Social behavior between adult female Richardson's ground squirrels (Spermophilus richardsonii) and their own and alien young

1972 ◽  
Vol 50 (11) ◽  
pp. 1343-1349 ◽  
Author(s):  
G. R. Michener ◽  
D. H. Sheppard

Adult female Richardson's ground squirrels were paired at intervals with their own and unrelated young in a neutral cage. Little agonistic behavior occurred between related animals but such behavior was common when the adult and young were unrelated. Conversely, cohesive behavior was common between related animals but not between unrelated animals. A tendency for the adults to treat male and female young differently was noted. With only four exceptions (out of 48 tests) the first contact between adult and young was neutral, nose–nose being most common. The frequency of neutral behavior declined on the second contact and remained at the lower level. Implications of the study with regard to recognition, dispersal, and territory learning are discussed.


1984 ◽  
Vol 62 (11) ◽  
pp. 2344-2348 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lloyd S. Davis

A population of adult female Richardson's ground squirrels (Spermophilus richardsonii) was experimentally manipulated so that on one half of the study area each of the 9 females had 2 or 3 closely related females (mother, daughter, or littermate sister) as neighbours (the "kin cluster group," KC), while the 10 females on the other half of the area did not have closely related females as contiguous neighbours (the "no kin cluster group," NKC). In the previous year, breeding success and behaviour of females on both halves of the study area were similar. Following the manipulation, KC females spent a greater proportion of their aboveground time feeding, were less vigilant, shared a greater proportion of their core area with their nearest neighbour, were less likely to be involved in interactions that led to chasing and fleeing, and had a much better breeding success compared with females in the NKC group. These results provide a preliminary demonstration that the association of adult female kin to Richardson's ground squirrels can be advantageous, and as such, the observed behavioural asymmetries based upon kinship could be maintained by kin selection.



1979 ◽  
Vol 236 (3) ◽  
pp. R162-R167 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. D. Glass ◽  
L. C. Wang

Simultaneous measurements of heat production (HP) and heat loss (HL) and brain and rectal temperatures were made in Richardon's ground squirrels (Spermophilus richardsonii) rewarming from hibernation at an ambient temperature of 6.0 +/- 0.5 degrees C. Calculations from HP and HL measurements from control animals showed that due to differential rewarming, there was a reduction of apparent specific heat of the animal to 0.59 cal/g. degrees C. This resulted in an energy saving of 30%. Three intracerebroventricular injections of 5-hydroxytryptamine (5-HT) of 56 microgram each at brain temperatures of 10, 20, and 30 degrees C caused initial suppression of HP and a greater overall HL, which resulted in a slower rate of arousal as compared to the controls. Injections of norepinephrine (NE) of 12.5 microgram each at similar brain temperatures caused a greater rate of HP, which resulted in a faster rate of arousal as compared to the controls. The respective actions of 5-HT and NE on thermoregulation during rewarming are similar to those in some euthermic hibernators and nonhibernating species. Our data indicated that these substances evoke thermoregulatory responses during arousal in much the same manner as during normothermia.



2020 ◽  
Vol 3 (2) ◽  
pp. 364-372
Author(s):  
I Gusti Ayu Vina Widiadnya Putri ◽  
I Dewa Ayu Devi Maharani Santika

The aims of this research is to analyse about the differences of emotional lexicon used by male and female communication in South Kuta-Bali when they used Balinese language in their daily interaction.  The scope of male and female is closely related to the social behavior which includes the social identity of male and female in society and this becomes the basis of how the language is used in this context of social. This research is interested to uncover more how people use language in terms of expressing their emotional in social interaction. This study is a sociolinguistic approach used the theory from Hickey, Raymon (2010). The data source in this study is the south Kuta community who use Balinese language in social interactions. The Data collection is done by observation, interview, recording and note taking and descriptive qualitative method is applied to analyze the data. The result of the analysis found that the emotional lexical is used by the male and female in their social interaction, it could mention that both Augmentatives and Euphemisms is used by male and female in their social interaction however the augmentative is mostly used by female in informal occasion. Balinese female often used prohibition instead of imperative in expressing her idea about ordering someone to do something. In the other hand, the male directly used imperative sentence in ordering something. He usually does not use many awkwardness to say his point in a conversation. This may be considered that the male often go to the straight point when expressing his idea. Keywords: Emotional Lexicon, Male and Female



2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Taylor Lynne Rystrom ◽  
Romy C. Prawitt ◽  
S. Helene Richter ◽  
Norbert Sachser ◽  
Sylvia Kaiser

Social interactions among group members often lead to the formation of stable dominance hierarchies. Glucocorticoids (i.e. cortisol) have been proposed as an endocrine mechanism underlying social behavior, and previous studies have linked baseline as well as challenge glucocorticoid concentrations to dominance rank. Since the importance of rank on fitness differs between males and females, selection pressures acting on the underlying endocrine mechanisms may differ between the sexes. In male guinea pigs, for example, it is known that cortisol responsiveness mediates social behavior and that dominance rank and cortisol responsiveness are stable within individuals over time. It is unclear whether this is also the case for female guinea pigs. Thus the aim of this study was to investigate whether cortisol concentrations are repeatable in female guinea pigs and whether female rank is correlated to baseline cortisol concentrations or cortisol responsiveness. We show that cortisol responsiveness and dominance rank were significantly repeatable but not correlated in female guinea pigs. Furthermore, baseline cortisol was not repeatable and also did not correlate to dominance rank. Our results demonstrate that baseline cortisol and cortisol responsiveness represent different biological processes; cortisol responsiveness reflects a stable trait while baseline cortisol likely fluctuates with current state. Furthermore, cortisol responsiveness as a mediator of aggressive behavior and dominance acquisition might not be important for maintaining dominance hierarchies in stable groups of females displaying minimal aggression. Overall, this study reveals the remarkable stability of cortisol responsiveness and dominance rank in an adult female rodent and lays the groundwork for future investigations into the causes and consequences of this individual variation.



2018 ◽  
Vol 39 (6) ◽  
pp. 2565
Author(s):  
Odilene De Souza Teixeira ◽  
Ivan Luiz Brondani ◽  
Dari Celestino Alves Filho ◽  
José Laerte Nörnberg ◽  
Jonatas Cattelam ◽  
...  

This study was conducted aiming at measuring the performance and behavior of beef cattle surgically castrated, immunocastrated or non-castrated, finished at 18 months old in Aruana pasture and with energy supplementation. Thirty-nine male bovines with an initial average body weight and age of 284.1 ± 31.4 kg and 14 months old, respectively, were used. The bromatological composition analysis and productive parameters of the pasture did not differ between treatments. The performance of young cattle was not changed by the sexual condition. When evaluating the agonistic behavior, the non-castrated bovine presented a higher number of activities, such as threats and fights, in relation to those immunocastrated. The time spent on the feeder by non-castrated young cattle (56.20 minutes) was higher than that observed for surgically castrated or immunocastrated (41.43 and 32.38 minutes, respectively). The combination between the correct management of Aruana pasture and use of supplementation showed to be promising for finishing bovines. Both surgically castrated and immunocastrated steers demonstrated to be equivalents in the performed evaluations. Therefore, if the farmer chooses castration, the use of immunocastration is suggested. This practice is less invasive, preserves animal welfare more than surgical castration, and has a lower cost.



1979 ◽  
Vol 13 (2) ◽  
pp. 139-152 ◽  
Author(s):  
Elizabeth Adkins ◽  
Larry Schlesinger


1973 ◽  
Vol 51 (1) ◽  
pp. 33-38 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gail R. Michener

Field observations were conducted in southern Saskatchewan in 1969 and 1971. Adult female Richardson's ground squirrels and their own young engaged predominantly in nasal and cohesive contacts while adults and young from other litters engaged predominantly in agonistic contacts. Identification sometimes occurred at a distance based on the location and behavior of the other animal.Newly emerged juveniles remained close to the home burrow and engaged mainly in non-agonistic interactions with both their mothers and other adults. Not until juveniles were 6–7 weeks old and were familiar with the area used by the mother did they correctly identify adults regardless of where the interaction occurred.



2017 ◽  
Vol 9 (5) ◽  
pp. 54 ◽  
Author(s):  
Oscar Blumetto ◽  
Andrea Ruggia ◽  
Jessica T. Morales Pyñeyrúa ◽  
Aranzazu Villagrá García

Beef production with Holstein male calves is becoming more intensive in Uruguay. Some of the new systems with confined animals could improve productivity but also could compromise animal welfare. The aim of this study was to compare animal welfare, stress evidence and productivity of castrated young males reared in three different productive systems. The traditional pastoral system (T3) was compared with, a confined fattening system (T1) and an alternative one with confinement and six hours diary access to pastures (T2). The experiment was performed for evaluating the first phase of fattening period (initial mean live weight 93±20.3 kg; and 112±11 days of age). No differences (p = 0.1254) between treatments were detected for live weight gain 0.756±0.829, 0.757±0.676 and 0.730±0.762 kg day-1 for T1, T2 and T3, respectively. There was no evidences of increasing stress or health problems in any production system, according to the obtained serum profile of enzymes and hormones, however permanent confined animals increased agonistic behavior, which could reflect some welfare problems that might increase in the following phases of the fattening process.



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