Effect of the density of conspecifics on runway social reinstatement behavior of male Japanese quail genetically selected for ontrasting adrenocortical responsiveness to stress

GUZMAN, D. A.; SATTERLEE D. G.; KEMBRO J. M.; SCHMIDT J. B.; MARIN R. H.

POULTRY SCIENCE

Poultry Science Association

Lugar: Savoy ; Año: 2009 vol. 88 p. 2482 - 2490

0032-5791

Runway tests are considered indicative of underlying 21 sociality in birds andtheir ability to make social discriminations and establish interactions among conspecifics.Herein, social reinstatement behavior in male juvenile Japanese quail selected for areduced (LS, low stress) or exaggerated (HS, high stress) adrenocortical response to briefmechanical restraint was evaluated. Individual males were given the choice to reinstatewith either 2 (low density, LD) or 8 (high density, HD) unfamiliar random bredconspecifics placed in goal boxes at opposite ends of a two-choice runway (TCRW).Then, the same males were individually retested in a single goal box runway (SRW)wherein they were exposed to either a goal box containing a LD or HD of males. In theTCRW, a higher (P < 0.01) number of HS males started their ambulation towards thegoal box containing the HD as opposed to LD of conspecifics. HS males also spent more(P < 0.01) time in close proximity (within a 10 cm close zone; CZ) to the HD (218 s)rather than LD (57 s) of conspecifics. In contrast, LS males did not differ in their initialdirection of travel and they spent similar average amounts of times in the CZs of theirstimulus LD (141 s) and HD (124 s) conspecifics. Similar to the TCRW results, in theSRW, HS males spent more (P < 0.01) time in the CZ of HD rather than LD conspecificswhile LS quail spent similar amounts of time in the CZs of LD and HD males.Considering that runways are novel (and therefore frightening) environments, ourfindings suggest that HS quail may find better shelter (i.e., more comfort) in closeproximity to a larger rather than smaller group of conspecifics while LS birds find groupsof varying conspecific density equally attractive. The results suggest that LS quailpossess favorable social adaptive qualities since they appear to be better suited to copewith situations were the density of conspecifics is variable.