Cattle’s Physiology and Behavior Responses Which Transported by Camara Nusantara Vessel

This study aimed to assess the welfare and performance of Bali cattle transported by Camara Nusantara vessel. We observed five-day transporting of 30 Bali cattle (1-2 years old, 100-200kg body weight) from cattle loading at Tenau Port, Kupang and cattle handling during sea transportation to cattle unloading at Tanjung Priok Port, Jakarta. The measured parameters were cattle’s physiological responses, including body surface temperature, foaming (excessive foam around their mouth), respiration (respiration rate during transportation), and panting (any panting behavior during the transport). The behavioral responses measured in this study were feeding behavior (do cattle eat normally during transportation process), lying (can cattle lie normally), agonistic interaction (mounting, head fighting, etc.), freeze during the loading/ unloading process (stop walking during loading and unloading process), coercion (cattle was hit during loading and unloading process), and slip/fall (cattle slipped or fell during loading and unloading process). The welfare evaluation was carried out by scoring system on the observed parameters. The result showed that the cattle showed a normal physiological response, except their body surface temperature was slightly above normal, i.e., 32-35oC. The cattle also showed normal behavior responses except for coercion. The average score gets from this study was 2.5, indicative of slightly poor physiology and behavior when cattle being transported.

The Inquiline Ant Myrmica karavajevi Uses Both Chemical and Vibroacoustic Deception Mechanisms to Integrate into Its Host Colonies

Social parasitism represents a particular type of agonistic interaction in which a parasite exploits an entire society instead of a single organism. One fascinating form of social parasitism in ants is the “inquilinism”, in which a typically worker-less parasitic queen coexists with the resident queen in the host colony and produces sexual offspring. To bypass the recognition system of host colonies, inquilines have evolved a repertoire of deceiving strategies. We tested the level of integration of the inquiline Myrmica karavajevi within the host colonies of M. scabrinodis and we investigated the mechanisms of chemical and vibroacoustic deception used by the parasite. M. karavajevi is integrated into the ant colony to such an extent that, in rescue experiments, the parasite pupae were saved prior to the host’s brood. M. karavajevi gynes perfectly imitated the cuticular hydrocarbon profiles of M. scabrinodis queens and the parasite vibroacoustic signals resembled those emitted by the host queens eliciting the same levels of attention in the host workers during playback experiments. Our results suggest that M. karavajevi has evolved ultimate deception strategies to reach the highest social status in the colony hierarchy, encouraging the use of a combined molecular and behavioural approach when studying host–parasite interactions.

Preliminary Behavior of Chinkara (Gazella Bennettii) under Captive Conditions with Future Conservation Strategies

Background: Study of behavioral conformations play a significant role in ex-situ conservation of ungulates particularly of deer to propagate deer farming. Due to advancement in animal hunting techniques, captive breeding is the best solution to propagate animals for sports or other traditional & medicinal uses. Due to the lack of management methods, captive breeding programs have been used on trial and error basis for rearing of wild animals like Chinkara. Objectives: The present study was planned to investigate behavioral patterns in captivity to explore factors over reproductive success of the Chinkara and potential of this wild animal (Chinkara) for deer farming practices in Pakistan. Methodology: Present study was conducted on the behavior of Chinkara (Gazella bennettii) [wild-caught (WC)=20, captive-bred (CB)=10] for a period of one year from April 2013 to March 2014 at Captive breeding facilities for ungulates, Ravi campus Pattoki, University of Veterinary and Animal Sciences (UVAS), Pakistan. Results: The behavior of captive-born and wild-caught animals was observed by focal sampling pattern to frame conservation strategies for successful management practices for promotion of deer farming in Pakistan. Similar behavioral patterns were observed in both WC and CB animals but WC male Chinkara displayed a higher degree of agonistic interaction than of CB males. From these results it is predicted that there is no obvious immediate effect of captivity on behavioral configurations up to 10 generations in Chinkara. Conclusion: It is suggested that Chinkara is not suitable for domestication like Goat until further studies on ethology of Chinkara.

Play and social behaviour of calves with or without access to their dam and other cows

The aim of the study reported in this Research Communication was to compare play behaviour and social interactions of dairy calves either separated from their mother and reared in a calf group (Artificial) or with access to their mother and the cow herd (cow-calf contact: Contact). Contact calves had access to a calf area and also to the cow barn where they could suckle their dam. Artificial calves were fed whole milk up to 16 kg per day via an automatic milk feeder and were only kept in the calf area. We observed the animals on 3 d during the first three months of life. Contact calves showed solitary play, consisting predominantly of locomotor play, for longer than Artificial calves and mainly in the cow barn. This indicates higher welfare in Contact calves. In addition, Artificial calves hardly experienced any agonistic interaction, while Contact calves both initiated and received agonistic interactions, which might contribute to the development of higher social competence.

Long-Tailed Macaques (Macaca fascicularis) and Humans Interactions in Grojogan Sewu Natural Park (TWA GS), Karanganyar Regency, Central Java Province

<p><em>Macaca fascicularis is one species of primate that easily adapt</em><em>s</em><em> to various habitats, such as disturbances habitat</em><em>,</em><em> like a natural park. The conflict between M. fascicularis and human increases due to changes in ecology. In Borneo, Sumatra, Malaysia, Mauritus, and Thailand, M. fascicularis h</em><em>as</em><em> become pests because destroyed orchards and plantations. Interaction between M. fascicularis and human, which occurred at several natural parks in Singapura and Kaliurang caused by M. fascicularis’s attraction to food brought by humans. This research aimed to study the interaction between M. fascicularis with the humans in Grojogan Sewu Natural Park (TWA GS) by direct observation and also an interview with visitors, workers, and villagers. Based on direct observation, frequency of affiliation interaction between humans and M. fascicularis (55.56%) is higher than agonistic interaction (44.4%). The dominant affiliation interaction was sitting nearby the visitors (42.96%); meanwhile, the most dominant agonistic interaction was stealing (54.12%) because the M. fascicularis attracted to food (67.02%). Workers reported having more nuisance problem with M. fascicularis than visitors and villagers. Almost all of the respondents thought that M. fascicularis needs to be kept alive in the park, and consider conservation and protection of the macaques are essential.</em></p>

Spatial organization and mating behavior of the Japanese serow under a low population density

In high-density populations, the adults of the Japanese serow (Capricornis crispus) defend their home ranges against same-sex intruders, and a male’s territory typically overlaps with those of one to three females. We examined the spatial organization and mating behavior of the species in a low-density population by direct observation and radio-tracking over a 4-year period. The home range size of both males and females was more than 4 times larger than that reported in high-density populations. Adult females had ranges that overlapped little, even though they were never observed in agonistic interaction. In contrast, adult males had ranges that overlapped largely except in their core areas, and appeared to be tolerant on encounters, suggesting they did not defend their whole range as a territory. Although males’ ranges overlapped with multiple female ranges, males were only observed following a single female during the mating season. These findings suggest that males directly defended a female rather than a territory, and that the mating system is monogamous. The Japanese serow’s social organization would therefore vary according to ecological conditions.

Report of agonistic interaction in Malagasy frogs of the genus Gephyromantis (Anura, Mantellidae)

Territorial behaviour has been recorded in several amphibian families but rarely in frogs from Madagascar, despite the extremely high species diversity in the country. Here we describe the agonistic encounter of two male frogs of the Malagasy-endemic genus Gephyromantis. The physical combat was preceded by a switch from the advertisement call to a more aggressive tone of the resident male upon the intruder approaching. Although no physical interaction has been reported before, the change in call type is similar to that observed in other Gephyromantis. The combat lasted for about one minute with both males trying to subdue each other, until the intruder retreated.

Habitat and community structure modulate fish interactions in a neotropical clearwater river

ABSTRACT Species interactions can modulate the diversity and enhance the stability of biological communities in aquatic ecosystems. Despite previous efforts to describe fish interactions in tropical rivers, the role of habitat characteristics, community structure, and trophic traits over these interactions is still poorly understood. To investigate among-habitat variation in substratum feeding pressure and agonistic interactions between fishes, we used remote underwater videos in three habitats of a clearwater river in the Central Western, Brazil. We also performed visual surveys to estimate the abundance and biomass of fishes and proposed a trophic classification to understand how these variables can affect fish interactions. Community structure was the main factor affecting the variation in the interactions among the habitats. Biomass was the main variable determining which habitat a fish will feed on, while species abundance determined with how many other species it will interact in the agonistic interaction networks for each habitat. Specific habitats are not only occupied, but also used in distinct ways by the fish community. Overall, our results demonstrate the importance of the heterogeneity of habitats in tropical rivers for the interactions performed by the fishes and how the intensity of these interactions is affected by community structure.

Pacing behaviour in laboratory macaques is an unreliable indicator of acute stress

Pacing behaviour, the most frequent stereotypic behaviour displayed by laboratory rhesus macaques (Macaca mulatta) is often used as an indicator of stress. In this study, we investigated how reliable this welfare indicator is at detecting acute stress by testing the reaction of macaques to the stressful event of being exposed to an agonistic interaction between conspecifics housed in the same room but in a different cage. Pacing, agitated locomotion, and stress-related displacement behaviours were quantified before, during and after agonistic interaction exposure, based on video recordings of 13 socially-housed macaques in their home cage. Displacement behaviours increased after agonistic interaction exposure, confirming that the events were experienced as stressful by the focal individuals. The occurrence of pacing did not increase during or after the agonistic interactions. Instead, agitated locomotion increased during the agonistic interactions. These results suggest either, that pacing as an indicator of acute stress is prone to false negative results, increasing in some stressful situations but not others, or that agitated locomotion has been mistaken for pacing in previous studies and that pacing is in fact unrelated to current acute stress. Both interpretations lead to the conclusion that pacing is unreliable as an indicator of acute stress in laboratory rhesus macaques.