Social Play or the Development of Social Behavior in Ferrets (<i>Mustela putorius</i>)?

Lazar, J. Wayne; Beckhorn, Gordon D.

doi:10.1093/icb/14.1.405

Cited by 50 publications

(14 citation statements)

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“…Weiss (1975) gave a general description of play in Polecats: it involves jerky, bouncing movements, inhibited attacks and clumsy movements, and has no obvious function. Social play more closely resembles fighting than any other form of adult behaviour, but there is far more chasing and fleeing, and biting is inhibited (Poole, 1978; see also Lazar & Beckhorn, 1974;Biben, 1982;Chivers & Einon, 1982;Mankovich, 1982).…”

Section: General Behaviourmentioning

confidence: 99%

Biology of the Polecat Mustela putorius: a literature review

1987

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The available literature on the biology of the European Polecat (Mustela putorius) is collated. Aspects covered are general biology and systematics, distribution, physical characteristics, variation, skeletal characteristics, habitat, general behaviour, diet and predatory behaviour, breeding, juvenile development, population structure, mortality, parasites and diseases, relations with man, and history in Britain. Notes on field signs are also included. Recent and current research on Polecats both in Great Britain and on the European continent are then reviewed and some new information is reported. An extended bibliography lists all major and many minor publications on M. putorius, together with selected references to feral Ferrets (M. furo) and Polecat‐Ferrets (M. putorius x M.furo).

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Section: General Behaviourmentioning

confidence: 99%

Biology of the Polecat Mustela putorius: a literature review

1987

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“…Adequate descriptions of the ontogeny of play must take into account both the developmental processes from which behavioral elements emerge and are transformed (see Lazar & Beckhorn, 1974) and the way in which these behavioral elements are used during play (e.g. Chalmers, 1980;Pellis, 1982).…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Locomotor‐rotational movements in the ontogeny and play of the laboratory rat RATTUS norvegicus

Pellis

1983

Developmental Psychobiology

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During postnatal development, young laboratory rats, Rattus norvegicus, exhibit a variety of locomotor-rotational movements, that is, runs and jerk-jumps, in both playful and nonplayful contexts. The frequency of movement types differed between contexts. Some contexts, such as exploration and sleeping, contained spontaneously (i.e., possible eliciting stimuli were not observed) occurring jerk-jumps which varied with increasing age. In some contexts, such as social play, in which locomotor-rotational movements were elicited by observed stimuli, the frequency of jerk-jumps remained similar throughout ontogeny. During social play some locomotor-rotational movements were found to have immediate functions, such as achieving advantage over the partner during play-fighting, and as a means of terminating sensory input from the partner at the end of social contact.

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“…However, as piglets often associated in close sub-groups, a more detailed analysis of the relative orientations of sub-group members might have revealed more subtle social relationships between individuals. Lazar (1974) has used this approach in ferrets, MusteZa putovius, in a study of social play between littermates, and Emory (1976) Although different litters and different individuals had varying social experiences, it is not implied that these differences necessarily resulted in long-lasting differences in their social behaviour. As Bateson (1976) points out, internal regulating mech anisms may act to buffer the effects of external forces, making it difficult to distinguish between adults with different histories.…”

Section: Measurements Of Changes In the Time Spent At Various Distancesmentioning

confidence: 99%

The development of social behaviour in piglets

Hutton¹,

Wood-Gush²

1982

Applied Animal Ethology

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1983This thesis has been composed by me and is a record of my own work.In the first part of this thesis, the behavioural development of domestic piglets kept in a socially and ecologically rich outdoor environment, the Pig Park, is traced.In the second part, the effects on behaviour of artificially rearing piglets in individual incubators for their first seventeen days are examined. By con trast with the Pig Park, the incubators provided a very barren and restricted environment. Focal animal and scan sampling techniques were used to collect data, which was then subjected to frequency, sequence and cluster analyses.In the Pig Park, piglets remained in and around their farrowing nest during their first week, after which they started to rest in other nests and to interact with other pigs. After the formation of teat preferences, they were mainly responsible for locating and defending their teat from other piglets. Two piglets switched mothers when they were two and six weeks old respectively, while others sometimes suckled opportunistically from vacant teats other than their own. Piglets were aware of the activities of those around them and social facilitation occurred, especially between littermates.Weak dominance relationships were demonstrated between pairs of piglets, but the outcome of an interaction also seemed to be affected by the context and the motivation of the par ticipants. Social interactions and spatial associations were more likely to occur with the dam or a piglet than with a juvenile or other adult. Within litters, strong and lasting preferences for particular individuals were not found. Locomotory play was the most common form of play, especially between three and six weeks of ABSTRACT age.The observations are discussed with reference to the selection pressures acting on wild piglets and the degree to which behaviour has been modified through domestication.In the incubators, high levels of high-pitched vocalization were attributed to frustration induced by an unpredictable supply of milk. Stereotyped rooting and biting, and massaging of the nipple drinker were also observed. When transferred to flat-deck cages and placed in pairs, the piglets showed abnormally high levels of many social behaviour patterns, including massaging, sucking, levering and circling. With time, their behaviour became similar to that of control piglets reared by sows, with the exception that only incubator-reared piglets massaged their nipple drinker. The results are related to the welfare of piglets and the effects of environment on motivation and behaviour.

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Social Play or the Development of Social Behavior in Ferrets (Mustela putorius)?

Cited by 50 publications

References 0 publications

Biology of the Polecat Mustela putorius: a literature review

Biology of the Polecat Mustela putorius: a literature review

Locomotor‐rotational movements in the ontogeny and play of the laboratory rat RATTUS norvegicus

The development of social behaviour in piglets

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