Category Archives: cognition & neuroscience

Assessing Stress in Snakes through Shit and Sheds

Validation of a shed skin corticosterone enzyme immunoassay in the African House Snake (Lamprophis fuliginosus) and its evaluation in the Eastern Massasauga Rattlesnake (Sistrurus catenatus catenatus) – Berkvens et al. 2013 Introduction Methods Discussion

Commentary – Social Living/Isolation Affects Mite Personality

Personality expression is shaped by the early experienced social context in predatory mites- A commentary on the Schausberger and Nguyen, 2024 paper by Chiara, 2025 As this paper is a commentary on a previous paper, there are no subheadings thus this post will mainly be bullet points

Early Social Isolation Detrimentally Affects Zebrafish

Developmental Social Isolation affects adult behavior, social interaction, and dopamine metabolite levels in zebrafish – Shams et al. 2017 Introduction Methods Results Discussion

Animal personality and social niches

Animal personality due to social niche specialization – Bergmueller & Taborsky, 2010 Definitions The evolution of animal personality The intra-specific ecological niche The social environment: a key factor for personality evolution Social conflict generating consistent individual differences Social conflict generating behavioural correlations Adaptive individual differences caused by developmental plasticity Social experience affecting the development ofContinue reading “Animal personality and social niches”

Social stress on body and behaviour (mainly mammals)

Animal models of social stress: effects on behavior and brain neurochemical systems – Blanchard et al. 2001 This paper mainly focused on the effects of social stress, specifically victory and defeat amongst dominant and subordinate conspecifics. This paper didn’t really relate to reptiles so this post was shorter than most and only includes what IContinue reading “Social stress on body and behaviour (mainly mammals)”

Hognoses Play Dead-Burghardt, Greene 1988

Predator simulation and duration of death feigning in neonate hognose snakes – Burghardt and Greene, 1988 Hognose snakes have a tendency to display a wide range of defensive behaviours that include puffing, hissing, coiling, striking, flattening, and playing dead. Playing dead includes flipping over and sticking their tongue out while releasing a noxious odour toContinue reading “Hognoses Play Dead-Burghardt, Greene 1988”

Fitness is related to social competence

Social competence: an evolutionary approach – Taborsky and Oliveira, 2012 Behavioural Flexibility as phenotypic plasticity Classic evolutionary theory states that adaptation by natural selection is dependent on phenotypic variation which is heritable and produced by genetic variation. But when the genetic variation is outpaced by the environmental changes, then adapting to the environment without geneticContinue reading “Fitness is related to social competence”

Repeatability in lizards (charging method used)

Exploration and spatial cognition show long-term repeatability but no heritability in the Aegean wall lizard – De Meester et al. 2022 Intro: To show that a cognitive trait evolves via natural selection then there needs to be evidence that shows the trait is connected to survival and/or reproduction. It also needs to show that theContinue reading “Repeatability in lizards (charging method used)”