Animal Emotion

A special issue of Animals (ISSN 2076-2615). This special issue belongs to the section "Human-Animal Interactions, Animal Behaviour and Emotion".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (31 May 2018) | Viewed by 50033

Special Issue Editor

Animal Behaviour, Cognition & Welfare Research Group, School of Life Sciences, University of Lincoln, Joseph Banks Laboratories, Lincoln LN6 7DL, UK
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Key to our understanding of animal welfare, and how to improve it, is the ability to measure animal emotion. Given contemporary societal and economic pressures, the need to reliably assess the emotions of companion, farm, laboratory, and wild animals is more important than ever—both in alleviating animal suffering and promoting positive emotions. Yet, despite increasing interest in this area, we are still faced by many problems—indicators of emotion may be difficult to interpret and/or conflict with other measures, they can lack specificity and/or have limited cross-species translatability, and all measures require comprehensive validation and refinement before practical implementation.

The challenge for us as researchers is to deliver effective, reliable, and practical methods for measuring animal emotion, as well as providing a greater understanding of how such emotions are generated and in what ways they can either be sustained or relieved. The aim of this Special Issue is therefore to collate a body of work on the theme of “animal emotion”, to demonstrate both current progress and future solutions.

Original manuscripts that address any aspects of animal emotion are invited for this special issue. However, topics of particular interest include: the links between emotion, cognition, and personality; the induction and facilitation of positive emotions; emotional contagion; comparative and phylogenetic studies of emotion; the adaptive value of animal emotion within an ecological context; and attitudes to animal emotions amongst the public or other interested parties.

Prof. Oliver Burman
Guest Editor

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Keywords

  • animal emotion
  • welfare assessment
  • cognition
  • social contagion
  • personality

Published Papers (8 papers)

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Research

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13 pages, 1778 KiB  
Article
Is Heightened-Shoaling a Good Candidate for Positive Emotional Behavior in Zebrafish?
by Becca Franks, Courtney Graham and Marina A. G. Von Keyserlingk
Animals 2018, 8(9), 152; https://doi.org/10.3390/ani8090152 - 24 Aug 2018
Cited by 14 | Viewed by 5486
Abstract
Zebrafish, a highly-social species of freshwater fish, are widely studied across many fields of laboratory science including developmental biology, neuroscience, and genomics. Nevertheless, as standard housing for zebrafish typically consists of small and simplistic environments, less is known about their social behavioral repertoire [...] Read more.
Zebrafish, a highly-social species of freshwater fish, are widely studied across many fields of laboratory science including developmental biology, neuroscience, and genomics. Nevertheless, as standard housing for zebrafish typically consists of small and simplistic environments, less is known about their social behavioral repertoire in more naturalistic settings. In particular, spontaneously occurring, socio-positive affiliative behaviors (e.g., social coordination and cohesion) that may be indicative of positive emotional experiences have rarely been reported or studied deliberately in zebrafish. Housing adult zebrafish (10 fish/tank) in large semi-natural tanks (110 L; n = 6) with sloping gravel substrate, rocks, and artificial plants, we observed a previously undescribed behavior: Distinct periods of spontaneous, synchronized, compact aggregations, what we call “heightened-shoaling”. This project aimed to quantify the characteristics of this distinctive behavior and compare parameters of heightened-shoaling to baseline periods (normal behavior) and pre-feed periods (feed-anticipatory behavior). First, across 4 days, we selected video-clips (100 s each) from within (i) instances of heightened-shoaling (n = 9), (ii) baseline periods (n = 18), and (iii) pre-feed periods (n = 18). For each of these video clips, we scan sampled every 10 s to determine fish orientations and location within the tank and agonistic behavior. Next, we used an all-occurrence sampling method to record the timing and duration of all episodes of heightened-shoaling behavior when tank-lights were on (8:00 h to 18:00 h) across 10 days. From the scan-sampling data, we found that compared to baseline periods, heightened-shoaling was characterized by increased shoal cohesion (p < 0.0001), increased adherence to the horizontal plane (p < 0.0001), decreased agonism (p < 0.0001), and no diving behavior (lower positions within the water column signal negative effect in zebrafish, p > 0.1). From the all-occurrence sampling data, we found 31 episodes of heightened-shoaling with instances observed in all six tanks and only a single case in which heightened-shoaling occurred in two tanks at the same time. The median episode duration was 7.6 min (Range 1.3–28.6). As the first systematic description of heightened-shoaling behavior, this research contributes to our knowledge of the range of zebrafish social dynamics living in naturalistic environments. Moreover, as a spontaneously occurring, protracted, affiliative behavior, heightened-shoaling appears to be a good candidate for future research into positive emotional behavior in zebrafish. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Animal Emotion)
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16 pages, 2066 KiB  
Article
Weak General but No Specific Habituation in Anticipating Stimuli of Presumed Negative and Positive Valence by Weaned Piglets
by Angela Henzen and Lorenz Gygax
Animals 2018, 8(9), 149; https://doi.org/10.3390/ani8090149 - 22 Aug 2018
Cited by 2 | Viewed by 3020
Abstract
Positive and negative stimuli have asymmetric fitness consequences. Whereas, a missed opportunity may be compensated, an unattended threat can be fatal. This is why it has been hypothesised that habituation to positive stimuli is fast while it may be difficult to habituate to [...] Read more.
Positive and negative stimuli have asymmetric fitness consequences. Whereas, a missed opportunity may be compensated, an unattended threat can be fatal. This is why it has been hypothesised that habituation to positive stimuli is fast while it may be difficult to habituate to negative stimuli, at least for primary (innate) stimuli. However, learning of secondary stimuli may delay the process of habituation. Here, we tested 64 weaned piglets in pairs. In three phases, lasting one week each, piglets were exposed five times to a stimulus of presumed negative, intermediate, or positive valence. Etho-physiological measurements of heart rate, heart rate variability, and general movement activity were collected during the last 4 min before the confrontation with the stimulus (anticipation phase). We found no consistent effect of the interaction between the valence of the stimuli and the repetition and a main effect of valence on our outcome variables. Therefore, we could neither support the hypothesis that piglets habituate more slowly to secondary positive stimuli than to primary negative stimuli nor that they habituate less to primary negative stimuli when compared with other stimuli. These results could have been caused because stimuli may not have differed in the presumed way, the experimental design may not have been adequate, or the measures were not suitable for detecting habituation to the stimuli. Based on the stimuli used here and their valence that was only presumed, we could not support the hypothesis that the habituation process differs according to the valence of the stimuli. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Animal Emotion)
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7 pages, 797 KiB  
Article
Thermography as a Non-Invasive Measure of Stress and Fear of Humans in Sheep
by Simona Cannas, Clara Palestrini, Elisabetta Canali, Bruno Cozzi, Nicola Ferri, Eugenio Heinzl, Michela Minero, Matteo Chincarini, Giorgio Vignola and Emanuela Dalla Costa
Animals 2018, 8(9), 146; https://doi.org/10.3390/ani8090146 - 21 Aug 2018
Cited by 28 | Viewed by 5231
Abstract
No data have been published on the use of infrared thermography (IRT) to evaluate sheep emotions. We assessed whether this technique can be used as a non-invasive measure of negative emotions. Two voluntary animal approach (VAA) tests were conducted (and filmed) on five [...] Read more.
No data have been published on the use of infrared thermography (IRT) to evaluate sheep emotions. We assessed whether this technique can be used as a non-invasive measure of negative emotions. Two voluntary animal approach (VAA) tests were conducted (and filmed) on five ewes before and after being restrained. The restraining process was performed by a handler for five minutes. IRT was used during restraint and the VAA tests. The lacrimal caruncle temperature was significantly higher during restraint and in the VAA test after the restraint compared with the VAA test before the restraint (Wilcoxon’s test; p = 0.04). The latency period until first contact was longer in the second VAA test (132 s) than in the first one (60 s). Our preliminary results suggest that IRT, combined with behavioral data, is a non-invasive technique that can be useful to assess stress and infer about negative emotions in sheep. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Animal Emotion)
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13 pages, 710 KiB  
Article
The Use of Qualitative Behaviour Assessment for the On-Farm Welfare Assessment of Dairy Goats
by Monica Battini, Sara Barbieri, Ana Vieira, Edna Can, George Stilwell and Silvana Mattiello
Animals 2018, 8(7), 123; https://doi.org/10.3390/ani8070123 - 19 Jul 2018
Cited by 20 | Viewed by 5104
Abstract
This research investigated whether using qualitative behaviour assessment (QBA) with a fixed list of descriptors may be related to quantitative animal- (ABM) and resource-based (RBM) measures included in the AWIN (Animal Welfare Indicators) welfare assessment prototype protocol for goats, tested in 60 farms. [...] Read more.
This research investigated whether using qualitative behaviour assessment (QBA) with a fixed list of descriptors may be related to quantitative animal- (ABM) and resource-based (RBM) measures included in the AWIN (Animal Welfare Indicators) welfare assessment prototype protocol for goats, tested in 60 farms. A principal component analysis (PCA) was conducted on QBA descriptors; then PCs were correlated to some ABMs and RBMs. Subsequently, a combined PCA merged QBA scores, ABMs and RBMs. The study confirms that QBA can identify the differences in goats’ emotions, but only few significant correlations were found with ABMs and RBMs. In addition, the combined PCA revealed that goats with a normal hair coat were scored as more relaxed and sociable. A high farm workload was related to bored and suffering goats, probably because farmers that can devote less time to animals may fail to recognise important signals from them. Goats were scored as sociable, but also alert, in response to the presence of an outdoor run, probably because when outdoors they received more stimuli than indoors and were more attentive to the surroundings. Notwithstanding these results, the holistic approach of QBA may allow to register animals’ welfare from a different perspective and be complementary to other measures. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Animal Emotion)
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24 pages, 2765 KiB  
Article
Valence and Intensity of Video Stimuli of Dogs and Conspecifics in Sheep: Approach-Avoidance, Operant Response, and Attention
by Camille M. C. Raoult and Lorenz Gygax
Animals 2018, 8(7), 121; https://doi.org/10.3390/ani8070121 - 17 Jul 2018
Cited by 19 | Viewed by 11195
Abstract
Stimuli are often presumed to be either negative or positive. However, animals’ judgement of their negativity or positivity cannot generally be assumed. A possibility to assess emotional states in animals elicited by stimuli is to investigate animal preferences and their motivation to gain [...] Read more.
Stimuli are often presumed to be either negative or positive. However, animals’ judgement of their negativity or positivity cannot generally be assumed. A possibility to assess emotional states in animals elicited by stimuli is to investigate animal preferences and their motivation to gain access to these stimuli. This study’s aim was to assess the valence of social stimuli in sheep. We used silent videos of varying intensity of dogs as negative versus conspecifics as positive stimuli in three approaches: (1) an approach–avoidance paradigm; (2) operant conditioning using the video stimuli as reinforcers; and (3) an attention test. In the latter, we assessed differential attention of sheep to simultaneous projections by automatically tracking sheep head and ear postures and recording brain activity. With these approaches, it was difficult to support that the sheep’s reactions varied according to the stimuli’s presumed valence and intensity. The approach–avoidance paradigm and attention test did not support the assumption that dog videos were more negative than sheep videos, though sheep reacted to the stimuli presented. Results from the operant conditioning indicated that sheep were more prone to avoid videos of moving dogs. Overall, we found that standard video images may not be ideal to represent valence characteristics of stimuli to sheep. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Animal Emotion)
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17 pages, 1007 KiB  
Article
Heart Rate and Heart Rate Variability during Sleep in Family Dogs (Canis familiaris). Moderate Effect of Pre-Sleep Emotions
by Bence Varga, Anna Gergely, Ágoston Galambos and Anna Kis
Animals 2018, 8(7), 107; https://doi.org/10.3390/ani8070107 - 02 Jul 2018
Cited by 18 | Viewed by 6295
Abstract
The domestic dog (Canis familiaris) has been shown to both excel in recognising human emotions and produce emotion-related vocalisations and postures that humans can easily recognise. However, little is known about the effect of emotional experiences on subsequent sleep physiology, a [...] Read more.
The domestic dog (Canis familiaris) has been shown to both excel in recognising human emotions and produce emotion-related vocalisations and postures that humans can easily recognise. However, little is known about the effect of emotional experiences on subsequent sleep physiology, a set of phenomena heavily interrelated with emotions in the case of humans. The present paper examines heart rate (HR) and heart rate variability (HRV) during dogs’ sleep, measures that are influenced by both positive and negative emotions in awake dogs. In Study I, descriptive HR and HRV data is provided on N = 12 dogs about the different sleep stages (wake, drowsiness, non-rapid eye movement (non-REM), REM; scoring based on electroencephalogram (EEG) data). We conclude that wakefulness is characterised by higher HR and lower HRV compared to all sleep stages. Furthermore, drowsiness is characterised by higher HR and lower HRV than non-REM and REM, but only if the electrocardiogram (ECG) samples are taken from the first occurrence of a given sleep stage, not when the longest periods of each sleep stage are analysed. Non-REM and REM sleep were not found to be different from each other in either HR or HRV parameters. In Study II, sleep HR and HRV measures are compared in N = 16 dogs after a positive versus negative social interaction (within-subject design). The positive social interaction consisted of petting and ball play, while the negative social interaction was a mixture of separation, threatening approach and still face test. Results are consistent with the two-dimensional emotion hypothesis in that following the intense positive interaction more elevated HR and decreased HRV is found compared to the mildly negative (lower intensity) interaction. However, although this trend can be observed in all sleep stages except for REM, the results only reach significance in the wake stage. In sum, the present findings suggest that HR and HRV are possible to measure during dogs’ sleep, and can potentially be used to study the effect of emotions not only during but also after such interactions. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Animal Emotion)
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15 pages, 513 KiB  
Article
Encoding of Emotional Valence in Wild Boar (Sus scrofa) Calls
by Anne-Laure Maigrot, Edna Hillmann and Elodie F. Briefer
Animals 2018, 8(6), 85; https://doi.org/10.3390/ani8060085 - 05 Jun 2018
Cited by 17 | Viewed by 5304
Abstract
Measuring emotions in nonhuman mammals is challenging. As animals are not able to verbally report how they feel, we need to find reliable indicators to assess their emotional state. Emotions can be described using two key dimensions: valence (negative or positive) and arousal [...] Read more.
Measuring emotions in nonhuman mammals is challenging. As animals are not able to verbally report how they feel, we need to find reliable indicators to assess their emotional state. Emotions can be described using two key dimensions: valence (negative or positive) and arousal (bodily activation or excitation). In this study, we investigated vocal expression of emotional valence in wild boars (Sus scrofa). The animals were observed in three naturally occurring situations: anticipation of a food reward (positive), affiliative interactions (positive), and agonistic interactions (negative). Body movement was used as an indicator of emotional arousal to control for the effect of this dimension. We found that screams and squeals were mostly produced during negative situations, and grunts during positive situations. Additionally, the energy quartiles, duration, formants, and harmonicity indicated valence across call types and situations. The mean of the first and second formants also indicated valence, but varied according to the call type. Our results suggest that wild boars can vocally express their emotional states. Some of these indicators could allow us to identify the emotional valence that wild boars are experiencing during vocal production and thus inform us about their welfare. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Animal Emotion)
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Review

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24 pages, 320 KiB  
Review
Affect-Driven Attention Biases as Animal Welfare Indicators: Review and Methods
by Andrew Crump, Gareth Arnott and Emily J. Bethell
Animals 2018, 8(8), 136; https://doi.org/10.3390/ani8080136 - 07 Aug 2018
Cited by 60 | Viewed by 7292
Abstract
Attention bias describes the differential allocation of attention towards one stimulus compared to others. In humans, this bias can be mediated by the observer’s affective state and is implicated in the onset and maintenance of affective disorders such as anxiety. Affect-driven attention biases [...] Read more.
Attention bias describes the differential allocation of attention towards one stimulus compared to others. In humans, this bias can be mediated by the observer’s affective state and is implicated in the onset and maintenance of affective disorders such as anxiety. Affect-driven attention biases (ADABs) have also been identified in a few other species. Here, we review the literature on ADABs in animals and discuss their utility as welfare indicators. Despite a limited research effort, several studies have found that negative affective states modulate attention to negative (i.e., threatening) cues. ADABs influenced by positive-valence states have also been documented in animals. We discuss methods for measuring ADAB and conclude that looking time, dot-probe, and emotional spatial cueing paradigms are particularly promising. Research is needed to test them with a wider range of species, investigate attentional scope as an indicator of affect, and explore the possible causative role of attention biases in determining animal wellbeing. Finally, we argue that ADABs might not be best-utilized as indicators of general valence, but instead to reveal specific emotions, motivations, aversions, and preferences. Paying attention to the human literature could facilitate these advances. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Animal Emotion)
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