Articles tagged with Ethology
Researchers are testing pinger systems to deter diving ducks from gill nets, a major threat to sea bird populations. The study aims to determine the optimal frequency for these devices, which could save hundreds of thousands of birds annually.
A new study from the Monell Chemical Senses Center reveals that healthy animals' bodily odors change when they are near sick animals, potentially impacting social contacts and disease spread. The findings suggest that exposure to sickness-related odors can trigger protective responses in others.
A UC Davis researcher found that people behave similarly to others in simple reasoning games, driven by 'flocking' dynamics rather than rational thinking. The study used different games with varying levels of complexity, but all showed the same flocking behavior.
Researchers found that fruit flies freeze in response to threats at slow walking speeds, but run away when moving quickly. The team identified a single pair of neurons critical for this process, providing insights into the brain's defensive strategies.
In a study led by the Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, researchers found that active participation in group-hunts increased successful hunts and encouraged sharing of meat among chimpanzees. Oxytocin activation during hunting behavior also supported cooperative interactions.
Researchers analyzed ancient and modern koala and kangaroo teeth to understand diet changes across millennia. The study found that tooth wear patterns are indicative of dietary habits, not environmental factors.
Researchers studied ants' tunnel excavation to understand optimal traffic flow in crowded environments. They found that idleness, reversals, and uneven work distribution reduced clogs and improved performance. These strategies can be applied to improve movement in engineered systems like robot swarms.
A large behavioral study shows a correlation between higher social dominance and faster decision-making in non-competitive situations. EEG measurements also reveal distinct neural signals for promptness in high-dominance men compared to low-dominance individuals.
A new class of proteins called E3 ubiquitin ligases has been shown to reduce drug-seeking behaviors in a preclinical study. Smurf1, one of these proteins, is targeted to prevent cocaine addiction relapse.
Researchers found that taurine in energy drinks increased fear-reducing properties of alcohol but also affected social communication in zebrafish. Mixing energy drinks and alcohol may impair judgment and increase risks of fighting and risky behaviors.
The fox genome study identifies genomic regions associated with tame and aggressive behaviors, revealing potential links to domestication in dogs and Williams-Beuren syndrome in humans. A single gene, SorCS1, is found to be linked to specific behaviors in foxes.
Researchers study mice living in 'Souris City' device to identify distinct personalities based on behavior differences. The study reveals that dopamine-producing neurons play a key role in shaping individuality, with mice exhibiting radically different strategies for navigating the maze.
A fungus called Entomophthora muscae has been found to control the behavior of fruit flies, infecting their nervous system and causing them to climb to high points. The fungus feeds on the fly's fat stores before altering its behavior, eventually leading to the fly's death.
A study found people with depression have lower blood levels of acetyl-L-carnitine than healthy individuals. The findings suggest a potential new class of antidepressants could be developed to treat severe or treatment-resistant depression.
New studies demonstrate that chemical exposure can alter animal behaviour, impacting food chains. Researchers designed experiments using amphipods to investigate effects of tank size and shape on exploratory behaviours, finding variations between species in response to light stimuli.
Researchers at ULB's IRIDIA laboratory have shown that robots can emerge with the ability to correctly order tasks, enabling complex missions such as disaster rescue. This breakthrough demonstrates a complex cognitive skill emerging from group interactions, paving the way for autonomous robot swarms in various applications.
Researchers found that caught bluegills spend more time associating with others than uncaught ones. This sociability difference may impact the entire social structure of remaining fish populations.
Researchers found that sodium nitroprusside prevented behavioral alterations associated with schizophrenia in rats, suggesting a potential preventive treatment for young people at risk. The study used an animal model that mimics the condition in children and adolescents considered at risk for development of the disease in adulthood.
A study by Erol Akçay found that certain types of social networks can lead to cooperation's collapse, even in groups where most individuals are cooperators. This happens when individuals make random connections, triggering a decline in the overall cooperative nature of the network.
Researchers found that the elephant-nose fish generates negative images to filter out its own electrical interference, enabling it to better detect external signals and navigate its environment. This ability was demonstrated through neural recordings and behavioral experiments.
Researchers discovered that men with higher levels of testosterone have a stronger preference for luxury brands, such as Calvin Klein jeans over Levi's. This is because testosterone promotes behaviors associated with status-seeking and status-protecting, similar to animal behaviors like aggression.
Researchers discovered a neural circuit in parrots that may underlie their intelligence, similar to the pontine nuclei found in primates. The medial spiriform nucleus, located in birds, is comparable in function to the pontine nuclei and plays a key role in higher-order processing and sophisticated behaviors.
Researchers found that humans working in ORs follow primate patterns of hierarchy and gender, with conflicts mainly occurring between team members from different ranks. The study also showed that cooperation varied by gender composition of the team, with less cooperation when there were more male members.
Researchers discovered that worms' behavior at the time of experiencing stimuli influenced how their brains interpreted information, leading to a more sophisticated understanding of mechanosensory circuitry. The study paves the way for further investigations into how simple brains interpret sensory signals and turn them into actions.
Researchers found that American swamp sparrows accurately learn their songs 98% of the time, with a conformist bias strategy that filters out new song types. This leads to stable cultural traditions that can rival human customs in stability and longevity.
A recent rat model study found that preconception binge drinking can negatively affect future offspring's growth, social interactions, and pubertal development. The study also discovered that these effects can be passed down through generations, highlighting the importance of parental behavior in shaping offspring's traits.
Researchers suggest studying individuals, not groups, to understand human health and behavior, as averaging out data from a large group can offer only a snapshot of individual differences. The findings have implications for customizing health therapies and analyzing mental and physical disorders.
Researchers at Joslin Diabetes Center found that gut microbes contribute to signs of negative feelings and brain chemistry in obese mice. Antibiotics reversed these behaviors, demonstrating a significant link between the microbiome and mental health outcomes.
A new Oregon State University study reveals that human encouragement significantly influences how dogs solve problems. Search and rescue dogs outperformed pet dogs when encouraged by their owners, but only solved the task independently after receiving social cues from their owners.
Research by University of Exeter scientists found that cautious rockpool prawns are better at controlling a limited resource than bolder counterparts. This may be due to their risk-averse strategy, which involves staying near a food source rather than exploring new areas and risking competition with stronger rivals.
Researchers at Rockefeller University discovered that glial cells play a crucial role in regulating sleep and movement in worms, offering new insights into the neuroscience of sleep. The study found that glial cells help counteract the inhibitory effect of a specific neuron on movement.
Researchers found that older males are more successful at siring illegitimate children, suggesting a biological effect rather than behavioral choice. The study suggests post-copulation mechanisms may be driving this phenomenon, with females potentially storing sperm internally and 'deciding' which to use for fertilization.
Researchers at Kyoto University used machine learning to study the behavior of worms searching for food on surfaces with different temperature zones. The findings showed that the worms combined sensory information from environmental temperature and change in temperature to make decisions, similar to rational decision-making in humans. ...
Researchers at Karolinska Institutet discovered a previously unknown group of brain cells responsible for initiating and organizing aggressive behavior in mice. By stimulating or inhibiting these cells, the team was able to control aggression and even invert hierarchical status between dominant and submissive males.
Researchers discovered that chronic social isolation leads to an increase in a specific neuropeptide called neurokinin B, which promotes aggression and fear. Blocking this peptide eliminates negative effects of isolation, suggesting potential applications for treating mental health disorders in humans.
Researchers found that social isolation in mice upregulates neuropeptide Tac2/NkB, leading to increased aggression and persistent responses to threatening stimuli. The peptide is overproduced in multiple brain regions, causing diverse behavioral changes that persist even after social isolation is reversed.
A recent study published in Genetics identifies five genes that control sociality in chickens, shedding light on the genetic basis of this complex behavior. The researchers used a cross between wild and domestic chickens to assess sociality and gene expression, revealing a surprising connection between sociality and anxiety.
Researchers discovered that rhesus macaques and children with autism spectrum disorder have lower vasopressin levels, linked to reduced sociability. The study suggests vasopressin as a potential biomarker for social deficits in autism.
Researchers found a potential biomarker for autism spectrum disorder (ASD) in monkeys with low social behavior, which had lower arginine vasopressin concentrations in their cerebrospinal fluid. This discovery suggests that AVP may be a target for developing new drugs to alleviate social impairment in ASD patients.
Parasites have evolved to 'hack' their host's nervous system, controlling behavior and decision-making. Researchers explore the mechanisms involved, discovering compounds that act on neural circuitry, offering insights into neural control of animal behavior.
A new study from Columbia University uses an AI algorithm to analyze the full range of behaviors exhibited by the tiny pond-dwelling creature Hydra. By comparing its movements to neural firing patterns, researchers hope to gain insights into how its nervous system works.
A study by the Universities of Sussex and Portsmouth reveals that horses can read human facial expressions and remember specific individuals' emotional states. The research found that horses perceive people more negatively if they had previously seen them looking angry in a photograph, adapting their behavior accordingly.
Researchers at KAIST have identified a neural circuit in the hypothalamus governing obsessive behavior towards non-food objects in mice. The MPA-PAG circuit modulates object craving and facilitates hunting behavior, allowing for controlled mammalian behavior with optogenetics.
The AChemS 40th Annual Meeting features research on the roles of smell and taste in human and animal health. New findings will be presented on topics such as smoking's effect on salt sensitivity and inflammation in gum disease.
Researchers analyzed 729 reports of abnormal animal behavior related to 160 earthquakes, but found that most evidence consists of single observations and anecdotes. The team suggests a series of questions to analyze the data, including whether animal behavior is linked to specific rules or environmental changes.
Researchers at Children's Hospital of Philadelphia have identified a brain pathway that, when stimulated, leads to 'antidepressive' behavior in animals. The study suggests that targeting this circuit could lead to a novel treatment for depression.
Researchers found that individual aspects of parenting, such as motor behaviors and motivation, are controlled by distinct pools of galanin neurons. This discovery sheds new light on why some people appear to be natural parents while others exhibit abusive behavior.
Research found rock ants with slightly better vision in one eye tend to turn left, contradicting previous thinking on human lateralization. This suggests physical indicators of lateralization can be externally observable.
Researchers observed bonobos sharing meat across community borders for the first time, demonstrating cooperative behavior and social structure dominance by females. The study provides insights into how our last common ancestor may have acted when dividing food with others, shedding light on human origins.
A new study reveals that intelligence is a primary factor in achieving success through cooperation. Researchers found that individuals with higher IQs displayed significantly higher levels of cooperation, leading to increased earnings. Personality traits like agreeableness and conscientiousness had a smaller impact on behavior.
Researchers have identified a wax-like hydrocarbon called heneicosane as a royal recognition pheromone in termites, enabling workers to recognize and care for queens and kings. This discovery could upend current understanding of insect social behavior and evolution, suggesting that CHCs evolved as royal pheromones 150 million years ago.
Indonesia's anti-IUU fishing policies have successfully kick-started fishery recovery without reducing local fishing effort or catch. The country's policies reduced foreign fishing in its waters by over 90% and total fishing by 25%, generating a 14% increase in catch and a 15% increase in profit by 2035.
Researchers identified the nerve cells responsible for a fly's escape response, providing clues into comparable survival mechanisms in humans. The study's findings shed light on conditions like allodynia, where gentle touch triggers pain-like sensations.
Research reveals that wild mice living near humans in a Swiss barn underwent changes in behavior and physical appearance, including the development of white fur patches and shorter snouts. The study, led by Anna Lindholm, found that these changes occurred without human selection or breeding, highlighting the process of self-domestication.
Researchers discover vascular alterations in small blood vessels of mice with advanced Alzheimer's disease, affecting female mice more severely. The study finds correlations between vascular structure and function, anxiety levels, and cognitive functions.
Researchers found that helping behavior can be more advantageous in unpredictable environments, where staying home to raise relatives can provide a survival advantage. This challenges the long-held theory of Haldane's rule, which explains why some animals prioritize their own reproduction over helping others.
Researchers exposed rhesus macaques to sevoflurane three times during infancy and found increased behaviors such as self-touching and self-grooming at one and two years of age. These subtle changes persist even after the animals are no longer under stress, suggesting a long-term impact on anxiety levels.
A groundbreaking study published in eNeuro finds that low-dose ketamine promotes resilience to future adverse events in female rats, similar to its effects in males. The researchers identified a neural circuit involving the prefrontal cortex and dorsal raphe nucleus responsible for ketamine's stress-reducing properties.
Researchers found significant variation in the response threshold of cloned ants to sweetened water, with some preferring diet soda equivalents and others requiring stronger concentrations. This diversity may be driven by epigenetic modifications that allow for individualized adaptation and potentially enhance long-term colony survival.
A study by researchers at the University of Exeter found that dominant male pheasants were better at remembering which tunnel was clear. This suggests a link between social dominance and cognitive performance, with top-ranking males performing 40% better than their less dominant peers.