Selection for Reduced Fear of Humans Changes Intra-Specific Social Behavior in Red Junglefowl—Implications for Chicken Domestication
The domestic fowl has a different social behavior compared to their ancestor, the red junglefowl. To examine whether selection for tameness has affected their intra-specific social behavior, 32 red junglefowl from two selection lines, one selected for increased tameness and one selected for a high f...
| Main Authors: | , |
|---|---|
| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
MDPI AG
2021-12-01
|
| Series: | Genes |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2073-4425/13/1/43 |
| _version_ | 1797493848509775872 |
|---|---|
| author | Johanna Gjøen Per Jensen |
| author_facet | Johanna Gjøen Per Jensen |
| author_sort | Johanna Gjøen |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | The domestic fowl has a different social behavior compared to their ancestor, the red junglefowl. To examine whether selection for tameness has affected their intra-specific social behavior, 32 red junglefowl from two selection lines, one selected for increased tameness and one selected for a high fear of humans for ten generations, were kept in a group of two females and two males each and were observed in a semi-natural undisturbed enclosure. Birds selected for a low fear of humans had more social conflict, and the males from this selection crowed more and were more often observed in low social proximity to others. The high-fear birds spent more time close together with the rest of the group and performed more social, non-aggressive pecking. These results are consistent with known differences between ancestral red junglefowl and domesticated laying hens. Our results show that intra-specific social behavior has been affected as a side-effect of selection for increased tameness. This may have interesting implications for the emergence of the domestication syndrome in chickens. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-10T01:25:51Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-67782e6fd279496d8588a9abeb8a5890 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2073-4425 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-10T01:25:51Z |
| publishDate | 2021-12-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Genes |
| spelling | doaj.art-67782e6fd279496d8588a9abeb8a58902023-11-23T13:51:26ZengMDPI AGGenes2073-44252021-12-011314310.3390/genes13010043Selection for Reduced Fear of Humans Changes Intra-Specific Social Behavior in Red Junglefowl—Implications for Chicken DomesticationJohanna Gjøen0Per Jensen1AVIAN Behavior Genetics and Physiology Group, IFM Biology, Linköping University, 58183 Linköping, SwedenAVIAN Behavior Genetics and Physiology Group, IFM Biology, Linköping University, 58183 Linköping, SwedenThe domestic fowl has a different social behavior compared to their ancestor, the red junglefowl. To examine whether selection for tameness has affected their intra-specific social behavior, 32 red junglefowl from two selection lines, one selected for increased tameness and one selected for a high fear of humans for ten generations, were kept in a group of two females and two males each and were observed in a semi-natural undisturbed enclosure. Birds selected for a low fear of humans had more social conflict, and the males from this selection crowed more and were more often observed in low social proximity to others. The high-fear birds spent more time close together with the rest of the group and performed more social, non-aggressive pecking. These results are consistent with known differences between ancestral red junglefowl and domesticated laying hens. Our results show that intra-specific social behavior has been affected as a side-effect of selection for increased tameness. This may have interesting implications for the emergence of the domestication syndrome in chickens.https://www.mdpi.com/2073-4425/13/1/43aggressiontamenessfowl |
| spellingShingle | Johanna Gjøen Per Jensen Selection for Reduced Fear of Humans Changes Intra-Specific Social Behavior in Red Junglefowl—Implications for Chicken Domestication Genes aggression tameness fowl |
| title | Selection for Reduced Fear of Humans Changes Intra-Specific Social Behavior in Red Junglefowl—Implications for Chicken Domestication |
| title_full | Selection for Reduced Fear of Humans Changes Intra-Specific Social Behavior in Red Junglefowl—Implications for Chicken Domestication |
| title_fullStr | Selection for Reduced Fear of Humans Changes Intra-Specific Social Behavior in Red Junglefowl—Implications for Chicken Domestication |
| title_full_unstemmed | Selection for Reduced Fear of Humans Changes Intra-Specific Social Behavior in Red Junglefowl—Implications for Chicken Domestication |
| title_short | Selection for Reduced Fear of Humans Changes Intra-Specific Social Behavior in Red Junglefowl—Implications for Chicken Domestication |
| title_sort | selection for reduced fear of humans changes intra specific social behavior in red junglefowl implications for chicken domestication |
| topic | aggression tameness fowl |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2073-4425/13/1/43 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT johannagjøen selectionforreducedfearofhumanschangesintraspecificsocialbehaviorinredjunglefowlimplicationsforchickendomestication AT perjensen selectionforreducedfearofhumanschangesintraspecificsocialbehaviorinredjunglefowlimplicationsforchickendomestication |