Publications

Effect of housing density on growth, agonistic behaviour, and activity in hatchling saltwater crocodiles (Crocodylus porosus)

The purpose of this study was to examine the effect of density on growth rate, agonistic behaviour, activity and use of space by hatchling C. porosus in captivity. Hatchling C. porosus were raised in identical enclosures (1.5m2) at different densities...

Year Published: 2016Topics: Social Housing & CompanionshipAnimal Type: Crocodile & Alligator, Reptile

Citation: Brien, M. L., Webb, G. J., McGuinness, K. A. et al. 2016. Effect of housing density on growth, agonistic behaviour, and activity in hatchling saltwater crocodiles (Crocodylus porosus). Applied Animal Behaviour Science 184, 141-149.

Does enrichment improve reptile welfare? Leopard geckos (Eublepharis macularius) respond to five types of environmental enrichment

Animal welfare is a high priority for pet owners and accredited zoos and aquariums. Current approaches to measuring welfare focus on identifying consensus among behavioral and physiological indicators of positive and negative emotions. Environmental enrichment is a common strategy used...

Year Published: 2016Topics: Environmental EnrichmentAnimal Type: Lizard, Reptile

Citation: Bashaw, M. J., Gibson, M. D., Schowe, D. M. et al. 2016. Does enrichment improve reptile welfare? Leopard geckos (Eublepharis macularius) respond to five types of environmental enrichment. Applied Animal Behaviour Science 184, 150-160.

He’s getting under my skin! Comparing the sensitivity and specificity of dermal vs subcuticular lesions as a measure of aggression in mice

Aggression is the leading cause of death in young laboratory mice, representing a major welfare issue. Many of the experimental measures used in traditional aggression research, especially those focusing on territorial aggression (e.g., resident/intruder) are poorly suited to examining dominance...

Year Published: 2016Topics: Welfare AssessmentAnimal Type: Mouse, Rodent

Citation: Gaskill, B. N., Stottler, A., Pritchett-Corning, K. R. et al. 2016. He's getting under my skin! Comparing the sensitivity and specificity of dermal vs subcuticular lesions as a measure of aggression in mice. Applied Animal Behaviour Science 183, 77-85.

Is behavioural enrichment always a success? Comparing food presentation strategies in an insectivorous lizard (Plica plica)

Staggering food availability through a delivery device is a common way of providing behavioural enrichment as it is usually thought to increase the amount of natural behaviour due to the unpredictability of the food source. Tree-runner lizards (Plica plica) are...

Year Published: 2016Topics: Environmental Enrichment, Husbandry & ManagementAnimal Type: Lizard, Reptile

Citation: Januszczak, I. S., Bryant, Z., Tapley, B. et al. 2016. Is behavioural enrichment always a success? Comparing food presentation strategies in an insectivorous lizard (Plica plica). Applied Animal Behaviour Science 183, 95-103.

The effect of space on behaviour in large groups of domestic cats kept indoors

The domestic cat (Felis silvestris catus) originates from the solitary living African wildcat (Felis silvestris lybica). However, through domestication, the domestic cat has become more social towards conspecifics and group housing of cats is common, for example in cat shelters...

Year Published: 2016Topics: Stocking DensityAnimal Type: Cat

Citation: Loberg, J. M., Lundmark, F. 2016. The effect of space on behaviour in large groups of domestic cats kept indoors. Applied Animal Behaviour Science 182, 23-29.

Personality predicts the responses to environmental enrichment at the group but not within-groups in stereotypic African striped mice, Rhabdomys dilectus

Environmental enrichment is used to enhance the well-being of captive animals and to prevent or reduce stereotypic and other abnormal behaviours. However, environmental enrichment does not always succeed in its intended purpose. We investigated whether personality (i.e. consistent individual variation...

Year Published: 2016Topics: Abnormal/Problematic Behavior, Environmental EnrichmentAnimal Type: Mouse, Rodent

Citation: Joshi, S., Pillay, N. 2016. Personality predicts the responses to environmental enrichment at the group but not within-groups in stereotypic African striped mice, Rhabdomys dilectus. Applied Animal Behaviour Science 182, 44-52.

Effect of environmental enrichment and composition of the social group on the behavior, welfare, and relative brain weight of growing rabbits

The objective of the study was to investigate if environmental enrichment and the composition of the social group would affect the behavior and relative brain weight of growing rabbits. Rabbits (72 males and 72 females) were assigned to cages with...

Year Published: 2016Topics: Environmental Enrichment, Social Housing & CompanionshipAnimal Type: Rabbit

Citation: Bozicovich, T. F. M., Moura, A. S. A. M. T., Fernandes, S. et al. 2016. Effect of environmental enrichment and composition of the social group on the behavior, welfare, and relative brain weight of growing rabbits. Applied Animal Behaviour Science 182, 72-79.

Captive domesticated zebra finches (Taeniopygia guttata) have increased plasma corticosterone concentrations in the absence of bathing water

Keeping animals in captivity should always favour conditions that aim to improve their welfare with respect to species-specific requirements. For laboratory animals, the majority of welfare issues have been explored in rodents thus far, whereas the effect of housing conditions...

Year Published: 2016Topics: Environmental Enrichment, Husbandry & ManagementAnimal Type: Bird, Finch

Citation: Krause, E. T., Ruploh, T. 2016. Captive domesticated zebra finches (Taeniopygia guttata) have increased plasma corticosterone concentrations in the absence of bathing water. Applied Animal Behaviour Science 182, 80-85.

Facial expressions and other behavioral responses to pleasant and unpleasant tastes in cats (Felis silvestris catus)

The goal of the present study was to assess how cats react to tastes previously reported to be preferred or avoided relative to water. To this end, the facial and behavioral reactions of 13 cats to different concentrations of l-Proline...

Year Published: 2016Topics: Welfare AssessmentAnimal Type: Cat

Citation: Hanson, M., Jojola, S. M., Rawson, N. E. et al. 2016. Facial expressions and other behavioral responses to pleasant and unpleasant tastes in cats (Felis silvestris catus). Applied Animal Behaviour Science 181, 129-136.

Curtained nests facilitate settled nesting behaviour of laying hens in furnished cages

Egg location can be used to determine the nests that hens prefer, but it does not indicate whether the design of that nest satisfies a hen's nesting motivation. Hens that are satisfied with the nest resources exhibit characteristic settled nesting...

Year Published: 2018Topics: Environmental EnrichmentAnimal Type: Bird, Chicken

Citation: Hunniford, M. E., Widowski, T. M. 2018. Curtained nests facilitate settled nesting behaviour of laying hens in furnished cages. Applied Animal Behaviour Science 202, 39-45.