Vs. Lankin et Mf. Bouissou, Factors of diversity of domestication-related behavior in farm animals of different species, RUSS J GEN, 37(7), 2001, pp. 783-795
Fear response and domestic behavior of sheep, cattle, horses, and pigs were
studied using four different variants of experimental stress conditions. A
s standard aversive stimulus, the factor of human presence during the feedi
ng time was used under the following conditions: animals were starved for 1
2-14 or 2 h before the exposure and fed individually or in a group. In the
animal species studied, these conditions were found to reveal phenotypic an
d genotypic differences in fear response to humans, which is correlated wit
h feeding behavior by regulatory mechanisms. A comparative qualitative and
quantitative study of the discrete variation of the associated passive-defe
nsive responses and feeding behavior (as related to domestic behavior) was
conducted with regard to the effect of the breed and individual genotypes a
nd the feeding and zoosocial deprivation. A classification scheme of the in
dividual diversity of this behavior in farm animal species is proposed, in
which ontogenetic and evolutionary relationships earlier found in sheep wer
e taken into consideration. It is suggested that the progressive ecological
and zootechnical specialization alters adaptive reaction norms of stress r
esponse in breeds and leads to the formation of the homologous variation in
a set of coadapted traits, i.e., constitutional types of animals genetical
ly marked by their behavior. A conclusion is made that heritable polymorphi
sm of domestic behavior represents a new source of adaptive variation for i
mproving fitness, welfare, and productivity of farm animals by breeding.