A Pilot Study on Behavioural and Physiological Indicators of Emotions in Donkeys
Recognizing animal emotions is critical to their welfare and can lead to a better relationship with humans and the environment, especially in a widespread species like the donkey, which is often prone to welfare issues. This study aims to assess the emotional response of donkeys through an operant c...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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MDPI AG
2023-04-01
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| Series: | Animals |
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2076-2615/13/9/1466 |
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| author | Samanta Seganfreddo Diletta Fornasiero Marta De Santis Franco Mutinelli Simona Normando Laura Contalbrigo |
| author_facet | Samanta Seganfreddo Diletta Fornasiero Marta De Santis Franco Mutinelli Simona Normando Laura Contalbrigo |
| author_sort | Samanta Seganfreddo |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Recognizing animal emotions is critical to their welfare and can lead to a better relationship with humans and the environment, especially in a widespread species like the donkey, which is often prone to welfare issues. This study aims to assess the emotional response of donkeys through an operant conditioning task with two presumed different emotional contents. Specifically, a within-subject design including positive and negative conditions was conducted, collecting behavioural and physiological (heart rate variability and HRV) parameters. Facial expressions, postures, and movements were analysed by principal component analysis and behavioural diversity indexes (frequencies, activity budgets, richness, Shannon and Gini-Simpson). During the positive condition, both ears were held high and sideways (left: r = −0.793, <i>p</i> < 0.0001; right: r = −0.585, <i>p</i> = 0.011), while the ears were frontally erected (left: r = 0.924, <i>p</i> < 0.0001; right: r = 0.946, <i>p</i> < 0.0001) during the negative one. The latter was also associated with an increased tendency to walk (r = 0.709, <i>p</i> = 0.001), walk away (r = 0.578, <i>p</i> = 0.012), more frequent changes in the body position (V<sub>Body position</sub> = 0, <i>p</i> = 0.022), and greater behavioural complexity (V<sub>Gini-Simpson Index</sub> = 4, <i>p</i> = 0.027). As for HRV analysis, the root mean square of successive beat-to-beat differences (rMSSD) was significantly lower after the negative condition. These non-invasive parameters could be considered as possible indicators of donkeys’ emotional state. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-11T04:24:45Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-02367822744842d0969ecf59365de8dc |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2076-2615 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-11T04:24:45Z |
| publishDate | 2023-04-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Animals |
| spelling | doaj.art-02367822744842d0969ecf59365de8dc2023-11-17T22:29:30ZengMDPI AGAnimals2076-26152023-04-01139146610.3390/ani13091466A Pilot Study on Behavioural and Physiological Indicators of Emotions in DonkeysSamanta Seganfreddo0Diletta Fornasiero1Marta De Santis2Franco Mutinelli3Simona Normando4Laura Contalbrigo5National Reference Centre for Animal Assisted Interventions, Istituto Zooprofilattico Sperimentale delle Venezie, Viale dell’Università 10, 35020 Legnaro, ItalyEpidemiology and Risk Analysis in Public Health, Istituto Zooprofilattico Sperimentale delle Venezie, Viale dell’Università 10, 35020 Legnaro, ItalyNational Reference Centre for Animal Assisted Interventions, Istituto Zooprofilattico Sperimentale delle Venezie, Viale dell’Università 10, 35020 Legnaro, ItalyNational Reference Centre for Animal Assisted Interventions, Istituto Zooprofilattico Sperimentale delle Venezie, Viale dell’Università 10, 35020 Legnaro, ItalyDepartment of Comparative Biomedicine and Food Science, Università degli Studi di Padova, Viale dell’Università 14, 35020 Legnaro, ItalyNational Reference Centre for Animal Assisted Interventions, Istituto Zooprofilattico Sperimentale delle Venezie, Viale dell’Università 10, 35020 Legnaro, ItalyRecognizing animal emotions is critical to their welfare and can lead to a better relationship with humans and the environment, especially in a widespread species like the donkey, which is often prone to welfare issues. This study aims to assess the emotional response of donkeys through an operant conditioning task with two presumed different emotional contents. Specifically, a within-subject design including positive and negative conditions was conducted, collecting behavioural and physiological (heart rate variability and HRV) parameters. Facial expressions, postures, and movements were analysed by principal component analysis and behavioural diversity indexes (frequencies, activity budgets, richness, Shannon and Gini-Simpson). During the positive condition, both ears were held high and sideways (left: r = −0.793, <i>p</i> < 0.0001; right: r = −0.585, <i>p</i> = 0.011), while the ears were frontally erected (left: r = 0.924, <i>p</i> < 0.0001; right: r = 0.946, <i>p</i> < 0.0001) during the negative one. The latter was also associated with an increased tendency to walk (r = 0.709, <i>p</i> = 0.001), walk away (r = 0.578, <i>p</i> = 0.012), more frequent changes in the body position (V<sub>Body position</sub> = 0, <i>p</i> = 0.022), and greater behavioural complexity (V<sub>Gini-Simpson Index</sub> = 4, <i>p</i> = 0.027). As for HRV analysis, the root mean square of successive beat-to-beat differences (rMSSD) was significantly lower after the negative condition. These non-invasive parameters could be considered as possible indicators of donkeys’ emotional state.https://www.mdpi.com/2076-2615/13/9/1466donkeyanimal emotionwelfare indicatoranimal behaviourbehavioural diversity indexesoperant conditioning |
| spellingShingle | Samanta Seganfreddo Diletta Fornasiero Marta De Santis Franco Mutinelli Simona Normando Laura Contalbrigo A Pilot Study on Behavioural and Physiological Indicators of Emotions in Donkeys Animals donkey animal emotion welfare indicator animal behaviour behavioural diversity indexes operant conditioning |
| title | A Pilot Study on Behavioural and Physiological Indicators of Emotions in Donkeys |
| title_full | A Pilot Study on Behavioural and Physiological Indicators of Emotions in Donkeys |
| title_fullStr | A Pilot Study on Behavioural and Physiological Indicators of Emotions in Donkeys |
| title_full_unstemmed | A Pilot Study on Behavioural and Physiological Indicators of Emotions in Donkeys |
| title_short | A Pilot Study on Behavioural and Physiological Indicators of Emotions in Donkeys |
| title_sort | pilot study on behavioural and physiological indicators of emotions in donkeys |
| topic | donkey animal emotion welfare indicator animal behaviour behavioural diversity indexes operant conditioning |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2076-2615/13/9/1466 |
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