scholarly journals Body Contacts and Social Interactions in Captive Odontocetes Are Influenced by the Context: An Implication for Welfare Assessment

Animals ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 10 (6) ◽  
pp. 924
Author(s):  
Agathe Serres ◽  
Yujiang Hao ◽  
Ding Wang
Keyword(s):  
Social Interactions ◽  
Emotional State ◽  
Bottlenose Dolphins ◽  
Social Behaviors ◽  
Species Group ◽  
Agonistic Interactions ◽  
The Social ◽  
Human Care ◽  
Neophocaena Asiaeorientalis Asiaeorientalis ◽  
Social Separation

Research on the welfare of captive odontocetes has increased in recent years, but has been mostly focused on bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops truncatus). Few studies investigated potential welfare indicators using quantitative data linked to a range of conditions or stimuli that are thought to impact the animals’ emotional state. Since odontocetes are social animals that engage in various social interactions, these interactions might inform us on their welfare state. We investigated pectoral contact laterality and the effect of the context on several social behaviors in three groups of captive odontocetes (Yangtze finless porpoises, YFPs: Neophocaena asiaeorientalis asiaeorientalis; East-Asian finless porpoises, EAFPs: N. a. sunameri, and bottlenose dolphins, BDs). Animals exhibited patterns depending on the time of the day for most of the social behaviors we analyzed; social separation was associated with lower rates of social behaviors for the two analyzed groups (YFPs and BDs), the accessibility to several pools was associated with higher rates of social behaviors for BDs. The effect of enrichment, disturbances and public presence was less clear and strongly depended on the group, the type of enrichment and disturbance. Our results confirm that captive odontocetes’ social behaviors are influenced by the context, and that, depending on the group, some of them, such as pectoral contacts, other body contacts, agonistic interactions or social play exhibit consistent patterns across contexts. Monitoring these behaviors might be useful to adapt the captive management to each species and group. The different responses among the three studied groups confirm that species and groups react differently to a stimulus and therefore, management decisions should be species/group specific. We recommend that more studies should be conducted to validate our findings in other groups of odontocetes under human care.

scholarly journals Sex- and context-dependent effects of acute isolation on vocal and non-vocal social behaviors in mice

PLoS ONE ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 16 (9) ◽  
pp. e0255640
Author(s):  
Xin Zhao ◽  
Patryk Ziobro ◽  
Nicole M. Pranic ◽  
Samantha Chu ◽  
Samantha Rabinovich ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Social Behavior ◽  
Social Interactions ◽  
Social Isolation ◽  
Social Behaviors ◽  
Social Motivation ◽  
Same Sex ◽  
Female Mice ◽  
The Social ◽  
Opposite Sex ◽  
Brain And Behavior

Humans are extraordinarily social, and social isolation has profound effects on our behavior, ranging from increased social motivation following short periods of social isolation to increased anti-social behaviors following long-term social isolation. Mice are frequently used as a model to understand how social isolation impacts the brain and behavior. While the effects of chronic social isolation on mouse social behavior have been well studied, much less is known about how acute isolation impacts mouse social behavior and whether these effects vary according to the sex of the mouse and the behavioral context of the social encounter. To address these questions, we characterized the effects of acute (3-day) social isolation on the vocal and non-vocal social behaviors of male and female mice during same-sex and opposite-sex social interactions. Our experiments uncovered pronounced effects of acute isolation on social interactions between female mice, while revealing more subtle effects on the social behaviors of male mice during same-sex and opposite-sex interactions. Our findings advance the study of same-sex interactions between female mice as an attractive paradigm to investigate neural mechanisms through which acute isolation enhances social motivation and promotes social behavior.

scholarly journals Assessment of animal management and habitat characteristics associated with social behavior in bottlenose dolphins across zoological facilities

PLoS ONE ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 16 (8) ◽  
pp. e0253732
Author(s):  
Lance J. Miller ◽  
Lisa K. Lauderdale ◽  
Jill D. Mellen ◽  
Michael T. Walsh ◽  
Douglas A. Granger
Keyword(s):  
Social Behavior ◽  
Environmental Enrichment ◽  
Bottlenose Dolphins ◽  
Social Behaviors ◽  
Habitat Characteristics ◽  
Enrichment Programs ◽  
Animal Management ◽  
Social Species ◽  
The Social ◽  
Management Techniques

Bottlenose dolphins are a behaviorally complex, social species that display a variety of social behaviors. Because of this, it is important for zoological facilities to strive to ensure animals display species-appropriate levels of social behavior. The current study is part of the multi-institutional study entitled “Towards understanding the welfare of cetaceans in zoos and aquariums” commonly referred to as the Cetacean Welfare Study. All participating facilities were accredited by the Alliance of Marine Mammal Parks and Aquariums and/or the Association of Zoos and Aquariums. Behavioral data were collected on 47 bottlenose dolphins representing two subspecies, Tursiops truncatus and Tursiops aduncus, at 25 facilities. The social behaviors of group related activity (group active) as well as interacting with conspecifics (interact with conspecific) were examined for their relationships to both animal management factors and habitat characteristics. The behavioral state of group active and the rate of interact with conspecific were both positively related to the frequency of receiving new forms of environmental enrichment. Both were inversely related to the random scheduling of environmental enrichment. Additional results suggested interact with conspecific was inversely related with daytime spatial experience and that males displayed group active more than females. Overall, the results suggested that animal management techniques such as the type and timing of enrichment may be more important to enhance social behavior than habitat characteristics or the size of the habitat. Information gained from this study can help facilities with bottlenose dolphins manage their enrichment programs in relation to social behaviors.

scholarly journals Lack of social touch increases anxiety and alters social behaviors in mice

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yu-Kai Ma ◽  
Pei-Yun Zeng ◽  
Yu-Hsin Chu ◽  
Chih-Lin Lee ◽  
Ching-Chuan Cheng ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Social Interactions ◽  
Animal Species ◽  
Social Behaviors ◽  
Physical Contact ◽  
Social Touch ◽  
The Social ◽  
Anxiety Levels ◽  
Long Term Observation ◽  
Different Levels

Abstract The importance of social interactions has been reported in different animal species. During the pandemic, although people can communicate through other sensory cues, social touch is mostly prohibited under different levels of social distance policies, which inspired us to explore the necessity of physical contact in mouse social interaction. In this study, we first conducted a long-term observation showing that pair-housed mice in a standard laboratory cage spent nearly half the day in direct physical contact with each other. Furthermore, isolation experiments demonstrated that, even with access to other sensations, prevention of social touch for one month significantly induced anxiety levels, changed social behaviors and increased interleukin-6 cytokine in the hippocampus and the serum of mice. Our study demonstrated the necessity of social touch for the maintenance of mental health in mice. This information could have important implications for human social interactions, especially the social policies during a pandemic crisis.

Social Behaviors of Children With Language Impairment on the Playground

2001 ◽  
Vol 32 (2) ◽  
pp. 101-113 ◽  
Author(s):  
Martin Fujiki ◽  
Bonnie Brinton ◽  
Ted Isaacson ◽  
Connie Summers
Keyword(s):  
Social Interactions ◽  
Language Impairment ◽  
Peer Interaction ◽  
Group Membership ◽  
Language Skills ◽  
Social Behaviors ◽  
Clinical Implications ◽  
Teacher Interview ◽  
The Social ◽  
Typical Peers

Purpose: This pilot study examined the social behaviors of children with language impairment (LI) and their typical peers on the playground. Method: Eight children with LI and their age-matched peers were videotape recorded for 45 minutes during morning and lunch recesses. Samples were divided into 5-second segments and coded according to the child’s behavior occurring during the segment. The behavior displayed during each interval was then coded into one of 37 subcategories. These subcategories were grouped into six general categories of (a) peer interaction, (b) adult interaction, (c) withdrawal, (d) aggression, (e) victimization, and (f) other. Results: Significant differences were observed in the categories of peer interaction and withdrawal. Typical children spent significantly more time interacting with peers than did children with LI. Conversely, children with LI demonstrated significantly more withdrawn behaviors than did their typical peers. Analyses of effect size using ω 2 indicated that group membership accounted for approximately 30% of the variability in both of these types of playground behavior. No other significant differences were observed. These findings support the conclusions of researchers using teacher interview procedures, indicating that children with LI are more withdrawn than their typical peers at school. Clinical Implications: Specific intervention targeting social language skills in playground contexts may be warranted to include children with LI in social interactions at recess.

Social Behaviors of Children with Visual Impairments Enrolled in Preschool Programs

1996 ◽  
Vol 62 (5) ◽  
pp. 451-462 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alison D. Crocker ◽  
R. Robert Orr
Keyword(s):  
General Education ◽  
Social Interactions ◽  
Comparison Group ◽  
Visual Impairments ◽  
Social Behaviors ◽  
Social Initiations ◽  
Preschool Programs ◽  
The Social ◽  
Matched Comparison ◽  
Children With Visual Impairments

This study investigated the social behaviors of children with visual impairments enrolled in a variety of preschool programs. Using the Behaviour Observation Record, the researchers made comparisons between the social interactions of 9 children with visual impairments and a matched comparison group of 9 children with full sight. Observational data indicated that the children with visual impairments were capable of interacting with others. Differences were noted, however, in the frequency of social initiations and the targets of these initiations made by the children with visual impairments. These observations are interpreted in support of the integration of preschool children with visual impairments into general education programs.

scholarly journals Peer preferences and characteristics of same-group and cross-group social interactions among autistic and non-autistic adolescents

Autism ◽  
2021 ◽  
pp. 136236132110059
Author(s):  
Yu-Lun Chen ◽  
Laura L Senande ◽  
Michael Thorsen ◽  
Kristie Patten
Keyword(s):  
Social Interactions ◽  
Real World ◽  
Peer Interaction ◽  
Peer Interactions ◽  
Social Behaviors ◽  
Autism Diagnosis ◽  
The Social ◽  
Inclusive School ◽  
School Club ◽  
Over Time

Social interaction is inherently bidirectional, but research on autistic peer interactions often frames communication as unidirectional and in isolation from the peer context. This study investigated natural peer interactions among six autistic and six non-autistic adolescents in an inclusive school club over 5 months (14 45-min sessions in total) to examine the students’ peer preferences in real-world social interactions and how the preferences changed over time. We further examined whether social behavior characteristics differ between student and peer neurotype combinations. Findings showed that autistic students were more likely to interact with autistic peers then non-autistic peers. In both autistic and non-autistic students, the likelihood of interacting with a same-neurotype peer increased over time. Autistic and non-autistic students’ within-neurotype social interactions were more likely to reflect relational than functional purposes, be characterized as sharing thoughts and experiences rather than requesting help or objects, and be highly reciprocal, as compared with cross-neurotype interactions. These peer preferences and patterns of social interactions were not found among student-peer dyads with the same genders. These findings suggest that peer interaction is determined by more than just a student’s autism diagnosis, but by a combination of student and peer neurotypes. Lay abstract Autistic students often experience challenges in peer interactions, especially for young adolescents who are navigating the increased social expectations in secondary education. Previous research on the peer interactions of autistic adolescents mainly compared the social behaviors of autistic and non-autistic students and overlooked the peers in the social context. However, recent research has shown that the social challenges faced by autistic may not be solely contributed by their social differences, but a mismatch in the social communication styles between autistic and non-autistic people. As such, this study aimed to investigate the student-and-peer match in real-world peer interactions between six autistic and six non-autistic adolescents in an inclusive school club. We examined the odds of autistic and non-autistic students interacting with either an autistic peer, a non-autistic peer, or multiple peers, and the results showed that autistic students were more likely to interact with autistic peers then non-autistic peers. This preference for same-group peer interactions strengthened over the 5-month school club in both autistic and non-autistic students. We further found that same-group peer interactions, in both autistic and non-autistic students, were more likely to convey a social interest rather than a functional purpose or need, be sharing thoughts, experiences, or items rather than requesting help or objects, and be highly reciprocal than cross-group social behaviors. Collectively, our findings support that peer interaction outcomes may be determined by the match between the group memberships of the student and their peers, either autistic or non-autistic, rather than the student’s autism diagnosis.

scholarly journals The Frequency of Solitary Behaviors in Captive Odontocetesis Modulated by Environmental and Social Factors

2019 ◽  
Vol 32 ◽  
Author(s):  
Agathe Serres ◽  
Yujiang Hao ◽  
Ding Wang
Keyword(s):  
Social Factors ◽  
High Frequency ◽  
Bottlenose Dolphins ◽  
East Asian ◽  
Low Frequency ◽  
Mild Stress ◽  
Social Grouping ◽  
Solitary Play ◽  
Human Care ◽  
Neophocaena Asiaeorientalis Asiaeorientalis

The number of welfare-oriented studies is increasing in animals under human care, including odontocetes. However, validated welfare indicators are lacking for captive odontocetes. We studied the effect of several conditions (moment of the day, social grouping, public presence) and stimuli (enrichment, perturbations) on the solitary behaviour of Yangtze finless porpoises (Neophocaena asiaeorientalis asiaeorientalis), East-Asian finless porpoises (N. a. sunameri) and bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops truncatus). The frequency of solitary play increased in the three groups in positive conditions and decreased in negative contexts, which confirms that play is a useful indicator of welfare for captive odontocetes. Jumping seem to be indicative of stress for finless porpoises but could be ambiguous for bottlenose dolphins: indicating both positive and negative excitation. Stereotypical behaviours for Yangtze finless porpoises and environment hitting behaviours for bottlenose dolphins could indicate mild stress or frustration. Vigilant behaviours are not clear indicators since a high frequency could reflect boredom, but a low frequency was observed in poor social conditions. Finally, we suggest that environmental rubbing should be investigated further since our results for this behaviour were not clear.

Social behaviour of the golden-mantled ground squirrel (Spermophilus lateralis)

1985 ◽  
Vol 63 (11) ◽  
pp. 2529-2533 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jean Ferron
Keyword(s):  
Social Interactions ◽  
Rocky Mountains ◽  
Ground Squirrel ◽  
Ground Squirrels ◽  
Agonistic Interactions ◽  
Natural Conditions ◽  
Spermophilus Lateralis ◽  
The Social ◽  
Age And Sex

The social interactions of golden-mantled ground squirrels (Spermophilus lateralis) observed during a 2-year study in the Rocky Mountains of Alberta under natural conditions are described and quantitatively analyzed. Agonistic interactions were common for all age and sex groups, except among littermates before dispersal. Among adults, cohesive and recognitive behaviours were restricted almost exclusively to male–female interactions. For young, cohesive and recognitive behaviours occurred with other young (mainly littermates) and with the mother. This species can be categorized as "asocial" according to G. R. Michener's classification of social organization in ground squirrels.

scholarly journals Effect of Space Configurational Attributes on Social Interactions in Urban Parks

2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (14) ◽  
pp. 7805
Author(s):  
Qiang Sheng ◽  
Dongyang Wan ◽  
Boya Yu
Keyword(s):  
Social Interaction ◽  
Social Interactions ◽  
Urban Parks ◽  
Social Behaviors ◽  
Joint Effect ◽  
Negative Influence ◽  
Space Scale ◽  
Modern Cities ◽  
The Social ◽  
Pathway Length

Urban parks are one of the most common spaces for social interactions in modern cities. The design of park spaces, especially space configuration, has significant influences on people’s social behaviors in parks. In this study, the associations between space configurational attributes and social interactions were investigated using space syntax theory. An observation analysis of social behaviors was carried out in two urban parks in Beijing, China. Nine space configurational attributes, including depth to the gate, depth to the main road, connectivity, normalized angular integration (NAIN), and normalized angular choice (NACH) with three radii, were calculated using a segment model. The variance analysis and regression analysis reveal the strong joint effect of space type, space scale factors, and space configurational attributes on social interaction behaviors in parks. The personal interaction group contained 23% of the total observed people involved in social interactions. Pathway length, zone area, and NACH-10K (NACH with a radius of 10,000 m) are positively associated with the number of people involved in personal interactions. For the social interaction group (77% of the total observed people), the space scale and depth to main city road were found to have a positive and negative influence on social interaction intensity.

scholarly journals Sex- and context-dependent effects of acute isolation on vocal and non-vocal social behaviors in mice

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Xin Zhao ◽  
Patryk Ziobro ◽  
Nicole M. Pranic ◽  
Samantha Chu ◽  
Samantha Rabinovich ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Social Behavior ◽  
Social Interactions ◽  
Social Isolation ◽  
Social Behaviors ◽  
Social Motivation ◽  
Same Sex ◽  
Female Mice ◽  
The Social ◽  
Opposite Sex ◽  
Brain And Behavior

Humans are extraordinarily social, and social isolation has profound effects on our behavior, ranging from increased social motivation following short periods of social isolation to increased anti-social behaviors following long-term social isolation. Mice are frequently used as a model to understand how social isolation impacts the brain and behavior. While the effects of chronic social isolation on mouse social behavior have been well studied, much less is known about how acute isolation impacts mouse social behavior and whether these effects vary according to the sex of the mouse and the behavioral context of the social encounter. To address these questions, we characterized the effects of acute (3-day) social isolation on the vocal and non-vocal social behaviors of male and female mice during same-sex and opposite-sex social interactions. Our experiments uncovered pronounced effects of acute isolation on social interactions between female mice, while revealing more subtle effects on the social behaviors of male mice during same-sex and opposite-sex interactions. Our findings advance the study of same-sex interactions between female mice as an attractive paradigm to investigate neural mechanisms through which acute isolation enhances social motivation and promotes social behavior.

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