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Acoustic communication and its variability in selected populations of ground squirrels of the genus Spermophilus
Schneiderová, Irena ; Vohralík, Vladimír (advisor) ; Sedláček, František (referee) ; Špinka, Marek (referee)
The thesis deals with vocalizations produced by Eurasian ground squirrels of the genus Spermophilus. It is mainly focused on inter-species and intra-species variability in acoustic structure of alarm calls which are emitted in presence of predators.The major part of the thesis deals with intra-species variability in acoustic structure of the alarm calls in five Eurasian ground squirrels, Spermophilus citellus, S. taurensis, S. xanthoprymnus, S. suslicus and S. fulvus. It has been confirmed that the alarm calls of these ground squirrels show a high level of species specificity. The thesis further describes another vocalizations produced by three Eurasian ground squirrel species, Spermophilus suslicus, S. citellus and S. fulvus, and shows that with the exception of the alarm calls, vocal repertoires of these three ground squirrels are remarkably similar. The last part of the thesis deals with individual distinctiveness of the alarm calls of three Eurasian ground squirrels, Spermophilus citellus, S. taurensis and S. xanthoprymnus. It has been shown that the alarm calls of these species have a significant potential to encode information about caller identity.
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Factors affecting long-term memory of aposematic signals in avian predators
Skoumalová, Žaneta ; Exnerová, Alice (advisor) ; Sedláček, František (referee)
The ability to memorize and recognize edible prey from inedible prey is essential for an individuals survival. Many species use aposematic signals for their defense. These are most often represented by distinctive colors or contrast patterns. The aim of this study was to find out in which time the memory consolidation for aposematic pray is achieved and if color or pattern increase its memorability. The choosen model species was the Great tit (Parus major). The comparision was done between handreared naïve birds and wild-caught adults of different age and sex. During the discriminatory task of consolidation experiment, birds were simultaneously presented with palatable and unpalatable prey in the form of paper dummies of bugs, differing in color (red versus green). The birds were divided into three groups with a different interval (0, 1 or 3 hours) for consolidation. The results of consolidation test show that adult birds were more successfull in solving the task than juvenile birds. The only difference between the experimental groups was that the group with one-hour interval achieved better results than other groups. The effect of color of palatable and unpalatable prey on discrimination learning was also found only in adults. Memorability of warning signals was tested using paper bugs of...
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Personality and cognition in great tit (Parus major)
Šimánková, Hana ; Exnerová, Alice (advisor) ; Sedláček, František (referee)
Success of an individual in various cognitive tasks can be influenced by many factors. Among the significant ones, that were studied in relationship with cognitive abilities, are animal personality and age. Great tit personality types are evaluated from explorative behavior and reaction towards novel object. We recognize Fast explorers, which are more active but superficial explorers, and Slow explorers, which are cautious, slower but thorough. Fast individuals manipulate sooner with a new food and non food objects. Slow individuals return later to offered food after being disrupted and they have higher breath rate. Some studies have revealed that Fast and Slow personalities differed in their cognitive abilities, for example in spatial tasks, in associative learning, in discrimination tasks or memory tasks, but many of them focus on only one type of task. In order to test both personalities thoroughly we tried to select types of tasks that focused on various abilities - two diverse types of extractive tasks, positive and aversive discrimination task and avoidance learning with firebugs (Pyrrhocoris apterus) in young naïve birds. Birds were tested in three age categories: young naïve hand reared birds, one year olds and two years and older birds. Fast and Slow individuals differed in aversive...
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Inter-individual differences in behaviour of laboratory rats
Rudolfová, Veronika ; Nekovářová, Tereza (advisor) ; Sedláček, František (referee)
Number of studies report that even when experimental animals are subjected to the exact same conditions, they differ in their behaviour. If these differences were stable in time and across several experimental procedures, we could talk about personality. This diploma thesis studies inter-individual differences in behaviour of laboratory rats (Long Evans strain) in a series of experiments conducted in early ontogeny and in adult age. Apart from analysing inter-individual differences in behaviour and personality of experimental animals, this thesis has two main aims. The first aim is assessing stability of inter-individual differences in behaviour throughout ontogeny. The second aim is to explore possible link between inter-individual differences in behaviour and performance in cognitive tests. We confirmed the existence of inter-individual difference in behaviour in laboratory rats. In this thesis we were, however, not able to assess personality of experimental animals. The differences in behaviour were best described by behaviour in Open field test and Elevated plus maze test. Our results also show marked differences between successive trials of these experiments. We also report that performance in Active allothetic place avoidance is not linked to performance in Morris water maze, even though both...
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Biology of non-commensal populations of house mouse (Mus musculus sensus lato) from the Near East
Slábová, Markéta ; Frynta, Daniel (advisor) ; Macholán, Miloš (referee) ; Sedláček, František (referee)
Proceedingseditor: SlábováM. & Sýkorová,Z. (eds.) (2006): Proceedings of the InternationalPh.D. students'coďerence. Universityof SouthBohemia in ČeskéBudějovice,Facultyof Agriculture,ČeskéBudějovice,Czech Republic,2006. Sýkorová Z. & Slábová M. (eds.) (2007): Proceeding of the IntemationalPh.D. students'conference.Universityof SouthBohemia in ČeskéBudějovice,Facultyof Agriculture,ČeskéBudějovice,Czech Republic,2007. Grants: 2000-2005participantontheprojectGAAV IAA6141102 Licences: Licencefor experimentaltreatmentwithanimals(numberCZU 540102) allowedby CzechCentralCommissionfor Animď Welfare. Summary House mouse(Mus musculussensulato) is one of the most studied mammals, but the attentionis paid mostly to laboratory (strictly speakingdomesticated)'or coÍnmensalpopulations.But thereare also non-coÍnmensalpopulations,living in totally differentconditionsand undertotallydifferentselectivepressures,sotheknowledgeconceming conrmensalÁaboratorypopulations can not be generalized. The evolutionof commensalismdefinitelycausedlarge changesin house mouselife history,behaviour,morphologyandsocialorganization.The aim of this studywasto, at leastpartially,fill in thi. gupin knowledge abouthousemouse,reallyinterestingandwell adaptablespecies. 4 Thethesisfocuseson thenon-commensalpopulationsaf Mus musculus domesticusfrom the...
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Between-year dynamics of carnivores and ungulates in the Czech landscape
Schnebergerová, Adriana ; Pyšek, Petr (advisor) ; Sedláček, František (referee)
It is important for the ecological management of wildlife populations in the Czech Republic to know the composition of species in individual habitats. This will allow predictions on the reactions of wildlife based on evolving changes that will occur sooner or later in these habitats due to human activity and natural change of our environment. Camera traps are a powerful tool of the 21st century with which we are able to observe wildlife without major interventions in their lives. With the right experimental design, camera traps allow us to find out details about wildlife life such as their distribution and habitat preferences, population structure, and their behavior. In this work, I used camera traps to determine the species composition of two groups; ungulates and carnivores in different habitats. This thesis analyzes the habitat preferences and hepls to find out to what extent the spatial patterns of occurrence on these two groups are in the monitored habitats over the course of a couple years. Data collection took place from June 2015 to May 2017 in the Central Bohemian Region northeast of Prague. Despite the fact that the area is densely populated and agriculturally exploited, I was able to capture four species of ungulates and nine species of carnivores on a total of 73 camera traps in this...
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Body size in reptiles: proximate mechanisms and ecophysiological correlates
Starostová, Zuzana ; Frynta, Daniel (advisor) ; Gvoždík, Václav (referee) ; Sedláček, František (referee)
Body size is a fundamentaltrait determininga suite of morphological, physiological andecologicalcharacteristicsoforganisms.The thesisdealswith topicscloselyrelated to proximate mechanisms of body size change in lizards and with ecophysiological correlates of body size such as metabolic rate and influence of environmental temperature.The Ph.D. thesis contains a brief introductorychapterand four chapters representedby threepublished or acceptedpapersand one submittedmanuscript.All papers included in the thesis have in common that they take into the account phylogeneticrelationshipsamong studiedspeciesand usedifferent methodsto control the effect of phylogeny. The first chaptershows thatevenwithin closely relatedgroup of lizards from the family Eublepharidae(eyelid geckos),thered blood cell size differs considerably and is conelated with body size. The cell size supposedly played an importantrole in evolutionary changesin body size in this group. The secondchapter is focused on evolutionary changes in genome size in eyelid geckos and on the relationship between cell size and genome size. The changes in genome size correspond well with phylogenetic relationships among eublepharids, but are independent on evolutionary changes in cell size. At higher taxonomic levels a positive correlation between genome...
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Foraging and reproductive strategies of selected passerine birds
Kryštofková, Milena ; Exnerová, Alice (advisor) ; Sedláček, František (referee) ; Šálek, Miroslav (referee)
According to currently generally accepted model of evolutionary optimalization of parental investments, parental behavior should be balanced to bring the highest benefits (maximal expected value of progeny) with the lowest costs invested. This necessity establishes the pressure, which forces the organisms to balance their life-history strategies according to the changing environment. More than one solution frequently exists, and it may be crucial, which one is chosen in a given circumstances. This Ph.D. thesis deals with three passerine species and investigates their foraging, reproductive and antipredatory strategies, in the framework of "costs and benefits" theory of parental decisions and also in association with the phenomenon of synurbization. The paper by Kryštofková et al. (2006) "Parental foraging strategies and feeding of nestlings in Common Redstart Phoenicurus phoenicurus" inquires whether such factors as age of nestlings, their number, or sex of parents have influence on parental feeding frequency and foraging strategies (parameters of hunting in space and time); the literary data are controversial, even for one and the same passerine species. The male uses passive foraging mode more than female and as the nestlings grow older, the proportion of passive foraging mode is increasing, while...
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Structure and function of selected lipocalins and their role in chamical communication in mammals
Stopková, Romana ; Stopka, Pavel (advisor) ; Sedláček, František (referee) ; Žídek, Lukáš (referee)
Sunrulnv or Pu.D.rHnsrs Chemical communicationis facilitated by various substancesand occurs in all organismal forms from cellular to multicellular organisms. This system of communicationspecializedduring evolutionand incorporatedspecificmeansof transferanddetectionof signalsincludingolfactoryreceptorsanddiversificationof specifictransportersof thesemolecules.Amongtransporters,lipocalinsareproteins thatdueto theirspecificbetabanel formingtertiarysffucutrehavehighafinityto bind various volatile ligands for which they have importantrole in chemical communication. MajorUrinaryProteinsarea well knownexamplein miceaswell asOdorantbinding proteins.However,thereare otherlipocalinsin this proteinfamily of which the function is as yet understudied.In my Ph.D. disertation,I aimed at detailed understandingofthe variabilityin lipocalinfamilyandto suggestotherpotentialroles of theseleastknownproteins.I am presentinga reviewpublicationstemmingout of my bio-informaticanalysis,one paperon Major Urinary Proteinsin two speciesof mice and a paperthatis now submittedand which dealswith novel lipocalin (Obp) genes in Myodes glareolus similar to afrodisin - a protein that was previously describedonly in hamsters.This paperis basedon the sequencesthatwereanalyzed and submittedto GenBank.This last resultopenednew streamof...
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Ontogeny of personality or repeatability in behavioral and cognitive tests
Pšeničková, Eliška ; Landová, Eva (advisor) ; Sedláček, František (referee)
Individual stability is important for the development of personality, and above all two patterns of consistency - structural and differential. The main goal of this diploma thesis was to monitor changes in the repeatability of behavior over time (i.e., differential consistency) during ontogenesis and to compare the consistency of selected elements of behavior in behavioral tests and a selected cognitive test. Testing of a model species of squamate reptile, the common leopard gecko (Eublepharis macularius), in standard behavioral tests and in a selected cognitive test across ontogenesis over three life stages (juvenile, subadult and adult phase) showed, after statistical examination, high estimates of repeatability and significant influence of ontogenetic phase. Behavioral consistency between juveniles and adults could increase or decrease for certain behaviors or remain consistent in only one phase of life. In the subadult period, the behavior was generally inconsistent, except for vocalization in the reactivity test, where it was demonstrated by high estimates of repeatability. The aim of testing in the selected cognitive test was to determine the non-cognitive component of variability, which could be explained by different personalities. Yet, cognitive styles associated with personality have not...
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