Animal domestication and behavior PDF
Preview Animal domestication and behavior
ANIMAL DOMESTICATION AND BEHAVIOR Animal Domestication and Behavior EDWARD O. PRICE Professor Department of Animal Science University of California Davis CA 95616 USA CABI Publishing CABIPublishingis a division of CABInternational CABIPublishing CABIPublishing CAB International 10E 40th Street Wallingford Suite 3203 Oxon OX10 8DE New York, NY 10016 UK USA Tel: +44 (0)1491 832111 Tel: +1 212 481 7018 Fax: +44 (0)1491 833508 Fax: +1 212 686 7993 E-mail:[email protected] E-mail:[email protected] Website:www.cabi-publishing.org ©CABInternational2002. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproducedinanyformorbyanymeans,electronically,mechanically,byphotocopying, recording or otherwise, without the prior permission of the copyright owners. A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library, London, UK. Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Price, Edward O. Animal domestication and behavior / by Edward O. Price. p. cm. Includes bibliographical references (p. ). ISBN 0-85199-597-7 (alk. paper) 1. Domestication. 2. Animal behavior. 3. Domestic animals. I. Title. SF41 .P75 2002 ′ 636.082--dc21 2002001333 ISBN 0 85199 597 7 Typeset by AMADataSetLtd, UK. Printed and bound in the UK byBiddles Ltd,Guildford and King’s Lynn. vi Contents Part VI: Behavioral Development, Feralization and Animal Welfare 18 Behavioral Development in Captive Animals 161 19 Reintroductions and Feralization 182 20 Welfare and Ethics 204 References 230 Index 283 Preface My appreciation for domestic animals started very early in life since I was born into a lineage of New Jersey dairy farmers. In addition to our 60-plus Guernsey cows,Ihadadog,apony,sheep,goatsandrabbitstocareforasIwasgrowingup. Each cow had a formal name (they were registered) and some had nicknames. One of my many chores on the farm was to teach the newborn calves to drink from a bucket. Watching each animal grow into an adult, I observed the behavioral and physical differences between individuals. Each animal had its owncharacteristictemperament,whichwesometimeshadtoaccountforinour handlingandcare-giving.Ouranimalslivedagoodlifebymostanimalstandards. Yet,theywerestillanimals.Everyfewdays,anewcalfwasbornandanoldercow was retired and sent to slaughter. The cycle of life I observed in our domestic animalshelpedmetounderstandthelesspredictablelifeanddeathstruggleaffect- ingthewilddeer,rabbits,pheasants,woodchucksandotherwildcreaturesliving on our farm. One day while working in the fields, I heard the cries of an animal in the nearby woods. I quietly approached the sounds and, to my surprise, found a youngpuppy(dog)tryingtokeepupwithitsmother(aferalanimal),whoracedoff whenIcameinsight.Icaughtthepup,tookithomeandweraisedittoadulthood. In spite of our care, it never became fully socialized to humans. At that time I knew very little about ‘sensitive periods’ for socialization and ‘imprinting’ but it wasclearthatthisdogwasdifferentinthewayitrespondedtopeople.Icouldn’t help but think its early experience in the woods had something to do with the developmentofsuchpersistenttimiditytowardhumans.Iwasimpressedwiththe contrast between this part-wild dog and the behavior of domestic dogs I had known.Onanotheroccasion,Icapturedayoungredfoxfromawoodchuckden andkeptitinourbasement,whereitwasfreetoroamabout.Iconscientiouslyfed itmeatandtriedtocoaxittoapproachme.Itremainedveryfearful.Eventually,I letitgoonthefarmafteracceptingthefactthatitdidnotwanttosharemyworld. vii viii Preface Inretrospect,Icanseehowtheseexperienceswiththeferaldogpupandthewild fox cub contributed to my interest in animal behavior and domestication. Myinterestindomesticationwasrekindledingraduateschool.DrJohnKing, my major professor at Michigan State University, maintained a research colony ofvariousspeciesofdeermice(Peromyscus)andIwashiredtoassistinhisresearch on behavioral development. I quickly became interested in these animals and chosetostudythemformyMastersandPhDdissertationresearch.Myresearch involvedacomparisonofthebehaviorsofprairiedeermice(Peromyscusmaniculatus bairdii) from three populations, namely wild-caught, first-generation laboratory- rearedandastockthathadbeenbredincaptivityforapproximately15genera- tions.Afterfinishingmydegrees,ItookaprofessorialpositionintheDepartment ofZoologyattheStateUniversityofNewYorkCollegeofEnvironmentalScience andForestryinSyracuse.Myresearchduringthe10yearswithSUNYinvolved the effects of domestication on the behavior of the Norway rat (Rattus norvegicus). Much of this work was a comparison of wild-caught and first-generation laboratory-rearedwildratswithvariousstrainsofdomesticrats.Myultimategoal was to take a population of wild rats and monitor the generation-by-generation changesintheirbehaviorandreproductivesuccess.Unfortunately,fundsforsuch along-termprojectdidnotbecomeavailable.Isubsequentlytookapositionwith the Department of Animal Science at the University of California, Davis to developaprogramofteachingandresearchonthebehaviorofdomesticlivestock. Concentrating on reproductive behaviors, my empirical research on domestica- tioneffectscametoanend.However,myinterestindomesticationasabiological phenomenonpersistedandIcontinuedtosearchtheliteratureforstudiesonthis topic.Thisbookistheculminationofacareer-longsearchforinformationonthe process of domestication and its biological effect on captive animals. Thebookisconvenientlydividedintosixparts.Thefirstpart,titled‘General Aspects’,discusseswhenandreasonswhycertainspecieswerefirstdomesticated, definitions of domestication, approaches to the study of domestication and pre-adaptationsforlifeincaptivity.Historicalaccountsofdomesticationarevery brief.Therearemanyotherwritingsonthistopic(seetextforreferences),which deal with the voluminous and sometimes contradictory literature on this topic in a much more scholarly way than I could have. The second part, ‘Genetic Mechanisms Influencing Domestication’, provides an overview of the mecha- nisms influencing changes in the gene pool during domestication. Part III, ‘VariationUnderDomestication’,discussestheeffectsofdomesticationongenetic variabilityandphenotypicvariationinbehavior,structuraltraitsandphysiology. Part IV, ‘Adaptation to the Biological Environment’, concerns the many ways captiveanimalsadapttoprovisionoffoodandwater,thelackofpredation,infec- tious diseases and parasites, the presence of humans and other animals. Part V, ‘Adaptation to the Physical Environment’, discusses the adaptations of animals to selected physical aspects of their captive environment, namely temperature, provisionorabsenceofshelterandtheiruseofspace,whichissometimesseverely limited.Thelastpartdealswithaspectsofbehavioraldevelopmentinthecaptive environment not discussed in Parts IV and V, and how certain developmental Preface ix processes influence their ability to survive and reproduce, both in captivity and when reintroduced into nature. The book ends with an overview of how the welfare of animals is affected by domestication and selected management techniques associated with captive animal husbandry. Ethical issues associated with the husbandry of captive animals is also discussed. Since publishing my ‘Behavioral aspects of animal domestication’ paper in 1984therehasbeenanoticeableincreaseinthenumberofpublishedpapersdeal- ing with the husbandry of aquatic species, particularly fish. Much of this work focusesonthenutritionalandenvironmentalrequirementsofrearinglarvalfishes, factorsinfluencingreproductiveinfertilityincaptivityandthegeneticimplications of farming fish for release in nature. Many species of fish are currently being considered for domestication as part of a global expansion of interest in aquaculture. As a consequence, this book frequently uses studies with fish to illustrate certain points. Thebookisbasicallyareviewoftheliteratureonthetopicofdomestication and rearing animals in captivity. Personal opinions are sometimes expressed but usually only after attempting to present the facts surrounding an issue in an objectivemanner.Thetitleofthebook,AnimalDomesticationandBehavior,mayseem abitmisleadingtosomereaders,sincesomuchofthebookisdevotedtothetopic of the management of captive animals, whether domesticated or not. This title makesmoresensewhenoneconsidersthatthedomesticationprocessisdifficultto avoidwhenanimalsarebroughtintocaptivity.Mostcaptive-rearedwildanimals willexpresscertainaspectsofthedomesticphenotypesimplybybeingrearedin captivity.Theapplicationofartificialselectiontogetherwiththeeffectsofnatural selection in captivity can greatly accelerate the domestication process.
The list of books you might like
