Body condition assessment

Body condition score (BCS) is frequently used to evaluate animal management practises for a variety of animal species in zoological collections and for production animals. The aim of this study was to apply different body condition indices and evaluate if they can be used as a welfare assessment and management tool for captive and wild critically endangered radiated tortoises (Astrochelys radiata). Measurements of body mass and shell dimensions of 203 zoo kept radiated tortoises were collected for evaluation of three body condition indices (BCI) previously published for other tortoise species. Males, females and juvenile/unsexed animals were analysed separately and additional measurements from 90 confiscated radiated tortoises in Madagascar where collected and used as a comparison to the zoo kept animals in the formula using weight/straight carapace length for the calculations for predicted weight. A body condition score (BCS) chart previously published for the desert tortoise (Gopherus agassizii) was also applied to some of the animals and compared with the results of BCI to evaluate if this could be helpful in assessing the radiated tortoise body condition. Two of the formulas have potential to be a part of an assessment but with some precautions and consideration, to the sex of the animal, the age of the animal and other factors that may differ depending on the situation. Suggestions on how to use the formulas and how to maximize the benefit of the formulas are also made, from a management and husbandry improvement perspective. Further validation of the BCS chart is suggested in conjunction with training of the animals and the assessors.Olika typer a hullbedömningar används för att utvärdera djurhållningen på en rad olika djurarter som hålls i djurpark och även på produktionsdjur. Denna studie undersöker tre olika publicerade indexskalor för kroppskondition/hullbedömning som testas och utvärderas om de kan användas i välfärdsbedömning och skötsel av den akut hotade strålsköldpaddan (Astrochelys radiata). Data från 203 strålsköldpaddor i djurpark gällande mått på skal och vikt samlades in för analyser av tre tidigare publicerade formler som testats på andra sköldpaddsarter. Honor och hanar analyserades separat, dessutom analyserades ungdjur och icke könsbestämda individer som en grupp. Utöver det har Turtle survival alliance (TSA) Madagaskar bidragit med mått och vikter på 90 unga beslagtagna strålsköldpaddor för att kunna jämföra dessa med de individer som hålls i djurpark. Till denna jämförelse användes endast en av formlerna. Även en hullbedömningstabell framtagen för kontroll av ökensköldpaddan (Gopherus agassizii) testas av 20 av djurparkerna. Dels för att se om den går att använda till strålsköldpadda som en del av hullbedömningen och dels om den går att jämföra med de andra formlerna. Resultaten från två av de tre olika formlerna för att beräkna konditions index och den visuella bedömningsskalan har potential att användas, dock beror lämpligheten på omständigheter som djurets ålder, kön och på djurets personlighet. Rätt använt kan formlerna användas som ett komplement till hälsokontroller och även för att justera skötselrutiner, fodertillgång och andra skötselförbättringar för att optimera djurindividens fitness. Hullbedömningstabellen kan underlätta tidig upptäckt av problem som behöver justeras, dock behöver den ytterligare validering och de som ska använda den bör tränas för att säkerställa en konsekvent bedömning

Activity budget and behaviour of giant otters Pteronura brasiliensis at Parken Zoo, Eskilstuna, Sweden

Modern zoos must ensure the welfare and conservation of their captive animals. For this, it is recommended to provide cognitive stimuli (‘enrichment’), good habitat management and adequate nutrition amongst other things. Assessment of animal welfare should include behavioural observation. One frequently used approach compares the activity budget of zoo animals with their wild conspecifics, carefully interpreting resulting differences. Here, this method is used for giant otters Pteronura brasiliensis on a feeding regime with three fixed feeding times during the keeper’s working day, and ice blocks containing fish suspended above the pool, thawing over time and thus releasing fish well into the night. This time-delayed food dispensing was expected to make the subjects spend a large proportion of time foraging. Nevertheless, results show a lower feeding proportion than reported in the literature for this species in the wild (27% versus 64%), likely related to the fact that zoo animals did not have to hunt live prey. The captive otters also spent less time scent-marking (1% versus 9%), possibly due to the absence of other conspecific groups in their vicinity. By contrast, there was a higher proportion of resting (34% versus 21%) and affiliative behaviours (14% versus 1%), suggesting that shifts in the activity budget between natural habitats and zoos need not always be interpreted as indicators of reduced welfare. ‘Calling family members to food’, reported in the wild, was observed repeatedly when one family member was awake and the rest were asleep at a time that fish fell from the thawing block into the pool. Extending food distribution over time, particularly into the night, might develop behaviours other than increased feeding activity as indicators of welfare in captive giant otters. Further investigations with delayed feeding methods for this and other species are needed

The behavioural effects of feeding lean meat vs whole rabbit carcasses to zoo jaguars Panthera onca

The challenge of carnivore feeding in zoos is to stimulate natural feeding behaviour without using live prey animals. The objective of this study was to investigate how two different feed types (lean beef and whole rabbits) affect the behaviour of zoo jaguars Panthera onca for the first six hours after feed presentation. Three socially housed jaguars at Parken Zoo, Sweden, were offered either lean beef or whole rabbits for 10 consecutive feeding days. Their behaviour during and after feeding was videorecorded and then compared between the two feed types. When analysing the frequency of different behaviours for six hours after feeding, results confirm that feeding behaviour occurred significantly more frequently when whole rabbits were fed, particularly during the first hour after feed presentation. However, even though feeding time increased by more than 300%, this represents a change of less than 1% in terms of the overall proportion of a 24-hour budget. Future studies might investigate the effect of feeding jaguars larger carcasses than rabbits, including with more hours of observation

The Adhesion GPCR GPR125 is specifically expressed in the choroid plexus and is upregulated following brain injury

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>GPR125 belongs to the family of <it>Adhesion </it>G protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs). A single copy of GPR125 was found in many vertebrate genomes. We also identified a <it>Drosophila </it>sequence, DmCG15744, which shares a common ancestor with the entire Group III of <it>Adhesio</it>n GPCRs, and also contains Ig, LRR and HBD domains which were observed in mammalian GPR125.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>We found specific expression of GPR125 in cells of the choroid plexus using <it>in situ </it>hybridization and protein-specific antibodies and combined <it>in situ</it>/immunohistochemistry co-localization using cytokeratin, a marker specific for epithelial cells. Induction of inflammation by LPS did not change GPR125 expression. However, GPR125 expression was transiently increased (almost 2-fold) at 4 h after traumatic brain injury (TBI) followed by a decrease (approximately 4-fold) from 2 days onwards in the choroid plexus as well as increased expression (2-fold) in the hippocampus that was delayed until 1 day after injury.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>These findings suggest that GPR125 plays a functional role in choroidal and hippocampal response to injury.</p

Identification of a Neuronal Receptor Controlling Anaphylaxis

Allergic reactions can in severe cases induce a state of circulatory shock referred to as anaphylaxis. Histamine, the primary mediator of this condition, is released from immune cells, and, therefore, anaphylaxis has so far been considered an immune system disorder. However, we here show that the glutamatergic receptor mGluR7, expressed on a subpopulation of both peripheral and spinal cord neurons, controls histamine-induced communication through calcium-dependent autoinhibition with implications for anaphylaxis. Genetic ablation of mGluR7, and thus altered regulation of histamine-sensing neurons, caused an anaphylaxis-like state in mGluR7(-/-) mice, which could be reversed by antagonizing signaling between neurons and mast cells but not by antagonizing a central itch pathway. Our findings demonstrate the vital role of nervous system control by mGluR7 in anaphylaxis and open up possibilities for preventive strategies for this life-threatening condition