My final Behavouur Assignment - Your thoughts needed.

by marleyNfriends Thu Feb 23, 2012 12:23 pm

Its in 2 parts; one is a presentation and the other is to investigate the mechanisms of bonding and imprinting in a 1000 word essay. I missed the lessons on bonding and imprinting, so ill leave that for the moment. Its the presentation id like some help with...I have to investigate how the senses: vision, hearing, scent, pheremones, taste and touch are used in intraspecies communication and explain how communication signals can reduce fighting between conspecifics. - Conspecifics are just animals of the same spscies, so other rabbits. All ive come up with for the moment are:

Sight: Rabbits use body language to communicate (dominance, fear, aggression, submission, fear etc) I thought of this as their body language provides signals that other rabbits can see before they actually come into physical contact.

Smell: The scent glands on their chin and anus release pheremones. Their nose is constantly twitching and they have the little split in their top lip to help pick up on the scent of predators over a long distance. - I dont know how smell is used to prevent fighting though scratch

Sound: Obviously they dont make many sounds but mothers purr to their kits sometimes, they tooth purr when being groomed and they may scream in extreme pain - again, i dont know how it reduces fighting.

Touch: They groom eachother which relates to social grouping and hierarchy.

Am i on the right track? Any other ideas, esp when it comes to reducing fighting would be helpful. Smile

by Tuckerbunnies Thu Feb 23, 2012 1:44 pm

Sounds ok to me Thumbs Up

http://www.petplace.com/small-mammals/rabbit-senses-what-is-it-like-in-their-world/page1.aspx

by Guest Thu Feb 23, 2012 4:56 pm

Don't forget about thumping sounds and also grunting/growling. And honking which I've only ever heard in the context of Flo being unsure in a new place.

Reducing fighting sort of links in to bonding - submissive pose, again the grunt is a sort of warning to stop a fight. And Flo will certainly box before engaging in any proper fighting behaviour. And don't forget the rabbit appeasement position of turning away and grooming: I will studiously ignore you and I advise you to do the same!

by gentl Thu Feb 23, 2012 5:05 pm

If you haven't come across it yet:
http://language.rabbitspeak.com/

As for smell preventing fighting, perhaps they can tell friend bunny or foe bunny by smell. they can smell fear also.

i'll keep thinking. scratch

by Vince the bunny Thu Feb 23, 2012 9:50 pm

marleyNfriends wrote:Its in 2 parts; one is a presentation and the other is to investigate the mechanisms of bonding and imprinting in a 1000 word essay. I missed the lessons on bonding and imprinting, so ill leave that for the moment. Its the presentation id like some help with...I have to investigate how the senses: vision, hearing, scent, pheremones, taste and touch are used in intraspecies communication and explain how communication signals can reduce fighting between conspecifics. - Conspecifics are just animals of the same spscies, so other rabbits. All ive come up with for the moment are:

Sight: Rabbits use body language to communicate (dominance, fear, aggression, submission, fear etc) I thought of this as their body language provides signals that other rabbits can see before they actually come into physical contact.

Smell: The scent glands on their chin and anus release pheremones. Their nose is constantly twitching and they have the little split in their top lip to help pick up on the scent of predators over a long distance. - I dont know how smell is used to prevent fighting though Could smell determin the sex of the other rabbit? Two bucks would fight, two does would fight, but an in season doe may be receptive to the scent of a buck, and the buck would defo be interested.

Sound: Obviously they dont make many sounds but mothers purr to their kits sometimes, they tooth purr when being groomed and they may scream in extreme pain - again, i dont know how it reduces fighting. Grunts and growls are a warning precursor to fighting. They also make a whispy whistling breathing sound sometimes, but I don't know what this means. Some of mine also make a stiffled squeak sound when I pick hem up, could this be displeasure or fear???
Touch: They groom eachother which relates to social grouping and hierarchy.

Am i on the right track? Any other ideas, esp when it comes to reducing fighting would be helpful.

by NSD Fri Feb 24, 2012 5:31 am

For Touch, what about adding humping to establish dominance? It's often a necessary part of bonding.

In terms of communicating danger, some bunnies thump to warn of something scary. When Bruce sees something he is scared of, he thumps and whines at the same time to tell Josephine to run away.

by Jay Fri Feb 24, 2012 8:26 am

Sight: Rabbits use body language to communicate (dominance, fear, aggression, submission, fear etc) I thought of this as their body language provides signals that other rabbits can see before they actually come into physical contact.
I think that's right, but rabbits will avoid fighting if poss - fighting within their own community can lead to death, even though the fight may not be that vicious - infections from cuts and grazes can kill. They are very diplomatic animals, and these postures and locations where they are in relation to each other matter. because they are so delicat, One of the biggest causes of fights is not having enough space, AFAIK.

Smell: The scent glands on their chin and anus release pheremones. Their nose is constantly twitching and they have the little split in their top lip to help pick up on the scent of predators over a long distance. - I dont know how smell is used to prevent fighting though. It doesn't nec. prevent fighting, but it identifies them to each other, so for example a stranger would be instantly recognised as a threat, by scent and dealt with, if req.

Sound: Obviously they dont make many sounds but mothers purr to their kits sometimes, they tooth purr when being groomed and they may scream in extreme pain - again, i dont know how it reduces fighting.
I think with buns it's a case of prevention rather than reduction. Growls, thumps, honking, lunges etc are all warning signs that the rabbit is on high alert and ready to attack. Other buns pick up on the signal and either antagonise or retreat - fight or flight.

Touch: They groom eachother which relates to social grouping and hierarchy. Again it's preventative measures. By being in touch with their females, the bucks are ensuring that every other buck knows not to go there, and they do so at their own peril, as the Doe is scented with the Buck's scent. if the buck doesn't pay enough physical attention to the Doe, then she may be vulnerable to being whisked off her feet by another buck, but at the same time, Bucks (wild) do loose interest in their Does, and go off and find another one. It's a common misconception that rabbits pair up for life, they don't - some might, but it isn't a 'rule'. This is why our concept of bonded rabbits is slightly skewiff.Two rabbits living togther in close quarters have no choice but to tolerate each other, and they usually make the most of it, but this is why there can be problems when introducing a third rabbit to a pair.