Animal Behavior Research Blog Posts

To be ravenous or to be social

Prosocial behavior, a voluntary behavior to benefit another, is an interesting concept from an evolutionary point of view. At first sight it may seem logical to be social.

Free-choice digital interactive enrichment and human-animal interaction

Great apes have fast reflex, gazes, and movements: The Observer XT’s features allow frame by frame coding and accurate data integration.

How obese mice get moving

By a showing of hands: how many of you started this New Year with the resolution to get moving? Burn off those extra holiday calories, or finally really get in shape?

How optogenetics is used to study the stress response in zebrafish larvae

Stress might seem like a bad word, but it does have its perks. A recent study by Rodrigo J. De Marco uncovered the role of the pituitary in zebrafish larvae behavior after the onset of stress.

Autistic mice have motor learning difficulties specific to the cerebellum

Autism is often associated with social behavior deficits and repetitive behaviors. However, motor abnormalities are also a part of the behavioral spectrum. Recent studies have implicated the cerebellum.

Discrimination learning without human intervention or food restriction

Sylics recently introduced CognitionWall, a new paradigm for discrimination learning in the home cage that avoids the necessity for food restriction and handling in learning tests.

Video tracking for high-throughput screening of plant resistance to thrips

A thrips is a tiny insect that can have a not-so-tiny effect on plants. A lot of research is currently carried out on how to get rid of these creatures.

High-throughput screening of plant lines for resistance to pest insects

The EthoGenomics project focused on screening for host plant resistance to insect pest species. Video tracking provides the possibility to scale up the screening method largely.

The power of rejection (in fruit flies)

Fruit flies have amazing sense of smell. This includes the ability to navigate to a food source, as well as search out a preferred mate. However, there are other areas in which their olfactory systems come into play.

The use of video tracking in a HaXha test

When you get used to something, after a while you might not notice it anymore. Like a sent. The lab of Justus Verhagen investigated sniffing behavior with video tracking.

How fruit flies find your food (and mates!)

Those tiny flies that take over your garbage cans during the summer? They are called fruit flies for a reason! They have a fantastic sense of smell and these tiny creatures are a popular animal model for researchers.

Students’ first contact with The Observer XT

Prof. Dr. Stefanski and Dr. Flauger explain why it is important to introduce students to professional software tools at an early stage.