Methods of Quantifying Animal Interactions and Behaviour Sequences
A special issue of Animals (ISSN 2076-2615).
Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (31 December 2021) | Viewed by 7802
Special Issue Editor
Special Issue Information
Dear Colleagues,
The study of animal behaviour comes with significant challenges. This is most pronounced when animals are interacting with conspecifics or animals of another species, including humans. The better we understand the behaviour of the animals in our environment, the more we realise that behaviour is influenced by the behaviour of others, and not necessarily in a simple, linear fashion. Likewise, behaviours may be influenced to varying degrees by the behaviours an animal has recently expressed, not just external stimuli. Multiple behaviours may serve the same functions, and individual behaviours may serve multiple functions. How can we identify those functions for accurate categorisations of suites of behaviours, or differentiate between when a discrete behaviour serves one function or another? This can be especially challenging when the consequences of behaviours vary or are unclear, such as in the case of displacement behaviours or stereotypies.
The purpose of this special issue is to provide an opportunity for researchers to share methods of quantifying these complex behavioural interactions and sequences in animals. This includes methods of statistical analysis, methods of data collection, descriptive statistics, what data should be collected, and considerations for moving this field forwards. It is also an opportunity to share preliminary work, pilot studies, or small datasets for illustrative purposes, or reviews.
Dr. Melissa Starling
Guest Editor
Manuscript Submission Information
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Keywords
- animal behaviour
- applied animal behaviour
- behavioural sequences
- behaviour suites
- transition behaviours
- computational biology
- bayesian models
- behavioural analysis
- behavioural syndromes
- probabilistic models
- Markov chain analysis
- stereotypies
