Cheyenne R. Beach, Christopher N Jacques, J. D. Lancaster, Douglas C Osborne, A. Yetter, Rebecca A Cole, H. Hagy, Auriel M V Fournier
{"title":"Lessons learned from using wild-caught and captive-reared lesser scaup (Aythya affinis) in captive experiments","authors":"Cheyenne R. Beach, Christopher N Jacques, J. D. Lancaster, Douglas C Osborne, A. Yetter, Rebecca A Cole, H. Hagy, Auriel M V Fournier","doi":"10.1093/tas/txae076","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"Abstract Waterfowl are housed in captivity for research studies that are infeasible in the wild. Accommodating the unique requirements of semi-aquatic species in captivity while meeting experimental design criteria for research questions can be challenging and may have unknown effects on animal health. Thus, testing and standardizing best husbandry and care practices for waterfowl is necessary to facilitate proper husbandry and humane care while ensuring reliable and repeatable research results. To inform husbandry practices for captive-reared and wild-caught lesser scaup (Aythya affinis; hereafter, scaup), we assessed body mass and fat composition across two different aspects of husbandry, source population (captive-reared or wild caught), and housing densities (birds/m2). Our results suggest that housing scaup at low densities (≤0.6 m2/bird, P = 0.049) relative to other species can minimize negative health effects. Captive-reared scaup were heavier (P = 0.027) with greater body fat (P < 0.001) and exhibited fewer signs of stress during handling than wild-caught scaup. In our experience, scaup which are captive-reared from eggs collected in the wild were better for long-term captivity studies as they maintained body mass between and recovered lost body mass following trials. Researchers would benefit from carefully evaluating the tradeoffs of using short- and long-term captive methods on their research question before designing projects, husbandry practices, and housing facilities for waterfowl.","PeriodicalId":23272,"journal":{"name":"Translational Animal Science","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":1.3000,"publicationDate":"2024-05-04","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":"0","resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"Translational Animal Science","FirstCategoryId":"1085","ListUrlMain":"https://doi.org/10.1093/tas/txae076","RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":null,"ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"","PubModel":"","JCR":"Q3","JCRName":"AGRICULTURE, DAIRY & ANIMAL SCIENCE","Score":null,"Total":0}
引用次数: 0
Abstract
Abstract Waterfowl are housed in captivity for research studies that are infeasible in the wild. Accommodating the unique requirements of semi-aquatic species in captivity while meeting experimental design criteria for research questions can be challenging and may have unknown effects on animal health. Thus, testing and standardizing best husbandry and care practices for waterfowl is necessary to facilitate proper husbandry and humane care while ensuring reliable and repeatable research results. To inform husbandry practices for captive-reared and wild-caught lesser scaup (Aythya affinis; hereafter, scaup), we assessed body mass and fat composition across two different aspects of husbandry, source population (captive-reared or wild caught), and housing densities (birds/m2). Our results suggest that housing scaup at low densities (≤0.6 m2/bird, P = 0.049) relative to other species can minimize negative health effects. Captive-reared scaup were heavier (P = 0.027) with greater body fat (P < 0.001) and exhibited fewer signs of stress during handling than wild-caught scaup. In our experience, scaup which are captive-reared from eggs collected in the wild were better for long-term captivity studies as they maintained body mass between and recovered lost body mass following trials. Researchers would benefit from carefully evaluating the tradeoffs of using short- and long-term captive methods on their research question before designing projects, husbandry practices, and housing facilities for waterfowl.
期刊介绍:
Translational Animal Science (TAS) is the first open access-open review animal science journal, encompassing a broad scope of research topics in animal science. TAS focuses on translating basic science to innovation, and validation of these innovations by various segments of the allied animal industry. Readers of TAS will typically represent education, industry, and government, including research, teaching, administration, extension, management, quality assurance, product development, and technical services. Those interested in TAS typically include animal breeders, economists, embryologists, engineers, food scientists, geneticists, microbiologists, nutritionists, veterinarians, physiologists, processors, public health professionals, and others with an interest in animal production and applied aspects of animal sciences.