Water bathing alters the speed-accuracy trade-off of escape flights in European starlings

Birds of most species regularly bathe in water, but the function of this behaviour is unknown. We tested the hypothesis that water bathing is important in feather maintenance, and hence should enhance flight performance. We manipulated European starlings', Sturnus vulgaris, access to bathing water in a 2 × 2 design: birds were housed in aviaries either with or without water baths for a minimum of 3 days (long-term access) before being caught and placed in individual cages either with or without water baths for a further 24 h (short-term access). We subsequently assessed the speed and accuracy of escape flights through an obstacle course of vertical strings. Birds that had bathed in the short-term flew more slowly and hit fewer strings than birds that were deprived of bathing water in the short term, whereas long-term access to bathing water had no significant effect on flight performance. Thus recent access to bathing water alters flight performance by altering the trade-off between escape flight speed and accuracy. We hypothesize that lack of bathing water provision could increase anxiety in captive starlings because of an increase in their perceived vulnerability to predation. This study therefore potentially provides an important functional link between the expression of natural behaviours in captivity and welfare considerations. © 2009 The Association for the Study of Animal Behaviour

To swim or not to swim: an interpretation of farmed mink's motivation for a water bath

How an animal’s behavioural (ethological) needs can be met is a pivotal issue in the assessment of welfare for captive animals. The value of swimming water for farmed mink is an example how scientific and societal questions relating to animal welfare can be answered. A number of studies have addressed the issue of the indispensability of swimming water for mink; however, so far with inconclusive evidence. In this paper, the results of these studies and related literature are reviewed. First, the biological definition of need is discussed. Subsequently, attention is paid to the effects of the presence, absence and the removal of swimming water on behavioural and physiological correlates of well-being including stereotypic and anticipatory behaviour and urinary cortisol. Thereafter we discuss individual differences in the use of swimming water, the price animals pay for access to a water bath, and the effect of access to swimming water on juvenile play. The main conclusions of the literature review are that 1) the use of a water bath for mink is most likely related to foraging behaviour (foraging areas: land and water); 2) absence of swimming water, without prior experience, does not lead to consistent changes in level of stereotypic behaviour, or anticipatory responses; 3) removal of a previously experienced water bath may induce short-term stress as indicated by behavioural parameters and elevated cortisol responses; 4) mink work hard for access to a swimming bath and running wheel in consumer demand studies. Other cage modifications such as tunnels and biting objects, may also provide environmental enrichment, if they are added to otherwise impoverished conditions; 5) There are individual differences in the use of swimming water: these are related in part to variation in prior experience of aquatic resources.; 6) As prior experience is important both with respect to individual use of swimming water and the response to deprivation, swimming water can not be described as biological need in the sense of a fixed requirement for survival. As swimming water appears to act as an incentive that induces its own motivation a more accurate term may be an “incentive induced or environmentally facilitated need”. Given the available evidence, it is not possible to conclude whether mink that have never experienced swimming water, suffer as a consequence of its absence. However, it is possible to predict that mink with access to water have improved quality of life, due to increased behavioural opportunities, in comparison to farmed mink without access to swimming water. In practical terms, it is still open to debate whether mink should be provided with swimming water, or if alternative, less valued, but easier to install and maintain forms of environmental enrichment, should be provided in mink housing. To clarify these issues a number of future studies would be valuable. These include; 1) whether specific environmental cues affect motivation to swim, such as the form of drinking water delivery systems ; 2) whether prior experience of swimming water affects its incentive value; in other words “can you miss what you never experienced?”; 3) do behavioural parameters such as stereotypic behaviour; rebound effects and vacuum activity have any general utility in assessing the value of absent resources; 4) what are preferences for and the value of alternative resources which may act as substitutes for swimming water. In addition we would recommend further work investigating: relationship between access to swimming water and positive indicators of welfare such as play and/or anticipatory behaviour; the effects of preventing the performance of rewarding behaviours and deprivation of a previous experienced resource; and health and hygeine issues related to provision of a water bath. In future work, it would be desirable to present be the actual percentages of animals using a water bath during the experiment and the use of power analyses, to aid their interpretation

Interrelationship between contractility, protein synthesis and metabolism in mantle of juvenile cuttlefish (Sepia officinalis)

Young juvenile cuttlefish (Sepia officinalis) can grow at rates as high as 12% body weight per day. How the metabolic demands of such a massive growth rate impacts muscle performance that competes for ATP is unknown. Here, we integrate aspects of contractility, protein synthesis, and energy metabolism in mantle of specimens weighing 1.1 g to lend insight into the processes. Isolated mantle muscle preparations were electrically stimulated and isometric force development monitored. Preparations were forced to contract at 3 Hz for 30 s to simulate a jetting event. We then measured oxygen consumption, glucose uptake and protein synthesis in the hour following the stimulation. Protein synthesis was inhibited with cycloheximide and glycolysis was inhibited with iodoacetic acid in a subset of samples. Inhibition of protein synthesis impaired contractility and decreased oxygen consumption. An intact protein synthesis is required to maintain contractility possibly due to rapidly turning over proteins. At least, 41% of whole animal ṀO2 is used to support protein synthesis in mantle, while the cost of protein synthesis (50 μmol O2 mg protein-1) in mantle was in the range reported for other aquatic ectotherms. A single jetting challenge stimulated protein synthesis by approximately 25% (2.51-3.12% day-1) over a 1 h post contractile period, a similar response to that which occurs in mammalian skeletal muscle. Aerobic metabolism was not supported by extracellular glucose leading to the contention that at this life stage either glycogen or amino acids are catabolized. Regardless, an intact glycolysis is required to support contractile performance and protein synthesis in resting muscle. It is proposed that glycolysis is needed to maintain intracellular ionic gradients. Intracellular glucose at approximately 3 mmol L-1 was higher than the 1 mmol L-1 glucose in the bathing medium suggesting an active glucose transport mechanism. Octopine did not accumulate during a single physiologically relevant jetting challenge; however, octopine accumulation increased following a stress that is sufficient to lower Arg-P and increase free arginine.Agência financiadora Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC) NSERC CPB section of the Canadian Society of Zoologists Fundacao para a Ciencia e a Tecnologia (FCT) IF/00576/2014 Portuguese national funds from Programa Operacional Mar2020 (Portugal2020/FEAMP) - Project SEPIACUL 16-02-01-FMP-53 FCT through Plurennial UID/Multi/04326/2019 EMBRC. PT ALG-01-0145-FEDER-022121 Portuguese node of EMBRC-ERICinfo:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Laying hens in furnished cages

Concern for the welfare of laying hens housed in conventional cages has led to a change of the Animal Welfare Legislation in Sweden, implying that cages must provide possibilities for hens to lay eggs in a nest, to rest on a perch and to use litter. Such requirements are also being considered within the whole European Union. The purpose of this thesis is to contribute to the general knowledge of, and further development of, furnished cages, both as regards birds’ use of facilities and their welfare, as well as with regard to production. The furnished cages housed 6 to 16 birds and the genotypes included were the commercial hybrids Lohmann Selected Leghorn (LSL), Hy-Line White and Hy-Line Brown. Passive Integrated Transponders were used in order to record individual bird’s use of litter baths, nests and passages through pop holes in larger cages divided into two halves. With some exceptions, nest and perches were generally used by 80-90% of the birds, and nest use was affected by nest design. There was a very large variation in the number of days individual birds visited the litter bath, and almost 30% of the birds never entered the baths. Frequent use of litter affected neither a hen’s exterior appearance (feather cover, pecking wounds) nor her estimated level of stress. Providing cages for larger groups of hens with a partition with pop holes, in order to improve their escape possibilities, did not affect any of the measured welfare traits. However, the pop holes were frequently used and the cage proved to work in all practical aspects. Two different measures to reduce egg shell cracks, both reducing the speed of the eggs on their way out of the nest, proved to be very efficient. Egg production and mortality rates were normal and similar to levels recorded in conventional cages. Differences in behaviour, indicators of stress and fear, exterior egg quality and exterior appearance were identified between genotypes. In conclusion, most birds found nests and perches attractive, whereas litter was used to varying extents. With inexpensive measures to reduce egg cracks, the proportion of cracks can be reduced to the level found in conventional cages

Resuscitation and quantification of stressed Escherichia coli K12 NCTC8797 in water samples

The aim of this study was to investigate the impact on numbers of using different media for the enumeration of Escherichia coli subjected to stress, and to evaluate the use of different resuscitation methods on bacterial numbers. E. coli was subjected to heat stress by exposure to 55 °C for 1 h or to light-induced oxidative stress by exposure to artificial light for up to 8 h in the presence of methylene blue. In both cases, the bacterial counts on selective media were below the limits of detection whereas on non-selective media colonies were still produced. After resuscitation in non-selective media, using a multi-well MPN resuscitation method or resuscitation on membrane filters, the bacterial counts on selective media matched those on non-selective media. Heat and light stress can affect the ability of E. coli to grow on selective media essential for the enumeration as indicator bacteria. A resuscitation method is essential for the recovery of these stressed bacteria in order to avoid underestimation of indicator bacteria numbers in water. There was no difference in resuscitation efficiency using the membrane filter and multi-well MPN methods. This study emphasises the need to use a resuscitation method if the numbers of indicator bacteria in water samples are not to be underestimated. False-negative results in the analysis of drinking water or natural bathing waters could have profound health effects

Burden of Family Care-Givers and the Rationing in the Long Term Care Insurance Benefits of Japan

Long Term Care Insurance introduced in Japan in 2000 is rapidly turning into a system of rationed benefits due to financial difficulty. Based on our survey of 2500 family care-givers and the Zarit Care-Giver Burden Index, we have examined how these changes are affecting their subjective burden, following Kishida's seminary work. We have found evidence that (a)rationings in short-term-stays, day-services, or home-helper services, (b)disruptive or anti-social behaviors of the elderly, and (c)care-giver's own sleeping disorders are substantially adding to their burden. We have also found (d)a causal relationship where a higher burden is resulting in poor self-reported health.Long-term Care Insurance, Burden Index of Care-Givers, Rationning

Health and wellbeing benefits of conservation in New Zealand

Abstract: Despite a long-held popular belief that nature is ‘healthy’ for people, exactly how or even whether this is true has only recently been subject to scientific scrutiny. This report reviews key literature relevant to the relationship between conservation and health and wellbeing (HWB) benefits, with a particular focus on public conservation areas (PCAs) managed by the New Zealand Department of Conservation (DOC). The review takes a broad approach both to the types of natural environments that may offer HWB benefits and to the scope of HWB.Overall, there is a large body of internationally relevant modern research that suggests that exposure to natural environments has direct positive effects on human HWB. However, much of this research was either anecdotal or descriptive. Of the relatively small number of experimental studies that have rigorously tested differences between natural and non-natural settings, many of the positive effects were not statistically significant or related to very small sample groups. Therefore, further investigation of activities undertaken in PCAs and their HWB outcomes is required to better understand conservation/human HWB relationships in New Zealand. The report identifies sources of data and expertise that are required to further analyse the relationships between conservation investment and human health, discusses the value of conservation investment as measured by health outcomes, and describes measures that would improve the alignment between conservation management and potential HWB benefits in New Zealand. Recommendations focus on requirements for research relevant to New Zealand natural areas, and the need for an integrated approach between DOC, other managers of public natural areas, and managers and stakeholders in the health and volunteering sectors