Publications

Refinement of animal experiments: Replacing traumatic methods of laboratory animal marking with non-invasive alternatives

Reliable methods for identifying rodents play an important role in ensuring the success of preclinical studies. However, animal identification remains a trivial laboratory routine that is not often discussed, despite the fact that more than 6 million rodents are used...

Year Published: 2023Topics: Identification MethodAnimal Type: Mouse, Rat, Rodent

Citation: Klabukov, I., Shestakova, V., Krasilnikova, O. et al. 2023. Refinement of animal experiments: Replacing traumatic methods of laboratory animal marking with non-invasive alternatives. Animals 13(22), 3452.

Assessment of preference behavior of layer hens under different light colors and temperature environments in long-time footage using a computer vision system

As for all birds, the behavior of chickens is largely determined by environmental conditions. In many production systems, light intensity is low and red feather strains have low contrast with the background, making it impossible to use conventional image segmentation...

Year Published: 2023Topics: Husbandry & ManagementAnimal Type: Bird, Chicken

Citation: Kodaira, V., Siriani, A. L. R., Medeiros, H. P. et al. 2023. Assessment of preference behavior of layer hens under different light colors and temperature environments in long-time footage using a computer vision system. Animals 13(15), 2426.

Corn snakes can behaviorally enhance crypsis by choosing complex backgrounds and substrate

Many organisms have evolved coloration that increases their likelihood of survival. Crypsis is one such mechanism employed by many animals to avoid detection by blending into their habitat. By remaining unseen, these animals can enhance predation avoidance and prey acquisition....

Year Published: 2020Topics: HousingAnimal Type: Reptile, Snake

Citation: Kravchuk, L., Watson, C. 2020. Corn snakes can behaviorally enhance crypsis by choosing complex backgrounds and substrate. Animal Behavior and Cognition 7(1), 39–48.

Simple but temporally unpredictable puzzles are cognitive enrichment

Provision of problem solving opportunities as enrichment for animals considered highly intelligent has increased over the last twenty years, but this emphasis on animals considered intelligent may overlook the need for cognitive challenge in species not typified as problem solving...

Year Published: 2017Topics: Environmental EnrichmentAnimal Type: Other Animal

Citation: Krebs, B., Watters, J. 2017. Simple but temporally unpredictable puzzles are cognitive enrichment. Animal Behavior and Cognition 4(1), 119–134.

Developing a feasible and sensitive judgement bias task in dairy cows

Judgement bias tasks (JBTs) are used to assess the influence of farm practices on livestock affective states. The tasks must be adjusted to the species and age group of focus. In cattle, most JBTs were designed for calves instead of...

Year Published: 2022Topics: Welfare AssessmentAnimal Type: Cattle

Citation: Kremer, L., van Reenen, C. G., Engel, B. et al. 2022. Developing a feasible and sensitive judgement bias task in dairy cows. Animal Cognition 25(2), 425–445.

Sensory stimulation as a means of sustained enhancement of well-being in leopard geckos, Eublepharis macularius (Eublepharidae, Squamata)

Although the private keeping of reptiles has boomed in most western countries since the millennium, studies dealing with the recognition and promotion of welfare in these reptiles seem to represent a blind spot of scientific attention. The vast majority of...

Year Published: 2023Topics: Environmental Enrichment, Husbandry & ManagementAnimal Type: Lizard, Reptile

Citation: Krönke, F., Xu, L. 2023. Sensory stimulation as a means of sustained enhancement of well-being in leopard geckos, Eublepharis macularius (Eublepharidae, Squamata). Animals 13(23), 3595.

Using photographs for rating severity degrees of clinical appearance in research mice enables valid discrimination of extreme but not mild and moderate conditions: A pilot study

To ensure good animal welfare in laboratory research and in stockbreeding severity ratings of the animals´ wellbeing are essential. The current study investigated how valid raters can evaluate different severity degrees of clinical appearance and how ratings might be influenced...

Year Published: 2023Topics: Welfare AssessmentAnimal Type: Mouse, Rodent

Citation: rueger, J. C., Boecker, M., Gauggel, S. et al. 2023. Using photographs for rating severity degrees of clinical appearance in research mice enables valid discrimination of extreme but not mild and moderate conditions: A pilot study. PLOS ONE 18(11), e0287965.

Effects of enclosure and environmental enrichment on the behaviour of ring-tailed lemurs (Lemur catta)

Environmental enrichment is widely used to improve the quality of life of animals under human care. To successfully implement enrichment programs, it is important to evaluate their effect in different enclosure types since housing conditions may change depending on external...

Year Published: 2021Topics: Environmental Enrichment, HousingAnimal Type: Lemur, Nonhuman Primate

Citation: Laméris, D. W., Verspeek, J., Depoortere, A. et al. 2021. Effects of enclosure and environmental enrichment on the behaviour of ring-tailed lemurs (Lemur catta). Journal of Zoological and Botanical Gardens 2(2), 164–173.

Challenges and advanced concepts for the assessment of learning and memory function in mice

The mechanisms underlying the formation and retrieval of memories are still an active area of research and discussion. Manifold models have been proposed and refined over the years, with most assuming a dichotomy between memory processes involving non-conscious and conscious...

Year Published: 2023Topics: Behavioral & Cognitive TestingAnimal Type: Mouse, Rodent

Citation: Lang, B., Kahnau, P., Hohlbaum, K. et al. 2023. Challenges and advanced concepts for the assessment of learning and memory function in mice. Frontiers in Behavioral Neuroscience 17.

Environmental enrichment factors associated with the activity level of bottlenose dolphins under professional care

Environmental enrichment can be used to improve the welfare of dolphins in zoos and aquariums. Bottlenose dolphins under professional care are typically provided with a range of enrichment that has a variety of features and levels of complexity at various...

Year Published: 2022Topics: Environmental EnrichmentAnimal Type: Marine Mammal

Citation: Lauderdale, L. K., Shorter, K. A., Zhang, D. et al. 2022. Environmental enrichment factors associated with the activity level of bottlenose dolphins under professional care. Journal of Zoological and Botanical Gardens 3(1), 44–55.