Behavior of Domestic Animals

Quiz One

Domestication

Animals were domesticated because of what they can provide for humans

Animals Provide…

food, clothing, transportation, companionship

Animals role in primitive societies

as animals became avaliable they became essential to sustain life

What were animals first selected for?

Tractability

What is Tractability

Easily managed or tamable

When were dogs domesticated

about 33,000 YA in Asia and about 18,000 YA in other places

When were cattle domesticated?

about 11,000 YA

What are the primary factors for domestication to be possible?

-showing reduced anti-predator response to people

-low aggression to humans

-effective reproduction in captivity

How many mammals are domesticated

about 40 out of 66,000

Good Animal Production

knowing how to respond to certain behaviors

Factory Farming

Concentrated population in a small area

CAFO

Concentrated animal feeding operation

Intensive animal behaviors

behaviors changed, sanitation decreased, higher disease transmission

Anthropomorphism

Interpreting animal behaviors/actions in terms of human behavior and emotions

Ethology

Scientific study of entire behavioral patterns in natural surroundings

Who is responsible for ethology? What did they study?

Jane Goodall; chimpanzees

Behaviorism

Study of animal behavior, usually referring to measured responses to stimuli or to trained behavioral responses in a laboratory context

Behavior

movements animals make, including change from motion to non-motion, in response to external or internal stimuli

Modern Techniques in ethology

sensory analysis

motor control

hormonal effects

motivation

body maintenance motivation

reproductive behavior

social structure

learning/intelligence

Computational Ethology

New interdisciplinary field using modern advances in machine learning and machine vision (computational) for measuring, describing and analyzing natural behavior in freely moving animals

ethogram

detailed decription of an animal’s behavior

Why do producers need to be aware of animal behavior?

reduce stress, optimize prodcution, step and determined why it’s happening, how to adjust

we want to our to be their best and do well

Pasture Selection

animals are good at picking out quality pastures/good grass

competition for grain

worry about getting trampled

Stereotypie

a repeated action with no apparent reasoning (possibly a coping mechanism)

pathognomonic

Look at the animal’s behavior and determine if it has specific behaviors

Teatnus

causative organism is Clostridium tetani

introduced into body, gets closed off and festers

causes muscle rigidity/lockjaw in masseter muscles, prolapse of third eyelid

can be fatal so we vaccinate against it

hypersensitivity to stimuli

Fitness

Measure of reproductive success

Genetic Selection

either natural or artificial (controlled by humans)

Social Inheritance

Inherited behavior pattern present in a population of animals

Behaviors shaped by necessities which are:

food, shelter, mates, avoiding predation

Territorial Regulation

defense of a living area

aggressive acts directed at other members of the same species & sex which trespass

Territoriality

increased probability of successful reproduction

Home Range

area which animal learns thoroughly and habitually uses (very familiar); doesn’t necessarily defend, can overlap sometimes

Territory

Area defended by fighting or demarcation (spraying, claw marks, rub antlers, vocalization, rub scent glands); deterrent to others; leaving information behind so others detect and stay away

Individual space

minimum distance an animal will preserve for itself; room to protect, stand, stretch, etc…

polygynous/ polygny

one or a few males mate with several females

What can crowding do?

cause stress, physiological changes that reduce reproductive capacity

Dimorphism

males are larger, more colorful and have weapons in order to attract females

ungulates

hooved animals

gallinaceous

domesticated birds (chickens, turkeys, pheasant, grout, etc)

Marked Dimorphism

live in large social groups

relatively few breeding males

breeding males possess harems (polygyny)

young are precocial (don’t require a lot of maternal care)

lacking dimorphism

live in a nuclear family unit

pair bonding of male/female

young are altricial (reliant on maternal care)

Males Major Functions

inseminate females

little care of young

expendable (replaceable)

female fitness

ability to provide adequate care to their young

Instinctive Behavior

born with it, doesn’t have to be taught

(this is controversial)

Innate Behavior

increases fitness and occurs in the adequate form when first needed

Behavior Patterns

combination of innate and learned components

Innate Releasing Mechanism (IRM)

neural network in the brain that responds to specific stimuli, triggering “instinctive” behaviors known as “fixed action patterns (FAPs), which are crucial for survival as they help animals perform essential behaviors without prior learning