Publications

Shelter or complexity? Nile tilapia (Oreochromis niloticus) preference for enrichment structures is a matter of time and frequency of visits

Assessing fish preferences for resources may be an interesting approach to select environmental enrichments to improve their welfare. However, different operational variables may end up indicating distinct preferences. Here we investigated whether Nile tilapia (Oreochromis niloticus) express different preferences for...

Year Published: 2025Topics: Environmental EnrichmentAnimal Type: Fish, Tilapia

Citation: Maia, C. M., Montalt, A. V., Arechavala-Lopez, P. et al. 2025. Shelter or complexity? Nile tilapia (Oreochromis niloticus) preference for enrichment structures is a matter of time and frequency of visits. Applied Animal Behaviour Science 283, 106498.

The effects of cow-calf-contact rearing on dairy animals’ social traits – a pilot study

Early separation of the calf from the dam, mostly within 24 h after birth, is common for dairy cows, but cow-calf contact (CCC) rearing gets increasing interest from both practice and science. CCC rearing allows calves suckling their dam or foster...

Year Published: 2025Topics: Rearing & WeaningAnimal Type: Cattle

Citation: Magierski, V., Barth, K., Waiblinger, S. 2025. The effects of cow-calf-contact rearing on dairy animals’ social traits – a pilot study. Applied Animal Behaviour Science 284, 106548.

The effects of light and novel enrichment on Eastern indigo snake (Drymarchon couperi) behavior and physiology

Reptiles play an important role in education and conservation goals within the zoological community, yet evidence-based management protocols tailored to this group remain notably scarce. To redress this, a study was designed to assess behavioral and physiological changes to different...

Year Published: 2025Topics: Environmental Enrichment, Husbandry & ManagementAnimal Type: Reptile, Snake

Citation: Lynch, E. C., Roznik, E. A., Smith, D. et al. 2025. The effects of light and novel enrichment on Eastern indigo snake (Drymarchon couperi) behavior and physiology. Applied Animal Behaviour Science 286, 106598.

Good welfare is attractive: Female zebrafish (Danio rerio) prefer males from complex, well-resourced conditions over males from conventional barren laboratory tanks

Applied ethologists often find that sub-optimal housing (e.g. barren versus “enriched”, well-resourced conditions) impairs animals’ interactions with conspecifics. Furthermore, some housing effects on social/sexual interactions persist even in standardised test situations. For example, in mating tests on three mammalian and...

Year Published: 2025Topics: Environmental Enrichment, ReproductionAnimal Type: Fish, Zebrafish

Citation: Lavery, J. M., Snaith, K., Pallarca, J. et al. 2025. Good welfare is attractive: Female zebrafish (Danio rerio) prefer males from complex, well-resourced conditions over males from conventional barren laboratory tanks. Applied Animal Behaviour Science 286, 106603.

Shelter use in horses: Time spent indoors and factors of variation – Results from a one-year longitudinal study

Stabling is a common lifestyle for horses, yet numerous studies show that it negatively impacts their welfare, leading to behavioural and health issues. In this study, we aimed to determine how much time horses choose to spend inside their stalls...

Year Published: 2025Topics: Housing, Husbandry & ManagementAnimal Type: Equine

Citation: Lansade, L., Lemarchand, J., Ruet, A. 2025. Shelter use in horses: Time spent indoors and factors of variation – Results from a one-year longitudinal study. Applied Animal Behaviour Science 290, 106699.

Investigation of food marking and contamination behaviors informs feeding practice in research colonies of laboratory opossums

The laboratory opossum, Monodelphis domestica, serves as a critical marsupial model in biomedical research. Proper feeding approaches are essential for promoting animal growth and wellbeing. In this study, we systematically evaluated food scattering and potential food contamination from feces across...

Year Published: 2025Topics: Husbandry & ManagementAnimal Type: Other Animal

Citation: Lanier, A. L., Schemera, B., Rynders, P. E. et al. 2025. Investigation of food marking and contamination behaviors informs feeding practice in research colonies of laboratory opossums. Journal of the American Association for Laboratory Animal Science 64(1), 89–97.

Impact of enrichment of metabolic cages with ball-shaped shelters in studies of protein metabolism in rats (Rattus norvegicus)

Housing in metabolic cages for quantitative collection of urine and feces is necessary for nitrogen (N) metabolism studies but may have negative consequences for rat welfare. We hypothesized that providing shelters in metabolic cages would affect the rats’ behavior and...

Year Published: 2025Topics: Biological Sampling & Physiological Measurement, Environmental EnrichmentAnimal Type: Rat, Rodent

Citation: Lærke, H. N., Ternman, E. M., Stødkilde, L. et al. 2025. Impact of enrichment of metabolic cages with ball-shaped shelters in studies of protein metabolism in rats (Rattus norvegicus). Journal of the American Association for Laboratory Animal Science 64(2), 301–309.

Impact of an implanted intra-abdominal telemetry transmitter on fecal excretion of corticosterone and IgA in adult male F344 and BN rats (Rattus norvegicus)

Telemetry is a widely used method for obtaining physiologic data from rats, but it is uncertain how distressing it is for the animals to live with an implanted transmitter for long periods. The present study aimed to assess this impact...

Year Published: 2025Topics: Biological Sampling & Physiological MeasurementAnimal Type: Rat, Rodent

Citation: Kemppinen, N., Meller, A., Kalliokoski, O. et al. 2025. Impact of an implanted intra-abdominal telemetry transmitter on fecal excretion of corticosterone and IgA in adult male F344 and BN rats (Rattus norvegicus). Journal of the American Association for Laboratory Animal Science 64(3), 495–499.

Elastic motivation for circuit running behaviour in captive African striped mice Rhabdomys dilectus: A consumer demand approach

Captive environments often result in repetitive locomotor behaviours in animals, yet the motivation for these behaviours remains poorly understood. We investigated whether circuit running in African striped mice Rhabdomys dilectus represents a necessary coping mechanism or a flexible, cost-sensitive behaviour,...

Year Published: 2025Topics: Abnormal/Problematic BehaviorAnimal Type: Other Rodent, Rodent

Citation: Hartman, K.-J., Joshi, S., Pillay, N. 2025. Elastic motivation for circuit running behaviour in captive African striped mice Rhabdomys dilectus: A consumer demand approach. Applied Animal Behaviour Science 289, 106693.

Effect of novel high-fat diet feeding methods on food wastage, weight gain, hair coat grease accumulation, and scratching behavior in C57BL/6NCrl mice

Soft-pelleted, high-fat diets (HFD) are greasy and crumble easily leading to food wastage and hair coat grease accumulation when mice are fed using commercially available feeders. The ideal HFD feeder design should reduce food wastage, facilitate mouse weight gain, and...

Year Published: 2025Topics: Husbandry & ManagementAnimal Type: Mouse, Rodent

Citation: Guy, A. R., Klores, M., Prestia, K. et al. 2025. Effect of novel high-fat diet feeding methods on food wastage, weight gain, hair coat grease accumulation, and scratching behavior in C57BL/6NCrl mice. Journal of the American Association for Laboratory Animal Science 64(1), 98–105.