PubMed Health⌕ Search

Biomedical subjects

L A Eiserer

Publications and source records attributed to L A Eiserer.

7 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed1980

Long-term potential for imprinting in ducks and chickens.

In the first of five experiments, three of four adult ducks who had been reared in visual isolation gradually developed strong approach responses towards a moving panel of colored lights. Experiment 2 provided evidence that the ducks' approach response reflected the same sort of social attachment that is typically formed to moving objects by newly hatched ducklings. Experiment 3 revealed that the fourth duck would not approach the moving stimulus even after additional exposure to it, but would approach a conspecific after group housing had been enforced for seven days. In Experiment 4, none of five adult chickens who had been reared in visual isolation developed approach responses towards the moving stimulus, even though in Experiment 5, newly hatched chicks approached the stimulus quite readily. Taken together, these findings (a) indicate that ducks retain the ability to form filial-type attachments to novel objects throughout their lives, and (b) offer preliminary evidence that chickens do not retain this ability into adulthood.

Journal Article↗
PubMed1975

Isolation-induced aggression in newly hatched ducklings.

Newly hatched Khaki Campbell ducklings (Anas platyrhynchos domesticus) were initially housed in pairs and subsequently transferred to isolated housing conditions. Subjects living with another bird displayed filial behavior and little aggression upon encountering another duckling in a test arena. In contrast, ducklings housed in isolation exhibited aggressive pecking in addition to filial behavior when another duckling was subsequently encountered. In Experiment 2, ducklings were housed with an imprinting object (i.e., an object that elicits attachment behavior), but they were otherwise isolated from other birds. These subjects displayed little aggression when they were subsequently reunited with a conspecific, indicating that the aggression-precluding effects of social housing are not limited to the particular social stimulus with which the ducklings are housed. In Experiment 3, ducklings were again housed with an imprinting object, but this time the object was behind glass, thereby precluding tactile contact with it. Since these birds also exhibited little aggression when reunited with a conspecific, it is apparent that visual stimulation from an imprinting object is sufficient in itself to preclude subsequent aggression. These findings suggest that stimulation that elicits attachment behavior is the critical factor mediating isolation-induced aggression.

Aggression↗
PubMed1975

Persistence of acquired behavioral control in the context of imprinting.

Newly hatched Khaki Campbell ducklings (Anas platyrhynchos domesticus) were exposed to a moving object that immediately suppressed distress vocalizations occurring in a novel environment. The static visual and auditory features of this object acquired the ability to suppress distress vocalizations after eight 20-min sessions of exposure to the object in motion. The acquired suppressive properties of these features were found to persist throughout thirty 20-min sessions given over 10 days. During these sessions, the ducklings were continually exposed to the static features in the absence of visual movement. In a second experiment, the ability of these features in the absence of visual movement. In a second experiment, the ability of these features to serve as reinforcement for a pecking response was shown to persist for up to 56 hr. In one duckling, presentations of the static visual features did not maintain pecking behavior. However, it was shown that pecking responses could be re-instated in this duckling by introducing novel stimuli to the environment.

Journal Article↗