Foraging innovation, in which an individual eats a novel food or uses a novel foraging technique, has been observed in a wide range of species. If other individuals are nearby, they may adopt the innovation, thus spreading it through the population. Much research has focused on this social transmission of behaviour, but the effect of social context on the emergence of novel behaviour is unclear...

OBJECTIVE The aim of the present study was to investigate whether feeding styles and parenting styles are associated with children's unhealthy snacking behaviour and whether the associations differ according to children's ethnic background. METHOD Cross-sectional data from the population-based 'Water Campaign' study were used. Parents (n=644) of primary school children (6-13 years) completed ...

Daily rhythms are evident across our physiology, ranging from overt behavioural patterns like sleep to intricate molecular rhythms in epigenetic coding. Driving these rhythms at an anatomical and cellular level are circadian clock networks comprising core clock genes and an ever-expanding list of clock-controlled genes. Research over the past decade has revealed an intimate relationship between...

A consequence of increasing litter size in sheep is that a portion of the lambs have to be reared artificially. Detailed information about the pattern of milk consumption of artificially reared lambs would help improve their management. The purpose of this study is to describe the individual and group feeding behaviour of 94 Romane artificially reared lambs from 5 to 28 days of age using an ele...

Feeding behaviour is a complex functional system that relies on external signals and the physiological state of the animal. This is also the case in ants as they vary their feeding behaviour according to food characteristics, environmental conditions and - as they are social insects - to the colony's requirements. The biogenic amine serotonin (5-HT) was shown to be involved in the control and m...

The objective of this study was to examine the effects of predictable vs. unpredictable management routines on the behaviour, production and health of dairy calves. Three different feeding schedules for milk-fed dairy calves were compared. All calves received milk twice a day, and had free access to concentrate, hay and water. Three groups of 12 calves (divided on two trials) were exposed to on...

OBJECTIVE To evaluate feeding difficulties and maternal behaviour during a feeding session with 1 month old infants prenatally exposed to cocaine and/or opiates. METHODS The study is part of the maternal lifestyle study, which recruited 11 811 subjects at four urban hospitals, then followed 1388 from 1 to 36 months of age. Exposure to cocaine and opiates was determined by maternal interview a...

OBJECTIVE To examine the roles of child cognitions and parental feeding practices in explaining child intentions and behaviour regarding fruit and vegetable consumption. DESIGN Cross-sectional surveys among pre-adolescent children and their parents. SETTING The child questionnaire included measures of fruit and vegetable consumption and cognitions regarding fruit and vegetable consumption a...