Do boxes affect exploration behavior and performance in group-in-a-box layouts?

The idea that organisms often are motivated to seek external stimulation for its own intrinsic value, apart from serving any apparent biological need, is not a new one. However, present day explanations of the mechanism behind exploratory behavior are at sharp variance with one another. . Myers and Miller (6) conceive of exploratory behavior as a function of an internal drive stimulus rather than one external to the organism. As tension-reductionists, they argue that exploratory behavior is motivated by a disequilibrium within the organism and can be categorized with the primary drives of hunger, thirst, and sex. They maintain that a monotonous environment produces a tension state called boredom which is capable of initiating motor behavior leading to new stimuli, thereby increasing sensory variation. Boredom, as a persistent stimulus, is consequently reduced, and the behavior is reinforced. However, Harlow ( 3 ) contends that exploratory and manipulatory behaviors are functions of drives unlike the classical ones of sex, hunger, and thirst. He argues that they are not homeostatic and that their source of stimulation originates outside the organism. This stimulation initiates the behavior, sustains it, and also serves as a reward. Any resultant learning is a function of contiguity rather than drive reduction. Hence his explanation of exploratory behavior emphasizes the role of externally elicited motives. One way of testing the foregoing hypotheses is to deprive the animal of those stimuli which are assumed to reward or establish exploratory behavior. Berlyne ( 1) reported that 10 min. of confinement had no effect on exploratory behavior in the rat. In a developmental type study, Montgomery and Zimbardo (5) found that depriving rats of stimulus variation for relatively long periods after weaning had no effect on subsequent exploratory behavior. Butler (2) discovered that short stimulus-deprivation periods served to increase exploratory behavior in the Rhesus monkey. The conflicting results reveal clearly the necessity of further investigation. The purpose of this experiment was to determine whether a relatively

Differences in habitat characteristics experienced during rearing associate with variation in a range of behavioral phenotypes such as exploratory behavior, foraging behavior and food selection. The habitat-dependent selection hypothesis predicts that animals develop behavioral characteristics fitted to their rearing environment. Yet, little is known about how habitat characteristics during rearing shape how animals face winter conditions and adjust their winter foraging behavior. The aim of this study was to explore how fine-scale rearing habitat characteristics associate with exploratory behavior, food selection, and foraging performance during winter. For this, we measured habitat characteristics during the breeding season in territories of wild great tits (Parus major) and tested first-year juvenile birds that fledged from these territories for exploratory and foraging behavior at feeders during winter. We found evidence that faster explorers were raised in territories with lower quality habitat characteristics. In addition, fast exploring fledglings visited the feeders significantly more (total visits). Moreover, the rearing environment, via caterpillar availability and tree species composition, determined diet selection during winter in first-year birds. These results show support for the habitat-dependent selection hypothesis, since exploratory behavior as well as food selection during winter associate with habitat features of the rearing territories during development. This pattern can be caused either by the kinds of natural foods prevalent during rearing at these sites or because of intrinsic individual differences. Further experiments are needed to disentangle these two.Significance statementIndividuals vary in how they behaviorally adapt foraging and food selection strategies to the environmental conditions. A number of studies have shown that animals develop behavioral characteristics fitted to their rearing environment. However, how habitat characteristics during rearing shape the foraging strategy that animals use to face winter conditions is still unknown. We studied these links in yearling great tits using automated feeders that recorded their visits during winter. Fledglings with a higher exploratory score were born in territories with lower quality habitat characteristics and visited the feeders more. Furthermore, we found an association between caterpillar availability and tree species composition in the rearing territory of juveniles and their subsequent food selection in winter. Our study indicates that certain environmental conditions might favor the development of particular behaviors in birds and that early nutrition could shape food choice later in life.

BackgroundAccumulating evidence from epidemiological research has demonstrated an association between advanced paternal age and risk for several psychiatric disorders including autism, schizophrenia and early-onset bipolar disorder. In order to establish causality, this study used an animal model to investigate the effects of advanced paternal age on behavioural deficits in the offspring.MethodsC57BL/6J offspring (n = 12 per group) were bred from fathers of two different ages, 2 months (young) and 10 months (old), and mothers aged 2 months (n = 6 breeding pairs per group). Social and exploratory behaviors were examined in the offspring.Principal FindingsThe offspring of older fathers were found to engage in significantly less social (p = 0.02) and exploratory (p = 0.02) behaviors than the offspring of younger fathers. There were no significant differences in measures of motor activity.ConclusionsGiven the well-controlled nature of this study, this provides the strongest evidence for deleterious effects of advancing paternal age on social and exploratory behavior. De-novo chromosomal changes and/or inherited epigenetic changes are the most plausible explanatory factors.

This study explores factors influencing turnover intention among employees in companies undergoing mergers and acquisitions (M&A) in Malaysia, focusing on psychological ownership, exploration behavior, exploitation behavior, leader-member exchange, and turnover intention. A Google Form questionnaire was used to collect data from 166 participants, and SMART PLS 4.0 was used for analysis. The results indicate that psychological ownership positively and significantly impacts exploration and exploitation behaviors. Exploration behavior has significant and positive impacts on leader-member exchange. Leader-member exchange has significant and negative impacts on turnover intention. However, exploitation behavior does not have a significant impact on turnover intention. The mediation analysis revealed that exploration behavior and leader-member exchange mediate the relationship between psychological ownership and turnover intention, but exploitation behavior does not. The findings provide actionable insights to organizational management during M&A. By addressing the dynamics of psychological ownership, exploration and exploitation behavior, leader-member exchange, and turnover intention, the study offers practical recommendations to drive organizational innovation while maintaining operational stability during mergers and acquisitions. This work contributes to the academic understanding of employee attitudes and behaviors in the context of organizational change like M&A.

This study investigates how multiple simultaneously pursued conflicting goals impact the levels of exploration and exploitation behaviour of the employees. Multiple goal theory is silent on predicting the outcomes of multiple goal conflicts on individuals exploration and exploitation behaviour when more than two goals are followed concurrently through different hierarchical levels in large firms. We use a multilevel survey to examine the relationship between four different operational goals (safety, availability, environment, innovation) that employees have to persecute coinstantaneous and the individuals innovative behaviour in a large energy company. Theories of paradox mindset and top management team alignment were included to moderate the relationships at individual level and team level. We found that goal conflicts negatively impact employees exploitation behaviour and that paradox mindset reduces goal conflicts on exploration behaviour. We extend current theories on multiple goals by showing how multiple goal conflicts shape individuals innovative behaviour under different organizational levels. In addition, theory on employees antecedents for individuals exploration and exploitation behaviour is also advanced by illustrating new insights by goal setting considerations.

Twenty-four hour activity budgets and patterns of behavior in captive ocelots ( Leopardus pardalis)

An unexplored area of research is whether personality influences how individuals use social information in a mating context. Here, I experimentally tested, using virgin female Trinidadian guppies (Poecilia reticulata), whether (i) exploratory behaviour and boldness in individual females are repeatable over time, (ii) the exploratory tendency of individuals is correlated with their boldness, (iii) mate-choice copying behaviour is repeatable, and (iv) personality is correlated with an individual's tendency to mate-choice copy when given the opportunity to do so. Although both personality scores varied widely among females, neither exploratory or boldness behaviour was significantly repeatable, nor were they correlated with each other. Mate-choice copying behaviour was also not found to be repeatable, and neither personality trait was correlated with an individual's tendency to mate-choice copy. These results suggest that female guppies were able to adjust their exploratory behaviour and boldness independently of one another.

BackgroundIt is well-known that light/dark phase can affect energy expenditure and behaviors of most organisms; however, its influences on individuality (inter-individual variance) and plasticity (intra-individual variance), as well as their associations remain unclear. To approach this question, we repeatedly measured maintenance metabolic rate (MR), exploratory and risk-taking behaviors across light/dark phase four times using wild-caught female Asiatic toads (Bufo gargarizans), and partitioned their variance components with univariate and bivariate mixed-effects models.ResultsThe group means of maintenance MR and risk-taking behavior increased at night, while the group mean of exploratory behavior remained constant throughout the day. At night, the intra-individual variances were elevated in maintenance MR but reduced in exploration, suggesting that phenotypic plasticity was enhanced in the former but constrained in the latter. In addition, maintenance MR was not coupled with exploratory or risk-taking behaviors in daytime or at night, neither at the inter-individual nor intra-individual levels.ConclusionsOur findings suggest that these traits are independently modulated by the light/dark phase, and an allocation energy management model may be applicable in this species. This study sheds new insights into how amphibians adapt nocturnal lifestyle across multiple hierarchy levels via metabolic and behavioral adjustments.

Some like it varied: Individual differences in preference for feed variety in dairy heifers

Exploratory behavior, measured by the time an animal spends investigating objects in a novel environment, has been shown to be sensitive to prior exposure of the animal to stressors. Using this paradigm, it was demonstrated previously that both corticotropin-releasing factor (CRF) and the alpha 2-adrenoreceptor antagonist, idazoxan, elicited stress-like decreases in exploratory behavior. Because an activation of cerebral noradrenergic systems is observed during stress, following intracerebroventricular (i.c.v.) administration of CRF, or following peripheral administration of idazoxan, the involvement of noradrenergic systems in the behavioral effect of restraint and CRF was examined. Inhibition of norepinephrine (NE) release using the alpha 2-agonist clonidine (25 micrograms/kg, i.p.) or the noradrenergic-selective neurotoxin DSP-4 antagonized the restraint-induced decrease in exploratory behavior. The combination of these 2 treatments completely prevented this effect of restraint. The alpha 1-receptor antagonist prazosin (200 micrograms/kg) also prevented the behavioral effect of restraint, whereas the alpha 1-agonist phenylephrine (50 or 100 ng, i.c.v.) decreased exploratory behavior. None of these treatments consistently altered locomotor activity as measured by the number of entries into the different compartments or the number of rears. These results implicate noradrenergic systems in the stress-related changes in this behavior, consistent with our parallel measures on the production of NE catabolites. Thus, both CRF and noradrenergic systems appear to be involved in the effect of restraint on exploratory behavior in this task. Neither DSP-4 nor prazosin had any effect on the CRF-induced decrease in exploratory behavior. However, the CRF antagonist alpha-helical CRF (20 micrograms, i.c.v.) reversed the decrease in exploratory behavior induced by phenylephrine. The most likely explanation is that the 2 systems act in tandem such that noradrenergic systems regulate the release of brain CRF via an alpha 1-adrenoreceptor. This arrangement parallels that involved in the release of hypothalamic CRF to activate the pituitary-adrenal axis. The implications of these results for research on stress-related behaviors and for the etiology of depression are discussed.

O impacto da depressão materna para o desenvolvimento infantil tem sido amplamente estudado e vem sendo compreendido a partir de um referencial teórico interacionista, em que a qualidade da interação mãe-bebê é o foco de atenção nestes estudos. Os comportamentos interativos das mães com depressão costumam ser caracterizados como intrusivo ou retraído. Para os autores, ambos os estilos podem repercutir de maneira negativa no desenvolvimento do bebê, pois a estimulação e a modulação do estado de alerta que a mãe oferece são inadequadas para a regulação emocional do bebê. Pouco ainda se sabe sobre as repercussões dos estilos de comportamento interativo materno para o desenvolvimento do comportamento exploratório do bebê durante o primeiro ano de vida. Nesse sentido, o presente artigo procura refletir teoricamente acerca do desenvolvimento emocional do bebê e, em particular, sobre o comportamento exploratório do bebê no contexto da depressão materna. Inicialmente, busca-se descrever alguns estudos sobre a interação mãe-bebê e o desenvolvimento sócio-emocional no primeiro ano de vida, em seguida, estudos empíricos sobre o desenvolvimento do bebê no contexto da depressão materna, e finalmente, os estudos empíricos sobre os comportamentos interativos mãe-bebê no contexto da depressão materna. Para tanto, parte-se de algumas perspectivas teóricas, as quais entendem o desenvolvimento do comportamento exploratório do bebê a partir do sentido de competência e controle voluntário, assim como da exploração manual, tátil e visual, do direcionamento da atenção, das demonstrações de preferência e curiosidade, e capacidade de locomoção, bem como dos comportamentos de exploração do ambiente e cooperação. A importância de se considerar o comportamento da mãe para melhor compreender o desenvolvimento do comportamento exploratório do bebê advém da idéia de que a mãe precisa apresentar comportamentos de permissividade e encorajamento em relação aos comportamentos do bebê, promovendo o sentido de competência e controle voluntário do bebê, a fim de que este possa se separar e tornar-se seguro para explorar o ambiente. Da mesma forma, a expressão contínua do sentimento materno de confiança e expectativa durante os comportamentos de exploração do bebê é fundamental para o desenvolvimento e manutenção dos comportamentos de exploração bebê, o que independe do quadro depressivo materno.

Emerging evidence indicates that the amygdala and the hippocampus play an important role in the pathophysiology of major psychotic disorders. Consistent with this evidence, and with data indicating amygdala modulation of hippocampal activity, animal model investigations have shown that a disruption of amygdala activity induces neurochemical changes in the hippocampus that are similar to those detected in subjects with schizophrenia. With the present study, we used induction of the immediate early gene Fos, to test the hypothesis that the amygdala may affect neuronal activation of the hippocampus in response to different spatial environments (familiar, modified, and novel). Exploratory and anxiety related behaviors were also assessed. In vehicle-treated rats, exposure to a modified version of the familiar environment was associated with an increase of numerical densities of Fos-immunoreactive nuclei in sectors CA1 and CA2, while exposure to a completely novel environment was associated with an increase in sectors CA1, CA4, and DG, compared with the familiar environment. Pharmacological disruption of amygdala activity resulted in a failure to increase Fos induction in the hippocampus in response to these environments. Exploratory behavior in response to the different environments was not altered by manipulation of amygdala activity. These findings support the idea that the amygdala modulates spatial information processing in the hippocampus and may affect encoding of specific environmental features, while complex behavioral responses to environment may be the result of broader neural circuits. These findings also raise the possibility that amygdala abnormalities may contribute to impairments in cognitive information processing in subjects with major psychoses.

The use of shelters has had a predominant adaptive value in many species throughout evolution. Shelters provide protection and reduce the risk of predation during the search for food and mates. However, they imply the additional danger of having the refuge appropriated by an intruder because of intraspecific competition, especially in densely populated communities. In this work we studied the burrow-centred strategies of exploration and the burrow-oriented escape responses of the crab Chasmagnathus granulatus during surface activity outside their burrows. Exploratory excursions were described through diverse characteristics that enabled their functional analysis and categorization. Results showed that surface exploration is mainly accomplished by slow and near-the-burrow excursions that could be composed of two or three stages. Exploratory behaviour is drastically replaced by a conspicuous burrow-oriented escape response when crabs are faced with an aerial stimulus or the approach of a conspecific neighbour. We describe and compare this escape run with regard to whether individual survival or burrow resource is at risk. This study provides evidence of the effect of the crabs’ shelter on surface activity and social interactions in the natural habitat of C. granulatus and supplies valuable tools for field and laboratory studies using this crab as an animal model.

Background Individuals within the same species often differ in their metabolic rates, which may covary with behavioural traits (such as exploration), that are consistent across time and/or contexts, and morphological traits. Yet, despite the frequent occurrence of sexual dimorphisms in morphology and behaviour, few studies have assessed whether and how sexes differ in metabolic trait covariances. Methods We investigated sex-specific relationships among resting or active metabolic rate (RMR and AMR, respectively) with exploratory behaviour, measured independently of metabolic rate in a novel environment, body size and body mass, in Carabus hortensis ground beetles. Results RMR, AMR and exploratory behaviour were repeatable among individuals across time, except for male RMR which was unrepeatable. Female RMR neither correlated with exploratory behaviour nor body size/body mass. In contrast, AMR was correlated with both body size and exploratory behaviour. Males with larger body sizes had higher AMR, whereas females with larger body sizes had lower AMR. Both male and female AMR were significantly related to exploratory behaviour, though the relationships between AMR and exploration were body mass-dependent in males and temperature-dependent in females. Discussion Differences between sexes exist in the covariances between metabolic rate, body size and exploratory behaviour. This suggests that selection acts differently on males and females to produce these trait covariances with potentially important consequences for individual fitness.

Exploration and play are considered to be crucial behaviors during mammalian development. Even though the relationship between glucocorticoids and exploratory behavior, stress, and anxiety is well described in the literature, very little is known about their role in play behavior in non-rodents. Likewise, the functional role of the “social hormone” oxytocin in exploration, play, stress, and anxiety is still unknown. The present work addresses this literature gap by studying plasma hormone profiles for cortisol (CORT) and oxytocin (OT) of domestic dogs exposed to a novel arena containing two unfamiliar trainers who did not interact with the dogs. We provide evidence suggesting a functional relationship between hormonal measures of cortisol and oxytocin and adaptive behavior (play-soliciting and exploration) in freely behaving domestic dogs. We have taken into account several possible factors in our analyses and interpretations, from the nature and quality of the measurements to demographic factors to statistical robustness. Our results indicate that reduced CORT levels are associated with increments of both play-soliciting behavior frequency and exploratory behavior duration. Furthermore, taken together, our data and our simulations suggest a relationship between OT and the enactment of play-soliciting behaviors by freely behaving domestic dogs that must be further investigated. Future studies should consider naturalistic structured and semi-structured experimental approaches linking behavior with (neuro) physiological measures, taking into account demographic factors such as age and relevant interphase factors such as the sex of the dog; and socio-historic factors such as the playfulness of the dog, history of interaction with young humans, among others, to take full account of interaction between humans and animals in comparative studies (Parada and Rossi, 2018).