Ethological characterization of the Canarian camel breed

Growing interests in the application of behavioral sciences to animal production has enabled the progressive development of techniques for the improvement of handling practices aiming to reach high productive yields in a sustainable framework. Selective and differential reproduction for specific and desirable behavioral traits in the Canarian camel breed (Camelus dromedarius), after ethofuncional characterization, can be applied to achieve an increase in the adaptive value of the animals to the pressures of the livestock production systems in which they are reared. This initiative is part of a strategic plan for the conservation, improvement and promotion of an autochthonous endangered breed through alternative ways of profitable and sustainable use of the breed and its products. The qualification of the human team involved, as well as the mechanical optimization of the camel rearing systems, are pivotal objectives in applied ethology.


INTRODUCTION
The scientific and applied study of animal behavior is a growing discipline. Closely linked to the concept of animal welfare has allowed articulating complex adapted agricultural systems that seek maximum profitability through the correct satisfaction of the animals' basic need (Ortega Cerrilla & Gómez Danés 2006). The rethinking of the relationship between humans and animals in agrosystems emphasizes the economic nature of temperament or animal behavior in the optimization of productive yields (Aguilar & Paranhos 2009).
Since the set of actions and reactions of an organism against the stimuli present in its environment depends on motivational factors and decisions and are the result of adaptation to the environment in which they live, knowledge of these behavioral traits is a tool of transcendental importance in the comparative study between these and the typical natural behaviors and fixed action patterns of an animal species.
The reaction to a given stimulus is a complex, individualized behavior that can be consistent in different situations or over time (Boissy 1995). Behavior can, therefore, be considered characteristic for each animal or species, a non-transitory or unpredictable phenomenon submitted to selective pressure in the same way as any anatomical feature and/or physiological process (Asensio Herrero 2014).
Regarding to cognitive processes, responsible for the analysis and individual processing of the information received from the environment, cognitive ethology seeks to recognize and quantify the mental processes that take place in non-human animals and in what measure could be considered explanatory variables of their behavior (Álvarez González et al. 2010). In this context, the adaptive value of learning could be considered as one of the most important mechanisms in ontogeny and behavioral evolution (Johnston 1982). Table I. Operant conditioning behavioral test to assess cognitive processes. Adapted from (Navas et al. 2018) (Prueba de comportamiento de condicionamiento operante para evaluar los procesos cognitivos. Adaptado de (Navas et al. 2018) (Navas et al., 2017)).

Intelligence cluster
Trait Definition Scale Description

Concentration
The animal collaborates during the assessment sesión and does not get distracted by the environment In this multidisciplinary appraisal of behavior and its immediate causes, behavioral genetics tries to find out what is the individual or coordinated influence of a particular set of genes on a specific pattern of behavior, a fact that can be evaluated from the differences observed between species, races or related individuals for a defined behavioral trait. Thus, systematic artificial selection programs makes possible to increase the frequency of genes associated with specific desired behaviors based on mathematical models estimating heritability of these phenotypic traits (Álvarez González et al. 2010).
In turn, pioneering studies in behavioral physiology in production animals have identified the relationship between behavioral phenotypic characteristics and various physiological parameters under specific management systems (Cunningham, Van Tienhoven & De Goeijen 1987;Fenwick & Green 1986;Lyons & Price 1987;Majchrzak et al. 2015;Stephens & Toner 1975). The direct practical application of these results comprises the design and implementation of behavioral assessment methods based on behavioral indexes that allow quantify the adaptability of animals to confinement systems under human influence aiming to their genetic improvement and selective breeding (Fatnassi et al. 2014;Wilson 1990).
In animal species of emerging production systems and relative unknowledge of their ethological patterns, the integrated qualitative and quantitative analysis of the psychophysiological processes associated with their specific behavioral records, constitute the first phase for development of future programs looking for the improvement of handling practices and production techniques.
In a scenario that combines the special protection by public administrations of the animal genetic heritage of Spain and its potential as an alternative and emerging agrolivestock system, the ethofunctional characterization of the Canarian camel becomes crucial (Abdoun et al. 2012), as it is officially cataloged as an autochthonous endangered breed. With this objective, the validation of a test battery for the assessment of ethofunctional characters of this camel breed are the first step for further selective enhancement basing on their lear-ning abilities. The improvement in behavior will be reflected in a reduction of costs and an increase in benefits.

MATERIAL AND METHODS
During the correlated presentation of different stimuli within six stages of evaluation, intelligence, and cognitive traits and body language signals presented by the animals, are fully recorded. Table III. Description of the seven general cognition traits evaluated in camels. Adapted from (Navas et al. 2017) (Descripción de los siete rasgos de cognición general evaluados en camellos. Adaptado de (Navas et al. 2017)).

Cognition cluster Trait
Definition Scale Description

Dependence
The camel is comfortable when separated from the main herd An operant conditioning behavioral test is performed in an open are, that is the area where the animals develop their daily activity, so that the only alteration present in the environment are the novel stimuli used for the test (Figure 1). The whole experiment is videotaped by two cameras (1080 p, 50 Hz, shutter speed:1/250 seconds) located in diffrent positions of the study area. A detailed description of the operant conditioning test is presented in Table I.
To carry out the behavioral assessment, we evaluate thirteen behavioral traits related with the ability or mental capacities of camels to adapto to their environment and training works due to informatio processin (Navas et al. 2019). These thirteen traits are divided in two different clusters: 'Intelligence cluster ' comprises six traits (Table II) while 'Cognition cluster ' are composed by seven traits (Table  III). Table IV sumarises the adjectives considered for the camel's mood/emotion towards the diffe-rent stimuli presented to them during the operant conditioning test.
Lastly, when assessing body language in camels, we developed a specific ethogram ( Table V) that allows the recognition of body language signs reporting camel's mood or temperament patterns and their potential collateral implications on early diagnosis and follow-up of morbid processes or threatening situations. Correlation between body language and response intensity or mood is a worthwile method intending to improve camel-human communication and interaction during handling practices.

INTERPRETATION OF RESULTS AND CONCLUSIONS
The behavioral characterization will allow enriching the selection criteria based on better cognitive skills, which can be extrapolated to a better use of available resources and remarkable ease of dressage or adaptation to training protocols. This condition,  (Navas et al. 2017) (Escala ordinal para la evaluación de la intensidad de la respuesta o actitud del camello durante la presentación de los diferentes estímulos del test de condicionamiento operante. Adaptado de (Navas et al. 2017)).

Scale
Mood/Attitude Description Response type Scale Degree/ Intensity Reaction. Only focused on the stimulus being presented. Gets startled, and moves apart from it noticeably. Pulls apart from the leading rope when the operator tries to move towards the stimulus Hyperreactive 3 a Pay attention: the camel held direct visual contact with and/or directed its ear/s towards the element being presented. together with the emotional state of the animals, has been found to be closely correlated with the number of trials needed to learn a task in a learning experiment (Heird, Lokey & Cogan 1986).
A general strategy to analyze the adaptive value of learning, conceived as a phenotypic trait present to a greater or lesser extent in an animal and being one of the most important mechanisms in behavioral development, is to examine the benefits and costs that are associated to it (Johnston 1982). This type of analysis makes possible to construct em-pirically falsifiable hypotheses about those adaptations, such as the ability to learn, that are more likely to evolve under specific ecological, social, physiological and genetic conditions.
In this regard, selective breeding should pursue the maintenance of previously acquired desirable learning abilities and the development of new capacities adapted to particular circumstances. However, the favorable or unfavorable evolution of a desired phenotypic trait is immersed in a complex process in which other diverse factors of a genetic, physiological and environmental nature also play an important role.
Closely linked to this condition, the qualification of human capital in charge of animal management should also be a priority in these cases. Specially relevance acquires the interpretation of body language of animals for the expressive or communicative meaning of their body movements.
In general terms, the scientific literature presents the camel as an animal of calm and balanced character, with a noticeably developed gregarious instinct. Individual circumstances associated with hereditary personality factors or driving conditions can trigger an obstinate temperament in some specimens (Khan, Arshad & Riaz 2003;Manefield & Tinson 1997). The recognition and interpretation of their emotions and their potential alterations, as well as allowing the expression of the natural behaviors of the species, are two basic pillars on which animal welfare policies applied to sustainable production in confined systems are based.

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
The present research was carried out in the financing framework of the international project CA.RA. VA.N -"Toward a Camel Transnational Value Chain"