Animal Behavior Exam 2 (2nd half of material)

what are 2 functions of acoustic signals

1. advertisement

2. arousal

what are 5 examples of uses of advertisement and/or arousal

• predator alert

• animal training

• dominance

• sexual receptivity

• seeking contact with others

what are 4 ways dogs convey emotional state

1. low tone bark (aggression)

2. high tone bark (fear or excitement)

3. long bark interval (more playful)

4. short bark interval (alert)

what are 5 vocalizations of the horse

1. neigh/winny

2. soft nicker

3. roar

4. snort

5. squeal

what is a neigh/whinny used for in horses

• greeting or separating call

• mare and foal

• sight of owner

what is a soft nicker used for in horses

• care giving call

• mare and foal

• owner/caretaker

• mouth is closed

what is a roar used for in horses

• high amplitude from a stallion

• anger or intimidation

what is a snort used for in horses

• alarm call

• sound of frustration

• triggered by restraint or undesired actions

what is a squeal used for in horses

• defensive greeting

• when a mare that isn’t in estrus is approached by stallion

• pain

• a social hierarchy determination

what are 4 vocalizations of the dog

1. barking

2. whining

3. howling

4. growling

what is a bark used for in dogs

territorial or alarm call

what is a whine used for in dogs

• a care-soliciting call

• puppies

• mild pain

• frustration

what is a howl used for in dogs

• location call

• pack member coordination

• replaces scent marking

what is a growl used for in dogs

an aggressive and distance increasing call

what is special about cat vocalization

they have 2 sets of vocal cords

what are 7 vocalizations of the cat

1. murmur

2. purr

3. meow

4. growl

5. estrus call

6. howl/yowl

7. moan

what is a murmur used for in cats

a greeting or request call

what is a purr used for in cats

social or submissive call

what is a meow used for in cats

greeting or care-giving call towards humans

what is a growl used for in cats

aggressive and distance increasing call

what is a estrus call used for in cats

• a mating call

• louder and more intense

what is a howl/yowl used for in cats

aggressive call

what is a moan used for in cats

• occurs right before a hairball is vomitted up

• “O” or “U” sounds

why is vocal communications important to pigs

its their most important means of communication

what are 6 vocalizations of the pig

1. grunt

2. staccato

3. staccato crescendo

4. staccato greeting

5. bark

6. squeal

what is a grunt used for in pigs

• 0.25 - 0.4 seconds

• most common

• used for familiarity

• rooting

• hunger

what is a staccato used for in pigs

• 0.1-0.2 seconds

• excitement

• investigating

what is a staccato crescendo used for in pigs

• gradually gets louder

• sow with litter

• “look out”

what is a bark used for in pigs

• squeal

• dominance

• playing

what is a squeal used for in pigs

• arousal

• pain

what are 3 vocalizations of cattle

1. moo

2. roar/call/hoot

3. grunting

what is a moo used for in cattle

• low pitched

• mild discomfort

what is a roar/call/hoot used for in cattle

• higher pitched

• bulls

• distress

• seeking herd mates or calf

what is a grunt used for in cattle

breeding

what are 3 vocalizations of sheep

1. bleating

2. rumble

3. snort

what is bleating used for in sheep

• distress

• contact seeking

what is a rumble used for in sheep

• for ewe and lambs

• courting rams

what is a snort used for in sheep

aggressive and distance increasing call

what are 2 vocalizations of the goat

1. bleating and rumble

2. stamp + high pitched sneeze

what is bleating and rumble used for in goats

same as sheep

what is a stamp + high pitched sneeze used for in goats

when they feel threatened

why don’t ruminants have many vocalizations

because less communication in prey species has been more beneficial from an evolutionary standpoint

what is the olfactory system

the sense of smell

why do animals have such a good sense of smell

they have an increased surface area of the nasal epithelium

how does an animal recieve scents and transmit them?

from neuroreceptors → olfactory bulbs → the brain cortex

what percentage of olfactory receptor genes are non-functioning in humans and primates

50-70%

what are 2 types of chemical signals

1. volatile (carried by air)

2. non-volatile (required physical contact)

where are 8 places scent glands are located

1. head

2. chin

3. inguinal region (groin area)

4. abdomen

5. tarsus (heel)

6. interdigital (space between fingers/skin)

7. prepuce (foreskin)

8. anus

what is the vomeronasal organ (VMO)

a fluid filled organ that detects pheromones (scent chemical signals) and relays messages to the hypothalamus

where is the vmo located

on the top of the mouth

what are some actions that animals perform to activate the VMO

• flehmen response (lip curl)

  • horses and ruminants

• gaping (open mouth)

  • cats

• tongue

  • dogs

what are 5 purposes of chemical signals

• females asses the vigor of male by the scent of their testosterone

• advertisement

• baby rabbits recognize mother’s fecal scent before their eyes are open

• ewes + babies

• dominant males

what are some species specific examples of scent marking (dogs, cats, horses, rabbits)

• dogs: raised-leg urination

• cat: urine spraying

• horses: stud piles

• rabbits: chin rubbing

what does motivation have to do with scent marking

there is an increased motivation to renew scent marks on previous marks from other animals

what regulates the urinating posture of male dogs

testosterone

why do dogs scratch the ground after urinating or defecating

to spread the scent around to the scent glands on their paw pads (sebaceous glands)

how do pheromones influence female mammals

lactating mothers secrete phermones from the nipple which are attractive to the offspring

what are altricial animals

offspring that are fully dependent on their mother

what are precocial animals

animals that are able to survive without mother a few hours after birth

what do mothers of altricial young produce

fecal pheromones which attracts and orients their young

what is androstenone

• a sex hormone

• found in the fat and saliva of pigs

• has a significant effect on estrus sows

• creates a weird flavor post-mortem

  • this is why most boars sent to meat factories are castrated

what is physiological priming effect

when chemical signals trigger physiological events which lowers the response threshold to stimuli

what are examples of physiological priming effects and what do they do

• the ram effect, buck effect, and boar effect

  • presence of males in the flock causes females raised alongside them to begin estrus earlier than usual

what is feeding

the act or process of eating

what is foraging

• when animals are moving around in a way that they are likely to find food

• LOOKING for food

what is browsing

• in goats

• a more vertical method of foraging (shrubs + tree leaves)

what is appetite

the desire to eat food

what is hunger

the physical need to eat food

what is annorexia

the decreased desire to eat

what is orexia

the increased desire to eat (ex: if an animal was starved)

what is polyphagia

an increase in eating in both frequency and volume

what causes an animal to eat

the hunger system

what is the central hunger mechanism

ability to recognize causal factors and generate a response

what are 3 eating initiation influences

• diurnal rhythms

  • day/night/melatonin control

• social factors

  • can encourage and discourage eating

• sensory inputs

  • visual and taste receptors

  • biological indicator levels (hormones, fat stores, blood glucose)

what 4 things control volume and speed of intake

1. physical properties of the food

2. availability of water

3. nutrient quality of the food

   1. high quality = not as much has to be consumed)

4. oral mechanics

what are 3 potential disturbances of food intake control

• predators

• insects

• competition

  • subordinate animals eat less and take more time

what 3 things cause an animal to stop eating

• fullness of the stomach/gut

• adequate energy absorption

• satiation centers (hypothalamus)

what 3 factors influence the length of intervals between meals

1. metabolic state

2. diseases

3. stress

what are 3 things that influence how fast food is processed

• stomach or gut size

• enzyme activity

• food quality

what are the steps in feeding behavior

1. food finding

2. obtaining food

what are necessities for offspring in finding food

must find a teat to get colostrum (first milk)

what is the grazing behavior of cattle

• encircles grass with tongue and draws it to mouth

• lowers teeth and tongue to hold grass

• chews only 2-3 times before swallowing

• dont have upper incisors

what is the grazing behavior of sheep

• divided upper lip enables selecting smaller plants

• grass is torn when head is moved with sudden jerkng

• more mobile lip

what is the grazing behavior of horses

• collect grass with prehensile lip

• bite grass off ground with front teeth

• take mouthfuls then move ahead slowly

what are general grazing patterns

• more grazing right before/around sunrise

• some night grazing occurs during summer months

• occurs more in spring and summer

describe the grazing patterns of cattle, sheep, and horses

horses have a more constant grazing pattern because they don’t eat meals (due to their single stomachs) so they eat small amounts all day

what is feeding behavior’s biggest influence

the nearness and availability of water

• exception: snowy range

about how long to animals travel for water/food per day

about 2 hours a day

what is the most active grazing season

spring

how do grazing patterns influence milking cows

• periods of active grazing are followed by sternal recumbency (laying down) for rumination and milk production

what is an example of a grazing monitor

the moo monitor

what are 5 things the moo monitor does

1. heat detection

2. rumination

3. grazing

4. resting

5. health alerts

what is energetics

animals can recognize the energetic value of foods and take into account the energy cost needed to obtain the food

what are 3 important hormones that influence food selection/meal size

1. leptin

2. ghrelin

3. insulin

what is leptin

• produced by adipose tissue

• inhibits (decreases) hunger

what is ghrelin

• produced by the GI tract

• stimulates hunger

what are 5 important neurotransmitters that influence food selection/meal size

1. neuropeptide Y

2. agouti-related protein

3. orexin

4. MSH

5. CRH

what neurotransmitters are orexigenic (increase hunger)

• neuropeptide Y

• agouti-related protien

• orexin

what neurotransmitters are anorexigenic (decrease hunger)

• MSH

• CRH

what do different energy densities mean

• higher E density = larger meal

• lower E density = smaller meal