Publications

Zebrafish welfare: Natural history, social motivation and behaviour

Zebrafish are now one of the most used animal model species in scientific research worldwide. Our current knowledge of wild zebrafish is limited to an estimated range of their natural habitats and their tendencies to form groups. In laboratories, zebrafish...

Year Published: 2018Topics: Environmental Enrichment, Housing, Natural BehaviorAnimal Type: Fish, Zebrafish

Citation: Graham, C., von Keyserlingk, M. A. G., Franks, B. 2018. Zebrafish welfare: Natural history, social motivation and behaviour. Applied Animal Behaviour Science 200, 13-22.

Nest-building behaviour and activity budgets of sows provided with different materials

Domestic sows are still highly motivated to build a nest before farrowing. Many pig houses have slurry systems that do not allow use of long straw or other bulky materials that could block the drains, which provides an incentive to...

Year Published: 2018Topics: Environmental Enrichment, Husbandry & ManagementAnimal Type: Pig

Citation: Rosvold, E. M., Newberry, R. C., Framstad, T. 2018. Nest-building behaviour and activity budgets of sows provided with different materials. Applied Animal Behaviour Science 200, 36-44.

The effects of kennel size and exercise on the behaviour and stress physiology of individually-housed greyhounds

Greyhounds are routinely bred and managed for racing and are usually housed in individual kennels. To address the question of whether greyhounds would benefit from an increase in the minimum kennel size specified in the Victorian Code of Practice, the...

Year Published: 2018Topics: Housing, Husbandry & ManagementAnimal Type: Dog

Citation: Jongman, E.C., Butler, K.L., Hemsworth, P.H. 2018. The effects of kennel size and exercise on the behaviour and stress physiology of individually-housed greyhounds. Applied Animal Behaviour Science 199, 29-34.

A cross-species comparison of abnormal behavior in three species of singly-housed old world monkeys

Abnormal behavior occurs in a number of captive nonhuman primate species and is often used as an indicator of welfare. However, reported levels of abnormal behavior often vary across species, making general welfare judgments difficult. The purpose of this study...

Year Published: 2018Topics: Abnormal/Problematic BehaviorAnimal Type: Baboon, Capuchin, Chimpanzee, Lemur, Macaque, Marmoset, Nonhuman Primate, Other Nonhuman Primate, Owl Monkey, Squirrel Monkey, Vervet (African Green Monkey)

Citation: Lutz, C. K. 2018. A cross-species comparison of abnormal behavior in three species of singly-housed old world monkeys. Applied Animal Behaviour Science 199, 52-58.

Adult-adult social play in captive chimpanzees: Is it indicative of positive animal welfare?

Play is sometimes considered as an indicator of positive animal welfare. However, it is not yet sufficiently understood whether or not social play among adults can be considered as such an indicator because it is rare in adult animals. This...

Year Published: 2018Topics: Social Housing & CompanionshipAnimal Type: Chimpanzee, Nonhuman Primate

Citation: Yamanashi, Y., Nogami, E. Teramoto, M. et al. 2018. Adult-adult social play in captive chimpanzees: Is it indicative of positive animal welfare? Applied Animal Behaviour Science 199, 75-83.

The effect providing space in excess of standards on the behaviour of budgerigars in aviaries

Budgerigars housed in conventional cages have no opportunity for some normal behaviours, in particular flight, and develop stereotyped behaviours. Increasingly aviaries are used for groups of budgerigars but the minimum space requirement to support normal behaviour is not known. We...

Year Published: 2018Topics: Housing, Natural BehaviorAnimal Type: Bird, Parrot

Citation: Phillips, C. J. C., Farrugia, C., Lin, C.-h. et al. 2018. The effect providing space in excess of standards on the behaviour of budgerigars in aviaries. Applied Animal Behaviour Science 199, 89-93.

Effect of litter material and stocking density on bone and tendon strength, and productive performance in broilers

Litter material and stocking density were evaluated on welfare-related variables and productive performance in broilers. Male chicks (n = 744, “Ross 308” strain) were raised on either tezontle (TEZ) or wood shavings (WS) litter, with a stocking density of either...

Year Published: 2017Topics: Husbandry & Management, Stocking DensityAnimal Type: Bird, Chicken

Citation: Vargas-Galicia, A. J., Sosa-Montes, E. Rodríguez-Ortega, L. T. et al. 2017. Effect of litter material and stocking density on bone and tendon strength, and productive performance in broilers. Canadian Journal of Animal Science 97(4), 673-682.

Shelter preference in the Marmorkrebs (marbled crayfish)

For many animals, shelters are valuable source to hide from predators. To know acquisition of adequate shelter is important to understand social interactions of animals. Preferences for types of shelter used by the Marmorkrebs (marbled crayfish) were analysed behaviourally. Individual...

Year Published: 2016Topics: Environmental Enrichment, HousingAnimal Type: Crustacean, Invertebrate

Citation: Takahashi, K., Nagayama, T. 2016. Shelter preference in the Marmorkrebs (marbled crayfish). Behaviour 153(15), 1913-1930.

Evidence of ‘sickness behaviour’ in bats with white-nose syndrome

Many animals change behaviour in response to pathogenic infections. White-nose syndrome (WNS) is a fungal skin disease causing rapid declines of North American bats. Infection with Pseudogymnoascus destructans causes hibernating bats to arouse from torpor too often, potentially causing starvation....

Year Published: 2016Topics: Welfare AssessmentAnimal Type: Other Animal

Citation: Bohn, S. J., Turner, J. M., Warnecke, L. et al. 2016. Evidence of 'sickness behaviour' in bats with white-nose syndrome. Behaviour 153(8), 981-1003.

Stone handling, an object play behaviour in macaques: Welfare and neurological health implications of a bio-culturally driven tradition

Object play in primates is viewed as generally having no immediate functional purpose, limited for the most part to immature individuals. At the proximate level, the occurrence of object play in immatures is regarded as being intrinsically self-rewarding, with the...

Year Published: 2016Topics: Environmental Enrichment, Natural BehaviorAnimal Type: Macaque, Nonhuman Primate

Citation: Nahallage, C. A. D., Leca, J.-B., Huffman, M. A. 2016. Stone handling, an object play behaviour in macaques: Welfare and neurological health implications of a bio-culturally driven tradition. Behaviour, 153(6-7), 845-869.