2. Behavioral Biology TALKS - Deutsche Zoologische Gesellschaft

level suggests that some birds of both species were able to grasp the logical structure
of the tasks, and to visually determine the presence of physical continuity between
the string and reward. However, three Galahs but no cockatiels were able to inhibit
their preference for a shorter string when it was not connected with the reward.
Considerable inter-individual and inter-species differences in task performance are
discussed.
����23 Johanne Martens
Naturalized Amazon parrots in Stuttgart
Author: Johanne Martens 1
Affiliation: 1 Universität Hohenheim
Yellow-headed Amazon parrots (Amazona oratrix oratrix) have been breeding
successfully in the city of Stuttgart since 1986, thus being established Neozoa. In
1999, the first Blue-fronted Amazon parrot (Amazona aestiva xanthopteryx) was
sighted. Hybrids of the two species exist and produce fertile offspring. The parrots
use a broad range of food plants, available in parks, graveyards and gardens. A total
of 62 food plant species of 24 plant families, 36 of which are endemic in Europe are
known to be used by the parrots. Poisonous plants like Common Yew (Taxus baccata)
are also taken. The parrots feed on different plant parts such as bark, leaves, shoots,
flowers, seeds and fruit. Only some parts of the plucked food are used. The
population size at the roost site was counted throughout the year 2011. Just before
and during the breeding period, the population size decreased. In some weeks, the
nonbreeders were gone as well. One breeding pair consisting of a hybrid male and an
A. o. oratrix female was observed during their whole breeding period. Copulation,
feeding times and the behaviour of the offspring before leaving the breeding cavity
were documented. Breeding started at the end of May, one young parrot left the
cavity in the end of August. Breeding behaviour was similar to the behaviour known
from Amazon parrots kept in captivity.
����24 Sven Krackow
Automatic dominance hierarchy determination in the IntelliCage
Authors: Sven Krackow 1 , Maris Alvarez 2 , Hans-Peter Lipp 1
Affiliation: 1 Institut of Anatomy, University of Zürich; 2 Institute of Veterinary
Physiology, University of Zürich
The IntelliCage consists of 4 corners offering two water bottles each, access to which
is controlled by the experimenter. Corners can be visited by mice from a group
housed in the IntelliCage. Individual behavior is tracked and corner responses are
applied based on RFID transponder identification. A simple competition test revealed
social dominance hierarchies between females kept in groups during drinking
sessions, as access to water proved to by strongly competed for at start of sessions
and access sequences were found to be stable over time and after access point shifts.
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