Publications

Behavioral and corticosterone responses to carbon dioxide exposure in reptiles

The use of carbon dioxide (CO2) exposure as a means of animal euthanasia has received considerable attention in mammals and birds but remains virtually untested in reptiles. We measured the behavioral responses of four squamate reptile species (Homalopsis buccata, Malayopython...

Year Published: 2020Topics: EuthanasiaAnimal Type: Lizard, Reptile, Snake

Citation: Natusch, D. J. D., Aust, P. W., Khadiejah, S. et al. 2020. Behavioral and corticosterone responses to carbon dioxide exposure in reptiles. PLOS ONE 15(10), e0240176.

Behavioral diversity as a potential indicator of positive animal welfare

Modern day zoos and aquariums continuously assess the welfare of their animals and use evidence to make informed management decisions. Historically, many of the indicators of animal welfare used to assess the collection are negative indicators of welfare, such as...

Year Published: 2020Topics: Natural Behavior, Welfare AssessmentAnimal Type: All/General, Amphibian, Nonhuman Primate, Reptile

Citation: Miller, L. J., Vicino, G. A., Sheftel, J. et al. 2020. Behavioral diversity as a potential indicator of positive animal welfare. Animals 10(7), 1211.

Behavioral methods for severity assessment

It has become mandatory for the application for allowance of animal experimentation to rate the severity of the experimental procedures. In order to minimize suffering related to animal experimentation it is therefore crucial to develop appropriate methods for the assessment...

Year Published: 2020Topics: Welfare AssessmentAnimal Type: All/General

Citation: Kahnau, P., Habedank, A., Diederich, K. et al. 2020. Behavioral methods for severity assessment. Animals 10(7), 1136.

Can this dog be rehomed to you? A qualitative analysis and assessment of the scientific quality of the potential adopter screening policies and procedures of rehoming organisations

Unwanted dogs are an international problem, and rehoming organisations are tasked with finding many of them appropriate homes. Whilst the processes involved in assessing dogs' suitability for rehoming have received considerable academic attention, the policies and procedures organisations employ for...

Year Published: 2020Topics: Relocation & TransportAnimal Type: Dog

Citation: Griffin, K. E., John, E., Pike, T. et al. 2020. Can this dog be rehomed to you? A qualitative analysis and assessment of the scientific quality of the potential adopter screening policies and procedures of rehoming organisations. Frontiers in Veterinary Science 7, 1121.

Challenging a myth and misconception: Red-light vision in rats

Due to the lack of L-cones in the rodent retina, it is generally assumed that red light is invisible to rodents. Thus, red lights and red filter foils are widely used in rodent husbandry and experimentation allowing researchers to observe...

Year Published: 2020Topics: Husbandry & ManagementAnimal Type: Rat, Rodent

Citation: Niklaus, S., Albertini, S., Schnitzer, T. et al. 2020. Challenging a myth and misconception: Red-light vision in rats. Animals 10(3), 422.

Comparison of behavior and genetic structure in populations of family and kenneled beagles

In dogs, the social and spatial restriction associated with living in a kennel environment could lead to chronic stress and the development of abnormal behaviors (“kennel-dog syndrome”). However, little is known about how kenneled dogs differ from their conspecifics living...

Year Published: 2020Topics: Housing, Relocation & TransportAnimal Type: Dog

Citation: Turcsán, B., Tátrai, K., Petró, E. et al. 2020. Comparison of behavior and genetic structure in populations of family and kenneled beagles. Frontiers in Veterinary Science 7, 183.

Comparison of isoflurane, sevoflurane, and desflurane as inhalant anesthetics in prairie rattlesnakes (Crotalus viridis)

OBJECTIVE: To characterize induction and recovery characteristics of 3 commonly used inhalant anesthetics in prairie rattlesnakes (Crotalus viridis): isoflurane, sevoflurane, and desflurane. ANIMALS: 12 healthy adult prairie rattlesnakes. PROCEDURES: In a randomized crossover design, snakes underwent anesthetic induction with 5%...

Year Published: 2020Topics: Anesthesia & SedationAnimal Type: Reptile, Snake

Citation: Kane, L. P., Chinnadurai, S. K., Vivirito, K. et al. 2020. Comparison of isoflurane, sevoflurane, and desflurane as inhalant anesthetics in prairie rattlesnakes (Crotalus viridis). Journal of the American Veterinary Medical Association 257(9), 945-949.

Comparisons of activity budgets, interactions, and social structures in captive and wild chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes)

Chimpanzees in zoos with sufficient and appropriate environmental enrichment devices are expected to exhibit behaviors, interactions, and societies similar to those in the wild. In this study, we compared the activity budgets of each observed behavior, characteristics of social grooming,...

Year Published: 2020Topics: Environmental Enrichment, Natural BehaviorAnimal Type: Chimpanzee, Nonhuman Primate

Citation: Inoue, N., Shimada, M. 2020. Comparisons of activity budgets, interactions, and social structures in captive and wild chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes). Animals 10(6), 1063.

Conspecific density and environmental complexity impact behaviour of turquoise killifish (Nothobranchius furzeri)

Fish models are essential for research in many biological and medical disciplines. With a typical lifespan of only 6 months, the turquoise killifish (Nothobranchius furzeri) was recently established as a time- and cost-efficient model to facilitate whole-life and multigenerational studies...

Year Published: 2020Topics: Environmental Enrichment, Stocking DensityAnimal Type: Fish, Other Fish

Citation: Thoré, E. S. J., Brendonck, L., Pinceel, T. 2020. Conspecific density and environmental complexity impact behaviour of turquoise killifish (Nothobranchius furzeri). Fish Biology 97(5), 1448–1461.

Continuous and non-invasive thermography of mouse skin accurately describes core body temperature patterns, but not absolute core temperature

Body temperature is an important physiological parameter in many studies of laboratory mice. Continuous assessment of body temperature has traditionally required surgical implantation of a telemeter, but this invasive procedure adversely impacts animal welfare. Near-infrared thermography provides a non-invasive alternative...

Year Published: 2020Topics: Biological Sampling & Physiological MeasurementAnimal Type: Mouse, Rodent

Citation: van der Vinne, V., Pothecary, C. A., Wilcox, S. L. et al. 2020. Continuous and non-invasive thermography of mouse skin accurately describes core body temperature patterns, but not absolute core temperature. Scientific Reports 10(1), 20680.