An “orientation sphere” visualization for examining animal head movements

1. Animal behavior is elicited, in part, in response to external conditions, but understanding how animals perceive the environment and make the decisions that bring about these behavioral responses is challenging.
2. Animal heads often move during specific behaviors and, additionally, typically have sensory systems (notably vision, smell, and hearing) sampling in defined arcs (normally to the front of their heads). As such, head‐mounted electronic sensors consisting of accelerometers and magnetometers, which can be used to determine the movement and directionality of animal heads (where head “movement” is defined here as changes in heading [azimuth] and/or pitch [elevation angle]), can potentially provide information both on behaviors in general and also clarify which parts of the environment the animals might be prioritizing (“environmental framing”).
3. We propose a new approach to visualize the data of such head‐mounted tags that combines the instantaneous outputs of head heading and pitch in a single intuitive spherical plot. This sphere has magnetic heading denoted by “longitude” position and head pitch by “latitude” on this “orientation sphere” (O‐sphere).
4. We construct the O‐sphere for the head rotations of a number of vertebrates with contrasting body shape and ecology (oryx, sheep, tortoises, and turtles), illustrating various behaviors, including foraging, walking, and environmental scanning. We also propose correcting head orientations for body orientations to highlight specific heading‐independent head rotation, and propose the derivation of O‐sphere‐metrics, such as angular speed across the sphere. This should help identify the functions of various head behaviors.
5. Visualizations of the O‐sphere provide an intuitive representation of animal behavior manifest via head orientation and rotation. This has ramifications for quantifying and understanding behaviors ranging from navigation through vigilance to feeding and, when used in tandem with body movement, should provide an important link between perception of the environment and response to it in free‐ranging animals.

     

Attitudes toward Animals of Students at Three European Veterinary Medicine Schools in Italy and Spain

The European Veterinary Code of Conduct recognizes the crucial role of veterinarians in improving animal welfare and maintaining its standards. However, several studies have claimed that veterinary students’ attitudes toward animals may worsen as they progress through their academic training. This study aimed to investigate students’ attitudes toward nonhuman animal use in three European veterinary medicine schools (Italy and Spain). For this purpose, 565 veterinary students completed a questionnaire consisting of a range of items grouped into four animal-use categories: “Research,” “Entertainment,” “Utilitarianism,” and “Veterinary Issues.” Items were scored on a 5-point Likert-type scale, with higher scores indicative of higher concern regarding animal welfare. Results showed that the use of animals for “Entertainment” and questions related to “Veterinary Issues” raised the most concern among the veterinary students, while the use of animals for “Research” was of least concern. Moreover, we also examined some potentially confounding factors: age, academic year (first to fifth), gender, previous experience with pets, and university. Female students had a higher concern for animal welfare compared with their male counterparts. Students in their earlier stages of training as veterinarians also exhibited a greater concern for animal welfare compared with those of later academic years. Other factors affecting students’ attitudes toward animal use were the age of the students and the university they were enrolled at. The findings of this study confirm that attitudes toward animal use are not homogeneous and are associated with students’ demographic, educational, and personal characteristics.     

Reasons People Surrender Unowned and Owned Cats to Australian Animal Shelters and Barriers to Assuming Ownership of Unowned Cats

Most cats surrendered to nonhuman animal shelters are identified as unowned, and the surrender reason for these cats is usually simply recorded as “stray.” A cross-sectional study was conducted with people surrendering cats to 4 Australian animal shelters. Surrenderers of unowned cats commonly gave surrender reasons relating to concern for the cat and his/her welfare. Seventeen percent of noncaregivers had considered adopting the cat. Barriers to assuming ownership most commonly related to responsible ownership concerns. Unwanted kittens commonly contributed to the decision to surrender for both caregivers and noncaregivers. Nonowners gave more surrender reasons than owners, although many owners also gave multiple surrender reasons. These findings highlight the multifactorial nature of the decision-making process leading to surrender and demonstrate that recording only one reason for surrender does not capture the complexity of the surrender decision. Collecting information about multiple reasons for surrender, particularly reasons for surrender of unowned cats and barriers to assuming ownership, could help to develop strategies to reduce the number of cats surrendered.     

Does a homogeneous population of elementary movement detectors activate the landing response of blowflies,Calliphora erythrocephala?

The landing response of tethered flying blowflies, Calliphora erythrocephala, was elicited by moving periodic gratings, and by stripes moving apart. The influence of binocular interactions on the landing response was investigated by comparing the responses of intact (“binocular”) animals to the response of flies which had one eye covered with black paint (“monocular” flies) effectively eliminating the input from this eye. Directions of motion eliciting a maximal response (preference direction) were determined in intact animals, and in “molecular” flies for different regions of the visual field. Preference directions determined in “monocular” flies follow the orientation of Z-axes (Fig. 4). Preference directions determined in intact animals and in “monocular” flies differ in the binocular eye region: in intact animals, the preference directions corresponds to vertical directions of motion; whereas the preference direction determined for the same area in “monocular” flies are inclined obliquely against the vertical plane. Sex-specific differences were found for the ventral binocular eye region in which the shift of preference directions is more pronounced in male than in female flies. The experimental data support the hypothesis that elementary movement detectors are aligned along the Z-axes of the eye, and that preference directions deviating from the orientation of elementary movement detectors are caused by binocular interactions.     

“野生动物”的概念框架和术语定义

“野生动物”(wild animal)一词不止在我国, 在全球的英语使用者中也有不同的含义。通过梳理相关研究、国内法和国际法背景下的定义和适用范围, 结合人类对动物繁殖和生活条件的控制情况, 本文提出了“野生动物”的二维概念框架, 梳理了动物从“野生”到“驯化”的12个连续状态。以下状态即未经中长期人工选择的动物类群应被视为野生动物: (1)其在荒野自然或人工环境(如城市或乡村)中自由生存繁殖, 无论是否存在人工投喂、经救护或辅助生殖后被放归的个体; (2)被捕捉圈养在人工环境中生活, 或源自野外但在圈养条件下出生的个体; (3)直系血亲(《濒危野生动植物种国际贸易公约》解释为世系前四代)仍有野外来源的人工繁育后代; (4)放生、逃逸或引入到自然环境中的人工繁育个体。在野生动物物种保护的目标和语境之下, 经过长期人工选择的驯化动物, 无论其是否在人类控制下生活, 如家养猫狗、家禽家畜或模式实验动物, 以及流浪猫狗、放生禽畜和野化家养动物等都不是“野生动物”。但对于一些经过一定程度的人工选择, 所处人类控制情况和对野外种群的影响各异(如经过多代人工繁育的驯养动物、因人类活动导致的外来动物等), 其是否需被作为野生动物管理, 则需要根据生态安全、物种管理、立法目标等特别设定监管范围。《中华人民共和国野生动物保护法》的保护对象可以考虑为: 受到人类威胁濒临灭绝的, 或者具有重要生态作用的野生动物物种, 其状态可不限于是在野外还是人工控制条件下。其他动物的管理, 可根据遗传资源保护、疫病防控、动物福利和生态安全等需要, 另外设立《动物福利法》《生物安全法》等, 并和已有的法律法规如《动物防疫法》《渔业法》等做好衔接。本文还就《野生动物保护法》可能采用的“野生动物”定义提出建议。     

“Animals Like Us”: Identifying with Nonhuman Animals and Support for Nonhuman Animal Rights

While anthropomorphizing nonhuman animals has been shown to increase identification with them and, by extension, concern for their wellbeing, little research has directly tested whether identifying with nonhuman animals is similarly associated with concern for their wellbeing. We tested hypotheses related to this premise across three cross-sectional studies. In study 1 (n = 224), we tested the hypothesis that therians—a group of people who self-identify with nonhuman animals, show greater concern for nonhuman animal rights than non-therian furries—people with a fan-like interest in media featuring anthropomorphized animal characters. In study 2 (n = 206), we further tested this hypothesis using implicit and explicit measures of identification with nonhuman animals to predict behavioral intentions to support nonhuman animal rights. In study 3 (n = 182), we tested the generalizability of our findings in a sample of undergraduate students. Taken together, the studies show that explicit, but not implicit, identification with nonhuman animals predicts greater support for their rights. The implications of these findings for research on anthropomorphism and animal rights activism are discussed, as well as the limitations of these findings and possible avenues for future research.     

What is the value of wild animal welfare for restoration ecology?

The restoration community continues to discuss what constitutes good environmental stewardship. One area of tension is the extent to which the well‐being of wild animals should inform restoration efforts. We discuss three ways that the perspective of wild animal welfare can augment restoration ecology: strengthening people's relationship with nature, reinforcing biotic integrity, and reducing mechanistic uncertainty. The animal welfare movement elevates sentient animals as stakeholders and explores how environmental context directly impacts the well‐being of individuals. Viewing wild animals through this lens may encourage people to think and act with empathy and altruism. Second, we incorporate animal welfare into the concept of biotic integrity for ecological and ethical reasons. Restoring ecosystem processes may enhance animal welfare, and vice versa. Alternatively, there may be a trade‐off between these factors, requiring local decision‐makers to prioritize between restoring ecosystem function and promoting individuals' well‐being. We conclude by discussing how welfare can impact population recovery, thereby adding insights about mechanisms underpinning restoration objectives. Ultimately, restoration ecologists and proponents of wild animal welfare could enjoy a productive union.     

The Firefly and the Trout: Recent Shifts Regarding the Relationship Between People and other Animals in Japanese Culture

ABSTRACT

Scholars of Japan like to point out that the Japanese are interested in tamed (miniature trees, ikebana, gardens) as opposed to wild nature, and that for the Japanese, culture and nature are not mutually exclusive concepts. Moreover, there hardly seems to be any direct relationship between the Japanese sensitivity to nature and Japanese environmental behaviour. Bearing these general assumptions in mind, this paper analyzes the changes in the relationship between the Japanese and animals through two recent movements in Japan: firefly protection and fly fishing.

This study is based on interviews and participant observation among several firefly protection groups in the Kansai area from 1989 to 1997, among fly-fishing fishermen, and in fishing cooperatives of Gifu prefecture since 1997. In order to ascertain tendencies regarding new shifts in attitudes toward animals, specific observations regarding each of these issues will be disregarded so as to deal only with the commonalities. The similarities between the movements are indeed striking. Traditionally caught by the thousands, and released in houses and gardens for people's enjoyment, fireflies play a role in linking humans with what the Japanese call “close nature.” The firefly image is also very conspicuous in poetry and art. But the firefly population declined in the 1950s, and they are now being protected through drastic legal and social policies, partly influenced by Western environmentalism. The issue of firefly protection is entangled in a criss-cross of interests involving environmental concerns, urban renewal policies and the revival of depopulated rural areas, for which the firefly has become a widely used symbol. At the same time, the movement for firefly protection is highly critical of the traditional ways of dealing with fireflies. Similarly, despite the existence of a traditional Japanese method of “fly-fishing” (tenkara), the recent fly fishing boom seems to be the result of environmental trends such as the “outdoor boom,” and the “catch and release” method.

The introduction of a new fishing technique and the emergence of a consciousness and a commitment to protect fauna and flora disrupted the complex traditional relationship between humans and certain species of animals in both cases. And in both cases, the new approach to nature provoked a strong “cultural resistance” to the loss of the specific Japanese way of dealing with animals. Like “woodpigeon hunting” in southern France, or the whaling issue in other cultural areas, these phenomena appear to be symptomatic of the opposition between tradition(al culture) and environmental concerns. Indeed, the objectification of nature that underscores environmental concern is only possible through a distancing from nature, in which people differentiate and disassociate themselves from other animals… a very “un-Japanese” idea.     

Companion Animals in Natural Disasters: A Scoping Review of Scholarly Sources

During a disaster, people may make evacuation decisions based on their companion animal’s welfare, therefore exposing themselves, their companion animals, and emergency responders to increased risk for injury or death. The loss and suffering of companion animals in disasters causes deep distress, diminishing people’s capacity to rebuild their lives. This scoping review presents scholarly research studies and reviews relating to people and their companion animals in the context of disasters, with an aim of informing researchers, policymakers, and practitioners and providing direction for future research. Using the Arksey and O’Malley framework, articles in scholarly journals from 2004 to 2014 are discussed. Analysis included 38 articles: 20 research studies, 12 reviews, and 6 editorials. Findings revealed 2 central themes: companion animals as a risk factor to human health and safety and companion animals being “at risk” themselves. An emerging theme was “responsibility”: Who is responsible for companion animals in disasters and how? Understanding the implications of human–nonhuman animal relationships for disaster response and having a broader public consensus on what is owed to animals at times of emergency are important to community preparedness and resilience.     

Qu’est-ce que l’Ivoire ?

What is ivory? Though the term “ivory” has been generally applied to animal dental materials of commercial value, many specialists reserve the term “true ivory” for the enlarged incisors of elephants and extinct proboscideans. Compared even to the check teeth of the same species, these specialized incisors have chemical and structural properties that are unique, and which have substantial implications for the identification, analysis and interpretation of archaeological artifacts made of true ivory. Below, we present a definition of “true ivory” and an overview of its chemical and structural characteristics and the diagnostic features that can be used in its identification.     

The Relationship between Types of Human–Animal Interaction and Attitudes about Animals: An Exploratory Study

Existing theory and research suggests that understanding the nuances of particular instantiations of human–animal relationships is important in promoting positive, mutually beneficial relationships between people and animals. One such aspect of human–animal interaction (HAI) involves species of animal involved in the relationship, and how various types of HAI may impact individuals' attitudes about animals. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to explore if species and/or types of animal ownership were associated with feelings of emotional attachment, commitment, and moral orientation toward animals. A sample of young adults (n = 567) from the 4-H Study of Positive Youth Development completed a survey which included questions about animal ownership and attitudes about animals. Regression analyses demonstrated that the species of animal(s) a person owned significantly predicted all three dimensions of attitudes about animals. In addition, latent class analyses identified three prevalent types of animal interaction (no/few animals, small animals only, large and small animals), and multinomial logistic regression within the mixture model indicated that individuals in these subgroups significantly differed in moral orientation scores. Overall, the analyses strengthen support for the notion that species of animal involved in the interaction matters, and that relationships with various species of animals may differ qualitatively. These findings have implications for understanding the role of the relationship between types of animal ownership and attitudes about animals. Exploring the multifaceted nature of human–animal relationships is important in understanding how to optimize the person and animal characteristics that are associated with adaptive, mutually beneficial human–animal relationships.     

Are Dogs Children,Companions, or Just Animals? Understanding Variations in People's Orientations toward Animals

ABSTRACT

This paper examines the variations in dog owners' attitudes toward, treatment of, and interactions with, animals. Based on 28 in-depth interviews with dog owners from a county in the Midwestern United States, I demonstrate that pets are an important part of many people's lives, often providing companionship, entertainment, and meaningful interactions; however, there are notable, distinct variations in how people relate to them. Pet owners typically exhibit one of three orientations toward pets: “dominionistic,” “humanistic,” or “protectionistic.” The dominionistic have relatively low regard for their pets, valuing them primarily for the uses they provide, such as protection. Those employing the humanistic orientation elevate their pets to the status of surrogate humans and value their pets primarily for the affective benefits they enjoy from their close attachments. The protectionistic have high regard for both pets and animals more generally. They view pets as valuable companions and as creatures with their own interests. This typology offers insights for understanding the source and variety of the often ambiguous and contradictory relations between people and pets. I argue that individual characteristics and experiences impact how people understand and relate to animals, in large part, because they represent exposure to different cultural messages. I suggest that these orientations represent three sets of distinct cultural logics, each with distinct histories and contemporary sources.     

The Rise of Man's Best Friend: The Popularity of Dogs as Companion Animals in Late Eighteenth-Century London as Reflected by the Dog Tax of 1796

ABSTRACT

The history of the relationship between humans and their companion animals is long and more than a little complex. This is in large part due to the special status of these animals. Over the years these animals have evolved socially from that of an impersonal “object” to a “subject,” i.e. a sentient being with a recognized mental and emotional life. Histories of this change in relationship are rare. This is due mainly to a lack of source material; little is available and what there is is rarely reflective of a general population. Recently, records of a 1796 English dog tax have become available and they provide a fairly complete overview of the status of the dog as a companion animal in late eighteenth-century London.

The evidence indicates the dog was very popular as a companion animal in late eighteenth-century English urban society. While some of these creatures were former working-class canines others were what might be described as “professional companion animals” i.e. creatures who had no previous work history. The tax records further indicate that concern as to specific breed was still in the future. Dogs often received a generic title such as “yard dog” or “lapdog” or “housedog.” What is particularly interesting from these records is the number of mixed breed creatures—animals with the title of either “mongrel” or “curr.” (At least three Londoners kept foxes as pets.) There is also an almost total absence of kennels of hunting dogs in eighteenth-century London. Other historical records suggest this to be a recent phenomenon. Lastly, this outline appears to correlate strongly with the literary remarks, material accoutrements, and even religious practices of the late eighteenth-century urban dog population of England.     

Teaching animal habitat selection using wildlife tracking equipment

We present a hands-on outdoor activity coupled with classroom discussion to teach students about wildlife habitat selection, the process by which animals choose where to live. By selecting locations or habitats with many benefits (e.g., food, shelter, mates) and few costs (e.g., predators), animals improve their ability to survive and reproduce. Biologists track animal movement using radio telemetry technology to study habitat selection so they can better provide species with habitats that promote population growth. We present a curriculum in which students locate “animals” (transmitters) using radio telemetry equipment and apply math skills (use of fractions and percentages) to assess their “animal's” habitat selection by comparing the availability of habitat types with the proportion of “animals” they find in each habitat type.     

Giving More to Humans than to Animals in Need? A Behavioral Measure of Animal–Human Continuity in Large-scale Surveys

Survey research on attitudes and behavior toward animals is affected by the hypothetical character of behavioral measurements and socially desirable responses. Drawing on previous research in the fields of environmental behavior and behavioral economics, we combined the advantages of incentivized behavioral experiments and large-scale surveys by asking 2,299 participants in “dictator games” to allocate 10 euros between a charity for poverty reduction and themselves, as well as between a charity for animal protection and themselves (presented in counterbalanced order, with 200 allocations paid to the charities and participants). On average, participants donated approximately 70% of the 10 euros to each charity but donated slightly more money (0.42 euros) for poverty reduction than animal protection. Interestingly, participants allocated the same amount of money to the first charity (whether for humans or animals), but their second allocation depended on the charity and indicated an anthropocentric bias (i.e., higher allocations to poverty reduction than animal protection). Women donated more for animal protection than men, and stronger pro-animal attitudes were associated with higher donations for animal protection. We also found a positive effect of a “social desirability” scale on incentivized donations. In sum, our study finds that participants gave more to humanitarian than animal charities. However, this difference is less than fifty cents and, consequently, minor in magnitude.     

Reaching a Consensus: Terminology and Concepts Used in Coordination and Decision-Making Research

Research on coordination and decision-making in humans and nonhuman primates has increased considerably throughout the last decade. However, terminology has been used inconsistently, hampering the broader integration of results from different studies. In this short article, we provide a glossary containing the central terms of coordination and decision-making research. The glossary is based on previous definitions that have been critically revised and annotated by the participants of the symposium “Where next? Coordination and decision-making in primate groups” at the XXIIIth Congress of the International Primatological Society (IPS) in Kyoto, Japan. We discuss a number of conceptual and methodological issues and highlight consequences for their implementation. In summary, we recommend that future studies on coordination and decision-making in animal groups do not use the terms “combined decision” and “democratic/despotic decision-making.” This will avoid ambiguity as well as anthropocentric connotations. Further, we demonstrate the importance of 1) taxon-specific definitions of coordination parameters (initiation, leadership, followership, termination), 2) differentiation between coordination research on individual-level process and group-level outcome, 3) analyses of collective action processes including initiation and termination, and 4) operationalization of successful group movements in the field to collect meaningful and comparable data across different species.     

The Attachment of People to Companion Animals

ABSTRACT

This article examines whether the human-companion animal relation, and in particular attachment, can be explained and understood with the help of attachment theory and the “internal working model.” The (perceived) social support and responsivity of the human-animal bond and how these relate to the attachment theory are also discussed.

The research, however, found only weak relationships between owning a companion animal and attachment. Other factors that could influence the attachment of owners toward their animals are discussed.     

Environmental enrichment: A GAP analysis

GAP analyses are tools used to inform us about the short-comings of a scientific area or necessities in social–economic problems. In the last 20 years, environmental enrichment as an area of scientific investigation has come of age; this can be clearly seen by the number of publications produced in this area. For example, a search on the database The Web of Science^©, using the keywords “environmental enrichment”, from 1985 to 2004 produced 744 articles. In this study we analysed these 744 articles and classified them by year into: type of environment (e.g., zoo, farm and laboratory); taxonomic classification (e.g., mammal, bird, etc.); type of enrichment (e.g., food, sensory, etc.); subject area (e.g., neurosciences and agriculture); country of publication; and gathered data on experimental design (e.g., sample sizes). Furthermore, we collected similar data on animal well-being and animal conservation for comparative purposes (keywords: “animal well-being” and “animal conservation”). The results from this study show that the number of environmental enrichment studies has been steadily increasing from a low level in the 1980s until 1999, when there was a noticeable acceleration in the number of articles published. Largely, this acceleration was a response to the growing interest in environmental enrichment by neuroscientists. The data also show a relative lack of, and recent decline in, publications in the area of agriculture. Thus, the data suggest a need for more research on enriching the lives of farm animals. Environmental enrichment publications over the 20 years of the study corresponded to 27% of all animal well-being publications in the period. One interesting comparison between enrichment and animal well-being revealed the virtual absence of research in animal well-being by neuroscientists. The detailed results of this study will help in identifying gaps in our knowledge about environmental enrichment, and how experimental designs might be improved.     

Facing the Heat: Does Desiccation and Thermal Stress Explain Patterns of Orientation in an Intertidal Invertebrate?

A key challenge for ecologists is to quantify, explain and predict the ecology and behaviour of animals from knowledge of their basic physiology. Compared to our knowledge of many other types of distribution and behaviour, and how these are linked to individual function, we have a poor level of understanding of the causal basis for orientation behaviours. Most explanations for patterns of animal orientation assume that animals will modify their exposure to environmental factors by altering their orientation. We used a keystone grazer on rocky shores, the limpet Cellana tramoserica, to test this idea. Manipulative experiments were done to evaluate whether orientation during emersion affected limpet desiccation or body temperature. Body temperature was determined from infrared thermography, a technique that minimises disturbance to the test organism. No causal relationships were found between orientation and (i) level of desiccation and (ii) their body temperature. These results add to the growing knowledge that responses to desiccation and thermal stress may be less important in modifying the behaviour of intertidal organisms than previously supposed and that thermoregulation does not always reflect patterns of animal orientation. Much of what we understand about orientation comes from studies of animals able to modify orientation over very short time scales. Our data suggests that for animals whose location is less flexible, orientation decisions may have less to do with responses to environmental factors and more to do with structural habitat properties or intrinsic individual attributes. Therefore we suggest future studies into processes affecting orientation must include organisms with differing levels of behavioural plasticity.