Applied Animal Behaviour Science最新文献

As mental health challenges grow in prevalence within the youth population in the United States, professionals within the industry are looking to alternative therapeutic approaches where other therapeutic interventions have failed. This has led to the growth of therapeutic interventions utilizing animals as a complementary approach in psychotherapy addressing the mental health of youth. Nevertheless, with this growth comes the concern of the welfare of the therapy animal, particularly with the prevalence of animal abusive behaviors associated with various youth mental health disorders. Thus, a scoping review was conducted with an aim to compile research conducted on therapy animals in youth psychotherapy to uncover themes within the studies available and to determine potential areas for which further research is needed. Four questions were developed to target therapy animal welfare within youth psychotherapy. These questions were utilized for the scoping review and within each question inclusion and exclusion criteria were implemented. Reviewed literature determined limited research targeting welfare assessment methods outside of heart rate measurement, cortisol concentration, and behavioral stress scaling using ethograms. Further areas lacking within the literature reviewed were associated with the makeup of the therapy session including the breeds of animals utilized and the lengths of the therapy sessions. Each question independently lacked substantial research as fifteen articles was the largest number of articles reviewed within a question after application of inclusion and exclusion criteria. In addition, all questions resulted in contradictions within the findings and had at least one inclusion criteria where no articles were available. Further, when reviewing across all four questions, the horse and dog were the only therapy animals studied within the reviewed literature. As such, further research is warranted targeting areas where research is lacking in order to ensure the welfare of animals being utilized within a youth psychotherapy setting.

Farm animal welfare assessment protocols enable the capture and reporting of information to address any concerns raised by the industry or the public alike. To underpin commercial protocols, research to address validity, repeatability, and practicality, including studies to determine appropriate sampling methodology, is needed. For protocols that adopt an animal outcome-based approach, including the proposed protocol for Australian lot-fed cattle, appropriate sampling is required to ensure validity of observations. The aim of this study was to determine optimal timing and frequency of pen-side assessments. The proposed welfare assessment protocol was applied at four time points for 208 sample pens at four feedlots during a seven-month period. To determine the effect of time of day, the number of behavioural measures were reduced using Principal Component (PC) analysis, and then a Generalized Linear Mixed Model applied to consider relevant resource and environmental factors. Three primary components of cattle behaviour and demeanour were identified. PC 1 (17.61 % of total variation in the observed cattle behaviour) related to activity and rest, with cattle most active at 08:00 h and 17:00 h, and least active at 14:00 h. PC 2 (10.15 % variation) related to engagement with environment and feeding. At 17:00 h more cattle were observed to express positive welfare outcomes, such as engagement and feeding behaviours. PC 3 (7.07 % variation) captured behaviour and demeanour that reflected cattle mental state, but minimal variation was identified related to time of day. PC 1–3 varied by feedlot and visit number, and PC 1 scores also differed by cattle feeding program. Results indicate that to capture variation in cattle activity and rest, repeated assessments at two key time points; early-morning and early afternoon, are required for accurate pen-side welfare assessments of lot-fed cattle. These findings suggest further refinement of the welfare assessment protocol for lot-fed cattle is recommended to facilitate commercial adoption.

A major goal in animal welfare science is the development of methods that quantify or ‘read-out’ current affective states in freely behaving animals. In mammalian models, changes in acoustic parameters within vocalisations have been linked to differences in emotional arousal, although there are very few studies showing changes in vocalisations that act as indicators of valence (positive or negative affect). Currently, there are very few studies on vocal indicators of emotion in birds. To determine the link between acoustic parameters within vocalisations and emotion in domestic chicks (Gallus gallus dom.), we used a well-validated paradigm that purports to elicit two distinct, negative emotional states: anxiety and depression. In this paradigm, chicks in social isolation initially show high rates of distress calls (anxiety-like phase: high arousal/negative affect) that decrease over the next 20–30 minutes to a depression-like phase (low arousal/negative affect). We analysed acoustic parameters of distress vocalisations from Legbar chicks (4–7 days old) that were placed in social isolation for 30 minutes, either with or without a mirror (Isolated: n=18; Mirror: n=16), (a mirror is known to reduce the negative behavioural and physiological indicators of isolation). Chicks in the Isolated condition produced louder calls, of a higher frequency, and calls were individually longer, and more ‘degraded’ (higher entropy and lower harmonics-to-noise ratio) compared to the Mirror condition. However, the call rate did not drop below 50 % of the initial rate in either condition, indicating the chicks in this study did not reach the criteria for the depression-like phase of the paradigm. To investigate further we analysed vocalisations at times during a trial when calls were at a high rate per minute (indicating a higher level of emotional arousal at that point in time) and we found those vocalisations were louder, more ‘degraded’, longer and higher in frequency across both conditions. These results are consistent with findings across several species of mammal, indicating that changes in emotional arousal in negatively valanced situations give rise to consistent changes in vocal parameters across a wide range of species. Indeed, further work could look to see if the same links are found in groups such as chelonians, crocodilians and geckos, as their vocal production mechanisms share some similarities. There could also be scope to use these changes to automatically detect shifts in emotion in captive animals.

The examination of grief in nonhuman animals has historically been limited to anecdotal evidence. Recent investigations suggest that the psychological experience of loss may be widespread within the animal kingdom. Many studies have examined caregiver grief following the death of a companion animal but few have examined how other companion animals respond to these deaths. We sought to examine predictors related to the response of surviving domestic cats, following the death of a companion animal within the same household. A total of 412 cat caregivers were surveyed regarding both caregivers’ and surviving cats’ (n = 452) relationship with the deceased pet as well as possible immediate and long-term behavioral changes following the loss of a companion animal within the household. Amount of time spent engaging in activities together in a typical day predicted caregiver reports of increases in grief-like behaviors and fearfulness in surviving cats. More positive relationships between the deceased animal and surviving cat predicted decreases in sleeping, eating, and playing. The longer the cat had lived with the deceased animal, the more the caregivers reported increases in attention-seeking following the death. However, higher levels of caregiver attachment also predicted reports of increases in attention seeking behavior, which may reflect anthropomorphism in the projection of caregiver grief onto surviving companion animals. Consistent with this hypothesis, caregivers who experienced greater grief were more likely to report increases in their surviving cats’ sleep, spending time alone and hiding following the death. If caregivers reported avoidant attachment with the deceased cat, they reported greater decreases in grief-like behaviors in surviving cats following the death, suggesting that caregivers without strong, secure attachment binds were less likely to perceive that their surviving animals experienced grief. This is only the second known exploration of domestic cats’ responses to the death of another companion animal and reveals that cats exhibit similar grief-like behavioral changes following such deaths compared to dogs examined in previous work. That is, they engaged less in sleeping, eating and playing but more in seeking attention from humans and other pets, hiding, spending time alone and appearing to look for their lost companions. Future work is needed to determine whether these results reflect caregivers projecting their own grief onto surviving animal companions or whether cats may also experience grief following companion loss.

Flamingos (Phoenicopteriformes) are relatively well studied species of bird, both in the wild and in captive environments. Arguably, the two most famous anecdotes surrounding flamingo behaviour concerns their time spent on one leg (what is this related to?) and time spent preening (is it more than other species of waterbird?). We conducted an observational study at WWT Slimbridge Wetland Centre on five species of flamingos to test whether empirical evidence supported these anecdotes. We coupled this observational study with a global meta-analysis of published data on waterbird preening behaviour to allow a comparison of flamingos with other large waterbird taxa (Anseriformes, Ciconiiformes, Gruiformes, and Pelecaniformes). Analysis using zero-inflated generalised linear models indicated that flamingo unipedal behaviour was more common inside housing and on water. Preening effort varied markedly between flamingo species, but we detected no influence of any of the weather variables that were tested. Furthermore, our meta-analysis of waterbird behaviour indicated an interaction between latitude and season, whereby birds spent more time preening at higher latitudes during the non-breeding season, but the opposite trend was detected during the breeding season. Contrary to the popular perception, we found no evidence that flamingos spend more time preening than other waterbirds; indeed, our analysis indicated that, among the five waterbird orders assessed, Pelecaniformes preened the most. However, waterbird preening effort was higher for captive populations (across all species) relative to their free-living counterparts. Our study provides new insight into long-held perceptions of the behaviour of flamingos and other waterbirds.

Visual observations of competitive feeding behavior in cattle have been associated with animal productivity, health, and social hierarchy. However, human visual observations are time consuming, limiting the number of animals that can be evaluated. The objective of this study was to develop and assess an algorithm to detect disruptive feed bunk replacement events using feeding event data acquired from the Vytelle SENSE feed intake measurement system. Crossbred beef steers (N = 20) fed a grower diet were housed in one of two pens each equipped with three electronic feed bunks and a video recorder. A trained video observer recorded all feed bunk replacement events (when an actor animal displaced a reactor animal from the feed bunk and occupied the same feed bunk within a specified time interval, termed as the replacement criterion) and other agonistic activities at the feed bunk during a 4-d period. The Vytelle SENSE feed intake measurement system recorded the start and end timestamps of individual bunk visit (BV) events of animals. An algorithm was developed to determine replacement events based on the start and end times of consecutive BV events. Using video observation as the gold standard, the recall, precision, and F-score of the algorithm was calculated corresponding to time intervals from 1 to 60 s. The optimum replacement criterion was determined to be ≤ 18 s and ≤ 22 s for pens 1 and 2 respectively. The recall, precision, and F-score of the algorithm using these replacement criterions were high (> 0.75). A competition index was computed for each steer, calculated as the number of actor-initiated events divided by the number of actor and reactor events at the feed bunk. Spearman’s rank correlations (r_s) between total visually observed agonistic interactions at the feed bunk and the replacement events detected from the electronic feeding event data using the algorithm and replacement criterion of the respective pen was determined. There were strong correlations (r_s ≥ 0.71; P < 0.05) between the observed and electronic values for the number of actor and reactor events, and the competition index. These results demonstrate the potential to quantify disruptive feed bunk replacement events in confined beef cattle using electronically collected feeding event data from the Vytelle SENSE feed intake measurement system.

Numerous mouth injuries have been reported in relation to bit use in horses. Rein tension is a potential risk factor, as it exerts pressure on the rostral parts of the mouth via the bit. The aim of this pilot study was to investigate rein tension during driving and its association with horse behaviour and mouth injuries. Eight horses were driven clockwise on a 1000 m oval racetrack for 3–4 km at walk and trot. Rein tension was measured with two IPOS rein sensors. Researchers filmed the horse’s behaviour from a vehicle moving alongside the horse on the outer track. The bit area of the mouth was examined before and after the session. One observer, blinded to the rein tension and mouth injury results, coded behaviours from videos according to a predefined ethogram. Median rein tensions in one rein ranged from 5 N to 36 N. Maximum rein tensions ranged from 106 N to 236 N. Five 30-second data subsets, representing samples of Low, Medium1, Medium2, High and Peak tension, were visually selected from the rein tension graphs to investigate behaviour differences during different rein tension levels. The durations of unrushed walk (P < 0.001) and mouth closed (P = 0.003) were longer in the Low rein tension subset. The durations of slow (P = 0.01) and fast trot (P = 0.003), mouth widely (P = 0.02) or repeatedly open (P = 0.03) were longer in the higher rein tension subsets. None of the horses had any prior mouth injuries in the bit area. After driving, three horses experienced moderate bruising. Their median rein tension was numerically higher (left 35 N; right 34 N) than that in horses without injuries (22 N; 18 N), and they showed longer periods of rushed walk (P = 0.04). Rein tensions were quite high, as previous studies suggest that horses find tensions above 6–10 N aversive. Horse trainers should monitor the horse's mouth behaviour, arousal state and ability to walk calmly and modify training accordingly, as mouth widely or repeatedly open at higher rein tensions may indicate aversion (mouth discomfort/pain) and rushed walk may indicate high arousal, which in turn may increase the risk for mouth injury.

This study investigates the impact of the behaviours of dogs with hypersensitivity-hyperactivity syndrome (HSHA) on their quality of life (QoL) and that of their owners. Dogs classified under this diagnosis label present polymorphous and productive symptoms that often leads to owner exhaustion and significant challenges in daily life. Utilizing a survey to collect data on the mental and physical health of dogs and the well-being of their owners, the study compared 20 HSHA-affected dogs with matched 20 control dogs.

Results

reveal that owners of HSHA dogs report significantly lower QoL scores compared to owners of control dogs, citing increased stress, physical injuries, and emotional distress. Additionally, HSHA dogs exhibited lower well-being and more frequent physical health issues, such as injuries and digestive problems, compared to control dogs.

The findings underscore the need for early diagnosis and effective management of HSHA to improve the welfare of affected dogs, prevent potential relinquishments or euthanasia, and enhance the quality of life for their owners. Future research should focus on longitudinal studies with larger and more diverse populations to develop targeted strategies for managing HSHA in dogs, ultimately fostering healthier and happier human-animal relationships.

Laboratory rodent housing often fails to meet rodents' behavioral and physiological needs. We previously found that compared to well-resourced (often called 'enriched') housing, conventional cages increase mortality rates and the morbidity of stress-sensitive experimentally-induced diseases (anxiety, cancer, cardiovascular disease, depression, stroke). This systematic review and meta-analysis updates and re-analyzes this dataset, and supplements it with an author survey (via protocol https://hdl.handle.net/10214/26983), to test the hypothesis that cages meeting more needs are better for rodent health. This hypothesis predicts that providing more types of resources ('enrichments' meeting different needs) will result in dose-dependent health benefits. We also explored whether this relationship was linear (such that each additional resource has equivalent value), or instead reflected diminishing welfare returns (perhaps even reaching a plateau), as a plausible alternative. Updating previous searches (May 24, 2020, updated May 6, 2022, via Ovid, CABI, Web of Science, Proquest, SCOPUS) yielded 1589 further publications. After screening for inclusion criteria (published in English, using mice or rats, and providing resources in long-term housing), this yielded 48 new articles, totaling 233 unique articles in the combined dataset (using 4953 mice, 2611 rats). Each beneficial resource type (additional space, burrowing substrates, chewing/gnawing materials, environmental complexity, foraging opportunities, fresh plant material or its odours, nesting material, shelters, sweet or high fat food, wheels) was given one point if added to well-resourced cages, up to a potential maximum of ten (with well-resourced cages in practice supplying 1–5 additional resources over control conditions). The prediction of dose-dependent benefits was met for disease morbidity: as more resource-types were supplied (compared to controls), health benefits linearly increased (F_1,164= 9.12, p = 0.0029) Each additional resource increased the standardized mean difference by 0.11 (0.04–0.19). No such effect occurred for mortality (F_1,13 = 0.59, p = 0.4565), but power here was low. Risk of bias (assessed using the Systematic Review Center for Laboratory animal Experimentation 'SYRCLE' tool) in included studies was high; however, overall effects were large and confidence in the analysis was considered high. Providing multiple resources is thus important for rodent health: here, providing up to five additional resource-types (the maximum we could assess) steadily reduced morbidity. However, there was no evidence of diminishing returns (let alone plateau effects) over this range, and so additional resources should be supplied to further improve rodent health and welfare (and perhaps even reach asymptotic levels). This research was funded by NSERC and UFAW.