Animal play and evolution: seven timely research questions about enigmatic phenomena

GM Burghardt, SM Pellis, JC Schank… - Neuroscience & …, 2024 - Elsevier
The nature of play in animals has been long debated, but progress is being made in
characterizing play and its variants, documenting its distribution across vertebrate and …

Slowly Making Sense: A Review of the Two-Step Venom System within Slow (Nycticebus spp.) and Pygmy Lorises (Xanthonycticebus spp.)

LLJ Fitzpatrick, R Ligabue-Braun, KAI Nekaris - Toxins, 2023 - mdpi.com
Since the early 2000s, studies of the evolution of venom within animals have rapidly
expanded, offering new revelations on the origins and development of venom within various …

The emergence and early development of socio-sexual behavior in beluga calves (Delphinapterus leucas)

JR Ham, MK Lilley, J Lelekach, MR Miller… - Behavioural …, 2022 - Elsevier
While the ontogeny of beluga (Delphinapterus leucas) socio-sexual behavior has been
documented in animals between 37-and 108-months-old, the first 36 months of life are yet to …

Habitat use, terrestriality and feeding behaviour of Javan slow lorises in urban areas of a multi-use landscape in Indonesia

L Karimloo, M Campera, MA Imron, S Rakholia… - Land, 2023 - mdpi.com
Urban areas are rapidly expanding into natural habitats worldwide. When species are
threatened with habitat loss, it is vital to understand how they will respond or adapt to the …

Juvenile social play predicts adult reproductive success in male bottlenose dolphins

KG Holmes, M Krützen, AR Ridley… - Proceedings of the …, 2024 - National Acad Sciences
For over a century, the evolution of animal play has sparked scientific curiosity. The
prevalence of social play in juvenile mammals suggests that play is a beneficial behavior …

The evolution of aggressive and amicable play fighting in primates: a phylogenetic perspective

SM Pellis, VC Pellis, JR Ham - International Journal of Play, 2023 - Taylor & Francis
Play fighting involves competing for an advantage, which can be derived from behavior
typical of conspecific aggression, predation, sexual and other affinitive contexts. Here the …

Anthropogenic influences on play of the green monkeys of Barbados

R Amrhein, P Eason - Animal Behaviour, 2024 - Elsevier
Highlights•Play is likely a way for young individuals to prepare for adulthood.•Play may also
be affected by the energy in a system.•Human-derived food led to a decrease in monkey …

Influence of Moon Luminosity, Seasonality, Sex and Weather Conditions on the Activity Levels of the Nocturnal Javan Slow Loris

M Campera, M Balestri, AN Stewart, KAI Nekaris - Ecologies, 2022 - mdpi.com
The activity patterns of mammals depend on environmental changes (eg, moon luminosity,
food availability, weather) and endogenous rhythms. Behavioral observations are …

Play fighting revisited: its design features and how they shape our understanding of its mechanisms and functions

SM Pellis, VC Pellis, JR Ham - Frontiers in Ethology, 2024 - frontiersin.org
Play fighting has been one of the most intensely studied forms of play and so has provided
some of our deepest insights into the understanding of play in general. As the label implies …

Aposematic signaling and seasonal variation in dorsal pelage in a venomous mammal

KAI Nekaris, M Campera, AR Watkins… - Ecology and …, 2021 - Wiley Online Library
In mammals, colouration patterns are often related to concealment, intraspecific
communication, including aposematic signals, and physiological adaptations. Slow lorises …