scholarly journals Born to be asocial: newly-hatched tortoises spontaneously avoid unfamiliar individuals

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Elisabetta Versace ◽  
Silvia Damini ◽  
Matteo Caffini ◽  
Gionata Stancher
Keyword(s):  
Social Interactions ◽  
Active Avoidance ◽  
Individual Recognition ◽  
Average Distance ◽  
Social Experience ◽  
Novel Environment ◽  
Testudo Graeca ◽  
Social Species ◽  
Testudo Marginata

ABSTRACTIndividual recognition is important for modulating social interactions but it is not clear to what extent this ability depends on experience gained through repeated interactions with different individuals. In wild tortoises, evidence of social interactions is limited to behaviours performed years after hatching, in the context of mating. To investigate the presence of abilities of individual recognition at the onset of life in tortoises, we used hatchlings of two species (Testudo marginata, Testudo graeca) reared with a single conspecific as unique social experience. When located in a novel environment together with the familiar conspecific, tortoises reached the average distance expected by random trajectories. On the contrary, tortoises tested with an unfamiliar conspecific first explored the mate, then actively kept a distance significantly larger than expected by chance. These results show spontaneous abilities of individual recognition in a non-social species at the onset of life, and active avoidance of unfamiliar conspecifics. We suggest that this predisposed behaviour might be adaptive for young tortoises’ dispersal.

Threats to Mediterranean (West Palaearctic) tortoises and their effects on wild populations: an overview

1984 ◽  
Vol 5 (1) ◽  
pp. 5-15 ◽  
Author(s):  
M.R.K. Lambert
Keyword(s):  
Habitat Destruction ◽  
Council Of Europe ◽  
Testudo Graeca ◽  
Central Asian ◽  
Bioclimatic Zone ◽  
Testudo Hermanni ◽  
The Mediterranean ◽  
Touristic Development ◽  
Testudo Marginata ◽  
Animal Grazing

AbstractThe species and subspecies of W Palaearctic tortoises include six, which are widespread in southern Europe, North Africa, the Middle East and Central Asia, and four with restricted ranges in the Mediterranean region. The Central Asian Testudo (Agrionemys) horsfieldii GRAY overlaps with Testudo graeca zarudnyiNIKOLSKY in Iran and Afghanistan. The distributions of the remainder border the Mediterranean Sea. Their survival is threatened directly or indirectly by human activity over many years and include habitat destruction (urbanization, touristic development, road-building, scrubland fires and agriculture), bulk pet and food trade collection for export to NW Europe (Testudo graeca graeca L., Testudo graeca ibera PAL-LAS, Testudo hermanni hermanni GMELIN, T. (A.) horsfieldii and sometimes Testudo marginata SCHOEPFF), isolation of populations with restricted ranges (Testudo hermanni robertmertensiWERMUTH, Testudo (Pseudotestudo) kleinmanni LORTET, T. marginata and Testudo graeca floweri BODENHEIMER), and desertification, especially in the Saharan encroachment zone of northern Africa from wood burning, animal grazing and rainfall decrease (T. g. graeca and T. (P.) kleinmanni). A circum-Mediterranean investigation would establish the population status of all species and their habitats. Countries of the Council of Europe and European Economic Community by ratifying C.I.T.E.S. (Washington Convention 1973) have established the extent of the bulk trade. This should only be allowed in captive-bred animals which, like other domestic pets, could be commercially farmed, probably by necessity in the Mediterranean bioclimatic zone.

Small talk

2015 ◽  
Vol 38 (1) ◽  
pp. 3-23 ◽  
Author(s):  
Xia Cui
Keyword(s):  
Social Interactions ◽  
Interpersonal Relationships ◽  
Chinese Immigrants ◽  
Social Experience ◽  
Chinese Immigrant ◽  
Small Talk ◽  
Beliefs And Values ◽  
Immigrant Professionals ◽  
Analyse Data ◽  
Real Challenge

There is growing evidence that social interactions at work with local colleagues present a real challenge for Chinese immigrants to Australia (e.g. Tomazin, 2009; Zhou, Windsor, Coyer, & Theobald, 2010), often leaving them feeling defeated and despairing, and the Australians puzzled or affronted. Seeking to understand the nature, origin, and dynamics of the problem at its sociocultural depth, a study was undertaken to examine the problematic social experience as reported by a group of Chinese immigrant professionals, from both their own and their Australian counterparts’ perspectives. The findings suggest small talk presents professionally qualified Chinese with an acute problem, and this is because the nature and dynamics of small talk are new in their social experience. Taking a sociolinguistic perspective to analyse data comprising Chinese accounts and discussions of problematic incidents and Australian commentary on these, the root of the difficulty has been revealed to lie in mismatches in the deeply held beliefs and values of Chinese and Australians about the nature of personal identity and interpersonal relationships, most pertinently, differences in their belief about how relationships beyond the intimate circle should be best managed. The article will present the findings of the study and the implications they suggest.

Blutreferenzwerte in Deutschland gehaltener europäischer Landschildkröten (Testudo spp.)

2006 ◽  
Vol 34 (04) ◽  
pp. 268-274 ◽  
Author(s):  
A. Holz ◽  
M. Fehr ◽  
K. A. Mathes
Keyword(s):  
Alkalische Phosphatase ◽  
Testudo Graeca ◽  
Klinische Relevanz ◽  
Testudo Hermanni ◽  
Testudo Marginata

Zusammenfassung Gegenstand und Ziel: Erstellung von 20 Blutparametern in Deutschland gehaltener mediterraner Landschildkröten und Vergleich der erhaltenen Parameter zwischen vier unterschiedlichen Landschildkrötenspezies. Material und Methoden: Bei 61 mediterranen, in Deutschland gehaltenen Landschildkröten wurden nach Blutentnahme aus der dorsalen Kokzygealvene hämatologische und blutchemische Referenzwerte von 20 Parametern erstellt. Die Untersuchung erstreckte sich auf Nachzuchttiere oder länger als drei Jahre im Besitz befindliche Tiere aus fünf kontrollierten Beständen. Alle Probanden wurden im Frühjahr bis Spätsommer im Freiland gehalten und hielten regelmäßig Winterschlaf. Die Fütterung der Schildkröten erfolgte ausschließlich mit pflanzlicher Kost. Die 61 klinisch unauffälligen Landschildkröten gehörten den Spezies Testudo marginata (Breitrandschildkröte; n = 16), Testudo graeca (Maurische Landschildkröte; n = 15), Testudo hermanni (Griechische Landschildkröte; n = 22) und Testudo horsfieldii (Russische Steppenschildkröte; n = 8) an. Ergebnisse: Median, Minimal- und Maximalwerte, sowie p-Werte wurden für Hämatokrit, Alanin-Aminotransferase, Aspartat-Aminotransferase, Glutamat-Dehydrogenase, alkalische Phosphatase, Kreatinkinase, Harnsäure, Harnstoff, Cholesterin, Glukose, Fruktosamin, Gesamtbilirubin, Gesamteiweiß, Albumin, Cholinesterase, Natrium, Kalium, Gesamtkalzium, ionisiertes Kalzium und anorganisches Phosphat ermittelt. Schlussfolgerung und klinische Relevanz: Bei 10 der untersuchten 20 Parameter konnten statistisch signifikante speziesspezifische Unterschiede festgestellt werden. Die Ergebnisse weisen darauf hin, dass bei der Interpretation der Blutparameter so genannter „mediterraner Landschildkröten” unbedingt eine Speziesdifferenzierung stattfinden sollte.

scholarly journals Juvenile social experience affects pairing success at adulthood: congruence with the loser effect?

2013 ◽  
Vol 280 (1767) ◽  
pp. 20131514 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mylene M. Mariette ◽  
Charlène Cathaud ◽  
Rémi Chambon ◽  
Clémentine Vignal
Keyword(s):  
Social Interactions ◽  
Potential Role ◽  
Social Experience ◽  
Male Quality ◽  
Male Attractiveness ◽  
Winner And Loser Effects ◽  
Analogous Process ◽  
Social Partners ◽  
Juvenile Males

Social interactions with adults are often critical for the development of mating behaviours. However, the potential role of other primary social partners such as juvenile counterparts is rarely considered. Most interestingly, it is not known whether interactions with juvenile females improve males’ courtship and whether, similar to the winner and loser effects in a fighting context—outcome of these interactions shapes males’ behaviour in future encounters. We investigated the combined effects of male quality and juvenile social experience on pairing success at adulthood in zebra finches ( Taeniopygia guttata ). We manipulated brood size to alter male quality and then placed males in either same- or mixed-sex juvenile dyads until adulthood. We found that males from reduced broods obtained more copulations and males from mixed-sex dyads had more complete courtships. Furthermore, independent of their quality, males that failed to pair with juvenile females, but not juvenile males, had a lower pairing success at adulthood. Our study shows that negative social experience with peers during adolescence may be a potent determinant of pairing success that can override the effects of early environmental conditions on male attractiveness and thereby supports the occurrence of an analogous process to the loser effect in a mating context.

Epidemiology and biology of nematodofauna affecting Testudo hermanni, Testudo graeca and Testudo marginata in Italy

2005 ◽  
Vol 98 (1) ◽  
pp. 14-20 ◽  
Author(s):  
Donato Traversa ◽  
Gioia Capelli ◽  
Raffaella Iorio ◽  
Salah Bouamer ◽  
Angelo Cameli ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Testudo Graeca ◽  
Testudo Hermanni ◽  
Testudo Marginata

scholarly journals Dynamic neurogenomic responses to social interactions and dominance outcomes in female paper wasps

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Floria M.K. Uy ◽  
Christopher M. Jernigan ◽  
Natalie C. Zaba ◽  
Eshan Mehrotra ◽  
Sara E. Miller ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Social Interactions ◽  
Optic Lobe ◽  
Individual Recognition ◽  
Paper Wasp ◽  
Paper Wasps ◽  
Transcriptional Responses ◽  
Behavior Understanding ◽  
Transcriptional Dynamics ◽  
Central Brain ◽  
And Behavior

ABSTRACTSocial interactions have large effects on individual physiology and fitness. In the immediate sense, social stimuli are often highly salient and engaging. Over longer time scales, competitive interactions often lead to distinct social ranks and differences in physiology and behavior. Understanding how initial responses lead to longer-term effects of social interactions requires examining the changes in responses over time. Here we examined the effects of social interactions on transcriptomic signatures at two points, at the end of a 45-minute interaction and 4 hours later, in female Polistes fuscatus paper wasp foundresses. Female P. fuscatus have variable facial patterns that are used for visual individual recognition, so we separately examined the transcriptional dynamics in the optic lobe and the central brain. Results demonstrate much stronger transcriptional responses to social interactions in the central brain compared to the optic lobe. Differentially regulated genes in response to social interactions are enriched for memory-related transcripts. Comparisons between winners and losers of the encounters revealed similar overall transcriptional profiles at the end of an interaction, which significantly diverged over the course of 4 hours, with losers showing changes in expression levels of genes associated with aggression and reproduction in paper wasps. On nests, subordinate foundresses are less aggressive, do more foraging and lay fewer eggs compared to dominant foundresses and we find losers shift expression of many genes, including vitellogenin, related to aggression, worker behavior, and reproduction within hours of losing an encounter. These results highlight the early neurogenomic changes that likely contribute to behavioral and physiological effects of social status changes in a social insect.

scholarly journals Neural responses in songbird forebrain reflect learning rates, acquired salience, and stimulus novelty after auditory discrimination training

2015 ◽  
Vol 113 (5) ◽  
pp. 1480-1492 ◽  
Author(s):  
Brittany A. Bell ◽  
Mimi L. Phan ◽  
David S. Vicario
Keyword(s):  
Social Interactions ◽  
Auditory Processing ◽  
Individual Recognition ◽  
Neural Responses ◽  
Complex Signals ◽  
Specific Adaptation ◽  
Slow Learners ◽  
Auditory Responses ◽  
Learning Rates ◽  
Caudomedial Nidopallium

How do social interactions form and modulate the neural representations of specific complex signals? This question can be addressed in the songbird auditory system. Like humans, songbirds learn to vocalize by imitating tutors heard during development. These learned vocalizations are important in reproductive and social interactions and in individual recognition. As a model for the social reinforcement of particular songs, male zebra finches were trained to peck for a food reward in response to one song stimulus (GO) and to withhold responding for another (NoGO). After performance reached criterion, single and multiunit neural responses to both trained and novel stimuli were obtained from multiple electrodes inserted bilaterally into two songbird auditory processing areas [caudomedial mesopallium (CMM) and caudomedial nidopallium (NCM)] of awake, restrained birds. Neurons in these areas undergo stimulus-specific adaptation to repeated song stimuli, and responses to familiar stimuli adapt more slowly than to novel stimuli. The results show that auditory responses differed in NCM and CMM for trained (GO and NoGO) stimuli vs. novel song stimuli. When subjects were grouped by the number of training days required to reach criterion, fast learners showed larger neural responses and faster stimulus-specific adaptation to all stimuli than slow learners in both areas. Furthermore, responses in NCM of fast learners were more strongly left-lateralized than in slow learners. Thus auditory responses in these sensory areas not only encode stimulus familiarity, but also reflect behavioral reinforcement in our paradigm, and can potentially be modulated by social interactions.

Oxytocin and Vasopressin: Powerful Regulators of Social Behavior

2017 ◽  
Vol 23 (5) ◽  
pp. 517-528 ◽  
Author(s):  
Heather K. Caldwell
Keyword(s):  
Social Cognition ◽  
Social Context ◽  
Social Behavior ◽  
Social Interactions ◽  
Social Memory ◽  
Mammalian Species ◽  
Social Experience ◽  
Social Environments ◽  
Future Directions ◽  
Cooperative Behaviors

For many, the terms oxytocin and vasopressin immediately evoke images of animals interacting with one another, as both of these neuropeptides have been implicated as being part of the neurochemical “glue” that socially binds animals. However, social environments and social interactions are complex and include behaviors that bring animals together as well as behaviors that keep animals apart. It is at the intersection of social context, social experience, and an individual’s sex that oxytocin and vasopressin act to modulate social behavior and social cognition. In this review, this complexity will be explored across mammalian species, with a focus on social memory, cooperative behaviors, and competitive behaviors. Implications for humans as well as future directions will also be considered.

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