Please use this identifier to cite or link to this item:
https://hdl.handle.net/1959.11/10037
Title: | Limb preferences and lateralization of aggression, reactivity and vigilance in feral horses, 'Equus caballus' | Contributor(s): | Austin, Nicole (author); Rogers, Lesley (author) | Publication Date: | 2012 | DOI: | 10.1016/j.anbehav.2011.10.033 | Handle Link: | https://hdl.handle.net/1959.11/10037 | Abstract: | Observational field studies were conducted on two remote populations of feral horses in Australia to determine whether lateralization is a characteristic of 'Equus caballus' as a species or results from handling by humans. Group 1 had been feral for two to five generations and Group 2 for 10-20 generations. In both groups, left-side biases were present during agonistic interactions and in reactivity and vigilance. Therefore, as in other vertebrates, the right hemisphere appears to be specialized to control agonistic behaviour and responses to potential threats. The leftwards bias was stronger in measures of behaviour involving more aggression and reactivity. Preferences to place one forelimb in front of the other during grazing were also determined. No population bias of forelimb preference was found, suggesting that such limb preferences present in domestic horses may be entrained. Since stronger individual limb preferences were found in immature than in adult feral horses, limb preference may be modified by maturation or experience in the natural habitat. Stronger limb preference was associated significantly with elevated attention to the environment but only in younger feral horses. No sex differences in lateralization were found. The findings are evidence that horses show visual lateralization, as in other vertebrates, not dependent on handling by humans. Limb preference during grazing, by contrast, does appear to depend on experience. | Publication Type: | Journal Article | Source of Publication: | Animal Behaviour, 83(1), p. 239-247 | Publisher: | Elsevier Ltd | Place of Publication: | United Kingdom | ISSN: | 0003-3472 1095-8282 |
Field of Research (FOR): | 060801 Animal Behaviour | Peer Reviewed: | Yes | HERDC Category Description: | C1 Refereed Article in a Scholarly Journal | Statistics to Oct 2018: | Visitors: 159 Views: 160 Downloads: 0 |
Appears in Collections: | Journal Article |
Files in This Item:
File | Description | Size | Format |
---|
SCOPUSTM
Citations
55
checked on Nov 26, 2018
Page view(s)
48
checked on Feb 16, 2019
Items in Research UNE are protected by copyright, with all rights reserved, unless otherwise indicated.