Marie-Annick Richard-Yris

Song Sharing Reflects the Social-Organization in a Captive Group of European Starlings (sturnus-Vulgaris)

The social organization of captive groups of adult male and female starlings caught in different localities was studied to understand the possible social basis of song sharing. In the nonbreeding season, the social organization was based on within-sex groups or pairs and a few intersexual pairs. The pattern of song sharing clearly reflected the social organization. Members of the social pairs of females shared most of their songs, whereas males shared songs with other males to an extent that depended on their degree of social association. Song sharing was mostly restricted to birds of the same sex. The ability for adult vocal plasticity in both males and females may reflect the variety of possible social situations in this species.

Laterality and emotions: visual laterality in the domestic horse (Equus caballus) differs with objects' emotional value.

Lateralization of emotions has received great attention in the last decades, both in humans and animals, but little interest has been given to side bias in perceptual processing. Here, we investigated the influence of the emotional valence of stimuli on visual and olfactory explorations by horses, a large mammalian species with two large monocular visual fields and almost complete decussation of optic fibres. We confronted 38 Arab mares to three objects with either a positive, negative or neutral emotional valence (novel object). The results revealed a gradient of exploration of the 3 objects according to their emotional value and a clear asymmetry in visual exploration. When exploring the novel object, mares used preferentially their right eyes, while they showed a slight tendency to use their left eyes for the negative object. No asymmetry was evidenced for the object with the positive valence. A trend for an asymmetry in olfactory investigation was also observed. Our data confirm the role of the left hemisphere in assessing novelty in horses like in many vertebrate species and the possible role of the right hemisphere in processing negative emotional responses. Our findings also suggest the importance of both hemispheres in the processing positive emotions. This study is, to our knowledge, the first to demonstrate clearly that the emotional valence of a stimulus induces a specific visual lateralization pattern.

Laterality of horses associated with emotionality in novel situations

We have established that lateral biases are characteristic of visual behaviour in 65 horses. Two breeds, Trotters and French Saddlebreds aged 2 to 3, were tested on a novel object test. The main finding was a significant correlation between emotionality index and the eye preferred to view the novel stimulus: the higher the emotionality, the more likely that the horse looked with its left eye. The less emotive French Saddlebreds, however, tended to glance at the object using the right eye, a tendency that was not found in the Trotters, although the emotive index was the same for both breeds. The youngest French Saddlebreds did not show this trend. These results are discussed in relation to the different training practices for the breeds and broader findings on lateralisation in different species.

Positive interactions lead to lasting positive memories in horses, Equus caballus

Social relationships are important in social species. These relationships, based on repeated interactions, define each partners expectations during the following encounters. The creation of a relationship implies high social cognitive abilities which require that each partner is able to associate the positive or negative content of an interaction with a specific partner and to recall this association. In this study, we tested the effects of repeated interactions on the memory kept by 23 young horses about humans, after 6 and 8 months of separation. The association of a reward with a learning task in an interactional context induced positive reactions towards humans during training. It also increased contact and interest, not only just after training, but also several months later, despite no further interaction with humans. In addition, this ‘positive memory’ of humans extended to novel persons. Overall, positive reinforcement enhanced learning and memorization of the task itself. These findings suggest remarkable social cognitive abilities that can be transposed from intraspecific to interspecific social contexts.

Habituation to humans affects yolk steroid levels and offspring phenotype in quail.

In the field as well as in the laboratory, human-generated stress responses are reduced in adult animals previously habituated to humans in comparison to non-habituated individuals. In birds, yolk steroid levels vary with maternal environment and condition. We tested the hypothesis that the experience of female birds with humans could affect yolk steroids levels and offspring phenotype. Two groups of Japanese quail, one habituated to humans (H) and a second non-habituated (NH), were exposed daily to brief human disturbances. We analysed egg quality, offspring growth, and offspring emotional reactivity. NH females produced eggs with less androgens (testosterone and androstenedione) and more immunoreactive progesterone compared to birds habituated to humans. NH females produced eggs with less yolk, heavier shell and chicks hatching later and being smaller as compared to habituated individuals. A lower emotional reactivity was found in young of NH females compared to young of H females. Thus, human disturbance of the mother triggered different effects on chick phenotype depending on previous experience of mother birds with humans. In addition, we describe for the first time the influence of environmental stimuli on yolk immunoreactive progesterone levels. Our results show that a relatively minor difference in behavioral habituation may have substantial effects on eggs and offspring. This has obvious implications for keeping and handling laboratory animals, for conservation biology and for animal welfare.

Neonatal Handling Affects Durably Bonding and Social Development

The neonatal period in humans and in most mammals is characterized by intense mother-young interactions favoring pair bonding and the adaptation of neonates to their new environment. However, in many post-delivery procedures, human babies commonly experience combined maternal separation and intense handling for about one hour post-birth. Currently, the effects of such disturbances on later attachment and on the development of newborns are still debated: clearly, further investigations are required. As animals present good models for controlled experimentation, we chose domestic horses to investigate this issue. Horses, like humans, are characterized by single births, long lactating periods and selective mother-infant bonds. Routine postnatal procedures for foals, as for human babies, also involve intense handling and maternal separation. In the present study, we monitored the behavior of foals from early stages of development to “adolescence”, in a normal ecological context (social groups with adults and peers). Experimental foals, separated from their mothers and handled for only 1 hour post-birth, were compared to control foals, left undisturbed after birth. Our results revealed short- and long-term effects of this unique neonatal experience on attachment and subsequent social competences. Thus, experimental foals presented patterns of insecure attachment to their mothers (strong dependence on their mothers, little play) and impaired social competences (social withdrawal, aggressiveness) at all ages. We discuss these results in terms of mother-young interactions, timing of interactions and relationships between bonding and subsequent social competences. Our results indicate that this ungulate species could become an interesting animal model. To our knowledge, this is the first clear demonstration that intervention just after birth affects bonding and subsequent social competences (at least until “adolescence”). It opens new research directions for studies on both humans and other animals.

Influence of mothering on emotional and social reactivity of domestic pullets

Abstract The aim of this study was to determine whether different early mothering experiences influenced emotional and social reactivity of sub-adults and adults in domestic fowl. We compared two types of individuals: brooded and non-brooded pullets. Brooded pullets were reared by a maternal hen during their first 53 days of life. Observations and tests were made between 14 and 29 weeks of age. Our results revealed that brooded pullets were less neophobic than non-brooded pullets as they went nearer a novel object. Nevertheless, no differences were found between the two sets when pullets were placed in a very novel situation (tonic immobility (TI) test, open-field test). Social reactivity also differed: brooded pullets, more than non-brooded pullets, sought the proximity of a conspecific. They interacted more agonistically when they encountered unfamiliar individuals and their peck-order was more linear. These results reveal that maternal influence remained detectable after the end of maternal contact.

Influence of Stimuli from Chicks on Behavior and Concentrations of Plasma Prolactin and Luteinizing Hormone in Incubating Hens

Removal of eggs from the nests of incubating birds or substitution of eggs for chicks disrupts incubation behavior and induces changes in the secretion of prolactin and luteinizing hormone (LH). The aim of the present study was to determine how different stimuli, such as physical contact with eggs and tactile, visual, and/or auditory cues from chicks, interact to control the transition between incubation and brooding and to induce changes in prolactin and LH plasma concentrations. Physical contact with chicks, in the presence or absence of eggs, induced brooding behavior and an immediate fall in plasma prolactin concentration and a gradual increase in LH concentration. Vocalizations, particularly clucking and food calls, increased rapidly while incubation and nest attachment disappeared slowly. No change in plasma prolactin or LH concentration was observed in incubating hens which could hear and see or only hear chicks. These incubating hens showed no interest in chicks and continued to incubate persistently. To conclude, tactile stimuli, alone or in combination with visual and/or auditory stimuli from newly hatched chicks, are the only cues that induce the transition from incubation to brooding and the associated decrease in prolactin secretion and increase in LH secretion.

Could adults be used to improve social skills of young horses, Equus caballus?

We investigated the effects of the introduction of foreign adults on the behavior of young horses. First, we observed the behavior of 1- and 2-year-old domestic horses housed in same-age and same-sex groups (a standard housing system, but different from a natural situation). Then, two same-sex adults were introduced into each experimental group. Observations made before, during and after an introduction indicated that young horses reared in homogeneous groups of young had different behaviors compared to other domestic horses reared under more socially natural conditions. After the introduction of adults, young horses expressed new behaviors, preferential social associations emerged, positive social behavior increased and agonistic interactions decreased. These results have important implications both for understanding the influence that adults may have on the behavior of young horses, and in terms of husbandry, indicating the importance of keeping young horses with adults, although further studies are still necessary.

Induction of Maternal Behavior in Incubating and Non-Incubating Hens: Influence of Hormones

Maternal responses and variations in plasma levels of prolactin and testosterone have been studied in incubating and in non-incubating, non-laying hens during forced adoption experiments. The results demonstrate the ability of incubating hens to display complete maternal behavior as early as the 10th day of incubation after being exposed to stimulation by chicks during one night. Maternal responses also emerged in non-laying hens but more gradually. In both groups, a decline in plasma testosterone occurred after the introduction of the chicks and, in the incubating hens, prolactin levels fell as they abandoned their nests.