Publications

Exploring pet rat care: A comprehensive survey of husbandry, health, behavior, and the associations between caretaker attitudes, attachment, and husbandry practices

Pet rats are still understudied in terms of animal welfare and human-animal interaction research. An extensive online survey targeting German-speaking rat caretakers was conducted (n = 978). One of the study's goals was to investigate husbandry practices, health indicators, rat...

Year Published: 2024Topics: Environmental Enrichment, Housing, Human-Animal InteractionAnimal Type: Rat

Citation: Schneidewind, S., Lesch, R., Heizmann, V. et al. 2024. Exploring pet rat care: A comprehensive survey of husbandry, health, behavior, and the associations between caretaker attitudes, attachment, and husbandry practices. Journal of Veterinary Behavior 75, 1–19.

Adaptive wheel exercise for mouse models of Parkinson’s Disease

Background: Physical exercise has been extensively studied for its therapeutic properties in neurological disease, particularly Parkinson's Disease (PD). However, the established techniques for exercise in mice are not well suited to motor-deficient disease-model animals, rely on spontaneous activity or force...

Year Published: 2025Topics: Disease/Experimental ModelAnimal Type: Mouse, Rodent

Citation: Skelton, H., Grogan, D., Kotlure, A. et al. 2025. Adaptive wheel exercise for mouse models of Parkinson's Disease. Journal of Neuroscience Methods 414, 110314.

The promotion of play behaviour in grow-finish pigs: The relationship between behaviours indicating positive experience and physiological measures

The provision of opportunities to express rewarding behaviours is a promising concept to support a better quality of life for intensively farmed pigs. Play behaviour has been associated with excitement and fun, suggesting that playing animals experience pleasurable states. Pigs...

Year Published: 2024Topics: Emotion, Pain, & Sentience, Natural BehaviorAnimal Type: Pig

Citation: Steinerová, K., Parker, S. E., Brown, J. A. et al. 2024. The promotion of play behaviour in grow-finish pigs: The relationship between behaviours indicating positive experience and physiological measures. Applied Animal Behaviour Science 275, 106263.

Lighting and behaviour in captivity: Butterflies prefer light environments containing UV wavelengths

The behaviour and welfare of animals in captivity is of great importance to zoological collections, captive breeding programmes, food production and keepers of companion animals. Artificial lighting is commonly deficient in UV wavelengths, and use of such lighting for indoor...

Year Published: 2024Topics: Husbandry & ManagementAnimal Type: Insect & Spider, Invertebrate

Citation: Thomas, R. K., Gay, A. P., Gwynn-Jones, D. et al. 2024. Lighting and behaviour in captivity: Butterflies prefer light environments containing UV wavelengths. Animal Behaviour 214, 165–172.

An exploration of the postural, location- and social contact- related sub-characteristics of inactive but awake behaviour as a depression-like indicator in mice

Inactive behaviour is essential to life. However, specific forms of inactivity may be indicative of compromised welfare in certain captive conditions. Inactive but awake behaviour (IBA - spontaneous, motionless awake behaviour without interacting with the surroundings) has been documented in...

Year Published: 2024Topics: Emotion, Pain, & Sentience, Welfare AssessmentAnimal Type: Mouse, Rodent

Citation: Trevarthen, A. C., Resasco, A., Finnegan, E. M. et al. 2024. An exploration of the postural, location- and social contact- related sub-characteristics of inactive but awake behaviour as a depression-like indicator in mice. Applied Animal Behaviour Science 281, 106431.

Applying an eye tracking technique to gibbons: First study using scanpath measurements for visual stimuli

Compared to the abundance of research on cognition in various nonhuman primate species, studies of gibbons -- often called “the small apes” -- remain limited, despite the importance of gibbons for understanding evolutionary processes in humans and other apes. Over...

Year Published: 2024Topics: Behavioral & Cognitive TestingAnimal Type: Gibbon, Nonhuman Primate

Citation: Uchikoshi, M., Yu, L., Hattori, Y. 2024. Applying an eye tracking technique to gibbons: First study using scanpath measurements for visual stimuli. Behavioural Processes 221, 105080.

Heart and shoal: Social cues and oxytocin receptors impact stress recovery in the zebrafish

In many species, social interactions decrease behavioral, hormonal, and neural responses to environmental stressors. While “social buffering” and its mechanisms have received considerable attention in mammals, we know less about the phenomenon in fish. The nonapeptide oxytocin regulates social behavior...

Year Published: 2024Topics: Social Housing & CompanionshipAnimal Type: Fish, Zebrafish

Citation: Wilson, L. C., Riordan, A., Nussbaum, A. et al. 2024. Heart and shoal: Social cues and oxytocin receptors impact stress recovery in the zebrafish. Physiology & Behavior 283, 114613.

Effectiveness, safety, and pharmacokinetics of meloxicam formulations in African-clawed frogs, Xenopus laevis

Pain management in amphibians is an emerging field of veterinary medicine with only a limited number of analgesics studied for their efficacy. The African-clawed frog, Xenopus laevis, is a popular animal model in research due to its oocyte morphology and...

Year Published: 2024Topics: AnalgesiaAnimal Type: Amphibian, Frog & Toad

Citation: Leung, G., Diaz, L. L., Monette, S. et al. 2024. Effectiveness, safety, and pharmacokinetics of meloxicam formulations in African-clawed frogs, Xenopus laevis. Comparative Medicine 74(5), 336–343.

Improving effectiveness of environmental enrichment: The role of light intensity in rock bream (Oplegnathus fasciatus) rearing

Environmental enrichment is a potential approach to enhance the fitness and survival of hatchery fish stocked for conservation purposes. Its effectiveness presumably depends not only on ecologically relevant features of physical enrichment but also on light condition applied. Despite the...

Year Published: 2024Topics: Environmental Enrichment, Husbandry & ManagementAnimal Type: Fish, Other Fish

Citation: Li, Z., He, J., Zhou, S. et al. 2024. Improving effectiveness of environmental enrichment: The role of light intensity in rock bream (Oplegnathus fasciatus) rearing. Applied Animal Behaviour Science 281, 106421.

Pairing laboratory-housed adult male rhesus macaques (Macaca mulatta): Success rates in relation to behavioral response and duration of visual contact

While the benefits of pair housing have been well documented, less is known about increasing success in adult male macaque pair introductions. In this retrospective study, 95 unfamiliar adult male macaque (Macaca mulatta) pairs were examined to determine whether duration...

Year Published: 2024Topics: Social Housing & CompanionshipAnimal Type: Macaque, Nonhuman Primate

Citation: Logan, L. E., Sayers, K. 2024. Pairing laboratory-housed adult male rhesus macaques (Macaca mulatta): Success rates in relation to behavioral response and duration of visual contact. Applied Animal Behaviour Science 277, 106340.