behaviour 1

• Animal


  A biological organism that is motile during at least one phase during its life
• Animal behaviour


  The way in which an animal (or person) behaves in response to a particular situation or stimulus
• Aspects of animal behaviour

  • Inside the body (neurobiology, biochemistry, physiology, endocrinology etc)
  • Inside / outside the body (parasitology)
  • Outside in nature (social organisation, intra-specific interactions, inter-specific interactions, ecosystem services)
  • Outside in captivity (Farming / agriculture, working animals, companion animals, pest animals etc)
  • Intrinsic scientific interest (fundamental mechanisms, behavioural ecology)
• Practical aspects of the application of animal behaviour

  • Animal training
  • Effective exploitation
  • Animal welfare
• Studying animal behaviour has changed a lot over time due to earlier studies being limited by available technology, so they relied on direct observation
• Early studies relied on patterns deduced from direct observation in habitats, but also the examination of dead specimens, or direct observation
• For more difficult species / habitats, they needed to wait for the development of a suitable technology
• The first 'moving' picture of an animal was taken in 1878
• Early studies also relied on experiments on captive animals. They thought that giving animals negative conditioning would teach them to behave
• Cheap and easy methods used in early studies

  • Bird ringing (used as early as 1800s)
  • Experiments on captive wild-caught animals (especially from different regions and forcing them together)
  • Experiments on captive / domestic animals (imprinting animals)
  • Direct observations of model organisms
• Recent advances in studying animal behaviour

  • Stable isotopes (1940s) - Have helped uncover migratory routes, trophic levels, and the geographic origin of migratory animals. They can be used on land and in the ocean.
  • Radio tracking (1960s) - Involves fitting the study animal with a radio collar. These collars maximise their detectability.
  • Photo identification (1970s) - Each animal has markings that are unique to them, and can be easily identified with the use of photography.
  • PIT tags (1980s) - These are implantable transponders that contain a unique code and respond to a scanners signal.
  • GPS tracking (1990s) - A radio receiver is placed on the animal and picks up signals from special satellites. The receiver has a computer that then calculates the location and movement of the animal.
• Increasing the number of studies on topics allows us to use meta-analysis to combine the results of multiple studies to draw conclusions
• Principles of the Animal Scientific Procedures Act 1986

  • Reduction
  • Refinement
  • Replacement
• The Animal Scientific Procedures Act 1986 states that ''All living vertebrates, other than man, and any living cephalopod. Fish and amphibia are protected once they can feed independently and cephalopods at the point when they hatch. Embryonic and foetal forms of mammals, birds and reptiles are protected during the last third of their gestation or incubation period.''
• Most invertebrate species are not included as protected animals in the ASPA act, but they may be protected under another legislation
• Adult vertebrate animals and adult cephalopod molluscs are always protected
• Larval and foetal forms are protected from various points in their development process
• Regulated procedure


  A procedure carried out on a protected animal that may cause that animal a level of pain, suffering, distress or lasting harm equivalent to, or higher than, that caused by inserting a hypodermic needle according to good veterinary practice
• Levels of regulated procedures

  • Non-recovery - a procedure that is performed under general anaesthesia from which the animal will never recover consciousness.
  • Mild - a procedure that will likely cause short-term pain / suffering / distress.
  • Moderate - Likely cause short-term moderate pain, or long-lasting mild pain.
  • Severe - Likely cause severe pain, or long lasting moderate pain. May cause severe impairment of their overall wellbeing.
• Need licensing: Project licence (outline goals, location, number of animals etc) and personal licence (what you can do as an individual in that project)
• Options at the end of a study

  • Humanely killed
  • Re-used
  • Re-homed
  • Setting free
• Re-use


  Age may effect results, may get spillover of effects from one study to another, shouldn't be used again if the same results could be obtained
• Re-homing


  Must be in good health, pose no human health risks, undergone an approved socialisation scheme
• Setting free


  Relates to wild animals