Study of copulatory behaviour in old male rabbits

<p>Male rabbit sexual behaviour consists of a single mount followed immediately by ejaculation. In young bucks this pattern changes gradually as they reach sexual satiety in a day and sexual exhaustion after several daily tests. Little is known about the characteristics of sexual behaviour in old rabbits (aged 48-54 mo) within a day and across daily tests leading to sexual exhaustion. By using sexually receptive(young) females, changed within a session to maximise copulation, we found that: a) the inter-ejaculatory interval increased between the first and last days of testing; b) test duration was 3.1 h on day 1 and 0.5 h on day 15; c) the “miss rate” (i.e., mounts not accompanied by ejaculation) significantly increased from the first to the last day of testing, regardless of when this occurred in each individual buck; d) the total number of ejaculations displayed in a session significantly decreased between the first and the last day of testing in all males; e) scent-marking (“chinning”) frequency significantly decreased after copulation to satiety, relative to that quantified at baseline, and was restored the following day. Compared with young bucks our results indicate quantitative, rather than qualitative, differences in sexual behaviour associated with age in rabbits. Specifically, on day 1 old bucks spent a shorter time engaged in copulation and displayed a lower number of ejaculations before reaching satiety than young males. In contrast, the interval between ejaculatory events and the “miss rate” increased across test days in both old and young rabbits. These results merit investigating the neuroendocrine mechanisms underlying the display of such an active sexual behaviour by old rabbit bucks.</p>

Aggressiveness, Mating Behaviour and Lifespan of Group Housed Rabbit Does

Simple Summary

Aggressiveness is a well-known trait in different animal species, including the European wild and domesticated rabbit. It is one of the main problems in group housing of rabbit does. The aim of the experiment was to investigate the frequency of aggressiveness and mating behaviour as well as the lifespan of does depending on their rank order. Dominance hierarchy developed during aggressive behaviour, i.e., fighting. In most cases the primary position in the rank order was clear. Mating activity was very high after assembling the groups. In addition to male–female mating, some female-female and female-male mounting was also observed, which could lead to pseudo-pregnancy. A second small peak of sexual activity was observed at the end of the hypothetical pseudo-pregnancy. Based on the results it can be concluded that aggressive behaviour is frequent in group housing systems which is contrary to animal welfare. Natural mating is not effective in group-housing systems.

Abstract

Aggressiveness is one of the main problems in group housing of rabbit does. The aim of the experiment was to investigate the frequency of aggressiveness and mating behaviour as well as the lifespan of does depending on group composition. The female and male rabbits were housed in one of the 7.7 m² pens (four females and one male per pen). Based on the ages of female rabbits two homogenous groups (HOM) were formed containing four 17-week-old females and two heterogeneous groups (HET) containing three 17-week-old and one 1-year-old female. Twenty-four-hour video recordings were taken during the first month after assembling the groups, and the aggressive actions (fights) and matings were counted. The lifespan was examined over a 200-day experimental period. On the day after assembling the groups the number of fights among does was high in HET group. The same aggressive behaviour only started a week later in HOM group, and some fights between females and the male were also observed. The daily peaks of aggressiveness were in the morning (after the light on) and in the evening (before and after the lights off). The primary position of females in the hierarchy was clear but sometimes no differences were detected among the subordinate females. The mortality of does was connected with their rank order. The number of matings was very high on the day of assembling the groups and a second small peak was observed at the end of the hypothetical pseudo-pregnancy. In addition to mating between male and females, female–female and female–male mounting was also observed. Despite of the small sample size it seems that aggressive behaviour is frequent in group housing systems, which is contrary to animal welfare. Natural mating is not effective in group-housing system.

Long-lasting behavioral and neuroendocrine changes provoked in rabbits by cancelling a single nursing bout in early lactation

To restore estrus in lactating doe rabbits, nursing was prevented on lactation day 10 and allowed again from day 12 onward. This "biostimulation" procedure, used to accelerate reproduction, allows kit survival despite a 48 hr fast. Yet, the consequences of "biostimulation" on their psychobiological and neuroendocrine development are largely unknown. Therefore, we determined, in adult males and females, tested in the morning or afternoon: corticosteroid secretion (baseline and reactive), sexual behavior, and responses in six tests measuring stress/anxiety. The latter were not affected by maternal deprivation or time of testing in either sex. The lordosis quotient was reduced in deprived does (relative to controls), an effect eliminated when only non-kins (of both groups) were compared. Deprived males showed altered sexual behavior, evidenced by a large number of mounts not culminating in ejaculation. Corticosterone and cortisol secretion increased (relative to baseline) following i.m. saline in all groups, but the magnitude of the response was affected by maternal deprivation, time of day, and sex. Results indicate that particular behaviors and reactivity to stress have different thresholds regarding the effects of mother-litter separation in early lactation.

Rethinking Bateman's Principles: Challenging Persistent Myths of Sexually Reluctant Females and Promiscuous Males

In 1948, Angus Bateman published a paper on fruit flies that tested Charles Darwin's ideas of sexual selection. Based on this one fruit fly study, Bateman concluded that because males are able to produce millions of small sperm, males are likely to behave promiscuously, mating with as many females as possible. On the other hand, because females produce relatively fewer, larger, and presumably more expensive eggs, females are likely to be very discriminating in selecting only one high-quality sexual partner. He also posited that a male's reproductive success increases linearly with the number of females he is able to mate with, but that a female's reproductive success peaks after she mates with only one male. Consequently, in almost all organisms, sexual selection acts most strongly on males. These ideas became a recurring theme in attempts to explain wide-ranging differences in male and female behavior not only in nonhuman animals but also in humans. As such, Bateman's conclusions and predictions have become axiomatic and, at times, have gone unquestioned even when modern empirical data do not conform to this model. This article reviews the origins and history of these ideas and uses modern data to highlight the current and growing controversy surrounding the validity and general applicability of this paradigm.