Environmental Enrichment

Environmental enrichment improves vestibular oculomotor learning in mice

We assessed the behavioral effects of environmental enrichment on contrast sensitivity, reflexive eye movements and on oculomotor learning in mice that were housed in an enriched environment for a period of 3 weeks. Research has shown that a larger cage...

Year Published: 2021Topics: Environmental EnrichmentAnimal Type: Mouse, Rodent

Citation: van der Geest, J. N., Spoor, M., Frens, M. A. 2021. Environmental enrichment improves vestibular oculomotor learning in mice. Frontiers in Behavioral Neuroscience 15, 676416.

Ontogenetic change in behavioral responses to structural enrichment from fry to parr in juvenile Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar L.)

Enrichment is widely used as a tool for studying how changes in environment affect animal behavior. Here, we report an experimental study investigating if behaviors shaped by stimuli from environmental enrichment depending on the stage animals are exposed to enrichment....

Year Published: 2021Topics: Environmental EnrichmentAnimal Type: Fish, Salmon

Citation: Alnes, I. B., Jensen, K. H., Skorping, A. et al. 2021. Ontogenetic change in behavioral responses to structural enrichment from fry to parr in juvenile Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar L.). Frontiers in Veterinary Science 8, 638888.

Effects of an elevated platform on welfare aspects in male conventional broilers and dual-purpose chickens

To avoid killing day-old male chicks, one possibility is to keep dual-purpose chicken strains. Here, the hens were kept for egg production, and the roosters were kept for meat production. Both sexes had moderate performances compared to the respective hybrid...

Year Published: 2021Topics: Environmental EnrichmentAnimal Type: Bird, Chicken

Citation: Malchow, J., Schrader, L. 2021. Effects of an elevated platform on welfare aspects in male conventional broilers and dual-purpose chickens. Frontiers in Veterinary Science 8, 660602.

Behavioral management is a key component of ethical research

Behavioral management programs aim to enhance the welfare of animal subjects that participate in research, thereby enhancing our ability to conduct ethical research projects. Socialization strategies, environmental enrichment techniques, opportunities for subjects to voluntarily participate in research procedures, and the...

Year Published: 2019Topics: Environmental Enrichment, Social Housing & CompanionshipAnimal Type: All/General

Citation: Schapiro, S. J., Neal Webb, S. J., Mulholland, M. M. et al. 2019. Behavioral management is a key component of ethical research. ILAR Journal 60(3), 389-396.

A good life for laboratory rodents?

Most would agree that animals in research should be spared “unnecessary” harm, pain, or distress, and there is also growing interest in providing animals with some form of environmental enrichment. But is this the standard of care that we should...

Year Published: 2019Topics: Environmental Enrichment, Handling, Housing, Husbandry & Management, Natural Behavior, RestraintAnimal Type: Mouse, Rat, Rodent

Citation: Makowska, I. J., Weary, D. M. 2019. A good life for laboratory rodents? ILAR Journal 60(3), 373-388.

Environmental enrichment impacts discrimination between familiar and unfamiliar human odours in snakes (Pantherophis guttata)

Environmental enrichment has been found to significantly influence the cognitive abilities of a variety of mammalian and avian species, with effects ranging from positive to negative, however, these effects have been little studied in reptiles. This is problematic given their...

Year Published: 2021Topics: Environmental EnrichmentAnimal Type: Reptile, Snake

Citation: Nagabaskaran, G., Burman, O. H. P., Hoehfurtner, T. et al. 2021. Environmental enrichment impacts discrimination between familiar and unfamiliar human odours in snakes (Pantherophis guttata). Applied Animal Behaviour Science 237, 105278.

Does the provision of environmental enrichment affect the behaviour and welfare of captive snakes?

There is a wealth of evidence demonstrating the benefits of environmental enrichment across a range of different animal species. However, there is comparatively little such research into the effect of enrichment provision on captive reptiles. The aim of this study...

Year Published: 2021Topics: Environmental EnrichmentAnimal Type: Reptile, Snake

Citation: Hoehfurtner, T., Wilkinson, A., Nagabaskaran, G. et al. 2021. Does the provision of environmental enrichment affect the behaviour and welfare of captive snakes? Applied Animal Behaviour Science 239, 105324.

Preference and motivation tests for body tactile stimulation in fish

We tested whether territorial fish (Nile tilapia) perceive body tactile stimulation as a positive or negative resource. Individual male fish were placed for eight days in an aquarium containing a rectangular PVC frame, which was filled with vertical plastic sticks...

Year Published: 2021Topics: Environmental EnrichmentAnimal Type: Fish, Tilapia

Citation: dos Santos Gauy, A. C., Bolognesi, M. C., Martins, G. D. et al. 2021. Preference and motivation tests for body tactile stimulation in fish. Animals 11(7), 2042.

A comparative study on two territorial fishes: The influence of physical enrichment on aggressive behavior

Intraspecific aggression is detrimental to body/fin damage, physiological stress, and other problems in aquaculture. Environmental enrichment has been proposed to have positive effects on fish aggressive behavior, physiological stress, and fish welfare, but there are mixed results. Here, we examine...

Year Published: 2021Topics: Environmental EnrichmentAnimal Type: Fish, Other Fish

Citation: Zhang, Z., Fu, Y., Zhang, Z. et al. 2021. A comparative study on two territorial fishes: The influence of physical enrichment on aggressive behavior. Animals 11(7), 1868.

Effect of environmental enrichment on the brain and on learning and cognition by animals

The humane treatment of animals suggests that they should be housed in an environment that is rich in stimulation and allows for varied activities. However, even if one's main concern is an accurate assessment of their learning and cognitive abilities,...

Year Published: 2021Topics: Environmental EnrichmentAnimal Type: All/General

Citation: Zentall, T. R. 2021. Effect of environmental enrichment on the brain and on learning and cognition by animals. Animals 11(4), 973.