(s):  
Gina M. Berg ◽  
Evan Ohlman ◽  
Justin Schulte ◽  
Paul Casper ◽  
Sue Nyberg ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Body Mass Index ◽  
Body Mass ◽  
Visual Cues ◽  
Physician Assistant ◽  
Student Assessment

scholarly journals Sex recognition in surface and cave dwelling male Atlantic mollies Poecilia mexicana (Poeciliidae, Teleostei)

Behaviour ◽  
2003 ◽  
Vol 140 (6) ◽  
pp. 765-781 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ingo Schlupp ◽  
Martin Plath ◽  
Jakob Parzefall ◽  
Karsten Wiedemann
Keyword(s):  
Visual Cues ◽  
Visual Stimuli ◽  
Visual Signals ◽  
Far Field ◽  
Sex Recognition ◽  
Stimulus Fish ◽  
Infrared Observations ◽  
Poecilia Mexicana ◽  
Male Stimulus ◽  
Livebearing Fish

AbstractAnimals colonizing lightless subterranean habitats can no longer rely on visual signals to find mating partners. In the present study, we investigated the ability of males to recognize females in two surface and a cave dwelling population of a livebearing fish, Poecilia mexicana. In surface populations males discriminated between sexes with visual plus non-visual cues available and with visual stimuli only. In the cave form the ability to discriminate with solely visual stimuli is lacking. In all three populations, males did not recognize females in darkness (infrared observations), suggesting that sex recognition via far-field communication is lacking in surface and cave dwelling P.mexicana. Different preferences in large and small males to stay near a female or a male stimulus fish probably reflect differences concerning a trade-off between sexual and aggressive behaviour.

The use of visual cues for spatial orientation in the sleepy lizard (Tiliqua rugosa)

2000 ◽  
Vol 78 (4) ◽  
pp. 515-520 ◽  
Author(s):  
I Zuri ◽  
C M Bull
Keyword(s):  
Home Range ◽  
Spatial Orientation ◽  
Visual Cues ◽  
Visual Signals ◽  
Environmental Cues ◽  
Home Ranges ◽  
Black And White ◽  
Tiliqua Rugosa ◽  
Different Shapes

The sleepy lizard (Tiliqua rugosa) is a large, long-lived terrestrial Australian skink. In the present study we investigated the ability of sleepy lizards to use different visual cues for spatial orientation. The lizards were trained to locate shelters in certain places and then trained to certain signals associated with their shelters. In the absence of surrounding visual cues the lizards preferred familiar sites that were previously associated with their shelters. However, when presented with signals that had been associated with their shelters, they chose the vicinity of these familiar signals, even after their displacement to new sites. The lizards discriminated between black and white signals and between triangular and circular signals but not between red and green signals. Previous studies had shown that sleepy lizards exhibit home-range fidelity, raising the question of which environmental cues are important for them for spatial orientation within their home ranges. We suggest that the ability of sleepy lizards to discriminate between visual signals of different shapes and degrees of brightness enables them to "memorize" certain fixed landmarks in their large home ranges and to orient accordingly.

scholarly journals Earlier onset of menstruation is related to increased body mass index in adulthood and altered functional correlations between visual, task control, and somatosensory brain networks

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Grace Elisabeth Shearrer ◽  
Kyle Stanley Burger ◽  
Jennifer R Sadler ◽  
Afroditi Papantoni
Keyword(s):  
Body Mass Index ◽  
Body Mass ◽  
Visual Cues ◽  
Age At Onset ◽  
Resting State Fmri ◽  
Brain Regions ◽  
Self Control ◽  
Task Control ◽  
Human Connectome Project ◽  
Visual Network

Onset of puberty has been associated with lower body mass index (BMI) in adulthood independent of childhood BMI. However, how the relationship between time of onset of puberty and BMI in adulthood is associated with neurocognitive outcomes is largely unstudied. Here, women were sampled from the Human Connectome Project 1200 PTN release. Inclusion criteria were: 4 (15 minute) resting state fMRI scans, current measured BMI, self-reported age at onset of menstruation (a proxy of age at onset of puberty), and no endocrine complications (e.g., polycystic ovarian syndrome). The effect of age at onset of menstruation, measured BMI at scan date, and the interaction of age at onset of menstruation by BMI on brain functional correlation was modeled using FSLnets controlling for race and age at scan. Corrected significance was set at pFWE&lt;0.05. A final sample of n=510 (age 29.5y±3.6; BMI at scan 25.9±5.6; age at onset of menstruation 12.7±1.6) were included. Age at onset of menstruation was negatively associated with BMI at scan (r=-0.19, p&lt;0.001). The interaction between age at onset of menstruation and BMI at scan was associated with stronger correlation between a somatosensory and visual network (t= 3.45, pFWE= 0.026), and a visual network and cingulo-opercular task control network (t= 4.74, pFWE= 0.0002). We show increased correlation between visual, taste-associated, and self-control brain regions in women at high BMI with later age at onset of menstruation. Together, this implies that the association between later menarche and lower BMI may impart improved self-control during exposure to visual cues.

scholarly journals The determinants of aggression in male Siamese fighting fish, Betta splendens

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
R. E. McGoran ◽  
S. K. Papworth ◽  
S. J. Portugal
Keyword(s):  
Body Mass ◽  
Body Length ◽  
Personality Trait ◽  
Visual Cues ◽  
Siamese Fighting Fish ◽  
Betta Splendens ◽  
Wild Type ◽  
Novel Object ◽  
Flare Frequency

ABSTRACTSiamese fighting fish, Betta splendens, have been extensively studied due to their aggression and stereotypical displays. Many studies have focused on their characteristic opercular flaring, while the less aggressive and less energetically costly lateral display have been comparatively understudied. Many factors have been shown to influence aggression in Bettas, notably body length and the personality trait of boldness, however, the role that colour plays in determining an individual’s aggressiveness is much less clear. The role of colour has only been briefly studied, and based on human interpretations of colour, i.e. limited to what the receivers’ eyes and sensory systems actually can process and discriminate, with results suggesting blue males are more aggressive than red males. Using male-male interactions, measuring opercular flaring and lateral display we found that colour and personality do play a role in determining the degree of aggressiveness in Betta splendens. Blue-finned males were more aggressive, performing longer lateral displays more frequently. Blue fins are a phenotype observed in wild type males and is likely selected for to allow visual cues to travel through the murky water they inhabit. Body mass was positively correlated with lateral display frequency, and opercular flare frequency and duration. Finally, neophobic individuals – individuals that were less willing to approach a novel object – were more aggressive, performing significantly more lateral displays. This indicates that personality may impact fighting strategy, with males either choosing to end conflicts quickly with more aggressive displays or to outlast their opponent with less energetically costly displays.

Differential Roles of Neuronal Activity in the Supplementary and Presupplementary Motor Areas: From Information Retrieval to Motor Planning and Execution

2004 ◽  
Vol 92 (6) ◽  
pp. 3482-3499 ◽  
Author(s):  
Eiji Hoshi ◽  
Jun Tanji
Keyword(s):  
Neuronal Activity ◽  
Visual Cues ◽  
Motor Behavior ◽  
Motor Planning ◽  
Visual Signals ◽  
Reaching Movement ◽  
Functional Differences ◽  
Motor Set ◽  
Information Combining ◽  
Motor Areas

We explored functional differences between the supplementary and presupplementary motor areas (SMA and pre-SMA, respectively) systematically with respect to multiple behavioral factors, ranging from the retrieval and processing of associative visual signals to the planning and execution of target-reaching movement. We analyzed neuronal activity while monkeys performed a behavioral task in which two visual instruction cues were given successively with a delay: one cue instructed the location of the reach target, and the other instructed arm use (right or left). After a second delay, the monkey received a motor-set cue to be prepared to make the reaching movement as instructed. Finally, after a GO signal, it reached for the instructed target with the instructed arm. We found the following apparent differences in activity: 1) neuronal activity preceding the appearance of visual cues was more frequent in the pre-SMA; 2) a majority of pre-SMA neurons, but many fewer SMA neurons, responded to the first or second cue, reflecting what was shown or instructed; 3) in addition, pre-SMA neurons often reflected information combining the instructions in the first and second cues; 4) during the motor-set period, pre-SMA neurons preferentially reflected the location of the target, while SMA neurons mainly reflected which arm to use; and 5) when executing the movement, a majority of SMA neurons increased their activity and were largely selective for the use of either the ipsilateral or contralateral arm. In contrast, the activity of pre-SMA neurons tended to be suppressed. These findings point to the functional specialization of the two areas, with respect to receiving associative cues, information processing, motor behavior planning, and movement execution.

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