Natural Behavior

The ins and outs of the litter box: A detailed ethogram of cat elimination behavior in two contrasting environments

Few studies have sought to describe cat elimination behavior in detail and much of the information presently available focuses on factors that potentially cause cats to reject a litter box. Thus, the ethograms published in the current veterinary and scientific...

Year Published: 2017Topics: Housing, Husbandry & Management, Natural BehaviorAnimal Type: Cat

Citation: McGowan, R. T. S., Ellis, J. J., Bensky, M. K. et al. 2017. The ins and outs of the litter box: A detailed ethogram of cat elimination behavior in two contrasting environments. Applied Animal Behaviour Science 194, 67-78.

The effect providing space in excess of standards on the behaviour of budgerigars in aviaries

Budgerigars housed in conventional cages have no opportunity for some normal behaviours, in particular flight, and develop stereotyped behaviours. Increasingly aviaries are used for groups of budgerigars but the minimum space requirement to support normal behaviour is not known. We...

Year Published: 2018Topics: Housing, Natural BehaviorAnimal Type: Bird, Parrot

Citation: Phillips, C. J. C., Farrugia, C., Lin, C.-h. et al. 2018. The effect providing space in excess of standards on the behaviour of budgerigars in aviaries. Applied Animal Behaviour Science 199, 89-93.

Free-choice exploration increases affiliative behaviour in zebrafish

Cognitive stimulation has been shown to be rewarding and capable of eliciting positive emotions in several species. In contrast to the abundant learning and exploration opportunities available in nature, captive environments can be under-stimulating—with the potential to induce anhedonia and...

Year Published: 2018Topics: Environmental Enrichment, Natural BehaviorAnimal Type: Fish, Zebrafish

Citation: Graham, C., von Keyserlingk, M. A. G., Franks, B. 2018. Free-choice exploration increases affiliative behaviour in zebrafish. Applied Animal Behaviour Science 203, 103-110.

Zebrafish welfare: Natural history, social motivation and behaviour

Zebrafish are now one of the most used animal model species in scientific research worldwide. Our current knowledge of wild zebrafish is limited to an estimated range of their natural habitats and their tendencies to form groups. In laboratories, zebrafish...

Year Published: 2018Topics: Environmental Enrichment, Housing, Natural BehaviorAnimal Type: Fish, Zebrafish

Citation: Graham, C., von Keyserlingk, M. A. G., Franks, B. 2018. Zebrafish welfare: Natural history, social motivation and behaviour. Applied Animal Behaviour Science 200, 13-22.

Stone handling, an object play behaviour in macaques: Welfare and neurological health implications of a bio-culturally driven tradition

Object play in primates is viewed as generally having no immediate functional purpose, limited for the most part to immature individuals. At the proximate level, the occurrence of object play in immatures is regarded as being intrinsically self-rewarding, with the...

Year Published: 2016Topics: Environmental Enrichment, Natural BehaviorAnimal Type: Macaque, Nonhuman Primate

Citation: Nahallage, C. A. D., Leca, J.-B., Huffman, M. A. 2016. Stone handling, an object play behaviour in macaques: Welfare and neurological health implications of a bio-culturally driven tradition. Behaviour, 153(6-7), 845-869.

Daily travel distances of zoo-housed chimpanzees and gorillas: Implications for welfare assessments and space requirements

The degree to which the relatively smaller area of artificial environments (compared with natural habitats) has measureable effects on the behavior and welfare of captive animals has been debated for many years. While there is little question that these spaces...

Year Published: 2016Topics: Housing, Natural BehaviorAnimal Type: Chimpanzee, Nonhuman Primate, Other Nonhuman Primate

Citation: Ross, S. R., Shender, M. A. 2016. Daily travel distances of zoo-housed chimpanzees and gorillas: Implications for welfare assessments and space requirements. Primates 57(3), 395-401.

The biology and husbandry of the African spiny mouse (Acomys cahirinus) and the research uses of a laboratory colony

African spiny mice (Acomysspp.) are unique precocial rodents that are found in Africa, the Middle East, and southern Asia. They exhibit several interesting life-history characteristics, including precocial development, communal breeding, and a suite of physiologic adaptations to desert life. In...

Year Published: 2016Topics: Husbandry & Management, Natural Behavior, Welfare AssessmentAnimal Type: Mouse, Rodent

Citation: Haughton, C. L., Gawriluk, T. R., Seifert, A. W. 2016. The biology and husbandry of the African spiny mouse (Acomys cahirinus) and the research uses of a laboratory colony. JAALAS 55(1), 9–17.

Dairy cows value access to pasture as highly as fresh feed

Many dairy cows in the developed world are now housed exclusively indoors with fewer than 5% of the 10 million lactating cows in the United States having access to pasture during the grazing season. Indoor housing systems are designed to...

Year Published: 2017Topics: Husbandry & Management, Natural BehaviorAnimal Type: Cattle

Citation: von Keyserlingk, M. A. G., Amorim Cestari, A., Franks, B. 2017. Dairy cows value access to pasture as highly as fresh feed. Scientific Reports 7, 44953.

The importance of burrowing, climbing and standing upright for laboratory rats

Standard laboratory cages prevent rats (Rattus norvegicus) from performing many behaviours that they perform in the wild, but little is known about how this may affect their welfare. The aims of this study were (i) to record the propensity to...

Year Published: 2016Topics: Environmental Enrichment, Housing, Natural BehaviorAnimal Type: Rat, Rodent

Citation: Makowska, I. J., Weary, D. M. 2016. The importance of burrowing, climbing and standing upright for laboratory rats. Royal Society Open Science 3, 160136.

Impact of daily grazing time on dairy cow welfare—results of the Welfare Quality® protocol

Grazing provides livestock better opportunities to act out their species-specific behavior compared to restrictive stable conditions. The aim of the present study was to examine the effects of daily grazing time on welfare of dairy cows in organic and conventional...

Year Published: 2018Topics: Husbandry & Management, Natural BehaviorAnimal Type: Cattle

Citation: Wagner, K., Brinkmann, J., March, S. et al. 2018. Impact of daily grazing time on dairy cow welfare—results of the Welfare Quality® protocol. Animals 8(1), 1.