Fifty years of spring censuses in black grouse () in the High Fens (Belgium): did the rabies vaccination has a negative impact on a fox prey population?

Unlabelled: Since 2017, a reinforcement programme was developed to save the last, endangered, Belgian population of black grouse (), in the High Fens Natural Park. To improve the success of this programme, an analysis of past data of this population was undertaken to understand the causes of its past decline. A time series analysis was applied, using annual spring male census data recorded between 1967 and 2016.

CoFee-L: A Model of Animal Displacement in Large Groups Combining Cohesion Maintenance, Feeding Area Search and Transient Leadership.

In the tropics, the conservation of tree species is closely linked to that of animals, as a large proportion of trees are zoochoric and therefore rely on the movement of animals to disperse their seeds in order to increase the chances of the survival of progeny and to allow migration in the face of climate change. Research into the prediction of animal movements is therefore critical but has so far focused only on particular features of collective behavior. In contrast, we included the concepts of cohesion maintenance, feeding area search and transient leadership in a single model, CoFee-L, and tested it to simulate the movement of a wild-ranging troop of primates ().

Methods for the effective study of collective behavior in a radial arm maze.

Collective behaviors are observed throughout nature, from bacterial colonies to human societies. Important theoretical breakthroughs have recently been made in understanding why animals produce group behaviors and how they coordinate their activities, build collective structures, and make decisions. However, standardized experimental methods to test these findings have been lacking.

COLLECTIVE VORTEX BEHAVIORS: DIVERSITY, PROXIMATE, AND ULTIMATE CAUSES OF CIRCULAR ANIMAL GROUP MOVEMENTS.

Ant mill, caterpillar circle, bat doughnut, amphibian vortex, duck swirl, and fish torus are different names for rotating circular animal formations, where individuals turn around a common center. These "collective vortex behaviors" occur at different group sizes from pairs to several million individuals and have been reported in a large number of organisms, from bacteria to vertebrates, including humans. However, to date, no comprehensive review and synthesis of the literature on vortex behaviors has been conducted.

Individual-to-resource landscape interaction strength can explain different collective feeding behaviours.

Taking in sufficient quantities of nutrients is vital for all living beings and in doing so, individuals interact with the local resource environment. Here, we focus explicitly on the interactions between feeding individuals and the resource landscape. In particular, we are interested in the emergent movement dynamics resulting from these interactions.

Behaviours associated with acoustic communication in Nile tilapia (Oreochromis niloticus).

Background: Sound production is widespread among fishes and accompanies many social interactions. The literature reports twenty-nine cichlid species known to produce sounds during aggressive and courtship displays, but the precise range in behavioural contexts is unclear. This study aims to describe the various Oreochromis niloticus behaviours that are associated with sound production in order to delimit the role of sound during different activities, including agonistic behaviours, pit activities, and reproduction and parental care by males and females of the species.

Video tracking in the extreme: a new possibility for tracking nocturnal underwater transparent animals with fluorescent elastomer tags.

Initially developed so that an individual could be recognized in mark-recapture studies of aquatic animals, fluorescent visible implant elastomer (VIE) tags are used here for a new application in ethometry: the study of the behavior of transparent animals in dim light or in darkness using automatic tracking technology. The application and validation of this multitracking method is tested in the context of research on the estuarine migratory behavior of the glass eel (Anguilla anguilla), a crucial point to better understand the dynamics of this endangered species. The method makes it possible to measure the activity (notably the distance and speed) of four individuals as a function of tidal and nycthemeral rhythms in the same flume (a circular aquarium simulating river or estuarine conditions) across a wide time scale (from seconds to weeks).

Cumulative effects of road de-icing salt on amphibian behavior.

Despite growing evidence of the detrimental effect of chemical substances on organisms, limited research has focused on changes in behavioral patterns, in part due to the difficulties to obtain detailed quantitative data. Recent developments in efficient computer-based video analyses have allowed testing pesticide effects on model species such as the zebrafish. However, these new techniques have not yet been applied to amphibians and directly to conservation issues, i.

A video multitracking system for quantification of individual behavior in a large fish shoal: advantages and limits.

The capability of a new multitracking system to track a large number of unmarked fish (up to 100) is evaluated. This system extrapolates a trajectory from each individual and analyzes recorded sequences that are several minutes long. This system is very efficient in statistical individual tracking, where the individual's identity is important for a short period of time in comparison with the duration of the track.

Comparing the EthoVision 2.3 system and a new computerized multitracking prototype system to measure the swimming behavior in fry fish.

Coming from the framework of unmarked fry tracking, we compared the capacities, advantages, and disadvantages of two recent video tracking systems: EthoVision 2.3 and a new prototype of multitracking. The EthoVision system has proved to be impressive for tracking a fry using the detection by gray scaling.