Survey of reproduction and calf rearing in Asian and African elephants in European zoos

This document is a version of a published work that appeared in final form in Journal of Zoo and Aquarium Research. To access the final edited and published work see http://www.jzar.org/jzar/article/view/161.Acyclicity, conception failure, abortion, stillbirth, dystocia, infanticide and neonatal mortality have all been reported as causes of reproductive failure in zoo elephants. These events are often reported as single case reports or in specific studies focused on a particular stage in the reproductive process. In North America wider surveys of reproduction in the zoo elephant population have been completed and repeated to provide data over a number of years. This study is the largest and most comprehensive study of reproduction in the European zoo elephant population to date. Two questionnaires collected data from throughout the reproductive process from assessing cyclicity to independence of the calf at 5 years old. Information was collected regarding 189 birth events. Many causative and contributing factors such as obesity, infectious disease, husbandry, facilities, stress, behaviour, herd size and social grouping have been proposed. The importance of these was assessed and where possible association identified using statistical analysis. In African elephants, this study found that age, obesity, reproductive pathology and dominance, identified as important risk factors for failure to conceive in the American zoo elephant population were of low importance. The most significant cause in Europe was lack of access to a compatible bull. In Asian elephants reproductive failure was much less common but when it did occur age and reproductive pathologies were significant factors as found in previous studies. Previous studies have found that age, obesity and infanticide were considered as the most important risk factors in the period from birth to rearing. In this survey it was found that herd stability and compatibility, allomothering or maternal experience and management at parturition can significantly influence reproductive success. Elephant Endotheliotropic Herpes virus was confirmed as the biggest cause of calf mortality. This work provides evidence to support changes to elephant management in European zoos in order to encourage development of social and affiliative herd behaviours and improve reproductive success

How Useful Are Existing Protocols in the Quick Assessment of the Welfare of Semi-Feral Horses? Pilot Study on Konik Polski Horses Living in the Forest Sanctuary

Scientifically validated and standardised methods for the evaluation of the welfare of free-living horses are urgently needed by both the owners and managers of these populations and those responsible for implementing national welfare legislation. The aim of the study was to test the feasibility and usefulness of two welfare protocols that could be applied to semi-feral populations: a prototype of welfare assessment template (WAT) for Carneddau semi-feral ponies and the IFCE/INRAE Horse Welfare Protocol. Additionally, the body condition scale designed by Henneke (BCS-H) was employed. The study took place in July/August 2022 and April 2023 to evaluate the welfare of a pilot population of nineteen semi-feral Konik polski horses. The horses scored high or satisfactory under indicators across both protocols; only body condition scores were significantly lower in early spring (BCS-WAT: 1.11 ± 0.57; BCS-H: 3.84 ± 1.17) than in the summer (BCS-WAT: 1.58 ± 0.61; BCS-H: 5.63 ± 1.01). Our study confirmed the feasibility of utilising most of the WAT and IFCE/INRAE welfare indicators in semi-feral horses. Some adaptations, such as considering validation of scales, positive welfare indicators and animals’ free-choice of conditions, have been suggested for future in-field application

Correction: Wiśniewska et al. Heterospecific Fear and Avoidance Behaviour in Domestic Horses (<i>Equus caballus</i>). <i>Animals</i> 2021, <i>11</i>, 3081.

From Europe PMC via Jisc Publications RouterHistory: ppub 2022-08-01, epub 2022-08-10Publication status: PublishedThe authors wish to make the following correction to this paper [...]

Correction: Heterospecific Fear and Avoidance Behaviour in Domestic Horses (Equus caballus). Wiśniewska et al. Animals 2021, 11, 3081

© 2022 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) licenseCorrection to original articlen/

Female clustering in cockroach aggregations – a case of social niche construction?

This is the peer reviewed version of the following article: Stanley, C. R., Liddiard Williams, H. & Preziosi, R. F. (2018). Female clustering in cockroach aggregations: a case of social niche construction? Ethology, 124(0), which will be published in final form at https://doi.org/10.1111/eth.12799. This article may be used for non-commercial purposes in accordance with Wiley Terms and Conditions for Self-ArchivingIndividuals in groups can suffer costs through interactions with adversarial or unknown conspecifics. Social niche construction allows individuals to buffer such potential costs by only engaging in preferred associations. This may be particularly beneficial in insect aggregations, which are often large and highly fluid. However, little is known regarding the structuring of such aggregations. Here we use social network analyses to test for fine-scale social structure in resting aggregations of the sub-social cockroach Diploptera punctata and to explore the social pressures that contribute towards such structure. We showed that females were significantly more gregarious than males and formed the core of the proximity network, thus demonstrating a higher level of social integration. This fine-scale structure is likely to result from females displacing males; females initiated most displacements whilst males received the majority. We explain this behaviour in terms of social niche construction by showing that females received significantly fewer approaches and investigations at more female-biased local sex ratios. We therefore suggest that female social clustering occurs in this, and presumably other, species to reduce potential costs associated with male harassment. This demonstrates how social niche construction can lead to higher level social structure; we suggest this approach could be used across a range of species in order to improve our understanding of the evolution of sociality

Social stability in semiferal ponies: networks show interannual stability alongside seasonal flexibility

Long-term relationships that underlie many stable mammalian groups often occur between philopatric kin. Although stable groups of nonrelatives appear to be less common, there is increasing evidence that social bonds between nonkin may confer sufficient intrinsic fitness benefits for these groups to persist. Here we evaluate whether social stability occurs in a bisexually dispersing species where social bonds have been shown to have reproductive benefits: the feral horse, Equus caballus. First, we quantified female social stability by applying a three-level framework to a 3-year data set of associations in semiferal ponies; this tested for stability at the individual, dyadic and subpopulation levels. Despite the relative weakness of these female bonds, we found significant social stability across all levels, as shown by stable association preferences, social networks and individual network positions. Second, we investigated how seasonality impacts on social bond strength and grouping patterns. We found seasonal fluctuations in female gregariousness, with a peak during the mating season. We therefore propose that significant social stability in female horses is coupled with a degree of flexibility that allows for effects of ecological fluctuations. Although social network analysis is widely used in behavioural ecological research, this is one of only a handful of studies to assess the temporal dynamics of networks over a significant timescale. Temporal stability in female relationships suggests that equid social structures are multifaceted: although bonds between stallions and mares are clearly strong, long-term relationships between mares underpin the social network structure. We suggest this framework could be used to assess social stability in other group-living species in order to improve our understanding of the nature of social bonds

Heterospecific Fear and Avoidance Behaviour in Domestic Horses ( Equus caballus )

From MDPI via Jisc Publications RouterHistory: accepted 2021-10-27, pub-electronic 2021-10-28Publication status: PublishedRidden horses have been reported to be fearful of cows. We tested whether cows could provoke behavioural and cardiac fear responses in horses, and whether these responses differ in magnitude to those shown to other potential dangers. Twenty horses were exposed to cow, a mobile object or no object. The time spent at different distances from the stimulus was measured. In a separate test, heart rate (HR), root mean square of successive differences between heartbeats (RMSSD) and the horses’ perceived fear were assessed at various distances from the stimuli. The horses avoided the area nearest to all stimuli. During hand-leading, the cow elicited the highest HR and lowest RMSSD. Led horses’ responses to the cow and box were rated as more fearful as the distance to the stimulus decreased. Mares had a higher HR than geldings across all tests. HR positively correlated with the fearfulness rating at the furthest distance from the cow and box, and RMSSD negatively correlated with this rating in cow and control conditions. Our results show that these horses’ avoidance response to cows was similar or higher to that shown towards a novel moving object, demonstrating that potentially, both neophobia and heterospecific communication play a role in this reaction

Camera Traps Confirm the Presence of the White-naped Mangabey Cercocebus lunulatus in Cape Three Points Forest Reserve, Western Ghana

The white-naped mangabey Cercocebus lunulatus is severely threatened by logging, mining, and hunting. In the last decade, wild populations have been confirmed in just three forested areas in Ghana and a handful of sites in neighboring Côte d’Ivoire and Burkina Faso. Sightings of this species were recently reported in a fourth area in Ghana, the Cape Three Points Forest Reserve, a forest patch in western Ghana, 60 km from the nearest recorded wild population, which is in the Ankasa Conservation Area. We deployed 14 camera traps across 21 different locations throughout the reserve, with the intention of confirming the presence of this species. Images of the white-naped mangabey were captured at four locations, consolidating recent evidence for a fourth sub-population of this species in Ghana and providing only the second-ever photograph of a wild member of this species in the country. We observed evidence of numerous illegal anthropogenic activities in the reserve, which threaten these mangabeys, and we make recommendations for the protection of the reserve, essential for the conservation of this highly endangered species

Molecular Biomarkers for the Evaluation of Colorectal Cancer

Objectives: To develop evidence-based guideline recommendations through a systematic review of the literature to establish standard molecular biomarker testing of colorectal cancer (CRC) tissues to guide epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) therapies and conventional chemotherapy regimens