Dataset Information

The Effect of Domestication and Experience on the Social Interaction of Dogs and Wolves With a Human Companion.

ABSTRACT: The results of current wolf-dog studies on human-directed behaviors seem to suggest that domestication has acted on dogs' general attitudes and not on specific socio-cognitive skills. A recent hypothesis suggests that domestication may have increased dogs' overall sociability (hypersociability hypothesis). The aim of the present study was to test one aspect of the hypersociability hypothesis, whereby dogs should be more interested in social human contact compared to wolves, and to investigate the relative roles of both domestication and experience on the value that dogs attribute to human social contact. We compared equally raised wolves and dogs kept at the Wolf Science Center (WSCw, WSCd) but also dogs with different human socialization experiences i.e., pet dogs and free-ranging dogs. We presented subjects with a simple test, divided in two phases: in the Pre-test phase animals were exposed to two people in succession. One person invited the animal for a social/cuddle session (contact provider) and the other fed the animal (food provider). In the Test phase, animals could choose which of the two persons to approach, when both stood in a neutral posture. We directly compared WSCd with WSCw and free-ranging dogs with pet dogs. We found that in the Pre-test, WSCd and free-ranging dogs spent more time with the contact provider than WSCw and pet dogs, respectively. The results regarding the free-ranging dog and pet dog comparison were surprising, hence we conducted a follow-up testing pet dogs in a familiar, distraction-free area. Free-ranging dogs and this group of pet dogs did not differ in the time spent cuddling. In the test phase, WSCd were more likely than WSCw to approach the two experimenters. However, neither for the WSCd-WSCw comparison nor for the free-ranging dogs-pet dogs comparison, we could find a clear preference for one person over the other. Our findings support the idea that domestication has affected dogs' behavior in terms of their overall interest in being in proximity with a human partner also in case of dogs with a relatively sparse socialization experience (free-ranging dogs). However, it remains unclear what the driving motivation to interact with the human may be.

SUBMITTER: Lazzaroni M

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7197371 | biostudies-literature | 2020

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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The Effect of Domestication and Experience on the Social Interaction of Dogs and Wolves With a Human Companion.

Lazzaroni Martina M Range Friederike F Backes Jessica J Portele Katrin K Scheck Katharina K Marshall-Pescini Sarah S

Frontiers in psychology 20200423

The results of current wolf-dog studies on human-directed behaviors seem to suggest that domestication has acted on dogs' general attitudes and not on specific socio-cognitive skills. A recent hypothesis suggests that domestication may have increased dogs' overall sociability (hypersociability hypothesis). The aim of the present study was to test one aspect of the hypersociability hypothesis, whereby dogs should be more interested in social human contact compared to wolves, and to investigate th ...[more]

PMID: 32395114

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Project description:Due to domestication, dogs differ from wolves in the way they respond to their environment, including to humans. Selection for tameness and the associated changes to the autonomic nervous system (ANS) regulation have been proposed as the primary mechanisms of domestication. To test this idea, we compared two low-arousal states in equally raised and kept wolves and dogs: resting, a state close to being asleep, and inactive wakefulness, which together take up an important part in the time budgets of wolves and dogs. We measured arousal via cardiac output in three conditions: alone, with a familiar human partner, or with pack members (i.e., conspecifics). Specifically, we compared heart rate (HR) and heart rate variability (HRV) of six wolves and seven dogs. As patterns of resting can vary adaptively, even between closely related species, we predicted that dogs would be generally more aroused than wolves, because living with humans may come with less predictable contexts than living with conspecifics; hence, dogs would need to be responsive at all times. Furthermore, we predicted that due to the effects of domestication, emotional social support by familiar people would reduce arousal more in dogs than in equally human-socialized wolves, leading to more relaxed dogs than wolves when away from the pack. Overall, we found a clear effect of the interactions between species (i.e., wolf versus dog), arousal state (i.e., resting or awake inactive) and test conditions, on both HR and HRV. Wolves and dogs were more aroused when alone (i.e., higher HR and lower HRV) than when in the presence of conspecifics or a familiar human partner. Dogs were more relaxed than wolves when at rest and close to a familiar human but this difference disappeared when awake. In conclusion, instead of the expected distinct overall differences between wolves and dogs in ANS regulation, we rather found subtle context-specific responses, suggesting that such details are important in understanding the domestication process.

Project description:BACKGROUND:Advances in genome technology have simplified a new comprehension of the genetic and historical processes crucial to rapid phenotypic evolution under domestication. To get new insight into the genetic basis of the dog domestication process, we conducted whole-genome sequence analysis of three wolves and three dogs from Iran which covers the eastern part of the Fertile Crescent located in Southwest Asia where the independent domestication of most of the plants and animals has been documented and also high haplotype sharing between wolves and dog breeds has been reported. RESULTS:Higher diversity was found within the wolf genome compared with the dog genome. A total number of 12.45 million SNPs were detected in all individuals (10.45 and 7.82 million SNPs were identified for all the studied wolves and dogs, respectively) and a total number of 3.49 million small Indels were detected in all individuals (3.11 and 2.24 million small Indels were identified for all the studied wolves and dogs, respectively). A total of 10,571 copy number variation regions (CNVRs) were detected across the 6 individual genomes, covering 154.65?Mb, or 6.41%, of the reference genome (canFam3.1). Further analysis showed that the distribution of deleterious variants in the dog genome is higher than the wolf genome. Also, genomic annotation results from intron and intergenic regions showed that the proportion of variations in the wolf genome is higher than that in the dog genome, while the proportion of the coding sequences and 3'-UTR in the dog genome is higher than that in the wolf genome. The genes related to the olfactory and immune systems were enriched in the set of the structural variants (SVs) identified in this work. CONCLUSIONS:Our results showed more deleterious mutations and coding sequence variants in the domestic dog genome than those in wolf genome. By providing the first Iranian dog and wolf variome map, our findings contribute to understanding the genetic architecture of the dog domestication.

Project description:AbstractFood sharing is relatively widespread across the animal kingdom, but research into the socio-ecological factors affecting this activity has predominantly focused on primates. These studies do suggest though that food tolerance is linked to the social relationship with potential partners. Therefore, the current study aimed to assess the social factors which influence food tolerance in two canids: wolves and dogs. We presented wolves and dogs with two paradigms: dyadic tolerance tests and group carcass feedings. In the dyadic setting, the affiliative relationship with a partner was the most important factor, with a strong bond promoting more sharing in both species. In the group setting, however, rank was the primary factor determining feeding behavior. Although the dominant individuals of both species defended the carcass more than subordinates, in the dogs, the subordinates mostly stayed away from the resource and the most dominant individual monopolized the food. In the wolves, the subordinates spent as much time as dominant individuals in proximity to, and feeding from, the carcass. Furthermore, subordinate wolves were more able to use persistence strategies than the dogs were. Feeding interactions in the wolves, but not dogs, were also modulated by whether the carcass was on the ground or hanging from a tree. Overall, the social relationship with a partner is important in food distribution in wolves and dogs, but the precise effects are dependent on species and feeding context. We consider how the different socio-ecologies of the two species may be linked to these findings.Significance statementDespite the fact that food sharing is relatively widespread in the animal kingdom, the specific factors underlying whether an animal will share with a specific individual are little understood. When it comes to decisions about food sharing in wolves and dogs, friendship is the deciding factor if it is just two of you, but in a bigger group rank position decides your access to the spoils. What is more, it seems that rank positioning is even more important in dogs than wolves as dominant dogs keep the food for themselves while each wolf pack member has a chance to eat. This is the first evidence that the importance of the social relationship in food sharing is dependent on the feeding context in canids.

Dataset Information

The Effect of Domestication and Experience on the Social Interaction of Dogs and Wolves With a Human Companion.

Publications

The Effect of Domestication and Experience on the Social Interaction of Dogs and Wolves With a Human Companion.

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