![]() While the validation was concerned with cat behaviour, the approach can be easily adapted for a variety of domestic species, as well as some captive animals. Recommendations are given for the most efficient scoring protocol to reliably record feline behaviour. df = 5, P = 0.30), indicating that the method is not subject to bias in observers. Furthermore, inter-observer reliability was high (Cohen's κ = 0.72)and was not significantly different from 0.8 (one-sample t-test: t = 1.15. Video-tracking allows scoring of behaviour as reliably as direct observation (linear mixed effects model: t < 0.001, P = 0.99 df = 14 in 7 cats Cohen's κ = 0.88). Continuous and instantaneous recording regimes were compared, and behavioural accumulation curves were evaluated to provide further technique recommendations for video-tracking cats. Additionally, the inter-observer reliability of scorers was measured. The methodology was validated comparing films recorded simultaneously, from both collar-mounted video recorders and hand-held video recorders. The aim of this study was to provide and validate an ethogram based on cat-camera footage collected from 16 cats (Felis catus). While video-tracking has been used previously to study specific aspects of the behaviour of a species, it has not been used so far to determine detailed time-budgets. The use of animal-borne small video-cameras provides the opportunity to study behaviour from the animal's point of view. Direct observation is not always feasible and bears the potential risk of observer effects. To better understand and mitigate any impact, it is important to understand the behaviour patterns of the domestic animals, and how other variables might influence their behaviour. The results indicate that the use of animal-borne video cameras is suitable for assessing variations in sheep grazing behaviour patterns in complex swards.įree roaming domestic animals can have a profound effect on wildlife. Although data collected by individual animal-borne POV cameras were representative of the flock behaviour, they may underestimate the total grazing time outside major meals. Grazing selectivity was more pronounced in late spring, with sheep favouring the middle stratum of the sward’s vertical structure, preferring green vegetative material, while enlarging the feeding niches’ span and spending more time at each niche, consequently reducing the station rate. The proportion of forbs in the diet remained high in early and late spring, and forbs and legumes were preferred to grasses in early spring. Diet composition also changed as sward matured. Sheep compensate for the decrease in sward quantity and nutritive value by increasing the size and duration at each behavioural scale (i.e., meal, bout, and station) while increasing the bout rate and decreasing the station rate. Overall, the results demonstrate that POV cameras were able to capture grazing behaviour fine-tuning to changes in sward characteristics. Sward variables on a Mediterranean native sward were measured for two years during the active spring plant-growth cycle. Time-specific sward features were measured by sampling ‘really’ grazed patches identified by applying a global navigation satellite system (GNSS) precision-grazing approach. We observed grazing ‘through’ the sheep’s eyes using point-of-view (POV) cameras coupled with event logging software. This study uses video sequences from animal-borne cameras to capture time- and scale-dependent grazing behaviour variables related to sward explanatory conditions. Grazing patterns, intake structure, and diet selection are dynamic responses to animals’ feeding environment. ![]()
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