Dr. rer. nat. Jan Langbein
Research Institute for Farm Animal Biology (FBN)
working group Animal Behaviour & Welfare
Wilhelm-Stahl-Allee 2
18196 Dummerstorf
working group Animal Behaviour & Welfare
Wilhelm-Stahl-Allee 2
18196 Dummerstorf
Research interests
- Animal husbandry is currently characterized by increasing levels of automation and introduction of advanced self-management systems. Animals have to learn automated routines and processes of different level of complexity. Various studies have shown that animals can learn such procedures often on the basis of associative learning. Until now, a general paradigm in research of learning in animals is to test single individuals in a specific learning environment and under human supervision. We go a different way.
- To study various aspects of visual discrimination learning in dwarf goats, we apply an approach of individual self controlled learning in normal social setting by using a fully automated, learning device, which is integrated in the animals home pen. This corresponds better with animal learning under husbandry conditions.
- In a long term project we investigate how goats learn to discriminate simple and complex visual signs and how flexible their learning behaviour and memory is. We search for evidence of higher learning abilities in goats like concept learning (oddity, match to sample). We want to test the influence of external (e.g. management practices) and internal (e.g. dominance status, temperament) factors on learning. Further, we want to quantify stress related to learning – both acute mental stress and long lasting psychological stress. Moreover, we investigate if successful learning of cognitive challenges has a positive effect on animal welfare in the long run (cognitive environmental enrichment). To evaluate stress related to learning online, we apply telemetric measurement of heart beat activity and analyse heart rate and heart rate variability. Other research interests are higher cognitive capabilities and emotions of farm animals, temperament in cattle and spatial-temporal pattern of behaviour of cattle in loose housing systems.
Curriculum Vitae
- 2002-present: Senior scientist at the Leibniz Institute for Farm Animal Biology (FBN) Dummerstorf, Institute of Behavioural Physiology (FBN), Applied Ethlogy Unit
Research Topics: learning behaviour and cognitive abilities of dwarf goats and pigs; cognitive enrichment; positive emotions; social dominance and aggression; temperament of cattle; analysis of heart rate variability in relation to stress and pain - 1997-2001: Institute for Applied Agroecology, Research Group Farm Animal Ecology, Rostock
Research Topics: mother-young bond in cattle; ethological aspect of farm management of game species; hear rate variability in cattle – indication of stress - 1992-1997: Institute for Zoo Biology and Wildlife Research (IZW), Berlin
Research Topics: biorhythms in free ranging large ungulates; perinatal behaviour and mother-lamb relationship in free ranging mouflons; time and space pattern in wild ungulates - 1991-1992: Humboldt University of Berlin, Department of Biology, Institute of Behavioural Sciences
Research Topics: bioacoustics in mammals - 1990-1992: Doctoral Thesis (Ph.D.), Humboldt University of Berlin, Department of Biology, Institute of Behavioural Sciences
"Comparative investigations on the grazing behaviour of cattle (Holstein Friesien and Siboney de Cuba) at the tropical pasture (Cuba)" - 1984-1989: Master Thesis (Diplom), Humboldt University of Berlin, Department of Biology, Institute of Behavioural Sciences
"Investigations on the ontognesis of the function of the thermoregulation system in Cairina moschata peri partum" - 1981-1984: Military service
- 1978-1981: Professional training as cattle breeder
- Birth date: 21.04.1962, birth place: Staaken (Germany)
Teaching
- Agrar- und umweltwissenschaftliche Fakultät der Universität Rostock
Ethology; Behaviour of cattle; Behaviour of swine; Animal welfare
Publications
Dirksen, N.; Langbein, J.; Schrader, L.; Puppe, B.; Elliffe, D.; Siebert, K.; Röttgen, V.; Matthews, L (2021):
Learned control of urinary reflexes in cattle to help reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Curr Biol 31 (17): R1033-R1034
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cub.2021.07.011
Fóris, B.; Haas, H.-G.; Langbein, J.; Melzer, N. (2021):
Familiarity influences social networks in dairy cows after regrouping. J Dairy Sci 140 (3): 3485-3494
https://doi.org/10.3168/jds.2020-18896
Danesh Mesgaran, S.; Kuhla, B.; Langbein, J. (2020):
Stress and health management. In: Methods in cattle physiology and behaviour research - Recommendations from the SmartCow consortium (Sadjad Danesh Mesgaran, René Baumont, Lene Munksgaard, David Humphries, Emer Kennedy, Jan Dijkstra, Richard Dewhurst, Holly Ferguson, Marta Terré and Björn Kuhla, Hrsg.) PUBLISSO, Cologne: 1-5
https://doi.org/10.5680/mcpb006
Rosenberger, K.; Simmler, M.; Nawroth, C.; Langbein, J.; Keil, N. (2020):
Goats work for food in a contrafreeloading task. Sci Rep-UK 10: 22336, 1-12
https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-020-78931-w
Dirksen, N.; Langbein, J.; Schrader, L.; Puppe, B.; Elliffe, D.; Siebert, K.; Röttgen, V.; Matthews, L. (2020):
Eine erfolgreiche Trainingsprozedur zur Latrinennutzung bei Kälbern.
Vortrag anlässlich der 52. Internationalen Tagung Angewandte Ethologie der Deutschen Veterinärmedizinischen Gesellschaft e.V. (DVG), Fachgruppe Ethologie und Tierhaltung, vom 26.-2. In: Aktuelle Arbeiten zur artgemäßen Tierhaltung 2020 (KTBL-Schrift , 520) KTBL, Darmstadt (978-3-945088-78-4): 193-203
Rosenberger, K.; Simmler, M.; Langbein, J.; Keil, N. (2020):
Untersuchung von Contrafreeloading bei Milch- und Zwergziegen mittel Item-Response-Tree Analyse.
Vortrag anlässlich der 52. Internationalen Tagung Angewandte Ethologie der Deutschen Veterinärmedizinischen Gesellschaft e.V. (DVG), Fachgruppe Ethologi. In: Aktuelle Arbeiten zur artgemäßen Tierhaltung 2020 (KTBL-Schrift , 520) KTBL, Darmstadt (978-3-945088-78-4): 121 -131
Nawroth, C.; Rosenberger, K.; Keil, N.; Langbein, J. (2020):
Das Zuchtziel beeinflusst die Verhaltensflexibilität, aber nicht die Interpretation von physikalischen und sozialen Hinweisen bei Ziegen.
Vortrag anlässlich der 52. Internationalen Tagung Angewandte Ethologie der Deutschen Veterinärmedizinischen Ges. In: Aktuelle Arbeiten zur artgemäßen Tierhaltung 2020 (KTBL-Schrift , 520) KTBL, Darmstadt (978-3-945088-78-4): 109-120
Krause, A.; Dohm, H.; Langbein, J. (2020):
Fühlst du was ich fühle? Emotionale Ansteckung beim Schwein - eine Pilotstudie.
Vortrag anlässlich der 52. Internationalen Tagung Angewandte Ethologie der Deutschen Veterinärmedizinischen Gesellschaft e.V. (DVG). Fachgruppe Ethologie und Tierhaltun. In: Aktuelle Arbeiten zur artgemäßen Tierhaltung 2020 (KTBL-Schrift , 520) KTBL, Darmstadt (978-3-945088-78-4): 18-29
Dirksen, N.; Langbein, J.; Schrader, L.; Puppe, B.; Elliffe, D.; Siebert, K.; Röttgen, V.; Matthews, L. (2020):
How can cattle be toilet trained? Incorporating reflexive behaviours into a behavioural chain. Animals 10 (10): 1889, 1-17
https://doi.org/10.3390/ani10101889
Dirksen, N.; Langbein, J.; Matthews, L.; Puppe, B.; Elliffe, D.; Schrader, L. (2020):
Conditionability of 'voluntary' and 'reflexive-like' behaviors, with special reference to elimination behavior in cattle. Neurosci Biobehav R 115: 5-12
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.neubiorev.2020.05.006
Rasmussen, J.H.; Rosenberger, K.; Langbein, J. (2020):
EasieRR: An open-source software for non-invasive heart rate variability assessment. Methods Ecol Evol 11 (6): 773-782
https://doi.org/10.1111/2041-210X.13393
Nawroth, C.; Langbein, J. (2019):
Advances and perspectives in farm animal learning and cognition Frontiers, Zürich (978-2-88963-054-7): 1-117
Finkemeier, M.; Tuchscherer, A.; Puppe, B.; Langbein, J. (2019):
Eigenschaften von "personality" beeinflussen die cognitiven Fähigkeiten von westafrikanischen Zwergziegen (Capra aegagrau hircus). In: Aktuelle Arbeiten zur artgemäßen Tierhaltung 2019. Vorträge anlässlich der 51. Internationalen Arbeitstagung Angewandte Ethologie bei Nutztieren der Deutschen Veterinärmedizinischen Gesellschaft e.V. (DVG), Fachgruppe Ethologie und Tierhaltung, vom 28. bis 30. November 2019 in Freiburg im Breisgau (KTBL-Schrift , 518) KTBL, Darmstadt (978-3-945088-72-2): 135-148"
Rosenberger, K.; Nawroth, C.; Keil, N.; Langbein, J.; Rasmussen, R. (2019):
Easie-RR : Open-access-Software zur Analyse der Herzfrequenzvariabilität. In: Aktuelle Arbeiten zur artgemäßen Tierhaltung 2019. Vorträge anlässlich der 51. Internationalen Arbeitstagung Angewandte Ethologie bei Nutztieren der Deutschen Veterinärmedizinischen Gesellschaft e.V. (DVG), Fachgruppe Ethologie und Tierhaltung, vom 28. bis 30. November 2019 in Freiburg im Breisgau (KTBL-Schrift , 518) KTBL, Darmstadt (978-3-945088-72-2): 294-297
Finkemeier, M.; Oesterwind, S.; Nürnberg, G.; Puppe, B.; Langbein, J. (2019):
Assessment of personality types in Nigerian dwarf goats (Capra hircus) and cross-context correlations to behavioural and physiological responses. Appl Anim Behav Sci 217: 28-35
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.applanim.2019.05.004
Nawroth, C.; Langbein, J. (2019):
Advances and perspectives in farm animal learning and cognition (Editorial). Front Vet Sci 6: 172, 1-2
https://doi.org/10.3389/fvets.2019.00172
Nawroth, C.; Langbein, J.; Coulon, M.; Gabor, V.; Oesterwind, S.; Benz-Schwarzburg, J.; von Borell, E. (2019):
Farm animal cognition: Linking behaviour, welfare and ethics. Front Vet Sci 6: 24, 1-16
https://doi.org/doi: 10.3389/fvets.2019.00024
Fóris, B.; Zebunke, M.; Langbein, J.; Melzer, N. (2019):
Comprehensive analysis of affiliative and agonistic social networks in lactating dairy cattle groups. Appl Anim Behav Sci 210: 60-67
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.applanim.2018.10.016
Kreiser, M.; Puppe, B.; Langbein, J.; Melzer, N.; Zebunke, M. (2018):
Der Einfluss des Alters auf Diskriminierungslernen und Impulskontrolle bei Schweinen. In: Aktuelle Arbeiten zur artgemäßen Tierhaltung 2018 : Vorträge anlässlich der 50. Internationalen Arbeitstagung Angewandte Ethologie bei Nutztieren der Deutschen Veterinärmedizinischen Gesellschaft e.V. (DVG), Fachgruppe Ethologie und Tierhaltung, vom 22. bis 24. November 2018 in Freiburg im Breisgau (KTBL-Schrift , 514) KTBL, Darmstadt (ISBN 978-3-945088-60-9): 251-253
https://www.ktbl.de/inhalte/themen/ueber-uns/projekte/dvg/
Fóris, B.; Zebunke, M.; Langbein, J.; Melzer, N. (2018):
Evaluating the temporal and situational consistency of personality traits in adult dairy cattle. Plos One 13 (10): e0204619
https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0204619