Dr. rer. nat. Jan Langbein
Research Institute for Farm Animal Biology (FBN)
Working Group Animal Behaviour & Welfare
Wilhelm-Stahl-Allee 2
18196 Dummerstorf
Germany
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
Melzer, N.; Foris, B.; Langbein, J. (2021):
Validation of a real-time location system for zone assignment and neighbor detection in dairy cow groups
Computers and Electronics in Agriculture 187: 106280, 1-16
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.compag.2021.106280
Nawroth, C.; Rosenberger, K.; Keil, N.; Langbein, J. (2021):
Untersuchungen zum sozialen Lernen bei Ziegen: Erste Ergebnisse
KTBL-Schrift 523: 261-263
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
Current Biology 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
Journal of Dairy Science 140 (3): 3485-3494
https://doi.org/10.3168/jds.2020-18896
Danesh Mesgaran, S.; Kuhla, B.; Langbein, J. (2020):
Stress and health management
Methods in cattle physiology and behaviour research - Recommendations from the SmartCow consortium (Danesh Mesgaran, S. et al.; Hrsg.) Publisso: 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
Scientific Reports 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):
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
Neuroscience & Biobehavioral Reviews 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 in Ecolpgy and Evolution 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 (978-2-88963-054-7)
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
Applied Animal Behaviour Science 217: 28-35
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.applanim.2019.05.004
Nawroth, C.; Langbein, J. (2019):
Editorial: Advances and Perspectives in Farm Animal Learning and Cognition
Frontiers in Veterinary Science 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
Frontiers in Veterinary Science 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
Applied Animal Behaviour Science 210: 60-67
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.applanim.2018.10.016
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, 1-16
https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0204619
Zebunke, M.; Kreiser, M.; Melzer, N.; Langbein, J.; Puppe, B. (2018):
Better, not just more - contrast in qualitative aspects of reward facillitates impulse control in pigs
Frontiers in Psychology 9: 2099, 1-12
https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2018.02099
Langbein, J.; Krause, A.; Nawroth, C. (2018):
Human-directed behaviour in goats is not affected by short-term positive handling
Animal Cognition 21: 795-803
https://doi.org/10.1007/s10071-018-1211-1
Langbein, J. (2018):
Motor self-regulation in goats (Capra aegagrus hircus) in a detour-reaching task
PeerJ 6: e5139, 1-20
https://doi.org/10.7717/peerj.5139
Cauchoix, M.; van Horik, J. O.; Atance, C. M.; Barbeau, E. J.; Barragan-Jason, G.; Bize, P.; Boussard, A.; Buechel, S. D.; Cabirol, A.; Cauchard, L.; Claidière, N.; Dalesman, S.; Devaud, J. M.; Didic, M.; Doligez, B.; Fagot, J.; Fichtel, C.; Henke-von der Malsburg, J.; Hermer, E.; Huber, L.; Huebner, F.; Kappeler, P. M.; Klein, S.; Langbein, J.; Langley, E. J. G.; Lea, S. E. G.; Lihoreau, M.; Lovlie, H.; Matzel, L. D.; Nakagawa, S.; Nawroth, C.; Oesterwind, S.; Sauce, B.; Smith, E. A.; Sorato, E.; Tebbich, S.; Wallis, L. J.; Whiteside, M. A.; Wilkinson, A.; Chaine, A. S.; Morand-Ferron, J. (2018):
The repeatability of cognitive performance: a meta-analysis
Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B 373 (1756): 20170281, 1-13
https://doi.org/10.1098/rstb.2017.0281
Finkemeier, M.; Langbein, J.; Puppe, B. (2018):
Personality research in mammalian farm animals: concepts, measures, and relationship to welfare
Frontiers in Veterinary Science 5: 131, 1-15
https://doi.org/10.3389/fvets.2018.00131