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Do enclosure characteristics affect anti-predator behaviour in the European bison (Bison bonasus)?
Final thesis: International Master Programme Applied Ethology and Animal Biology 2009, Linköping University
By: Annika Hofling Supervisor: Mats Amundin
Aim
- To find out if animals respond differently to stimuli depending on enclosure characteristics
Methods
Animals in 7 enclosures
4 naturalistic
3 barren
3 types of stimuli
Olfactory
Auditory
Visual
2 Measures
Time
Reaction
100
200
300
400
500
Auditory
Visual
Time (s) b) * ** 10 20 30 40 50 60
Olfactory
Time (s) a) 0%
20%
40%
60%
80%
100% 1 2 3
Percent of animals
Auditory
Visual c)
Figure 1. Mean time of interest (±S.D.) to a) olfaction and b) auditory and visual and c) percent of animals in each response category (0= no response, 3= most intense response) for animals in naturalistic (black bar) and barren (white bar) enclosures, ** p≤0.01 *p≤0.05.
Animals in
barren enclosures responded stronger than animals in naturalistic to auditory stimuli
naturalistic enclosures responded stronger than animals in barren to the visual stimulus
naturalistic enclosures responded stronger to the visual stimulus than auditory stimuli
Conclusion
Enclosure characteristics might have an effect on the anti-predator behaviour
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