Imprinting Versus Learning

Posted by: Hilda Sinton  /  Category: Environment

Before the child is weaned, the mother’s whole interest is centred on him. She never leaves him, carries him on her back-often in skin-to-skin contact-wherever she goes, sleeps with him, feeds him on demand at all hours of the day and night, forbids him nothing, and never chides him. … He is, moreover, continually being stimulated by seeing her at her various occupations and hearing her interminable conversations, and because he is always with her, his world is relatively extensive. He is also the centre of interest for neighbors and visitors.

The first systematic investigations on imprinting were published in 1951. Independently, in this country and in Europe, the work of scientists gave the first indications of some of the important factors in the process. Most of Ramsay’s experiments dealt with exchange of parents and young, although he also imprinted some waterfowl on such objects as a football or a green box. . . .

Our birds (ducks and chicks) were incubated and hatched right in our laboratory. They hatched in the dark, and each animal was placed in an individual box marked with the exact hour at which the animal hatched. The bird, in the box, was kept in a still-air incubator and kept there until it was to be imprinted. After the animal had undergone the imprinting experience, it was returned to the box and kept there until testing. Only after testing was completed was the young bird placed in day light and given food and water.

Although the intensive effort to find and formulate laws of learning (in hopes of accounting for the causal bases of all behaviors) did show that certain behaviors once thought to be instinctive were indeed modifiable by learning, the realization is growing that there are still certain behaviors that are so persistent in character and resistant to modification by reinforcement that they cannot be satisfactorily explained by conventional laws of learning. In such cases, and imprinting is one of them, other explanatory devices must be constructed. He was the first to bring widespread attention to this phenomenon of imprinting, and he gave it its name. In a broad sense, imprinting refers to an early experience that has a pro found influence on the later adult social and sexual behavior of an animal with respect to the choice of objects for these behaviors.

It is well known that in discrimination learning, experience is more effective for retention of learning. In imprinting, however, primacy of experience is the maximally effective factor. This difference is demonstrated by the following experiment. Two groups of eleven ducklings each were imprinted to two different imprinting objects. Animals of Group I were first individually imprinted to a male mallard model, and then to a female model. Group II, on the other hand, was first imprinted to a female model, and subsequently to a male model. Fourteen of the twenty-two ducklings, when tested with both models present, preferred the model to which they first had been imprinted, showing primacy. Only five preferred the model to which they had been imprinted.

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Assessing Your Topical Fish For Compatibility

Posted by: Benjamin Neil  /  Category: Environment

Tropical fish are no doubt more attractive than any other type of fish, however one important thing when breeding these types of fishes is to understand and consider the various issues of compatibility. Understanding how compatible or incompatible can help create a safer environment for your fragile fish, and also give you an insight and knowledge on how to feed and take care of your fish tank. So before you start buying a host of varieties of different fishes, you ought to know how they interact with each other.

The simplest way to learn about various compatibility issues of the fishes you want to have is actually by asking the store owner of where you are going to buy them from. They will have insights for this as they have firsthand experience in dealing and handling with these fishes. Another easy way is to make sure you get the fish that are of the same size, because if you put a larger one and a small one inside the same tank, the smaller one will usually die! You can find all these information by simply logging on to the Internet and find out more.

Different breed of fishes aside, another thing to take notice of whenever you are planning to introduce a new breed of fish into your tank is the water temperature as well as the food you are going to feed them. Most fishes do not do too well in extreme temperature, and most of these fishes are also very delicate and sensitive to the water, thus you want to make sure you have sorted that out before hand. When you are making the transfer from the store aquarium to your own, you can submerge the inflated bag into the tank first before releasing it, this way it allows the fish to better adapt to its new environment.

Depending on the breed you choose, your fish might be a carnivore, herbivore and even an omnivore, as such you want to make sure you are feeding them with the correct type of food to ensure their survival and also helps them to get their best possible colors and scales.

Lastly, another important thing to know is whether the tropical fish is whether a saltwater fish or a freshwater fish. A freshwater fish might die if you let them in saltwater as they’re not used to the salinity of the water, and likewise your saltwater fish might not thrive in freshwater.

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Destroying Ants With Natural Pesticides

Posted by: Owen Jones  /  Category: Environment

Ants appear to be pretty innocuous to most people. In most temperate climates, ants do very little damage, although red ants bite people all over the planet. However, there are more serious ants in warmer countries and some of these ants can even be responsible for hospitalzations and even a few fatalities. Red ant bites itch and even hurt, but imagine a baby falling onto a red ant nest.

What if that infant fell onto a fire ant nest or a red carpenter ant nest? Carpenter ants can be an inch (25 mm) long and a bite can draw blood. There are poisonous ants in South America and exploding ants in Southeast Asia, although they will not kill humans. Soldier ants are quite frightening too. In fact, the amount of dangerous ants in the warmer countries can be worrying.

Indeed, only a fortnight ago, my male dog was plastered in big red marks all over his stomach and under carriage. He was obviously in great pain when he walked and was off his food. It has been very hot here in Thailand this summer because the monsoon was late, so he probably dug a shallow hole in the soil to keep cool. He was probably swarmed by ants while he was asleep, but could not shake them off. He was in a very bad way for three days.

Some ants are vegetarians but others will happily eat meat, if it is on offer. Most ants will eat dead insects and small, dead animals. Some will also assault fit animals, including humans, if they feel threatened.

One trouble is that insects can become resistant to chemical controls and sometimes this immunity is limited to a small area, so it is better not to use chemicals if you can do anything about it. Chemicals can also present a danger to children, which makes storing them and using them even more dangerous.

Boric acid is a by-product of boron which is a natural product. Boric acid is very effective at destroying insects that take food back to their colonies, so this includes ants and termites. It can be mixed with sugar and water to make it more appealing to ants or can be spread around the garden with no danger. It is risk-free to children and pets alike.

Cayenne pepper is another repellent-cum-killer. Cultivate your own cayenne peppers, liquidize them and add to boiling water, then spray over ants and ant runs when it has chilled. It will not kill a colony, but it will stop foraging ants.

Corn meal is a method of ant and cockroach extermination. Spread it about and when the insects eat it, it will swell up with their digestive juices and cause them to explode. Not very nice, but satisfying all the same.

There are other natural remedies for killing or deterring insects too, some are favourites of one country or local people. Why don’t you ask around the older people where you live and find out what their parents used to use to control ants and other insects the natural way?

Owen Jones, the writer of this article writes on many subjects, but is currently involved with Getting Rid Of Carpenter Ants. If you would like to know more or check out some great offers, please go to our website at Killing Carpenter Ants.