title: Effects of enclosure size on sexual behavior of Japanese quail (Coturnix japonica).
abstract: The authors determined whether results of experiments on copulatory and affiliative behavior of pairs of Japanese quail (Coturnix japonica) conducted in a closely confining apparatus would predict behavior in a large enclosure in which female quail could avoid contact with male quail. As found previously in studies of closely confined quail, in a large enclosure containing numerous barriers, both unmated female quail and mated female quail laying unfertilized eggs were more likely to remain near a confined male quail than were mated female quail laying fertilized eggs. Furthermore, the number of copulations that a pair engaged in when closely confined predicted the number of copulations that they engaged in when they were in the large enclosure. Patterns of affiliation and of mating in a confining laboratory apparatus thus predicted behavior in a larger enclosure that provided female quail with opportunity to avoid contact with male quail.
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, McMaster University, Hamilton, ON, Canada. galef@mcmaster.ca
authors.forename: Bennett G
authors.initials: BG
authors.lastname: Galef
authors.forename: Sarah J
authors.initials: SJ
authors.lastname: Watkins
authors.forename: Parastoo
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Salehi
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001522:Behavior, Animal; D003307:Copulation; D003370:Coturnix; D005260:Female; D006185:Habituation, Psychophysiologic; D008297:Male; D018782:Maze Learning; D012726:Sexual Behavior, Animal; D012919:Social Behavior