Gum-feeder as environmental enrichment for marmosets and tamarins

Tamarins and marmosets are small‐bodied social callitrichines. Wild callitrichines feed on exudates, such as sap and gum; particularly, marmosets are mainly gummivores, while tamarins consume gums only occasionally and opportunistically. Zoo marmosets and tamarins are usually provided with gum arabic as an alternative to the exudates normally found in the wild. The aim of this study was to evaluate the effects of a gum feeder on the behavior and well‐being of four zoo‐managed callitrichines. We studied four cotton‐top tamarins (Saguinus oedipus), four red‐handed tamarins (S. midas), two pygmy marmosets (Cebuella pygmaea), and three Geoffroy's marmosets (Callithrix geoffroyi) housed at Parco Natura Viva (Italy). We conducted the study over two different periods, a baseline (control, without the gum feeder) and then a gum feeder (when the gum feeder was provided) period. We used continuous focal animal sampling to collect behavioral data, including durations of social and individual behaviors. We collected 240 min of observations per period per study subject, with a total of 3,120 min for all the subjects in the same period and of 6,240 min in both periods. We analyzed data by using nonparametric statistical tests. First, we found that the gum feeder promoted species‐specific behaviors, such as exploration, and diminished self‐directed behaviors, suggesting an enriching effect on tamarin and marmoset behavior. Moreover, in red‐handed tamarins, the provision of the gum feeder reduced the performance of self‐directed and abnormal behavior, specifically coprophagy. These results confirm that gum feeders are effective foraging enrichment tools for zoo marmosets and tamarins

ECG Response of Koalas to Tourists Proximity: A Preliminary Study

Koalas operate on a tight energy budget and, thus, may not always display behavioral avoidance reaction when placed in a stressful condition. We investigated the physiological response of captive koalas Phascolarctos cinereus in a conservation centre to the presence of tourists walking through their habitat. We compared, using animal-attached data-recorders, the electrocardiogram activity of female koalas in contact with tourists and in a human-free area. One of the koalas in the tourist zone presented elevated heart rate values and variability throughout the recording period. The remaining female in the exhibit area showed a higher field resting heart rates during the daytime than that in the isolated area. In the evening, heart rate profiles changed drastically and both the koalas in the exhibit and in the tourist-free zones displayed similar field resting heart rates, which were lower than those during the day. In parallel, the autonomic nervous systems of these two individuals evolved from sympathetic-dominant during the day to parasympathetic-dominant in the evening. Our results report ECG of free-living koalas for the first time. Although they are preliminary due to the difficulty of having sufficient samples of animals of the same sex and age, our results stress out the importance of studies investigating the physiological reaction of animals to tourists

Is the judgment bias test a good tool to assess the quality of horse management?

Animal welfare should include the possibility of animals experiencing positive emotions. Emotions influence the cognitive process, and judgment bias tests (JBTs) are employed in different species, to assess the optimistic or pessimistic expectation of an individual and its affective state. Only recently the JBTs have been applied to horses. This research aims to investigate the relationship between a spatial JBT and hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis (HPA) chronic and acute activation in forty-one animals hosted in different kinds of environments: traditional stables (TS), natural boarding (NB), and ethological stable (ES). Fecal (FC) and horsehair (HC) cortisol concentrations were quantified for each subject through RadioImmuno-Assay (RIA). Body condition score (BCS), as an indirect index of animal motivation towards food, and personality traits were measured to explore their possible influence on JBT results. Horses had to distinguish a positive position (P), where a bucket full of food was positioned, from a negative one (N), with an empty bucket. Then, 3 intermediate positions (Near Negative-NN, Near positive-NP, and Medium-M) with an empty bucket were presented to the subject one at a time. Only 20 subjects out of 41 completed the JBT and were included in the statistical analysis, and both BCS and P position, whether at the right or the left of the subject, seems to have influenced the inclusion rate. Only the ES group registered a significantly lower score in NN, suggesting a more optimistic affective state, whereas NB and TS did not significantly differ in their responses. Despite this, horses from NB recorded higher FC concentration than TS subjects during all the phases of the test, but lower HC levels, which could suggest a generally lower level of chronic stress but its interpretation presents several confounding factors. These results put into question whether JBT is indeed a good test to monitor the quality of the management, as it does not seem to reflect the chronic physiological state of the animals and could be influenced by a state of acute stress, caused by the test procedure. Due to these confounding factors, this procedure should be accompanied by other indicators. Finally, to include more animals and exclude possible biases, the structure of the JBT and the employment of food as a reward should be evaluated considering the peculiarities of the species and individual motivations

Domestic cats\u2019 choice for conspecifics\u2019 images: preliminary findings

DOMESTIC CATS\u2019 CHOICE FOR CONSPECIFICS\u2019 IMAGES: PRELIMINARY FINDINGS Carloni E1, Calori A1, De Cesare S1, Accorsi PA1 1 Dept. Veterinary Medical Sciences, University of Bologna, Via Tolara di Sopra 50, I-40064 Ozzano Emilia (BO), Italy. Corresponding author [email protected] Sixty-three neutered domestic cats were tested for their preference for photographs of intact adult male and female domestic cats, and kittens. Based on behavioural data, pointing to a higher adult social tolerance level in male rather than female cats, we hypothesized that a majority of the experimental subjects, irrespectively of their sex, would preferentially approach Male pictures and prefer to eat close to a portrayed Male rather than Female or Kitten. We expected this preference to be sharper in females and influenced by social experience. Experimental procedure consisted in simultaneously presenting the subject with 4 pieces of food, each one positioned in front of a life-size picture of, respectively, an adult tom, an adult female, a kitten, a neutral background. Each cat was tested 4 times at a 14-day interval, being exposed on the whole to 4 different Males\u2019, 4 different Females\u2019 and 4 different Kittens\u2019 pictures, each category\u2019s position being shifted across trials to avoid orientation biases. Cats (41 household, 22 group-living in shelter, aged 1-16) were unfamiliar to depicted subjects and tested singly in a familiar room. First approach and choice of the food item placed in front of one of the 4 categories were interpreted as greater tolerance of that category. Considering only the 1st response, 33% of 57 cats (6 excluded as unresponsive) chose a Male, 28% a Female, 21% a Kitten picture, the remainder 18% preferences going to the Background. These differences were non-significant; however 40.63% of 32 females chose a Male, whereas only 24% males did so; Female images were chosen 28% times by female and male cats alike; Kitten and Background ones were chosen more frequently by males (24%) than females (18.75 and 12.50% resp.): predictions are partly met. Keywords: cat, photographic images, social preferenc

Anogenital scent-marking signals fertility in a captive female Alaotran gentle lemur

The Lake Alaotra gentle lemur (Hapalemur alaotrensis) is one of the 25 most endangered primates in the world and shows low success rate in captive breeding programmes. It is therefore vital to further understand its reproductive biology. We studied a captive troop consisting of five individuals hosted at Jersey Zoo during breeding and non-breeding periods over 1 year. We collected behavioural data (n = 318 h) using all occurrence of some behaviours and ad libitum sampling methods, as well as faecal (n = 54) and anogenital scent (n = 35) samples of the breeding female. We measured sex hormone levels using enzyme immunoassay technique and investigated the volatile component of odour signals using solid-phase microextraction and gas chromatography-mass spectrometry. We observed sexual and aggressive behaviours occasionally during the breeding period. Our regression analysis showed that only period significantly predicted rates of female anogenital scent-marking, whereby the female performed anogenital scent-marking more frequently during the breeding rather than the non-breeding period. In contrast, female hormone levels did not significantly explain variation in rates of neither male nor female olfactory, sexual and affiliative behaviours, suggesting that individuals' behaviour alone is not an effective indicator of the ovulation window. The volatile chemical profile of anogenital odour secretions changed over the study, with four compounds distinguishing the fertile window during the breeding period. In conclusion, our findings suggest that anogenital scent-marking may signal the reproductive status of captive female gentle lemurs

Synthesis and near-infrared luminescence of a deuterated conjugated porphyrin dimer for probing the mechanism of non-radiative deactivation.

beta,meso,beta-Fused porphyrin oligomers have many attractive photophysical features such as strong absorption in the near-IR at wavelengths greater than 1000 nm, and high two-photon cross sections. However their ultrafast S(1)-S(0) deactivation (k(d) > 10(11) s(-1)) limits potential applications. We have synthesised a deuterated fused porphyrin dimer to test whether deuteration influences the rate of non-radiative deactivation. An efficient synthetic strategy was developed, starting with deuteration of dipyrromethane. Deuteration of the zinc porphyrin dimer does not affect its fluorescence quantum yield in CD(2)Cl(2)(Phi(fD)/Phi(fH)= 1.00 +/- 0.05). This implies that the ultrafast non-radiative deactivation is not simply a consequence of the small S(1)-S(0) energy gap. Comparison with other conjugated porphyrin oligomers confirms that the deactivation rate in the edge-fused oligomers is faster than would be expected from the energy gap law. This result indicates that it should be possible to create near-IR dyes with similar S(1)-S(0) energy gaps to the beta,meso,beta-fused porphyrin oligomers but with slower rates of S(1)-S(0) decay

Influence of heat stress or feed restriction on plasma progesterone, oestradiol-17 beta, LH, FSH, prolactin and cortisol in Holstein heifers

The aim of the study was to compare the effects of heat stress and feed restriction on hormonal secretion (progesterone, oestradiol-17 beta, luteinizing hormone, follicle-stimulating hormone, prolactin and cortisol) in Holstein heifers. Ten pubertal heifers were divided into two groups of five (A and B) and housed in climatic chambers. After a pre-experimental period, the heifers were synchronised for oestrus and monitored for three (group B) or four (group A) consecutive oestrus cycles (OC). In the first OC, both groups were maintained under thermal comfort (TC) and fed on an ad libitum basis. In the second OC, group A was maintained under TC whereas group B was exposed to high air temperatures (HAT); both groups were fed on an ad libitum basis. In the third OC and until day 17 of the fourth OC, group A was kept under TC and fed a restricted diet (the same ration ingested by group B under HAT). At the end of HAT exposure, group B was removed from the study. Exposure to HAT caused development of ovarian cysts in two heifers, an increase in plasma concentrations of prolactin, a decrease in concentrations of cortisol and progesterone, and a 23% reduction in dry matter intake. Feed restriction did not modify any of the parameters considered. Results of this study indicated that the effects of HAT on the above parameters are not altered by a reduction in feed intake. (C) 2001 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved

I palchi dei cervidi: il caso di un capriolo (Caprelus capreolus) \u201cparruccato\u201d

I maschi di quasi tutte le specie di Cervidi attuali hanno due appendici craniche caduche (stanghe) costituite da tessuto osseo che nel complesso formano il palco e che si rigenerano ogni anno. Il ciclo, annuale, \ue8 strettamente legato alle fluttuazioni plasmatiche dei livelli di testosterone ed \ue8, alle nostre latitudini, influenzato dal fotoperiodo. In tutte le fasi dello sviluppo del palco sono coinvolti numerose cellule e tessuti che formeranno strutture pi\uf9 o meno complesse. Sono note diverse condizioni patologiche cui fanno seguito alterazioni dello sviluppo di tali appendici. Il caso presenta un piccolo maschio di capriolo (Capreolus capreolus), trovato nella primavera 2005 nella provincia di Pistoia (44\ub000\u2019N, 11\ub000\u2019E). Durante il primo anno ha mostrato una permanenza delle stanghe con velluto e una ripresa della crescita alla base delle stesse nell\u2019autunno 2006, caratterizzata da una proliferazione continua e disordinata simil-tumorale, che ne ha causato il decesso nel maggio dello stesso anno. Esami clinici sull\u2019animale, effettuati nel mese di marzo, non hanno evidenziato alterazioni morfologiche, mentre bassi erano i livelli ematici di testosterone (0,23 ng/ml) tipici, per questa specie, del periodo autunnale, quando i livelli sono minim