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Mialon MM, Nowak R, Falourd P, Marcon D, Lardy R, Boivin X. Are early-life lambs’ characteristics and behavioural reactivity related to later survival and growth performance during artificial feeding? Appl Anim Behav Sci 2023. [DOI: 10.1016/j.applanim.2023.105918] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 04/08/2023]
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da Porciuncula GC, Aita MF, Werncke D, Bettencourt AF, Poli CHEC, Fischer V. Maternal behavior scores and temperament of ewes under intensive and extensive handling systems. J APPL ANIM WELF SCI 2022:1-15. [PMID: 36573253 DOI: 10.1080/10888705.2022.2160248] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/28/2022]
Abstract
Maternal behavior has been related to ewe's reactivity, as more reactive ewes might have greater risk of presenting worse maternal ability. This study aimed to determine the association between maternal behavior score (MBS) of Corriedale ewes with their physiological and behavioral variables measured at weaning of their offspring within two handling systems. Data from 335 ewes with average (± SE) age of 3.1 ± 1.8 years and 46.5 ± 6.1 kg of body weight were used. Experimental farms were classified into two handling systems: intensive (n = 3) and extensive (n = 2), based on stocking density and nature of human-animal relationships. Maternal behavior was evaluated in the field within 24 h after delivery, using a 6-rated scale (1 = poor to 6 = excellent). This scale takes into account the distance the ewe takes from the lamb when the lamb is restrained by an observer. The temperament of the ewes was evaluated during an arena test, at the weaning of the lambs, and was divided into two phases: social isolation and human presence. Data were subjected to principal component analysis and logistic regression. Logistic regression of principal factor (PF) scores in MBS showed that physical activity during the isolation phase increased in 1.57 (CI: 1.02 to 2.42; P < 0.05) the probability of extensively handling ewes showing high MBS (≥4), while in intensively handling ewes, logistic regression showed that the number of vocalizations in both phases of the arena test increased in 1.64 (CI: 1.12 to 2.4; P < 0.05) the probability of ewes having high MBS. Albeit the handling systems are not comparable, MBS was positively associated with some behavioral variables measured at the arena test.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Marta Farias Aita
- Iwar Beckman Research Center, Rio Grande do Sul State Agricultural Research Foundation (FEPAGRO CAMPANHA), Hulha Negra, Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil
| | - Daíse Werncke
- Department of Animal Science, Federal University of Rio Grande do Sul (UFRGS), Porto Alegre, Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil
| | - Arthur Fernandes Bettencourt
- Department of Animal Science, Federal University of Rio Grande do Sul (UFRGS), Porto Alegre, Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil
| | | | - Vivian Fischer
- Department of Animal Science, Federal University of Rio Grande do Sul (UFRGS), Porto Alegre, Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil
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Dore A, Pasquaretta C, Henry D, Ricard E, Bompa JF, Bonneau M, Boissy A, Hazard D, Lihoreau M, Aubert H. A Non-Invasive Millimetre-Wave Radar Sensor for Automated Behavioural Tracking in Precision Farming-Application to Sheep Husbandry. SENSORS 2021; 21:s21238140. [PMID: 34884145 PMCID: PMC8662461 DOI: 10.3390/s21238140] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/02/2021] [Revised: 11/19/2021] [Accepted: 11/20/2021] [Indexed: 01/24/2023]
Abstract
The automated quantification of the behaviour of freely moving animals is increasingly needed in applied ethology. State-of-the-art approaches often require tags to identify animals, high computational power for data collection and processing, and are sensitive to environmental conditions, which limits their large-scale utilization, for instance in genetic selection programs of animal breeding. Here we introduce a new automated tracking system based on millimetre-wave radars for real time robust and high precision monitoring of untagged animals. In contrast to conventional video tracking systems, radar tracking requires low processing power, is independent on light variations and has more accurate estimations of animal positions due to a lower misdetection rate. To validate our approach, we monitored the movements of 58 sheep in a standard indoor behavioural test used for assessing social motivation. We derived new estimators from the radar data that can be used to improve the behavioural phenotyping of the sheep. We then showed how radars can be used for movement tracking at larger spatial scales, in the field, by adjusting operating frequency and radiated electromagnetic power. Millimetre-wave radars thus hold considerable promises precision farming through high-throughput recording of the behaviour of untagged animals in different types of environments.
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Affiliation(s)
- Alexandre Dore
- Laboratory for Analysis and Architecture of Systems, Toulouse University, CNRS, INPT, 31400 Toulouse, France; (D.H.); (H.A.)
- Research Center on Animal Cognition (CRCA), Center for Integrative Biology (CBI), CNRS, University Paul Sabatier-Toulouse III, 31400 Toulouse, France; (C.P.); (M.L.)
- Correspondence:
| | - Cristian Pasquaretta
- Research Center on Animal Cognition (CRCA), Center for Integrative Biology (CBI), CNRS, University Paul Sabatier-Toulouse III, 31400 Toulouse, France; (C.P.); (M.L.)
| | - Dominique Henry
- Laboratory for Analysis and Architecture of Systems, Toulouse University, CNRS, INPT, 31400 Toulouse, France; (D.H.); (H.A.)
- Research Center on Animal Cognition (CRCA), Center for Integrative Biology (CBI), CNRS, University Paul Sabatier-Toulouse III, 31400 Toulouse, France; (C.P.); (M.L.)
| | - Edmond Ricard
- GenPhySE, Toulouse University, INRAE, ENVT, 31326 Castanet Tolosan, France; (E.R.); (J.-F.B.); (D.H.)
| | - Jean-François Bompa
- GenPhySE, Toulouse University, INRAE, ENVT, 31326 Castanet Tolosan, France; (E.R.); (J.-F.B.); (D.H.)
| | | | - Alain Boissy
- UMR Herbivores, Clermont University, INRAE, VetAgro Sup, 63122 Saint-Genès Champanelle, France;
| | - Dominique Hazard
- GenPhySE, Toulouse University, INRAE, ENVT, 31326 Castanet Tolosan, France; (E.R.); (J.-F.B.); (D.H.)
| | - Mathieu Lihoreau
- Research Center on Animal Cognition (CRCA), Center for Integrative Biology (CBI), CNRS, University Paul Sabatier-Toulouse III, 31400 Toulouse, France; (C.P.); (M.L.)
| | - Hervé Aubert
- Laboratory for Analysis and Architecture of Systems, Toulouse University, CNRS, INPT, 31400 Toulouse, France; (D.H.); (H.A.)
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Lopes AKC, Araújo JF, Peixoto RM, de Sousa ALM, Lima AMC, Amaral GP, de Vasconcelos AM, Andrioli A. Evaluation of maternal-filial stress in a dairy goat herd with small ruminant lentivirus infection in the Brazilian northeastern semiarid region. J Vet Behav 2021. [DOI: 10.1016/j.jveb.2021.07.012] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
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Does coping style affect behavioral responses and growth performance of lambs weaned at different ages? J Vet Behav 2021. [DOI: 10.1016/j.jveb.2020.10.009] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/22/2022]
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Hazard D, Macé T, Kempeneers A, Delval E, Foulquié D, Bouix J, Boissy A. Genetic parameters estimates for ewes' behavioural reactivity towards their litter after lambing. J Anim Breed Genet 2020; 137:374-383. [PMID: 32196784 DOI: 10.1111/jbg.12474] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/17/2019] [Revised: 01/30/2020] [Accepted: 02/23/2020] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
Abstract
In livestock, improving maternal reactivity towards the litter is an important issue in breeding strategies to promote production and animal welfare. As of yet, no studies have investigated the within-breed genetic variation of maternal reactivity in sheep. The objective of this study was to estimate the genetic parameters of maternal reactivity traits. A total of 1,095 primiparous and 1,441 multiparous Romane ewes were phenotyped 24 hr postlambing using a behavioural test (arena test, AT) over a 10-year experimental period. The test consisted of three successive phases evaluating the ewe's attraction to her litter, reactivity to separation from her litter, and reactivity to a conflict between attraction to her litter and avoidance of a motionless human. The ewes were reared exclusively on rangelands (South of France) and lambed outdoors in the spring. High-pitched bleating and low-pitched bleating in the AT were mostly highly heritable (0.39-0.46). Heritabilities were moderate for proximity to the litter in the presence of a human (0.27) and low for locomotion and vigilance in the AT (0.09-0.15). The measurements of a given behaviour in the three phases of the AT were highly genetically correlated. Few genetic correlations were found between the different behavioural traits in the AT, the highest correlations being between high-pitched bleating and low-pitched bleating (-0.43 to -0.77). In conclusion, our findings demonstrate moderate-to-high heritability for maternal reactivity traits. These traits could be included in genetic selection schemes to enhance maternal attachment provided there is no unfavourable link with other production traits.
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Affiliation(s)
- Dominique Hazard
- GenPhySE (Génétique, Physiologie et Systèmes d'Elevage), INRAE, ENVT, Université de Toulouse, Castanet-Tolosan, France
| | - Tiphaine Macé
- GenPhySE (Génétique, Physiologie et Systèmes d'Elevage), INRAE, ENVT, Université de Toulouse, Castanet-Tolosan, France
| | - Amandine Kempeneers
- GenPhySE (Génétique, Physiologie et Systèmes d'Elevage), INRAE, ENVT, Université de Toulouse, Castanet-Tolosan, France
| | - Eric Delval
- INRAE UMR1213 Herbivores, Université de Clermont, Saint-Genès Champanelle, France
| | - Didier Foulquié
- INRAE UE321 Domaine de la Fage, Roquefort-sur-Soulzon, France
| | - Jacques Bouix
- GenPhySE (Génétique, Physiologie et Systèmes d'Elevage), INRAE, ENVT, Université de Toulouse, Castanet-Tolosan, France
| | - Alain Boissy
- INRAE UMR1213 Herbivores, Université de Clermont, Saint-Genès Champanelle, France
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Dairy calves' personality traits predict social proximity and response to an emotional challenge. Sci Rep 2018; 8:16350. [PMID: 30397225 PMCID: PMC6218496 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-018-34281-2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 25] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/02/2018] [Accepted: 10/06/2018] [Indexed: 11/09/2022] Open
Abstract
The assessment of individual traits requires that tests are reliable (i.e. consistency over time) and externally valid, meaning that they predict future responses in similar contexts (i.e. convergent validity) but do not predict responses to unrelated situations (i.e. discriminant validity). The aim of this study was to determine if dairy calf personality traits (Fearfulness, Sociability and Pessimism), derived from behaviours expressed in standardized tests, predict individuals’ responses in related situations. The first experiment tested if the trait ‘Sociability’ was related to the expression of social behaviour in the home-pen, with calves assigned individual proximity scores (based on proximity to other calves) while they were in their home-pen at approximately 113 and 118 d of age. The second experiment aimed at exploring whether traits ‘Fearfulness’ and ‘Pessimism’ were related to the calves’ emotional response to transportation. All calves were subjected to two 10-min transportation challenges done on two consecutive days. Emotional response was assessed using the maximum eye temperature (measured using infrared thermography) and the number of vocalizations emitted. Social proximity scores (Experiment 1), vocalizations emitted and maximum eye temperature after loading (Experiment 2) were consistent over time. In addition, the results showed good convergent validity with calves scoring higher in Sociability also having higher proximity scores in the home-pen, and animals scoring higher in Fearfulness and Pessimism showing a more intense emotional response to transportation. The results also showed good discriminant validity, as neither Fearfulness nor Pessimism were associated with the expression of social behaviours (Experiment 1) and Sociability was not associated with the animal’s emotional response to transportation (Experiment 2). We conclude that the methodology used to measure personality traits shows good reliability and external validity.
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Tamioso PR, Maiolino Molento CF, Boivin X, Chandèze H, Andanson S, Delval É, Hazard D, da Silva GP, Taconeli CA, Boissy A. Inducing positive emotions: Behavioural and cardiac responses to human and brushing in ewes selected for high vs low social reactivity. Appl Anim Behav Sci 2018. [DOI: 10.1016/j.applanim.2018.08.001] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/09/2023]
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Abstract
Animals that experience situations likely to induce negative emotions show changes in judgment associated with pessimism. Few studies have focused on whether animals express stable differences in pessimism and whether these differences are related to personality traits. The first aim of this study was to explore if dairy calves are consistent over time in making judgments under ambiguous situations. Our second aim was to determine whether individual differences in judgment bias are related to conventional personality traits assessed using four standardized tests (Open field, Novel object, Human reactivity and Social motivation test). We subjected animals to two sessions of judgment bias and personality trait tests at 25 and 50 d of age. Individual differences in judgment bias were consistent over time with some animals persistently making more pessimistic choices compared to others. Two main dimensions of personality (Fearfulness and Sociability), obtained through principal component analysis, were also highly consistent over time. Pessimism was related to fearfulness, with more fearful calves making more pessimistic judgments. We conclude that dairy calves differ in the way they perceive and react to ambiguity and that this relates to individual differences in fearfulness.
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Hazard D, Bouix J, Chassier M, Delval E, Foulquié D, Fassier T, Bourdillon Y, François D, Boissy A. Genotype by environment interactions for behavioral reactivity in sheep1. J Anim Sci 2016; 94:1459-71. [DOI: 10.2527/jas.2015-0277] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
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Hudson R, Rangassamy M, Saldaña A, Bánszegi O, Rödel HG. Stable individual differences in separation calls during early development in cats and mice. Front Zool 2015; 12 Suppl 1:S12. [PMID: 26816512 PMCID: PMC4722366 DOI: 10.1186/1742-9994-12-s1-s12] [Citation(s) in RCA: 19] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/09/2023] Open
Abstract
Background The development of ethologically meaningful test paradigms in young animals is an essential step in the study of the ontogeny of animal personality. Here we explore the possibility to integrate offspring separation (distress) calls into the study of consistent individual differences in behaviour in two species of mammals, the domestic cat (Felis silvestris catus) and the mound-building mouse (Mus spicilegus). Such vocal responses in young mammals are a potentially useful test option as they represent an important element of mother-offspring communication with strong implications for offspring survival. In addition, the neural control of vocalisation is closely associated with emotional state. Results We found marked similarities in the pattern of individual responses of the young of both species to separation from their mother and littermates. In the domestic cat as well as in the mound-building mouse, individual differences in the frequency of calls and to a lesser extent in locomotor activity were repeatable across age, indicating the existence of personality types. Such consistencies across age were also apparent when only considering relative individual differences among litter siblings. In both species, however, individual patterns of vocalisation and locomotor activity were unrelated. This suggests that these two forms of behavioural responses to isolation represent different domains of personality, presumably based on different underlying neurophysiological mechanisms. Conclusions Brief separation experiments in young mammals, and particularly the measurement of separation calls, provide a promising approach to study the ontogeny of personality traits. Future long-term studies are needed to investigate the association of these traits with biologically meaningful and potentially repeatable elements of behaviour during later life.
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Coulon M, Lévy F, Ravel C, Nowak R, Boissy A. Mild effects of gestational stress and social reactivity on the onset of mother-young interactions and bonding in sheep. Stress 2014; 17:460-70. [PMID: 25256606 DOI: 10.3109/10253890.2014.969238] [Citation(s) in RCA: 22] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Consequences of prenatal stress on mother-young relationships are well-documented in altricial mammals but less so in precocial mammals. In this study, we investigated the effects of unpredictable aversive events on maternal behavior and mutual mother-young recognition in pregnant ewes while accounting for modulatory effects of ewe reactivity. From a population of 120 Romane-breed ewes, we selected 20 high-responsive (HR) and 20 low-responsive (LR) ewes according to pre-mating reactivity assessed in isolation tests. Over the final third of pregnancy, 10 HR ewes and 10 LR ewes were exposed daily to various aversive events such as social isolation, mixing and transport (stressed ewes), while the other 20 ewes were not exposed to aversive events (control ewes). Although the treatment induced chronic stress, physiologically confirmed by an increase in salivary cortisol following transport and sham shearing, maternal behavior of stressed ewes observed during the first 30 min postpartum and in the selectivity test 1 h 30 min later did not differ from controls. However, in a maternal motivation test performed 48 h postpartum, stressed ewes vocalized less than controls when separated from their lambs, and walked less readily past an unknown object to reach their lambs. Lambs of stressed ewes spent more time near their dam in a preference test performed 15 h after birth compared to control-ewe lambs. HR ewes spent more time grooming their lambs than LR ewes. We posit that domestication could have selected animals displaying robust expression of maternal behavior related to social reactivity and producing offspring that are better adapted to challenging situations.
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Ancillotto L, Russo D. Selective aggressiveness in European free-tailed bats (Tadarida teniotis): influence of familiarity, age and sex. Naturwissenschaften 2014; 101:221-8. [DOI: 10.1007/s00114-014-1146-6] [Citation(s) in RCA: 17] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/10/2013] [Revised: 01/09/2014] [Accepted: 01/10/2014] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
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How to estimate variability in affinity relationships in partially observed groups of domestic herbivores? Animal 2014; 8:817-26. [DOI: 10.1017/s175173111400024x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/06/2022] Open
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Opioid control of behaviour in sheep: Effects of morphine and naloxone on food intake, activity and the affective state. Appl Anim Behav Sci 2012. [DOI: 10.1016/j.applanim.2012.09.001] [Citation(s) in RCA: 21] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/23/2022]
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