Lateralization influences contest behaviour in domestic pigs

Area of Science:

• Ethology
• Neuroscience
• Animal Behavior

Background:

• Cerebral lateralization (hemispheric asymmetries) is observed across species and linked to behavioral biases.
• Lateralization may enhance cognitive capacity and information processing during social interactions.
• Its role in animal contests, specifically fighting ability and contest resolution, remains to be fully elucidated.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the hypothesis that cerebral lateralization influences contest outcome and duration in pigs.
• To determine if stronger lateralization confers an advantage in dyadic contests.
• To assess the relationship between lateralization strength/direction and fighting ability.

Main Methods:

• Conducted 52 dyadic contests between weight-matched pigs (Sus scrofa; n=104) at 10 weeks of age.
• Observed opponent orientation using scan sampling every 10 seconds to calculate Laterality Indexes (LI).
• Analyzed LI for direction and strength of lateralization in relation to contest duration and outcome.

Main Results:

• Significant individual lateralization (right or left) was present in up to 12.5% of pigs; no population-level lateralization was detected.
• Strongly lateralized individuals exhibited shorter contest durations compared to weakly lateralized individuals.
• No significant differences in lateralization strength or direction were found between contest winners and losers.

Conclusions:

• Cerebral lateralization appears to facilitate faster conflict resolution in pigs.
• While lateralization aids in resolving contests efficiently, it does not directly enhance fighting ability (Resource Holding Potential).
• These findings highlight the value of studying cerebral lateralization in the context of animal contests.