From stones to sketches: investigating tracing behaviours in Japanese macaques.

The use of complex technologies by humans (Homo sapiens) and their ancestors is a key feature of our evolution, marked by the appearance of stone tools 3.3-million years ago. These technologies reflect cognitive complexity and an advanced understanding of materials and mechanics.

Influence of ecological and social factors on huddling behaviour and cluster organisation in Japanese macaques (Macaca fuscata).

Huddling behaviour is present in many animal species. This behaviour involves maintaining close physical contact with conspecifics to minimise heat loss and, in general, reduce energy expenditure. Additionally, this behaviour also facilitates complex social interactions within a population.

The Warmth of Sarudango: Modelling the Huddling Behaviour of Japanese Macaques ().

Huddling behaviour is observed across various mammalian and avian species. Huddling, a behaviour wherein animals maintain close physical contact with conspecifics for warmth and social bonding, is widely documented among species in cold environments as a crucial thermoregulatory mechanism. Interestingly, on Shodoshima, Japanese macaques form exceptionally large huddling clusters, often exceeding 50 individuals, a significant deviation from the smaller groups observed in other populations (Arashyama, Katsuyama, and Taksakiyama) and climates.

GPMelt: A hierarchical Gaussian process framework to explore the dark meltome of thermal proteome profiling experiments.

Thermal proteome profiling (TPP) is a proteome wide technology that enables unbiased detection of protein drug interactions as well as changes in post-translational state of proteins between different biological conditions. Statistical analysis of temperature range TPP (TPP-TR) datasets relies on comparing protein melting curves, describing the amount of non-denatured proteins as a function of temperature, between different conditions (e.g.

Quantifying social roles in multi-animal videos using subject-aware deep-learning.

Analyzing social behaviors is critical for many fields, including neuroscience, psychology, and ecology. While computational tools have been developed to analyze videos containing animals engaging in limited social interactions under specific experimental conditions, automated identification of the social roles of freely moving individuals in a multi-animal group remains unresolved. Here we describe a deep-learning-based system - named LabGym2 - for identifying and quantifying social roles in multi-animal groups.

The power of sound: unravelling how acoustic communication shapes group dynamics.

Acoustic signalling is a key mode of communication owing to its instantaneousness and rapid turnover, its saliency and flexibility and its ability to function strategically in both short- and long-range contexts. Acoustic communication is closely intertwined with both collective behaviour and social network structure, as it can facilitate the coordination of collective decisions and behaviour, and play an important role in establishing, maintaining and modifying social relationships. These research topics have each been studied separately and represent three well-established research areas.

Deep learning for automatic facial detection and recognition in Japanese macaques: illuminating social networks.

Individual identification plays a pivotal role in ecology and ethology, notably as a tool for complex social structures understanding. However, traditional identification methods often involve invasive physical tags and can prove both disruptive for animals and time-intensive for researchers. In recent years, the integration of deep learning in research has offered new methodological perspectives through the automatisation of complex tasks.

Effect of a Cat's Permanent Presence on the Health and Social Network of Older Adults With Alzheimer's Disease or Disabilities in a Nursing Home.

Our study analyzes the effects of the permanent presence of cats on the health and social network of residents with pathologies in nursing home. Fifty-three residents, thirty-six caregivers, and four cats in three Alzheimer's Disease units ("ADU") and one Disability unit ("DISU") were observed for 180 hours. Social networks were created via instantaneous sampling of physical proximities and social exchanges between residents, caregivers, and the cats.

Automatic identification of stone-handling behaviour in Japanese macaques using LabGym artificial intelligence.

The latest advances in artificial intelligence technology have opened doors to the video analysis of complex behaviours. In light of this, ethologists are actively exploring the potential of these innovations to streamline the time-intensive behavioural analysis process using video data. Several tools have been developed for this purpose in primatology in the past decade.

Eye image effect in the context of pedestrian safety: a French questionnaire study.

Human behavior is influenced by the presence of others, which scientists also call 'the audience effect'. The use of social control to produce more cooperative behaviors may positively influence road use and safety. This study uses an online questionnaire to test how eyes images affect the behavior of pedestrians when crossing a road.

Fractals and artificial intelligence to decrypt ideography and understand the evolution of language.

Self-sufficient ideographies are rare because they are stifled by the issue of standardization. Similar issues arise with abstract art or drawings created by young children or great apes. We propose that mathematical indices and artificial intelligence can help us decode ideography, and if not to understand its meaning, at least to know that meaning exists.

Editorial: Recent Advances in Animal Cognition and Ethology.

Animal cognition and ethology, the scientific study of animal behaviour, have long captivated the human imagination [...

Micro urban spaces and mental well-being: Measuring the exposure to urban landscapes along daily mobility paths and their effects on momentary depressive symptomatology among older population.

The urban environment plays an important role for the mental health of residents. Researchers mainly focus on residential neighbourhoods as exposure context, leaving aside the effects of non-residential environments. In order to consider the daily experience of urban spaces, a people-based approach focused on mobility paths is needed.

Formation of Ultracold Molecules by Merging Optical Tweezers.

We demonstrate the formation of a single RbCs molecule during the merging of two optical tweezers, one containing a single Rb atom and the other a single Cs atom. Both atoms are initially predominantly in the motional ground states of their respective tweezers. We confirm molecule formation and establish the state of the molecule formed by measuring its binding energy.

Incorporating animal agency into research design could improve behavioral and neuroscience research.

Despite increasing numbers of publications showing that many animals possess the neural substrates involved in emotions and consciousness and exhibit agency in their behavior, many animals are still restrained and forced to take part in applied or fundamental research. However, these restraints and procedures, because they stress animals and limit the expression of adaptive behavior, may result in compromised findings. Researchers should alter their research paradigms to understand the mechanisms and functions of the brain and behavior so that the paradigms incorporate animals' agency.

Deep learning for studying drawing behavior: A review.

In recent years, computer science has made major advances in understanding drawing behavior. Artificial intelligence, and more precisely deep learning, has displayed unprecedented performance in the automatic recognition and classification of large databases of sketches and drawings collected through touchpad devices. Although deep learning can perform these tasks with high accuracy, the way they are performed by the algorithms remains largely unexplored.

Management of Social Behaviour of Domestic Yaks in Manang, Nepal: An Etho-Ethnographic Study.

Herdsmen use different techniques, as per varying geographies and cultures, to keep the cohesion within herds and avoid animals getting lost or predated. However, there is no study on the social behaviour of yaks and herdsmen management practices. Therefore, this ethology study was initiated by ethnographic inquiries.

Both age and social environment shape the phenotype of ant workers.

Position within the social group has consequences on individual lifespans in diverse taxa. This is especially obvious in eusocial insects, where workers differ in both the tasks they perform and their aging rates. However, in eusocial wasps, bees and ants, the performed task usually depends strongly on age.

Use of Digital Technologies to Maintain Older Adults' Social Ties During Visitation Restrictions in Long-Term Care Facilities: Scoping Review.

Background: Digital technologies were implemented to address the disruption of long-term care facility residents' socialization needs during the COVID-19 pandemic. A literature review regarding this topic is needed to inform public policy, facility managers, family caregivers, and nurses and allied health professionals involved in mediating the use of digital devices for residents' social ties.

Objective: Our study outlines key concepts, methodologies, results, issues, and gaps in articles published during pandemic-related visitation restrictions.