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Kaplan G. The evolution of social play in songbirds, parrots and cockatoos - emotional or highly complex cognitive behaviour or both? Neurosci Biobehav Rev 2024; 161:105621. [PMID: 38479604 DOI: 10.1016/j.neubiorev.2024.105621] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/14/2023] [Revised: 02/04/2024] [Accepted: 03/09/2024] [Indexed: 04/20/2024]
Abstract
Social play has been described in many animals. However, much of this social behaviour among birds, particularly in adults, is still relatively unexplored in terms of the environmental, psychological, and social dynamics of play. This paper provides an overview of what we know about adult social play in birds and addresses areas in which subtleties and distinctions, such as in play initiation and social organisation and its relationship to expressions of play, are considered in detail. The paper considers emotional, social, innovative, and cognitive aspects of play, then the environmental conditions and affiliative bonds, suggesting a surprisingly complex framework of criteria awaiting further research. Adult social play has so far been studied in only a small number of avian species, exclusively in those with a particularly large brain relative to body size without necessarily addressing brain functions and lateralization. When lateralization of brain function is considered, it can further illuminate a possibly significant relevance of play behaviour to the evolution of cognition, to management of emotions, and the development of sociality.
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Affiliation(s)
- Gisela Kaplan
- University of New England, Armidale, NSW, Australia.
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Liu Q, Ilčíková T, Radchenko M, Junková M, Špinka M. Effects of reduced kinematic and social play experience on affective appraisal of human-rat play in rats. Front Zool 2023; 20:34. [PMID: 37821980 PMCID: PMC10568924 DOI: 10.1186/s12983-023-00512-0] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/22/2023] [Accepted: 09/30/2023] [Indexed: 10/13/2023] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Play is a common and developmentally important behaviour in young mammals. Specifically in Norway rats (Rattus norvegicus), reduced opportunity to engage in rough-and-tumble (RT) play has been associated with impaired development in social competence. However, RT play is a complex behaviour having both a kinematic aspect (i.e., performing complex 3D manoeuvres during play fights) and a social aspect (interacting with a playful partner). There has been little research so far on disentangling the two aspects in RT play, especially on how these two aspects affect the affective appraisal of the intense physical contact during play. RESULTS To examine the developmental effects of kinematic and social play reduction on affective appraisal in rats, we subjected male Long-Evans rats from 21 days old to RT play experience that was reduced either kinematically (through playing in a low ceiling environment) or socially (through playing with a less playful Fischer-344 rat). Starting at 35 days, we measured their production of positively (50-kHz) and negatively (22-kHz) valenced ultrasonic vocalisations (USVs) in a 2-min standardised human-rat play procedure that mimicked the playful sequences of nape contact, pinning, and belly stimulation ('tickling') for ten days. We hypothesised that the rats with kinematically or socially reduced play would perceive the 'tickling' less positively and thus emit positive ultrasonic vocalisations at lower rates compared to control rats with non-reduced play experience. Our results confirmed that each of the treatments reduced play differently: while the kinematic reduction abolished playful pinnings entirely, the social reduction decreased the pinnings and made play highly asymmetric. During the tickling procedure, rats mostly produced 50 kHz USV, indicating that they appraised the procedure as positive. There was a wide inter individual variance and high individual consistency in rats' USV responses to 'tickling'. Crucially, neither the kinematically nor the socially reduced play experience affected either type of USV production when rats were 'tickled'. CONCLUSIONS This finding indicates that the ability to appraise play-like interactions as positive remains unaffected even when the kinematic or the social aspect of play experience was substantially curtailed.
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Affiliation(s)
- Quanxiao Liu
- Department of Ethology and Companion Animal Science, Faculty of Agrobiology, Food and Natural Resources, Czech University of Life Sciences, Prague, Czechia.
| | - Tereza Ilčíková
- Department of Ethology and Companion Animal Science, Faculty of Agrobiology, Food and Natural Resources, Czech University of Life Sciences, Prague, Czechia
| | - Mariia Radchenko
- Department of Ethology and Companion Animal Science, Faculty of Agrobiology, Food and Natural Resources, Czech University of Life Sciences, Prague, Czechia
| | - Markéta Junková
- Department of Ethology and Companion Animal Science, Faculty of Agrobiology, Food and Natural Resources, Czech University of Life Sciences, Prague, Czechia
| | - Marek Špinka
- Department of Ethology and Companion Animal Science, Faculty of Agrobiology, Food and Natural Resources, Czech University of Life Sciences, Prague, Czechia
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A systematic review of sex differences in rough and tumble play across non-human mammals. Behav Ecol Sociobiol 2022. [DOI: 10.1007/s00265-022-03260-z] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/16/2022]
Abstract
Abstract
It is widely believed that juvenile male mammals typically engage in higher rates of rough and tumble play (RTP) than do females, in preparation for adult roles involving intense physical competition between males. The consistency of this sex difference across diverse mammalian species has, however, not yet been systematically investigated, limiting our current understanding of its possible adaptive function. This review uses narrative synthesis to (i) evaluate the ubiquity of male-biased RTP across non-human mammals, (ii) identify patterns of variation within and between taxonomic groups, and (iii) propose possible predictors of variation in these differences, including methodological and socio-ecological factors, for investigation by future studies. We find that most species studied do exhibit higher rates or RTP in males than females, while female-biased RTP is rare. Sex differences are smaller and less consistent than expected, with many studies finding similar rates of RTP in males and females. We identify multiple potential socio-ecological predictors of variation in sex differences in RTP, such as intrasexual competition and dietary niche. However, variation is not strongly phylogenetically patterned, suggesting that methodological and environmental factors, such as sample size and play partner availability, are important to consider in future comparative analyses.
Significance statement
Rough and tumble play (RTP) is thought to be vital for developing physical skills necessary for aggressive competition in adulthood, explaining an apparently widespread sex difference in RTP in mammals whereby immature males are more likely to engage in this behaviour than females. However, no prior study has systematically investigated the extent to which a male bias in RTP is consistent across diverse mammalian species. We find that although RTP is commonly male biased, findings were highly variable both within- and between-species, and equal participation in RTP by males and females is more common than widely assumed. Our review suggests several potential predictors of variation in sex differences in RTP, particularly levels of intrasexual competition in both males and females. However, our findings also suggest the importance of considering methodological in addition to socio-ecological factors for future research.
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Massenet M, Anikin A, Pisanski K, Reynaud K, Mathevon N, Reby D. Nonlinear vocal phenomena affect human perceptions of distress, size and dominance in puppy whines. Proc Biol Sci 2022; 289:20220429. [PMID: 35473375 PMCID: PMC9043735 DOI: 10.1098/rspb.2022.0429] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/12/2022] Open
Abstract
While nonlinear phenomena (NLP) are widely reported in animal vocalizations, often causing perceptual harshness and roughness, their communicative function remains debated. Several hypotheses have been put forward: attention-grabbing, communication of distress, exaggeration of body size and dominance. Here, we use state-of-the-art sound synthesis to investigate how NLP affect the perception of puppy whines by human listeners. Listeners assessed the distress, size or dominance conveyed by synthetic puppy whines with manipulated NLP, including frequency jumps and varying proportions of subharmonics, sidebands and deterministic chaos. We found that the presence of chaos increased the puppy's perceived level of distress and that this effect held across a range of representative fundamental frequency (fo) levels. Adding sidebands and subharmonics also increased perceived distress among listeners who have extensive caregiving experience with pre-weaned puppies (e.g. breeders, veterinarians). Finally, we found that whines with added chaos, subharmonics or sidebands were associated with larger and more dominant puppies, although these biases were attenuated in experienced caregivers. Together, our results show that nonlinear phenomena in puppy whines can convey rich information to human listeners and therefore may be crucial for offspring survival during breeding of a domesticated species.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mathilde Massenet
- Equipe de Neuro-Ethologie Sensorielle, ENES/CRNL, University of Saint-Etienne, CNRS, Inserm, Saint-Etienne, France
| | - Andrey Anikin
- Equipe de Neuro-Ethologie Sensorielle, ENES/CRNL, University of Saint-Etienne, CNRS, Inserm, Saint-Etienne, France.,Division of Cognitive Science, University of Lund, 22100 Lund, Sweden
| | - Katarzyna Pisanski
- Equipe de Neuro-Ethologie Sensorielle, ENES/CRNL, University of Saint-Etienne, CNRS, Inserm, Saint-Etienne, France.,CNRS, French National Centre for Scientific Research, Laboratoire de Dynamique du Langage, University of Lyon 2, 69007 Lyon, France
| | - Karine Reynaud
- École Nationale Vétérinaire d'Alfort, EnvA, 94700 Maisons-Alfort, France.,Physiologie de la Reproduction et des Comportements, CNRS, IFCE, INRAE, University of Tours, PRC, Nouzilly, France
| | - Nicolas Mathevon
- Equipe de Neuro-Ethologie Sensorielle, ENES/CRNL, University of Saint-Etienne, CNRS, Inserm, Saint-Etienne, France.,Institut universitaire de France, Paris, France
| | - David Reby
- Equipe de Neuro-Ethologie Sensorielle, ENES/CRNL, University of Saint-Etienne, CNRS, Inserm, Saint-Etienne, France.,Institut universitaire de France, Paris, France
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Asensio N, Zandonà E, Dunn JC, Cristóbal-Azkarate J. Socioecological correlates of social play in adult mantled howler monkeys. Anim Behav 2022. [DOI: 10.1016/j.anbehav.2022.01.017] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/01/2022]
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Freret‐Meurer NV, Andreata JV, Alves MAS. Agonistic behaviour in the long‐snout seahorse: A gentlemanly challenge. Ethology 2021. [DOI: 10.1111/eth.13216] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/20/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Natalie Villar Freret‐Meurer
- Graduate Program in Ecology and Evolution Roberto Alcantara Gomes Institute of Biology (IBRAG) Universidade do Estado do Rio de Janeiro (UERJ Rio de Janeiro RJ Brazil
- Laboratory of Animal Behaviour and Conservation Universidade Santa Úrsula Rio de Janeiro RJ Brazil
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Kolm N, Temrin H, Miklósi Á, Kubinyi E, Garamszegi LZ. The link between selection for function and human-directed play behaviour in dogs. Biol Lett 2020; 16:20200366. [PMID: 32961091 PMCID: PMC7532715 DOI: 10.1098/rsbl.2020.0366] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/17/2022] Open
Abstract
Human-directed play behaviour is a distinct behavioural feature of domestic dogs. But the role that artificial selection for contemporary dog breeds has played for human-directed play behaviour remains elusive. Here, we investigate how human-directed play behaviour has evolved in relation to the selection for different functions, considering processes of shared ancestry and gene flow among the different breeds. We use the American Kennel Club (AKC) breed group categorization to reflect the major functional differences and combine this with observational data on human-directed play behaviour for over 132 breeds across 89 352 individuals from the Swedish Dog Mentality Assessment project. Our analyses demonstrate that ancestor dogs already showed intermediate levels of human-directed play behaviour, levels that are shared with several modern breed types. Herding and Sporting breeds display higher levels of human-directed play behaviour, statistically distinguishable from Non-sporting and Toy breeds. Our results suggest that human-directed play behaviour played a role in the early domestication of dogs and that subsequent artificial selection for function has been important for contemporary variation in a behavioural phenotype mediating the social bond with humans.
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Affiliation(s)
- Niclas Kolm
- Department of Zoology, Stockholm University, Svante Arrhenius väg 18B, 10691 Stockholm, Sweden
| | - Hans Temrin
- Department of Zoology, Stockholm University, Svante Arrhenius väg 18B, 10691 Stockholm, Sweden
| | - Ádám Miklósi
- Department of Ethology, ELTE Eötvös Loránd University, Budapest, Hungary.,MTA-ELTE Comparative Ethology Research Group, Budapest, Hungary
| | - Enikő Kubinyi
- Department of Ethology, ELTE Eötvös Loránd University, Budapest, Hungary
| | - László Zsolt Garamszegi
- Institute of Ecology and Botany, Centre for Ecological Research, Vácrátót, Hungary.,MTA-ELTE, Theoretical Biology and Evolutionary Ecology Research Group, Department of Plant Systematics, Ecology and Theoretical Biology, Eötvös Loránd University, Budapest, Hungary
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Cordoni G, Palagi E. Back to the Future: A Glance Over Wolf Social Behavior to Understand Dog-Human Relationship. Animals (Basel) 2019; 9:ani9110991. [PMID: 31752164 PMCID: PMC6912837 DOI: 10.3390/ani9110991] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/25/2019] [Revised: 11/07/2019] [Accepted: 11/11/2019] [Indexed: 01/05/2023] Open
Abstract
Simple Summary Wolves, the ancestors of dogs, are one of the most cooperative canine species. This cooperative propensity derives from the fact that each subject needs other group members to obtain resources and increase survival. The pack functions as a unit in which each individual collaborates in territory defence, hunting, and rearing of offspring. For this reason, even though a clear hierarchy exists among wolves, subordinates can provide help to dominants to obtain social tolerance in a sort of commodity exchange. Wolves can make peace after aggression, console victims of a conflict, and calm down the aggressors. This set of behaviors, also called post-conflict strategies, requires a social attentiveness towards others’ emotional state and the ability to coordinate appropriate reactions. Adult wolves also play. They engage in play fighting, which strongly resembles real fighting, by finely modulating their motor actions and quickly interpreting playmates’ intentions, thus maintaining the non-serious playful mood. All these cognitive and social skills were a fertile ground for the artificial selection operated by humans to redirect the cooperative propensity of wolves towards dog–human affective relationship. Abstract This review focuses on wolf sociobiology to delineate the traits of cooperative baggage driven by natural selection (wolf-wolf cooperation) and better understand the changes obtained by artificial selection (dog-human cooperation). We selected some behaviors of the dog’s ancestors that provide the basis for the expression of a cooperative society, such as dominance relationships, leverage power, post-aggressive strategies, and playful dynamics between pack members. When possible, we tried to compare the data on wolves with those coming from the dog literature. Wolves can negotiate commodities when the interacting subjects occupy different ranking positions by bargaining social tolerance with helping and support. They are able to manage group disruption by engaging in sophisticated post-conflict maneuvers, thus restoring the relationship between the opponents and reducing the spreading of aggression in the group. Wolves engage in social play also as adults to manipulate social relationships. They are able to flexibly adjust their playful interactions to minimize the risk of escalation. Complex cognitive abilities and communicative skills are probably the main proximate causes for the evolution of inter-specific cooperation in wolves.
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Affiliation(s)
- Giada Cordoni
- Natural History Museum, University of Pisa, Via Roma 79, 56011 Calci, Pisa, Italy;
| | - Elisabetta Palagi
- Natural History Museum, University of Pisa, Via Roma 79, 56011 Calci, Pisa, Italy;
- Ethology Unit, Department of Biology, University of Pisa, Via Volta 6, 56126 Pisa, Italy
- Correspondence:
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Sharing playful mood: rapid facial mimicry in Suricata suricatta. Anim Cogn 2019; 22:719-732. [PMID: 31115791 DOI: 10.1007/s10071-019-01269-y] [Citation(s) in RCA: 21] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/07/2019] [Revised: 05/10/2019] [Accepted: 05/15/2019] [Indexed: 12/26/2022]
Abstract
One of the most productive behavioural domains to study visual communication in mammals is social play. The ability to manage play-fighting interactions can favour the development of communicative modules and their correct decoding. Due to their high levels of social cohesion and cooperation, slender-tailed meerkats (Suricata suricatta) are a very good model to test some hypotheses on the role of facial communication in synchronizing playful motor actions. We found that the relaxed open mouth (ROM), a playful facial expression conveying a positive mood in several social mammals, is also present in meerkats. ROM was mainly perceived during dyadic playful sessions compared to polyadic ones. We also found that meerkats mimic in a very rapid and automatic way the ROM emitted by playmates (Rapid Facial Mimicry, RFM). RFM was positively correlated with the relationship quality shared by subjects, thus suggesting that the mimicry phenomenon is socially modulated. Moreover, more than the mere presence of isolated ROMs, the presence of at RFM prolonged the duration of the play session. Through RFM animals can share the emotional mood, they are experiencing and this appears to be particularly adaptive in those species, whose relationships are not inhibited by rank rules and when animals build and maintain their bonds through social affiliation. The meerkat society is cohesive and cooperative. Such features could have, therefore, favoured the evolution of facial mimicry, a phenomenon linked to emotional contagion, one of the most basic forms of empathy.
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Lutz MC, Ratsimbazafy J, Judge PG. Use of social network models to understand play partner choice strategies in three primate species. Primates 2019; 60:247-260. [DOI: 10.1007/s10329-018-00708-7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/31/2017] [Accepted: 12/12/2018] [Indexed: 12/26/2022]
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