|
|
Response to dangerous animals in Europe and Africa - attention and emotions
Štolhoferová, Iveta ; Frynta, Daniel (advisor) ; Telenský, Petr (referee) ; Burda, Hynek (referee)
The focus of this thesis on the emotions elicited by certain animals and the attentional bias towards these animals in two completely different human populations - the Czech Republic and the Republic of Somaliland. Animals have long been at the center of human interest, yet our knowledge of what emotions animals evoke is surprisingly incomplete, especially outside of the so-called WEIRD societies. We found that snakes, scorpions, and large carnivores elicited the greatest fear in Somalis. Among Czechs, however, spiders were also among the most feared animals. Both populations were the least afraid of beetles and grasshoppers. Spontaneous attentional bias during free viewing of two simultaneously presented images reflected both this cross-cultural difference and agreement. When a scorpion and a spider were presented together, the Somalis looked significantly more at the scorpion, but the Czechs distributed their attention more evenly between the two animals, although a slight bias in favor of the scorpion was apparent. In contrast, when the grasshopper was presented with a spider or a scorpion, both Czechs and Somalis looked much less at the grasshopper. In the case of snakes, a stimulus highly feared by both Somalis and Czechs, we focused on the effect of the threatening posture on the spontaneous...
|
|
|
Differences in the behaviour of urban and rural populations of mammals
Kučerová, Nikola ; Štolhoferová, Iveta (advisor) ; Sedláček, Ondřej (referee)
My bachelor thesis deals with the differences in the behavior of mammals, especially carnivores, primates, and rodents living in urban environments and their rural dwelling relatives. Human-induced landscape change often results in fragmentation and decline in the populations of animals living there. However, it can also contribute to the emergence of various new traits that might help the species successfully inhabit the environment affected by humans and their activity. The aim of this thesis is to determine whether populations of urban and rural mammals differ, especially regarding their activity, aggression, boldness, and exploration. To do so, I will focus on comparison of behavior of urban and rural populations of the same species.
|
|
|
Reproduction supression as a result of social interactions in rodents of the family Muridae
Berčíková, Marie ; Štolhoferová, Iveta (advisor) ; Mazoch, Vladimír (referee)
The thesis deals with suppression of reproduction in rodents of the family Muridae. Specifically, it focuses on reproductive suppression caused by social interactions between individuals of the same species and within a social group. The aim of the literature review is to summarize mechanisms of reproductive suppression found in the family Muridae, using examples from the genera Calomys, Microtus, Mus, and Meriones. In the discussion, the influence of ecology, social system, and sex is considered. As mechanisms of reproductive suppression, I found the delayed sexual maturation of juveniles, regulation of the number of breeding females, incest taboo, infanticide, or Bruce effect to be frequently reported. Concerning sex, females are more often suppressed in their reproduction and at the same time, they also more often suppress other individuals of either sex. Although the family Muridae represents a very diversified group in terms of ecology and social systems, the thesis demonstrates universality of reproductive suppression mechanisms across species. I suggest this could be attributed to widespread adaptations with the common goal to prevent inbreeding. Nonetheless, species can still differ in the number and complexity of reproductive suppression mechanisms. I further discuss whether reproductive...
|
|
| |
|
|
The role of commensalism on vertical activity in exploration tests: a comparison of 12 populations of the genus Acomys
Štolhoferová, Iveta ; Frynta, Daniel (advisor) ; Špinka, Marek (referee)
The objective of this work was to investigate whether there are differences between commensal and non-commensal populations of spiny mice (Acomys spp.). There is a good evidence that some populations of Acomys cahirinus have been commensal since the time of ancient Egypt, that is for at least 3,500 years. Therefore, it could be expected that some adaptation for a commensal way of life have evolved. To find out, I tested twelve populations of spiny mice in two types of open field test - a vertical test and a hole board test. In the vertical test, a wire mesh was added and offered to spiny mice to climb on. Since human settlements represent an environment with a new predation pressure as well as new hiding opportunities like those in heights above the ground, I hypothesized that commensal populations of A. cahirinus would (1) explore less on the ground and (2) prefer to spend more time on the wire mesh than the non-commensal populations. Results supported the first hypothesis as in both tests commensal spiny mice spent less time exploring on the ground than other populations. The second hypothesis, however, was not supported - all populations showed approximately equal interest in the wire mesh and commensal spiny mice did not spend more time on it compared to the others. Nevertheless, an overall...
|
|
| |
guest ::
