Comparison of Two Different Feather Sampling Methods to Measure Corticosterone in Wild Greater Flamingos (Phoenicopterus roseus) and Wild Mallards (Anas platyrhynchos)
This research project had the aim to validate the possible alternative and less-painful sampling method of cutting feathers close to the skin instead of plucking them for subsequent feather corticosterone analysis, confirming recently-published results for other species in captivity. Analyzing CORTf is often used in animal welfare studies in combination with behavioral monitoring. The background […]
Novelty-seeking temperament in captive stumptail macaques (macaca arctoides) and spider monkeys (ateles geoffroyi)
Novelty-seeking temperament is defined as the reaction to novel or risk situations and objects, and by the global disposition to explore such stimuli. Our purpose was to describe and compare this trait in primates. For this purpose, a risk-taking Index, a curiosity index, and a novelty-seeking index were correlated to several biosocial variables using 22 […]
A comparative study of white blood cell counds and disease risk in carnivores.
In primates, baseline levels of white blood cell (WBC) counts are related to mating promiscuity. It was hypothesized that differences in the primate immune system reflect pathogen risks from sexually transmitted diseases (STDs). Here, we test for the generality of this result by examining hypotheses involving behavioural, ecological and life-history factors in carnivores. Again, we […]