Animal domestication and behavior

308 Pages·2002·21.387 MB·English

by  Edward O Price

ANIMAL DOMESTICATION AND BEHAVIOR

Animal Domestication and
Behavior
EDWARD O. PRICE
Professor
Department of Animal Science
University of California
Davis
CA 95616
USA
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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.