Environmental Enrichment

Effects of habitat complexity on pair-housed zebrafish

Sexually mature zebrafish were housed as single male-female pairs with or without plastic vegetation for 1, 5, or 10 d for comparison of whole-body cortisol measured by radioimmunoassay. Individually housed male zebrafish were used as controls. In the fish that...

Year Published: 2015Topics: Environmental EnrichmentAnimal Type: Fish, Zebrafish

Citation: Keck, V. A., Edgerton, D. S., Hajizadeh, S. et al. 2015. Effects of habitat complexity on pair-housed zebrafish. JAALAS 54(4), 378-383.

The effects of audiobooks on the behaviour of dogs at a rehoming kennels

Domestic dogs are often kept in kennelled environments. These may be stressful, and impact negatively upon welfare, due to unpredictable variations in space, social interaction and noise. Auditory stimulation such as music has been demonstrated to enhance animal welfare in...

Year Published: 2016Topics: Environmental EnrichmentAnimal Type: Dog

Citation: Brayley, C., Montrose, V. T. 2016. The effects of audiobooks on the behaviour of dogs at a rehoming kennels. Applied Animal Behaviour Science 174, 111-115.

The impact of early postnatal environmental enrichment on maternal care and offspring behaviour following weaning

The early postnatal period is a sensitive period in rodents as behavioural systems are developing and maturing during this time. However, relatively little information is available about the impact of environmental enrichment on offspring behaviour if enrichment is implemented only...

Year Published: 2016Topics: Environmental EnrichmentAnimal Type: Rat, Rodent

Citation: Li, K. A., Lund, E. T., Voigt, J.W. 2016. The impact of early postnatal environmental enrichment on maternal care and offspring behaviour following weaning. Behavioural Processes 122, 51-58.

Effects of changing housing conditions on mangabey behavior (Cercocebus atys): Spatial density, housing quality, and novelty effects

The separate influences of spatial density and housing quality on the behavior of captive animals are difficult to measure because the two factors are often intrinsically linked. Here, we recorded affiliative and agonistic behavior in adult sooty mangabeys in various...

Year Published: 2015Topics: Environmental Enrichment, Housing, Stocking DensityAnimal Type: Nonhuman Primate, Other Nonhuman Primate

Citation: Crast, J., Bloomsmith, M. A., Jonesteller, T. 2015. Effects of changing housing conditions on mangabey behavior (Cercocebus atys): Spatial density, housing quality, and novelty effects. American Journal of Primatology 77(9), 1001-1014.

Effect of increasing amounts of straw on pigs’ explorative behaviour

According to European legislation, pigs must have permanent access to sufficient quantity of material to enable manipulation activities. However, few studies have quantified how much straw is needed to fulfil the requirements of growing pigs. We investigated the effect of...

Year Published: 2015Topics: Environmental EnrichmentAnimal Type: Pig

Citation: Jensen, M. B., Herskin, M. S., Forkman, B. et al. 2015. Effect of increasing amounts of straw on pigs' explorative behaviour. Applied Animal Behaviour Science 171, 58-63.

Workaholic ferrets: Does a two-chamber consumer demand study give insight in the preferences of laboratory ferrets (Mustela putorius furo)?

Although provision of environmental enrichment is an effective tool to refine laboratory animal experiments, it is currently unknown which enrichments ferrets prefer. This study aimed to assess the suitability of a closed economy, two-chamber consumer demand set-up to determine ferrets'...

Year Published: 2015Topics: Environmental EnrichmentAnimal Type: Ferret

Citation: Reijgwart, M. L., Vinke, C. M., Hendriksen, C. F. M., et al. 2015. Workaholic ferrets: Does a two-chamber consumer demand study give insight in the preferences of laboratory ferrets (Mustela putorius furo)? Applied Animal Behaviour Science 171, 161-69.

Evaluation of environmental and intrinsic factors that contribute to stereotypic behavior in captive rhesus macaques (Macaca mulatta)

Full body repetitive behaviors, known as motor stereotypic behaviors (MSBs), are one of the most commonly seen abnormal behaviors in captive non-human primates, and are frequently used as a behavioral measure of well-being. The main goal of this paper was...

Year Published: 2015Topics: Abnormal/Problematic Behavior, Environmental Enrichment, Social Housing & CompanionshipAnimal Type: Macaque, Nonhuman Primate

Citation: Gottlieb D. H., Maier, A., Coleman, K. 2015. Evaluation of environmental and intrinsic factors that contribute to stereotypic behavior in captive rhesus macaques (Macaca mulatta). Applied Animal Behaviour Science 171,184-91.

Food enrichment of laboratory beagles: Behavioral benefits and durability concerns

Enrichment can be a key element in stress reduction in domestic dogs in both pet and kennel environments. However, providing enrichment to laboratory dogs can be a means for injury or ingestion of objects. Devices provided as enrichment may not...

Year Published: 2013Topics: Environmental Enrichment, Husbandry & ManagementAnimal Type: Dog

Citation: Willis, J. K., Ccavara, J. M., Kendall, L. V. 2013. Food enrichment of laboratory beagles: Behavioral benefits and durability concerns. American Association for Laboratory Animal Science [AALAS] Meeting Official Program, 608 (Abstract #PS1).