A stochastic analysis of the maintenance behaviour of skylarks
The paper attempts to describe the maintenance behaviour of Skylarks Alauda arvensis using conventional qualitative and quantitative descriptive frameworks and, as a new technique, random event series analysis. It is based on behaviour records of individually marked birds which were observed in the...
| Published in: | Behaviour |
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| Main Author: | |
| Format: | Article in Journal/Newspaper |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
1969
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| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bsz:352-202738 https://doi.org/10.1163/156853969X00350 |
| Summary: | The paper attempts to describe the maintenance behaviour of Skylarks Alauda arvensis using conventional qualitative and quantitative descriptive frameworks and, as a new technique, random event series analysis. It is based on behaviour records of individually marked birds which were observed in the field for extended periods. Starting from frequency analysis and using random signal analysis as a stepping stone the rationale of random event analysis is briefly explained. Some of the problems involved in considering behaviour sequences as signals and the implications of viewing animals as black box systems, particularly when only the output i.e. behaviour, is available, are reviewed. The limitations of random event analysis for dealing with non-stationarity and non-linearity are considered. A qualitative description of the maintenance behaviour follows. Some information is given on the behavioural responses to environmental stimuli, particularly to the arrival of the observer. The sequential organisation of the behaviour in terms of transition probabilities is presented next. Deviations from a null order model are found when the behaviour events are separated by less than a minute and some of the implications are briefly mentioned. In a special subsection the sequential organisation of preening is similarly treated but on the basis of too few data to give any conclusive result. Then the distribution of intervals between the various behaviour patterns are given in a matrix form and some indications of deviations of random occurrence are found and discussed. A matrix of inter-behaviour correlations based on the frequency of behavioural events per various time units is presented and the finding that the duration of time units affects the correlations is discussed. In this context some correlation coefficients with non-maintenance behaviour are given and they support the idea that the comfort patterns may be related to a sleep syndrome. Matrices of auto-and cross-correlation functions and the related intensity ... |
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