Coping with divided attention: the advantage of familiarity

Griffiths, Siân Wyn; Brockmark, Sofia; Höjesjö, Johan; Johnsson, Jörgen I.

doi:10.1098/rspb.2003.2648

Cited by 141 publications

(151 citation statements)

References 36 publications

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“…In a previous study (Brockmark & Johnsson 2010), we suggested that high-density environments may constrain the ability to establish social-based recognition, and coordinate behavioural interactions with specific individuals (Griffiths 2003;Griffiths et al 2004). The sensory overload in a crowded environment (Dukas 2002), together with the associated spatial restriction of activity (Ruxton 1995) and perception may in fact constrain the development of both social and individual behaviour.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Less is more: density influences the development of behavioural life skills in trout

2010

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Theory suggests that habitat structure and population density profoundly influence the phenotypic development of animals. Here, we predicted that reduced rearing density and increased structural complexity promote food search ability, anti-predator response and the ability to forage on novel prey, all behavioural skills important for surviving in the wild. Brown trout were reared at three densities (conventional hatchery density, a fourth of conventional hatchery density and natural density) in tanks with or without structure. Treatment effects on behaviour were studied on trout fry and parr, whereupon 20 trout from each of the six treatment groups were released in an enclosed natural stream and recaptured after 36 days. Fry reared at natural density were faster to find prey in a maze. Moreover, parr reared at natural density were faster to eat novel prey, and showed more efficient anti-predator behaviour than fish reared at higher densities. Furthermore, parr reared at reduced densities were twice as likely to survive in the stream as trout reared at high density. In contrast, we found no clear treatment effects of structure. These novel results suggest that reduced rearing densities can facilitate the development of behavioural life skills in captive animals, thereby increasing their contribution to natural production.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Less is more: density influences the development of behavioural life skills in trout

2010

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“…feeding) rather than dividing their attention across several tasks (e.g. aggression and feeding) (Griffiths et al 2004). When the horses were tested with familiar persons the difference between the horses' performance in the squatting and standing situations compared to the turned distant person situation can be explained by analysing the approaches horses showed towards the test persons without prior feeding from the buckets.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Horses (Equus caballus) use human local enhancement cues and adjust to human attention

et al. 2010

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This study evaluates the horse (Equus caballus) use of human local enhancement cues and reaction to human attention when making feeding decisions. The superior performance of dogs in observing human states of attention suggests this ability evolved with domestication. However, some species show an improved ability to read human cues through socialization and training. We observed 60 horses approach a bucket with feed in a three-way object choice task when confronted with a) an unfamiliar or b) a familiar person in 4 different situations: 1) squatting behind the bucket, facing the horse (2) standing behind the bucket, facing the horse (3) standing behind the bucket in a back-turned position, gazing away from the horse and (4) standing a few meters from the bucket in a distant, back-turned position, again gazing away from the horse. Additionally, postures 1 and 2 were tested both with the person looking permanently at the horse, and with the person alternating their gaze between the horse and the bucket. When the person remained behind the correct bucket it was chosen significantly above chance. However, when the test person was turned and distant from the buckets, the horses' performance deteriorated. In the turned person situations the horses approached a familiar person and walked towards their focus of attention significantly more often than with an unfamiliar person. Additionally, in the squatting and standing person situations, some horses approached the person before approaching the correct bucket. This happened more with a familiar person. We therefore conclude that horses can use humans as a local enhancement cue independently of their body posture or gaze consistency when the persons remain close to the food source, and that horses seem to orientate on the attention of familiar more than of unfamiliar persons. We suggest that socialization and training improve the ability of horses to read human cues.

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“…Lateralization may enable animals to concentrate on two tasks simultaneously such as foraging and predator vigilance (Rogers et al 2004). If lateralization initially evolved to cope with different information coming from each eye, resulting in left and right hemisphere specialization of information processing and a reduction of the potential negative effects of divided attention (Griffiths et al 2004), then variation in the level of exposure to predators may have affected the degree of specialization in the two brain hemispheres. Future studies using a detour test may help clarify this point further.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Population variation in lateralized eye use in the poeciliid Brachyraphis episcopi

Brown

Gardner

Braithwaite

2004

Proc. R. Soc. Lond. B

104

112

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Differential use of each hemisphere of the brain for specif ic tasks is a widespread phenomenon that appears to have arisen in the early history of tetrapod lineage. Despite a high degree of conformity in the development of lateralization among the tetrapods, some variation exists. The mechanisms underlying this variation remain largely unresolved. We exposed f ish from regions of high and low predation pressure to a series of visual experiences, including viewing an empty compartment, a novel object and a live predator. Fish from each region differed in their preferential use of each eye to view the scenes. For example, f ish from high predation regions viewed a live predator by using their right eye, whereas f ish from low predation sites showed no eye preference. These results suggest that the degree of lateralization varies between populations of the same species that have been exposed to different ecological/evolutionary pressures.

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Coping with divided attention: the advantage of familiarity

Cited by 141 publications

References 36 publications

Less is more: density influences the development of behavioural life skills in trout

Less is more: density influences the development of behavioural life skills in trout

Horses (Equus caballus) use human local enhancement cues and adjust to human attention

Population variation in lateralized eye use in the poeciliid Brachyraphis episcopi

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