Abnormal swimming is associated with inner ear damage and improves with meclizine treatment and increased habitat complexity: A case study in Urobatis jamaicensis
At the Seas with Nemo and Friends® exhibit (Lake Buena Vista, Florida, USA), a yellow stingray Urobatis jamaicensis was diagnosed with a Mycobacterium chelonae infection of the inner ear. The animal was moved to an isolated environment for treatment. One element of therapy included meclizine which was administered in an attempt to reduce the occurrence […]
Aquarium Visitors Catch Some Rays: Rays Are More Active in the Presence of More Visitors
Humans are a constant in the lives of captive animals, but the effects of human–animal interactions vary. Research on the welfare impacts of human–animal interactions focus predominantly on mammals, whereas fish have been overlooked. To address this lack of research, we assessed the impacts of aquarium visitors on the behaviors of ten members of four […]
Location, Location, Location! Evaluating Space Use of Captive Aquatic Species; A Case Study with Elasmobranchs
The space use of captive animals has been reliably used as a tool to measure animal welfare in recent years. However, most analyses of space use focus primarily on terrestrial animals, with very little emphasis placed on the space use of aquatic animals. By comparing the space use of these animals to their natural histories […]
Observations on the use of passive integrated transponder (PIT) tags in teleosts and elasmobranchs at a public aquarium, 728 cases, 2007–2020
Between 2007 and 2020 at New England Aquarium, Boston, MA, USA, we implanted passive integrated transponder (PIT) tags into 728 fish representing 105 teleost and elasmobranch species to identify animals as individuals. At the time of retrospective data analysis, mean longevity interval (median, range) after tag placement for animals that remained alive (n = 236) was 4.7 […]
Ultrasound examination and behavior scoring of captive broadnose sevengill sharks, Notorynchus cepedianus (Peron, 1807)
Abstract 10.1002/zoo.20155.abs Serial ultrasound examination of four mature female sevengill sharks (Notorynchus cepedianus) was carried out over 18 months. Monitoring the reproductive cycle and development of follicles and fetuses in sharks in a noninvasive manner using this technique has not been reported previously. Sharks were caught out of the “Oceanarium” tank by divers using a […]
Evaluation of intramuscular ketoprofen and butorphanol as analgesics in chain dogfish (Scyliorhinus retifer)
Abstract 10.1002/zoo.20105.abs The mediation of nociception with analgesic medications has not been well documented in elasmobranchs. The purpose of this study was to determine effective analgesic doses of the opioid agonist-antagonist, butorphanol, and the non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug, ketoprofen, in an elasmobranch. This was evaluated by repetitively assessing minimum anesthetic concentrations of the immersion anesthetic, tricaine […]
Notes on the long-term transport of the scalloped hammerhead shark (Sphyrna lewini)
Abstract 10.1002/zoo.10019.abs The capture and transport of scalloped hammerhead sharks (Sphyrna lewini Griffith and Smith, 1834) historically has represented a difficult, expensive, and uncertain undertaking for the public aquarium community. In this study, techniques were developed to improve the successful long-term transport of S. lewini by mitigating some of the deleterious effects associated with hyperactivity […]
Tooth loss rate from two captive sandtiger sharks (Carcharias taurus)
Abstract 10.1002/(SICI)1098-2361(1999)18:43.3.CO;2-4 For 6 months, two sandtiger sharks (Carcharias taurus) were held captive together in a small enclosure at the Lisbon Zoo. During that period, the gravel was monitored daily for teeth shed by the animals. At the end of their stay, the number of teeth divided by the number of days yielded a tooth […]
Captive husbandry and bioenergetics of the spiny butterfly ray, Gymnura altavela (Linnaeus)
Abstract 10.1002/(SICI)1098-2361(1996)15:23.3.CO;2-N Historically, gymnurid rays have not done well in a captive environment. This report describes success in maintaining two specimens of the spiny butterfly ray, Gymnura altavela, in captivity. An aggressive husbandry protocol of tube feeding and force feeding maintained energy levels until the rays began to feed on their own. The rays used […]
Male-female interactions affect foraging behaviour within groups of small-spotted catshark, Scyliorhinus canicula
To examine potential effects of male-female interactions on the sexes’ foraging behaviour, we studied equal-sized, single- and mixed-sex groups of a benthic elasmobranch, the small-spotted catshark, in response to electric stimuli. A total of 88 size-matched, adult individuals were repeatedly presented with a range of artificial, prey type electric fields (E fields) under laboratory conditions […]