Paul F Brain

Swansea University | SWAN · Department of Biosciences

Interpretations of behavioural visual cues, based on human perception of colour, may mislead because of the difference in our visual range compared to other animals. Investigations into ultraviolet (UV) reflectance have shown that this can be an important mode of communication in many animals. The present study focused on 10 species of British Odon...

The effect of being located in utero between two females (0M), a male and a female (1M) or two males (2M) was assessed on subsequent infanticidal behaviour (i.e. the killing of alien pups) in primiparous female outbred Swiss and inbred BALB/c and C57BL/10 mice. Strain of subject had a significant effect on infanticide, with Swiss females showing a...

The natures of the various emotions are considered, in nonhuman animals as well as in our own species. Particular attention is directed to animal models of human emotions that are used to assess the potential impacts of clinical treatments on behavior but can also be advanced as evidence of potential welfare problems in captive animals. The differe...

Individual variations of plasma levels of hormones testosterone (T) and cortisol (C), before (pre) and after (post) Kumite (real fight) and Kata (ritualized fight) were measured in male karate athletes and analyzed in relation with the agonistic outcome (i.e. winning or losing the fight) and personality trait measures. T and C increased only during...

This study investigated the impact of oil pollution on morphological measurements in adult male and female sand lizards captured in locations with apparently different pollution levels. The results of this study confirmed that there is sexual dimorphism in body size, with males being generally larger than females at all the study sites. Adult male...

Oil pollution in desert locations in Greater Al-Burgan oil fields of Kuwait generated by the 1990 Gulf war has changed field behaviour and morphology of the Fringe-toed Lizard Acanthodactylus scutellatus (Audouin, 1827). Lizards from the dark ‘tar mat’ locations are notably darker in colour than those from the control sites. Consequently, A. scutel...

Contamination of soils by heavy metals from oil spills is a serious problem. The environment of the Arabian Gulf region was exposed to such factors by the 1991 oil spill and is now a focus of study. Sites with apparently different levels of pollution, namely tar mat, soot and clear sites were located at the Greater Al-Burgan oil field. Eight field...

An attempt was made to study the effects of oil pollution in a desert location (the Greater Al-Burgan oil fields, an area damaged in the second Gulf War) in Kuwait on the behaviour of the Sand lizard A. scutellatus. Polluted sites with apparently different degrees of contamination (namely tar mat, soot and clear sites) were compared with control ar...

Animals (including human beings) show complex interactions with their own species, other species, and the environment. An encounter between two animals such as that of rodent aggression (described by Grant and Mackintosh, 1963) 27 involves intricate behavioral patterns, presumably expressing a variety of motivations. Over the past 20 years encounte...

Using indicator species to monitor the effects of oil pollution was thought to be useful to assess whether local desert reptiles and their insect prey could fulfill such a role in an area damaged in the second Gulf War (1990). Polluted sites with apparently different degrees of contamination (namely tar mat, soot, and clear sites) located at Kuwait...

Intra-specific aggression was investigated in a wild colony of Water voles between 1999 and 2004 in South Wales, UK. The occurrence and location (i.e. on the head, neck, body or tail) of bite wounds were recorded for adult and juvenile male and female voles. The greatest (33%) incidence of bite wounds were recorded on juvenile females and the lowes...

Two forms of competitive encounters namely Randori (free fight) and Kata (highly ritualized fight) were studied in 22 professional male judo fighters. The dyadic, symmetrical (in terms of body weight and fighting ability) encounters were videotaped to assess relationships between agonistic behavior and individual variations in plasma levels of test...

The relationships between acute social stress, immunological alterations and the development of pulmonary metastases of B16F10 melanoma were analyzed. In particular, the effects of different behavioral coping strategies on the development of the metastases were studied. Tumor bearing and tumor non-bearing mice were subjected for 24h to a sensory co...

Intra-specific aggression was investigated in a wild colony of Water voles between 1999 and 2004 in South Wales, UK. The occurrence and location (i.e. on the head, neck, body or tail) of bite wounds were recorded for adult and juvenile male and female voles. The greatest (33%) incidence of bite wounds were recorded on juvenile females and the lowes...

This study attempted to determine whether differing numbers of days of repeated defeat experience altered behavior, immune measures, and neuroendocrine mediators in mice. OF1 male mice were socially stressed by repeated experiences of defeat in a sensorial contact model. Subjects exposed to nine defeats showed more stretch-attend postures and fewer...

Some of the psychological effects of viewing bullfights on children 8–12 years old are described. Two hundred and forty subjects (120 girls and 120 boys) aged between eight and twelve from a variety of socioeconomic backgrounds were selected from three public or private elementary / secondary schools in Madrid, Spain. The first study used a questio...

Over the last ten years, a high-density breeding population (c.180 individuals) of moorhens Gallinula chloropus (Linnaeus) has become established in an artificially created wetland habitat at the Wildfowl and Wetlands Trust (WWT) centre in Llanelli. The reproductive behaviour and success of this population was the subject of an intensive study betw...

Swiss mice of differing ages (juvenile and adult) and sexes were fed four specially formulated, pelleted diets containing respectively 8% saturated vegetable fat, 8% soya oil, 8% olive oil and 2% soya oil (with identities hidden from the experimenter) or a local commercial chow (3% crude fat) for 3 or 6 weeks. Subjects were individually housed and...

Daily dyadic resident-intruder encounters and uninterrupted cohabitation in pairs were used to assess the impact of different durations (5 and 15 days) of dominance and subordination experiences on splenic lymphoproliferative responses in male OF1 strain mice. HPA axis activity was assessed by measuring serum corticosterone levels, whereas splenic...

Daily dyadic resident–intruder encounters and uninterrupted cohabitation in pairs were used to assess the impact of different durations (5 and 15 days) of dominance and subordination experiences on splenic lymphoproliferative responses in male OF1 strain mice. HPA axis activity was assessed by measuring serum corticosterone levels, whereas splenic...

Bite targets on opponents used by individually housed male, reproductively experienced male and lactating female subjects from outbred TO and Swiss Webster and inbred NZW/Ola, BALB/c, C57BL/10, DBA/2, CBA/Ca and C3H/He lines of mice were assessed. Ten-minute videotaped encounters with anosmic male TO or "congenic" opponents were used for this purpo...

Bite targets on opponents used by individually housed male, reproductively experienced male and lactating female subjects from outbred TO and Swiss Webster and inbred NZW/O1a, BALB/c, C57BL/10, DBA/2, CBA/Ca and C3H/He lines of mice were assessed. Ten-minute videotaped encounters with anosmic male TO or "congenic" opponents were used for this purpo...