title: Developmental changes in associations among timber wolf (Canis lupus) postures.
abstract: I examined developmental changes in associations among components of timber wolf (Canis lupus) postural communication in two hand-reared pups between 15 and 85 days of age. The frequency with which select postural components co-occurred was scored from 180 randomly sampled frames of video records of these pups made during social interactions. I used this index of association as the basis for multidimensional scaling and cluster analyses. Relations among postural components became more structured with age. Two-dimensional models were found to account for associations among postures displayed at 69-85 and 32-67 days of age but not at 15-32 days of age. I interpret these orthogonal dimensions as continua of dominance to submission and seriousness to playfulness. These data suggest the intended messages contained in postural displays may depend on the specific combinations of components used.
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, Acadia University, Wolfville, Nova Scotia B0P 1X0, Canada.
authors.forename: P J
authors.initials: PJ
authors.lastname: McLeod