Environmental Enrichment

Loss of environmental enrichment elicits behavioral and physiological dysregulation in female rats

Chronic stress drives behavioral and physiological changes associated with numerous psychiatric disease states. In rodents, the vast majority of chronic stress models involve imposition of external stressors, whereas in humans stress is often driven by internal cues, commonly associated with...

Year Published: 2019Topics: Environmental EnrichmentAnimal Type: Rat, Rodent

Citation: Morano, R., Hoskins, O., Smith, B. L. et al. 2019. Loss of environmental enrichment elicits behavioral and physiological dysregulation in female rats. Frontiers in Behavioral Neuroscience 12, 287.

Behavioral and physiological consequences of enrichment loss in rats

Significant loss produces the highest degree of stress and compromised well-being in humans. Current rodent models of stress involve the application of physically or psychologically aversive stimuli, but do not address the concept of loss. We developed a rodent model...

Year Published: 2017Topics: Environmental EnrichmentAnimal Type: Rat, Rodent

Citation: Smith, B. L., Lyons, C. E., Correa, F. G. et al. 2017. Behavioral and physiological consequences of enrichment loss in rats. Psychoneuroendocrinology 77, 37-46.

A three-dimensional habitat for C

As we learn more about the importance of gene-environment interactions and the effects of environmental enrichment, it becomes evident that minimalistic laboratory conditions can affect gene expression patterns and behaviors of model organisms. In the laboratory, Caenorhabditis elegans is generally...

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

Citation: Guisnet, A., Maitra, M., Pradhan, S. et al. 2021. A three-dimensional habitat for C. elegans environmental enrichment. PLOS ONE 16(1), e0245139.

Positive reinforcement training as physiotherapy for a brown capuchin (Sapajus apella)

Physiotherapy can be used to treat an animal following surgery, to help correcting abnormal gait and for treating tendon, bone or ligament damage. […] Of course, an animal can't just be given a set of exercises to follow. To carry...

Year Published: 2020Topics: Animal Training, Environmental Enrichment, Human-Animal InteractionAnimal Type: Capuchin, Nonhuman Primate

Citation: Coventry, C. 2020. Positive reinforcement training as physiotherapy for a brown capuchin (Sapajus apella). RATEL (Journal of the Association of British and Irish Wild Animal Keepers) 47(2), 16-17.

Motivation to dust-bathe of laying hens housed in cages and in aviaries

New housing systems for commercial egg production, furnished cages and non-cage systems, should improve the welfare of laying hens. In particular, thanks to the presence of a litter area, these new housing systems are thought to satisfy the dust-bathing motivation...

Year Published: 2007Topics: Environmental Enrichment, Natural BehaviorAnimal Type: Bird, Chicken

Citation: Colson, S., Arnould, C., Michel, V. 2007. Motivation to dust-bathe of laying hens housed in cages and in aviaries. Animal 1(3), 433-437.

Juvenile Nile tilapia fish avoid red shelters

Shelters are frequently used for fish rearing to improve welfare conditions. In this study, whether Nile tilapia prefers specific shelter colors was evaluated. Thus, fish preference for white, red, blue, green or yellow shelters was tested. A high variation of...

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

Citation: Marques Maia, C., Pacheco Capelini Alves, N., Tatemoto, P. 2021. Juvenile Nile tilapia fish avoid red shelters. Journal of Applied Animal Welfare Science, 24(1), 98-106.

DIY: Ice cream cone spiced foraging cups

This DIY snack is great for NHPs and can be customized in a variety of ways.

Year Published: 2021Topics: Environmental EnrichmentAnimal Type: Baboon, Capuchin, Chimpanzee, Lemur, Macaque, Marmoset, Nonhuman Primate, Other Nonhuman Primate, Owl Monkey, Squirrel Monkey, Vervet (African Green Monkey)

Citation: Lambert, K. 2021. DIY: Ice cream cone spiced foraging cups. Laboratory Animal Science Professional 9(1) (January/February), 36.

DIY: Ice produce blocks

This great cool-down snack is ideal for group or singly housed swine or nonhuman primates (particularly in larger pen-style housing). This item can be customized for canines as well by modifying the liquid used and/or produce.

Citation: Lambert, K. 2021. DIY: Ice produce blocks. Laboratory Animal Science Professional 9(2) (March/April), 41.

Effects of acrylic tunnel enrichment on anxiety-like behavior, neurogenesis, and physiology of C57BL/6J mice

Environmental enrichment for mice lags behind the standard enrichment offered to other laboratory rodents due to concerns about environmental variability and, in specific contexts, aggression. Our objective in this study was to evaluate concerns that the introduction of structural enrichment...

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

Citation: Oatess, T. L., Harrison, F. E., Himmel, L. E. et al. 2021. Effects of acrylic tunnel enrichment on anxiety-like behavior, neurogenesis, and physiology of C57BL/6J mice. JAALAS 60(1), 44-53.

Behavioral effects of cage size and environmental enrichment in New Zealand white rabbits

One of the goals of environmental enrichment is to encourage species-typical behaviors, while discouraging abnormal behaviors or stereotypies. Assessing the effectiveness of various enrichment modalities can be challenging, particularly for prey species such as rabbits that exhibit freezing responses in...

Year Published: 2020Topics: Environmental Enrichment, HousingAnimal Type: Rabbit

Citation: Coda, K. A., Fortman, J. D., García, K. D. 2020. Behavioral effects of cage size and environmental enrichment in New Zealand white rabbits. JAALAS 59(4), 356-364.