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Berardo C, Holland R, Schaffer A, Lopez Caicoya A, Liebal K, Valsecchi P, Amici F. Perception of optical illusions in ungulates: insights from goats, sheep, guanacos and llamas. Anim Cogn 2024; 27:40. [PMID: 38789595 PMCID: PMC11126503 DOI: 10.1007/s10071-024-01878-2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/16/2023] [Revised: 05/16/2024] [Accepted: 05/17/2024] [Indexed: 05/26/2024]
Abstract
Optical illusions have long been used in behavioural studies to investigate the perceptual mechanisms underlying vision in animals. So far, three studies have focused on ungulates, providing evidence that they may be susceptible to some optical illusions, in a way similar to humans. Here, we used two food-choice tasks to study susceptibility to the Müller-Lyer and Delboeuf illusions in 17 captive individuals belonging to four ungulate species (Lama guanicoe, Lama glama, Ovis aries, Capra hircus). At the group level, there was a significant preference for the longer/larger food over the shorter/smaller one in control trials. Additionally, the whole group significantly preferred the food stick between two inward arrowheads over an identical one between two outward arrowheads in experimental trials of the Müller-Lyer task, and also preferred the food on the smaller circle over an identical one on the larger circle in the experimental trials of the Delboeuf task. Group-level analyses further showed no significant differences across species, although at the individual level we found significant variation in performance. Our findings suggest that, in line with our predictions, ungulates are overall susceptible to the Müller-Lyer and the Delboeuf illusions, and indicate that the perceptual mechanisms underlying size estimation in artiodactyls might be similar to those of other species, including humans.
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Affiliation(s)
- Caterina Berardo
- Department of Chemistry, Life Science and Environmental Sustainability, University of Parma, Parma, Italy
| | | | - Alina Schaffer
- Behavioral Ecology Research Group, Institute of Biology, University of Leipzig, Leipzig, Germany
- Department of Human Behavior, Ecology and Culture, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Leipzig, Germany
| | - Alvaro Lopez Caicoya
- Working Group Psychophysiology, Research Institute for Farm Animal Biology (FBN), Dummerstorf, Germany
- Department of Clinical Psychology and Psychobiology, Faculty of Psychology, University of Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain
| | - Katja Liebal
- Human Biology and Primate Cognition, Institute of Biology, Faculty of Life Science, Leipzig University, Talstraße 33, 04103, Leipzig, Germany
- Department of Comparative Cultural Psychology, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Leipzig, Germany
| | - Paola Valsecchi
- Department of Chemistry, Life Science and Environmental Sustainability, University of Parma, Parma, Italy
| | - Federica Amici
- Human Biology and Primate Cognition, Institute of Biology, Faculty of Life Science, Leipzig University, Talstraße 33, 04103, Leipzig, Germany.
- Department of Comparative Cultural Psychology, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Leipzig, Germany.
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Gainotti G. Mainly Visual Aspects of Emotional Laterality in Cognitively Developed and Highly Social Mammals-A Systematic Review. Brain Sci 2024; 14:52. [PMID: 38248267 PMCID: PMC10813540 DOI: 10.3390/brainsci14010052] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/29/2023] [Revised: 12/19/2023] [Accepted: 12/29/2023] [Indexed: 01/23/2024] Open
Abstract
Several studies have shown that emotions are asymmetrically represented in the human brain and have proposed three main models (the 'right hemisphere hypothesis', the 'approach-withdrawal hypothesis' and the 'valence hypothesis') that give different accounts of this emotional laterality. Furthermore, in recent years, many investigations have suggested that a similar emotional laterality may also exist in different animal taxa. However, results of a previous systematic review of emotional laterality in non-human primates have shown that some of these studies might be criticized from the methodological point of view and support only in part the hypothesis of a continuum in emotional laterality across vertebrates. The aim of the present review therefore consisted in trying to expand this survey to other cognitively developed and highly social mammals, focusing attention on mainly visual aspects of emotional laterality, in studies conducted on the animal categories of horses, elephants, dolphins and whales. The 35 studies included in the review took into account three aspects of mainly visual emotional laterality, namely: (a) visual asymmetries for positive/familiar vs. negative/novel stimuli; (b) lateral position preference in mother-offspring or other affiliative interactions; (c) lateral position preference in antagonistic interactions. In agreement with data obtained from human studies that have evaluated comprehension or expression of emotions at the facial or vocal level, these results suggest that a general but graded right-hemisphere prevalence in the processing of emotions can be found at the visual level in cognitively developed non-primate social mammals. Some methodological problems and some implications of these results for human psychopathology are briefly discussed.
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Affiliation(s)
- Guido Gainotti
- Institute of Neurology, Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore, 00168 Rome, Italy; ; Tel.: +39-06-30156435
- Fondazione Policlinico A. Gemelli, IRCCS (Istituto di Ricovero e Cura a Carattere Scientifico), 00168 Rome, Italy
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Felici M, Reddon AR, Maglieri V, Lanatà A, Baragli P. Heart and brain: Change in cardiac entropy is related to lateralised visual inspection in horses. PLoS One 2023; 18:e0289753. [PMID: 37552685 PMCID: PMC10409287 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0289753] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/04/2023] [Accepted: 07/24/2023] [Indexed: 08/10/2023] Open
Abstract
Cerebral lateralisation is the tendency for an individual to preferentially use one side of their brain and is apparent in the biased use of paired sensory organs. Horses vary in eye use when viewing a novel stimulus which may be due to different physiological reactions. To understand the interplay between physiology and lateralisation, we presented a novel object (an inflated balloon) to 20 horses while electrocardiogram traces were collected. We measured the amount of time each horse looked at the balloon with each eye. We calculated 'sample entropy' as a measure of non-linear heart rate variability both prior to and during the stimulus presentation. A smaller drop in sample entropy values between the habituation phase and the sample presentation indicates the maintenance of a more complex signal associated with a relaxed physiological state. Horses that spent longer viewing the balloon with their left eye had a greater reduction in sample entropy, while time spend looking with the right eye was unrelated to the change in sample entropy. Therefore, the horses that exhibited a greater reduction in sample entropy tended to use their right hemisphere more, which may take precedence in emotional reactions. These results may help to explain the variation in lateralisation observed among horses.
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Affiliation(s)
- Martina Felici
- Department of Veterinary Sciences, University of Pisa, Pisa, Italy
- Department of Agricultural and Food Sciences, University of Bologna, Bologna, Italy
| | - Adam R. Reddon
- School of Biological and Environmental Sciences, Liverpool John Moores University, Liverpool, United Kingdom
| | - Veronica Maglieri
- Department of Biology, Unit of Ethology, University of Pisa, Pisa, Italy
| | - Antonio Lanatà
- Department of Information Engineering, University of Florence, Florence, Italy
| | - Paolo Baragli
- Department of Veterinary Sciences, University of Pisa, Pisa, Italy
- Bioengineering and Robotic Research Centre “E. Piaggio”, University of Pisa, Pisa, Italy
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Rogers LJ. Knowledge of lateralized brain function can contribute to animal welfare. Front Vet Sci 2023; 10:1242906. [PMID: 37601762 PMCID: PMC10436595 DOI: 10.3389/fvets.2023.1242906] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/19/2023] [Accepted: 07/12/2023] [Indexed: 08/22/2023] Open
Abstract
The specialized functions of each hemisphere of the vertebrate brain are summarized together with the current evidence of lateralized behavior in farm and companion animals, as shown by the eye or ear used to attend and respond to stimuli. Forelimb preference is another manifestation of hemispheric lateralization, as shown by differences in behavior between left- and right-handed primates, left- and right-pawed dogs and cats, and left- and right-limb-preferring horses. Left-limb preference reflects right hemisphere use and is associated with negative cognitive bias. Positive cognitive bias is associated with right-limb and left-hemisphere preferences. The strength of lateralization is also associated with behavior. Animals with weak lateralization of the brain are unable to attend to more than one task at a time, and they are more easily stressed than animals with strong lateralization. This difference is also found in domesticated species with strong vs. weak limb preferences. Individuals with left-limb or ambilateral preference have a bias to express functions of the right hemisphere, heightened fear and aggression, and greater susceptibility to stress. Recognition of lateralized behavior can lead to improved welfare by detecting those animals most likely to suffer fear and distress and by indicating housing conditions and handling procedures that cause stress.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lesley J. Rogers
- School of Science and Technology, University of New England, Armidale, NSW, Australia
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Giljov A, Karenina K. Positional biases in social behaviors: Humans vs. saiga antelopes. Front Behav Neurosci 2023; 16:1103584. [PMID: 36699656 PMCID: PMC9868156 DOI: 10.3389/fnbeh.2022.1103584] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/20/2022] [Accepted: 12/19/2022] [Indexed: 01/11/2023] Open
Affiliation(s)
- Andrey Giljov
- Department of Vertebrate Zoology, Faculty of Biology, Saint Petersburg State University, St. Petersburg, Russia
| | - Karina Karenina
- Department of Vertebrate Zoology, Faculty of Biology, Saint Petersburg State University, St. Petersburg, Russia
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de Tommaso C, Ferri A, Domenichelli F, Lucidi P. Does the Evolutionarily Stable Strategy apply to captive Humboldt penguins? Study on S. humboldti lateralized behavior. Appl Anim Behav Sci 2022. [DOI: 10.1016/j.applanim.2022.105780] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/06/2022]
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Testing of Behavioural Asymmetries as Markers for Brain Lateralization of Emotional States in Pet Dogs: A Critical Review. Neurosci Biobehav Rev 2022; 143:104950. [DOI: 10.1016/j.neubiorev.2022.104950] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/08/2022] [Revised: 11/04/2022] [Accepted: 11/05/2022] [Indexed: 11/09/2022]
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Ladewig J, McLean AN, Wilkins CL, Fenner K, Christensen JW, McGreevy PD. A review of The Ridden Horse pain Ethogram and its potential to improve ridden horse welfare. J Vet Behav 2022. [DOI: 10.1016/j.jveb.2022.07.003] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
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Ladewig J, McLean A, Clayton H, Wilkins C, Fenner K, Christensen J, McGreevy P. WITHDRAWN: A review of The Ridden Horse pain Ethogram and its potential to improve ridden horse welfare. J Vet Behav 2022. [DOI: 10.1016/j.jveb.2022.06.001] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/24/2022]
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10
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Pyszko M, Němeček P, Horák O, Páral V, Kotrba R, Hoffman LC, Robovský J. Newly described anatomical opening on forelimb tendon in the artiodactyls and its relation to knee clicks. Sci Rep 2022; 12:4362. [PMID: 35288610 PMCID: PMC8921199 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-022-08303-z] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/14/2021] [Accepted: 03/03/2022] [Indexed: 11/09/2022] Open
Abstract
To understand which morphological/anatomical parts may be responsible in artiodactyl ungulates for the clicking sound made when moving, this research focuses on the forelimb tendon apparatus where an undescribed opening in the fibrous cuff (manica flexoria), called hereafter for its shape as an “oval window” in the manica flexoria (OWMF), was detected. This oval window was found in 24 of the 25 species of four families (Camelidae, Giraffidae, Cervidae, and Bovidae) evaluated; the exception being in Bos taurus taurus (Domestic cattle). The length and width of the OWMF enabled correct species discrimination between the majority of species, but remained conservative intraspecifically, as it did not differ between the left and right side of the forelimb, third and fourth digits, or between sexes. When evaluating the shape of OWMF in individual species, and measuring its length and width, 18 out of the 24 species investigated had this window as an oval shape, the remaining 25% of species exhibited more oval-oblong shapes with either proximal or distal asymmetry. The function of the OWMF in the thoracic autopodium of most ruminant even-toed ungulates is not yet fully understood. Its most likely function is to help balance the pressure inside the ligament cuff and reduce the friction of the touching surfaces of the muscle tendons—thus facilitating the movement of the digits when walking. None of the absolute or relative OWMF parameters fit exclusively with the occurrence and distribution of knee-clicks produced by some bovids and cervids during movement, so the mechanism responsible for this sound remains cryptic from the present anatomical perspective.
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Affiliation(s)
- Martin Pyszko
- Department of Anatomy, Histology & Embryology, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, University of Veterinary Sciences Brno, Palackého třída 1946/1, 612 42, Brno, Czech Republic
| | - Petr Němeček
- Jiří Orten Grammar School, Jaselská 932, 284 80, Kutná Hora, Czech Republic.
| | - Ondřej Horák
- Department of Anatomy, Histology & Embryology, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, University of Veterinary Sciences Brno, Palackého třída 1946/1, 612 42, Brno, Czech Republic
| | - Václav Páral
- Department of Anatomy, Histology & Embryology, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, University of Veterinary Sciences Brno, Palackého třída 1946/1, 612 42, Brno, Czech Republic
| | - Radim Kotrba
- Department of Ethology, Institute of Animal Science, 104 00, Prague 10 - Uhříněves, Czech Republic.,Department of Animal Science and Food Processing, Faculty of Tropical AgriSciences, Czech University of Life Sciences Prague, Kamýcká 129, 165 00, Praha 6 - Suchdol, Czech Republic
| | - Louwrens C Hoffman
- Department of Animal Sciences, University of Stellenbosch, Matieland, Private Bag X1, Stellenbosch, 7602, South Africa.,Centre for Nutrition and Food Sciences, Queensland Alliance for Agriculture and Food Innovation (QAAFI), The University of Queensland, Digital Agricultural Building, 8115, Office 110, Gatton, 4343, Australia
| | - Jan Robovský
- Department of Zoology, Faculty of Science, University of South Bohemia, Branišovská 1760, 370 05, České Budějovice, Czech Republic. .,Liberec Zoo, Lidové sady 425/1, 460 01, Liberec, Czech Republic.
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11
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Horses show individual level lateralisation when inspecting an unfamiliar and unexpected stimulus. PLoS One 2021; 16:e0255688. [PMID: 34351986 PMCID: PMC8341651 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0255688] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/09/2021] [Accepted: 07/22/2021] [Indexed: 11/21/2022] Open
Abstract
Animals must attend to a diverse array of stimuli in their environments. The emotional valence and salience of a stimulus can affect how this information is processed in the brain. Many species preferentially attend to negatively valent stimuli using the sensory organs on the left side of their body and hence the right hemisphere of their brain. Here, we investigated the lateralisation of visual attention to the rapid appearance of a stimulus (an inflated balloon) designed to induce an avoidance reaction and a negatively valent emotional state in 77 Italian saddle horses. Horses’ eyes are laterally positioned on the head, and each eye projects primarily to the contralateral hemisphere, allowing eye use to be a proxy for preferential processing in one hemisphere of the brain. We predicted that horses would inspect the novel and unexpected stimulus with their left eye and hence right hemisphere. We found that horses primarily inspected the balloon with one eye, and most horses had a preferred eye to do so, however, we did not find a population level tendency for this to be the left or the right eye. The strength of this preference tended to decrease over time, with the horses using their non-preferred eye to inspect the balloon increasingly as the trial progressed. Our results confirm a lateralised eye use tendency when viewing negatively emotionally valent stimuli in horses, in agreement with previous findings. However, there was not any alignment of lateralisation at the group level in our sample, suggesting that the expression of lateralisation in horses depends on the sample population and testing context.
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Whishaw IQ, Burke CJ. Memory for surface objects in an arena by the horse (Equus ferus caballus) under saddle: Evidence for dual process theory of spatial representation. Behav Processes 2021; 189:104442. [PMID: 34116138 DOI: 10.1016/j.beproc.2021.104442] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/27/2021] [Accepted: 06/07/2021] [Indexed: 01/03/2023]
Abstract
Place memory, the ability to remember locations, is a feature of many animal species. This episodic-like memory is displayed in the foraging behavior of animals and has been studied in many different kinds of laboratory spatial tasks. A horse stallion, Equus ferus caballus, will create "dung-heaps or stud-piles" by defecation in the same place suggesting that the behavior is central to spatial behavior but to date there has been little investigation of horse olfactory/spatial behavior. The present study describes investigatory behavior of horses for objects on the surface of a riding arena. Horses under saddle approached objects on the arena surface that included small pieces of straw, fur, and paper and larger objects including clumps of debris and were especially interested in dung droppings left by other horses. Once an object was investigated by sniffing, it was usually not approached again during that outing but could be approached anew on the following day. Dung investigatory behavior and place memory were confirmed in a number of structured tests in which test-retest intervals were varied. The results are discussed in relation to the dual process theory that proposes that spatial representations central to adaptive behavior require both allocentric Cartesian spatial information and egocentric episodic-like information.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ian Q Whishaw
- Canadian Centre for Behavioural Neuroscience, Department of Neuroscience, University of Lethbridge, Canada.
| | - Candace J Burke
- Canadian Centre for Behavioural Neuroscience, Department of Neuroscience, University of Lethbridge, Canada
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Siniscalchi M, d’Ingeo S, Quaranta A. Lateralized emotional functioning in domestic animals. Appl Anim Behav Sci 2021. [DOI: 10.1016/j.applanim.2021.105282] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/29/2022]
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14
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Affective styles and emotional lateralization: A promising framework for animal welfare research. Appl Anim Behav Sci 2021. [DOI: 10.1016/j.applanim.2021.105279] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/11/2022]
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Fourie B, Berezina E, Giljov A, Karenina K. Visual lateralization in artiodactyls: A brief summary of research and new evidence on saiga antelope. Laterality 2021; 26:106-129. [PMID: 33593226 DOI: 10.1080/1357650x.2020.1852245] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/22/2022]
Abstract
The visual system and lifestyle characteristics make the even-toed ungulates an excellent model for the studies of behavioural lateralization. Recent research has focused on these mammals providing evidence of lateralization in a wide range of behaviours. This provides an opportunity for the collation of the current theoretical assumptions and the existing empirical evidence for visual lateralization in artiodactyls. In the present study, we aim first to gain a fuller picture of hemispheric specializations in saiga antelopes by investigating the lateralization of vigilance and novel object inspection in the wild. Second, we summarized the results of the research into visual lateralization in even-toed ungulates and attempted to assess the applicability of two popular hypotheses about the division of hemispheric roles. The results on saigas show a significant preference for head turns to the right visual field during vigilance which was more robust in individuals in larger groups. When an unfamiliar artificial object was placed in their natural setting, saigas preferentially viewed it predominantly with the right eye. These results, together with the cumulative evidence in artiodactyls, do not follow either the approach-withdrawal or positivity-negativity dichotomous patterns widely used to explain the division of functions between the hemispheres.
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Affiliation(s)
- Babette Fourie
- School of Life Sciences, University of Sussex, Brighton, UK
| | - Ekaterina Berezina
- Faculty of Biology, Department of Vertebrate Zoology, Saint Petersburg State University, St. Petersburg, Russia
| | - Andrey Giljov
- Faculty of Biology, Department of Vertebrate Zoology, Saint Petersburg State University, St. Petersburg, Russia
| | - Karina Karenina
- Faculty of Biology, Department of Vertebrate Zoology, Saint Petersburg State University, St. Petersburg, Russia
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Revisiting Cattle Temperament in Beef Cow-Calf Systems: Insights from Farmers' Perceptions about an Autochthonous Breed. Animals (Basel) 2021; 11:ani11010082. [PMID: 33466326 PMCID: PMC7824783 DOI: 10.3390/ani11010082] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/02/2020] [Revised: 12/29/2020] [Accepted: 12/30/2020] [Indexed: 12/23/2022] Open
Abstract
Understanding temperament is an important part of cattle production since undesirable temperament may cause serious problems associated with aggression, maternal care, and human safety. However, little is known about how farmers define or assess temperament, especially in autochthonous cattle breeds. The aim of this study was to explore perceptions of farmers about the temperament of the Pyrenean cattle breed with special attention to beef cow-calf systems in Spain. The methodology used to obtain the information was focus group discussions (FGD). Farmers defined temperament as a behavioural response to challenging situations imposed by human handling. Specific terms used were related to active or passive reactions to fear (e.g., "strong", "aggressive", "nervous", "fearful"). The speed of response to stimuli was also important. Female temperament was thought to become more docile with age while bull temperament was more variable. Maternal aggressiveness was highlighted as a potential human safety problem, but also desirable in an extensively bred animal who may need to defend calves against predators. Anatomical characteristics were seen as unreliable predictors of temperament, while behavioural indicators were more widely used, such as "alertness", which was a general trait of the breed, and "gaze", which, when associated with an alert expression, suggests a potential threat. Sensory acuity, such as sight and smell, were thought to be related with temperament in some FGDs but there was no overall agreement as to whether different behavioural responses were due to differences in sensory acuity. The results from the study could be useful during training programs or in the development of new genetic selection schemes and evaluation protocols involving cattle temperament.
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