1
|
Luo Y, Wang L, Yang L, Li XF, Anselme P, Wang X, Tian X, Li Z. Using a behaviour random permutation model to identify displacement grooming in ungulates. Curr Zool 2022; 69:200-207. [PMID: 37091989 PMCID: PMC10120960 DOI: 10.1093/cz/zoac035] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/07/2021] [Accepted: 05/03/2022] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Abstract
Behaviour affects an individual’s life in all aspects, e.g., enhancing fitness, leveraging predation risk, and reducing competition with conspecifics. However, the sequential distribution of behaviours received less attention and is unclear what the function of displacement behaviour is. Displacement activities can be found in vertebrate species but there is no formal method to determine whether a behaviour is expressed as a displaced or normal activity. Analysing the sequential distributions of behaviours in a natural setting may allow researchers to identify unexpected distributions as a possible signature of displacement activities. In this study, we used a behaviour random permutation model to detect the presence of a displacement activity in the Tibetan antelope Pantholops hodgsonii and the Tibetan gazelle Procapra picticaudata. The results showed that grooming in both ungulates tended to be accompanied with vigilance, and the frequency of grooming after vigilance was significantly higher than before vigilance. A significant positive correlation between the scan rate and grooming rate in the two ungulates was obtained. We suggest that grooming could sometimes be expressed as a displacement activity in ungulates. In addition to providing a general method for further research on displacement activities in a variety of animal species, this study sheds light on the importance of a spectral analysis of sequential distribution of animal behaviours. Behaviour random permutation models can be used to explore the relevance between any two behaviours in a specific sequence, especially to identify a myriad of unexpected behaviours relative to their normal context of occurrence.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Yunchao Luo
- Lab of Animal Behavior and Conservation, School of Life Sciences, Nanjing University, Nanjing 210023, China
| | - Lin Wang
- Lab of Animal Behavior and Conservation, School of Life Sciences, Nanjing University, Nanjing 210023, China
| | - Le Yang
- Tibet Plateau Institute of Biology, Lhasa 850000, China
| | - Xiao-Fen Li
- Department of Electrical Engineering, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, 800 DongChuan Rd., Shanghai 200240, China
| | - Patrick Anselme
- Department of Biopsychology, Ruhr-Universität Bochum 44801, Bochum, Germany
| | - Xinxin Wang
- Lab of Animal Behavior and Conservation, School of Life Sciences, Nanjing University, Nanjing 210023, China
| | - Xingjun Tian
- Lab of Animal Behavior and Conservation, School of Life Sciences, Nanjing University, Nanjing 210023, China
| | - Zhongqiu Li
- Lab of Animal Behavior and Conservation, School of Life Sciences, Nanjing University, Nanjing 210023, China
| |
Collapse
|
2
|
Novčić I, Vidović Z, Hauber ME. Nonrandom pattern of vigilance by preening black-headed gulls. BEHAVIOUR 2022. [DOI: 10.1163/1568539x-bja10167] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/19/2022]
Abstract
Abstract
Classic models of vigilance assume instantaneous and sequential randomness in the scanning process, implying negative exponential distribution of interscan durations and no interdependence among successive interscans. We examined whether vigilance pattern by preening black-headed gulls, Chroicocephalus ridibundus, meets these assumptions. Out of 54 behavioural sequences, 50 departed from the expected negative exponential distribution, whereas the focal interscan duration was significantly affected by the interaction of the preceding scan and the interscan interval. These results reveal departures from randomness in the scanning process by gulls, which may be a consequence of the hunting strategies of their predators or due to the trade-off between the needs for feather maintenance and antipredator vigilance.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Ivana Novčić
- Faculty of Biology, University of Belgrade, Studentski trg 16, 11000 Belgrade, Serbia
| | - Zoran Vidović
- Teacher Education Faculty, University of Belgrade, Kraljice Natalije 43, 11000 Belgrade, Serbia
| | - Mark E. Hauber
- Department of Evolution, Ecology, and Behavior, School of Integrative Biology, University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign, IL 61801, USA
| |
Collapse
|