No Evidence for Contagious Yawning in Juvenile Ravens (<i>Corvus corax</i>): An Observational Study
The overt and reflexive matching of behaviors among conspecifics has been observed in a growing number of social vertebrates, including avian species. In general, behavioral contagion—such as the spread of yawning—may serve important functions in group synchronization and vigilance behavior. Here, w...
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| Format: | Article |
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MDPI AG
2022-05-01
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| Series: | Animals |
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2076-2615/12/11/1357 |
| _version_ | 1797494398381981696 |
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| author | Andrew C. Gallup Anja B. Schild Markus A. Ühlein Thomas Bugnyar Jorg J. M. Massen |
| author_facet | Andrew C. Gallup Anja B. Schild Markus A. Ühlein Thomas Bugnyar Jorg J. M. Massen |
| author_sort | Andrew C. Gallup |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | The overt and reflexive matching of behaviors among conspecifics has been observed in a growing number of social vertebrates, including avian species. In general, behavioral contagion—such as the spread of yawning—may serve important functions in group synchronization and vigilance behavior. Here, we performed an exploratory study to investigate yawn contagion among 10 captive juvenile ravens (<i>Corvus corax</i>), across two groups. Using observational methods, we also examined the contagiousness of three other distinct behaviors: stretching, scratching, and shaking. A total of 44 20 min observations were made across both groups, including 28 in the morning and 16 in the afternoon. The time and occurrence of all the behaviors from each bird were coded, and the temporal pattern of each behavior across both groups was then analyzed to assess the degree of social contagion. Overall, we found no evidence for contagious yawning, stretching, scratching, or shaking. However, yawns were relatively infrequent per observation (0.052 ± 0.076 yawns/bird) and thus experimental methods should be used to support this finding. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-10T01:33:42Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-90496da35b2648dea933d6a809a5969e |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2076-2615 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-10T01:33:42Z |
| publishDate | 2022-05-01 |
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| record_format | Article |
| series | Animals |
| spelling | doaj.art-90496da35b2648dea933d6a809a5969e2023-11-23T13:37:00ZengMDPI AGAnimals2076-26152022-05-011211135710.3390/ani12111357No Evidence for Contagious Yawning in Juvenile Ravens (<i>Corvus corax</i>): An Observational StudyAndrew C. Gallup0Anja B. Schild1Markus A. Ühlein2Thomas Bugnyar3Jorg J. M. Massen4Psychology and Evolutionary Behavioral Sciences Programs, SUNY Polytechnic Institute, Utica, NY 13502, USADepartment of Behavioral & Cognitive Biology, University of Vienna, 1090 Vienna, AustriaDepartment of Behavioral & Cognitive Biology, University of Vienna, 1090 Vienna, AustriaDepartment of Behavioral & Cognitive Biology, University of Vienna, 1090 Vienna, AustriaAnimal Behaviour and Cognition, Utrecht University, 3584 CS Utrecht, The NetherlandsThe overt and reflexive matching of behaviors among conspecifics has been observed in a growing number of social vertebrates, including avian species. In general, behavioral contagion—such as the spread of yawning—may serve important functions in group synchronization and vigilance behavior. Here, we performed an exploratory study to investigate yawn contagion among 10 captive juvenile ravens (<i>Corvus corax</i>), across two groups. Using observational methods, we also examined the contagiousness of three other distinct behaviors: stretching, scratching, and shaking. A total of 44 20 min observations were made across both groups, including 28 in the morning and 16 in the afternoon. The time and occurrence of all the behaviors from each bird were coded, and the temporal pattern of each behavior across both groups was then analyzed to assess the degree of social contagion. Overall, we found no evidence for contagious yawning, stretching, scratching, or shaking. However, yawns were relatively infrequent per observation (0.052 ± 0.076 yawns/bird) and thus experimental methods should be used to support this finding.https://www.mdpi.com/2076-2615/12/11/1357collective behaviorcomparative cognitionmotor synchronysocial behaviorstate change |
| spellingShingle | Andrew C. Gallup Anja B. Schild Markus A. Ühlein Thomas Bugnyar Jorg J. M. Massen No Evidence for Contagious Yawning in Juvenile Ravens (<i>Corvus corax</i>): An Observational Study Animals collective behavior comparative cognition motor synchrony social behavior state change |
| title | No Evidence for Contagious Yawning in Juvenile Ravens (<i>Corvus corax</i>): An Observational Study |
| title_full | No Evidence for Contagious Yawning in Juvenile Ravens (<i>Corvus corax</i>): An Observational Study |
| title_fullStr | No Evidence for Contagious Yawning in Juvenile Ravens (<i>Corvus corax</i>): An Observational Study |
| title_full_unstemmed | No Evidence for Contagious Yawning in Juvenile Ravens (<i>Corvus corax</i>): An Observational Study |
| title_short | No Evidence for Contagious Yawning in Juvenile Ravens (<i>Corvus corax</i>): An Observational Study |
| title_sort | no evidence for contagious yawning in juvenile ravens i corvus corax i an observational study |
| topic | collective behavior comparative cognition motor synchrony social behavior state change |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2076-2615/12/11/1357 |
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