Incorporating circadian and circannual rhythms into welfare assessments of zoo-housed animals

Zoos must conduct thorough welfare assessments to determine how well animals in their care are faring, and also understand the many factors which affect particular welfare states, so they can make appropriate interventions if needed. However, comprehensive welfare assessments require a lot of time and resources and there is no standard welfare assessment across zoos. In addition, an overarching factor that is not thoroughly understood is the effect that zoo environments have on welfare. This is particularly important when considering circadian rhythms. Circadian rhythms are adaptive physiological and behavioural changes that follow a 24-hr cycle. They are regulated by predictable external cues like light and temperature, which may be different in a captive environment. In this thesis I aim to address these issues by first collaborating with the Royal Zoological Society of Scotland Edinburgh Zoo to make their welfare assessment tool more efficient and reliable. I addressed efficiency by analysing concordance between assessors and determining whether the number of assessors could be reduced without losing reliability. I addressed reliability further by developing an evidence-based protocol for responding to behavioural and environmental questions that incorporate the assessment of daily rhythms and enclosure use. To demonstrate the importance of incorporating full circadian and circannual rhythms into the assessment of welfare and how circadian rhythms can illuminate the effects of the zoo environment, I conducted a study on giant pandas housed in zoos around the world, observing behavioural cycles across one year. Results indicate that giant pandas have clear circadian and circannual behavioural rhythms that are associated with life stage and sex, regulated by light, temperature and zoo specific external cues, and affected by latitudinal location. Overall, this thesis provides information and evidence on how zoos can take a holistic, evidenced-based approach to understanding the needs of their animals to consequently improve welfare and conservation efforts

La Problemática de los gatos cimarrones

Treball presentat a la Facultat de Veterinària de la Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona.Treball presentat a l'assignatura de Deontologia i Veterinària Legal (21223

In a long-winded road: Understanding the lived experiences of faculty members on module writing in the new normal

The COVID-19 pandemic has caused unprecedented difficulties and obstacles for educational sectors, with no one knowing when it will end. The number of illnesses continued to rise while countries worldwide established plans and processes to limit the virus. To maintain and deliver a high-quality education notwithstanding community quarantine, the new normal should be incorporated into the formulation and implementation of the "new normal educational policy." Thus, this qualitative study sought to develop a deeper understanding of teachers' experiences in module writing. Specifically, it explored the challenges they experienced and identified the coping mechanisms they employed. A total of 15 participants were purposely selected who took part in an individual in-depth and semi-structured interview. The themes emerged as the challenges of the faculty members, namely: Insufficient training on module writing, lack of books & other resources, subjects are not in line with the field of specialization, overloaded number of subject preparations, and inadequate office supplies/equipment for reproduction of modules. Further, the themes on the coping mechanisms include collaboration with colleagues, self-motivation, proper time management, and initiative and resourcefulness. Hence, the faculty member's best practices and coping mechanisms to improve their teaching through module writing were indicators that they want to grow and embrace professional development. On the other hand, to address the identified problems, a proposed enhancement program will be initiated. The platform focused on Strengthening the “Campus’ Instructional Materials Development Program” and enhancing campus activities on developing instructional materials

In the back of your mind: Cortical mapping of paraspinal afferent inputs

Topographic organisation is a hallmark of vertebrate cortex architecture, characterised by ordered projections of the body's sensory surfaces onto brain systems. High-resolution functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) has proven itself as a valuable tool to investigate the cortical landscape and its (mal-)adaptive plasticity with respect to various body part representations, in particular extremities such as the hand and fingers. Less is known, however, about the cortical representation of the human back. We therefore validated a novel, MRI-compatible method of mapping cortical representations of sensory afferents of the back, using vibrotactile stimulation at varying frequencies and paraspinal locations, in conjunction with fMRI. We expected high-frequency stimulation to be associated with differential neuronal activity in the primary somatosensory cortex (S1) compared with low-frequency stimulation and that somatosensory representations would differ across the thoracolumbar axis. We found significant differences between neural representations of high-frequency and low-frequency stimulation and between representations of thoracic and lumbar paraspinal locations, in several bilateral S1 sub-regions, and in regions of the primary motor cortex (M1). High-frequency stimulation preferentially activated Brodmann Area (BA) regions BA3a and BA4p, whereas low-frequency stimulation was more encoded in BA3b and BA4a. Moreover, we found clear topographic differences in S1 for representations of the upper and lower back during high-frequency stimulation. We present the first neurobiological validation of a method for establishing detailed cortical maps of the human back, which might serve as a novel tool to evaluate the pathological significance of neuroplastic changes in clinical conditions such as chronic low back pain

Latitudinal and zoo specific zeitgebers influence circadian and circannual rhythmicity of behavior in captive giant pandas (Ailuropoda melanoleuca)

IntroductionThe circadian clock influences many aspects of animal welfare including metabolism, breeding, and behavior. In most species, circadian clocks are internal clocks regulated by external environmental cues called zeitgebers. The most common zeitgebers are light/dark cycles, food, and temperature. However, within captive environments, animals can be housed at latitudes with different light/dark cycles than their natural habitat and most other zeitgebers are controlled by humans. The effects that modified zeitgebers have on captive animals’ circadian and circannual rhythmicity is largely unknown. To explore this and potential welfare implications, we measured and analyzed observational behavioral data of zoo-housed giant pandas for one year utilizing live camera footage from six zoos across the world. The worldwide distribution of the zoos gives us the unique opportunity to investigate how housing giant pandas within and outside of their natural latitudinal range can affect circadian rhythmicity and behavior.MethodsFocal sampling was completed for 11 giant pandas each month for 12 consecutive months to gain an estimate of one circannual cycle. Within each month, we estimated one daylight or 24 h cycle of activity/behavior by conducting 10-min observation sessions systemically each hour the pandas were visible.ResultsZero-inflated negative binomial mixture models found that latitude is associated with activity levels, with pandas housed outside of their natural latitudinal range displaying less activity than those within their latitudinal range. Amount of daylight, temperature minimum, and temperature range were also associated with activity cycles, potentially acting as zeitgebers. An association between sexual-related and stereotypic behavioral cycles was found, with the circannual cycles fluctuating in synchrony throughout several points in a year.DiscussionThese results indicate that changes to common zeitgebers and environmental conditions can influence circadian and circannual cycles. The widespread evolution of circadian rhythms suggests an adaptive advantage to possessing one in an environment with cyclical changes, allowing species to anticipate changes in their environment and respond accordingly. Therefore, although animals are highly adaptive, creating a captive environment that mimics the environmental conditions for which the animal has evolved can encourage naturalistic cycles that ultimately aid in promoting positive welfare states and increasing chances of successful breeding and conservation

Reduced salivary oxytocin after an empathic induction task in Intimate Partner Violence perpetrators: Importance of socio-affective functions and its impact on prosocial behavior

Intimate Partner Violence (IPV) has been linked to difficulties in socio-affective functions. Nevertheless, the underlying psychobiological mechanisms that might be responsible for them remain unclear. Oxytocin (OXT) stands out as an important hormone that may favor the salience of social information, due to its relevance in empathy and prosocial behavior. Thus, the study of salivary OXT (sOXT) may provide further information about potential impairments in social cognition in IPV perpetrators. This study analyzed the effects of an empathic induction task, performed through negative emotion-eliciting videos, on endogenous sOXT levels, mood state, and emotional perception in 30 IPV perpetrators compared to 32 controls. Additionally, we explored their performance on prosocial behavior after the empathic induction task, using Hare''s donation procedure. Lower sOXT levels were found in IPV perpetrators after the task compared to controls, along with a general decreasing tendency in their sOXT levels. Additionally, IPV perpetrators exhibited no change in their mood state and perceived others'' emotions as more positive and less intense. Moreover, the mood state response and alexithymia traits, respectively, positively and negatively predicted the sOXT levels after the empathic induction task in the entire sample. Finally, we did not observe a lower appearance of prosocial behaviors in IPV perpetrators; however, higher sOXT levels after the empathic induction task were found in subjects who donated when considering the whole sample. In sum, IPV perpetrators exhibited differences in their sOXT levels when empa-thizing, compared to controls, with alexithymia and the emotional response potentially explaining the sOXT levels after the task. Furthermore, prosocial behavior was more related to these sOXT levels than to IPV. As our knowledge about the emotional processing of IPV perpetrators increases, we will be better able to develop and include coadjutant treatments in current psychotherapeutic programs, in order to focus on their emotional needs, which, in turn, would reduce the future risk of recidivism