scholarly journals Effects of social experience, aggressiveness and comb size on contest success in male domestic fowl

2021 ◽  
Vol 8 (2) ◽  
pp. 201213
Author(s):  
Anna Favati ◽  
Hanne Løvlie ◽  
Olof Leimar

The ability to dominate conspecifics and thereby gain access to resources depends on a number of traits and skills. Experience of dominance relationships during development is a potential source of learning such skills. We here study the importance of social experience, aggressiveness and morphological traits for competitiveness in social interactions (contest success) in male domestic fowl ( Gallus gallus domesticus ). We let males grow up either as a single (dominant) male or as an intermediately ranked male in a group of males, and measured their success in duels against different opponents. We found that single-raised males had lower contest success than group-raised males, and that aggression and comb size correlated positively with contest success. This indicates that experience of dominance interactions with other males increases future success in duels. We similarly studied the consequences of growing up as a dominant or subordinate in a pair of males, finding no statistically significant effect of the dominance position on contest success. Finally, we found that males were consistent over time in contest success. We conclude that social experience increases contest success in male domestic fowl, but that certain behavioural and morphological characteristics have an equal or even stronger covariation with contest success.

2018 ◽  
Vol 42 (2) ◽  
pp. 176-188 ◽  
Author(s):  
Justin Rogers

This article presents findings from research into how young people growing up in foster care in the UK manage the relationships in their social networks and gain access to social capital. It is a concept that highlights the value of relationships and is relevant to young people in care as they have usually experienced disruptions to their social and family life. Qualitative methods were used and the findings show that despite experiencing disruption to their social networks, the young people demonstrated that they were able to maintain access to their social capital. They achieved this in two ways. Firstly, they preserved their relationships, often through what can be seen as ordinary practices but in the extraordinary context of being in foster care. Secondly, they engaged in creative practices of memorialisation to preserve relationships that had ended or had been significantly impaired due to their experience of separation and movement. The article highlights implications for policy and practice, including the need to recognise the value of young people’s personal possessions. Furthermore, it stresses the need to support them to maintain their relationships across their networks as this facilitates their access to social capital.


2021 ◽  
Vol 8 (7) ◽  
pp. 210982
Author(s):  
Ines Braga Goncalves ◽  
Emily Richmond ◽  
Harry R. Harding ◽  
Andrew N. Radford

Anthropogenic noise is a global pollutant known to affect the behaviour of individual animals in all taxa studied. However, there has been relatively little experimental testing of the effects of additional noise on social interactions between conspecifics, despite these forming a crucial aspect of daily life for most species. Here, we use established paradigms to investigate how white-noise playback affects both group defensive actions against an intruder and associated within-group behaviours in a model fish species, the cooperatively breeding cichlid Neolamprologus pulcher . Additional noise did not alter defensive behaviour, but did result in changes to within-group behaviour. Both dominant and subordinate females, but not the dominant male, exhibited less affiliation and showed a tendency to produce more submissive displays to groupmates when there was additional noise compared with control conditions. Thus, our experimental results indicate the potential for anthropogenic noise to affect social interactions between conspecifics and emphasize the possibility of intraspecific variation in the impacts of this global pollutant.


2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nancy M. Cladel ◽  
Pengfei Jiang ◽  
Jingwei J. Li ◽  
Xuwen Peng ◽  
Timothy K. Cooper ◽  
...  

AbstractHuman papillomavirus (HPV) infections are commonly thought to be strictly sexually transmitted. However, studies have demonstrated the presence of HPV in cancers of many non-sexual internal organs, raising the question as to how the viruses gain access to these sites. A possible connection between blood transfusion and HPV-associated disease has not received much attention. We show, in two animal models, that blood infected with papillomavirus yields infections at permissive sites. Furthermore, we demonstrate that blood from actively infected mice can transmit the infection to naïve animals. Finally, we report papillomavirus infections in the stomach tissues of animals infected via the blood. Stomach tissues are not known to be permissive for papillomavirus infection, although the literature suggests that HPVs may be associated with a subset of gastric cancers. These results indicate that the human blood supply, which is not screened for papillomaviruses, could be a potential source of HPV infection and subsequent cancers.SUMMARYHuman papillomaviruses cause 5% of human cancers. Currently, blood banks do not screen for these viruses. We demonstrate that blood transfused from papillomavirus-infected animals produces infections in recipients. Public health implications are significant if the same is true for humans.DefinitionsLocal papillomavirus infection:An infection initiated by the direct application of virus or viral DNA to the site of infectionIntravenous (IV) papillomavirus infection:An infection resulting from blood-borne delivery of virus or viral DNA to the site of infection.


2007 ◽  
Vol 34 ◽  
pp. 103-120 ◽  
Author(s):  
David Henige

The longtime-accepted equation of Xian with the Siamese kingdom of Suhkothai having been discarded now …Knowledge and speculation would appear to have been confused.”“Considering the enormous output … of theories concerning the Assyrian kings and their chronology—by far the greater art of which has proved untenable in the light of later discoveries and most of which, as we can see now, might well havebeen avoided by refraining from premature speculation …As I was growing up—when the automobile was becoming a standard accoutrement—two large car parks were in the downtown area of the city where I lived. These were not street level but were laid out 15 to 25 feet below the streets, and thousands of cubic yards of dirt had been removed to create these. Since then, much reconstruction (“urban renewal”) has occurred in the area, which entailed putting back just about as much dirt as had been removed earlier. Doubtless, each project required an enormous amount of time, labor, and money, yet the end result was a configuration very much like that which had existed before one minute, one bead of sweat, and one dollar had been spent. Some might regard this as simply an accommodation of differing needs for different times, whereas others might wonder how necessary it all had been—why, for instance, was it thought useful to render these car parks subterranean in the first place. Was the dirt needed elsewhere? Or were they make-work public works projects during economic downtimes? In short, what was the point? After all, the car parks were surrounded by imposing concrete walls, ramps were constructed to gain access; even the floors were concrete to neutralize the elements.


2015 ◽  
Vol 38 (1) ◽  
pp. 3-23 ◽  
Author(s):  
Xia Cui

There is growing evidence that social interactions at work with local colleagues present a real challenge for Chinese immigrants to Australia (e.g. Tomazin, 2009; Zhou, Windsor, Coyer, & Theobald, 2010), often leaving them feeling defeated and despairing, and the Australians puzzled or affronted. Seeking to understand the nature, origin, and dynamics of the problem at its sociocultural depth, a study was undertaken to examine the problematic social experience as reported by a group of Chinese immigrant professionals, from both their own and their Australian counterparts’ perspectives. The findings suggest small talk presents professionally qualified Chinese with an acute problem, and this is because the nature and dynamics of small talk are new in their social experience. Taking a sociolinguistic perspective to analyse data comprising Chinese accounts and discussions of problematic incidents and Australian commentary on these, the root of the difficulty has been revealed to lie in mismatches in the deeply held beliefs and values of Chinese and Australians about the nature of personal identity and interpersonal relationships, most pertinently, differences in their belief about how relationships beyond the intimate circle should be best managed. The article will present the findings of the study and the implications they suggest.


2013 ◽  
Vol 280 (1767) ◽  
pp. 20131514 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mylene M. Mariette ◽  
Charlène Cathaud ◽  
Rémi Chambon ◽  
Clémentine Vignal

Social interactions with adults are often critical for the development of mating behaviours. However, the potential role of other primary social partners such as juvenile counterparts is rarely considered. Most interestingly, it is not known whether interactions with juvenile females improve males’ courtship and whether, similar to the winner and loser effects in a fighting context—outcome of these interactions shapes males’ behaviour in future encounters. We investigated the combined effects of male quality and juvenile social experience on pairing success at adulthood in zebra finches ( Taeniopygia guttata ). We manipulated brood size to alter male quality and then placed males in either same- or mixed-sex juvenile dyads until adulthood. We found that males from reduced broods obtained more copulations and males from mixed-sex dyads had more complete courtships. Furthermore, independent of their quality, males that failed to pair with juvenile females, but not juvenile males, had a lower pairing success at adulthood. Our study shows that negative social experience with peers during adolescence may be a potent determinant of pairing success that can override the effects of early environmental conditions on male attractiveness and thereby supports the occurrence of an analogous process to the loser effect in a mating context.


Author(s):  
Amy Pearson ◽  
Samantha Forster

Mate crime is a specific subset of hate crime in which the perpetrator is known to the victim. To date, there is very little research into the perception and experience of mate crime in autism. The aim of the current study was to examine perceptions of friendship and mate crime in autistic adults, using semi-structured interviews. Five adults were interviewed about their experiences of social interactions, friendships and mate crime. Participants described distancing themselves from the ‘disability’ label whilst growing up to avoid condescension and being perceived as vulnerable, whilst learning to camouflage their social difficulties. Feelings of anxiety were associated with socialising, and participants valued relationships that did not place too many overwhelming demands on their time or energy. Finally, all participants had prior experiences of bullying. They understood the concept of mate crime but were unsure as to whether they would be able to identify it in their own lives if it occurred. However they could identify potential support networks in close friends and family. Results highlight the importance of further research into positive and negative aspects of social relationships in autistic adults, and the need to provide support to those who are socially vulnerable.


Behaviour ◽  
2002 ◽  
Vol 139 (6) ◽  
pp. 729-747 ◽  
Author(s):  
Charlotte Hemelrijk

AbstractDuring the period when females are sexually attractive — but only then — males of certain species of primates, such as chimpanzees, allow females access to resources. Because males are usually dominant over females, such male 'tolerance' is explained as a special, reproductive strategy to gain access to females. In this paper a simpler hypothesis is proposed on the basis of an individual-based model (called DomWorld): male 'tolerance' towards females arises in 'despotic' artificial societies as a kind of 'respectful timidity', because sexual attraction automatically increases female dominance over males as a side-effect. The model consists in a homogeneous, virtual world with agents that group and perform dominance-interactions in which the effects of victory and defeat are self-reinforcing. The artificial sexes differ in that VirtualMales have a higher intensity of aggression, they start with a greater capacity to win conflicts than VirtualFemales and they are especially attracted to the opposite sex during certain periods, whereas VirtualFemales are not. I shall explain how the introduction into DomWorld of the attraction of VirtualMales by VirtualFemales leads to female dominance, why it does so only in despotic, but not in egalitarian societies, and how it leads to other phenomena that are relevant to the study of primate behaviour.


2009 ◽  
Vol 25 (2) ◽  
pp. 211-215 ◽  
Author(s):  
Thomas D. Lambert ◽  
Roland W. Kays ◽  
Patrick A. Jansen ◽  
Enzo Aliaga-Rossel ◽  
Martin Wikelski

An animal's fitness is in part based on its ability to manage the inherent risks (foraging costs, predation, exposure to disease) with the benefits (resource gain, access to mates, social interactions) of activity (Abrams 1991, Altizer et al. 2003, Lima & Bednekoff 1999, Rubenstein & Hohmann 1989, Wikelski et al. 2001). Thus, understanding an animal's pattern of activity is key to understanding behavioural and ecological processes. However, while numerous laboratory methodologies are available to continuously quantify activity over long periods of time, logistical difficulties have greatly hindered activity studies of animals in the field (DeCoursey 1990).


Author(s):  
Sevgi Bayram Özdemir ◽  
Metin Özdemir ◽  
Katja Boersma

Abstract Young people are growing up in increasingly “super-diverse” societies, and show variations in how they approach diversity and embrace differences. Developing a good understanding of why some youth appreciate and value diversity whereas others do not is crucial in identifying ways to promote social interactions among different groups in broader society. The current study examined whether adolescents follow different trajectories in their views on diversity, and identified possible factors behind how they change over time. The sample included 1362 adolescents residing in Sweden (Mage = 13.18, SD = 0.43, 48% girls). Adolescents reported on their openness to diversity and classroom social climate. The peer nominations method was used to measure majority-minority friendship, and friends’ views on diversity. Latent growth analysis showed that adolescents, on average, became more open to diversity over time, but with clear heterogeneity. Three distinct trajectories were identified as: high-increasing, average-increasing, and average-declining. Relative to the high-increasing group, the other two were more likely to be male and immigrant. Relative to the high-increasing group, adolescents on the average-increasing trajectory perceived their classroom climate as less cooperative, while the adolescents on the average-declining trajectory were less likely to have friends with positive views on diversity. The findings suggest that schools may serve as a shared ground for promoting openness to diversity.


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