Environmental Enrichment

Designing environments for aged primates

In order to prevent physical and psychological deterioration in older animals, it is important to apply the same principles of environmental enrichment and housing as are applied to younger animals. As we have discussed above, the needs of aged individuals...

Year Published: 2010Topics: Environmental Enrichment, HousingAnimal Type: Baboon, Capuchin, Chimpanzee, Lemur, Macaque, Marmoset, Nonhuman Primate, Other Nonhuman Primate, Owl Monkey, Squirrel Monkey, Vervet (African Green Monkey)

Citation: Waitt, C. D., Bushmitz, M., Honess, P. E. 2010. Designing environments for aged primates. Laboratory Primate Newsletter, 49(3), 5-9.

Preventing boredom in NHPs using fleece fabric and food treats

Recently, I devised yet another way to use this fleece material to enhance the environments of our animals. To this end, I sought out a way to present food enrichment to our animals so that they would have to solve...

Year Published: 2010Topics: Environmental EnrichmentAnimal Type: Baboon, Capuchin, Chimpanzee, Lemur, Macaque, Marmoset, Nonhuman Primate, Other Nonhuman Primate, Owl Monkey, Squirrel Monkey, Vervet (African Green Monkey)

Citation: Lozano, A., West, A., Leland, S. et al. 2010. Preventing boredom in NHPs using fleece fabric and food treats. Tech Talk [The Newsletter for Laboratory Animal Science Technicians] 15(5), page numbers missing.

The effect of environmental enrichment on the behavior of captive tufted capuchin monkeys (Cebus apella)

The authors provided different forms of environmental enrichment to six old laboratory male tufted capuchin monkeys (Cebus apella) and studied the behavior of the monkeys during a baseline period and during three enrichment periods. Each observation period lasted 5 d,...

Year Published: 2010Topics: Environmental Enrichment, Social Housing & CompanionshipAnimal Type: Capuchin, Nonhuman Primate

Citation: Jacobsen, K. R. 2010. The effect of environmental enrichment on the behavior of captive tufted capuchin monkeys (Cebus apella). Lab Animal 39(9), 269-277.

Primate foraging ice blocks: Cool treats and interactive eats

The [ice] blocks provide a stimulating foraging experience for the NHPs. The blocks last up to an hour fully melting; however, most NHPs have them broken apart and are eating them within 15 minutes. Some primates pick up the ice...

Year Published: 2011Topics: Environmental EnrichmentAnimal Type: Baboon, Capuchin, Chimpanzee, Lemur, Macaque, Marmoset, Nonhuman Primate, Other Nonhuman Primate, Owl Monkey, Squirrel Monkey, Vervet (African Green Monkey)

Citation: Buck, C., Pittman, P., Coburn, A. et al. 2011. Primate foraging ice blocks: Cool treats and interactive eats. Tech Talk [The Newsletter for Laboratory Animal Science Technicians] 16(3), 2.

Factors affecting aggression among females in captive groups of rhesus macaques (Macaca mulatta)

Captive groups of primates often exhibit higher rates of aggression than wild, free-ranging groups. It is important to determine which factors influence aggression in captivity because aggression, particularly intense aggression, can be harmful to animal health and well-being. In this...

Year Published: 2011Topics: Environmental Enrichment, Housing, Husbandry & Management, Natural BehaviorAnimal Type: Macaque, Nonhuman Primate

Citation: Beisner, B. A., Isbell, L. A. 2011. Factors affecting aggression among females in captive groups of rhesus macaques (Macaca mulatta). American Journal of Primatology 73(11), 1152-1159.

Environmental enrichment induces optimistic cognitive bias in rats

People's affective or emotional state can alter their cognitive processing, biasing interpretation of ambiguous stimuli. Those in a more positive state interpret such stimuli in a more optimistic manner than those in a negative state. Recently this research has extended...

Year Published: 2011Topics: Emotion, Pain, & Sentience, Environmental EnrichmentAnimal Type: Rat, Rodent

Citation: Brydges, N. M., Leach, M., Nicol, K. et al. 2011. Environmental enrichment induces optimistic cognitive bias in rats. Animal Behaviour 81(1), 169-175.

Evaluation of nesting materials for use in nude mouse colonies

Nesting material has been reported to be beneficial to mice by providing environmental enrichment as well as a means of thermoregulation. Cotton nesting material has been reported to cause conjunctivitis in athymic nude mice. We evaluated 3 different paper-based nesting...

Year Published: 2011Topics: Environmental Enrichment, Housing, Husbandry & ManagementAnimal Type: Mouse, Rodent

Citation: Breegi, S. 2011. Evaluation of nesting materials for use in nude mouse colonies. American Association for Laboratory Animal Science [AALAS] Meeting Official Program, 782 (Abstract #P171).

Working with what you’ve got: Changes in thermal preference and behavior in mice with or without nest material

In laboratories mice are typically housed at ambient temperatures (Ta) of 20–24 °C, which are below their average preferred Ta of ≈30 °C. Adjusting laboratory Ta is not a solution because preferences differ depending on activity, time of the day,...

Year Published: 2011Topics: Environmental Enrichment, Housing, Husbandry & ManagementAnimal Type: Mouse, Rodent

Citation: Gaskill, B. N., Rohr, S., Lucas, J. R. et al. 2011. Working with what you've got: Changes in thermal preference and behavior in mice with or without nest material. Journal of Thermal Biology. 36(3), 193-199.

Preference for structured environment in zebrafish (Danio rerio) and checker bards (Puntius oligolepis)

Information about the welfare and husbandry of pet and laboratory fish is scarce although millions of fish are sold in pet shops and used in laboratory research every year. Inadequate housing conditions can cause behavioural problems also in fish since...

Year Published: 2011Topics: Environmental Enrichment, HousingAnimal Type: Fish, Other Fish, Zebrafish

Citation: Kistler, C., Hegglin, D., Würbel, H. et al. 2011. Preference for structured environment in zebrafish (Danio rerio) and checker bards (Puntius oligolepis). Applied Animal Behaviour Science 135(4), 318-327.

A meta-analysis of the combined effect of housing and environmental enrichment characteristics on the behaviour and performance of pigs

To quantify the combined effect of housing conditions and environmental enrichment on the behaviour and performance of pigs, a meta-analysis was performed using information from 45 experiments in 42 published manuscripts. Multiple regression models were applied to evaluate the effects...

Year Published: 2010Topics: Environmental Enrichment, Housing, Husbandry & Management, Stocking DensityAnimal Type: Pig

Citation: Averós, X., Brossard, L., Dourmad, J. et al. 2010. A meta-analysis of the combined effect of housing and environmental enrichment characteristics on the behaviour and performance of pigs. Applied Animal Behaviour Science 127(3-4), 73-85.