Author: "Alain Boissy" / Language: english - Searchworks@Jio Institute Digital Library Search Results

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76 results on '"Alain Boissy"'

1. Author Correction: Classification of pig calls produced from birth to slaughter according to their emotional valence and context of production

Author: Elodie F. Briefer, Ciara C.‑R. Sypherd, Pavel Linhart, Lisette M. C. Leliveld, Monica Padilla de la Torre, Eva R. Read, Carole Guérin, Véronique Deiss, Chloé Monestier, Jeppe H. Rasmussen, Marek Špinka, Sandra Düpjan, Alain Boissy, Andrew M. Janczak, Edna Hillmann, and Céline Tallet
Subjects: Medicine, Science
Published: 2023
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2. Classification of pig calls produced from birth to slaughter according to their emotional valence and context of production

Author: Elodie F. Briefer, Ciara C.-R. Sypherd, Pavel Linhart, Lisette M. C. Leliveld, Monica Padilla de la Torre, Eva R. Read, Carole Guérin, Véronique Deiss, Chloé Monestier, Jeppe H. Rasmussen, Marek Špinka, Sandra Düpjan, Alain Boissy, Andrew M. Janczak, Edna Hillmann, and Céline Tallet
Subjects: Medicine, Science
Abstract: Abstract Vocal expression of emotions has been observed across species and could provide a non-invasive and reliable means to assess animal emotions. We investigated if pig vocal indicators of emotions revealed in previous studies are valid across call types and contexts, and could potentially be used to develop an automated emotion monitoring tool. We performed an analysis of an extensive and unique dataset of low (LF) and high frequency (HF) calls emitted by pigs across numerous commercial contexts from birth to slaughter (7414 calls from 411 pigs). Our results revealed that the valence attributed to the contexts of production (positive versus negative) affected all investigated parameters in both LF and HF. Similarly, the context category affected all parameters. We then tested two different automated methods for call classification; a neural network revealed much higher classification accuracy compared to a permuted discriminant function analysis (pDFA), both for the valence (neural network: 91.5%; pDFA analysis weighted average across LF and HF (cross-classified): 61.7% with a chance level at 50.5%) and context (neural network: 81.5%; pDFA analysis weighted average across LF and HF (cross-classified): 19.4% with a chance level at 14.3%). These results suggest that an automated recognition system can be developed to monitor pig welfare on-farm.
Published: 2022
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3. A Non-Invasive Millimetre-Wave Radar Sensor for Automated Behavioural Tracking in Precision Farming—Application to Sheep Husbandry

Author: Alexandre Dore, Cristian Pasquaretta, Dominique Henry, Edmond Ricard, Jean-François Bompa, Mathieu Bonneau, Alain Boissy, Dominique Hazard, Mathieu Lihoreau, and Hervé Aubert
Subjects: radar sensors, radar signal processing, animal farming, computational ethology, signal classification, wavelet analysis, Chemical technology, TP1-1185
Abstract: The automated quantification of the behaviour of freely moving animals is increasingly needed in applied ethology. State-of-the-art approaches often require tags to identify animals, high computational power for data collection and processing, and are sensitive to environmental conditions, which limits their large-scale utilization, for instance in genetic selection programs of animal breeding. Here we introduce a new automated tracking system based on millimetre-wave radars for real time robust and high precision monitoring of untagged animals. In contrast to conventional video tracking systems, radar tracking requires low processing power, is independent on light variations and has more accurate estimations of animal positions due to a lower misdetection rate. To validate our approach, we monitored the movements of 58 sheep in a standard indoor behavioural test used for assessing social motivation. We derived new estimators from the radar data that can be used to improve the behavioural phenotyping of the sheep. We then showed how radars can be used for movement tracking at larger spatial scales, in the field, by adjusting operating frequency and radiated electromagnetic power. Millimetre-wave radars thus hold considerable promises precision farming through high-throughput recording of the behaviour of untagged animals in different types of environments.
Published: 2021
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4. Perception of animal sentience by Brazilian and French citizens: The case of sheep welfare and sentience.

Author: Priscilla Regina Tamioso, Daniel Santiago Rucinque, Mara Miele, Alain Boissy, and Carla Forte Maiolino Molento
Subjects: Medicine, Science
Abstract: The study compared the perception of ordinary citizens from Curitiba, Brazil (OB) and Clermont-Ferrand, France (OF), as well as OB, Brazilian veterinarians (VB), biologists (BB) and animal scientists (AB), concerning animal welfare and sentience. An online survey containing 18 open-ended, multiple choices and Likert scale questions was conducted from November 2014 to May 2016. The survey covered questions on demographics, perception of animal welfare, sheep welfare, sentience and animals' emotional capacities. In total, 1103 respondents participated in the survey (388 OB, 350 OF, 248 VB, 92 BB and 25 AB); data were compared using non-parametric tests. Brazilian citizens (46.9%) believed more than OF (3.7%) that welfare is not considered for farm animals and OB attributed higher scores of suffering to sheep during management procedures (median 4, severe suffering) than OF (3, moderate suffering). Additionally, OB gave higher scores of emotions to animals (5) than OF (4). In general, OB and BB had similar perceptions; OB and BB differed from VB and AB who were similar to each other. Citizens (46.9%) and BB (29.3%) believed more than VB (18.5%) and AB (12.0%) that welfare is not considered for farm animals; OB and BB also attributed higher scores of suffering to sheep during management procedures than VB and AB. Women and older respondents showed higher perception of animal welfare issues. There was no clear correlation between perception of animal welfare or sentience and education. Overall, ordinary citizens differed on their perceptions of welfare and sentience in livestock and specifically in sheep, and sheep suffering during management procedures. Ordinary citizens from Curitiba showed higher perception of animal welfare issues as compared to respondents from Clermont-Ferrand and to veterinarians and animal scientists. Ensuring a better consideration of welfare at farm level and in educational programs seems warranted according to the results of this study.
Published: 2018
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5. Valence of Facial Cues Influences Sheep Learning in a Visual Discrimination Task

Author: Lucille G. A. Bellegarde, Hans W. Erhard, Alexander Weiss, Alain Boissy, and Marie J. Haskell
Subjects: sheep, faces, emotions, discrimination task, ovis aries, cognition, Veterinary medicine, SF600-1100
Abstract: Sheep are one of the most studied farm species in terms of their ability to process information from faces, but little is known about their face-based emotion recognition abilities. We investigated (a) whether sheep could use images of sheep faces taken in situation of varying valence as cues in a simultaneous discrimination task and (b) whether the valence of the situation affects their learning performance. To accomplish this, we photographed faces of sheep in three situations inducing emotional states of neutral (ruminating in the home pen) or negative valence (social isolation or aggressive interaction). Sheep (n = 35) first had to learn a discrimination task with colored cards. Animals that reached the learning criterion (n = 16) were then presented with pairs of images of the face of a single individual taken in the neutral situation and in one of the negative situations. Finally, sheep had to generalize what they had learned to new pairs of images of faces taken in the same situation, but of a different conspecific. All sheep that learned the discrimination task with colored cards reached the learning criterion with images of faces. Sheep that had to associate a negative image with a food reward learned faster than sheep that had to associate a neutral image with a reward. With the exception of sheep from the aggression-rewarded group, sheep generalized this discrimination to images of faces of different individuals. Our results suggest that sheep can perceive the emotional valence displayed on faces of conspecifics and that this valence affects learning processes.
Published: 2017
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6. Do lambs perceive regular human stroking as pleasant? Behavior and heart rate variability analyses.

Author: Marjorie Coulon, Raymond Nowak, Julie Peyrat, Hervé Chandèze, Alain Boissy, and Xavier Boivin
Subjects: Medicine, Science
Abstract: Stroking by humans is beneficial to the human-animal relationship and improves welfare in many species that express intraspecific allogrooming, but very few studies have looked at species like sheep that do not express such contact except around parturition. This study investigated the way lambs perceive regular human tactile contact using behavioral and physiological responses. Twenty-four lambs were reared and bucket-fed in groups of four. All were stroked daily by their familiar caregiver. At 8 weeks of age, the lambs were individually tested in their home pen but in a 1×1m open-barred pen after a 15 h period of habituation to physical separation from peers while remaining in visual and auditory contact. Half of the lambs received stroking by their caregiver for 8 min and half were exposed to their caregiver's immobile presence. Heart rate and heart rate variability were recorded and analyzed by 2-min slots over the same interval based on three measures: mean heart rate value (HR), root mean square of successive differences (RMSSD) and standard deviation of all intervals measured between consecutive sinus beats (SDNN). Behavioral responses (ear postures of the lamb and time spent in contact with the familiar caregiver, on the knees of the familiar caregiver, and moving) were recorded throughout the test. Lamb HR decreased continuously while in the presence of their caregiver. Lambs being stroked showed slower HR and higher RMSSD which reflected positive emotional states compared to lambs left unstroked. All behavioral variables were highly correlated with the main component axis of the PCA analyses: the more the animals stayed in contact with their caregiver, the less they moved and the more their ears were hanging. This first component clearly differentiates lambs being stroked or not. Behavioral and physiological observations support the hypothesis that gentle physical contact with the caregiver is perceived positively by lambs.
Published: 2015
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7. Short- and long-term effects of unpredictable repeated negative stimuli on Japanese quail's fear of humans.

Author: Agathe Laurence, Sophie Lumineau, Ludovic Calandreau, Cécile Arnould, Christine Leterrier, Alain Boissy, and Cécilia Houdelier
Subjects: Medicine, Science
Abstract: Numerous aversive events occur in poultry production, and if repeated and unpredictable, can result in an impaired welfare. Some events such as handling can be perceived negatively and it is of interest to understand how humans' behaviour could affect poultry's behaviours and especially its avoidance of humans. Our aim was to evaluate short- and long-lasting effects of a 3-week procedure involving unpredictable repeated negative stimuli (URNS) applied during the post-juvenile period on quail's reactivity to humans. We compared the reactions of two sets of quail: URNS was applied to one set (treated quail) and the other set was left undisturbed (control quail). When two weeks old, treated quail were exposed to a variety of negative stimuli, either applied automatically or involving human presence. One and seven weeks after the termination of the procedure, the reactivity of control and treated quail to a passive human being was evaluated. Furthermore, the experimenter with her hand on a trough containing a mealworm assessed the propensity of quail of both groups to habituate to feed close to a human being. In the presence of a seated observer, treated quail were more inhibited and more alert than control quail. Likewise, seven weeks after the end of the URNS procedure, more treated than control quail adopted a fear posture. Moreover, whereas control quail spent as much time in the different areas of their cages, treated quail spent more time in the rear part of their cages. Finally, whereas control quail habituated gradually to feed near the experimenter's hand, treated quail did not. All these tests evidence negative short- and long-term effects on treated quail's reactivity to a passive human being and on their habituation to a human being when her presence is positively reinforced. This highlights the importance of young poultry's experience with humans in production.
Published: 2014
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8. Emotionality modulates the effect of chronic stress on feeding behaviour in birds.

Author: Angélique Favreau-Peigné, Ludovic Calandreau, Paul Constantin, Bernard Gaultier, Aline Bertin, Cécile Arnould, Agathe Laurence, Marie-Annick Richard-Yris, Cécilia Houdelier, Sophie Lumineau, Alain Boissy, and Christine Leterrier
Subjects: Medicine, Science
Abstract: Chronic stress is a long-lasting negative emotional state that induces negative consequences on animals' psycho-physiological state. This study aimed at assessing whether unpredictable and repeated negative stimuli (URNS) influence feeding behaviour in quail. Sixty-four quail were exposed to URNS from day 17 to 40, while 64 quail were undisturbed. Two lines divergently selected on their inherent emotionality were used to assess the effect of genetic factors on the sensitivity to URNS. All quail were submitted to a sequential feeding procedure (using two diets of different energetic values) which placed them in a contrasting situation. Behavioural tests were performed to assess the emotional reactivity of the two lines. Results confirmed that differences exist between them and that their emotional reactivity was enhanced by URNS. Diet preferences, motivation and daily intake were also measured. URNS did not change the preferences for the hypercaloric diet compared to the hypocaloric diet in choice tests, but they reduced daily intakes in both lines. Motivations for each diet were differently affected by URNS: they decreased the motivation to eat the hypercaloric diet in quail selected for their low inherent fearfulness whereas they increased the motivation to eat the hypocaloric diet in quail selected for their high inherent fearfulness, which suggested a devaluation process in the former and a compensatory behaviour in the later. Growth was furthermore reduced and laying delayed by URNS in both lines. In conclusion, the exposure to URNS induced interesting changes in feeding behaviour added with an increase in emotional reactivity and an alteration of production parameters. This confirms that both lines of quail experienced a chronic stress state. However differences in feed motivation and emotional reactivity between lines under chronic stress suggested that they experienced different emotional state and use different ways to cope with it depending on their genetic background.
Published: 2014
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9. Japanese quail's genetic background modulates effects of chronic stress on emotional reactivity but not spatial learning.

Author: Agathe Laurence, Cécilia Houdelier, Christophe Petton, Ludovic Calandreau, Cécile Arnould, Angélique Favreau-Peigné, Christine Leterrier, Alain Boissy, Marie-Annick Richard-Yris, and Sophie Lumineau
Subjects: Medicine, Science
Abstract: Chronic stress is known to enhance mammals' emotional reactivity and alters several of their cognitive functions, especially spatial learning. Few studies have investigated such effects in birds. We investigated the impact of a two-week stress on Japanese quail's emotional reactivity and spatial learning. Quail is an avian model widely used in laboratory studies and for extrapolation of data to other poultry species. As sensitivity to chronic stress can be modulated by intrinsic factors, we tested juvenile female Japanese quail from three lines, two of them divergently selected on tonic immobility duration, an indicator of general fearfulness. The different emotional reactivity levels of quail belonging to these lines can be revealed by a large variety of tests. Half of the birds were submitted to repeated unpredictable aversive events for two weeks, whereas the other half were left undisturbed. After this procedure, two tests (open field and emergence tests) evaluated the emotional reactivity of treated and control quails. They were then trained in a T-maze for seven days and their spatial learning was tested. The chronic stress protocol had an impact on resting, preening and foraging in the home cage. As predicted, the emotional reactivity of treated quails, especially those selected for long tonic immobility duration, was higher. Our spatial learning data showed that the treatment enhanced acquisition but not memorization. However, intrinsic fearfulness did not seem to interact with the treatment in this test. According to an inverted U-shaped relationship between stress and cognition, chronic stress can improve the adaptability of birds to a stressful environment. We discussed the mechanisms possibly implied in the increase of emotional reactivity and spatial abilities.
Published: 2012
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10. Conditions for assessing cortisol in sheep: the total form in blood v. the free form in saliva

Author: Isabelle Veissier, Stéphane Andanson, Alain Boissy, Unité Mixte de Recherche sur les Herbivores - UMR 1213 (UMRH), and VetAgro Sup - Institut national d'enseignement supérieur et de recherche en alimentation, santé animale, sciences agronomiques et de l'environnement (VAS)-AgroSup Dijon - Institut National Supérieur des Sciences Agronomiques, de l'Alimentation et de l'Environnement-Institut National de Recherche pour l’Agriculture, l’Alimentation et l’Environnement (INRAE)
Subjects: Saliva, endocrine system, sheep, 040301 veterinary sciences, venepuncture, SF1-1100, 0403 veterinary science, Animal science, Medicine, 2. Zero hunger, Venipuncture, business.industry, Total Cortisol, [SDV.BA]Life Sciences [q-bio]/Animal biology, 0402 animal and dairy science, 04 agricultural and veterinary sciences, Stress indicator, habituation, 040201 dairy & animal science, salivary cortisol, Animal culture, Plasma cortisol, Free fraction, transfer rate, Animal Science and Zoology, Free form, business, hormones, hormone substitutes, and hormone antagonists, Blood sampling
Abstract: International audience; Cortisol is often used as a stress indicator in animal behaviour research. Cortisol is commonly measured in plasma and can also be measured in saliva. Saliva contains only the free form of cortisol, which is biologically active, and saliva sampling is not invasive and may therefore be less stressful. Our study aims to guide the choice between the measurements of cortisol in plasma v. saliva depending on experimental conditions. We analysed the effect of the level of cortisol in plasma on the concentration of cortisol in saliva compared to plasma and the effect of saliva sampling v. jugular venepuncture on the cortisol response. In Experiment 1, blood and saliva were collected simultaneously under conditions in which the expected cortisol release in blood varied: in an undisturbed situation or after the isolation of lambs from their pens or the administration of exogenous ACTH (six animals per treatment). In Experiment 2, we subjected lambs to saliva sampling, venepuncture or neither of these for 8 days to evaluate how stressful the sampling method was and whether the animals habituated to it by comparing the responses between the first and last days (four animals per treatment). All animals were equipped with jugular catheters to allow regular blood sampling without disturbance. Samples were collected 15 min before any treatment was applied, then at various time points up to 135 min in Experiment 1 and 45 min in Experiment 2. In Experiment 1, we observed a strong correlation between salivary and plasma cortisol concentrations (r = 0.81, P < 0.001). The ratio between salivary and plasma cortisol concentrations was 0.106 on average. This ratio was higher and more variable when the cortisol concentration in plasma was below 55 nmol/l. In Experiment 2, venepuncture induced a larger cortisol response than saliva sampling or no intervention on day 1 (P < 0.02); this difference was not observed on day 8, suggesting that sheep habituated to venepuncture. We recommend the measurement of cortisol in saliva to avoid stressing animals. However, when the expected concentration in plasma is below 55 nmol/l, the cortisol in saliva will reflect only the free fraction of the cortisol, which may be a limitation if the focus of the experiment is on total cortisol. In addition, if cortisol is measured in plasma and blood is collected by venepuncture, we recommend that sheep be habituated to venepuncture, at least to the handling required for a venepuncture.
Published: 2020
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11. A non-invasive radar system for automated behavioural tracking: application to sheep

Author: Lihoreau Mathieu, Jean-François Bompard, Alain Boissy, Mathieu Lihoreau, Hervé Aubert, Dominique Henry, Mathieu Bonneau, D. Hazard, Edmond Ricard, Alexandre Dore, Cristian Pasquaretta, Équipe MIcro et Nanosystèmes pour les Communications sans fil (LAAS-MINC), Laboratoire d'analyse et d'architecture des systèmes (LAAS), Université Toulouse 1 Capitole (UT1), Université Fédérale Toulouse Midi-Pyrénées-Université Fédérale Toulouse Midi-Pyrénées-Institut National des Sciences Appliquées - Toulouse (INSA Toulouse), Institut National des Sciences Appliquées (INSA)-Université Fédérale Toulouse Midi-Pyrénées-Institut National des Sciences Appliquées (INSA)-Université Toulouse - Jean Jaurès (UT2J)-Université Toulouse III - Paul Sabatier (UT3), Université Fédérale Toulouse Midi-Pyrénées-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Institut National Polytechnique (Toulouse) (Toulouse INP), Université Fédérale Toulouse Midi-Pyrénées-Université Toulouse 1 Capitole (UT1), Université Fédérale Toulouse Midi-Pyrénées, Centre de Recherches sur la Cognition Animale - UMR5169 (CRCA), Institut des sciences du cerveau de Toulouse. (ISCT), Université Toulouse - Jean Jaurès (UT2J)-Université Toulouse III - Paul Sabatier (UT3), Université Fédérale Toulouse Midi-Pyrénées-Université Fédérale Toulouse Midi-Pyrénées-CHU Toulouse [Toulouse]-Institut National de la Santé et de la Recherche Médicale (INSERM)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Université Toulouse - Jean Jaurès (UT2J)-Université Toulouse III - Paul Sabatier (UT3), Université Fédérale Toulouse Midi-Pyrénées-Université Fédérale Toulouse Midi-Pyrénées-CHU Toulouse [Toulouse]-Institut National de la Santé et de la Recherche Médicale (INSERM)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Centre de Biologie Intégrative (CBI), Université Toulouse III - Paul Sabatier (UT3), Université Fédérale Toulouse Midi-Pyrénées-Université Fédérale Toulouse Midi-Pyrénées-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), Génétique Physiologie et Systèmes d'Elevage (GenPhySE ), Ecole Nationale Vétérinaire de Toulouse (ENVT), Institut National Polytechnique (Toulouse) (Toulouse INP), Université Fédérale Toulouse Midi-Pyrénées-Université Fédérale Toulouse Midi-Pyrénées-Institut National Polytechnique (Toulouse) (Toulouse INP), Université Fédérale Toulouse Midi-Pyrénées-Université Fédérale Toulouse Midi-Pyrénées-École nationale supérieure agronomique de Toulouse [ENSAT]-Institut National de Recherche pour l’Agriculture, l’Alimentation et l’Environnement (INRAE), Institut National de Recherche pour l’Agriculture, l’Alimentation et l’Environnement (INRAE), Unité Mixte de Recherche sur les Herbivores - UMR 1213 (UMRH), VetAgro Sup - Institut national d'enseignement supérieur et de recherche en alimentation, santé animale, sciences agronomiques et de l'environnement (VAS)-Institut National de Recherche pour l’Agriculture, l’Alimentation et l’Environnement (INRAE), ANR-20-ERC8-0004,BEE-MOVE,Pollination ecology: how do bees move across the landscape and fashion plant reproduction?(2020), ANR-19-CE37-0024,3DNaviBee,How do bees solve navigational challenges in 3D?(2019), Université Toulouse - Jean Jaurès (UT2J)-Université Toulouse 1 Capitole (UT1), Université Fédérale Toulouse Midi-Pyrénées-Université Fédérale Toulouse Midi-Pyrénées-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Université Toulouse III - Paul Sabatier (UT3), Université Fédérale Toulouse Midi-Pyrénées-Institut National des Sciences Appliquées - Toulouse (INSA Toulouse), Institut National des Sciences Appliquées (INSA)-Institut National des Sciences Appliquées (INSA)-Institut National Polytechnique (Toulouse) (Toulouse INP), Université Fédérale Toulouse Midi-Pyrénées-Université Toulouse - Jean Jaurès (UT2J)-Université Toulouse 1 Capitole (UT1), Centre de Recherches sur la Cognition Animale (CRCA), Centre de Biologie Intégrative (CBI), Université Fédérale Toulouse Midi-Pyrénées-Université Fédérale Toulouse Midi-Pyrénées-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Institut des sciences du cerveau de Toulouse. (ISCT), Université Fédérale Toulouse Midi-Pyrénées-Université Fédérale Toulouse Midi-Pyrénées-CHU Toulouse [Toulouse]-Institut National de la Santé et de la Recherche Médicale (INSERM)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Université Toulouse - Jean Jaurès (UT2J)-CHU Toulouse [Toulouse]-Institut National de la Santé et de la Recherche Médicale (INSERM)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), VetAgro Sup - Institut national d'enseignement supérieur et de recherche en alimentation, santé animale, sciences agronomiques et de l'environnement (VAS)-AgroSup Dijon - Institut National Supérieur des Sciences Agronomiques, de l'Alimentation et de l'Environnement-Institut National de Recherche pour l’Agriculture, l’Alimentation et l’Environnement (INRAE), Université Toulouse Capitole (UT Capitole), Université Fédérale Toulouse Midi-Pyrénées-Université Toulouse Capitole (UT Capitole), Université Fédérale Toulouse Midi-Pyrénées-Université Fédérale Toulouse Midi-Pyrénées-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Centre de Biologie Intégrative (CBI), Université Fédérale Toulouse Midi-Pyrénées-Université Fédérale Toulouse Midi-Pyrénées-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Toulouse Mind & Brain Institut (TMBI), Université Fédérale Toulouse Midi-Pyrénées-Université Fédérale Toulouse Midi-Pyrénées-Université Toulouse - Jean Jaurès (UT2J)-Université Toulouse III - Paul Sabatier (UT3), Mathieu, Lihoreau, Pollination ecology: how do bees move across the landscape and fashion plant reproduction? - - BEE-MOVE2020 - ANR-20-ERC8-0004 - T-ERC - VALID, How do bees solve navigational challenges in 3D? - - 3DNaviBee2019 - ANR-19-CE37-0024 - AAPG2019 - VALID, Université de Toulouse (UT)-Université de Toulouse (UT)-Institut National des Sciences Appliquées - Toulouse (INSA Toulouse), Institut National des Sciences Appliquées (INSA)-Université de Toulouse (UT)-Institut National des Sciences Appliquées (INSA)-Université Toulouse - Jean Jaurès (UT2J), Université de Toulouse (UT)-Université Toulouse III - Paul Sabatier (UT3), Université de Toulouse (UT)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Institut National Polytechnique (Toulouse) (Toulouse INP), Université de Toulouse (UT)-Université Toulouse Capitole (UT Capitole), Université de Toulouse (UT), Université de Toulouse (UT)-Université de Toulouse (UT)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Centre de Biologie Intégrative (CBI), Université de Toulouse (UT)-Université de Toulouse (UT)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Toulouse Mind & Brain Institut (TMBI), Université Toulouse - Jean Jaurès (UT2J), Université de Toulouse (UT)-Université de Toulouse (UT)-Université Toulouse III - Paul Sabatier (UT3), Université de Toulouse (UT)-Université Toulouse - Jean Jaurès (UT2J), Université de Toulouse (UT)-Université de Toulouse (UT)-Institut National Polytechnique (Toulouse) (Toulouse INP), Université de Toulouse (UT)-Université de Toulouse (UT)-École nationale supérieure agronomique de Toulouse (ENSAT), and Université de Toulouse (UT)-Université de Toulouse (UT)-Institut National de Recherche pour l’Agriculture, l’Alimentation et l’Environnement (INRAE)
Subjects: Ovis aries, Computer science, computational ethology, [SDV]Life Sciences [q-bio], Real-time computing, corridor test, behavioural phenotyping, 02 engineering and technology, Ethology, Tracking (particle physics), Radar systems, Field (computer science), law.invention, 03 medical and health sciences, [SCCO]Cognitive science, law, 0202 electrical engineering, electronic engineering, information engineering, Radar, radar tracking, 030304 developmental biology, 0303 health sciences, business.industry, Estimator, 020206 networking & telecommunications, Tracking system, [SCCO] Cognitive science, Power (physics), business
Abstract: Automated quantification of the behaviour of freely moving animals is increasingly needed in ethology, ecology, genetics and evolution. State-of-the-art approaches often require tags to identify animals, high computational power for data collection and processing, and are sensitive to environmental conditions, which limits their large-scale utilisation. Here we introduce a new automated tracking system based on millimetre-wave radars for real time robust and high precision monitoring of untagged animals. To validate our system, we tracked 64 sheep in a standard indoor behavioural test used for genetic selection. First, we show that the proposed radar application is faster and more accurate than conventional video and infrared tracking systems. Next, we illustrate how new behavioural estimators can be derived from the radar data to assess personality traits in sheep for behavioural phenotyping. Finally, we demonstrate that radars can be used for movement tracking at larger spatial scales, in the field, by adjusting operating frequency and radiated electromagnetic power. Millimetre-wave radars thus hold considerable promises for high-throughput recording of the behaviour of animals with various sizes and locomotor modes, in different types of environments.
Published: 2021

12. Short- and mid-term effects on performance, health and qualitative behavioural assessment of Romane lambs in different milk feeding conditions

Author: Xavier Boivin, E. Delval, Alain Boissy, Didier Marcon, Fabien Cornilleau, A. S. Bage, T. Fassier, C Clanet, Denys Durand, Céline Parias, Aline Foury, Marie-Madeleine Mialon, Laurence A. Guilloteau, Marie-Pierre Moisan, Raymond Nowak, Unité Mixte de Recherche sur les Herbivores - UMR 1213 (UMRH), VetAgro Sup - Institut national d'enseignement supérieur et de recherche en alimentation, santé animale, sciences agronomiques et de l'environnement (VAS)-AgroSup Dijon - Institut National Supérieur des Sciences Agronomiques, de l'Alimentation et de l'Environnement-Institut National de Recherche pour l’Agriculture, l’Alimentation et l’Environnement (INRAE), Physiologie de la reproduction et des comportements [Nouzilly] (PRC), Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Institut National de Recherche pour l’Agriculture, l’Alimentation et l’Environnement (INRAE)-Université de Tours-Institut Français du Cheval et de l'Equitation [Saumur], Nutrition et Neurobiologie intégrée (NutriNeuro), Université Bordeaux Segalen - Bordeaux 2-Université Sciences et Technologies - Bordeaux 1-Institut Polytechnique de Bordeaux-Ecole nationale supérieure de chimie, biologie et physique-Institut National de Recherche pour l’Agriculture, l’Alimentation et l’Environnement (INRAE), Domaine expérimental Bourges-La Sapinière (BOURGES), Institut National de Recherche pour l’Agriculture, l’Alimentation et l’Environnement (INRAE), Biologie des Oiseaux et Aviculture (BOA), Université de Tours-Institut National de Recherche pour l’Agriculture, l’Alimentation et l’Environnement (INRAE), Integrated Management of Animal Health Metaprogram of INRAE, Institut Français du Cheval et de l'Equitation [Saumur]-Université de Tours-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Institut National de Recherche pour l’Agriculture, l’Alimentation et l’Environnement (INRAE), Université de Bordeaux (UB)-Institut Polytechnique de Bordeaux-Ecole nationale supérieure de chimie, biologie et physique-Institut National de Recherche pour l’Agriculture, l’Alimentation et l’Environnement (INRAE), Institut Français du Cheval et de l'Equitation [Saumur]-Université de Tours (UT)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Institut National de Recherche pour l’Agriculture, l’Alimentation et l’Environnement (INRAE), and Université de Tours (UT)-Institut National de Recherche pour l’Agriculture, l’Alimentation et l’Environnement (INRAE)
Subjects: Male, 040301 veterinary sciences, [SDV.NEU.NB]Life Sciences [q-bio]/Neurons and Cognition [q-bio.NC]/Neurobiology, animal diseases, [SDV]Life Sciences [q-bio], Multidisciplinary study, Weaning, Biology, SF1-1100, 0403 veterinary science, Qualitative behaviour assessment, Animal science, Oxidised glutathione, General activity, Animals, Feces, Sheep, Domestic, Ewes' milk, Artificial rearing, 2. Zero hunger, [SDV.BA.MVSA]Life Sciences [q-bio]/Animal biology/Veterinary medicine and animal Health, Sheep, [SDV.NEU.PC]Life Sciences [q-bio]/Neurons and Cognition [q-bio.NC]/Psychology and behavior, 0402 animal and dairy science, 04 agricultural and veterinary sciences, 040201 dairy & animal science, Redox status, Animal culture, Antioxidant capacity, Milk, Health, Animal Science and Zoology, Female, Artificial rearing Ewes' milk Health Qualitative behaviour assessment Sheep
Abstract: International audience; The common practice of artificially rearing lambs from prolific meat breeds of sheep constitutes a welfare issue due to increased mortality rates and negative health issues. In this multidisciplinary study, we investigated the possible short- and mid-term advantages of artificially feeding fresh ewe's milk instead of commercial milk replacer on lambs' growth, health and welfare. Romane lambs were either separated from their mothers on D3 and fed with Lacaune ewes' milk (LAC, n = 13) or milk replacer (REP, n = 15), or they were reared by their mothers (MOT, n = 15). On D45, they were weaned, gathered in single-sex groups until the end of the study on D150. Lamb performance and biomarkers of overall health were assessed by measuring: growth, dirtiness of the perianal area, enteric pathogens in the faeces, total antioxidant status and redox status assessed by plasma reduced glutathione/oxidised glutathione ratio, and immune response after vaccination against chlamydiosis. As an exploratory approach, blood cell transcriptomic profiles were also investigated. Last, qualitative behaviour assessment (QBA) was performed as an integrated welfare criterion. Lacaune ewes' milk and REP never differed in their average daily gain but grew less than MOT lambs in the early suckling period and just after weaning. No effect was detected afterwards. On D30, LAC and REP lambs had lower total antioxidant and higher redox status than MOT lambs but did not differ among themselves. Lacaune ewes' milk and MOT had a cleaner perianal area than REP lambs on D21, while faecal pathogen infection did not vary between the treatment groups. After vaccination, LAC also had a stronger immune response on D90 compared to REP lambs. Transcriptome analysis performed on D150 showed differential gene expression, mainly in relation to inflammatory, immune and cell cycle response, between male lambs of the LAC group and those of the MOT and REP groups. Based on QBA, LAC lambs never differed from MOT lambs in their general activity and varied from REP only on D21; REP lambs were always more agitated than MOT lambs. In conclusion, artificial milk feeding impaired early growth rate, health and emotional state mainly during the milk feeding period and at weaning. Feeding artificially reared lambs with fresh ewe's milk partly mitigated some of the negative effects induced by milk replacer but without achieving the full benefit of being reared by the mother. (C) 2020 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Inc. on behalf of The Animal Consortium.
Published: 2021
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13. Genetic parameters estimates for ewes’ behavioural reactivity towards their litter after lambing

Author: Amandine Kempeneers, Alain Boissy, E. Delval, D. Hazard, Jacques Bouix, Didier Foulquié, Tiphaine Macé, Génétique Physiologie et Systèmes d'Elevage (GenPhySE ), Ecole Nationale Vétérinaire de Toulouse (ENVT), Institut National Polytechnique (Toulouse) (Toulouse INP), Université Fédérale Toulouse Midi-Pyrénées-Université Fédérale Toulouse Midi-Pyrénées-Institut National Polytechnique (Toulouse) (Toulouse INP), Université Fédérale Toulouse Midi-Pyrénées-Université Fédérale Toulouse Midi-Pyrénées-École nationale supérieure agronomique de Toulouse [ENSAT]-Institut National de Recherche pour l’Agriculture, l’Alimentation et l’Environnement (INRAE), Unité Mixte de Recherche sur les Herbivores - UMR 1213 (UMRH), VetAgro Sup - Institut national d'enseignement supérieur et de recherche en alimentation, santé animale, sciences agronomiques et de l'environnement (VAS)-AgroSup Dijon - Institut National Supérieur des Sciences Agronomiques, de l'Alimentation et de l'Environnement-Institut National de Recherche pour l’Agriculture, l’Alimentation et l’Environnement (INRAE), Domaine expérimental de La Fage (LA FAGE), Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique (INRA), and INRA Divisions of Animal Genetics and Animal Physiology and Livestock Systems
Subjects: Maternal attachment, Litter Size, Biology, Breeding, heritability, Animal science, Quantitative Trait, Heritable, Food Animals, Pregnancy, Genetic variation, Animals, Humans, arena test, 0501 psychology and cognitive sciences, 050102 behavioral science & comparative psychology, Animal Husbandry, Maternal Behavior, Sheep, Domestic, genetic correlations, Behavior, Animal, business.industry, 05 social sciences, Domestic sheep reproduction, 0402 animal and dairy science, 04 agricultural and veterinary sciences, General Medicine, Heritability, maternal reactivity, 040201 dairy & animal science, Attraction, Parity, Phenotype, Genetic selection, Animal Science and Zoology, Livestock, Female, France, business, [SDV.AEN]Life Sciences [q-bio]/Food and Nutrition
Abstract: In livestock, improving maternal reactivity towards the litter is an important issue in breeding strategies to promote production and animal welfare. As of yet, no studies have investigated the within-breed genetic variation of maternal reactivity in sheep. The objective of this study was to estimate the genetic parameters of maternal reac-tivity traits. A total of 1,095 primiparous and 1,441 multiparous Romane ewes were phenotyped 24hr postlambing using a behavioural test (arena test, AT) over a 10-year experimental period. The test consisted of three successive phases evaluating the ewe's attraction to her litter, reactivity to separation from her litter, and reactivity to a conflict between attraction to her litter and avoidance of a motionless human. The ewes were reared exclusively on rangelands (South of France) and lambed outdoors in the spring. High-pitched bleating and low-pitched bleating in the AT were mostly highly heritable (0.39‒0.46). Heritabilities were moderate for proximity to the litter in the presence of a human (0.27) and low for locomotion and vigilance in the AT (0.09‒0.15). The measurements of a given behaviour in the three phases of the AT were highly genetically correlated. Few genetic correlations were found between the different behavioural traits in the AT, the highest correlations being between high-pitched bleating and low-pitched bleating (−0.43 to −0.77). In conclusion, our find-ings demonstrate moderate-to-high heritability for maternal reactivity traits. These traits could be included in genetic selection schemes to enhance maternal attachment provided there is no unfavourable link with other production traits.
Published: 2020
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14. A multiparametric approach to discriminate the impacts of different degrees of invasiveness of surgical procedures in sheep

Author: Denys Durand, Alain Boissy, M. Faure, A. de Boyer des Roches, V. Paulmier, A. de la Foye, Unité Mixte de Recherches sur les Herbivores - UMR 1213 (UMRH), VetAgro Sup - Institut national d'enseignement supérieur et de recherche en alimentation, santé animale, sciences agronomiques et de l'environnement (VAS)-AgroSup Dijon - Institut National Supérieur des Sciences Agronomiques, de l'Alimentation et de l'Environnement-Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique (INRA), Unité Mixte de Recherches sur les Herbivores ( UMR 1213 Herbivores ), VetAgro Sup ( VAS ) -AgroSup Dijon - Institut National Supérieur des Sciences Agronomiques, de l'Alimentation et de l'Environnement-Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique ( INRA ), Unité Mixte de Recherche sur les Herbivores - UMR 1213 (UMRH), VetAgro Sup - Institut national d'enseignement supérieur et de recherche en alimentation, santé animale, sciences agronomiques et de l'environnement (VAS)-Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique (INRA)-AgroSup Dijon - Institut National Supérieur des Sciences Agronomiques, de l'Alimentation et de l'Environnement, and Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique (INRA)-VetAgro Sup - Institut national d'enseignement supérieur et de recherche en alimentation, santé animale, sciences agronomiques et de l'environnement (VAS)
Subjects: Male, Hydrocortisone, [SDV]Life Sciences [q-bio], Pituitary-Adrenal System, ruminant, [SHS]Humanities and Social Sciences, 0403 veterinary science, surgery, Random Allocation, stress, ovin, pain, ComputingMilieux_MISCELLANEOUS, biology, Behavior, Animal, Haptoglobin, 04 agricultural and veterinary sciences, Animal culture, medicine.anatomical_structure, Anesthesia, medicine.symptom, medicine.drug, medicine.medical_specialty, Hypothalamo-Hypophyseal System, Rumen, mouton, 040301 veterinary sciences, Duodenum, Ileum, Inflammation, Autonomic Nervous System, SF1-1100, Catheterization, multiparametric approach, medicine, Animals, [INFO]Computer Science [cs], Sheep, [ SDV ] Life Sciences [q-bio], Multiparametric Analysis, 0402 animal and dairy science, stress oxydatif, Surgical procedures, 040201 dairy & animal science, Surgery, Autonomic nervous system, intervention chirurgicale, biology.protein, Animal Science and Zoology
Abstract: Epub 2017 May 04; Traumatic situations in animals induce responses including pain, expressed through behavioural and physiological pathways such as inflammation, oxidative stress, hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis and autonomic nervous system. As some of these systems can also be activated during excitement and situations with a positive valence, their use as a means to assess pain response is difficult. We explored (i) how these five aforementioned pathways change in sheep exposed to various degrees of invasiveness of surgical procedures despite a therapeutic regimen and (ii) whether a multiparametric analysis that combines information from these five pathways enhances the discrimination between these situations, and estimates the relative importance of these pathways in the response. We used 24 adult sheep split into four treatments: Control (C; no fasting, no anaesthesia, no surgery), Sham (S; fasting, anaesthesia, no surgery), Rumen Canulation (R; fasting, anaesthesia, rumen cannulation) and Rumen-Duodenal-Ileum cannulation (RDI; fasting, anaesthesia, cannulation of the rumen, duodenum and ileum). Sheep' responses were measured for 5 days after surgery. When considering each behavioural or physiological pathway independently, discrimination between treatments was acceptable, its sensitivity (Se) ranging from 0% to 100%, and its specificity (Sp) ranging from 62% to 100%. The multiparametric analysis gathering information from the five pathways enhanced the effectiveness of discrimination between treatments (Se, 50% to 100%; Sp, 82% to 100%), and gave additional information on the relative contribution of each pathway to the global sheep response. Sheep global response was higher when exposed to a surgery, and increased with the surgery invasiveness. This response relied mostly on inflammation (absolute correlation for haptoglobin, 0.89), HPA (cortisol, 0.85) and behaviour (antalgic postures, 0.85). The multiparametric approach seems to be a promising tool to discriminate between different degrees of invasiveness of surgical procedures.
Published: 2017
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15. Vocal expression of emotional valence in pigs across multiple call types and contexts

Author: Eva Read, Marek Špinka, Monica Padilla de la Torre, Sandra Düpjan, Richard Policht, Céline Tallet, Pavel Linhart, Marjorie Coulon, Elodie F. Briefer, Birger Puppe, Alain Boissy, Andrew M. Janczak, Edna Hillmann, Lisette M.C. Leliveld, Cécile Bourguet, Véronique Deiss, Carole Guérin, Institute of Agricultural Sciences, Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Zurich, Institute of Animal Science, Leibniz Institute for Farm Animal Biology, Department of Production Animal Clinical Sciences, Norwegian University of Life Sciences (NMBU), Bureau d'Etudes et Travaux de Recherches en Ethologie (ETRE), Unité Mixte de Recherches sur les Herbivores - UMR 1213 (UMRH), VetAgro Sup - Institut national d'enseignement supérieur et de recherche en alimentation, santé animale, sciences agronomiques et de l'environnement (VAS)-AgroSup Dijon - Institut National Supérieur des Sciences Agronomiques, de l'Alimentation et de l'Environnement-Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique (INRA), Physiologie, Environnement et Génétique pour l'Animal et les Systèmes d'Elevage [Rennes] (PEGASE), AGROCAMPUS OUEST-Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique (INRA), Cabinet EASIER, Humboldt Universität zu Berlin, ETH, ANR, Leibniz Institute for Farm Animal Biology (FBN), Unité Mixte de Recherche sur les Herbivores - UMR 1213 (UMRH), VetAgro Sup - Institut national d'enseignement supérieur et de recherche en alimentation, santé animale, sciences agronomiques et de l'environnement (VAS)-Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique (INRA)-AgroSup Dijon - Institut National Supérieur des Sciences Agronomiques, de l'Alimentation et de l'Environnement, AGROCAMPUS OUEST, Institut national d'enseignement supérieur pour l'agriculture, l'alimentation et l'environnement (Institut Agro)-Institut national d'enseignement supérieur pour l'agriculture, l'alimentation et l'environnement (Institut Agro)-Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique (INRA), and Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin
Subjects: Emotion, 0303 health sciences, Communication, 040301 veterinary sciences, business.industry, [SDV]Life Sciences [q-bio], Sus scrofa, émotion, swine, 04 agricultural and veterinary sciences, Emotional valence, Acoustic communication, Vocal expression, 0403 veterinary science, 03 medical and health sciences, Interactivity, communication acoustique, vocalisation, éthologie appliquée, business, Psychology, 030304 developmental biology, porc
Abstract: Emotions, unlike mood, are short-lived reactions associated with specific events. They can be characterized by two main dimensions, their arousal (bodily activation) and valence (negative versus positive). Knowledge of the valence of emotions experienced by domestic and captive animals is crucial for assessing and improving their welfare, as it enables us to minimize the negative emotions that they might experience and to promote positive ones. Emotions can affect vocalizations directly or indirectly through the brain, lungs, larynx or vocal tract. As a result, vocal expression of emotions has been observed across species, and could serve as a non-invasive and potentially very reliable tool to assess animal emotions. In pigs (Sus scrofa), vocal expression of emotions has been relatively well studied. However, it is not known if the vocal indicators revealed in previous studies are valid across call types and contexts. To find this out, we conducted a meta-analysis of the effects of emotional valence on pig vocalizations, including calls recorded in the most common emotional situations encountered by pigs throughout their lives, from birth to slaughter. Our analyses revealed that pigs produced calls characterized by a higher center of gravity, a shorter duration, less noise (lower Wiener entropy), lower formants (measured using the formant dispersion) and LPC coefficients in positive compared to negative contexts. Overall, these vocal parameters could be very useful for developing automated methods to monitor pig welfare on-farm.
Published: 2019

16. Inducing positive emotions : Behavioural and cardiac responses to human and brushing in ewes selected for high vs low social reactivity

Author: E. Delval, Carla Forte Maiolino Molento, Herve Chandeze, Priscillia Regina Tamioso, Dominique Hazard, Cesar Augusto Taconeli, Alain Boissy, Guillaume Parreira da Silva, Stéphane Andanson, Xavier Boivin, Universidade Federal do Paraná (UFPR), Unité Mixte de Recherche sur les Herbivores - UMR 1213 (UMRH), VetAgro Sup - Institut national d'enseignement supérieur et de recherche en alimentation, santé animale, sciences agronomiques et de l'environnement (VAS)-Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique (INRA)-AgroSup Dijon - Institut National Supérieur des Sciences Agronomiques, de l'Alimentation et de l'Environnement, Génétique Physiologie et Systèmes d'Elevage (GenPhySE ), École nationale supérieure agronomique de Toulouse [ENSAT]-Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique (INRA)-Ecole Nationale Vétérinaire de Toulouse (ENVT), Institut National Polytechnique (Toulouse) (Toulouse INP), Université Fédérale Toulouse Midi-Pyrénées-Université Fédérale Toulouse Midi-Pyrénées-Institut National Polytechnique (Toulouse) (Toulouse INP), Université Fédérale Toulouse Midi-Pyrénées-Université Fédérale Toulouse Midi-Pyrénées, and Brazilian Program Science Without Borders (CSF-CNPq, Brazil) 206931/2014-0
Subjects: medicine.medical_specialty, sheep, [SDV.OT]Life Sciences [q-bio]/Other [q-bio.OT], media_common.quotation_subject, emotional reactivity, Audiology, Correlation, Food Animals, human handling, Perception, medicine, Hum, Heart rate variability, 0501 psychology and cognitive sciences, 050102 behavioral science & comparative psychology, Reactivity (psychology), media_common, positive indicator, Body posture, automanic response, 05 social sciences, 0402 animal and dairy science, 04 agricultural and veterinary sciences, 040201 dairy & animal science, tactile stimulation, Rumination, Animal Science and Zoology, medicine.symptom, Psychology
Abstract: International audience; Welfare concerns not only the absence of negative emotional experiences but also the presence of positive experiences. However, scientific investigation on positive emotions in farm animals has been long neglected. This study aimed to investigate the perception of sheep to positive stimuli and whether emotional reactivity influences such perception, through behavioural and cardiac indicators. Therefore, 38 Romane ewes belonging to two divergent lines, high (R+) or low (R-) reactive, were submitted to the presence of a familiar experimenter (HUM) or brushing by a familiar experimenter (BRU). The procedure was divided in three phases: before (2.5 min), during (3.0 min) and after (2.5 min) HUM or BRU. Body postures, head orientation, ear changes and postures, closed and half-closed eyes, tail wagging and feeding behaviour were analyzed, and heart rate variability parameters (RMSSD, RMSSD/SDNN and LF/HF ratios) were estimated. Data were analyzed using linear models with different correlation structures. The models considered treatment, genetic line and phase as fixed effects, including their interactions. Brushed ewes showed fewer body posture, head orientation and ear posture changes and a higher proportion of closed and half-closed eyes, tail wagging and rumination during the procedure, when compared to ewes submitted to the human presence (P < 0.05). Both BRU and HUM ewes had lower HR during and after the procedures and higher RMSSD/SDNN rate during the procedures, reflecting the activation of the parasympathetic nervous system in response to both treatments (P < 0.05). Behavioural and cardiac results suggest that both treatments induced a relaxing state in sheep, more pronounced for the brushing treatment. Interestingly, an anticipatory agitation before the treatment was observed mainly in BRU sheep. Highly reactive ewes expressed less head orientation changes and a higher proportion of horizontal ear postures and feeding behaviour in response to brushing than when submitted to human presence (P < 0.05), indicating that brushing might have elicited a more relaxing effect on R+ animals. Differences between R+ and R- ewes suggest that reactivity might modulate sheep responses to assumed positive stimuli.
Published: 2018
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17. Perception of animal sentience by Brazilian and French citizens: The case of sheep welfare and sentience

Author: Daniel Santiago Rucinque, Alain Boissy, Mara Miele, Priscilla Regina Tamioso, Carla Forte Maiolino Molento, Department of Animal Science, Animal Welf Laboratory LABEA, Federal University of Parana, School of Geography and Planning, Cardiff University, Unité Mixte de Recherches sur les Herbivores - UMR 1213 (UMRH), VetAgro Sup - Institut national d'enseignement supérieur et de recherche en alimentation, santé animale, sciences agronomiques et de l'environnement (VAS)-AgroSup Dijon - Institut National Supérieur des Sciences Agronomiques, de l'Alimentation et de l'Environnement-Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique (INRA), Coordination for the Improvement of Higher Education (Capes) Programa Ciencias Forenses 25/2014, Science Without Borders (CSF-CNPq) 206931/2014-0, Unité Mixte de Recherche sur les Herbivores - UMR 1213 (UMRH), and VetAgro Sup - Institut national d'enseignement supérieur et de recherche en alimentation, santé animale, sciences agronomiques et de l'environnement (VAS)-Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique (INRA)-AgroSup Dijon - Institut National Supérieur des Sciences Agronomiques, de l'Alimentation et de l'Environnement
Subjects: Male, Science and Technology Workforce, [SDV]Life Sciences [q-bio], Emotions, lcsh:Medicine, Social Sciences, Biologists, bien-être animal, perception, Careers in Research, Sentience, Psychology, Animal Husbandry, lcsh:Science, sensibilité, media_common, Animal Management, wether hoggs, 2. Zero hunger, Mammals, Multidisciplinary, biology, 05 social sciences, Age Factors, Eukaryota, Agriculture, 04 agricultural and veterinary sciences, Ruminants, Fear, Animal husbandry, Middle Aged, Research Personnel, Professions, Animals, Domestic, Vertebrates, Educational Status, Livestock, Female, France, Brazil, Research Article, Adult, Adolescent, mouton, Science Policy, media_common.quotation_subject, Likert scale, Veterinarians, animal welfare, Young Adult, Sex Factors, Animal welfare, Perception, Animals, Humans, 0501 psychology and cognitive sciences, 050102 behavioral science & comparative psychology, Sheep, business.industry, lcsh:R, 0402 animal and dairy science, Organisms, Curitiba, Biology and Life Sciences, biology.organism_classification, sensitivity, 040201 dairy & animal science, Amniotes, People and Places, Scientists, lcsh:Q, Population Groupings, business, Welfare, Demography
Abstract: The study compared the perception of ordinary citizens from Curitiba, Brazil (OB) and Clermont-Ferrand, France (OF), as well as OB, Brazilian veterinarians (VB), biologists (BB) and animal scientists (AB), concerning animal welfare and sentience. An online survey containing 18 open-ended, multiple choices and Likert scale questions was conducted from November 2014 to May 2016. The survey covered questions on demographics, perception of animal welfare, sheep welfare, sentience and animals' emotional capacities. In total, 1103 respondents participated in the survey (388 OB, 350 OF, 248 VB, 92 BB and 25 AB); data were compared using non-parametric tests. Brazilian citizens (46.9%) believed more than OF (3.7%) that welfare is not considered for farm animals and OB attributed higher scores of suffering to sheep during management procedures (median 4, severe suffering) than OF (3, moderate suffering). Additionally, OB gave higher scores of emotions to animals (5) than OF (4). In general, OB and BB had similar perceptions; OB and BB differed from VB and AB who were similar to each other. Citizens (46.9%) and BB (29.3%) believed more than VB (18.5%) and AB (12.0%) that welfare is not considered for farm animals; OB and BB also attributed higher scores of suffering to sheep during management procedures than VB and AB. Women and older respondents showed higher perception of animal welfare issues. There was no clear correlation between perception of animal welfare or sentience and education. Overall, ordinary citizens differed on their perceptions of welfare and sentience in livestock and specifically in sheep, and sheep suffering during management procedures. Ordinary citizens from Curitiba showed higher perception of animal welfare issues as compared to respondents from Clermont-Ferrand and to veterinarians and animal scientists. Ensuring a better consideration of welfare at farm level and in educational programs seems warranted according to the results of this study.
Published: 2018
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18. Development of a semi-automatic bibliometric system for publications on animal health and welfare: a methodological study

Author: Alain Boissy, André Jestin, Marjolaine Gautret, Stefano Messori, Marina Bagni, Département Santé Animale (DEPT SA), Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique (INRA), Ministry of Health, Agence nationale de sécurité sanitaire de l'alimentation, de l'environnement et du travail (ANSES), Unité Mixte de Recherches sur les Herbivores - UMR 1213 (UMRH), VetAgro Sup - Institut national d'enseignement supérieur et de recherche en alimentation, santé animale, sciences agronomiques et de l'environnement (VAS)-AgroSup Dijon - Institut National Supérieur des Sciences Agronomiques, de l'Alimentation et de l'Environnement-Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique (INRA), Département Santé Animale ( DEPT SA ), Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique ( INRA ), Agence Nationale de Sécurité Sanitaire de l’Alimentation, de l’Environnement et du Travail ( ANSES Maisons-Alfort ), Unité Mixte de Recherches sur les Herbivores ( UMR 1213 Herbivores ), VetAgro Sup ( VAS ) -AgroSup Dijon - Institut National Supérieur des Sciences Agronomiques, de l'Alimentation et de l'Environnement-Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique ( INRA ), Unité Mixte de Recherche sur les Herbivores - UMR 1213 (UMRH), VetAgro Sup - Institut national d'enseignement supérieur et de recherche en alimentation, santé animale, sciences agronomiques et de l'environnement (VAS)-Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique (INRA)-AgroSup Dijon - Institut National Supérieur des Sciences Agronomiques, de l'Alimentation et de l'Environnement, and European Commission under the ANIHWA ERA-Net project (Seventh Framework Programme)291815
Subjects: Process (engineering), Computer science, media_common.quotation_subject, [SDV]Life Sciences [q-bio], bien-être animal, Library and Information Sciences, Bibliometrics, 050905 science studies, Domain (software engineering), methods, animal welfare, World Wide Web, animal health and welfare, media_common, base de données, bibliométrie, bibliometric, étude méthodologique, Animal health, [ SDV ] Life Sciences [q-bio], animal health, Scientific progress, database accuracy, santé animale, 05 social sciences, General Social Sciences, Data science, 3. Good health, Computer Science Applications, Thematic map, research coordination, Science policy, 0509 other social sciences, bibliometrics, 050904 information & library sciences, Welfare
Abstract: Bibliometrics is a common research instrument for systemic analysis of scientific progress in many disciplines, including veterinary sciences. However, bibliometric analyses are generally biased by limited information included in scientific productions databases. The aim of this study is to propose a method for implementing databases on livestock health and welfare in a bibliometric perspective. By using the detailed classification of the scientific disciplines and the list of keywords of the CAB Abstracts®, queries were first built to combine 120 descriptors related to animal species and 1680 descriptors related to the given thematics. Then, the extraction was done from the Web of Science®. The overall process focused on the research institutes localised in Europe and on publications written in English. To assess the database accuracy, supplementary filters were validated and applied to discard non-specific terms and neighbouring topics. Additional fields for species groups, infectious and non-infectious diseases, welfare components and geographical regions were incorporated according to thematic terminologies specifically established. The final database contains 57,523 articles published over a 12 years’ period (2003–2014). The developed method, based on the complementary use of both the CAB Abstracts® and Web of Science®, can be a reference to allow an adequate semi-automatic retrieval of relevant publications on livestock health and welfare, which will be of use to implement bibliometric study to produce a realistic assessment of tendency for driving science policy. Interestingly, it can be also a model process to be easily applied to implement bibliometric studies for any other scientific thematic domain.
Published: 2017
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19. Effects of a chronic stress treatment on vaccinal response in lambs

Author: Véronique Deiss, Alain Boissy, Stéphane Andanson, Karine Laroucau, Alexandra Destrez, Armel Souriau, Laurence Guilloteau, Elodie Chaillou, Territoires (Territoires), Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique (INRA)-AgroParisTech-VetAgro Sup - Institut national d'enseignement supérieur et de recherche en alimentation, santé animale, sciences agronomiques et de l'environnement (VAS)-Institut national de recherche en sciences et technologies pour l'environnement et l'agriculture (IRSTEA)-AgroSup Dijon - Institut National Supérieur des Sciences Agronomiques, de l'Alimentation et de l'Environnement-Université Clermont Auvergne [2017-2020] (UCA [2017-2020]), Unité Mixte de Recherche sur les Herbivores - UMR 1213 (UMRH), VetAgro Sup - Institut national d'enseignement supérieur et de recherche en alimentation, santé animale, sciences agronomiques et de l'environnement (VAS)-Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique (INRA)-AgroSup Dijon - Institut National Supérieur des Sciences Agronomiques, de l'Alimentation et de l'Environnement, Unité de Recherches Avicoles (URA), Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique (INRA), Infectiologie et Santé Publique (UMR ISP), Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique (INRA)-Université de Tours (UT), Laboratoire de Santé animale, Unité Zoonoses Bactériennes, Agence nationale de sécurité sanitaire de l'alimentation, de l'environnement et du travail (ANSES), Physiologie de la reproduction et des comportements [Nouzilly] (PRC), Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique (INRA)-Institut Français du Cheval et de l'Equitation [Saumur]-Université de Tours (UT)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), Mutations des activités des espaces et des formes d'organisation dans les territoires ruraux (METAFORT), Institut national de recherche en sciences et technologies pour l'environnement et l'agriculture (IRSTEA)-Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique (INRA)-AgroSup Dijon - Institut National Supérieur des Sciences Agronomiques, de l'Alimentation et de l'Environnement-VetAgro Sup - Institut national d'enseignement supérieur et de recherche en alimentation, santé animale, sciences agronomiques et de l'environnement (VAS)-AgroParisTech, Unité Mixte de Recherches sur les Herbivores - UMR 1213 (UMRH), VetAgro Sup - Institut national d'enseignement supérieur et de recherche en alimentation, santé animale, sciences agronomiques et de l'environnement (VAS)-AgroSup Dijon - Institut National Supérieur des Sciences Agronomiques, de l'Alimentation et de l'Environnement-Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique (INRA), Recherches Avicoles (SRA), UR Infectiologie animale et Santé publique (UR IASP), Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Université de Tours-Institut Français du Cheval et de l'Equitation [Saumur]-Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique (INRA), Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique (INRA)-Université de Tours, Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique (INRA)-Institut Français du Cheval et de l'Equitation [Saumur]-Université de Tours-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique (INRA)-AgroParisTech-VetAgro Sup - Institut national d'enseignement supérieur et de recherche en alimentation, santé animale, sciences agronomiques et de l'environnement (VAS)-Institut national de recherche en sciences et technologies pour l'environnement et l'agriculture (IRSTEA)-Université Clermont Auvergne [2017-2020] (UCA [2017-2020]), Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique (INRA)-VetAgro Sup - Institut national d'enseignement supérieur et de recherche en alimentation, santé animale, sciences agronomiques et de l'environnement (VAS), Unité Zoonoses Bactériennes (UZB), Laboratoire de santé animale, sites de Maisons-Alfort et de Normandie, Agence nationale de sécurité sanitaire de l'alimentation, de l'environnement et du travail (ANSES)-Agence nationale de sécurité sanitaire de l'alimentation, de l'environnement et du travail (ANSES), Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique (INRA)-Institut Français du Cheval et de l'Equitation [Saumur] (IFCE)-Université de Tours (UT)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), Mutations des activités des espaces et des formes d'organisation dans les territoires ruraux ( METAFORT ), Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique ( INRA ) -AgroParisTech-VetAgro Sup ( VAS ) -Institut national de recherche en sciences et technologies pour l'environnement et l'agriculture ( IRSTEA ) -AgroSup Dijon - Institut National Supérieur des Sciences Agronomiques, de l'Alimentation et de l'Environnement, Unité Mixte de Recherches sur les Herbivores ( UMR 1213 Herbivores ), VetAgro Sup ( VAS ) -AgroSup Dijon - Institut National Supérieur des Sciences Agronomiques, de l'Alimentation et de l'Environnement-Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique ( INRA ), Recherches Avicoles ( SRA ), Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique ( INRA ), UR Infectiologie animale et Santé publique ( UR IASP ), Agence Nationale de Sécurité Sanitaire de l’Alimentation, de l’Environnement et du Travail ( ANSES Maisons-Alfort ), Physiologie de la reproduction et des comportements [Nouzilly] ( PRC ), and Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique ( INRA ) -Institut Français du Cheval et de l'Equitation [Saumur]-Université de Tours-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique ( CNRS )
Subjects: 040301 veterinary sciences, Sheep Diseases, Granulocyte, Affect (psychology), SF1-1100, 0403 veterinary science, 03 medical and health sciences, 0302 clinical medicine, Immune system, Stress, Physiological, Animals, Medicine, Chronic stress, Animal Husbandry, Chlamydia, chronic stress, 2. Zero hunger, Sheep, Attenuated vaccine, [SDV.BA.MVSA]Life Sciences [q-bio]/Animal biology/Veterinary medicine and animal Health, biology, business.industry, negative affective state, Stressor, health, 04 agricultural and veterinary sciences, Chlamydia Infections, vaccination, Animal culture, 3. Good health, Vaccination, ovine, medicine.anatomical_structure, Bacterial Vaccines, Immunology, biology.protein, Female, Animal Science and Zoology, [ SDV.BA.MVSA ] Life Sciences [q-bio]/Animal biology/Veterinary medicine and animal Health, Antibody, business, 030217 neurology & neurosurgery
Abstract: International audience; Farming systems can expose animals to chronic mild stress which is known to induce negative affective state. Affective state in animals, as in humans, can be assessed through behavioral cues. This study aimed to describe the effect of a chronic mild stress, known to induce a negative affective state, on sheep health through their response to vaccination. The study used 15 lambs subjected to a model of chronic mild stress for 15 weeks and 15 lambs reared under conventional farming as a control group. After 7 weeks of stressful treatment, the lambs were individually exposed to a judgment bias test to assess a putative stress-induced 'pessimism.' After 15 weeks of stressful treatment, antibody immune response was measured after an injection of a live vaccine challenge (Chlamydia abortus attenuated vaccine strain 1B). Stressed lambs displayed a pessimistic-like perception in the judgment bias test, revealing a negative affective state. Stressed and control animals showed different immunological reactions to vaccine challenge: stressed sheep had lower hemoglobin concentrations and higher platelet, granulocyte and acute-phase protein concentrations. Antibody response induced by the vaccine strain was not different between stressed and control sheep. Our results suggest that negative affective state induced by chronic stress treatment may induce a stronger inflammatory response to vaccine challenge in sheep. Improvement of animal health may be achieved through consideration of stressors that may affect the emotional and immunological state of sheep.
Published: 2017
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20. Face-based perception of emotions in dairy goats

Author: Lucille G. A. Bellegarde, Alain Boissy, Alexander Weiss, Hans W. Erhard, Marie J. Haskell, Christine Duvaux-Ponter, Modélisation Systémique Appliquée aux Ruminants (MoSAR), Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique (INRA)-AgroParisTech, University of Edinburgh, Scotland's Rural College (SRUC), Université Paris-Saclay, Unité Mixte de Recherche sur les Herbivores - UMR 1213 (UMRH), VetAgro Sup - Institut national d'enseignement supérieur et de recherche en alimentation, santé animale, sciences agronomiques et de l'environnement (VAS)-Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique (INRA)-AgroSup Dijon - Institut National Supérieur des Sciences Agronomiques, de l'Alimentation et de l'Environnement, VetAgro Sup - Institut national d'enseignement supérieur et de recherche en alimentation, santé animale, sciences agronomiques et de l'environnement (VAS), Scotland's Rural College (SCUR), Unité Mixte de Recherches sur les Herbivores - UMR 1213 (UMRH), VetAgro Sup - Institut national d'enseignement supérieur et de recherche en alimentation, santé animale, sciences agronomiques et de l'environnement (VAS)-AgroSup Dijon - Institut National Supérieur des Sciences Agronomiques, de l'Alimentation et de l'Environnement-Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique (INRA), Modélisation Systémique Appliquée aux Ruminants ( MoSAR ), Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique ( INRA ) -AgroParisTech, SRUC, Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique ( INRA ), AgroParisTech, Unité Mixte de Recherches sur les Herbivores ( UMR 1213 Herbivores ), VetAgro Sup ( VAS ) -AgroSup Dijon - Institut National Supérieur des Sciences Agronomiques, de l'Alimentation et de l'Environnement-Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique ( INRA ), and VetAgro Sup ( VAS )
Subjects: [SDV.OT]Life Sciences [q-bio]/Other [q-bio.OT], goats, cognitive bias, chèvre, media_common.quotation_subject, émotion, emotion, Emotional valence, perception, réponse émotionnelle, emotions, comportement animal, Developmental psychology, 03 medical and health sciences, 0302 clinical medicine, Food Animals, Perception, [SDV.BA.ZV]Life Sciences [q-bio]/Animal biology/Vertebrate Zoology, 0501 psychology and cognitive sciences, 050102 behavioral science & comparative psychology, Emotion recognition, [ SDV.OT ] Life Sciences [q-bio]/Other [q-bio.OT], nannygoats, media_common, Facial expression, 05 social sciences, goat, face, Cognition, Gaze, Cognitive bias, Face (geometry), Face, [ SDV.BA.ZV ] Life Sciences [q-bio]/Animal biology/Vertebrate Zoology, Animal Science and Zoology, Psychology, 030217 neurology & neurosurgery, ear postures, Cognitive psychology
Abstract: Faces of conspecifics convey information about identity, but also gaze, and attentional or emotional state. As a cognitive process, face-based emotion recognition can be subject to judgment bias. In this study we investigated whether dairy goats (n=32) would show different responses to 2-D images offaces of familiar conspecifics displaying positive or negative emotional states. We also examined the possible use of images of faces as stimuli in cognitive bias studies. The faces of four subjects were photographed in a positive and a negative situation. Three types of images of ambiguous facial expressions were then created using morphing software (75% positive, 50% positive, and 25%positive). In a test-pen, each goat was exposed for 3 seconds to each type of image, obtained from the same goat. All goats were shown non-morphed faces first, before being shown the three types of morphed faces, balanced for order. Finally, the first non-morphed face was shown again. Spontaneous behavioural reactions including ear postures (forward, backward and asymmetrical) and interactions with the screen (time spent looking or touching) were recorded during the 3 seconds. Results were analysed using REML with repeated measurements. Goats spent more time with their ears forward when the negative was shown compared to the positive(F4,121.3 = 2.51, P = 0.018), indicating greater interest in negative faces. Identity of the photographed goat influenced the time spent with the ears forward (F2,57.4 = 7.01, P = 0.002). We conclude that goats react differently to images of faces displaying different emotional states and that they seem to perceive the emotional valence expressed in these images. Response to morphed faces was not necessarilyintermediate to response to negative and positive faces, and not on a continuum. Further study is thus needed to clarify the potential use of faces in cognitive bias studies.
Published: 2017
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21. Unpredictable and repeated negative stimuli increased emotional reactivity in male quail

Author: Sophie Lumineau, Cécile Arnould, Agathe Laurence, Angélique Favreau-Peigné, Cécilia Houdelier, Aline Bertin, Marie-Annick Richard-Yris, Paul Constantin, Ludovic Calandreau, Christine Leterrier, Alain Boissy, Modélisation Systémique Appliquée aux Ruminants (MoSAR), Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique (INRA)-AgroParisTech, Physiologie de la reproduction et des comportements [Nouzilly] (PRC), Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Université de Tours-Institut Français du Cheval et de l'Equitation [Saumur]-Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique (INRA), Ethologie animale et humaine (EthoS), Université de Rennes 1 (UR1), Université de Rennes (UNIV-RENNES)-Université de Rennes (UNIV-RENNES)-Université de Caen Normandie (UNICAEN), Normandie Université (NU)-Normandie Université (NU)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), Unité Mixte de Recherches sur les Herbivores - UMR 1213 (UMRH), VetAgro Sup - Institut national d'enseignement supérieur et de recherche en alimentation, santé animale, sciences agronomiques et de l'environnement (VAS)-AgroSup Dijon - Institut National Supérieur des Sciences Agronomiques, de l'Alimentation et de l'Environnement-Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique (INRA), French National Research Agency, Emofarm Program (ANR-09BLAN-0339), ANR-09-BLAN-0339,EmoFarm,Modifications de la sensibilité émotionnelle et des capacités cognitives et sociales induites par le développement d'états affectifs durables chez les animaux d'élevage(2009), Université de Caen Normandie (UNICAEN), Normandie Université (NU)-Normandie Université (NU)-Université de Rennes 1 (UR1), Université de Rennes (UNIV-RENNES)-Université de Rennes (UNIV-RENNES)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique (INRA)-Institut Français du Cheval et de l'Equitation [Saumur]-Université de Tours-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), Unité Mixte de Recherche sur les Herbivores - UMR 1213 (UMRH), VetAgro Sup - Institut national d'enseignement supérieur et de recherche en alimentation, santé animale, sciences agronomiques et de l'environnement (VAS)-Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique (INRA)-AgroSup Dijon - Institut National Supérieur des Sciences Agronomiques, de l'Alimentation et de l'Environnement, Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique (INRA)-Institut Français du Cheval et de l'Equitation [Saumur]-Université de Tours (UT)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique (INRA)-Institut Français du Cheval et de l'Equitation [Saumur] (IFCE)-Université de Tours (UT)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), Normandie Université (NU)-Normandie Université (NU)-Université de Rennes (UR)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique (INRA)-VetAgro Sup - Institut national d'enseignement supérieur et de recherche en alimentation, santé animale, sciences agronomiques et de l'environnement (VAS), Modélisation Systémique Appliquée aux Ruminants ( MoSAR ), Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique ( INRA ) -AgroParisTech, Physiologie de la reproduction et des comportements [Nouzilly] ( PRC ), Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique ( INRA ) -Institut Français du Cheval et de l'Equitation [Saumur]-Université de Tours-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique ( CNRS ), Ethologie animale et humaine ( EthoS ), Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique ( CNRS ) -Université de Rennes 1 ( UR1 ), Université de Rennes ( UNIV-RENNES ) -Université de Rennes ( UNIV-RENNES ) -Université de Caen Normandie ( UNICAEN ), Normandie Université ( NU ) -Normandie Université ( NU ), Unité Mixte de Recherches sur les Herbivores ( UMR 1213 Herbivores ), VetAgro Sup ( VAS ) -AgroSup Dijon - Institut National Supérieur des Sciences Agronomiques, de l'Alimentation et de l'Environnement-Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique ( INRA ), and ANR-09-BLAN-0339,EmoFarm,Modifications de la sensibilité émotionnelle et des capacités cognitives et sociales induites par le développement d'états affectifs durables chez les animaux d'élevage ( 2009 )
Subjects: [SDV.OT]Life Sciences [q-bio]/Other [q-bio.OT], bird, neophobia, Physiology, emotional reactivity, Developmental psychology, 03 medical and health sciences, chemistry.chemical_compound, 0302 clinical medicine, Food Animals, Corticosterone, biology.animal, medicine, Tonic (music), 0501 psychology and cognitive sciences, Chronic stress, 050102 behavioral science & comparative psychology, [ SDV.OT ] Life Sciences [q-bio]/Other [q-bio.OT], Habituation, Reactivity (psychology), chronic stress, biology, 05 social sciences, Neophobia, medicine.disease, Quail, chemistry, Animal Science and Zoology, tonic immobility, Cage, Psychology, 030217 neurology & neurosurgery
Abstract: International audience; Chronic stress is considered detrimental for an individual as it is a long-lasting negative emotional state, without or with a limited habituation. The reactivity and sensitivity of animals to stressors depend on the animal's organismic characteristics such as sex. In poultry, the studies dealing with chronic stress were mainly performed on females. Our study then focused on male quail and aimed at assessing the effect of unpredictable and repeated negative stimuli (URNS) on their general activity, tonic immobility, emotional reactivity to a human, a novel object, novel foods or when restrained in a crush cage, as well as on their plasma corticosterone concentrations. Quail were then left undisturbed or submitted to URNS during 6 weeks (n = 12 in each group). The results indicated that disturbed males spent a greater proportion of time far from the human than control ones (on the 1st test, 44.23 ± 5.28 vs 21.80 ± 6.12%, P = 0.01), probably to avoid the human. Disturbed males pecked at the novel object latter (P = 0.03) and less (P = 0.05) than controls. When restrained in a crush cage, disturbed quail were more often motionless than controls (13.49 ± 4.57 vs 4.76 ± 2.11%, P = 0.05). Disturbed quail ate a greater cumulative amount of mealworms (P = 0.05) or ate red maggots with a shorter latency compared to controls (P < 0.05 for the 2nd and 3rd red maggots, on the 2nd test). Concerning the general activity, disturbed males only showed less stereotypic behaviour than control ones after 14 days with URNS (1.4 ± 0.4 vs 4.9 ± 1.2% respectively, P = 0.03), but this difference disappeared after 34 days with URNS (P > 0.1). More importantly, stereotypic behaviours represented less than 5% of the time budget of both groups. URNS had however no effect on tonic immobility, general activity and corticosterone concentrations. This study demonstrated that URNS induced an increase of male quail's emotional reactivity to a human (when tested for the 1st time), to a novel object and when restrained in a crush cage. URNS also altered male quail's feeding behaviour. Disturbed quail were more interested by the novel foods than control quail presumably because they considered them as positive rewards after repeated exposures and they used them as a way to compensate their negative emotional state. All in all, our results demonstrated that URNS induced a chronic stress state in male quail that can have negative consequences on their welfare.
Published: 2016
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22. Stray voltage threshold is better determined under choice test conditions in sheep

Author: Alain Boissy, Thomas Louyot, Myriam Ennifar, Christine Duvaux-Ponter, Sabine Roussel, Physiologie de la Nutrition et Alimentation ( PNA ), Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique ( INRA ) -AgroParisTech, AgroParisTech, Unité Mixte de Recherches sur les Herbivores ( UMR 1213 Herbivores ), VetAgro Sup ( VAS ) -AgroSup Dijon - Institut National Supérieur des Sciences Agronomiques, de l'Alimentation et de l'Environnement-Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique ( INRA ), Physiologie de la Nutrition et Alimentation (PNA), Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique (INRA)-AgroParisTech, Unité Mixte de Recherches sur les Herbivores - UMR 1213 (UMRH), VetAgro Sup - Institut national d'enseignement supérieur et de recherche en alimentation, santé animale, sciences agronomiques et de l'environnement (VAS)-AgroSup Dijon - Institut National Supérieur des Sciences Agronomiques, de l'Alimentation et de l'Environnement-Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique (INRA), Modélisation Systémique Appliquée aux Ruminants (MoSAR), Unité de Recherches sur les Herbivores (URH), and Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique (INRA)
Subjects: 040301 veterinary sciences, [ SDV.SA.SPA ] Life Sciences [q-bio]/Agricultural sciences/Animal production studies, stray voltage, lambs, controllability, SF1-1100, 0403 veterinary science, CONTROLABILITE, Animal science, feeding behaviour, TEST DU CHOIX, Stray voltage, Mathematics, 2. Zero hunger, 0402 animal and dairy science, choice test, COURANT VAGABOND, 04 agricultural and veterinary sciences, 040201 dairy & animal science, Choice test, Threshold voltage, Animal culture, Avoidance behaviour, [SDV.SA.SPA]Life Sciences [q-bio]/Agricultural sciences/Animal production studies, Animal Science and Zoology, Voltage
Abstract: Stray voltage (usually
Published: 2011
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23. Do Lambs Perceive Regular Human Stroking as Pleasant? Behavior and Heart Rate Variability Analyses

Author: Raymond Nowak, Marjorie Coulon, Herve Chandeze, Julie Peyrat, Xavier Boivin, Alain Boissy, Unité Mixte de Recherches sur les Herbivores - UMR 1213 (UMRH), VetAgro Sup - Institut national d'enseignement supérieur et de recherche en alimentation, santé animale, sciences agronomiques et de l'environnement (VAS)-AgroSup Dijon - Institut National Supérieur des Sciences Agronomiques, de l'Alimentation et de l'Environnement-Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique (INRA), Clermont Université, Physiologie de la reproduction et des comportements [Nouzilly] (PRC), Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Université de Tours-Institut Français du Cheval et de l'Equitation [Saumur]-Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique (INRA), Agence Nationale de la Recherche [French National Agency for Research] under ANR BOND.007, no. NT09 492885, Unité Mixte de Recherche sur les Herbivores - UMR 1213 (UMRH), VetAgro Sup - Institut national d'enseignement supérieur et de recherche en alimentation, santé animale, sciences agronomiques et de l'environnement (VAS)-Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique (INRA)-AgroSup Dijon - Institut National Supérieur des Sciences Agronomiques, de l'Alimentation et de l'Environnement, Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique (INRA)-Institut Français du Cheval et de l'Equitation [Saumur]-Université de Tours-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique (INRA)-VetAgro Sup - Institut national d'enseignement supérieur et de recherche en alimentation, santé animale, sciences agronomiques et de l'environnement (VAS), Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique (INRA)-Institut Français du Cheval et de l'Equitation [Saumur] (IFCE)-Université de Tours (UT)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), Unité Mixte de Recherches sur les Herbivores ( UMR 1213 Herbivores ), VetAgro Sup ( VAS ) -AgroSup Dijon - Institut National Supérieur des Sciences Agronomiques, de l'Alimentation et de l'Environnement-Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique ( INRA ), Physiologie de la reproduction et des comportements [Nouzilly] ( PRC ), Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique ( INRA ) -Institut Français du Cheval et de l'Equitation [Saumur]-Université de Tours-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique ( CNRS ), and Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique (INRA)-Institut Français du Cheval et de l'Equitation [Saumur]-Université de Tours (UT)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)
Subjects: [SDV.OT]Life Sciences [q-bio]/Other [q-bio.OT], medicine.medical_specialty, medicine.medical_treatment, Animal-assisted therapy, lcsh:Medicine, bien-être animal, Biology, Audiology, fréquence cardiaque, comportement animal, réponse comportementale, ovin, Heart Rate, Heart rate, medicine, Social grooming, Heart rate variability, Animals, Humans, [ SDV.OT ] Life Sciences [q-bio]/Other [q-bio.OT], Habituation, lcsh:Science, Multidisciplinary, Sheep, Behavior, Animal, agneau, lcsh:R, Age Factors, Physiological responses, relation homme-animal, Physical separation, HUBzero, lcsh:Q, Female, caresse, Autre (Sciences du Vivant), Research Article
Abstract: Stroking by humans is beneficial to the human-animal relationship and improves welfare in many species that express intraspecific allogrooming, but very few studies have looked at species like sheep that do not express such contact except around parturition. This study investigated the way lambs perceive regular human tactile contact using behavioral and physiological responses. Twenty-four lambs were reared and bucket-fed in groups of four. All were stroked daily by their familiar caregiver. At 8 weeks of age, the lambs were individually tested in their home pen but in a 1×1m open-barred pen after a 15 h period of habituation to physical separation from peers while remaining in visual and auditory contact. Half of the lambs received stroking by their caregiver for 8 min and half were exposed to their caregiver's immobile presence. Heart rate and heart rate variability were recorded and analyzed by 2-min slots over the same interval based on three measures: mean heart rate value (HR), root mean square of successive differences (RMSSD) and standard deviation of all intervals measured between consecutive sinus beats (SDNN). Behavioral responses (ear postures of the lamb and time spent in contact with the familiar caregiver, on the knees of the familiar caregiver, and moving) were recorded throughout the test. Lamb HR decreased continuously while in the presence of their caregiver. Lambs being stroked showed slower HR and higher RMSSD which reflected positive emotional states compared to lambs left unstroked. All behavioral variables were highly correlated with the main component axis of the PCA analyses: the more the animals stayed in contact with their caregiver, the less they moved and the more their ears were hanging. This first component clearly differentiates lambs being stroked or not. Behavioral and physiological observations support the hypothesis that gentle physical contact with the caregiver is perceived positively by lambs.
Published: 2015
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24. Stress during pregnancy alters dendritic spine density and gene expression in the brain of new-born lambs

Author: Alain Boissy, Frédéric Lévy, Elodie Chaillou, Sébastien Bes, Bérengère Petit, Stéphane Andanson, Marjorie Coulon, Adroaldo José Zanella, Unité Mixte de Recherches sur les Herbivores ( UMR 1213 Herbivores ), VetAgro Sup ( VAS ) -AgroSup Dijon - Institut National Supérieur des Sciences Agronomiques, de l'Alimentation et de l'Environnement-Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique ( INRA ), Physiologie de la reproduction et des comportements [Nouzilly] ( PRC ), Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique ( INRA ) -Institut Français du Cheval et de l'Equitation [Saumur]-Université de Tours-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique ( CNRS ), program (ANR-11-PDOC-0016), Unité Mixte de Recherche sur les Herbivores - UMR 1213 (UMRH), VetAgro Sup - Institut national d'enseignement supérieur et de recherche en alimentation, santé animale, sciences agronomiques et de l'environnement (VAS)-Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique (INRA)-AgroSup Dijon - Institut National Supérieur des Sciences Agronomiques, de l'Alimentation et de l'Environnement, Physiologie de la reproduction et des comportements [Nouzilly] (PRC), Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique (INRA)-Institut Français du Cheval et de l'Equitation [Saumur]-Université de Tours (UT)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), Unité Mixte de Recherches sur les Herbivores - UMR 1213 (UMRH), VetAgro Sup - Institut national d'enseignement supérieur et de recherche en alimentation, santé animale, sciences agronomiques et de l'environnement (VAS)-AgroSup Dijon - Institut National Supérieur des Sciences Agronomiques, de l'Alimentation et de l'Environnement-Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique (INRA), Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Université de Tours-Institut Français du Cheval et de l'Equitation [Saumur]-Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique (INRA), and Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique (INRA)-Institut Français du Cheval et de l'Equitation [Saumur]-Université de Tours-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)
Subjects: Male, [SDV.OT]Life Sciences [q-bio]/Other [q-bio.OT], medicine.medical_specialty, sheep, Dendritic spine, hippocampus, Gene Expression, Hippocampus, Amygdala, Behavioral Neuroscience, Pregnancy, Internal medicine, medicine, Animals, Chronic stress, [ SDV.OT ] Life Sciences [q-bio]/Other [q-bio.OT], Prefrontal cortex, Sheep, Domestic, Fetus, prefrontal cortex, biology, Pyramidal Cells, Brain, dendritic spines, amygdala, PRENHEZ, Disease Models, Animal, medicine.anatomical_structure, Endocrinology, Animals, Newborn, Prenatal stress, nervous system, prenatal stress, Prenatal Exposure Delayed Effects, Chronic Disease, biology.protein, GRIN2A, Female, Neuroscience, Stress, Psychological
Abstract: Remerciements :INRA, UE0332 BOURGES Domaine Expérimental Bourges-La Sapinière; Rodent studies show how prenatal stress (PS) can alter morphology in the cortico-limbic structures that support emotional and cognitive functions. PS-induced alteration is less well described in species with a gyrencephalic brain and complex earlier fetal development, and never in sheep at birth to rule out postnatal environment effects or influences of maternal behavior. This study aimed to assess the consequences of a mild chronic stress in pregnant ewes on the neurobiological development of their lambs at birth. During the last third of gestation, 7 ewes were exposed daily to various unpredictable and negative routine management-based challenges (stressed group), while 7 other ewes were housed without any additional perturbation (control group). For each group, a newborn from each litter was sacrificed at birth to collect its brain and analyze its expression levels of genes involved in neuronal dendritic morphology (Dlg4, Rac1, RhoA, Doc2b), synaptic transmission (Nr1, Grin2A, Grin2B) and glucocorticoid receptor (Nr3C1) in hippocampus (HPC), prefrontal cortex (PFC) and amygdala (AMYG). Results revealed that lambs from stressed dam (PS lambs) showed under-expression of Rac1 and Nr1 in PFC and overexpression of Dlg4 in AMYG compared to controls. To assess the morphological consequences of gene dysregulations, the dendritic morphology of pyramidal neurons was explored by Golgi–Cox staining in HPC and PFC. PS lambs had higher dendritic spine density in both structures and more stubby-type spines in the CA1 area of HPC than controls. This is the first demonstration in sheep that PS alters fetal brain, possibly reflecting functional changes in synaptic transmission to cope with adversity experienced in fetal life.
Published: 2015
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25. Behavioural expression of positive anticipation for food or opportunity to play in lambs

Author: Jenny Yngvesson, Kerstin Uvnäs-Moberg, Claes Anderson, Alain Boissy, Lena Lidfors, Department of Animal Environment and Health, Swedish University of Agricultural Science, Unité Mixte de Recherche sur les Herbivores - UMR 1213 (UMRH), VetAgro Sup - Institut national d'enseignement supérieur et de recherche en alimentation, santé animale, sciences agronomiques et de l'environnement (VAS)-Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique (INRA)-AgroSup Dijon - Institut National Supérieur des Sciences Agronomiques, de l'Alimentation et de l'Environnement, Swedish Research Council for Environment, Agricultural Sciences and Spatial Planning, and Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique (INRA)-VetAgro Sup - Institut national d'enseignement supérieur et de recherche en alimentation, santé animale, sciences agronomiques et de l'environnement (VAS)
Subjects: Male, [SDV.SA]Life Sciences [q-bio]/Agricultural sciences, [SHS.PSY]Humanities and Social Sciences/Psychology, emotions, lambs, Developmental psychology, Behavioral Neuroscience, Reward, anticipatory behaviour, Animals, Sheep, Behavior, Animal, play behaviour, General Medicine, Feeding Behavior, Anticipation, Psychological, Anticipation, food reward, Play and Playthings, Expression (architecture), Food, Exploratory Behavior, Conditioning, Operant, Animal Science and Zoology, Psychology, Social psychology, psychological phenomena and processes
Abstract: International audience; Anticipatory behaviours may serve a useful tool in studying positive emotional states in animals. This study aimed to investigate if lambs express anticipatory behaviours for opportunities to play or a food reward and if these behaviours would differ depending on the anticipated event. Forty-two male lambs were allocated into three treatment groups (control, play, food). Play and food lambs were conditioned to anticipate play or food in a holding pen for three minutes prior to accessing a reward arena containing toy objects or concentrate, respectively. Control lambs returned to their home pen following three minutes in the holding pen. Compared to the control lambs, both play and food lambs differed in several behaviours frequencies and durations, e.g. by an increased frequency of behavioural transitions and duration of walking. Following these observations, food lambs received the toy objects when entering the reward arena. The subsequent session in the holding pen resulted in a decrease in number of behavioural transitions, time spent walking and an increase in time standing still. In conclusion, anticipating a positive event resulted in differences in behaviour compared to a control group, and these behaviours are affected when the anticipated event does not fit with the lambs’ expectations.
Published: 2015
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26. Environmental enrichment reduces behavioural alterations induced by chronic stress in Japanese quail

Author: Cécilia Houdelier, Cécile Arnould, Sophie Lumineau, Christine Leterrier, A. Laurence, Ludovic Calandreau, Alain Boissy, Angélique Favreau-Peigné, Ethologie animale et humaine (EthoS), Université de Rennes 1 (UR1), Université de Rennes (UNIV-RENNES)-Université de Rennes (UNIV-RENNES)-Université de Caen Normandie (UNICAEN), Normandie Université (NU)-Normandie Université (NU)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), Physiologie de la reproduction et des comportements [Nouzilly] (PRC), Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique (INRA)-Institut Français du Cheval et de l'Equitation [Saumur]-Université de Tours-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), Modélisation Systémique Appliquée aux Ruminants (MoSAR), Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique (INRA)-AgroParisTech, Unité Mixte de Recherche sur les Herbivores - UMR 1213 (UMRH), VetAgro Sup - Institut national d'enseignement supérieur et de recherche en alimentation, santé animale, sciences agronomiques et de l'environnement (VAS)-Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique (INRA)-AgroSup Dijon - Institut National Supérieur des Sciences Agronomiques, de l'Alimentation et de l'Environnement, ANR-09-BLAN-0339 - EmoFarm, ANR-09-BLAN-0339,EmoFarm,Modifications de la sensibilité émotionnelle et des capacités cognitives et sociales induites par le développement d'états affectifs durables chez les animaux d'élevage(2009), Université de Caen Normandie (UNICAEN), Normandie Université (NU)-Normandie Université (NU)-Université de Rennes 1 (UR1), Université de Rennes (UNIV-RENNES)-Université de Rennes (UNIV-RENNES)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Université de Tours-Institut Français du Cheval et de l'Equitation [Saumur]-Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique (INRA), Unité Mixte de Recherches sur les Herbivores - UMR 1213 (UMRH), VetAgro Sup - Institut national d'enseignement supérieur et de recherche en alimentation, santé animale, sciences agronomiques et de l'environnement (VAS)-AgroSup Dijon - Institut National Supérieur des Sciences Agronomiques, de l'Alimentation et de l'Environnement-Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique (INRA), Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique (INRA)-Institut Français du Cheval et de l'Equitation [Saumur]-Université de Tours (UT)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), Normandie Université (NU)-Normandie Université (NU)-Université de Rennes (UR)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique (INRA)-Institut Français du Cheval et de l'Equitation [Saumur] (IFCE)-Université de Tours (UT)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique (INRA)-VetAgro Sup - Institut national d'enseignement supérieur et de recherche en alimentation, santé animale, sciences agronomiques et de l'environnement (VAS), Ethologie animale et humaine ( EthoS ), Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique ( CNRS ) -Université de Rennes 1 ( UR1 ), Université de Rennes ( UNIV-RENNES ) -Université de Rennes ( UNIV-RENNES ) -Université de Caen Normandie ( UNICAEN ), Normandie Université ( NU ) -Normandie Université ( NU ), Physiologie de la reproduction et des comportements [Nouzilly] ( PRC ), Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique ( INRA ) -Institut Français du Cheval et de l'Equitation [Saumur]-Université de Tours-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique ( CNRS ), Modélisation Systémique Appliquée aux Ruminants ( MoSAR ), Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique ( INRA ) -AgroParisTech, Unité Mixte de Recherches sur les Herbivores ( UMR 1213 Herbivores ), VetAgro Sup ( VAS ) -AgroSup Dijon - Institut National Supérieur des Sciences Agronomiques, de l'Alimentation et de l'Environnement-Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique ( INRA ), and ANR-09-BLAN-0339,EmoFarm,Modifications de la sensibilité émotionnelle et des capacités cognitives et sociales induites par le développement d'états affectifs durables chez les animaux d'élevage ( 2009 )
Subjects: Male, Hypothalamo-Hypophyseal System, medicine.medical_specialty, enrichment, [SDV.OT]Life Sciences [q-bio]/Other [q-bio.OT], animal structures, Pituitary-Adrenal System, Coturnix, Environment, Biology, Emergence test, SF1-1100, Stress, Physiological, biology.animal, Internal medicine, parasitic diseases, medicine, Animals, 0501 psychology and cognitive sciences, Chronic stress, 050102 behavioral science & comparative psychology, [ SDV.OT ] Life Sciences [q-bio]/Other [q-bio.OT], Animal Husbandry, development, Environmental enrichment, Behavior, Animal, 05 social sciences, fungi, 0402 animal and dairy science, Fear, 04 agricultural and veterinary sciences, quail, Animal Feed, Housing, Animal, 040201 dairy & animal science, Quail, Animal culture, behaviour, welfare, Endocrinology, Blood chemistry, environmental enrichment, Female, Animal Science and Zoology
Abstract: International audience; Animals perceiving repeated aversive events can become chronically stressed. Chronic activation of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis can have deleterious consequences on physiological parameters (e.g. BW, blood chemistry) and behaviour (e.g. emotional reactivity, stereotypies, cognition). Environmental enrichment (EE) can be a mean to reduce animal stress and to improve welfare. The aim of this study was first, to assess the effects of EE in battery cages on the behaviour of young Japanese quail and second, to evaluate the impact of EE on quail exposed to chronic stress. The experiment involved quail housed in EE cages and submitted or not to a chronic stress procedure (CSP) (EE cages, control quail: n=16, CSP quail: n=14) and quail housed in standard cages and exposed or not to the CSP (standard non-EE cages, control quail: n=12, CSP quail: n=16). Our procedure consisted of repeated aversive events (e.g. ventilators, delaying access to food, physical restraint, noise) presented two to five times per 24 h, randomly, for 15 days. During CSP, EE improved quail's welfare as their stereotypic pacing decreased and they rested more. CSP decreased exploration in all quail. After the end of CSP, quail presented increased emotional reactivity in emergence test. However, the effect of EE varied with test. Finally, chronic stress effects on comfort behaviours in the emergence test were alleviated by EE. These results indicate that EE can alleviate some aspects of behavioural alterations induced by CSP.
Published: 2015
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27. Exploiting the knowledge about model species and humans to revisit the biology of livestock animals

Author: Isabelle Cassar Malek, Brigitte Picard, Alain Boissy, Christine Leroux, Lenha Mobuchon, Jérémy Tournayre, Nicolas Kaspric, Muriel Bonnet, Unité Mixte de Recherche sur les Herbivores - UMR 1213 (UMRH), VetAgro Sup - Institut national d'enseignement supérieur et de recherche en alimentation, santé animale, sciences agronomiques et de l'environnement (VAS)-Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique (INRA)-AgroSup Dijon - Institut National Supérieur des Sciences Agronomiques, de l'Alimentation et de l'Environnement, and Institut National de Recherche Agronomique (INRA). UMR Génétique Diversité et Ecophysiologie des Céréales (1095).
Subjects: Animal biology, base de données, transfert de connaissances, [SDV.BA]Life Sciences [q-bio]/Animal biology, Biologie animale, animal d'élevage, mécanisme biologique, ComputingMilieux_MISCELLANEOUS
Abstract: National audience
Published: 2014

28. How studying interactions between animal emotions, cognition, and personality can contribute to improve farm animal welfare

Author: Alain Boissy, Hans W. Erhard, Unité Mixte de Recherche sur les Herbivores - UMR 1213 (UMRH), VetAgro Sup - Institut national d'enseignement supérieur et de recherche en alimentation, santé animale, sciences agronomiques et de l'environnement (VAS)-Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique (INRA)-AgroSup Dijon - Institut National Supérieur des Sciences Agronomiques, de l'Alimentation et de l'Environnement, Modélisation Systémique Appliquée aux Ruminants (MoSAR), Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique (INRA)-AgroParisTech, Temple Grandin, Mark J. Deesing, Unité Mixte de Recherches sur les Herbivores - UMR 1213 (UMRH), VetAgro Sup - Institut national d'enseignement supérieur et de recherche en alimentation, santé animale, sciences agronomiques et de l'environnement (VAS)-AgroSup Dijon - Institut National Supérieur des Sciences Agronomiques, de l'Alimentation et de l'Environnement-Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique (INRA), Unité Mixte de Recherches sur les Herbivores ( UMR 1213 Herbivores ), VetAgro Sup ( VAS ) -AgroSup Dijon - Institut National Supérieur des Sciences Agronomiques, de l'Alimentation et de l'Environnement-Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique ( INRA ), Modélisation Systémique Appliquée aux Ruminants ( MoSAR ), and Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique ( INRA ) -AgroParisTech
Subjects: cognition, [SDV.SA]Life Sciences [q-bio]/Agricultural sciences, media_common.quotation_subject, emotion, pleasure, Developmental psychology, Pleasure, 03 medical and health sciences, 0302 clinical medicine, appraisal, Perception, Personality, Relevance (law), positive welfare, Adaptation (computer science), [ SDV.SA ] Life Sciences [q-bio]/Agricultural sciences, media_common, Animal Welfare (journal), 0402 animal and dairy science, Cognition, health, 04 agricultural and veterinary sciences, 040201 dairy & animal science, farm animal, personality, fear, Psychology, Welfare, 030217 neurology & neurosurgery
Abstract: This chapter provides an overview of the current behavioral and cognitive aspects of emotions in animals and explore the impacts of emotional experiences on the animal's adaptation to its current challenging circumstances. There is evidence that animal welfare results from the animal's perception of its environment and its background. The chapter is structured in four complementary sections. The first one addresses the nature of emotions that the animals can feel which is validated from commonalties in physiological and behavioral responses to dangers across and within species. The second section presents advanced features of the relationships between cognition and emotions originally studied in humans, which are now developed in animals to better access their affective states. The third section is devoted to the relevance of the personality concept, as resulting from both genetics and developmental experience, for assessing animal individuality in emotional behaviors and stress. The last section explores some approaches that can alleviate fear and induce positive affective states, with the potential to mitigate detrimental stress-induced effects on the welfare and health status by eliciting positive emotions in animals.
Published: 2014
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29. Short- and long-term effects of unpredictable repeated negative stimuli on Japanese quail's fear of humans

Author: Sophie Lumineau, Alain Boissy, Agathe Laurence, Christine Leterrier, Cécile Arnould, Ludovic Calandreau, Cécilia Houdelier, Ethologie animale et humaine (EthoS), Université de Rennes 1 (UR1), Université de Rennes (UNIV-RENNES)-Université de Rennes (UNIV-RENNES)-Université de Caen Normandie (UNICAEN), Normandie Université (NU)-Normandie Université (NU)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), Physiologie de la reproduction et des comportements [Nouzilly] (PRC), Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique (INRA)-Institut Français du Cheval et de l'Equitation [Saumur]-Université de Tours-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), Unité Mixte de Recherche sur les Herbivores - UMR 1213 (UMRH), VetAgro Sup - Institut national d'enseignement supérieur et de recherche en alimentation, santé animale, sciences agronomiques et de l'environnement (VAS)-Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique (INRA)-AgroSup Dijon - Institut National Supérieur des Sciences Agronomiques, de l'Alimentation et de l'Environnement, French National Research Agency (ANR), Emofarm Program [ANR-09BLAN-0339], ANR-09-BLAN-0339,EmoFarm,Modifications de la sensibilité émotionnelle et des capacités cognitives et sociales induites par le développement d'états affectifs durables chez les animaux d'élevage(2009), Ethologie animale et humaine ( EthoS ), Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique ( CNRS ) -Université de Rennes 1 ( UR1 ), Université de Rennes ( UNIV-RENNES ) -Université de Rennes ( UNIV-RENNES ) -Université de Caen Normandie ( UNICAEN ), Normandie Université ( NU ) -Normandie Université ( NU ), Physiologie de la reproduction et des comportements [Nouzilly] ( PRC ), Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique ( INRA ) -Institut Français du Cheval et de l'Equitation [Saumur]-Université de Tours-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique ( CNRS ), Unité Mixte de Recherches sur les Herbivores ( UMR 1213 Herbivores ), VetAgro Sup ( VAS ) -AgroSup Dijon - Institut National Supérieur des Sciences Agronomiques, de l'Alimentation et de l'Environnement-Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique ( INRA ), ANR-09-BLAN-0339,EmoFarm,Modifications de la sensibilité émotionnelle et des capacités cognitives et sociales induites par le développement d'états affectifs durables chez les animaux d'élevage ( 2009 ), Université de Caen Normandie (UNICAEN), Normandie Université (NU)-Normandie Université (NU)-Université de Rennes 1 (UR1), Université de Rennes (UNIV-RENNES)-Université de Rennes (UNIV-RENNES)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Université de Tours-Institut Français du Cheval et de l'Equitation [Saumur]-Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique (INRA), Unité Mixte de Recherches sur les Herbivores - UMR 1213 (UMRH), VetAgro Sup - Institut national d'enseignement supérieur et de recherche en alimentation, santé animale, sciences agronomiques et de l'environnement (VAS)-AgroSup Dijon - Institut National Supérieur des Sciences Agronomiques, de l'Alimentation et de l'Environnement-Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique (INRA), Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique (INRA)-Institut Français du Cheval et de l'Equitation [Saumur]-Université de Tours (UT)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), Normandie Université (NU)-Normandie Université (NU)-Université de Rennes (UR)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique (INRA)-Institut Français du Cheval et de l'Equitation [Saumur] (IFCE)-Université de Tours (UT)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), and Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique (INRA)-VetAgro Sup - Institut national d'enseignement supérieur et de recherche en alimentation, santé animale, sciences agronomiques et de l'environnement (VAS)
Subjects: Time Factors, Physiology, lcsh:Medicine, Molting, medicine.disease_cause, comportement animal, Poultry, stimuli, Postural control, Psychological stress, Habituation, Animal Husbandry, lcsh:Science, Small Animals, Animal Management, Avian Biology, Multidisciplinary, biology, Animal Behavior, Behavior, Animal, Agriculture, Anatomy, Fear, habituation, Quail, Physical Sciences, embryonic structures, peur de l'homme, Human learning, Statistics (Mathematics), Autre (Sciences du Vivant), Research Article, [SDV.OT]Life Sciences [q-bio]/Other [q-bio.OT], animal structures, Animal Types, Biostatistics, Body weight, Animal Welfare, Birds, Quails, biology.animal, caille japonaise, medicine, Animals, Humans, [ SDV.OT ] Life Sciences [q-bio]/Other [q-bio.OT], Statistical Methods, Habituation, Psychophysiologic, Behavior, lcsh:R, Biology and Life Sciences, Human being, Animal Feed, comportement humain, lcsh:Q, Veterinary Science, Zoology, test comportemental, Mathematics
Abstract: International audience; Numerous aversive events occur in poultry production, and if repeated and unpredictable, can result in an impaired welfare. Some events such as handling can be perceived negatively and it is of interest to understand how humans' behaviour could affect poultry's behaviours and especially its avoidance of humans. Our aim was to evaluate short- and long-lasting effects of a 3-week procedure involving unpredictable repeated negative stimuli (URNS) applied during the post-juvenile period on quail's reactivity to humans. We compared the reactions of two sets of quail: URNS was applied to one set (treated quail) and the other set was left undisturbed (control quail). When two weeks old, treated quail were exposed to a variety of negative stimuli, either applied automatically or involving human presence. One and seven weeks after the termination of the procedure, the reactivity of control and treated quail to a passive human being was evaluated. Furthermore, the experimenter with her hand on a trough containing a mealworm assessed the propensity of quail of both groups to habituate to feed close to a human being. In the presence of a seated observer, treated quail were more inhibited and more alert than control quail. Likewise, seven weeks after the end of the URNS procedure, more treated than control quail adopted a fear posture. Moreover, whereas control quail spent as much time in the different areas of their cages, treated quail spent more time in the rear part of their cages. Finally, whereas control quail habituated gradually to feed near the experimenter's hand, treated quail did not. All these tests evidence negative short- and long-term effects on treated quail's reactivity to a passive human being and on their habituation to a human being when her presence is positively reinforced. This highlights the importance of young poultry's experience with humans in production.
Published: 2014
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30. Identification of QTLs for behavioral reactivity to social separation and humans in sheep using the OvineSNP50 BeadChip

Author: D. Hazard, Dominique François, Jacques Bouix, Didier Foulquié, C. R. Moreno, Guillaume Sallé, Alain Boissy, Eric Delval, Génétique Physiologie et Systèmes d'Elevage (GenPhySE ), École nationale supérieure agronomique de Toulouse [ENSAT]-Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique (INRA)-Ecole Nationale Vétérinaire de Toulouse (ENVT), Institut National Polytechnique (Toulouse) (Toulouse INP), Université Fédérale Toulouse Midi-Pyrénées-Université Fédérale Toulouse Midi-Pyrénées-Institut National Polytechnique (Toulouse) (Toulouse INP), Université Fédérale Toulouse Midi-Pyrénées-Université Fédérale Toulouse Midi-Pyrénées, Domaine expérimental de La Fage (LA FAGE), Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique (INRA), Unité Mixte de Recherche sur les Herbivores - UMR 1213 (UMRH), and Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique (INRA)-VetAgro Sup - Institut national d'enseignement supérieur et de recherche en alimentation, santé animale, sciences agronomiques et de l'environnement (VAS)-AgroSup Dijon - Institut National Supérieur des Sciences Agronomiques, de l'Alimentation et de l'Environnement
Subjects: Male, caractère, Candidate gene, sheep, [SDV.BIO]Life Sciences [q-bio]/Biotechnology, mouton, Genetic Linkage, medicine.medical_treatment, Animal-assisted therapy, Genome-wide association study, Biotechnologies, Biology, Quantitative trait locus, cortisol, réactivité émotionnelle, gregariousness, comportement animal, Quantitative Trait, Heritable, Genetic linkage, grégarisme, medicine, Genetics, Animals, Humans, human, Social isolation, Social Behavior, behavioral reactivity, Ovis, Genetic Association Studies, quantitative trait loci, 2. Zero hunger, Models, Statistical, Behavior, Animal, génome, biology.organism_classification, Phenotype, Female, medicine.symptom, relation homme animal, Social behavior, Genome-Wide Association Study, Research Article, Biotechnology
Abstract: Background Current trends in sheep farming practices rely on animals with a greater level of behavioral autonomy than before, a phenotype that actively contributes to the sustainability of animal production. Social reactivity and reactivity to humans are relevant behavioral traits in sheep, known for their strong gregariousness and weak tolerance to handling, which have previously been reported with moderate to high heritabilities. To identify loci underlying such behaviors, we performed a genome study in Romane lambs. Results The experiment was carried out on 934 male and female lambs allocated into 9 half-sib families (average of 103 lambs per family) and reared outside. After weaning, all the lambs were individually exposed to 4 standardized behavioral tests combining social isolation, exposure to humans or handling, confinement and novelty (i.e. arena test, corridor test, isolation box test, shearing test). A broad range of behaviors including vocalizations, locomotion, vigilance and flight distance, as well as the cortisol response to handling, were collected. All lambs were genotyped using the Illumina OvineSNP50 BeadChip. QTL detection was performed by linkage, association and joint linkage and association analyses using the QTLmap software. Five main QTL regions were identified on sheep chromosomes (Ovis Aries Region, OAR) 12, 16, 19, 21 and 23 among many other QTLs with small to moderate effects. The QTLs on OAR12, 16 and 21 showed significant associations with social reactivity. The QTLs on OAR19 and 23 were found to be associated with reactivity to humans. No overlapping QTLs were identified for the different traits measured in the behavioral tests, supporting the hypothesis that different genetic factors influence social reactivity and tolerance to humans. Conclusion The results of this study using ovine SNP data suggest that in domestic sheep the behavioral responses to social separation and exposure to humans are under polygenic influence. The most relevant QTLs reported in the present study contain interesting candidate genes previously described to be associated with various emotional and social behaviors in mammals. Electronic supplementary material The online version of this article (doi:10.1186/1471-2164-15-778) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.
Published: 2014
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31. Behavioural and physiological reactions of piglets to gentle tactile interactions vary according to their previous experience with humans

Author: Kardiatou Sy, Armelle Prunier, Céline Tallet, Alain Boissy, Xavier Boivin, Raymond Nowak, Physiologie, Environnement et Génétique pour l'Animal et les Systèmes d'Elevage [Rennes] (PEGASE), Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique (INRA)-AGROCAMPUS OUEST, Institut national d'enseignement supérieur pour l'agriculture, l'alimentation et l'environnement (Institut Agro)-Institut national d'enseignement supérieur pour l'agriculture, l'alimentation et l'environnement (Institut Agro), Physiologie de la reproduction et des comportements [Nouzilly] (PRC), Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique (INRA)-Institut Français du Cheval et de l'Equitation [Saumur]-Université de Tours (UT)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), Université Francois Rabelais [Tours], Institut Français du Cheval et de l'Equitation, Unité Mixte de Recherche sur les Herbivores - UMR 1213 (UMRH), VetAgro Sup - Institut national d'enseignement supérieur et de recherche en alimentation, santé animale, sciences agronomiques et de l'environnement (VAS)-Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique (INRA)-AgroSup Dijon - Institut National Supérieur des Sciences Agronomiques, de l'Alimentation et de l'Environnement, UMR 1348 Physiologie, Environnement et Génétique pour l'Animal et les Systèmes d'Elevage, Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique (INRA)-AGROCAMPUS OUEST-Physiologie, Environnement et Génétique pour l'Animal et les Systèmes d'Elevage [Rennes] (PEGASE), AGROCAMPUS OUEST-Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique (INRA)-Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique (INRA)-Génétique animale (G.A.)-Physiologie Animale et Systèmes d'Elevage (PHASE), Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique (INRA), AGROCAMPUS OUEST-Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique (INRA), Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Université de Tours-Institut Français du Cheval et de l'Equitation [Saumur]-Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique (INRA), Unité Mixte de Recherches sur les Herbivores - UMR 1213 (UMRH), VetAgro Sup - Institut national d'enseignement supérieur et de recherche en alimentation, santé animale, sciences agronomiques et de l'environnement (VAS)-AgroSup Dijon - Institut National Supérieur des Sciences Agronomiques, de l'Alimentation et de l'Environnement-Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique (INRA), Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique (INRA)-AGROCAMPUS OUEST-Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique (INRA)-Génétique animale (G.A.)-Physiologie Animale et Systèmes d'Elevage (PHASE), Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique ( INRA ) -AGROCAMPUS OUEST-Physiologie, Environnement et Génétique pour l'Animal et les Systèmes d'Elevage [Rennes] ( PEGASE ), Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique ( INRA ) -AGROCAMPUS OUEST-Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique ( INRA ) -Génétique animale ( G.A. ) -Physiologie Animale et Systèmes d'Elevage ( PHASE ), Physiologie, Environnement et Génétique pour l'Animal et les Systèmes d'Elevage [Rennes] ( PEGASE ), Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique ( INRA ) -AGROCAMPUS OUEST, Physiologie de la reproduction et des comportements [Nouzilly] ( PRC ), Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique ( INRA ) -Institut Français du Cheval et de l'Equitation [Saumur]-Université de Tours-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique ( CNRS ), Unité Mixte de Recherches sur les Herbivores ( UMR 1213 Herbivores ), VetAgro Sup ( VAS ) -AgroSup Dijon - Institut National Supérieur des Sciences Agronomiques, de l'Alimentation et de l'Environnement-Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique ( INRA ), AGROCAMPUS OUEST, Institut national d'enseignement supérieur pour l'agriculture, l'alimentation et l'environnement (Institut Agro)-Institut national d'enseignement supérieur pour l'agriculture, l'alimentation et l'environnement (Institut Agro)-Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique (INRA), and Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique (INRA)-Institut Français du Cheval et de l'Equitation [Saumur]-Université de Tours-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)
Subjects: medicine.medical_specialty, animal diseases, Cardiac activity, cortisolémie, [ SDV.BA ] Life Sciences [q-bio]/Animal biology, Sitting, comportement animal, Weaned piglets, Biologie animale, Medicine, Weaning, 0501 psychology and cognitive sciences, 050102 behavioral science & comparative psychology, Salivary cortisol, Animal biology, General Veterinary, integumentary system, business.industry, [SDV.BA]Life Sciences [q-bio]/Animal biology, 05 social sciences, 0402 animal and dairy science, Minimal contact, 04 agricultural and veterinary sciences, Scratching, 040201 dairy & animal science, Surgery, interaction animal homme, Anesthesia, Animal Science and Zoology, Body region, relation homme animal, business, activité cardiaque, porc
Abstract: Providing piglets with repeated stroking and brushing leads to behaviours of affinity towards their handler, but there is still no evidence of physiological modifications. In addition, other tactile stimulations like scratching have not yet been studied while there are used by pig-keepers. Thus, the present experiment aimed at determining the consequences of stroking and scratching weaned piglets on their later behavioural, cortisol and cardiac responses to human presence and gentle tactile interactions. Four groups of four piglets were weaned at 28 days of age (Day 0) and handled twice a day for 10 min, five days a week, from Day 1 to 28. Handling consisted in standing for 30 s, sitting for 1 min and then stroking and scratching each piglet for 2 min. Four groups of four piglets were used as controls and received only the minimal contact for routine husbandry practices. Behavioural reactions to the presence of the handler in the home pen (Day 25) and to her presence and departure in an arena test (Days 26–27) were observed. Behavioural and cardiac responses to the handler’s presence and contact were compared in a test pen (Days 33–35). Salivary cortisol levels were measured in another test pen after 15-min of either contact with the handler or isolation (Days 40–43). In the home pen, handled piglets investigated sooner the handler (P0.05). Overall this study shows that scratching and stroking piglets during three weeks after weaning changed the way that they interacted with the handler, being more attracted than control piglets. However, there was no clear difference in cardiac reactions to scratching and stroking between handled and control piglets, suggesting that these contacts are perceived positively, regardless of the previous experience. The body region stimulated may be of importance but it needs further investigation.
Published: 2014
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32. Emotionality modulates the effect of chronic stress on feeding behaviour in birds

Author: Agathe Laurence, Aline Bertin, Cécilia Houdelier, Alain Boissy, Bernard Gaultier, Sophie Lumineau, Cécile Arnould, Angélique Favreau-Peigné, Paul Constantin, Ludovic Calandreau, Marie-Annick Richard-Yris, Christine Leterrier, Modélisation Systémique Appliquée aux Ruminants ( MoSAR ), Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique ( INRA ) -AgroParisTech, Physiologie de la reproduction et des comportements [Nouzilly] ( PRC ), Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique ( INRA ) -Institut Français du Cheval et de l'Equitation [Saumur]-Université de Tours-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique ( CNRS ), Pôle d'Expérimentation Avicole de Tours ( PEAT ), Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique ( INRA ), Ethologie animale et humaine ( EthoS ), Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique ( CNRS ) -Université de Rennes 1 ( UR1 ), Université de Rennes ( UNIV-RENNES ) -Université de Rennes ( UNIV-RENNES ) -Université de Caen Normandie ( UNICAEN ), Normandie Université ( NU ) -Normandie Université ( NU ), Unité Mixte de Recherches sur les Herbivores ( UMR 1213 Herbivores ), VetAgro Sup ( VAS ) -AgroSup Dijon - Institut National Supérieur des Sciences Agronomiques, de l'Alimentation et de l'Environnement-Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique ( INRA ), ANR-09-BLAN-0339 - EmoFarm, ANR-09-BLAN-0339,EmoFarm,Modifications de la sensibilité émotionnelle et des capacités cognitives et sociales induites par le développement d'états affectifs durables chez les animaux d'élevage ( 2009 ), Favreau Peigne, Angélique, Modélisation Systémique Appliquée aux Ruminants (MoSAR), Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique (INRA)-AgroParisTech, Physiologie de la reproduction et des comportements [Nouzilly] (PRC), Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique (INRA)-Institut Français du Cheval et de l'Equitation [Saumur]-Université de Tours-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), Pôle d'Expérimentation Avicole de Tours (UE PEAT), Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique (INRA), Ethologie animale et humaine (EthoS), Université de Rennes 1 (UR1), Université de Rennes (UNIV-RENNES)-Université de Rennes (UNIV-RENNES)-Université de Caen Normandie (UNICAEN), Normandie Université (NU)-Normandie Université (NU)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), Unité Mixte de Recherche sur les Herbivores - UMR 1213 (UMRH), VetAgro Sup - Institut national d'enseignement supérieur et de recherche en alimentation, santé animale, sciences agronomiques et de l'environnement (VAS)-Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique (INRA)-AgroSup Dijon - Institut National Supérieur des Sciences Agronomiques, de l'Alimentation et de l'Environnement, ANR-09-BLAN-0339,EmoFarm,Modifications de la sensibilité émotionnelle et des capacités cognitives et sociales induites par le développement d'états affectifs durables chez les animaux d'élevage(2009), Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Université de Tours-Institut Français du Cheval et de l'Equitation [Saumur]-Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique (INRA), Pôle d'Expérimentation Avicole de Tours (PEAT), Université de Caen Normandie (UNICAEN), Normandie Université (NU)-Normandie Université (NU)-Université de Rennes 1 (UR1), Université de Rennes (UNIV-RENNES)-Université de Rennes (UNIV-RENNES)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), Unité Mixte de Recherches sur les Herbivores - UMR 1213 (UMRH), VetAgro Sup - Institut national d'enseignement supérieur et de recherche en alimentation, santé animale, sciences agronomiques et de l'environnement (VAS)-AgroSup Dijon - Institut National Supérieur des Sciences Agronomiques, de l'Alimentation et de l'Environnement-Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique (INRA), Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique (INRA)-Institut Français du Cheval et de l'Equitation [Saumur]-Université de Tours (UT)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique (INRA)-Institut Français du Cheval et de l'Equitation [Saumur] (IFCE)-Université de Tours (UT)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), Normandie Université (NU)-Normandie Université (NU)-Université de Rennes (UR)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), and Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique (INRA)-VetAgro Sup - Institut national d'enseignement supérieur et de recherche en alimentation, santé animale, sciences agronomiques et de l'environnement (VAS)
Subjects: Time Factors, Animal Nutrition, [ SDV.AEN ] Life Sciences [q-bio]/Food and Nutrition, émotion, lcsh:Medicine, Physiology, Social and Behavioral Sciences, [ SDV.BA ] Life Sciences [q-bio]/Animal biology, Psychology, Chronic stress, lcsh:Science, Reactivity (psychology), Hypocaloric diet, Animal Management, Animal biology, Multidisciplinary, Animal Behavior, comportement alimentaire, Reproduction, [SDV.BA]Life Sciences [q-bio]/Animal biology, Agriculture, Adaptation, Physiological, Quail, anhedonia, Mental Health, Alimentation et Nutrition, Medicine, Female, Analysis of variance, medicine.symptom, Research Article, Daily intake, Psychological Stress, emotion, Biology, Animal Welfare, motivation, Emotionality, biology.animal, Biologie animale, medicine, Genetics, caille japonaise, oiseau, Animals, Food and Nutrition, chronic stress, Analysis of Variance, Evolutionary Biology, lcsh:R, Body Weight, Anhedonia, Feeding Behavior, quail, genetic, stress chronique, lcsh:Q, Veterinary Science, Animal Genetics, Zoology, [SDV.AEN]Life Sciences [q-bio]/Food and Nutrition, Stress, Psychological
Abstract: International audience; Chronic stress is a long-lasting negative emotional state that induces negative consequences on animals' psycho-physiological state. This study aimed at assessing whether unpredictable and repeated negative stimuli (URNS) influence feeding behaviour in quail. Sixty-four quail were exposed to URNS from day 17 to 40, while 64 quail were undisturbed. Two lines divergently selected on their inherent emotionality were used to assess the effect of genetic factors on the sensitivity to URNS. All quail were submitted to a sequential feeding procedure (using two diets of different energetic values) which placed them in a contrasting situation. Behavioural tests were performed to assess the emotional reactivity of the two lines. Results confirmed that differences exist between them and that their emotional reactivity was enhanced by URNS. Diet preferences, motivation and daily intake were also measured. URNS did not change the preferences for the hypercaloric diet compared to the hypocaloric diet in choice tests, but they reduced daily intakes in both lines. Motivations for each diet were differently affected by URNS: they decreased the motivation to eat the hypercaloric diet in quail selected for their low inherent fearfulness whereas they increased the motivation to eat the hypocaloric diet in quail selected for their high inherent fearfulness, which suggested a devaluation process in the former and a compensatory behaviour in the later. Growth was furthermore reduced and laying delayed by URNS in both lines. In conclusion, the exposure to URNS induced interesting changes in feeding behaviour added with an increase in emotional reactivity and an alteration of production parameters. This confirms that both lines of quail experienced a chronic stress state. However differences in feed motivation and emotional reactivity between lines under chronic stress suggested that they experienced different emotional state and use different ways to cope with it depending on their genetic background.
Published: 2014
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33. The valence of the long-lasting emotional experiences with various handlers modulates discrimination and generalization of individual humans in sheep1

Author: E. Delval, Xavier Boivin, Marjorie Coulon, Véronique Deiss, Alain Boissy, Alexandra Destrez, Unité Mixte de Recherche sur les Herbivores - UMR 1213 (UMRH), VetAgro Sup - Institut national d'enseignement supérieur et de recherche en alimentation, santé animale, sciences agronomiques et de l'environnement (VAS)-Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique (INRA)-AgroSup Dijon - Institut National Supérieur des Sciences Agronomiques, de l'Alimentation et de l'Environnement, ANR-09-BLAN-0339-01, Région Auvergne, Unité Mixte de Recherches sur les Herbivores - UMR 1213 (UMRH), and VetAgro Sup - Institut national d'enseignement supérieur et de recherche en alimentation, santé animale, sciences agronomiques et de l'environnement (VAS)-AgroSup Dijon - Institut National Supérieur des Sciences Agronomiques, de l'Alimentation et de l'Environnement-Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique (INRA)
Subjects: 2. Zero hunger, Long lasting, Treated group, [SDV]Life Sciences [q-bio], 05 social sciences, 0402 animal and dairy science, Positive interaction, 04 agricultural and veterinary sciences, General Medicine, Food delivery, 040201 dairy & animal science, lambs, Developmental psychology, welfare, [SDV.SA.SPA]Life Sciences [q-bio]/Agricultural sciences/Animal production studies, Genetics, 0501 psychology and cognitive sciences, Animal Science and Zoology, human-animal relationships, 050102 behavioral science & comparative psychology, Valence (psychology), Psychology, Food Science, Escape distance
Abstract: International audience; Between-farm variation in animal reactions to humans can reflect different management styles and behavioral tendencies among farmers. Animals are well known to discriminate among humans, but less clear is the key issue of whether they more or less easily generalize their experience from specific humans to others depending on management style. Here, we chose 2 contrasted management styles by known handlers: “gentle” management, that is, long-lasting exposure to positive human interactions (with limited negative interactions), and “aversive” management including long-lasting exposure to various negative human interactions (with only food delivery considered a positive interaction) and aversive events. Over a period of 19 wk, 15 female lambs were exposed to the gentle management treatment (“gently treated” group) and another 15 lambs (“aversively treated” group) were exposed to the aversive management treatment. To facilitate discrimination by animals, experimenters wore white clothes for aversive events and green clothes for farming handling (positive handling and feeding for the gently treated group and only feeding for the aversively treated group). Sheep perception of the human was assessed after the management period by submitting lambs from each group to 2 standardized tests: 1) the presence of a stationary human (familiar human in white vs. familiar human in green vs. unknown human) and 2) the presence of a moving human (familiar human in white vs. familiar human in green vs. unknown human). As expected, during the stationary human test, aversively treated lambs spent less time in the human zone (P < 0.0001), showed greater latency to approach the human (P = 0.05), and had fewer contacts with the human (P = 0.05) than gently treated lambs. During the moving human test, aversively treated lambs also showed a greater escape distance from humans than gently treated lambs (P < 0.0001). Aversively treated lambs showed the same fear responses towards familiar and unknown humans and tended to generalize their aversive experiences with one handler to all humans. In contrast, gently treated lambs seemed to discriminate familiar humans from unfamiliar humans. Different management styles could modulate farm generalization to humans in farm animals.
Published: 2013
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34. Human-lamb bonding: Oxytocin, cortisol and behavioural responses of lambs to human contacts and social separation

Author: Stéphane Andanson, Marjorie Coulon, Xavier Boivin, Alain Boissy, Pierre-Guy Marnet, Raymond Nowak, Christine Ravel, Unité Mixte de Recherche sur les Herbivores - UMR 1213 (UMRH), VetAgro Sup - Institut national d'enseignement supérieur et de recherche en alimentation, santé animale, sciences agronomiques et de l'environnement (VAS)-Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique (INRA)-AgroSup Dijon - Institut National Supérieur des Sciences Agronomiques, de l'Alimentation et de l'Environnement, Physiologie de la reproduction et des comportements [Nouzilly] (PRC), Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique (INRA)-Institut Français du Cheval et de l'Equitation [Saumur]-Université de Tours (UT)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), Université Francois Rabelais [Tours], Inst Francais Cheval & Equitat, Physiologie, Environnement et Génétique pour l'Animal et les Systèmes d'Elevage [Rennes] (PEGASE), AGROCAMPUS OUEST, Institut national d'enseignement supérieur pour l'agriculture, l'alimentation et l'environnement (Institut Agro)-Institut national d'enseignement supérieur pour l'agriculture, l'alimentation et l'environnement (Institut Agro)-Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique (INRA), Université européenne de Bretagne - European University of Brittany (UEB), AgenceNationale de la Recherche [NT09 492885], GDR 'Ethologie', Unité Mixte de Recherches sur les Herbivores - UMR 1213 (UMRH), VetAgro Sup - Institut national d'enseignement supérieur et de recherche en alimentation, santé animale, sciences agronomiques et de l'environnement (VAS)-AgroSup Dijon - Institut National Supérieur des Sciences Agronomiques, de l'Alimentation et de l'Environnement-Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique (INRA), Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Université de Tours-Institut Français du Cheval et de l'Equitation [Saumur]-Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique (INRA), UMR 1348 Physiologie, Environnement et Génétique pour l'Animal et les Systèmes d'Elevage, Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique (INRA)-AGROCAMPUS OUEST-Physiologie, Environnement et Génétique pour l'Animal et les Systèmes d'Elevage [Rennes] (PEGASE), Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique (INRA)-AGROCAMPUS OUEST-Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique (INRA)-Génétique animale (G.A.)-Physiologie Animale et Systèmes d'Elevage (PHASE), Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique (INRA), Unité Mixte de Recherches sur les Herbivores ( UMR 1213 Herbivores ), VetAgro Sup ( VAS ) -AgroSup Dijon - Institut National Supérieur des Sciences Agronomiques, de l'Alimentation et de l'Environnement-Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique ( INRA ), Physiologie de la reproduction et des comportements [Nouzilly] ( PRC ), Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique ( INRA ) -Institut Français du Cheval et de l'Equitation [Saumur]-Université de Tours-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique ( CNRS ), Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique ( INRA ) -AGROCAMPUS OUEST-Physiologie, Environnement et Génétique pour l'Animal et les Systèmes d'Elevage [Rennes] ( PEGASE ), Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique ( INRA ) -AGROCAMPUS OUEST-Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique ( INRA ) -Génétique animale ( G.A. ) -Physiologie Animale et Systèmes d'Elevage ( PHASE ), Université européenne de Bretagne ( UEB ), Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique (INRA)-Institut Français du Cheval et de l'Equitation [Saumur]-Université de Tours-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), and AGROCAMPUS OUEST-Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique (INRA)-Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique (INRA)-Génétique animale (G.A.)-Physiologie Animale et Systèmes d'Elevage (PHASE)
Subjects: Hydrocortisone, Endocrinology, Diabetes and Metabolism, [SDV]Life Sciences [q-bio], PROLACTIN, Oxytocin, Cortisol, 0302 clinical medicine, Endocrinology, STROKING, Animal Husbandry, Social isolation, Cortisol level, DAIRY-COWS, Behavior, Animal, STRESS RESPONSES, Human-Animal Bond, DIFFERENT BODY REGIONS, 04 agricultural and veterinary sciences, Lambs, ATTACHMENT, Psychiatry and Mental health, Social Isolation, Tactile contact, Female, medicine.symptom, Psychology, medicine.drug, medicine.medical_specialty, HEART-RATE, Stress, STOCKPERSON, 03 medical and health sciences, DISTRESS, Internal medicine, medicine, Animals, Humans, Artificial feeding, Behaviour, Biological Psychiatry, [ SDV ] Life Sciences [q-bio], Endocrine and Autonomic Systems, 0402 animal and dairy science, 040201 dairy & animal science, Prolactin, Human-animal relationship, SHEEP, 030217 neurology & neurosurgery
Abstract: Summary Friendly interactions between humans and animals such as gentling or petting have been shown to have positive behavioural and physiological consequences in many species. In primates, rodents and dogs, oxytocin has been associated with tactile contact and anti-stress effects that may influence bonding and responses to stress situations. However the activation of the oxytocinergic system in other human–animal interactions such as with herbivores, had not yet been studied. Sixteen female lambs were reared by artificial feeding reinforced with 3× 30 s daily stroking sessions. At 6 weeks of age, the test consisted in measuring first plasma oxytocin and cortisol responses in lambs during a first 6-min phase in the home pen where the familiar caregiver gently stroked the lamb, and then physiological and behavioural responses in a test pen during a 20-min – phase of social isolation followed by a 20-min – phase of reunion with its familiar caregiver. The lambs expressed behavioural agitation during the whole period of isolation. A strong affiliative response towards the human and a sustained reduction of the agitation behaviour were observed during reunion. Lambs’ behaviours when isolated and when in contact with the human were correlated suggesting a response to social separation from the familiar caregiver more than to social isolation from congeners. No significant changes in cortisol levels were observed during the test. Oxytocin levels did not vary during human contact, but increased when the familiar caregiver left the lamb alone in the test pen. In conclusion, lambs displayed affiliative responses towards their caregiver, and the lack of cortisol response during isolation while oxytocin was released suggest an anti-stress effect of oxytocin.
Published: 2013
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35. Leaders of spontaneous group movements influence whole-group social organization: an experimental study on grazing heifers

Author: Joël Chadœuf, Bertrand Dumont, Alain Boissy, Lia Della-Rossa, Unité Mixte de Recherche sur les Herbivores - UMR 1213 (UMRH), VetAgro Sup - Institut national d'enseignement supérieur et de recherche en alimentation, santé animale, sciences agronomiques et de l'environnement (VAS)-Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique (INRA)-AgroSup Dijon - Institut National Supérieur des Sciences Agronomiques, de l'Alimentation et de l'Environnement, Biostatistique et Processus Spatiaux (BioSP), Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique (INRA), and Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique (INRA)-VetAgro Sup - Institut national d'enseignement supérieur et de recherche en alimentation, santé animale, sciences agronomiques et de l'environnement (VAS)
Subjects: 0106 biological sciences, leadership, SELECTION, [SDV]Life Sciences [q-bio], CATTLE, DECISION-MAKING, dominance, 010603 evolutionary biology, 01 natural sciences, [SHS]Humanities and Social Sciences, Behavioral Neuroscience, Group cohesiveness, Social grooming, 0501 psychology and cognitive sciences, [INFO]Computer Science [cs], 050102 behavioral science & comparative psychology, cohesion index, [MATH]Mathematics [math], Association (psychology), Social organization, Distributed leadership, affinities, Group (mathematics), group manipulation, 05 social sciences, ANIMALS, Dominance hierarchy, CAPUCHIN MONKEYS, INDIVIDUALS, Dominance (ethology), GROUP DEPARTURES, SHEEP, Animal Science and Zoology, Social psychology, BEHAVIOR, FOLLOWERS
Abstract: International audience; Group-living animals have to reach consensus decisions through recruitment processes while collectively exploiting food resources in heterogeneous environments. In farming conditions, the group compositions are frequently modified, which can force the animals to readjust their collective strategies, e.g., when group leaders are removed. We, therefore, conducted a group-manipulation experiment for testing how the loss of the individual with the highest leadership score in spontaneous group movements is likely to influence decision-making and whole-group social organization. Observations were carried out in two groups of nine familiar heifers, as using animals of the same age-class simplifies the analysis of the proximate determinants of leadership. Under the hypothesis of distributed leadership, we expected the emergence of a new leader but no change in social relationships due to the stability of dominance hierarchy and affinities among the familiar remaining heifers. Both group leaders were heifers that had a low cohesion index and expressed few allogrooming interactions. Leadership did not relate to position in the dominance hierarchy. After removing the leader and replacing it with a familiar peer, the number of spontaneous group movements decreased by 40% in both groups, and no new leader emerged. Both groups maintained a structure after leader removal but the distribution of pairwise association was modified. Allogrooming interactions dropped by nearly 60% in one group and their overall distribution were modified in the other group. These findings demonstrate interrelations between various social traits even in the case of same-age herbivore groups - and difficulties with rapidly reaching a new consensus for maintaining synchronized activity and group cohesion.
Published: 2013
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36. Chronic stress induces pessimistic-like judgment and learning deficits in sheep

Author: Caroline Lee, Véronique Deiss, Alain Boissy, Frédéric Lévy, Ludovic Calandreau, Elodie Chaillou-Sagon, Alexandra Destrez, Unité Mixte de Recherche sur les Herbivores - UMR 1213 (UMRH), VetAgro Sup - Institut national d'enseignement supérieur et de recherche en alimentation, santé animale, sciences agronomiques et de l'environnement (VAS)-Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique (INRA)-AgroSup Dijon - Institut National Supérieur des Sciences Agronomiques, de l'Alimentation et de l'Environnement, Physiologie de la reproduction et des comportements [Nouzilly] (PRC), Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique (INRA)-Institut Français du Cheval et de l'Equitation [Saumur]-Université de Tours-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), Animal, Food and Health Sciences, Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation [Canberra] (CSIRO), ANR, Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique (INRA)-Institut Français du Cheval et de l'Equitation [Saumur]-Université de Tours (UT)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), Unité Mixte de Recherches sur les Herbivores - UMR 1213 (UMRH), VetAgro Sup - Institut national d'enseignement supérieur et de recherche en alimentation, santé animale, sciences agronomiques et de l'environnement (VAS)-AgroSup Dijon - Institut National Supérieur des Sciences Agronomiques, de l'Alimentation et de l'Environnement-Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique (INRA), Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Université de Tours-Institut Français du Cheval et de l'Equitation [Saumur]-Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique (INRA), Unité Mixte de Recherches sur les Herbivores ( UMR 1213 Herbivores ), VetAgro Sup ( VAS ) -AgroSup Dijon - Institut National Supérieur des Sciences Agronomiques, de l'Alimentation et de l'Environnement-Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique ( INRA ), Physiologie de la reproduction et des comportements [Nouzilly] ( PRC ), Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique ( INRA ) -Institut Français du Cheval et de l'Equitation [Saumur]-Université de Tours-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique ( CNRS ), and Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation
Subjects: sheep, Visual perception, cognitive bias, medicine.medical_treatment, media_common.quotation_subject, [SDV]Life Sciences [q-bio], Animal-assisted therapy, emotion, Pessimism, Developmental psychology, 03 medical and health sciences, 0302 clinical medicine, Food Animals, medicine, 0501 psychology and cognitive sciences, Chronic stress, 050102 behavioral science & comparative psychology, judgment, media_common, chronic stress, learning, Recall, [ SDV ] Life Sciences [q-bio], 05 social sciences, Cognitive bias, Test (assessment), HUBzero, Animal Science and Zoology, Psychology, 030217 neurology & neurosurgery
Abstract: Concernant l'affiliation Inra "Physiologie de la reproduction et des comportements" : le codique 6175 indiqué sur la publication est erroné. Le bon codique est 0085.; Chronic stress can be described as a long-term negative affective state induced by an accumulation of negative emotional experiences that alters an individual's interactions with the environment. In humans, chronic stress induces both persistent judgment biases and learning deficits. We investigated whether similar cognitive biases could occur in sheep. Twenty-four lambs were subjected to a chronic stress treatment for 9 weeks (exposure to various unpredictable, uncontrollable and aversive events regularly encountered in ordinary agricultural practices) and 24 other lambs were used as a control group. Before treatment all the lambs had been trained to approach or avoid a food bucket depending on its location. After treatment, the lambs were individually exposed to two tests: (i) a food bucket approach/avoidance test, by testing the response of lambs to ambiguous locations of the bucket, i.e. a judgment bias test, (ii) a learning test consisting of training on six consecutive days to distinguish between two visual stimuli differing in their color and shape (acquisition phase) and re-exposure to the test conditions 2 days after the end of the acquisition phase (recall phase). In the judgment bias test, treated lambs took longer to approach the ambiguous locations of the bucket. During the learning test, treated lambs had lower numbers of correct choices than control lambs in the acquisition and recall phase. Hence sheep experiencing repeated aversive events demonstrated pessimistic-like judgment biases and learning deficits. These may be useful measures to assess long-term emotional states in animals.
Published: 2013
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37. Long-term exposure to unpredictable and uncontrollable aversive events alters fearfulness in sheep

Author: Alain Boissy, Christine Leterrier, Alexandra Destrez, Xavier Boivin, Véronique Deiss, Unité Mixte de Recherches sur les Herbivores - UMR 1213 (UMRH), VetAgro Sup - Institut national d'enseignement supérieur et de recherche en alimentation, santé animale, sciences agronomiques et de l'environnement (VAS)-AgroSup Dijon - Institut National Supérieur des Sciences Agronomiques, de l'Alimentation et de l'Environnement-Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique (INRA), Physiologie de la reproduction et des comportements [Nouzilly] (PRC), Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Université de Tours-Institut Français du Cheval et de l'Equitation [Saumur]-Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique (INRA), French National Research Agency [ANR-09-BLAN-0339-01], Region Auvergne, Unité Mixte de Recherches sur les Herbivores ( UMR 1213 Herbivores ), VetAgro Sup ( VAS ) -AgroSup Dijon - Institut National Supérieur des Sciences Agronomiques, de l'Alimentation et de l'Environnement-Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique ( INRA ), Physiologie de la reproduction et des comportements [Nouzilly] ( PRC ), Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique ( INRA ) -Institut Français du Cheval et de l'Equitation [Saumur]-Université de Tours-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique ( CNRS ), Unité Mixte de Recherche sur les Herbivores - UMR 1213 (UMRH), VetAgro Sup - Institut national d'enseignement supérieur et de recherche en alimentation, santé animale, sciences agronomiques et de l'environnement (VAS)-Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique (INRA)-AgroSup Dijon - Institut National Supérieur des Sciences Agronomiques, de l'Alimentation et de l'Environnement, Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique (INRA)-Institut Français du Cheval et de l'Equitation [Saumur]-Université de Tours (UT)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), and Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique (INRA)-Institut Français du Cheval et de l'Equitation [Saumur]-Université de Tours-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)
Subjects: sheep, Hydrocortisone, media_common.quotation_subject, Physiology, emotion, Handling, Psychological, Social Environment, Leukocyte Counts, SF1-1100, Leukocyte Count, stress, Heart Rate, Heart rate, medicine, Animals, 0501 psychology and cognitive sciences, Chronic stress, 050102 behavioral science & comparative psychology, Cortisol level, media_common, 2. Zero hunger, Analysis of Variance, [SDV.BA.MVSA]Life Sciences [q-bio]/Animal biology/Veterinary medicine and animal Health, 05 social sciences, 0402 animal and dairy science, Novelty, biomarkers, Fear, 04 agricultural and veterinary sciences, 040201 dairy & animal science, Treatment period, Animal culture, fearfulness, farm animal, Female, Animal Science and Zoology, Temperament, [ SDV.BA.MVSA ] Life Sciences [q-bio]/Animal biology/Veterinary medicine and animal Health, Stress, Psychological, medicine.drug
Abstract: Numerous studies have investigated the emotional effects of various acute, potentially alarming events in animals, but little is known about how an accumulation of emotional experiences affects fearfulness. Fearfulness is a temperament trait that characterizes the propensity of an individual to be frightened by a variety of alarming events. The aim of this study was to investigate a putative alteration of fearfulness in sheep repeatedly exposed to various aversive events. Forty-eight 5-month-old female lambs were used. Over a period of 6 weeks, 24 of them (treated group) were exposed daily to various unpredictable and uncontrollable aversive events related to predatory cues, social context and negative handling that can occur under farming conditions. The other 24 lambs (control group) were housed in standard farming conditions (predictable food distribution and group handling). Fearfulness (behavioural and physiological responses) was assessed before and after the treatment period by subjecting the lambs to three standardized tests: individual exposure to suddenness and then to novelty in a test arena, and group exposure to a motionless human in the home pen. As biomarkers of stress, leukocyte counts, heart rate and cortisol concentrations were measured in the lambs in their home pens. Before the treatment, the emotional responses of the groups did not differ. After the treatment, treated lambs approached the human less often, had less contact with the novel object and vocalized more than controls in individual tests, suggesting that long-term exposure to unpredictable and uncontrollable aversive events increases subsequent fearfulness in sheep. In addition, treated lambs had lower leukocyte counts, heart rate and cortisol levels, pointing to a chronic stress state. These findings suggest that increased fearfulness may be used as a sign of chronic stress in farm animals.
Published: 2013
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38. Managing welfare and pain in production animals

Author: Alain Boissy, Pierre Mormede, Unité Mixte de Recherche sur les Herbivores - UMR 1213 (UMRH), VetAgro Sup - Institut national d'enseignement supérieur et de recherche en alimentation, santé animale, sciences agronomiques et de l'environnement (VAS)-Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique (INRA)-AgroSup Dijon - Institut National Supérieur des Sciences Agronomiques, de l'Alimentation et de l'Environnement, Laboratoire de Génétique Cellulaire (LGC), Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique (INRA)-Ecole Nationale Vétérinaire de Toulouse (ENVT), Institut National Polytechnique (Toulouse) (Toulouse INP), Université Fédérale Toulouse Midi-Pyrénées-Université Fédérale Toulouse Midi-Pyrénées-Institut National Polytechnique (Toulouse) (Toulouse INP), Université Fédérale Toulouse Midi-Pyrénées-Université Fédérale Toulouse Midi-Pyrénées, and ProdInra, Migration
Subjects: [SDV.SA]Life Sciences [q-bio]/Agricultural sciences, [SDV.SA] Life Sciences [q-bio]/Agricultural sciences, ComputingMilieux_MISCELLANEOUS
Abstract: National audience
Published: 2012

39. Does reduction of fearfulness tend to reduce pessimistic-like judgment in lambs?

Author: Caroline Lee, Véronique Deiss, Catherine Belzung, Alain Boissy, Alexandra Destrez, Unité Mixte de Recherches sur les Herbivores - UMR 1213 (UMRH), VetAgro Sup - Institut national d'enseignement supérieur et de recherche en alimentation, santé animale, sciences agronomiques et de l'environnement (VAS)-AgroSup Dijon - Institut National Supérieur des Sciences Agronomiques, de l'Alimentation et de l'Environnement-Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique (INRA), Imagerie et cerveau, Université de Tours-Institut National de la Santé et de la Recherche Médicale (INSERM), CSIRO Livestock Industries, University of Queensland [Brisbane], Unité Mixte de Recherche sur les Herbivores - UMR 1213 (UMRH), Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique (INRA)-VetAgro Sup - Institut national d'enseignement supérieur et de recherche en alimentation, santé animale, sciences agronomiques et de l'environnement (VAS)-AgroSup Dijon - Institut National Supérieur des Sciences Agronomiques, de l'Alimentation et de l'Environnement, Imagerie et cerveau (iBrain - Inserm U1253 - UNIV Tours ), VetAgro Sup - Institut national d'enseignement supérieur et de recherche en alimentation, santé animale, sciences agronomiques et de l'environnement (VAS)-Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique (INRA)-AgroSup Dijon - Institut National Supérieur des Sciences Agronomiques, de l'Alimentation et de l'Environnement, and Université de Tours (UT)-Institut National de la Santé et de la Recherche Médicale (INSERM)
Subjects: medicine.medical_specialty, medicine.drug_class, media_common.quotation_subject, [SDV]Life Sciences [q-bio], Welfare, [SDV.SA.ZOO]Life Sciences [q-bio]/Agricultural sciences/Zootechny, Pessimism, Audiology, Anxiolytic, 03 medical and health sciences, 0302 clinical medicine, Food Animals, Optimistic-like, medicine, 0501 psychology and cognitive sciences, 050102 behavioral science & comparative psychology, Set (psychology), media_common, Judgment bias, Benzodiazepine, Diazepam, Sheep, 05 social sciences, Fear, [SCCO.PSYC]Cognitive science/Psychology, Animal Science and Zoology, Psychology, Social psychology, 030217 neurology & neurosurgery, medicine.drug
Abstract: International audience; Recent studies emphasize the role of interactions between emotions and judgment of environment to better assess affective state in animals. Diazepam offers a way to pharmacologically manipulate the affective state. This drug is generally used to reduce negative affective states, mainly by reducing fearfulness. Here we investigated whether a reduction of fearfulness through a pharmacological approach could reduce pessimistic-like judgment in lambs. We tested the effects of diazepam (0.10 mg/kg), a benzodiazepine known for its anxiolytic properties in many species, in 5-months old female lambs submitted to two experiments: the first one to assess their fear-related reactions (cortisol, cardiac and behavioural measures) to isolation and suddenness tests, and the second one to assess their putative judgment bias. In experiment 1, the lambs treated with diazepam were less frightened by isolation and suddenness than the control lambs injected with vehicle, which tended to confirm the anxiolytic effect of diazepam on sheep. In experiment 2, the lambs were first trained to perform a spatial location task to test for judgment bias in sheep. This task required a go/no-go response according to the location of a bucket in a pen, with one location being reinforced positively (with a feed reward) and the other negatively (with a fan-forced blower). Once trained, lambs (n = 16) were exposed twice (10 min and 3 h after injections) to five consecutive bucket locations: the two learnt locations plus three unrewarded, ambiguous locations set between the learnt locations. Control lambs increased their latency to approach one of the ambiguous bucket locations (P < 0.05), while treated lambs maintained the same latency to approach this location. This difference may reflect a bias in judgment in relation to fearfulness: treated lambs seemed to display a more positive judgment of an ambiguous event than control lambs. Reduction of fearfulness may thus induce a more positive affective state but this requires further investigation, with additional studies comparing the efficacy of the cognitive bias approach to other measures of affective state.
Published: 2012
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40. Animal welfare: A result of animal background and perception of its environment

Author: Arnaud Aubert, Alain Boissy, Isabelle Veissier, Unité Mixte de Recherche sur les Herbivores - UMR 1213 (UMRH), VetAgro Sup - Institut national d'enseignement supérieur et de recherche en alimentation, santé animale, sciences agronomiques et de l'environnement (VAS)-Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique (INRA)-AgroSup Dijon - Institut National Supérieur des Sciences Agronomiques, de l'Alimentation et de l'Environnement, VetAgro Sup - Institut national d'enseignement supérieur et de recherche en alimentation, santé animale, sciences agronomiques et de l'environnement (VAS), Physiologie de la reproduction et des comportements [Nouzilly] (PRC), Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique (INRA)-Institut Français du Cheval et de l'Equitation [Saumur]-Université de Tours (UT)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), Psychologie des âges de la vie et adaptation (PAVeA), Université de Tours (UT), Unité Mixte de Recherches sur les Herbivores ( UMR 1213 Herbivores ), VetAgro Sup ( VAS ) -AgroSup Dijon - Institut National Supérieur des Sciences Agronomiques, de l'Alimentation et de l'Environnement-Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique ( INRA ), Institut d'Enseignement Supérieur et de Recherche en Alimentation, Santé Animale, Sciences Agronomiques et de l'Environnement, Physiologie de la reproduction et des comportements [Nouzilly] ( PRC ), Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique ( INRA ) -Institut Français du Cheval et de l'Equitation [Saumur]-Université de Tours-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique ( CNRS ), Laboratoire de Psychologie des Ages de la Vie, Université Francois Rabelais [Tours], Veissier, Isabelle, Boissy, Alain, Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique (INRA)-Institut Français du Cheval et de l'Equitation [Saumur]-Université de Tours-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), Université de Tours, Unité Mixte de Recherches sur les Herbivores - UMR 1213 (UMRH), VetAgro Sup - Institut national d'enseignement supérieur et de recherche en alimentation, santé animale, sciences agronomiques et de l'environnement (VAS)-AgroSup Dijon - Institut National Supérieur des Sciences Agronomiques, de l'Alimentation et de l'Environnement-Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique (INRA), and Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Université de Tours-Institut Français du Cheval et de l'Equitation [Saumur]-Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique (INRA)
Subjects: cognition, past experience, [SDV.SA]Life Sciences [q-bio]/Agricultural sciences, media_common.quotation_subject, Living environment, Acknowledgement, emotion, animal welfare, 03 medical and health sciences, stress, 0302 clinical medicine, Food Animals, Perception, Animal welfare, Production (economics), 0501 psychology and cognitive sciences, 050102 behavioral science & comparative psychology, [ SDV.SA ] Life Sciences [q-bio]/Agricultural sciences, media_common, 2. Zero hunger, business.industry, 05 social sciences, Animal production, Environmental ethics, temperament, Agricultural sciences, genetic, Agriculture, Animal Science and Zoology, business, Welfare, 030217 neurology & neurosurgery, Sciences agricoles
Abstract: Animal welfare is a growing issue in modern farming systems due to a perceived mismatch between animals’ actual environments and their natural habitats, acknowledgement that animals are sentient beings, and societal awareness not only that animal production matters but also that the production methods matter.[br/] Welfare implies that the biological needs of animals are fulfilled and, more importantly, that the animals feel “well.” What emotions animals can feel is now documented, and methods have been developed to assess how well an animal feels. The welfare of an individual depends on its living environment, genetics, and past experiences, with the result that each individual may perceive a triggering situation differently. Farming system design needs to evolve to encompass the welfare provided to animals based on actual living conditions and the animals’ background. Improvements have been proposed so that it is now possible to integrate animal welfare into farming conditions that meet both animal requirements and societal concerns.
Published: 2012
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41. Japanese quail's genetic background modulates effects of chronic stress on emotional reactivity but not spatial learning

Author: Cécile Arnould, Agathe Laurence, Ludovic Calandreau, Marie-Annick Richard-Yris, Christophe Petton, Alain Boissy, Christine Leterrier, Cécilia Houdelier, Angélique Favreau-Peigné, Sophie Lumineau, Ethologie animale et humaine (EthoS), Université de Caen Normandie (UNICAEN), Normandie Université (NU)-Normandie Université (NU)-Université de Rennes 1 (UR1), Université de Rennes (UNIV-RENNES)-Université de Rennes (UNIV-RENNES)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), Physiologie de la reproduction et des comportements [Nouzilly] (PRC), Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique (INRA)-Institut Français du Cheval et de l'Equitation [Saumur]-Université de Tours (UT)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), Unité Mixte de Recherche sur les Herbivores - UMR 1213 (UMRH), VetAgro Sup - Institut national d'enseignement supérieur et de recherche en alimentation, santé animale, sciences agronomiques et de l'environnement (VAS)-Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique (INRA)-AgroSup Dijon - Institut National Supérieur des Sciences Agronomiques, de l'Alimentation et de l'Environnement, ANR-09-BLAN-0339 - EmoFarm, ANR-09-BLAN-0339,EmoFarm,Modifications de la sensibilité émotionnelle et des capacités cognitives et sociales induites par le développement d'états affectifs durables chez les animaux d'élevage(2009), Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Université de Tours-Institut Français du Cheval et de l'Equitation [Saumur]-Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique (INRA), Unité Mixte de Recherches sur les Herbivores - UMR 1213 (UMRH), VetAgro Sup - Institut national d'enseignement supérieur et de recherche en alimentation, santé animale, sciences agronomiques et de l'environnement (VAS)-AgroSup Dijon - Institut National Supérieur des Sciences Agronomiques, de l'Alimentation et de l'Environnement-Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique (INRA), Université de Rennes 1 (UR1), Université de Rennes (UNIV-RENNES)-Université de Rennes (UNIV-RENNES)-Université de Caen Normandie (UNICAEN), Normandie Université (NU)-Normandie Université (NU)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique (INRA)-Institut Français du Cheval et de l'Equitation [Saumur]-Université de Tours-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), Ethologie animale et humaine ( EthoS ), Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique ( CNRS ) -Université de Rennes 1 ( UR1 ), Université de Rennes ( UNIV-RENNES ) -Université de Rennes ( UNIV-RENNES ) -Université de Caen Normandie ( UNICAEN ), Normandie Université ( NU ) -Normandie Université ( NU ), Physiologie de la reproduction et des comportements [Nouzilly] ( PRC ), Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique ( INRA ) -Institut Français du Cheval et de l'Equitation [Saumur]-Université de Tours-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique ( CNRS ), Unité Mixte de Recherches sur les Herbivores ( UMR 1213 Herbivores ), VetAgro Sup ( VAS ) -AgroSup Dijon - Institut National Supérieur des Sciences Agronomiques, de l'Alimentation et de l'Environnement-Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique ( INRA ), ANR-09-BLAN-0339,EmoFarm,Modifications de la sensibilité émotionnelle et des capacités cognitives et sociales induites par le développement d'états affectifs durables chez les animaux d'élevage ( 2009 ), Normandie Université (NU)-Normandie Université (NU)-Université de Rennes (UR)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique (INRA)-Institut Français du Cheval et de l'Equitation [Saumur] (IFCE)-Université de Tours (UT)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), and Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique (INRA)-VetAgro Sup - Institut national d'enseignement supérieur et de recherche en alimentation, santé animale, sciences agronomiques et de l'environnement (VAS)
Subjects: Emotions, Physiology, lcsh:Medicine, [ SCCO.PSYC ] Cognitive science/Psychology, Social and Behavioral Sciences, Open field, Tonic (physiology), Behavioral Neuroscience, 0302 clinical medicine, Psychology, Chronic stress, lcsh:Science, Animal Management, Multidisciplinary, Behavior, Animal, Animal Behavior, biology, 05 social sciences, Statistics, Agriculture, Cognition, méthode de test, apprentissage, environnement, Quail, Mental Health, [ SCCO.NEUR ] Cognitive science/Neuroscience, [SCCO.PSYC]Cognitive science/Psychology, Medicine, Female, Analysis of variance, Research Article, Immobility Response, Physiological, Coturnix, réactivité émotionnelle, Stress, Statistics, Nonparametric, 03 medical and health sciences, Psychologie (Sciences cognitives), Stress, Physiological, méthode spatiale, biology.animal, [SDV.BA.ZV]Life Sciences [q-bio]/Animal biology/Vertebrate Zoology, oiseau, caille japonaise, Juvenile, Animals, 0501 psychology and cognitive sciences, Nonparametric, 050102 behavioral science & comparative psychology, Maze Learning, Biology, Evolutionary Biology, Behavior, Animal, cognition animale, [SCCO.NEUR]Cognitive science/Neuroscience, nourriture animale, lcsh:R, Tonic, Immobility Response, Tonic, biology.organism_classification, [ SDV.BA.ZV ] Life Sciences [q-bio]/Animal biology/Vertebrate Zoology, stress chronique, Veterinary Science, lcsh:Q, Attention (Behavior), Zoology, 030217 neurology & neurosurgery, Neuroscience
Abstract: International audience; Chronic stress is known to enhance mammals' emotional reactivity and alters several of their cognitive functions, especially spatial learning. Few studies have investigated such effects in birds. We investigated the impact of a two-week stress on Japanese quail's emotional reactivity and spatial learning. Quail is an avian model widely used in laboratory studies and for extrapolation of data to other poultry species. As sensitivity to chronic stress can be modulated by intrinsic factors, we tested juvenile female Japanese quail from three lines, two of them divergently selected on tonic immobility duration, an indicator of general fearfulness. The different emotional reactivity levels of quail belonging to these lines can be revealed by a large variety of tests. Half of the birds were submitted to repeated unpredictable aversive events for two weeks, whereas the other half were left undisturbed. After this procedure, two tests (open field and emergence tests) evaluated the emotional reactivity of treated and control quails. They were then trained in a T-maze for seven days and their spatial learning was tested. The chronic stress protocol had an impact on resting, preening and foraging in the home cage. As predicted, the emotional reactivity of treated quails, especially those selected for long tonic immobility duration, was higher. Our spatial learning data showed that the treatment enhanced acquisition but not memorization. However, intrinsic fearfulness did not seem to interact with the treatment in this test. According to an inverted U-shaped relationship between stress and cognition, chronic stress can improve the adaptability of birds to a stressful environment. We discussed the mechanisms possibly implied in the increase of emotional reactivity and spatial abilities.
Published: 2012
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42. Group size elicits specific physiological response in herbivores

Author: Marie-Hélène Pillot, Richard Bon, Alain Boissy, Sylvain Toulet, Carole Henrion, Pablo Michelena, ProdInra, Migration, Université libre de Bruxelles (ULB), Centre de Recherches sur la Cognition Animale - UMR5169 (CRCA), Institut des sciences du cerveau de Toulouse. (ISCT), Université Toulouse - Jean Jaurès (UT2J)-Université Toulouse III - Paul Sabatier (UT3), Université Fédérale Toulouse Midi-Pyrénées-Université Fédérale Toulouse Midi-Pyrénées-Centre Hospitalier Universitaire de Toulouse (CHU Toulouse)-Institut National de la Santé et de la Recherche Médicale (INSERM)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Université Toulouse - Jean Jaurès (UT2J)-Université Toulouse III - Paul Sabatier (UT3), Université Fédérale Toulouse Midi-Pyrénées-Université Fédérale Toulouse Midi-Pyrénées-Centre Hospitalier Universitaire de Toulouse (CHU Toulouse)-Institut National de la Santé et de la Recherche Médicale (INSERM)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Centre de Biologie Intégrative (CBI), Université Toulouse III - Paul Sabatier (UT3), Université Fédérale Toulouse Midi-Pyrénées-Université Fédérale Toulouse Midi-Pyrénées-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), Unité Mixte de Recherche sur les Herbivores - UMR 1213 (UMRH), Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique (INRA)-VetAgro Sup - Institut national d'enseignement supérieur et de recherche en alimentation, santé animale, sciences agronomiques et de l'environnement (VAS), Centre de Recherches sur la Cognition Animale (CRCA), Centre de Biologie Intégrative (CBI), Université Fédérale Toulouse Midi-Pyrénées-Université Fédérale Toulouse Midi-Pyrénées-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Université Toulouse III - Paul Sabatier (UT3), Université Fédérale Toulouse Midi-Pyrénées-Université Fédérale Toulouse Midi-Pyrénées-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Institut des sciences du cerveau de Toulouse. (ISCT), Université Fédérale Toulouse Midi-Pyrénées-Université Fédérale Toulouse Midi-Pyrénées-CHU Toulouse [Toulouse]-Institut National de la Santé et de la Recherche Médicale (INSERM)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Université Toulouse - Jean Jaurès (UT2J)-CHU Toulouse [Toulouse]-Institut National de la Santé et de la Recherche Médicale (INSERM)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), and VetAgro Sup - Institut national d'enseignement supérieur et de recherche en alimentation, santé animale, sciences agronomiques et de l'environnement (VAS)-Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique (INRA)-AgroSup Dijon - Institut National Supérieur des Sciences Agronomiques, de l'Alimentation et de l'Environnement
Subjects: 0106 biological sciences, sheep, Time Factors, Hydrocortisone, [SDV.BA] Life Sciences [q-bio]/Animal biology, Physiology, heifers, Biology, cortisol, 010603 evolutionary biology, 01 natural sciences, Predation, Arousal, stress, vigilence, Stress, Physiological, medicine, Endocrine system, Animals, 0501 psychology and cognitive sciences, 050102 behavioral science & comparative psychology, Herbivory, Saliva, Predator, Population Density, Herbivore, Behavior, Animal, Ecology, [SDV.BA]Life Sciences [q-bio]/Animal biology, 05 social sciences, Stressor, Agricultural and Biological Sciences (miscellaneous), behaviour, Vigilance (behavioural ecology), Predatory Behavior, Female, Animal Behaviour, predation, General Agricultural and Biological Sciences, medicine.drug, group size
Abstract: With increasing group size, individuals commonly spend less time standing head-up (scanning) and more time feeding. In small groups, a higher predation risk is likely to increase stress, which will be reflected by behavioural and endocrine responses. However, without any predator cues, we ask how the predation risk is actually processed by animals as group size decreases. We hypothesize that group size on its own acts as a stressor. We studied undisturbed groups of sheep under controlled pasture conditions, and measured in situ the cortisol and vigilance responses of identified individuals in groups ranging from 2 to 100 sheep. Both vigilance and average cortisol concentration decreased as group size increased. However, the cortisol response varied markedly among individuals in small groups, resulting in a lack of correlation between cortisol and vigilance responses. Further experiments are required to explore the mechanisms that underlie both the decay and the convergence of individual stress in larger groups, and whether these mechanisms promote adaptive anti-predator responses.
Published: 2012
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43. The ability of lambs to form expectations and the emotional consequences of a discrepancy from their expectations

Author: Alain Boissy, Lucile Greiveldinger, Isabelle Veissier, Unité de Recherches sur les Herbivores (URH), and Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique (INRA)
Subjects: sheep, Hydrocortisone, cardiac activity, Endocrinology, Diabetes and Metabolism, [SDV]Life Sciences [q-bio], Cardiac activity, Motor Activity, emotions, Frustration, Developmental psychology, Extinction, Psychological, [SHS]Humanities and Social Sciences, 03 medical and health sciences, Random Allocation, 0302 clinical medicine, Endocrinology, Reward, appraisal, Heart Rate, Memory, Animals, 0501 psychology and cognitive sciences, [INFO]Computer Science [cs], 050102 behavioral science & comparative psychology, Habituation, Habituation, Psychophysiologic, Biological Psychiatry, Positive shift, Endocrine and Autonomic Systems, behavior, 05 social sciences, Age Factors, Extinction (psychology), Anticipation, Psychological, Anticipation, Psychiatry and Mental health, Plasma cortisol, Conditioning, Conditioning, Operant, Female, Analysis of variance, Vocalization, Animal, Psychology, 030217 neurology & neurosurgery, psychological phenomena and processes, expectations
Abstract: International audience; Appraisal theories developed in cognitive psychology are used here to attempt to better understand emotional experiences in animals. We investigated whether lambs are able to form expectations and whether their emotional responses are affected by situations discrepant from the expectations they may have formed. Forty-five female lambs were trained to obtain a small or a large amount of food reward by performing an operant task (introducing their muzzle into a hole). Then, half the lambs were shifted to the large or the small reward (i.e. positive or negative shift respectively), while the remaining half continued to get the same amount of reward. Thereafter, the lambs previously submitted to a reward change were shifted back to their initial amount of reward (i.e. successive shifts) while the lambs previously maintained on the same amount of reward were subjected to extinction (no reward, thus a negative shift). Behavior, cortisol levels and cardiac activity were analyzed, and the treatments were compared with ANOVAs for mixed models. When the amount of reward delivered was decreased, the lambs showed more locomotor activity and performed the operant task at a higher frequency but less efficiently, and there was a decrease in the parasympathetic influence on their cardiac activity. These responses were exacerbated when the negative shift followed a positive one. Similar responses were observed under extinction, and these responses were more pronounced when animals were trained with a large amount of reward before extinction. In response to a positive shift, we noticed a decrease in the frequency of the attempted operant task; this occurred only when the positive shift followed a negative one. Variations in plasma cortisol were not consistent with changes in the amount of reward. This study shows that lambs evaluate a reward according to their previous experience with that reward. They are able to form expectations, and a discrepancy from these expectations influences emotional responses, especially in the case of a negative shift. Given the appraisal criteria used by lambs and the matching emotions, we can assume that the emotional response to a negative shift expressed by lambs could reflect the despair caused by frustration.
Published: 2011
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44. Assessment of sociability in farm animals: The use of arena test in lambs

Author: Jacques Bouix, Frédéric Sèbe, Alain Boissy, Séverine Ligout, Didier Foulquié, Institut de recherche sur la biologie de l'insecte UMR7261 (IRBI), Université de Tours-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), Physiologie de la reproduction et des comportements [Nouzilly] (PRC), Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Université de Tours-Institut Français du Cheval et de l'Equitation [Saumur]-Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique (INRA), Domaine expérimental de La Fage (LA FAGE), Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique (INRA), Station d'Amélioration Génétique des Animaux (SAGA), Unité Mixte de Recherches sur les Herbivores - UMR 1213 (UMRH), VetAgro Sup - Institut national d'enseignement supérieur et de recherche en alimentation, santé animale, sciences agronomiques et de l'environnement (VAS)-AgroSup Dijon - Institut National Supérieur des Sciences Agronomiques, de l'Alimentation et de l'Environnement-Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique (INRA), Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique (INRA)-Institut Français du Cheval et de l'Equitation [Saumur]-Université de Tours-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), Unité de Recherches sur les Herbivores (URH), Université de Tours (UT)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique (INRA)-Institut Français du Cheval et de l'Equitation [Saumur]-Université de Tours (UT)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), Institut de recherche sur la biologie de l'insecte ( IRBI ), Université de Tours-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique ( CNRS ), Physiologie de la reproduction et des comportements [Nouzilly] ( PRC ), Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique ( INRA ) -Institut Français du Cheval et de l'Equitation [Saumur]-Université de Tours-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique ( CNRS ), Domaine expérimental de La Fage ( LA FAGE ), Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique ( INRA ), Station d'Amélioration Génétique des Animaux ( SAGA ), Unité Mixte de Recherches sur les Herbivores ( UMR 1213 Herbivores ), and VetAgro Sup ( VAS ) -AgroSup Dijon - Institut National Supérieur des Sciences Agronomiques, de l'Alimentation et de l'Environnement-Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique ( INRA )
Subjects: medicine.medical_treatment, Animal-assisted therapy, Animal science, Food Animals, Animal welfare, [SDV.BA.ZV]Life Sciences [q-bio]/Animal biology/Vertebrate Zoology, medicine, Weaning, 0501 psychology and cognitive sciences, 050102 behavioral science & comparative psychology, Reactivity (psychology), Sheep, Behavioural test, 05 social sciences, 0402 animal and dairy science, Sociability, 04 agricultural and veterinary sciences, 040201 dairy & animal science, Attraction, Test (assessment), [ SDV.BA.ZV ] Life Sciences [q-bio]/Animal biology/Vertebrate Zoology, HUBzero, Animal Science and Zoology, Flock, Field observation, Psychology
Abstract: Chantier qualité GA; International audience; The present study aimed to evaluate an experimental approach to individually assess social reactivity among sheep. INRA401 male lambs (n = 163) were reared together outdoors as part of a larger flock. Fifteen days after weaning the animals were individually exposed to an arena test of 2 phases (1-social attraction, 2-social isolation) during which proximity toward conspecifics and vocal and locomotor reactivity were measured. One day after the test their inter-individual distances were measured when grazing over a 2-h period in order to estimate their sociability on pasture. This was made using scan sampling recording the identity of the nearest neighbour for each individual, which led to the establishment of a sociability index. Overall, we found that high-pitched bleats recorded during the attraction phase (r = 0.22) and the isolation phase (r = 0.23) of the arena test as well as the locomo-tor activity measured during the isolation phase (r = 0.27) were positively correlated with the sociability index. Furthermore, the behaviour of lambs during the isolation phase of the arena test (i.e. vocal and locomotor agitation) appeared to be a significant predictor explaining 13% of the variance of the sociability on pasture. The behavioural reactivity measured through the arena test thus reflects at least to some extent the sociability of sheep. Those results are very encouraging as they suggest that the sociability of lambs could indeed be evaluated through a short experimental test, which is less time consuming than field ethological observations.
Published: 2011
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45. Higher inherent fearfulness potentiates the effects of chronic stress in the Japanese quail

Author: Marie-Annick Richard-Yris, Angélique Favreau-Peigné, Agathe Laurence, Aline Bertin, Alain Boissy, Ludovic Calandreau, Sophie Lumineau, Cécilia Houdelier, Paul Constantin, Cécile Arnould, Christine Leterrier, Physiologie de la reproduction et des comportements [Nouzilly] (PRC), Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Université de Tours-Institut Français du Cheval et de l'Equitation [Saumur]-Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique (INRA), Ethologie animale et humaine (EthoS), Université de Rennes 1 (UR1), Université de Rennes (UNIV-RENNES)-Université de Rennes (UNIV-RENNES)-Université de Caen Normandie (UNICAEN), Normandie Université (NU)-Normandie Université (NU)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), Unité Mixte de Recherches sur les Herbivores - UMR 1213 (UMRH), VetAgro Sup - Institut national d'enseignement supérieur et de recherche en alimentation, santé animale, sciences agronomiques et de l'environnement (VAS)-AgroSup Dijon - Institut National Supérieur des Sciences Agronomiques, de l'Alimentation et de l'Environnement-Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique (INRA), ANR-09-BLAN-0339 - EmoFarm, ANR-09-BLAN-0339,EmoFarm,Modifications de la sensibilité émotionnelle et des capacités cognitives et sociales induites par le développement d'états affectifs durables chez les animaux d'élevage(2009), Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique (INRA)-Institut Français du Cheval et de l'Equitation [Saumur] (IFCE)-Université de Tours (UT)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), Université de Caen Normandie (UNICAEN), Normandie Université (NU)-Normandie Université (NU)-Université de Rennes (UR)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), Unité de Recherches sur les Herbivores (URH), Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique (INRA), Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique (INRA)-Institut Français du Cheval et de l'Equitation [Saumur]-Université de Tours (UT)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique (INRA)-Institut Français du Cheval et de l'Equitation [Saumur]-Université de Tours-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), Physiologie de la reproduction et des comportements [Nouzilly] ( PRC ), Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique ( INRA ) -Institut Français du Cheval et de l'Equitation [Saumur]-Université de Tours-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique ( CNRS ), Ethologie animale et humaine ( EthoS ), Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique ( CNRS ) -Université de Rennes 1 ( UR1 ), Université de Rennes ( UNIV-RENNES ) -Université de Rennes ( UNIV-RENNES ) -Université de Caen Normandie ( UNICAEN ), Normandie Université ( NU ) -Normandie Université ( NU ), Unité Mixte de Recherches sur les Herbivores ( UMR 1213 Herbivores ), VetAgro Sup ( VAS ) -AgroSup Dijon - Institut National Supérieur des Sciences Agronomiques, de l'Alimentation et de l'Environnement-Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique ( INRA ), and ANR-09-BLAN-0339,EmoFarm,Modifications de la sensibilité émotionnelle et des capacités cognitives et sociales induites par le développement d'états affectifs durables chez les animaux d'élevage ( 2009 )
Subjects: [SDV]Life Sciences [q-bio], Physiology, [ SCCO.PSYC ] Cognitive science/Psychology, Stimulation, Coturnix, Motor Activity, Stress, Tonic (physiology), Developmental psychology, 03 medical and health sciences, Behavioral Neuroscience, chemistry.chemical_compound, 0302 clinical medicine, Genetic, Emotionality, Corticosterone, biology.animal, Animals, Chronic stress, Selection, Genetic, Reactivity (psychology), Selection, 030304 developmental biology, 0303 health sciences, [ SDV ] Life Sciences [q-bio], biology, [SCCO.NEUR]Cognitive science/Neuroscience, Tonic, Body Weight, Immobility Response, Tonic, Fear, biology.organism_classification, Quail, chemistry, [ SCCO.NEUR ] Cognitive science/Neuroscience, [SCCO.PSYC]Cognitive science/Psychology, Psychological, Female, Psychology, 030217 neurology & neurosurgery, Stress, Psychological, Immobility Response
Abstract: International audience; There is considerable variability in the susceptibility of individuals to the adverse effects of chronic stress. In humans and other mammals, individual traits such as high anxiety are proposed as a vulnerability factor for the development of stress-related disorders. In the present study, we tested whether a similar behavioural trait in birds, higher emotional reactivity, also favours the occurrence of chronic stress-related behavioural and physiological dysfunction. For this, lines of Japanese quail divergently selected for a typical fear response in birds, the duration of tonic immobility, were subjected to unpredictable aversive stimulation over 2 weeks. Previous studies demonstrate that the selection program modifies the general underlying emotionality of the birds rather than exerting its effect only on tonic immobility. Interestingly, only birds selected for their higher emotionality exhibited significantly enhanced latency to first step and decreased locomotor activity in the open-field test after exposure to chronic stress compared to non-stressed control birds. This effect of chronic stress was selective for the tested dimension of bird emotional reactivity because there was no observed effect on the tonic immobility response. Moreover, chronically stressed birds selected for their higher emotionality exhibited significantly decreased basal corticosterone levels, a physiological marker of stress. These findings show that chronic stress is associated with changes in emotional reactivity and related physiological markers in birds. They also highlight emotional reactivity as an important predisposing factor for the occurrence of the adverse effects of chronic stress in birds.
Published: 2011
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46. Administration of serotonin inhibitor p-Chlorophenylalanine induces pessimistic-like judgement bias in sheep

Author: Alain Boissy, Andrew D. Fisher, Rebecca E. Doyle, John M. Henshall, Caroline Lee, Geoff N. Hinch, Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation [Canberra] (CSIRO), University of New England (UNE), Fac Vet Sci, The University of Sydney, University of Melbourne, Unité de Recherches sur les Herbivores (URH), and Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique (INRA)
Subjects: Time Factors, Endocrinology, Diabetes and Metabolism, [SDV]Life Sciences [q-bio], Judgement, Physiology, Attentional bias, ATTENTIONAL BIAS, BRAIN-SEROTONIN, Developmental psychology, law.invention, [SHS]Humanities and Social Sciences, 0302 clinical medicine, Endocrinology, Randomized controlled trial, law, Affective state, Animal welfare, Negative Reinforcer, P chlorophenylalanine, 05 social sciences, Fenclonine, DEPRESSION, Cognitive bias, Psychiatry and Mental health, EMOTIONS, Social Isolation, Psychology, ANIMAL-WELFARE, Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitors, Serotonin, MERINO LAMBS, Serotonergic, STARLINGS STURNUS-VULGARIS, RATS, Judgment, 03 medical and health sciences, Bias, Animals, 0501 psychology and cognitive sciences, [INFO]Computer Science [cs], 050102 behavioral science & comparative psychology, Biological Psychiatry, Emotion, Motivation, Sheep, Dose-Response Relationship, Drug, Endocrine and Autonomic Systems, CORTISOL, Feeding Behavior, Serotonin inhibitor, Exploratory Behavior, Vocalization, Animal, 030217 neurology & neurosurgery
Abstract: International audience; Judgement bias has potential as a measure of affective state in animals. The serotonergic system may be one mechanism involved with the formation of negative judgement biases. It was hypothesised that depletion of brain serotonin would induce negative judgement biases in sheep. A dose response trial established that 40 mg/kg of p-Chlorophenylalanine (pCPA) administered to sheep for 3 days did not affect feeding motivation or locomotion required for testing judgement biases. Thirty Merino ewes (10 months old) were trained to an operant task for 3 weeks. Sheep learnt to approach a bucket when it was placed in one corner of the testing facility to receive a feed reward (go response), and not approach it when in the alternate corner (no-go response) to avoid a negative reinforcer (exposure to a dog). Following training, 15 sheep were treated with pCPA (40 mg/kg daily) for an extended duration (5 days). Treated and control sheep were tested for judgement bias following 3 and 5 days of treatment, and again 5 days after cessation of treatment. Testing involved the bucket being presented in ambiguous locations between the two learnt locations, and the response of the sheep (go/no-go) measured their judgement of the bucket locations. Following 5 days of treatment, pCPA-treated sheep approached the most positive ambiguous location significantly less than control sheep, suggesting a pessimistic-like bias (treatment x bucket location interaction F(1,124.6) = 49.97, p = 0.011). A trend towards a significant interaction was still evident 5 days after the cessation of pCPA treatment (p = 0.068), however no significant interaction was seen on day 3 of testing (p = 0.867). These results support the suggestion that judgement bias is a cognitive measure of affective state, and that the serotonergic pathway may be involved. Crown Copyright (C) 2010 Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
Published: 2011
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47. Effect of one week of stress on emotional reactivity and learning and memory performances in Japanese quail

Author: Paul Constantin, Daniel Guemene, Alain Boissy, Cécile Arnould, Aline Bertin, Aline Desmedt, Ludovic Calandreau, Raymond Nowak, Christine Leterrier, Physiologie de la reproduction et des comportements [Nouzilly] (PRC), Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Université de Tours-Institut Français du Cheval et de l'Equitation [Saumur]-Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique (INRA), Unité Mixte de Recherches sur les Herbivores - UMR 1213 (UMRH), VetAgro Sup - Institut national d'enseignement supérieur et de recherche en alimentation, santé animale, sciences agronomiques et de l'environnement (VAS)-AgroSup Dijon - Institut National Supérieur des Sciences Agronomiques, de l'Alimentation et de l'Environnement-Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique (INRA), UMR5228, Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), Recherches Avicoles (SRA), Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique (INRA), Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique (INRA)-Institut Français du Cheval et de l'Equitation [Saumur]-Université de Tours (UT)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), Unité de Recherches sur les Herbivores (URH), Unité de Recherches Avicoles (URA), Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique (INRA)-Institut Français du Cheval et de l'Equitation [Saumur]-Université de Tours-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), Physiologie de la reproduction et des comportements [Nouzilly] ( PRC ), Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique ( INRA ) -Institut Français du Cheval et de l'Equitation [Saumur]-Université de Tours-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique ( CNRS ), Unité Mixte de Recherches sur les Herbivores ( UMR 1213 Herbivores ), VetAgro Sup ( VAS ) -AgroSup Dijon - Institut National Supérieur des Sciences Agronomiques, de l'Alimentation et de l'Environnement-Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique ( INRA ), Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique ( CNRS ), Recherches Avicoles ( SRA ), and Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique ( INRA )
Subjects: Time Factors, Period (gene), [SDV]Life Sciences [q-bio], Emotions, émotion, Spatial Behavior, Physiology, Coturnix, Developmental psychology, 03 medical and health sciences, Behavioral Neuroscience, chemistry.chemical_compound, 0302 clinical medicine, Memory, Corticosterone, biology.animal, Animals, Tonic (music), 0501 psychology and cognitive sciences, Chronic stress, 050102 behavioral science & comparative psychology, Effects of sleep deprivation on cognitive performance, Maze Learning, Reactivity (psychology), flexibilité, [ SDV ] Life Sciences [q-bio], biology, Body Weight, 05 social sciences, Immobility Response, Tonic, Cognition, Quail, chemistry, mémoire spatiale, Exploratory Behavior, Female, Psychology, Stress, Psychological, 030217 neurology & neurosurgery
Abstract: Chronic stress is known to induce long term alterations of emotional behaviours as well as cognitive performances leading thereby to welfare or husbandry problems. These stress-induced consequences are observed following long periods of stress lasting from several weeks to several years. The current study examined whether a shorter period of stress (one week) produced similar impairing effects. Two-week old Japanese quail were either submitted to a series of aversive events over consecutive 8 days, at unpredictable times each day (treated animals) or left undisturbed (controls). Following the treatment period, animals were weighed and basal as well as aversive events-induced levels of plasma corticosterone were quantified. Quail were also tested for emotional reactivity in three tests (the tonic immobility test, the hole-in-the-wall and novel object tests) and for spatial reference memory. Although there was no difference in corticosterone levels between the two groups, the treated animals had lower body weight than controls. Behavioural investigations after the treatment period did not reveal any difference between the groups in the three emotional reactivity tests. In the spatial task, treated quail displayed enhanced behavioural flexibility as revealed by their higher performances during the reversal phase of the task. The alteration of growth suggests that a short period of repetitive exposures to unpredictable aversive events can be perceived by quail as stressful. Such a stress period can improve spatial learning performances in quail supporting the critical role played by the duration of the stress period on cognitive performance. (C) 2010 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
Published: 2011
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48. Characterising the emotional reactivity of cows to understand and predict their stress reactions to the slaughter procedure

Author: E.M. Claudia Terlouw, Denys Durand, Véronique Deiss, Alain Boissy, Cécile Bourguet, Mylène Gobert, Unité de Recherches sur les Herbivores (URH), and Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique (INRA)
Subjects: [SDV.SA]Life Sciences [q-bio]/Agricultural sciences, Veterinary medicine, 040301 veterinary sciences, medicine.medical_treatment, Physical activity, CATTLE, Animal-assisted therapy, Context (language use), Biology, 0403 veterinary science, MEAT QUALITY, Food Animals, Blood plasma, medicine, EMOTIONAL REACTIVITY, Reactivity (psychology), Cortisol level, Longissimus dorsi, Hydrocortisone, SLAUGHTER STRESS, 0402 animal and dairy science, food and beverages, RÉACTION ÉMOTIONNELLE, 04 agricultural and veterinary sciences, 040201 dairy & animal science, Animal Science and Zoology, ANIMAL WELFARE, medicine.drug
Abstract: The present study on 32 Normand cows evaluated whether it is possible to identify, during rearing, individuals likely to be relatively reactive to the slaughter procedure. It evaluated further which factors may contribute to stress during the pre-slaughter period. Behavioural and physiological reactivity of the cows was evaluated during rearing in a social separation (SS) and a human exposure (HE) test. Cows were slaughtered 3 weeks later in an experimental abattoir, either under limited stress (LS, n = 16) or added stress (psychological stress and physical activity) conditions (AS, n = 16) and stress reactions were evaluated using ante-mortem behavioural and physiological measurements, and indicators of post-mortem muscle ( Longissimus dorsi : LD and Semitendinosus : ST) metabolism. Results showed that compared to visual isolation of pen-mates, human presence provoked stronger reactions: cows showed higher heart rates and spent increased time in the exit zone. Cows were consistent in their reactions to various stress-inducing events, as indicated by positive correlations between activities observed in the reactivity tests. At slaughter, the AS group showed higher plasma and urinary cortisol levels and early post-mortem ST temperature than the LS group. Various reactions recorded during tests were correlated with indicators of the stress status at slaughter, especially in the AS group. For example, cows which spent relatively more time looking at floor and walls during the HE test had higher heart rates during transport, needed more time to enter the abattoir and had a higher early post-mortem muscle temperature, all indicative of increased stress reactions to the slaughter procedure. Similarly, cows that accepted less easily to be handled during the HE test showed higher heart rates at loading, higher post-mortem ST temperature and faster ST pH decline. A PCA with these variables showed that the first two principal axes, explaining 65% of variability, could be interpreted in terms of reactivity to unfamiliar situations and to social separation, respectively. Indicators of reactivity to handling loaded both on the first two axes suggesting that ease of handling depends on the context. In conclusion, the present study shows that emotional reactivity evaluated during rearing can predict stress status at slaughter in cows.
Published: 2010
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49. The effect of repeated testing on judgement biases in sheep

Author: Stephanie Vidal, Rebecca E. Doyle, Andrew D. Fisher, Geoffrey Hinch, Caroline Lee, Alain Boissy, Livestock Industries, School of Environment and Rural Science, University of New England (UNE), University of Melbourne, Unité de Recherches sur les Herbivores (URH), and Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique (INRA)
Subjects: medicine.medical_specialty, Time Factors, [SDV]Life Sciences [q-bio], Judgement, Audiology, Motor Activity, Neuropsychological Tests, Developmental psychology, [SHS]Humanities and Social Sciences, 03 medical and health sciences, Behavioral Neuroscience, Repeated testing, Judgment, Random Allocation, 0302 clinical medicine, Predatory behavior, Dogs, Reward, JUDGEMENT BIAS, AFFECTIVE STATE, medicine, EMOTION, Animals, 0501 psychology and cognitive sciences, [INFO]Computer Science [cs], 050102 behavioral science & comparative psychology, Motor activity, Reinforcement, Random allocation, 05 social sciences, Cognition, General Medicine, Cognitive bias, SHEEP, Food, Predatory Behavior, Linear Models, COGNITION, Animal Science and Zoology, Female, Cues, COGNITIVE BIAS, Psychology, Reinforcement, Psychology, 030217 neurology & neurosurgery, Psychomotor Performance, psychological phenomena and processes
Abstract: International audience; Testing judgement biases of animals may provide insight into their affective states; however important questions about methodologies need to be answered. This experiment investigated the effect of repeated testing using unreinforced, ambiguous cues on the response of sheep to a go/no-go judgement bias test. Fifteen sheep were trained to differentiate between two locations, reinforced respectively with feed (positive) or with the presentation of a dog (negative). The responses to nine ambiguous locations, positioned between the positively and negatively reinforced locations, were tested repeatedly over 3 weeks. Sheep exhibited a symmetrical gradation in response to ambiguous locations between the positive and negative reinforcers. There was a significant decline (P = 0.001) in the total number of approaches to the ambiguous positions over time (weeks). This effect of time suggests that sheep learnt that the ambiguous locations were unrewarded. This result supplies evidence of a limitation identified in current judgement bias methodology, due to repeated testing, which has the potential to provide misleading results.
Published: 2010
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50. Decision making in group departures of sheep is a continuous process

Author: Bernard Thierry, Amandine Ramseyer, Bertrand Dumont, Alain Boissy, Département Ecologie, Physiologie et Ethologie (DEPE-IPHC), Université Louis Pasteur - Strasbourg I-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), Unité Mixte de Recherches sur les Herbivores - UMR 1213 (UMRH), VetAgro Sup - Institut national d'enseignement supérieur et de recherche en alimentation, santé animale, sciences agronomiques et de l'environnement (VAS)-AgroSup Dijon - Institut National Supérieur des Sciences Agronomiques, de l'Alimentation et de l'Environnement-Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique (INRA), Département Ecologie, Physiologie et Ethologie ( DEPE-IPHC ), Université Louis Pasteur - Strasbourg I-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique ( CNRS ), Unité Mixte de Recherches sur les Herbivores ( UMR 1213 Herbivores ), VetAgro Sup ( VAS ) -AgroSup Dijon - Institut National Supérieur des Sciences Agronomiques, de l'Alimentation et de l'Environnement-Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique ( INRA ), Institut Pluridisciplinaire Hubert Curien (IPHC), Université Louis Pasteur - Strasbourg I-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Université Louis Pasteur - Strasbourg I-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), Unité de Recherches sur les Herbivores (URH), and Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique (INRA)
Subjects: 0106 biological sciences, Ovis aries, sheep, media_common.quotation_subject, collective, Physical activity, 010603 evolutionary biology, 01 natural sciences, [ SDV.NEU.PC ] Life Sciences [q-bio]/Neurons and Cognition [q-bio.NC]/Psychology and behavior, Social group, predeparture, Coordinated movement, 0501 psychology and cognitive sciences, 050102 behavioral science & comparative psychology, Ecology, Evolution, Behavior and Systematics, media_common, [SDV.NEU.PC]Life Sciences [q-bio]/Neurons and Cognition [q-bio.NC]/Psychology and behavior, [SDV.BID.EVO]Life Sciences [q-bio]/Biodiversity/Populations and Evolution [q-bio.PE], 05 social sciences, Social relation, [ SDV.BID.EVO ] Life Sciences [q-bio]/Biodiversity/Populations and Evolution [q-bio.PE], recruitment, Social relationship, Head movements, Animal Science and Zoology, movement, Psychology, Social psychology, Vigilance (psychology)
Abstract: International audience; For coordinated movement, group-living individuals have to reach consensus decisions through recruitment processes. Success in recruitment can depend on the spatial distribution and behaviour of animals before and/or after departure, and on their affinitive relationships. We tested the effect of such factors on recruitment processes in a group of 19 ewe lambs, Ovis aries, at pasture. Two observers continuously videotaped the behaviours of animals from a platform located in the centre of the field. Results showed that group orientation, group vigilance and activities such as head movements, stillness and number of steps increased before departure. Using general linear modelling we found that changes in most of these variables predicted the number of participants in movements. Similarly, activity of the first mover was modified in the last 2 min preceding departure, and at departure time the location and number of close neighbours of the first mover were especially influential in recruiting conspecifics. Animals first recruited were those that were close to the first mover and also its preferential partners. The behaviours of the second and third moving individuals could further influence the recruitment process. Moreover, there were clues that individuals were able to recruit others intentionally. Our findings emphasize that decision making in a group of domestic sheep was a continuous and distributed process. Recruitment depended both on group state and on the behaviour of individuals and their social relationships.
Published: 2009
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