Nicotine is one of the most widely concerning components of cigarette smoke.Long-term intake of nicotine can lead to nicotine dependence that affects higher brain functions,which may involve anxiety,learning and memor...Nicotine is one of the most widely concerning components of cigarette smoke.Long-term intake of nicotine can lead to nicotine dependence that affects higher brain functions,which may involve anxiety,learning and memory impairments,and abnormal decision-making.To facilitate analyzing the molecular mechanisms of nicotine dependence,it is common to establish rodent nicotine dependence models to better understand the physiological changes.This paper summarizes and evaluates the application of animal behavior evaluation experiments in nicotine-dependent animal models,in order to provide a reliable reference for researchers to establish rodent nicotine-dependent models for evaluation.展开更多
After the 2011 Tohoku earthquake (EQ), there have been numerous aftershocks in the eastern and Pacific Ocean of Japan, but EQs are still rare in the western part of Japan. In this situation a relatively large (magnitu...After the 2011 Tohoku earthquake (EQ), there have been numerous aftershocks in the eastern and Pacific Ocean of Japan, but EQs are still rare in the western part of Japan. In this situation a relatively large (magnitude (M) ~6) EQ happened on April 12 (UT), 2013 at a place close to the former 1995 Kobe EQ (M~7), so we have tried to find whether there existed any precursors to this EQ, especially abnormal animal behavior (milk yield of cows), observed at Kagawa, Shikoku, near the EQ epicenter. The milk yield of cows has been continuously monitored at Kagawa, and it is found that the milk yield exhibited an abnormal depletion about 10 days before the EQ. This behavior has been extensively compared with the former electromagnetic precursors (ULF radiation, ionos-pheric perturbation). This leads to the discussion on the sensory mechanism of unusual behavior of mild yield of cows, and it may be suggested that ULF radiation among different electromagnetic precursors is a mostly likely driver, at least, for this EQ.展开更多
Living and/or non-living animal models are often used as stimuli to observe the behavioral responses of the target animals.In the past,parasites,predators,and harmless controls have been used to test host anti-parasit...Living and/or non-living animal models are often used as stimuli to observe the behavioral responses of the target animals.In the past,parasites,predators,and harmless controls have been used to test host anti-parasitism defense behavior,and their taxidermy specimens have been widely used as a set of standard methods for the study of avian brood parasitism.In recent years,with the rapid development of 3D-printing technology,3D-printed bird models are expected to be applied as a standard method in the study of avian brood parasitism.To evaluate the use of 3D-printed models,this study tests the reaction of Oriental Reed Warbler(Acrocephalus orientalis)towards predators,parasites,or controls,and compares the reaction among different nest intruders and between taxidermy specimens and 3D-printed animal models.It was found that the Oriental Reed Warbler responded most aggressively to the parasite,followed by predator,and finally the control;the results were consistent between the reaction to taxidermy specimens and 3D-printed animal models,indicating that 3D-printed models could serve as a substitute for taxidermy specimens.We propose a series of advantages of using 3D-printed models and suggest them to be a standard method for widespread use in future studies of avian brood parasitism.展开更多
Ivane S. Beritashvili’s doctrine of image-driven behavior was established in the late 1920s and finally extended in his books in English (1965;1971). It bears a strong resemblance to the concepts of purposive behavio...Ivane S. Beritashvili’s doctrine of image-driven behavior was established in the late 1920s and finally extended in his books in English (1965;1971). It bears a strong resemblance to the concepts of purposive behavior and “cognitive maps” developed in parallel by Edward C. Tolman (1932;1948) and significantly anticipated respective modern concepts. John O’Keefe and his disciples May-Britt Moser and Edvard I. Moser received the Nobel Prize in 2014 for their discoveries of cells that constitute a navigation system in the brain. The latter fact brings us to the pioneers of the study of the spatial orientation of animals that figuratively speaking, provided the giant’s shoulders on which O’Keefe and the Mosers stood to receive their award. Beritashvili and Tolman upheld the holistic and goal-directed nature of spatial behavior. A major contribution of Beritashvili to the science of animal behavior was the demonstration of the universality of learning following a single presentation of an object vitally important to the animal: either a food object or a noxious signal. Beritashvili showed that such “image-driven” behavior has a strong spatial component, i.e., the image is projected into a definite point in space. Thus, he came to maintain that there is a class of behavior that is image-driven that does not require a repetition of associations. Tolman made several significant contributions to the field of experimental psychology. He thought of learning as developing from bits of knowledge and cognitions about the environment and how the organism relates to it. He examined the role that reinforcement plays in the way that rats learn their way through complex mazes. These experiments eventually led to the theory of latent learning which describes learning that occurs in the absence of an obvious reward. Tolman also strongly advocated the theory that rats learn the place where they have been rewarded rather than the particular movements required to get there. To a great extent, Tolman’s work determined the direction of American psychology in the 1930s-1950s. The contribution of Beritashvili and Tolman, thus, is the groundwork of modern studies of spatial cognitive processes in human and nonhuman animals.展开更多
Trophy hunting has severe consequences on wild animals’ behaviors, which in return has implications for affecting wildlife populations. The Selous Game Reserve is a protected area in Tanzania that has been subjected ...Trophy hunting has severe consequences on wild animals’ behaviors, which in return has implications for affecting wildlife populations. The Selous Game Reserve is a protected area in Tanzania that has been subjected to commercial trophy hunting for decades, and information about the effects of trophy hunting on animals’ welfare is still scarce. The Flight Initiating Distance (FID) can be a good measure to evaluate the welfare of animals and the level of risk perception towards anthropogenic disturbances, including trophy hunting. The study used linear mixed models to assess the flight responses of twelve commonly hunted species in the Selous game reserve (S.G.R.). The study compared animal vigilance between species, vegetation types, and group size. The FID varied between species, with which more vigilance was observed in zebras, elands, wildebeests, and sable antelopes. The study found a significant influence of vegetation cover on individual species’ FID. Further, the study found a significant influence of group size on animals’ vigilance (L. M. M., 95% CI = 0.590 - 4.762), in which there was a decrease in FID with an increase in group size for wildebeests. At the same time, other species, such as buffaloes, eland, hartebeests, and zebras, had their FIDs increasing with the increase in group size. We conclude that the impact of trophy hunting on savannah ungulates varies between species, vegetation covers, and group size of individual species. Regulatory authorities should consider minimum approach distances by trophy hunters in different vegetation cover to reduce animal biological disturbances.展开更多
Survival and successful reproduction require animals to make critical decisions amidst a naturally dynamic environmental and social background(i.e.“context”).However,human activities have pervasively,and rapidly,ext...Survival and successful reproduction require animals to make critical decisions amidst a naturally dynamic environmental and social background(i.e.“context”).However,human activities have pervasively,and rapidly,extended contextual variation into evolutionarily novel territory,potentially rendering evolved animal decision-making mechanisms and strategies maladaptive.We suggest that explicitly focusing on animal decision-making(ADM),by integrating and applying findings from studies of sensory ecology,cognitive psychology,behavioral economics and eco-evolutionary strategies,may enhance our understanding of,and our ability to predict how,human-driven changes in the environment and population demography will influence animal populations.Fundamentally,the decisions animals make involve evolved mechanisms,and behaviors emerge from the combined action of sensory integration,cognitive mechanisms and strategic rules of thumb,and any of these processes may have a disproportionate influence on behavior.Although there is extensive literature exploring ADM,it generally reflects a canalized,discipline-specific approach that lacks a unified conceptual framework.As a result,there has been limited application of ADM theory and research findings into predictive models that can enhance management outcomes,even though it is likely that the relative resilience of species to rapid environmental change is fundamentally a result of how ADM is linked to contextual variation.Here,we focus on how context influences ADM,and highlight ideas and results that may be most applicable to conservation biology.展开更多
Precise and reliable presentation of odorants to animals is crucial for olfactory studies.Although odor stimulation systems in anesthetized or awake,head-fixed animals are well established,temporally precise odor prese...Precise and reliable presentation of odorants to animals is crucial for olfactory studies.Although odor stimulation systems in anesthetized or awake,head-fixed animals are well established,temporally precise odor presentation in awake,freely moving animals remains a challenge.Here,we describe a new odor stimulation system which presents odors directly to the nostrils of freely moving mice.The system comprises 3 modules:an odor-delivery module,an odor-generation module,and a control module.The new system is precise and temporally reliable,and odor stimulation can be triggered by specific sniffing phases or other events.Moreover,the system can be combined with neural recordings,such as electrophysiology,and olfactory behavioral tests to investigate how neurons in the brain represent odor information during individual olfactory behaviors.This innovative odor stimulation system may replace traditional stimulation systems:It will enable precise odor presentation in a wide range of olfactory studies in freely moving animals.展开更多
Robots have primarily been developed for warfare, yet they also serve peaceful purposes. Their use in ecology is in its infancy, but they may soon become essential tools in a broad variety of ecological sub-discipline...Robots have primarily been developed for warfare, yet they also serve peaceful purposes. Their use in ecology is in its infancy, but they may soon become essential tools in a broad variety of ecological sub-disciplines. Autonomous robots, in particular drones sent to previously inaccessible areas, have revolutionized data acquisition, not only for abiotic parameters, but also for recording the behavior of undisturbed animals and collecting biological material. Robots will also play an essential role in population ecology, as they will allow for automatic census of individuals through image processing, or via detection of animals marked electronically. These new technologies will enable automated experimentation for increasingly large sample sizes, both in the laboratory and in the field. Finally, interactive robots and cyborgs are becoming major players in modern studies of animal behavior. Such rapid progress nonetheless raises ethical, environmental, and security issues.展开更多
Background:Severe intracerebral hemorrhage(ICH)is the most devastating subtype of stroke resulting in high mortality and disability.At present,the development of targeted treatments to minimize the high morbidity and ...Background:Severe intracerebral hemorrhage(ICH)is the most devastating subtype of stroke resulting in high mortality and disability.At present,the development of targeted treatments to minimize the high morbidity and mortality is limited partly due to the lack of a severe ICH animal model.In this study,we aimed to establish an accurate severe ICH model in rats and examine the pathological and physiological changes associated with ICH.Methods:A rat model of severe ICH model was established by intrastriatal injection of autologous blood using different blood volumes(ICH 100μL group,ICH 130μL group,ICH 160μL group,ICH 170μL group,and ICH 180μL group).The mortality was assessed during the 28-day post-ICH period.Short-and long-term neurological deficits were evaluated using the Longa method,foot fault,falling latency,and Morris water maze tests.Brain water content,hematoma volume,hemoglobin content,and magnetic resonance imaging were assessed to determine the extent of brain injury.Immunofluorescence staining was conducted to examine microglial activation and neuronal apoptosis.Hematoxylin and eosin(H&E)staining,lung water content,and western blotting were used to assess lung injury following ICH.Results:The mortality of ICH rats increased significantly with an increase in autologous blood injection.The 28-day mortality in the 100μL,130μL,160μL,170μL,and 180μL ICH groups were 5%,20%,40%,75%,and 100%,respectively.A significantly higher 28-day mortality was observed in the ICH 160μL group compared to the ICH 100μL group.The ICH 160μL group exhibited significantly increased neurological deficits,brain edema,hematoma volume,and hemoglobin content compared to the sham group.Compared with the sham operation group,the activation of microglia and neuronal death in ICH 160μL rats increased.The use of H&E staining and western blotting demonstrated that disruption of the intra-alveolar structure,alveolar edema,and infiltration of inflammatory cells and cytokines into the lung tissue were more severe in the ICH 160μL group than the sham group.Conclusions:A severe ICH model in rats was successfully established using an injection of autologous blood at a volume of 160μL.This model may provide a valuable tool to examine the pathological mechanisms and potential therapeutic interventions of severe ICH.展开更多
The excreta of pig is generally utilized to induce pigs to excrete in particular area,which reduces the subsequent work required to clean pens.This paper discussed a new induction device design based on the biological...The excreta of pig is generally utilized to induce pigs to excrete in particular area,which reduces the subsequent work required to clean pens.This paper discussed a new induction device design based on the biological characteristics of pigs.Using different induction materials in the devices,the frequency and location of the excretory behavior of pigs through five treatments and a control group were compared.According to the results,different induction methods had significant(p<0.05)effects on frequency and duration of excretory behavior.Compared to the conventional induction method,the induction devices were significantly(p<0.05)more effective in training pigs to excrete in the assigned area,the most effective material used in the induction devices was feces.If the inductive feces had been preserved in the air for a longer time,the effect of inducing excretory behavior would have been more obvious.Empty devices did not work to induce pigs to excrete in the induction area.展开更多
Detection and tracking of pigs are important for analyzing pig behavior using computer vision.However,in natural environments,illumination changes,complex scenes,adhesion,occlusion,and individual identification from m...Detection and tracking of pigs are important for analyzing pig behavior using computer vision.However,in natural environments,illumination changes,complex scenes,adhesion,occlusion,and individual identification from multiple objects are challenges for detection and tracking.This paper provided an anti-interference algorithm for pig detection and tracking based on video analysis.Firstly,pigs were recognized in natural environment based on color information,and noises were removed based on the analysis of connected regions in the binary images.Secondly,multiple pigs were separated by contours and edges.Thirdly,pigs were tracked based on a set of association rules with constraint items(DT-ACR).When DT-ACR fails,targets that are not lost were tracked continuously,while lost targets were retrieved in the nearby location,which effectively increased the duration of tracking.Experiments showed that the algorithm was able to track each individual pig in the following conditions:no-light scenes,sun glint scenes,adhesion scenes and occlusion scenes.The overall tracking accuracy reached up to 87.32%(83.85%for serious adhesion,87.4% for occlusion,82.4% for strong light,82.17% for no light and dark,96.58%for 2 pigs,88.33%for 3 pigs and 77.63 for 4 pigs).A pig activity analysis study based on the pig detection and tracking algorithm was carried out,and the results showed that the proposed method was able to track pigs for a long period of time and extract the values that reflected pigs’movements.展开更多
The formalization of multilayer networks allows for new ways to measure sociality in complex social systems,including groups of animals.The same mathematical representation and methods are widely applicable across fie...The formalization of multilayer networks allows for new ways to measure sociality in complex social systems,including groups of animals.The same mathematical representation and methods are widely applicable across fields and study systems,and a network can represent drastically different types of data.As such,in order to apply analyses and interpret the results in a meaningful way the researcher must have a deep understanding of what their network is representing and what parts of it are being measured by a given analysis.Multilayer social networks can represent social structure with more detail than is often present in single layer networks,including multiple"types"of individuals,interactions,or relationships,and the extent to which these types are interdependent.Multilayer networks can also encompass a wider range of social scales,which can help overcome complications that are inherent to measuring sociality.In this paper,I dissect multilayer networks into the parts that correspond to different components of social structures.I then discuss common pitfalls to avoid across different stages of multilayer network analyses-some novel and some that always exist in social network analysis but are magnified in multi-layer representations.This paper serves as a primer for building a customized toolkit of multilayer network analyses,to probe components of social structure in animal social systems.展开更多
Rescue behavior is observed when 1 individual provides help to another individual in danger.Most reports of rescue behavior concern ants(Formicidae),in which workers rescue each other from various types of entrapment....Rescue behavior is observed when 1 individual provides help to another individual in danger.Most reports of rescue behavior concern ants(Formicidae),in which workers rescue each other from various types of entrapment.Many of these entrapment situations can be simulated in the laboratory using an entrapment bioassay,in which ants confront a single endangered nest mate entrapped on a sandy arena by means of an artificial snare.Here,we compared numerous characteristics of rescue actions(contact between individuals,digging around the entrapped individual,pulling at its body parts,transport of the sand covering it,and biting the snare entrapping it)in Formica cinerea ants.We performed entrapment tests in the field and in the laboratory,with the latter under varying conditions in terms of the number of ants potentially engaged in rescue actions and the arena substrate(marked or unmarked by ants'pheromones).Rescue actions were more probable and pronounced in the field than in the laboratory,regardless of the type of test.Moreover,different test types in the laboratory yielded inconsistent results and showed noteworthy variability depending on the tested characteristic of rescue.Our results illustrate the specifics of ant rescue actions elicited in the natural setting,which is especially important considering the scarcity of field data.Furthermore,our results underline the challenges related to the comparison of results from different types of entrapment tests reported in the available literature.Additionally,our study shows how animal behavior differs in differing experimental setups used to answer the same questions.展开更多
We consider a model for a population in a heterogeneous environment, with logistic-type local population dynamics, under the assumption that individuals can switch between two different nonzero rates of diffusion. Suc...We consider a model for a population in a heterogeneous environment, with logistic-type local population dynamics, under the assumption that individuals can switch between two different nonzero rates of diffusion. Such switching behavior has been observed in some natural systems. We study how environmental heterogeneity and the rates of switching and diffusion affect the persistence of the population. The reactiondiffusion systems in the models can be cooperative at some population densities and competitive at others. The results extend our previous work on similar models in homogeneous environments. We also consider competition between two populations that are ecologically identical, but where one population diffuses at a fixed rate and the other switches between two different diffusion rates. The motivation for that is to gain insight into when switching might be advantageous versus diffusing at a fixed rate. This is a variation on the classical results for ecologically identical competitors with differing fixed diffusion rates, where it is well known that "the slower diffuser wins".展开更多
基金Provincial and Ministerial Key Science and Technology Projects[110202101018(XX-04),110202102014].
文摘Nicotine is one of the most widely concerning components of cigarette smoke.Long-term intake of nicotine can lead to nicotine dependence that affects higher brain functions,which may involve anxiety,learning and memory impairments,and abnormal decision-making.To facilitate analyzing the molecular mechanisms of nicotine dependence,it is common to establish rodent nicotine dependence models to better understand the physiological changes.This paper summarizes and evaluates the application of animal behavior evaluation experiments in nicotine-dependent animal models,in order to provide a reliable reference for researchers to establish rodent nicotine-dependent models for evaluation.
文摘After the 2011 Tohoku earthquake (EQ), there have been numerous aftershocks in the eastern and Pacific Ocean of Japan, but EQs are still rare in the western part of Japan. In this situation a relatively large (magnitude (M) ~6) EQ happened on April 12 (UT), 2013 at a place close to the former 1995 Kobe EQ (M~7), so we have tried to find whether there existed any precursors to this EQ, especially abnormal animal behavior (milk yield of cows), observed at Kagawa, Shikoku, near the EQ epicenter. The milk yield of cows has been continuously monitored at Kagawa, and it is found that the milk yield exhibited an abnormal depletion about 10 days before the EQ. This behavior has been extensively compared with the former electromagnetic precursors (ULF radiation, ionos-pheric perturbation). This leads to the discussion on the sensory mechanism of unusual behavior of mild yield of cows, and it may be suggested that ULF radiation among different electromagnetic precursors is a mostly likely driver, at least, for this EQ.
基金This study was supported by the Education Department of Hainan Province(HnjgY2022-12)Hainan Provincial Natural Science Foundation of China(320CXTD437 and 2019RC189)+1 种基金the National Natural Science Foundation of China(32260127 and 31672303)to CYthe Hainan Provincial Innovative Research Program for Graduates(Qhyb2021-55)to XC.
文摘Living and/or non-living animal models are often used as stimuli to observe the behavioral responses of the target animals.In the past,parasites,predators,and harmless controls have been used to test host anti-parasitism defense behavior,and their taxidermy specimens have been widely used as a set of standard methods for the study of avian brood parasitism.In recent years,with the rapid development of 3D-printing technology,3D-printed bird models are expected to be applied as a standard method in the study of avian brood parasitism.To evaluate the use of 3D-printed models,this study tests the reaction of Oriental Reed Warbler(Acrocephalus orientalis)towards predators,parasites,or controls,and compares the reaction among different nest intruders and between taxidermy specimens and 3D-printed animal models.It was found that the Oriental Reed Warbler responded most aggressively to the parasite,followed by predator,and finally the control;the results were consistent between the reaction to taxidermy specimens and 3D-printed animal models,indicating that 3D-printed models could serve as a substitute for taxidermy specimens.We propose a series of advantages of using 3D-printed models and suggest them to be a standard method for widespread use in future studies of avian brood parasitism.
文摘Ivane S. Beritashvili’s doctrine of image-driven behavior was established in the late 1920s and finally extended in his books in English (1965;1971). It bears a strong resemblance to the concepts of purposive behavior and “cognitive maps” developed in parallel by Edward C. Tolman (1932;1948) and significantly anticipated respective modern concepts. John O’Keefe and his disciples May-Britt Moser and Edvard I. Moser received the Nobel Prize in 2014 for their discoveries of cells that constitute a navigation system in the brain. The latter fact brings us to the pioneers of the study of the spatial orientation of animals that figuratively speaking, provided the giant’s shoulders on which O’Keefe and the Mosers stood to receive their award. Beritashvili and Tolman upheld the holistic and goal-directed nature of spatial behavior. A major contribution of Beritashvili to the science of animal behavior was the demonstration of the universality of learning following a single presentation of an object vitally important to the animal: either a food object or a noxious signal. Beritashvili showed that such “image-driven” behavior has a strong spatial component, i.e., the image is projected into a definite point in space. Thus, he came to maintain that there is a class of behavior that is image-driven that does not require a repetition of associations. Tolman made several significant contributions to the field of experimental psychology. He thought of learning as developing from bits of knowledge and cognitions about the environment and how the organism relates to it. He examined the role that reinforcement plays in the way that rats learn their way through complex mazes. These experiments eventually led to the theory of latent learning which describes learning that occurs in the absence of an obvious reward. Tolman also strongly advocated the theory that rats learn the place where they have been rewarded rather than the particular movements required to get there. To a great extent, Tolman’s work determined the direction of American psychology in the 1930s-1950s. The contribution of Beritashvili and Tolman, thus, is the groundwork of modern studies of spatial cognitive processes in human and nonhuman animals.
文摘Trophy hunting has severe consequences on wild animals’ behaviors, which in return has implications for affecting wildlife populations. The Selous Game Reserve is a protected area in Tanzania that has been subjected to commercial trophy hunting for decades, and information about the effects of trophy hunting on animals’ welfare is still scarce. The Flight Initiating Distance (FID) can be a good measure to evaluate the welfare of animals and the level of risk perception towards anthropogenic disturbances, including trophy hunting. The study used linear mixed models to assess the flight responses of twelve commonly hunted species in the Selous game reserve (S.G.R.). The study compared animal vigilance between species, vegetation types, and group size. The FID varied between species, with which more vigilance was observed in zebras, elands, wildebeests, and sable antelopes. The study found a significant influence of vegetation cover on individual species’ FID. Further, the study found a significant influence of group size on animals’ vigilance (L. M. M., 95% CI = 0.590 - 4.762), in which there was a decrease in FID with an increase in group size for wildebeests. At the same time, other species, such as buffaloes, eland, hartebeests, and zebras, had their FIDs increasing with the increase in group size. We conclude that the impact of trophy hunting on savannah ungulates varies between species, vegetation covers, and group size of individual species. Regulatory authorities should consider minimum approach distances by trophy hunters in different vegetation cover to reduce animal biological disturbances.
文摘Survival and successful reproduction require animals to make critical decisions amidst a naturally dynamic environmental and social background(i.e.“context”).However,human activities have pervasively,and rapidly,extended contextual variation into evolutionarily novel territory,potentially rendering evolved animal decision-making mechanisms and strategies maladaptive.We suggest that explicitly focusing on animal decision-making(ADM),by integrating and applying findings from studies of sensory ecology,cognitive psychology,behavioral economics and eco-evolutionary strategies,may enhance our understanding of,and our ability to predict how,human-driven changes in the environment and population demography will influence animal populations.Fundamentally,the decisions animals make involve evolved mechanisms,and behaviors emerge from the combined action of sensory integration,cognitive mechanisms and strategic rules of thumb,and any of these processes may have a disproportionate influence on behavior.Although there is extensive literature exploring ADM,it generally reflects a canalized,discipline-specific approach that lacks a unified conceptual framework.As a result,there has been limited application of ADM theory and research findings into predictive models that can enhance management outcomes,even though it is likely that the relative resilience of species to rapid environmental change is fundamentally a result of how ADM is linked to contextual variation.Here,we focus on how context influences ADM,and highlight ideas and results that may be most applicable to conservation biology.
基金supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China(NSFC,31872771 and 32070995 to Anan Li,31872770 to Yufeng Shao)the Jiangsu Province Innovative and Entrepreneurial Team Program.
文摘Precise and reliable presentation of odorants to animals is crucial for olfactory studies.Although odor stimulation systems in anesthetized or awake,head-fixed animals are well established,temporally precise odor presentation in awake,freely moving animals remains a challenge.Here,we describe a new odor stimulation system which presents odors directly to the nostrils of freely moving mice.The system comprises 3 modules:an odor-delivery module,an odor-generation module,and a control module.The new system is precise and temporally reliable,and odor stimulation can be triggered by specific sniffing phases or other events.Moreover,the system can be combined with neural recordings,such as electrophysiology,and olfactory behavioral tests to investigate how neurons in the brain represent odor information during individual olfactory behaviors.This innovative odor stimulation system may replace traditional stimulation systems:It will enable precise odor presentation in a wide range of olfactory studies in freely moving animals.
基金funded by CNRS and by the French Polar Institute IPEV(Grants 137 to YLM,333 to TB and 388 to DG).
文摘Robots have primarily been developed for warfare, yet they also serve peaceful purposes. Their use in ecology is in its infancy, but they may soon become essential tools in a broad variety of ecological sub-disciplines. Autonomous robots, in particular drones sent to previously inaccessible areas, have revolutionized data acquisition, not only for abiotic parameters, but also for recording the behavior of undisturbed animals and collecting biological material. Robots will also play an essential role in population ecology, as they will allow for automatic census of individuals through image processing, or via detection of animals marked electronically. These new technologies will enable automated experimentation for increasingly large sample sizes, both in the laboratory and in the field. Finally, interactive robots and cyborgs are becoming major players in modern studies of animal behavior. Such rapid progress nonetheless raises ethical, environmental, and security issues.
基金supported by a grant from the Shanghai Hospital Development Center(SHDC2020CR3021A to YG)the Science and Technology Commission of Shanghai Municipality(21ZR1410700 to S.D.)the National Natural Science Foun-dation of China(82101536 to S.D.).
文摘Background:Severe intracerebral hemorrhage(ICH)is the most devastating subtype of stroke resulting in high mortality and disability.At present,the development of targeted treatments to minimize the high morbidity and mortality is limited partly due to the lack of a severe ICH animal model.In this study,we aimed to establish an accurate severe ICH model in rats and examine the pathological and physiological changes associated with ICH.Methods:A rat model of severe ICH model was established by intrastriatal injection of autologous blood using different blood volumes(ICH 100μL group,ICH 130μL group,ICH 160μL group,ICH 170μL group,and ICH 180μL group).The mortality was assessed during the 28-day post-ICH period.Short-and long-term neurological deficits were evaluated using the Longa method,foot fault,falling latency,and Morris water maze tests.Brain water content,hematoma volume,hemoglobin content,and magnetic resonance imaging were assessed to determine the extent of brain injury.Immunofluorescence staining was conducted to examine microglial activation and neuronal apoptosis.Hematoxylin and eosin(H&E)staining,lung water content,and western blotting were used to assess lung injury following ICH.Results:The mortality of ICH rats increased significantly with an increase in autologous blood injection.The 28-day mortality in the 100μL,130μL,160μL,170μL,and 180μL ICH groups were 5%,20%,40%,75%,and 100%,respectively.A significantly higher 28-day mortality was observed in the ICH 160μL group compared to the ICH 100μL group.The ICH 160μL group exhibited significantly increased neurological deficits,brain edema,hematoma volume,and hemoglobin content compared to the sham group.Compared with the sham operation group,the activation of microglia and neuronal death in ICH 160μL rats increased.The use of H&E staining and western blotting demonstrated that disruption of the intra-alveolar structure,alveolar edema,and infiltration of inflammatory cells and cytokines into the lung tissue were more severe in the ICH 160μL group than the sham group.Conclusions:A severe ICH model in rats was successfully established using an injection of autologous blood at a volume of 160μL.This model may provide a valuable tool to examine the pathological mechanisms and potential therapeutic interventions of severe ICH.
基金the National“Twelfth-Five Year”Research Program of China under Grant Number 2012BAD39B02.
文摘The excreta of pig is generally utilized to induce pigs to excrete in particular area,which reduces the subsequent work required to clean pens.This paper discussed a new induction device design based on the biological characteristics of pigs.Using different induction materials in the devices,the frequency and location of the excretory behavior of pigs through five treatments and a control group were compared.According to the results,different induction methods had significant(p<0.05)effects on frequency and duration of excretory behavior.Compared to the conventional induction method,the induction devices were significantly(p<0.05)more effective in training pigs to excrete in the assigned area,the most effective material used in the induction devices was feces.If the inductive feces had been preserved in the air for a longer time,the effect of inducing excretory behavior would have been more obvious.Empty devices did not work to induce pigs to excrete in the induction area.
基金This work was supported by the National Key Research and Development Program of China(grant number 2017YFD0701601)Guangdong Science and Technology Program,China(grant number 2019B020215004 and 2019B090922002).
文摘Detection and tracking of pigs are important for analyzing pig behavior using computer vision.However,in natural environments,illumination changes,complex scenes,adhesion,occlusion,and individual identification from multiple objects are challenges for detection and tracking.This paper provided an anti-interference algorithm for pig detection and tracking based on video analysis.Firstly,pigs were recognized in natural environment based on color information,and noises were removed based on the analysis of connected regions in the binary images.Secondly,multiple pigs were separated by contours and edges.Thirdly,pigs were tracked based on a set of association rules with constraint items(DT-ACR).When DT-ACR fails,targets that are not lost were tracked continuously,while lost targets were retrieved in the nearby location,which effectively increased the duration of tracking.Experiments showed that the algorithm was able to track each individual pig in the following conditions:no-light scenes,sun glint scenes,adhesion scenes and occlusion scenes.The overall tracking accuracy reached up to 87.32%(83.85%for serious adhesion,87.4% for occlusion,82.4% for strong light,82.17% for no light and dark,96.58%for 2 pigs,88.33%for 3 pigs and 77.63 for 4 pigs).A pig activity analysis study based on the pig detection and tracking algorithm was carried out,and the results showed that the proposed method was able to track pigs for a long period of time and extract the values that reflected pigs’movements.
文摘The formalization of multilayer networks allows for new ways to measure sociality in complex social systems,including groups of animals.The same mathematical representation and methods are widely applicable across fields and study systems,and a network can represent drastically different types of data.As such,in order to apply analyses and interpret the results in a meaningful way the researcher must have a deep understanding of what their network is representing and what parts of it are being measured by a given analysis.Multilayer social networks can represent social structure with more detail than is often present in single layer networks,including multiple"types"of individuals,interactions,or relationships,and the extent to which these types are interdependent.Multilayer networks can also encompass a wider range of social scales,which can help overcome complications that are inherent to measuring sociality.In this paper,I dissect multilayer networks into the parts that correspond to different components of social structures.I then discuss common pitfalls to avoid across different stages of multilayer network analyses-some novel and some that always exist in social network analysis but are magnified in multi-layer representations.This paper serves as a primer for building a customized toolkit of multilayer network analyses,to probe components of social structure in animal social systems.
基金The study was funded by the National Science Centre,Poland[grant PRELUDIUM number 2018/31/N/NZ8/02312].
文摘Rescue behavior is observed when 1 individual provides help to another individual in danger.Most reports of rescue behavior concern ants(Formicidae),in which workers rescue each other from various types of entrapment.Many of these entrapment situations can be simulated in the laboratory using an entrapment bioassay,in which ants confront a single endangered nest mate entrapped on a sandy arena by means of an artificial snare.Here,we compared numerous characteristics of rescue actions(contact between individuals,digging around the entrapped individual,pulling at its body parts,transport of the sand covering it,and biting the snare entrapping it)in Formica cinerea ants.We performed entrapment tests in the field and in the laboratory,with the latter under varying conditions in terms of the number of ants potentially engaged in rescue actions and the arena substrate(marked or unmarked by ants'pheromones).Rescue actions were more probable and pronounced in the field than in the laboratory,regardless of the type of test.Moreover,different test types in the laboratory yielded inconsistent results and showed noteworthy variability depending on the tested characteristic of rescue.Our results illustrate the specifics of ant rescue actions elicited in the natural setting,which is especially important considering the scarcity of field data.Furthermore,our results underline the challenges related to the comparison of results from different types of entrapment tests reported in the available literature.Additionally,our study shows how animal behavior differs in differing experimental setups used to answer the same questions.
基金supported by National Science Foundation of USA (Grant No. DMS1514752)
文摘We consider a model for a population in a heterogeneous environment, with logistic-type local population dynamics, under the assumption that individuals can switch between two different nonzero rates of diffusion. Such switching behavior has been observed in some natural systems. We study how environmental heterogeneity and the rates of switching and diffusion affect the persistence of the population. The reactiondiffusion systems in the models can be cooperative at some population densities and competitive at others. The results extend our previous work on similar models in homogeneous environments. We also consider competition between two populations that are ecologically identical, but where one population diffuses at a fixed rate and the other switches between two different diffusion rates. The motivation for that is to gain insight into when switching might be advantageous versus diffusing at a fixed rate. This is a variation on the classical results for ecologically identical competitors with differing fixed diffusion rates, where it is well known that "the slower diffuser wins".
