Search PubMed⌕ Search

SEARCH · Search PubMed

Results for “Eliminative Behavior, Animal”

Search indexed PubMed citations on genomics, clinical trials, systematic reviews and public health. Explore titles, authors and supplied subject terms, then open the PubMed record.

Quote a phrase for an exact phrase match. Source license links do not imply unrestricted reuse.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed1976

Comfort behavior of the red squirrel (Tamiasciurus hudsonicus).

The various forms of comfort behavior of the red squirrel (Tamiasciurus hudsonicus) are described and compared with that of other Sciurids to understand their adaptative value for the red squirrel's arboreal way of life. The different comfort activities are: self-grooming, stretching, resting, sleeping, elimination and nose blowing. Observations were made both in nature and in two outdoor enclosures. The discussion shows that most adaptations are common to arboreal squirrels while others, found in several Sciurid species, are not in relation to the arboreal versus terrestrial way of life.

Adaptation, Biological↗
PubMed1976

Acquisition by a pigtail macaque of behavior patterns beyond the natural repertoire of the species.

A female Macaca nemestrina was toilet trained at the age of 8 months and has learned to control urination at will. Giving is used by the monkey as a means of social manipulation but never in an altruistic context. An analysis of the constraints on learning to control elimination and to give in nonhuman primates shows that only certain components of these behaviors are contraprepared. A hypothesis for the origin of giving in Hominids is proposed, and attention is drawn to the opportunity for studying voluntary behavior in monkeys.

Animals↗
PubMed1986

Behavioral responses of infant rats to maternal licking: variations with age and sex.

Behavioral interactions of Norway rat pups and their dams during maternal anogenital licking (AGL) were observed. Regularities in posture and orientation that may facilitate AGL were noted, and age-related changes in the pup's postural adjustments that may contribute to the decline of AGL in the 3rd postpartum week were described. It was found that cutaneous stimulation of the perineum, such as that provided by AGL, stimulates a characteristic leg extension response from pups. It was concluded that this response, which includes immobility and extension of all limbs, may permit maternal licking to continue long enough to stimulate the pup to eliminate and to allow the dam to ingest the urine. Males and females were found to exhibit similar responses and similar age-related changes. However, the latency from onset of AGL to performance of the leg extension response was shorter in males.

Age Factors↗
PubMed1976

A theory of behavioral generality and specificity during mild stress.

A definitional system is given for the concepts of generality and specificity for behavioral variables, relating to signs and sizes of their intercorrelations. In particular, a mapping sentence is provided for defining the universe of observations for emotional behavior of mice under mild stress. Its three content facets are: (a) the temporal features of frequency, latency, and duration, (b) type of control, autonomic or voluntary, and (c) the experimental situation, the apparatus. Data from three studies published previously by other authors are analyzed by Smallest Space Analysis (SSA-I). In each case, the smallest space is found to be partitioned into contiguous regions corresponding to the elements of the three facets.

Animals↗
PubMed1980

Gender differences in open-field behavior as a function of age.

Male and female rats were observed in an open field at 30, 45, 60, 90, and 120 days of age. Thirty- and 45-day-old rats of both genders presented similar defecation, ambulation, and rearing scores. From 60 days on the male rats showed higher defecation scores and less ambulation and rearing than did the females. The gender difference observed in the adult rats reflected a decrease of defecation by females and a decrease of ambulation and rearing by males when compared to the earlier ages.

Aging↗
PubMed1977

Neonatal androgen injection changes open-field behavior of mice.

Newborn female mice of the C57BL/6J and BALB/cJ inbred strains and their reciprocal F1 hybrids were injected either with testosterone or with oil vehicle alone. Both the repeatablity and mean level of open-field activity scores over a 10-day test period increased in hormone-injected animals compared with controls. Increased activity due to hormonal treatment was greater in hybrid females than in inbred females. There was no consistent effect of hormonal treatment on open-field defecation.

Animals↗
PubMed1981

The Maudsley reactive and nonreactive strains: a North American perspective.

The Maudsley experiment involving bidirectional selection for differences in open-field defecation (OFD) is briefly reviewed. Attention is focused on the North American stocks of these strains since problems have been encountered with regard to the open-field behavior and continued viability of the British stocks. The open-field behavior of the colonies of the Maudsley strains at the National Institutes of Health and at the University of Northern Iowa closely resembles that originally exhibited by the British strains, provided they are compared under standard conditions. On more complex behaviors, such as escape-avoidance conditioning, serious discrepancies have emerged between the British and North American findings. These may be resolved when attempts are made to replicate more closely the procedures used in the British studies. Particular emphasis has been placed on the potential of a second nonreactive strain, the MNRA/HAR strain, to serve as a replicate of selection for decreased emotionality. The value of the RXNRA group of recombinant-inbred strains, developed and maintained by the author, for examining the reliability of associations between traits is also stressed. A correlation between OFD and biochemical aspects of sympathetic function has been found in the Maudsley strains. This finding lends credibility to Hall's claim that the expression of emotionality is linked to autonomic arousal.

Animals↗
PubMed1986

Mediation of male mouse urine marking and aggression by the vomeronasal organ.

The effects of vomeronasal organ removal (VNX) on male mouse urine marking and aggressive behaviors were investigated. In three different stimulus conditions VNX male marking rates were about half that of sham-operated males. Aggressive behavior was tested by pairing males with male-urine-swabbed castrate males. Only 1 of the 12 VNX males displayed normal levels of fighting behavior and 6 did not initiate any fights during the aggression tests. These results indicate that normal male aggressive and urine marking behaviors are dependent on the presence of an intact vomeronasal system for their expression.

Aggression↗
PubMed1984

Sex and strain related effects of melatonin and 5-methoxytryptophol on open field behaviour in paired mice.

The effects of two methoxyindoles, melatonin (MEL) and 5-methoxytryptophol (5-MTL), on partner investigation and other aspects of pair behaviour in the open field, were observed on male and female mice of the albino TO, and the pigmented C57BL/6 strains. Both indole derivatives are major secretory products of rodent (and human) pineal glands. They were administered by i.p. injection (100 micrograms/kg) to both members of the pair 1 h before each 10 min open field exposure. The testing took place on 3 consecutive days. There were no significant differences in behaviour over days, and group means were used in subsequent data analysis (MANOVA and Dunnet's test). Males, more socially active than the females in both strains, responded to MEL by a reduction in contact time; 5-MTL had the same effect on C57 males (TO males showed no change). Females, on the other hand, did not respond to MEL, and increased their social contact seeking after 5-MTL. There was no consistent effect of either indole on locomotion, and erratic (TO strain only) effects on defaecation. The data are discussed in terms of possible actions of pineal indoles on determinants of social behaviour.

Animals↗
PubMed1985

Further evidence for a dissociation of peripheral and central effects of vasopressin.

The influence of AVP on open field behavior was studied at 15 and 60 min after s.c. injection. AVP injected 15 min before the session modified all patterns of behavior in the open field. Locomotion and rearing along the wall were significantly decreased, while locomotion in the center was increased. AVP also reduced grooming and defecation. Injection 60 min prior to the session did not affect the open field behavior. AVP increased resistance to extinction of pole-jumping avoidance behavior independent of whether the first acquisition session was given at 20 min after injection at the height of the behavioral depression or at 65 min when these effects had disappeared. However, the rats trained at 20 min after AVP administration made significantly more avoidances on the second day of acquisition training than did the controls. The vasopressin fragment DGAVP, which exhibits almost no peripheral effects, did not cause gross behavioral changes in the open field as did AVP, but it did increase resistance to extinction of the avoidance response comparable to that of AVP. These findings indicate that, although peripheral effects may contribute to the effects of AVP on modulation of memory processes, such effects are not essential.

Animals↗
PubMed1997

Behavior problems of pet pigs.

Pigs of all kinds can be enjoyable, charming pets, but the reduced size of the Vietnamese potbellied pig makes it an excellent choice for a porcine pet. Their curious, almost childlike behavior, as well as their adaptability and ease of learning, can make them a real pleasure and a great challenge to keep. The author fears that as many as 25% to 50% of potbellied pigs are no longer in their original homes by 1 year of age primarily because of a high incidence of behavior problems. These are, in reality, "people problems," not "pet problems." The environmental and training requirements of the potbellied pig are more complex and require more understanding than those of the average dog or cat. The author's belief is that the potbellied pig's strong drive to be dominant is a unique behavioral characteristic that more people should be made aware of before acquiring a pet pig. With knowledge of normal pig behavior, problems can be avoided through proper socialization and training. If pet owners consult a veterinarian knowledgeable about pig behavior at the first sign of a problem, treatment usually can be successful.

Aggression↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Interspecific variation of scent-marking behaviour in wild tamarins, Saguinus mystax and Saguinus fuscicollis.

The scent-marking behaviour of sympatric moustached, Saguinus mystax, and saddle-back tamarins, Saguinus fuscicollis, was compared in order to explore interspecific differences and potential sources of variation. The author examined basic patterns of scent marking (types, intensity, complexity), substrate use (type, orientation, height), and social patterning of scent marking in three groups of S. mystax and one group of S. fuscicollis at the Estación Biológica Quebrada Blanco, Peruvian Amazonia. S. mystax and S. fuscicollis differed significantly in the relative frequency of different types, and in the intensity and complexity of scent marking. Only S. fuscicollis showed allomarking. They also differed significantly in the type, orientation and height of substrates used for scent marking which corresponded to general differences in substrate use. In S. fuscicollis, but very rarely in S. mystax, two or more group members marked the same site sequentially or simultaneously. 'Collective scent marking', i.e. simultaneous scent marking by most or all group members, occurred only in S. fuscicollis. Since both tamarin species live sympatrically in mixed-species groups, ecological factors are unlikely to account for the differences found in scent-marking behaviour (except for differences in substrate use). They probably relate to as yet unknown differences in social and reproductive strategies of the two species.

Animals↗
PubMed1985

Effect of perinatal antisteroid treatment on territorial marking behavior in the mongolian gerbil.

Sex differences have been observed in the perinatal sexual differentiation of the neural substrate which regulates territorial marking behavior in the Mongolian gerbil. The present study examines the relative contribution of prenatal and postnatal steroid environment to sexual differentiation in the male and androgenized female using territorial marking behavior as an endpoint. Selective suppression of steroid effects in the pre- and postnatal period was accomplished with the antiandrogen flutamide or the antiestrogen MER-25. Treatment was given prenatally (for 5 days before expected parturition), on the day of birth, and postnatally (to day 10) or prenatally and on the day of birth only. Animals without postnatal antisteroid treatment were intact or were gonadectomized on day 2 and given testosterone propionate (TP) treatment on day 7. (It has previously been shown that day 7 is beyond the period of maximum steroid responsiveness in the male but not in the androgenized female.) MER-25, flutamide, or day-2 ovariectomy had no effect on adult marking behavior responsiveness in females given TP on day 7. All groups marked at normal male frequencies. The presence of flutamide prenatally and on the day of birth in day-2 castrates given TP on day 7 yielded adults with marking responsiveness equivalent to day-7 TP-treated females. In contrast, males given day-7 TP without prenatal and birthday flutamide showed significantly lower marking frequencies, suggesting that the presence of androgen prenatally and on the day of birth rendered day-2 castrates less responsive to TP given on day 7.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Androgens↗
PubMed1978

Home range, activity pattern, and agonistic encounters of a group of night monkeys (Aotus trivirgatus) in Peru.

Findings are presented from a 9-week field study on Aotus trivirgatus in continuous primary, tropical forest in Peru. One group of 2 adults and 2 juveniles utilized the same lodge area in the center of a home range of 3.1 ha for the duration of the study. The group utilized eleven fruit trees of nine different species during the 9 weeks. The home range overlapped extensively with that of other Aotus groups.

Aggression↗