02742nas a2200277   4500008004100000022001300041245011000054210007100164260001600235300001400251490000800265520188700273653001702160653002702177653001102204653001502215653003202230653002002262653002402282653001202306100002202318700002002340700002002360700001802380856006602398       2017                        eng d  a0003347200aConflict or consensus? Synchronous change in mother–young vocal communication across weaning in the cat0 aConflict or consensus Synchronous change in mother–young vocal c  cJan-08-2017  a233 - 2400 v1303 a<p>Since parent&ndash;offspring conflict theory was first proposed, a number of studies in a range of mammalian species have questioned its importance, suggesting that coordination, rather than conflict, occurs during weaning. In this study we propose a set of behaviours for studying the development of the mother&ndash;offspring relationship: offspring separation calls and the corresponding maternal response, which can be used to describe the continually developing motivational changes in both parties accompanying weaning. We recorded and analysed separation calls of kittens of the domestic cat, Felis silvestris catus, during the first two postnatal months, and performed playback experiments to observe their mothers&#39; behavioural response. Three different stimuli were played back: calls of the mothers&#39; kittens at their correct age, calls of their kittens from an earlier age (1 week old) and a control sound. We found that kittens&#39; separation calls changed in several respects across the 8 weeks of the study. After the first postnatal month, the number, intensity and fundamental frequency of calls declined markedly, while kittens&#39; latency to call increased. In parallel, we found that during playback tests, mothers&#39; willingness to return to the nest or reunite with their kittens decreased notably as the kittens approached weaning age. Since this decline was present even when mothers were played back the calls of their own kittens previously recorded at an earlier age, we conclude that the decline in responsiveness was not due to a change in the kittens&#39; vocalizations, but rather to a change in the mothers&#39; motivational state. Our findings support the view that weaning in the domestic cat is a well-synchronized process between mothers and offspring, at least under the favourable nutritional conditions of the present study.</p>
10adomestic cat10aFelis silvestris catus10amammal10amotivation10aparent–offspring conflict10aseparation call10avocal communication10aweaning1 aBánszegi, Oxána1 aSzenczi, Péter1 aUrrutia, Andrea1 aHudson, Robyn  uhttp://linkinghub.elsevier.com/retrieve/pii/S000334721730200202653nas a2200253   4500008004100000022001300041245009500054210006900149260001600218300001200234490000800246520190100254653001602155653001502171653001602186653001202202653001802214100001902232700002002251700001702271700001902288700002602307856006602333       2017                        eng d  a0003347200aHens vary their vocal repertoire and structure when anticipating different types of reward0 aHens vary their vocal repertoire and structure when anticipating  cJan-08-2017  a79 - 960 v1303 aThe vocalizations of nonhuman animals are considered potential indicators of motivational or internal state. In many species, different call types, and structural variation within call types, encode information about physical characteristics such as age or sex, or about variable traits such as motivation. Domestic chickens, Gallus gallus, have an elaborate vocal repertoire, enabling investigation into whether reward-related arousal is encoded within their call type and structure. Twelve hens were given a Pavlovian conditioning paradigm using sound cues to signal the availability of two food rewards (mealworms, normal food), one nonfood reward (a container of substrate suitable for dustbathing), and a sound-neutral event (sound cue, no reward). A muted-neutral treatment (no sound cue, no reward) provided a baseline for vocal behaviour. Sound cues preceded a 15 s anticipation period during which vocalizations were recorded. Hens produced a ‘Food call’ (previously defined in other studies) in anticipation of all rewards, including the nonfood reward. ‘Food calls’ and ‘Fast clucks’ were more prevalent in anticipation of rewards, and most prevalent following the cue signalling the dustbathing substrate, suggesting that this reward induced the most arousal in hens. The peak frequency of ‘Food calls’ made in anticipation of the dustbathing substrate was significantly lower than those made in anticipation of food rewards, potentially reflecting differences in arousal. Vocalizations that reliably indicate hens' motivational state could be used as measures of welfare in on-farm assessment situations. Our study is the first to reveal variation in the frequency-related parameters of the ‘Food call’ in different contexts, and to show the prevalence of different call types in reward and nonreward contexts, which may have implications for welfare assessments.10alaying hens10amotivation10areferential10arewards10avocalizations1 aMcGrath, Nicky1 aDunlop, Rebecca1 aDwyer, Cathy1 aBurman, Oliver1 aPhillips, Clive, J.C.  uhttp://linkinghub.elsevier.com/retrieve/pii/S0003347217301707