Time resources and laziness in animals

Herbers, Joan M.

doi:10.1007/bf00349198

Cited by 221 publications

(98 citation statements)

References 44 publications

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“…Verbeek 1964;Herbers 1981;Horne 1988;Amlaner & Ball 1989;Hartse 1989). These temporal patterns of activity have been proposed to be determined by factors such as forage availability, digestive capacity, predation risk and energy conservation (Wolf & Hainsworth 1977;Daan 1981;Diamond et al 1986;Elgar et al 1988;Horne 1988;Lima & Dill 1990).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Sustained vigilance and animal performance

Dukas

Clark

1995

Animal Behaviour

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Abstract. Psychological studies have established that the central nervous system cannot sustain vigilance for an extended period of time. The consequent vigilance decrement implies a gradual reduction in the ability to process information effectively. This may result in a reduced ability to detect hidden predators, locate cryptic food items or make successful behavioural decisions. A model incorporating parameters of vigilance decrement during foraging and vigilance recovery during rest predicts first, the optimal allocation of time between foraging activity and rest, and second, the optimal length of each foraging episode. For a given rate of vigilance recovery, the model predicts that both the optimal proportion of time devoted for foraging activity and the optimal length of a foraging bout should be decreasing functions of the rate of vigilance decrement. Because the rate of vigilance decrement is larger for more difficult tasks, both the total time spent foraging and the duration of each foraging episode should be smaller for more demanding foraging activities. It is suggested that vigilance decrement is a dominant factor determining temporal patterns of animal behaviour.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Sustained vigilance and animal performance

Dukas

Clark

1995

Animal Behaviour

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“…Many animals such as horses, primates and pigs spend a large portion of their daily activity budget in the search for and consumption of food in their natural habitats (Herbers, 1981). In captivity, food is generally offered to these animals and foraging opportunities are often restricted.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Foraging opportunity: a crucial criterion for horse welfare?

Benhajali

Richard‐Yris

Ezzaouïa³

et al. 2009

Animal

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This study aimed at determining the effect of the increase of foraging opportunities on the behaviour and welfare of breeding mares housed in individual boxes but allowed outside 6 h a day in a bare paddock. One hundred Arab breeding mares were divided into two groups of 50 according to the treatment and allowed outside in two bare paddocks at the same density (115 mare/ha) where water and shelter were provided. The treatment consisted in providing the opportunity to forage on hay. Twenty-minute animal focal samplings and scan samplings were used to determine the time budget of the mares during the period from 0900 to 1500 h and study their social behaviour. A total of 300 focal sampling (6000 min), 3300 individual scan sampling (6000 min) and 62 group observations (1240 min) corresponding to the 100 mares were recorded. Non-parametric tests were used to analyse data. Results showed that experimental mares spent more time feeding (65.12% 6 2.40% v. 29.75% 6 2.45%, P , 0.01) and less time in locomotion (11.70% 6 1.31% v. 23.56% 6 1.34%, P , 0.01), stand resting (11.76% 6 2.57% v. 27.52% 6 2.62%, P , 0.01) and alert standing (5.23% 6 1.2% v. 14.71% 6 1.23%, P , 0.01). There was more bonding among experimental mares than control ones (26 v. 14, P , 0.05). Experimental mares showed more positive social interactions (P , 0.01) and less aggression (P , 0.01). These results suggest that giving densely housed mares foraging opportunities improves their welfare.

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“…In Leptothorax acervorum, colony members showed synchronized activity rhythms with over 70% of their time spent inactive, a typical proportion for myrmicine ants (Herbers, 1981). The coordinated activity patterns allow for long periods of inactivity, while maximizing task performance, including information transfer among colony members, during short synchronous activity bouts (Franks et al, 1990b).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Extraordinary starvation resistance in Temnothorax rugatulus (Hymenoptera, Formicidae) colonies: Demography and adaptive behavior

Rueppell

Kirkman

2005

Insectes Soc.

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SummaryAnt colony mortality has not been sufficiently studied, even though it is crucial for understanding social insect population biology and can serve as an important model for general aging and mortality processes. Particularly, studies on proximate mechanisms on mortality and stress resistance of ant colonies are lacking. This study explores the long-term colony starvation resistance of the small myrmecine ant Temnothorax rugatulus. We report extraordinary starvation resistance in the 21 colonies investigated, as most survived the eight months of total starvation. Furthermore, we studied demographic and behavioral changes over the experimental period. Brood decline began first (after two months) and mortality was highest, worker decline was intermediate, and queen mortality started latest and remained lowest. We found brood (its relative change during the first four months and the level of brood relative to colony size) to be the only significant predictor of colony starvation resistance, but not the degree of polygyny. As expected, rates of trophallaxis increased during the starvation period while colony activity bouts occurred more frequently but were much shorter, leading to an overall decrease in activity levels. This study is the first to comprehensively study mechanisms of starvation resistance in ant colonies, linking demography and behavior.

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Time resources and laziness in animals

Cited by 221 publications

References 44 publications

Sustained vigilance and animal performance

Sustained vigilance and animal performance

Foraging opportunity: a crucial criterion for horse welfare?

Extraordinary starvation resistance in Temnothorax rugatulus (Hymenoptera, Formicidae) colonies: Demography and adaptive behavior

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