In the laboratory setting, environmental factors have a major influence on the well-being of laboratory animals. The present study shows the importance of a semi-natural light-dark cycle. In this experiment one cohort of mice was kept with a continuous lighting for one week. After the first week the artificial light-dark cycle was 12:12 with lights on at 07:00 h. The second cohort of mice was k...

Please cite this article in press as: Faragó, T Behaviour (2010), doi:10.1016/j.anbehav.201 A number of species are considered to use functionally referential signals such as alarm calls or foodrelated vocalizations. However, this particular function of communicative interaction has not previously been found in canids. We provide the first experimental indication that domestic dogs, Canis famil...

Previous studies suggest that territories of red-backed salamanders, Plethodon cinereus, function as exclusive feeding areas, because prey are limited in availability during rainless periods. To test this idea, males were paired in laboratory chambers under three feeding conditions: (1) termites, a high-quality food resource, (2) ants, a low-quality resource and (3) ants plus termites. Termites...

Simply observing other individuals interacting has been shown to affect subsequent behaviour and also hormones in 'bystander' individuals. However, immediate physiological responses of an observer have been hardly investigated. Here we present results on individuals' heart rate (HR) responses during various situations, which occur regularly in a flock of greylag geese (Anser anser, e.g. agonist...

To investigate the role of certain neurohormones in agonistic behaviour, fights were staged between pairs of size-matched male shore crabs Carcinus maenas, and blood samples were taken immediately after the contests had been resolved. Samples were also taken from these crabs at rest (before and after fighting) and after walking on a treadmill. A control group of crabs also had samples taken on ...

In addition to hypopigmentation of the skin and red iris colouration, albino animals also display distinct physiological and behavioural alterations. However, information on the social interactions of albino animals is rare and has mostly been limited to specially bred strains of albino rodents and animals from unique environments in caves. Differentiating between the effects of albinism and do...

A standardised and comprehensive approach to describe dominance relationships in gregarious farm animals quantitatively was recently developed, incorporating a combination of appropriate sociometric measures. The present study applied this approach to a comparative analysis of the social hierarchies within 57 groups of domestic pigs at different age/production stages with a total of 496 animals...