Misc Behavior

Domesticated

An animal selectively bred in captivity for use by humans via artificial and natural selection of traits, genetically different from wild ancestors

Traits favoring domestication

• large social groups w/promiscuous mating

• parent-offspring bonding

• low flight distance

• flexible diet

• limited agility

• climate adaptability

• docility

Effects of domestication

• altered body size, appendages, and fat deposition

• smaller brain size

• increased muscle/milk production

• loss of self-sufficiency, pair bonding, and broodiness

• reduced flightiness and aggression

• neoteny and docility

Wild

Animals that have never been domesticated

Feral

A member of a domesticated species that is not cared for by humans

Tamed

A member of a wild species that has lost the fear of humans

Solitary/asocial

Individuals live alone except for mating and rear offspring alone; ex: bears, hamsters, most big cats

Pairs

A male and female defend territory and rear offspring together, bonds may be short-term to lifelong, sexual or social, or include extra-pair interactions; ex: birds, foxes, wild carnivores

Matriarchal groups

Groups of females and offspring with males solitary or in bachelor groups that intermix during mating; ex: cattle, elephants, domestic cates, sheep, goats

Harems/natal bands

One male lives with a group of females with bachelor bands for older/juvenile males, may exist within a group/herd; ex: horses, some primates

Packs

Males and females live cooperatively in a social group and rear young and hunt communally; ex: wolves, African Wild Dogs

Resource holding potential

Theoretical potential for an animal to win an all-out fight; does not always correlate to pursuing/winning a fight (resource value dependent)

Linear hierarchy/pecking order

A unidirectional relationship in a group, high rank often based on parental rank, older age, large size, male

Triangular/multi-angular hierarchy

A hierarchy based on relationships between pairs of animals

Despotic heirarchy

One animal has priority access to all resources, minimal to no hierarchy among other animals; ex: domestic cats

Complex heirarchy

A combination of structures that is common in large groups of animals

Dominance

A predictable relationship between 2 animals of the same species established over multiple agonistic encounters and maintained by deference that dictates priority for a resource

Aggression

A threat or act of harm (offensive or defensive) by one individual against another, infrequent in stable hierarchies

Offensive aggression

An animal percieves a resource opportunity and threatens or attacks another animal to gain access

Defensive aggression

An animal perceives a threat to their safety/resources, becomes fearful, and exhibits defensive threats or attacks

Submissive displays

Giving up preferential access to resources and showing inhibitory stimuli to an opponent to avoid attack; ex: avoidance, deference, displacement

Avoidance

May be active (give way to other animal) or passive (freeze/avoid eye contact)

Displacement behaviors

Normal behaviors displayed out of context to displace an underlying emotion; ex: grooming, eating, sniffing, raising paw

Paternal care

Most fathers not involved in rearing young; advantages of care include reproductive success, mating opportunities, and decreased burden on female

Maternal behaviors

• Find/prepare birth location

• Lick newborn

• Influenced by hormones (estrogen), neural stimulation (oxytocin), and stimuli from neonate

Pheromones

Chemical secreted by an animal that influences behavior/development of other individuals in the species; maternal pheromones attract neonates to them

Altricial

Newborns that are born helpless (blind, deaf, unable to walk); ex: dogs, cats, rabbits, primates, rats

Precocial

Newborns that are born able to move and forage at an early age/born late in development; ex: horses, cattle, ungulates, pigs, chickens

Hiders

Neonates kept in a nest near the birthing site while the mother leaves to hunt/forage, mostly altricial

Followers

Neonates that walk or run with their mothers shortly after birth

Imprinting

An immediate, long-lasting, learned response toa large visual cue in the environment of a young precocial bird

Bonding

A relationship formed between mother and young using oral/tactile cues from both, form in both altricial and precocial species

Concaveation

Experienced mothers start showing mothering behaviors without hormonal influence

Social facilitation

Behavior that is initiated or increased by another animal engaging in the same behavior, can have benefits for self-protection and observational learning; ex: chicks, cattle, pigs, dogs

Play

Social interactions that often imitate functional behaviors; can be done to practice fighting, avoidance, predation, or sexual behaviors

Domestic cat sociality

• scarce resources: solitary, no communal hunting

• abundant resources: matriarchal groups - core groups of females and juvenile offspring with dispersed males, exhibit communal rearing

• can form colonies of several core groups and associated males

House cat sociality

• will form complex/flexible hierarchies dependent on resources

• juveniles, related cats, and cats who have lived together for a long time show less aggression, territorial aggression likely with abrupt introductions

• new cats should be introduced gradually (scent exchange, gradual visual and space exposure, supervised time together)

Canine sociality

• Type I: solitary w/temporary pair bonded to mate & rear young (feral dogs)

• Type II: pair bonded w/minimal communal rearing & no communal hunting (neutered dog groups)

• Type III: packs of one breeding pair and related individuals w/communal rearing & hunting (wolves)

Epigenetics

Up/down regulation of genes by transcription factors, binding elements, promoter regulation, and histone acetylation; impacted by prenatal stress and fetal positioning