Editorial

5 pages, 224 KiB

Open AccessEditorial

Editorial: Recent Advances in Animal Cognition and Ethology

by Cédric Sueur and Marie Pelé

Animals 2023, 13(18), 2890; https://doi.org/10.3390/ani13182890 - 12 Sep 2023

Viewed by 1577

Animal cognition and ethology, the scientific study of animal behaviour, have long captivated the human imagination [...] Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Recent Advances in Animal Cognition and Ethology)

Research

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19 pages, 72728 KiB

Open AccessArticle

GeoDanceHive: An Operational Hive for Honeybees Dances Recording

by Sylvain Galopin, Guillaume Touya, Pierrick Aupinel and Freddie-Jeanne Richard

Animals 2023, 13(7), 1182; https://doi.org/10.3390/ani13071182 - 28 Mar 2023

Cited by 1 | Viewed by 2175

Abstract

Honeybees are known for their ability to communicate about resources in their environment. They inform the other foragers by performing specific dance sequences according to the spatial characteristics of the resource. The purpose of our study is to provide a new tool for [...] Read more.

Honeybees are known for their ability to communicate about resources in their environment. They inform the other foragers by performing specific dance sequences according to the spatial characteristics of the resource. The purpose of our study is to provide a new tool for honeybees dances recording, usable in the field, in a practical and fully automated way, without condemning the harvest of honey. We designed and equipped an outdoor prototype of a production hive, later called “GeoDanceHive”, allowing the continuous recording of honeybees’ behavior such as dances and their analysis. The GeoDanceHive is divided into two sections, one for the colony and the other serving as a recording studio. The time record of dances can be set up from minutes to several months. To validate the encoding and sampling quality, we used an artificial feeder and visual decoding to generate maps with the vector endpoints deduced from the dance information. The use of the GeoDanceHive is designed for a wide range of users, who can meet different objectives, such as researchers or professional beekeepers. Thus, our hive is a powerful tool for honeybees studies in the field and could highly contribute to facilitating new research approaches and a better understanding landscape ecology of key pollinators. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Recent Advances in Animal Cognition and Ethology)

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35 pages, 5770 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Sequence Order in the Range 1 to 19 by Chimpanzees on a Touchscreen Task: Processing Two-Digit Arabic Numerals

by Akiho Muramatsu and Tetsuro Matsuzawa

Animals 2023, 13(5), 774; https://doi.org/10.3390/ani13050774 - 21 Feb 2023

Cited by 1 | Viewed by 2298

Abstract

The sequence of Arabic numerals from 1 to 19 was taught to six chimpanzees, three pairs of mother and child. Each chimpanzee participant sat facing a touchscreen on which the numerals appeared in random positions within an imaginary 5-by-8 matrix. They had to [...] Read more.

The sequence of Arabic numerals from 1 to 19 was taught to six chimpanzees, three pairs of mother and child. Each chimpanzee participant sat facing a touchscreen on which the numerals appeared in random positions within an imaginary 5-by-8 matrix. They had to touch the numerals in ascending order. Baseline training involved touching the adjacent numerals from 1 to X or from the numeral X to 19. Systematic tests revealed the following results: (1) The range 1 to 9 was easier than 1 to 19. (2) Adjacent numerals were easier than nonadjacent ones. (3) The “masking” (memory task) caused deterioration of performance. All these factors depended on the number of numerals simultaneously presented on the screen. A chimpanzee named Pal mastered the skill of ordering two-digit numerals with 100% accuracy. Human participants were tested in the same experiment with the same procedure. Both species showed relative difficulty in handling two-digit numerals. Global–local information processing is known to be different between humans and other primates. The assessment of chimpanzee performance and comparison with humans were discussed in terms of the possible difference in the global–local dual information processing of two-digit numerals. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Recent Advances in Animal Cognition and Ethology)

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9 pages, 2225 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Acoustic Monitoring of Black-Tufted Marmosets in a Tropical Forest Disturbed by Mining Noise

by Esther Bittencourt, Angélica da Silva Vasconcellos, Renata S. Sousa-Lima, Robert John Young and Marina Henriques Lage Duarte

Animals 2023, 13(3), 352; https://doi.org/10.3390/ani13030352 - 19 Jan 2023

Cited by 2 | Viewed by 1690

Abstract

All habitats have noise, but anthropogenic sounds often differ from natural sounds in terms of frequency, duration and intensity, and therefore may disrupt animal vocal communication. This study aimed to investigate whether vocalizations emitted by black-tufted marmosets (Callithrix penicillata) were affected [...] Read more.

All habitats have noise, but anthropogenic sounds often differ from natural sounds in terms of frequency, duration and intensity, and therefore may disrupt animal vocal communication. This study aimed to investigate whether vocalizations emitted by black-tufted marmosets (Callithrix penicillata) were affected by the noise produced by mining activity. Through passive acoustic monitoring, we compared the noise levels and acoustic parameters of the contact calls of marmosets living in two study areas (with two sampling points within each area)—one near and one far from an opencast mine in Brazil. The near area had higher anthropogenic background noise levels and the marmosets showed greater calling activity compared to the far area. Calls in the near area had significantly lower minimum, maximum and peak frequencies and higher average power density and bandwidth than those in the far area. Our results indicate that the mining noise affected marmoset vocal communication and may be causing the animals to adjust their acoustic communication patterns to increase the efficiency of signal propagation. Given that vocalizations are an important part of social interactions in this species, concerns arise about the potential negative impact of mining noise on marmosets exposed to this human activity. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Recent Advances in Animal Cognition and Ethology)

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10 pages, 1237 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Management of Social Behaviour of Domestic Yaks in Manang, Nepal: An Etho-Ethnographic Study

by Théophile Johnson, Emma Pilleboue, Maxime Herbrich, Eric Garine and Cédric Sueur

Animals 2023, 13(2), 248; https://doi.org/10.3390/ani13020248 - 10 Jan 2023

Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1677

Abstract

Herdsmen use different techniques, as per varying geographies and cultures, to keep the cohesion within herds and avoid animals getting lost or predated. However, there is no study on the social behaviour of yaks and herdsmen management practices. Therefore, this ethology study was [...] Read more.

Herdsmen use different techniques, as per varying geographies and cultures, to keep the cohesion within herds and avoid animals getting lost or predated. However, there is no study on the social behaviour of yaks and herdsmen management practices. Therefore, this ethology study was initiated by ethnographic inquiries. In Manang, the success of the shepherd is dictated by his personal attribute of ‘Khula man’ or open-heartedness. This attribute refers to good intentions and emotions such as empathy, which allow the shepherd to focus more on others than on himself. This cultural way of assessing the skills required to become a successful and knowledgeable shepherd guided us to study the effect of cultural values on the herd’s social behaviour. We collected data from two herds living at the same settlement (Yak kharka, 4100 m altitude, Nepal) by equipping them with loggers. One of the herdsmen used the tether rope while the other one did not. Moreover, the Thaku herd had a more proactive shepherd than the Phurba one. In each herd, 17 animals were equipped with one Actigraph wgt3x-BT to measure activity using an accelerometer and spatial associations using a proximity recorder. One of the herds was equipped with GPS (N = 11) as well. Using GPS locations and activity, we showed that the two herds were cohesive and synchronised their activities but the Thaku herd (tether rope herd) was more cohesive than the Phurba herd based on the Actigraph signals. The shepherds also have personal knowledge of the social relationships of individual animals in their herds and use these relationships to keep the group cohesive and to manage cattle well. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Recent Advances in Animal Cognition and Ethology)

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14 pages, 1407 KiB

Open AccessArticle

There You Are! Automated Detection of Indris’ Songs on Features Extracted from Passive Acoustic Recordings

by Davide Ravaglia, Valeria Ferrario, Chiara De Gregorio, Filippo Carugati, Teresa Raimondi, Walter Cristiano, Valeria Torti, Achaz Von Hardenberg, Jonah Ratsimbazafy, Daria Valente, Cristina Giacoma and Marco Gamba

Animals 2023, 13(2), 241; https://doi.org/10.3390/ani13020241 - 09 Jan 2023

Cited by 10 | Viewed by 16255

Abstract

The growing concern for the ongoing biodiversity loss drives researchers towards practical and large-scale automated systems to monitor wild animal populations. Primates, with most species threatened by extinction, face substantial risks. We focused on the vocal activity of the indri (Indri indri [...] Read more.

The growing concern for the ongoing biodiversity loss drives researchers towards practical and large-scale automated systems to monitor wild animal populations. Primates, with most species threatened by extinction, face substantial risks. We focused on the vocal activity of the indri (Indri indri) recorded in Maromizaha Forest (Madagascar) from 2019 to 2021 via passive acoustics, a method increasingly used for monitoring activities in different environments. We first used indris’ songs, loud distinctive vocal sequences, to detect the species’ presence. We processed the raw data (66,443 10-min recordings) and extracted acoustic features based on the third-octave band system. We then analysed the features extracted from three datasets, divided according to sampling year, site, and recorder type, with a convolutional neural network that was able to generalise to recording sites and previously unsampled periods via data augmentation and transfer learning. For the three datasets, our network detected the song presence with high accuracy (>90%) and recall (>80%) values. Once provided the model with the time and day of recording, the high-performance values ensured that the classification process could accurately depict both daily and annual habits of indris‘ singing pattern, critical information to optimise field data collection. Overall, using this easy-to-implement species-specific detection workflow as a preprocessing method allows researchers to reduce the time dedicated to manual classification. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Recent Advances in Animal Cognition and Ethology)

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18 pages, 3259 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Garrano Horses Perceive Letters of the Alphabet on a Touchscreen System: A Pilot Study

by Clara-Lynn Schubert, Barbara Ryckewaert, Carlos Pereira and Tetsuro Matsuzawa

Animals 2022, 12(24), 3514; https://doi.org/10.3390/ani12243514 - 12 Dec 2022

Cited by 3 | Viewed by 3801

Abstract

This study aimed to use a computer-controlled touchscreen system to examine visual discrimination in Garrano horses (Equus caballus), an endangered breed of pony belonging to the Iberian horse family. This pilot study focused on the perceptual similarity among letters of the [...] Read more.

This study aimed to use a computer-controlled touchscreen system to examine visual discrimination in Garrano horses (Equus caballus), an endangered breed of pony belonging to the Iberian horse family. This pilot study focused on the perceptual similarity among letters of the alphabet. We tested five horses in a one-male unit (OMU) living permanently in a semi-free enclosure near their natural habitat in Serra d’Arga, northern Portugal. Horses were trained to nose-touch black circles that appeared on the screen. Then, they were tested for discrimination of five letters of the Latin alphabet in Arial font, namely O, B, V, Z, and X, using a two-choice discrimination task. The confusion matrix of letter pairs was used to show the MDS and to identify the relative contribution of shape features. The results showed perceptual similarities among letters with curvatures pitted against those of straight lines. Shape perception in horses seems to share features with that of humans and other animals living in different niches. The touchscreen system proved to be an objective and innovative way of studying cognition in the socially organized group of horses. The automated system can promote the welfare of captive horses by maximizing their freedom of movement. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Recent Advances in Animal Cognition and Ethology)

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17 pages, 2122 KiB

Open AccessArticle

A Data-Driven Simulation of the Trophallactic Network and Intranidal Food Flow Dissemination in Ants

by Olivier Bles, Jean-Louis Deneubourg, Cédric Sueur and Stamatios C. Nicolis

Animals 2022, 12(21), 2963; https://doi.org/10.3390/ani12212963 - 28 Oct 2022

Cited by 2 | Viewed by 1976

Abstract

Food sharing can occur in both social and non-social species, but it is crucial in eusocial species, in which only some group members collect food. This food collection and the intranidal (i.e., inside the nest) food distribution through trophallactic (i.e., mouth-to-mouth) exchanges are [...] Read more.

Food sharing can occur in both social and non-social species, but it is crucial in eusocial species, in which only some group members collect food. This food collection and the intranidal (i.e., inside the nest) food distribution through trophallactic (i.e., mouth-to-mouth) exchanges are fundamental in eusocial insects. However, the behavioural rules underlying the regulation and the dynamics of food intake and the resulting networks of exchange are poorly understood. In this study, we provide new insights into the behavioural rules underlying the structure of trophallactic networks and food dissemination dynamics within the colony. We build a simple data-driven model that implements interindividual variability and the division of labour to investigate the processes of food accumulation/dissemination inside the nest, both at the individual and collective levels. We also test the alternative hypotheses (no variability and no division of labour). The division of labour, combined with inter-individual variability, leads to predictions of the food dynamics and exchange networks that run, contrary to the other models. Our results suggest a link between the interindividual heterogeneity of the trophallactic behaviours, the food flow dynamics and the network of trophallactic events. Our results show that a slight level of heterogeneity in the number of trophallactic events is enough to generate the properties of the experimental networks and seems to be crucial for the creation of efficient trophallactic networks. Despite the relative simplicity of the model rules, efficient trophallactic networks may emerge as the networks observed in ants, leading to a better understanding of the evolution of self-organisation in such societies. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Recent Advances in Animal Cognition and Ethology)

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12 pages, 1992 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Using Artificial Intelligence to Analyze Non-Human Drawings: A First Step with Orangutan Productions

by Benjamin Beltzung, Marie Pelé, Julien P. Renoult, Masaki Shimada and Cédric Sueur

Animals 2022, 12(20), 2761; https://doi.org/10.3390/ani12202761 - 14 Oct 2022

Cited by 3 | Viewed by 1876

Abstract

Drawings have been widely used as a window to the mind; as such, they can reveal some aspects of the cognitive and emotional worlds of other animals that can produce them. The study of non-human drawings, however, is limited by human perception, which [...] Read more.

Drawings have been widely used as a window to the mind; as such, they can reveal some aspects of the cognitive and emotional worlds of other animals that can produce them. The study of non-human drawings, however, is limited by human perception, which can bias the methodology and interpretation of the results. Artificial intelligence can circumvent this issue by allowing automated, objective selection of features used to analyze drawings. In this study, we use artificial intelligence to investigate seasonal variations in drawings made by Molly, a female orangutan who produced more than 1299 drawings between 2006 and 2011 at the Tama Zoological Park in Japan. We train the VGG19 model to first classify the drawings according to the season in which they are produced. The results show that deep learning is able to identify subtle but significant seasonal variations in Molly’s drawings, with a classification accuracy of 41.6%. We use VGG19 to investigate the features that influence this seasonal variation. We analyze separate features, both simple and complex, related to color and patterning, and to drawing content and style. Content and style classification show maximum performance for moderately complex, highly complex, and holistic features, respectively. We also show that both color and patterning drive seasonal variation, with the latter being more important than the former. This study demonstrates how deep learning can be used to objectively analyze non-figurative drawings and calls for applications to non-primate species and scribbles made by human toddlers. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Recent Advances in Animal Cognition and Ethology)

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20 pages, 2876 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Yet Another Non-Unique Human Behaviour: Leave-Taking in Wild Chacma Baboons (Papio ursinus)

by Lucy Baehren and Susana Carvalho

Animals 2022, 12(19), 2577; https://doi.org/10.3390/ani12192577 - 27 Sep 2022

Cited by 1 | Viewed by 2421

Abstract

Leave taking is a common, possibly universal, feature of human social behaviour that has undergone very little empirical research. Although the importance remains unknown, it has been suggested to play an important role in managing separations, mitigating the risk, and increasing social bonding [...] Read more.

Leave taking is a common, possibly universal, feature of human social behaviour that has undergone very little empirical research. Although the importance remains unknown, it has been suggested to play an important role in managing separations, mitigating the risk, and increasing social bonding beyond the interaction itself. In nonhuman species, the literature is virtually absent, but identifying leave taking beyond humans may provide unique insights into the evolutionary history of this behaviour and shed light onto its proximate and ultimate function(s). Methods to study leave taking are not well-established, and the variation in definitions, measures, and control variables presented in past studies poses additional challenges. Baboons are a valuable model for investigating human behavioural evolution: as a flexible, highly adaptable, and social primate whose radiation is, similarly to humans, associated with the emergence of the African savannah biome. Using the framework and definition proposed by Baehren, we investigated the presence of leave taking in a wild, generalist primate and tested a range of candidate behaviours on prerecorded video footage: (1) self-scratching, (2) eye gaze, and (3) orientation in the direction of parting. Using multivariate analysis, controlling for interaction duration and individual variation, our results show that orientation in the direction of parting occurs predominantly before social separation events. These results indicate evidence of leave taking in a wild nonhuman population and contrast with previous ideas that this is a uniquely human behaviour. The presence of leave taking in baboons suggests a deep evolutionary history of this behaviour, warranting further investigation into its function and presence across other nonhuman primate species. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Recent Advances in Animal Cognition and Ethology)

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Review

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15 pages, 2011 KiB

Open AccessReview

Drone Observation for the Quantitative Study of Complex Multilevel Societies

by Tamao Maeda and Shinya Yamamoto

Animals 2023, 13(12), 1911; https://doi.org/10.3390/ani13121911 - 08 Jun 2023

Cited by 2 | Viewed by 1551

Abstract

Unmanned aerial vehicles (drones) have recently been used in various behavioral ecology studies. However, their application has been limited to single groups, and most studies have not implemented individual identification. A multilevel society refers to a social structure in which small stable “core [...] Read more.

Unmanned aerial vehicles (drones) have recently been used in various behavioral ecology studies. However, their application has been limited to single groups, and most studies have not implemented individual identification. A multilevel society refers to a social structure in which small stable “core units” gather and make a larger, multiple-unit group. Here, we introduce recent applications of drone technology and individual identification to complex social structures involving multiple groups, such as multilevel societies. Drones made it possible to obtain the identification, accurate positioning, or movement of more than a hundred individuals in a multilevel social group. In addition, in multilevel social groups, drones facilitate the observation of heterogeneous spatial positioning patterns and mechanisms of behavioral propagation, which are different from those in a single-level group. Such findings may contribute to the quantitative definition and assessment of multilevel societies and enhance our understanding of mechanisms of multiple group aggregation. The application of drones to various species may resolve various questions related to multilevel societies. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Recent Advances in Animal Cognition and Ethology)

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20 pages, 1017 KiB

Open AccessReview

Information Theory Opens New Dimensions in Experimental Studies of Animal Behaviour and Communication

by Zhanna Reznikova

Animals 2023, 13(7), 1174; https://doi.org/10.3390/ani13071174 - 26 Mar 2023

Cited by 2 | Viewed by 2505

Abstract

Over the last 40–50 years, ethology has become increasingly quantitative and computational. However, when analysing animal behavioural sequences, researchers often need help finding an adequate model to assess certain characteristics of these sequences while using a relatively small number of parameters. In this [...] Read more.

Over the last 40–50 years, ethology has become increasingly quantitative and computational. However, when analysing animal behavioural sequences, researchers often need help finding an adequate model to assess certain characteristics of these sequences while using a relatively small number of parameters. In this review, I demonstrate that the information theory approaches based on Shannon entropy and Kolmogorov complexity can furnish effective tools to analyse and compare animal natural behaviours. In addition to a comparative analysis of stereotypic behavioural sequences, information theory can provide ideas for particular experiments on sophisticated animal communications. In particular, it has made it possible to discover the existence of a developed symbolic “language” in leader-scouting ant species based on the ability of these ants to transfer abstract information about remote events. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Recent Advances in Animal Cognition and Ethology)

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