Recognition In Pinnipeds

“Chimpanzees have been found to extensively and flexibly use gestural communication, even developing novel gestures in new situations” (Larsen, 210). They show different communicative responses specific to their groups and regions. This indicates that vocal features can be transmitted through social learning. Chimpanzee mothers and infants communicate through distinct vocalizations and gestures (Hirata, 2009). In 2008, Hirata observed several interactions between mothers and infants in captivity. When infants were still young and immature, mothers would help their infants move. When the mothers walked long distances in situations that their young would have trouble traveling alone, the mother would communicate with her infant and they would travel together with the mother carrying the infant. For example, before even traveling one mother stretched out her hand toward her offspring who was somewhat far from her. The infant then approached its mother to take her hand and the mother cradled the infant and moved from one spot to another while carrying her infant. Hirata indicated that mothers will determine the goal of travel in advance and proceed by carrying their young if it is necessary. This is done through communication in advance using several types of gestures and vocals. The range of gestural communication is greater compared to facial and vocal signals.

In Sarah Blaffer Hrdy’s talk, she discusses infants and the presence of alloparents in combination with their parents. Hrdy states that human infants fall behind other apes in physical development, but are able to monitor others and assess their intentions from a very young age. I find this interesting because often human infants are only compared to other human infants in regards to if they can hold eye contact and if they understand facial expression. When human infants are compared to other nonhuman infant primates, there is a vast difference of what human infants can be successful at. It is also interesting to note that human infants get significantly better at recognizing their mother’s face as they get older, where chimpanzees get worse at recognizing their mothers face as they get older.

The majority of organisms that fall into the category of primates tend to live in relatively large group size and work together within their habitats to increase the overall survival rate. There are multiple benefits of living in larger groups which include increased genetic diversity, increased protection from predators and even more opportunity for developing learning strategies [7]. On the other hand, animals living in smaller groups do not necessarily have as much completion for resources or

The article “Kinship and Social Bonds in Female Chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes)” is a research article in which was written based off of studies of many social mammals. There is a lot of research that has been conducted on female mammals that live in groups, which makes it reasonable to believe that kinship is something that influences the growth and continuation of social bonds. The objective of this study was to prove if kinship has an influence on social bonding for female chimpanzees that live in groups. The idea of this is to conclude if female chimpanzees develop sturdy communal relations with unrelated mammals of the equivalent gender. To do this the study observes multiple different characteristics of female chimpanzees from the same area. Observations were conducted on both physical and behavioral aspects of the chimps. The population that the investigators intend to refer their findings to is the Ngogo community of chimpanzees living in Kibale National Park, Uganda. Previous studies of males from the same group allowed the study to compare females to males that expressed powerful social ties amongst other members.

Our results suggest the improved long-term reproductive success is due to the number of helpers remaining relatively small. We suppose that having fewer helpers lowers the need for completion and increases communication among individuals within the coteries between individuals. Competition creates among individuals for resources and causes evolution, yet competition can be harmful where too much exists. In brown capuchin monkeys, larger

In continuing with the shark example, lemon sharks have demonstrated behavioral adaptations through social learning. “Social learning is taxonomically widespread and can provide distinct behavioral advantages, such as in finding food or avoiding predators more efficiently” (Guttridge, van Dijk, Stamhuis, Krause, & Gruber, 2013, p. 55). Social learning theories believe that individuals learn particular behaviors by observing those around them and then mimicking that behavior. Social learning in lemon sharks can occur when a particular behavior, such as foraging, is exhibited by the other sharks in their given population, and that behavior attracts positive attention, acting as either a stimulus or a reward. In a study by Guttridge et al. (2013), researchers were able to track some of the social behaviors that are demonstrated by the lemon shark, including following or leading the other sharks in their group, accelerated swimming at potential pray, and target zone entry based on obtaining a particular stimulus or reward. These learned behaviors will be advantageous to future populations since they will be demonstrated to the upcoming generations. Similarly, changes in migration patterns has been seen in several species of sharks, predominantly as a result of overfishing and pollution of their habitats.

In this experimental study, Robinson, Myers, Hofer, Shair, and Welch look at the way in which Prairie Vole pups may show companion preference for their mothers (the dam) over their fathers (the sire) primarily through the increase rate of vocal cues (potentiation) they exhibit after being separated from the dam. Two main experiments were conducted in this study, the main difference being that in one (Experiment 1) the vole parents were drugged and inactive during reunions with the pups, whereas in the second (Experiment 2) the parents were not drugged, and were active during the reunion with the pups. In both of these experiments, the pup was first placed in an isolation test cage, followed by a reunion with either the dam, sire, two litter

The Australian Sea Lion (N. cinerea) is the only pinniped endemic to Australia (Ling 1992). Pinnipeds are highly social mammals and use vocalisations for mate selection, territory defence and mother-offspring communication (Charrier & Harcourt 2006). N. cinerea are colonial breeders, with mothers regularly leaving their pups to forage during lactation and exclusively feed their own offspring, showing high aggression to non-kin (Charrier & Harcourt 2006; Pitcher et al. 2009). A study conducted by McIntosh & Kennedy (2013), showed that 10% of pup mortality was caused by separation of mother and pup. Therefore mothers and pups must be able to recognise one another after separation intervals for success of the species.

The function of alarm calls in general has been studied for many decades and raises the question what leads animals to perform the selfless act of warning others while also attracting the predator’s attention. This self-sacrificing behaviour appears to be altruistic (Sherman, 1977). However, altruism commonly evolves through kin selection (Charnov and Krebs, 1975) while alarm calls can be seen between all members of a species, closely related or not. This might be because sooner or later the individual performing the altruistic act benefits from it (Trivers, 1971). It is likely that the receiver of the altruistic act will repay the performer by behaving altruistic in the future and therefore both benefit in the long run (Trivers, 1971). Receivers that decide against behaving altruistic in return might be punished by not receiving any more altruistic acts, which is why natural selection favours altruism (Trivers, 1971).

One of the most well represented vocalisations in the current literature is long calling, which is mostly used by flanged males to attract females and identify other individuals from distances of up to several hundred metres away (Delgado, 2006; Lameira & Wich, 2008; Mitra Setia & van Sckaik, 2007; Spillmann et al., 2010). Dalgado (2006) recorded and compared male long calls of two orang-utan populations within Gunung Palung National Park and Kutai National Park. The author found significant differences in call speed and duration, number of pulses, and pulse duration between the two populations. However, the greatest difference between the populations was frequency (kHz). It has been suggested in the literature that vocalisation frequency differences could be a result of variations in body size. That is, species with larger average body size (i.e. P.p. wurmbii in Gunung Palung) should exhibit lower frequency calls than smaller-bodied species (i.e. P.p. morio in Kutai; Hauser, 1993), due to an increase in vocal tract size (Ey et al., 2007). The data support this, with P.p. morio having higher frequency long calls than P.p.

An alternative hypothesis could link back to the complex social dynamic of the Lagothrix, which leads them to solicit and communicate in a way that other species do not. Different kinds of studies could include a longitudinal study in captivity, allowing the subjects a sense of familiarity and intimacy. By insisting on familiarity the communication through solicitation may decrease substantially.

Turtles and Tortoises have existed millions of years since prehistoric days yet research conducted on their socialization and behavior appears scarce, despite their longevity. As research by Davis has summarized, “Turtles are little studied with respect to learning, cognition and social behavior in spite of being phylogenetically a central group” (Davis, Karen Pg. 12). Those owning these intriguing reptiles are interested in the culture known as Hobbyists of Chelonian or Terrapins. The discourse community culture relies upon accessible research information, and tends to gather a majority of their knowledge via online blogs or forums. We know so little about these fascinating creatures; possibly due to the fact they are perceived as slow and

The ability to be social is the human’s most defining quality. One of the strongest pieces of evidence supporting the human's ability to socialize is phycologists Fritz Heider and Mary Simmel's famous 1944 animation of two triangles and a circle orbiting a rectangle. The animation presents simple shapes, but people are quick to portray these objects as humans. A closer look at the video article describes that the impulse is not automatic, but caused by the features of the event or situation. You may argue that animals-- with their collaboration by groups-- share the same trait, yet, in reality, they are not as conscious or it as we humans are to others.These shapes were designed to move in ways that specifically mimic humane social behavior,

Histology slides of the brain lesions and their evaluation can be used as essential unbiased evidence and ancillary diagnostic tool that can consequently help veterinarians and researchers in better understanding of the etiology and pathophysiology of the brain lesions in pinnipeds. The aim of research is to provide and evaluate histological evaluation of brain lesions in Southern California pinnipeds. The subjects of the study will be deceased or euthanized animals presented for necropsy following unsuccessful rehabilitation. In order to assess the epidemiological status in wild pinnipeds, the entire brain must be taken out from the skull, and after a gross examination it will be sent to a laboratory for the slide preparation. Slides from

It may seem odd for non-human forms of life to form groups or cliques seeing to as it is a human trait,but some species of animals actually do form cliques instinctively.Baboons and fish form social groups between each other.Experiments were tested to prove that “baboon clique” idea was accurate.The test began by setting out food likes bread rolls and hard boiled eggs on the edge of trails the animals frequently journeyed to.The researchers kept up with time it took different animals to explore close enough to check out the new foods and another for ones that had the courage to taste them. As expected, the curious set of baboons all belonged to the same group. What caught the eye of the scientists is that gender was not a factor. The monkeys