Hauschildt Verena, Gerken Martina
Department of Animal Sciences, University of Göttingen, Albrecht-Thaer-Weg 3, 37075 Göttingen, Germany.
Department of Animal Sciences, University of Göttingen, Albrecht-Thaer-Weg 3, 37075 Göttingen, Germany.
Behav Processes. 2015 Apr;113:110-2. doi: 10.1016/j.beproc.2015.01.013. Epub 2015 Jan 28.
Diversity of animal personalities has been proposed to arise from differences in social attraction, and to enhance behavioural flexibility of a population. The present study evaluated gregariousness as a personality trait in 14 ewes kept on pasture. Gregariousness was defined based on the frequency of having a close neighbour (<3m). Highly gregarious (HG) and less gregarious (LG) animals were separated into two groups (n=7) which were reintegrated after 18 days. During direct field observations, behaviour was recorded individually every 15 min. Each session lasted 2.5h (08.30-11.00 h or 14.30-17.00 h, respectively). Behavioural synchronization was highest when the group consisted only of HG individuals (κHG=0.69, κLG=0.31; t=5.29; p<0.001), indicating that gregariousness predicted behavioural synchronization in sheep. Though sheep are generally recognized as a highly gregarious species, HG and LG individuals could be differentiated clearly and consistently. Research on animal personality might help explain social influences on behavioural synchronization.
动物个性的多样性被认为源于社会吸引力的差异，并能增强种群的行为灵活性。本研究评估了14只在牧场饲养的母羊的群居性这一个性特征。群居性是根据有近距离邻居（<3米）的频率来定义的。高度群居（HG）和群居性较差（LG）的动物被分成两组（n = 7），18天后重新组合。在直接的野外观察中，每15分钟单独记录一次行为。每个时间段持续2.5小时（分别为08:30 - 11:00或14:30 - 17:00）。当群体仅由HG个体组成时，行为同步性最高（κHG = 0.69，κLG = 0.31；t = 5.29；p < 0.001），这表明群居性可预测绵羊的行为同步性。尽管绵羊通常被认为是高度群居的物种，但HG和LG个体能够被清晰且一致地区分。对动物个性的研究可能有助于解释社会对行为同步性的影响。
