长爪沙鼠的贮食行为与其个性和代谢水平之间的关系

贮食行为是动物应对食物资源的季节性和不可预测性变化的一种适应性生存策略。在群居性贮食动物中,同胎个体常表现出不同的贮食水平,而关于贮食行为与动物的个性和代谢水平之间的关系尚缺乏研究。本文以长爪沙鼠（Meriones unguiculatus）为对象,在筛选出具有高贮食和低贮食行为特征个体的基础上,比较了两组动物的个性特征（勇敢行为和探索能力）、静止代谢率、血清甲状腺激素水平、贮食期间的运动距离和贮食后的平均每日代谢率等。结果发现：高、低贮食长爪沙鼠的数量各占49%（22/45）和47%（21/45）,两组动物之间的个性特征、静止代谢率和血清甲状腺激素均没有显著差异。在贮食期间高贮食个体的运动距离显著高于低贮食个体,且在停止贮食后,高贮食个体的平均每日代谢率显著低于低贮食个体。这些结果表明,在室内条件下,长爪沙鼠的贮食量高低与个性和静止代谢率无关,但高贮食个体会在停止贮食后降低其总能量消耗,以补偿贮食过程中的高能量代价。     

传统圈养和半自然散放环境亚成年大熊猫的行为差异

2001年7月20日至8月20日,在四川卧龙自然保护区中国保护大熊猫研究中心,采用连续观察法记录和分析了传统圈养和半自然散放环境下亚成年大熊猫(分别为3和9只)的几种行为的持续时间和发生次数。传统圈养环境亚成年大熊猫探究行为的持续时间、标记行为的频次显著多于半自然散放环境下的个体;刻板行为的持续时间有增加的趋势,但无显著差异。刻板行为的持续时间与标记行为的频次和探究行为的持续时间均呈显著正相关。表明圈养环境的改善有助于亚成年大熊猫探究和标记行为的明显减少。     

高原鼠兔个性特征的地理变异及其对环境的适应

个性特征是指动物稳定且可遗传的综合行为特征,反映出其对特定环境的适应。限制性假说认为个性特征主要受遗传因素制约,个体间行为的表达差异不以环境条件而发生随意性改变;然而,适应性假说则认为个性特征主要由环境因素决定,生活于相同环境中的物种,其个性特征将产生趋同现象。本研究通过比较2个高原鼠兔地理种群的个性特征,检验适应性假说和限制性假说的相关预测。结果表明,刚察县高原鼠兔野外种群个体的行为特征聚为3类,玛沁县则为2类。实验室内驯化2-3个月后,两个地理种群个体行为特征聚为1类。两地理种群个体的观察、攀爬行为及边缘区域活动、移动累计时间均无显著差异,但静止累计时间存在明显地理差异。个体的中心区域活动累计时间在野外和驯化后均存在明显差异,且与地理空间的交互作用不显著。两地理种群之间个体的温顺性无明显差异;心率亦无显著差异。高原鼠兔个性特征中主要行为参数无显著的地理差异,主要由遗传因素决定,验证了限制性假说的相关预测。     

雄性短尾猴维持临时配偶关系的行为适应性

临时配偶关系指多雌多雄灵长类群体中的一只成年雄性连续跟随一只成年发情期/性接受期的雌性形成的异性关系,在季节性繁殖物种的交配季节表现的尤为明显,是雄性个体提高交配成功的策略之一。为了探讨能量消耗对这种行为的约束,本研究于2017年8月至2018年1月,以栖息于安徽黄山的短尾猴鱼鳞坑A1群（YA1群）的8~10只成年雄性为研究对象,采用目标动物取样法、行为取样法以及全事件记录法采集成年雄性自然发生的行为数据。通过分析移动时间、觅食时间和交配频次等行为指标,同时测定作为个体能量状态生理指标的尿液C-肽浓度（Urinary C-peptide , UCP）,从行为和生理两个方面研究雄性短尾猴维持临时配偶关系的适应性特征。研究期间,在临时配偶期内,雄性的移动时间无显著变化,但觅食时间和交配频率显著增加;在临时配偶期内,当存在雄性竞争者时,雄性的觅食时间显著减少;临时配偶关系对雄性的UCP水平无显著影响。结果表明,雄性短尾猴在临时配偶期内可能会根据能量消耗的情况以及守护雌性周围的社会环境对自身行为进行调整,以减少其在临时配偶期内的能量投资,提高自身维持临时配偶关系的行为适应性。     

圈养和放归成年雌性普氏野马(Equus przewalskii)夏季昼间的摄食行为

2005至2006年的6～8月间,在新疆普氏野马饲养与繁殖研究中心和卡拉麦里山有蹄类自然保护区,采用全事件取样法和目标动物取样法相结合,研究了圈养和放归成年雌性普氏野马夏季昼间的摄食行为.结果表明,两组个体在摄食行为类型上存在一定的差异,圈养个体普遍具有舔盐和食粪行为,而放归个体不存在此类行为.经独立样本t 检验,得出两组个体的摄食和站立行为的时间分配存在显著差异(P＜0.05),而站息、卧息、运动和其它行为差异不显著(P＞0.05),总体上,两组普氏野马的摄食行为所占时间最多.圈养个体昼间具有3个摄食高峰(8:00～10:00、13:00～15:00、19:30～20:00),与人工投食时间相一致,而放归个体摄食高峰并不明显,仅在13:00～15:00之间出现一个明显的摄食低谷,表现出自然的摄食节律及对放归地夏季自然条件的适应.     

圈养华南虎的个性评估及其性别差异

个性研究在动物生态研究和迁地保护中发挥着重要作用.华南虎(Panthera tigris amoyensis)作为最濒危的虎亚种,目前仍然缺乏对其个性特征的研究探索.本文通过个性特征主观评价法对6只圈养华南虎进行个性评估,并对比不同性别的华南虎个性特征的差异,使用新异物体测验进一步验证个性特征主观评价法的结果.最终提取...     

基于底栖动物预测模型构建生物完整性指数评价河流健康

提高生物完整性指数(integrity of biotic index,IBI; 又称多参数指数multi-metric index, MMI)在时间和空间尺度的稳定性是水生态完整性评价和水环境管理实践的重要内容.本研究利用2004—2011年在浙江省多个河流采集的227个点位的底栖动物和水质理化数据,利用地理信息系统(GIS)提取样点及其对应流域的自然预测因子(如地理形态学、气候学)和土地利用数据,通过随机森林模型方法定量时间和空间尺度自然变量对生物群落的影响,构建基于预测模型控制自然因子影响方法和常规方法的MMI,并比较它们的表现力.结果表明: 基于预测模型法和基于常规方法构建的MMI的核心组成参数存在差异,随机森林模型中自然预测因子对预测模型MMI构成生物参数的解释量介于11.4%～61.2%.预测模型方法提高了MMI的精确度和准确度,但其敏感性和响应性低于常规方法的MMI.最近距离方法表明,9个评价点位和1个严重受损点位的自然属性与参照点位的自然属性存在差异性.在计算参照点位自然属性代表性范围的基础上,采用预测模型方法控制自然变量可以提高MMI的精确度和准确度,同时降低评价结果出现Ⅰ型(将健康水体误判为受损水体)或者Ⅱ型(将受损水体误判为健康水体)错误的可能性.研究结果可以为提高完整性指数评价稳定性和表现力提供方法支持.     

金毛弓背蚁行为谱与社会分工的研究

本研究在室内模拟自然蚁巢的结构和条件下,使用个体标记和直接观察法对一巢金毛弓背蚁Componotus tonkinus的行为类型和社会分工进行了研究。共34只来自同一巢穴的工蚁被标记。在持续一周的观察过程中对每只蚂蚁所执行的每种行为的频率进行了统计和聚类分析。结果表明：金毛弓背蚁可以区分出12种基本行为类型;该蚂蚁的成员大致可以分为5个功能组, 即繁殖（蚁后1个）、觅食（由10个工蚁组成,主要负责觅食）、巢穴内的维护及护育（由16个工蚁组成,主要负责巢穴的维修、清理及护育）、巢穴的防卫（包括3个工蚁,行巢穴防卫）及不活跃型（含5个工蚁）。     

动物个性研究进展

"个性"是指不同时空条件下动物种群个体间行为的稳定差异。大量的理论和实验性研究表明,个性差异在动物界普遍存在,其是种群多度和分布、物种共存及群落构建的重要驱动因子。介绍了动物个性的概念、分类及衡量指标,将前人测量个性类型的方法加以总结;随后介绍了动物个性的生态学意义,尤其是个性对动物生活史策略、种群分布与多度、群落结构和动态、生态系统功能和过程以及疾病与信息传播等的影响。在此基础上,进一步分析了在人类活动增加等全球变化背景下,动物个性如何调控动物个体行为、种群和群落动态对这些环境变化的响应。阐述了动物个性的形成与维持机制,并对未来的研究方向进行了展望。     

圈养和放归成年雌性普氏野马(Equus przewalskii)夏季昼间的摄食行为

2005至2006年的6~8月间,在新疆普氏野马饲养与繁殖研究中心和卡拉麦里山有蹄类自然保护区,采用全事件取样法和目标动物取样法相结合,研究了圈养和放归成年雌性普氏野马夏季昼间的摄食行为。结果表明,两组个体在摄食行为类型上存在一定的差异,圈养个体普遍具有舔盐和食粪行为,而放归个体不存在此类行为。经独立样本t 检验,得出两组个体的摄食和站立行为的时间分配存在显著差异（P＜0.05）,而站息、卧息、运动和其它行为差异不显著（P＞0.05）,总体上,两组普氏野马的摄食行为所占时间最多。圈养个体昼间具有3个摄食高峰（8:00~10:00、13:00~15:00、19：30~20:00）,与人工投食时间相一致,而放归个体摄食高峰并不明显,仅在13:00~15:00之间出现一个明显的摄食低谷,表现出自然的摄食节律及对放归地夏季自然条件的适应。     

A multi-trait,field-based examination of personality in a semi-aquatic turtle

Studies documenting and quantifying personality traits are common in animal behavior. Such studies often consider the nature of individual variation and personality as correlated with a variety of natural history, physiological, or ecological traits, and therefore consider the importance of personality for strategies in wild systems. Though such studies have contributed markedly to our understanding of the important aspects of personality that may covary with a variety of factors that might affect fitness, much of the research on animal personalities is taxonomically limited. To supplement and compliment the laboratory study of reptile personality, we examined the patterns of multiple personality traits in wild Eastern painted turtles (Chrysemys picta) in the field. We examined patterns of aggression, sociability, and boldness across these traits in different contexts in 103 adult, wild-caught turtles. We found strong correlations both within and among the focal behavioral axes, representing robust evidence for personality in this species. Specifically, we found strong relationships among many measures of aggression, as well as relationships between aggression and our measures of boldness. Finally, we note a tendency for sociability in our turtles, with animals scoring high on sociability showing lower tendency toward aggression. Overall, our study provides robust evidence for correlated suites of behavioral traits, or personality, in a semi-aquatic turtle surveyed in the wild. Future work should continue to expand the range of traits examined to more fully consider the ecological consequences of variation in personality in this and similar species.     

Social development of bonnet macaques from six months to three years of age: A longitudinal study

Observations of age-sex class associations of three young female and five young male bonnet macaques born in the spring, 1975, were taken semiannually over three years beginning in the fall, 1975. Analysis reveals several patterns: (1) both males and females show continuous decline in association with age mates; (2) solitary time of females peaks at 1.5 years after which they begin to associate with adult females; (3) solitary time of males peaks at 2.5 years after which they associate predominantly with sub-adult males; (4) both males and females showed higher association with juveniles of the same sex than of opposite sex; and (5) both males and females showed annual cycles of association with some age-sex classes. These results are best understood with reference to the natural breeding cycle of the animals and the different life histories of male and female macaques in the wild.     

Comparison of personality between juveniles and adults in clonal gecko species

The developmental perspectives of animal personality enhance our understanding of how personality structure changes in relation to life stage. Clonal animals are ideal models for developmental studies because personality differences can be solely attributed to environmental factors. Here, I investigated the presence of personality within a species of clonal gecko, Lepidodactylus lugubris, at different developmental stages. For juveniles and adult geckos, I measured exploration (reaction to a novel situation) and boldness (risk-prone tendency) and evaluated repeatability and correlation of these behavioural traits. Each gecko exhibited different exploration and boldness with significant repeatability through time but no correlation between these behavioural traits. Small juveniles were composed of only bold and low explorative individuals but large juveniles and adults were composed of various personality type individuals. These results demonstrate that subject geckos have a similar personality structure across life stages and that exploration and boldness are independent personality without forming behavioural syndrome structure. Biased composition of personality type between life stages suggests that appearance of different personality type individuals during an early ontogenetic stage generates personality variation within the clonal population. This study provides developmental insight about personality structure and its composition in clonal animals living in the wild.     

Automatically detecting and tracking free‐ranging Japanese macaques in video recordings with deep learning and particle filters

Recently, automated observation systems for animals using artificial intelligence have been proposed. In the wild, animals are difficult to detect and track automatically because of lamination and occlusions. Our study proposes a new approach to automatically detect and track wild Japanese macaques (Macaca fuscata) using deep learning and a particle filter algorithm. Macaque likelihood is derived through deep learning and used as an observation model in a particle filter to predict the macaques’ position and size in an image. By using deep learning as an observation model, it is possible to simplify the observation model and improve the accuracy of the classifier. We investigated whether the algorithm could find body regions of macaques in video recordings of free‐ranging groups at Katsuyama, Japan to evaluate our model. Experimental results showed that our method with deep learning as an observation model had higher tracking accuracy than a method that uses a support vector machine. More generally, our study will help researchers to develop automatic observation systems for animals in the wild.     

Personality traits and behavioral syndromes in differently urbanized populations of house sparrows (Passer domesticus)

Urbanization creates novel environments for wild animals where selection pressures may differ drastically from those in natural habitats. Adaptation to urban life involves changes in various traits, including behavior. Behavioral traits often vary consistently among individuals, and these so-called personality traits can be correlated with each other, forming behavioral syndromes. Despite their adaptive significance and potential to act as constraints, little is known about the role of animal personality and behavioral syndromes in animals' adaptation to urban habitats. In this study we tested whether differently urbanized habitats select for different personalities and behavioral syndromes by altering the population mean, inter-individual variability, and correlations of personality traits. We captured house sparrows (Passer domesticus) from four different populations along the gradient of urbanization and assessed their behavior in standardized test situations. We found individual consistency in neophobia, risk taking, and activity, constituting three personality axes. On the one hand, urbanization did not consistently affect the mean and variance of these traits, although there were significant differences between some of the populations in food neophobia and risk taking (both in means and variances). On the other hand, both urban and rural birds exhibited a behavioral syndrome including object neophobia, risk taking and activity, whereas food neophobia was part of the syndrome only in rural birds. These results indicate that there are population differences in certain aspects of personality in house sparrows, some of which may be related to habitat urbanization. Our findings suggest that urbanization and/or other population-level habitat differences may not only influence the expression of personality traits but also alter their inter-individual variability and the relationships among them, changing the structure of behavioral syndromes.     

Determining overweight and underweight with a new weight‐for‐height index in captive group‐housed macaques

Housing primates in naturalistic groups provides social benefits relative to solitary housing. However, food intake may vary across individuals, possibly resulting in overweight and underweight individuals. Information on relative adiposity (the amount of fat tissue relative to body weight) is needed to monitor overweight and underweight of group‐housed individuals. However, the upper and lower relative adiposity boundaries are currently only known for macaques living solitarily in small cages. We determined the best measure of relative adiposity and explored the boundaries of overweight and underweight to investigate their incidence in group‐housed adult male and female rhesus macaques and long‐tailed macaques living in spacious enclosures at the Biomedical Primate Research Centre (BPRC), the Netherlands. During yearly health checks different relative adiposity measures were obtained. For long‐tailed macaques, comparable data on founder and wild animals were also available. Weight‐for‐height indices (WHI) with height to the power of 3.0 (WHI3.0) for rhesus macaques and 2.7 (WHI2.7) for long‐tailed macaques were optimally independent of height and were highly correlated with other relative adiposity measures. The boundary for overweight was similar in group‐housed and solitary‐housed macaques. A lower boundary for underweight, based on 2% body fat similar to wild primates, gave a better estimate for underweight in group‐housed macaques. We propose that for captive group‐housed rhesus macaques relative adiposity should range between 42 and 67 (WHI3.0) and for long‐tailed macaques between 39 and 62 (WHI2.7). The majority of group‐housed macaques in this facility have a normal relative adiposity, a considerable proportion (17–23%) is overweight, and a few (0–3%) are underweight.     

Environmental heterogeneity and population density affect the functional diversity of personality traits in small mammal populations

Understanding factors affecting the functional diversity of ecological communities is an important goal for ecologists and conservationists. Previous work has largely been conducted at the community level; however, recent studies have highlighted the critical importance of considering intraspecific functional diversity (i.e. the functional diversity of phenotypic traits among conspecifics). Further, a major limitation of existing literature on this topic is the lack of empirical studies examining functional diversity of behavioural phenotypes—including animal personalities. This is a major shortcoming because personality traits can affect the fitness of individuals, and the composition of personalities in a population can have important ecological consequences. Our study aims to contribute to filling this knowledge gap by investigating factors affecting the functional diversity of personality traits in wild animal populations. Specifically, we predicted that the richness, divergence and evenness associated with personality traits would be impacted by key components of forest structure and would vary between contrasting forest types. To achieve our objective we conducted a fully replicated large-scale field experiment over a 4 year period using small mammal populations as a model system. We found that greater heterogeneity in the cover of shrubs, coarse woody debris and canopy cover was associated with a greater richness, lower divergence and lower evenness in personality traits. Greater population density was associated with greater functional richness and lower functional divergence and evenness of personality traits. To maintain a behaviourally diverse population and its associated functions, managers may promote heterogeneity in vegetation and increased population density, which we found to be the most important determinants driving functional diversity of personality traits.     

Life history variables of wild troops of formosan macaques (Macaca cyclopis) in Kenting,Taiwan

A study on population dynamics of wild Formosan macaques (Macaca cyclopis) in Kenting, southern Taiwan, was conducted from March 1985 to August 1990. At first, only one monkey troop was studied. It fissioned in 1987 and both of the daughter troops have been observed since then. Total number of animals increased from 10 to 29 over the years, but the sizes of individual troops have never been more than 20. Seasonality in breeding has been detected: copulations were concentrated in the period from November to January and 75% of all the 28 births occurred between April and June. Time of birth by parous females without offspring from the preceding year was earlier than that of lactating females. Young females gave their first births at 4 or 5 years of age. Total birth rate over the study period was 0.8 infant per female per year. Hunting was the main cause of death while natural mortality rate was low for the animals. There was only one adult male in each troop for most of the time. Troop males in the two daughter troops have been replaced two or three times in the three years by some solitary males that moved around in the area. The reproductive parameters of Formosan macaques in Kenting were found to be more similar to that of rhesus monkeys than to Japanese macaques. And a case of higher reproductive success in a high-ranking matriline was reported.     

Personality of Wild Male Crested Macaques (Macaca nigra)

Animal personalities, i.e. consistent differences in behavior across time and/or context, have received increased attention of behavioral biologists over the last years. Recent research shows that personalities represent traits on which natural and sexual selection work and which can have substantial fitness consequences. The aim of this study is to establish the personality structure of crested macaque (Macaca nigra) males as foundation for future studies on its adaptive value. We collected behavioral data through focal animal sampling and additionally conducted two sets of playback experiments. Results of a factor analysis on the behavioral data revealed a four factor structure with components we labeled Anxiety, Sociability, Connectedness and Aggressiveness. Results from the experiments revealed an additional and independent Boldness factor but the absence of Neophilia. Overall, this structure resembles other macaque and animal species with the exception of Connectedness, which might be a consequence of the species'' tolerant social style. Our results thus not only form the basis for future studies on the adaptive value of personality in crested macaques but also contribute an important data point for investigating the evolution of personality structure from a comparative perspective by refining, for example, which personality factors characterized the last common ancestor of hominids and macaques.     

The behaviour and ecology of wild orang-utans (Pongo pygmaeus)

Between June 1968 and November 1971, 21 months of fieldwork were spent studying wild populations of orang-utans in Borneo and Sumatra. Fifteen hundred hours of daylight observation were made on these animals. In contrast to other higher primates, the dispersed distribution of food and the orang-utan's slow mode of travel seem to favour solitary habits. Over, 80 per cent of foraging units seen contined only one independent animal, either alone or with dependent young. Larger groupings were seen when adolescents joined up with other animals or when males and females formed temporary consortships for mating purposes. Comparison between several populations revealed an interesting mechanisms for the natural regulation of animal numbers. Differences between Bornean and Sumatran orang-utans are discussed in relation to the zoogeography of these two islands.