Is item hiding a good enrichment strategy to reduce stereotypic behaviors and increase social interactions in captive female spectacled bears?
Enrichment strategies are widely used to create stimuli to improve welfare of captive animals. A common strategy is to offer food items that provide physical, olfactory, and gustatory stimuli, by hiding these items or spreading them throughout the enclosure. Although both strategies are recommended as efficient in reducing stereotypic behaviors, few studies compare their effectiveness […]
Scaling of body temperature in mammals and birds
1.We examine variation associated with phylogeny in the scaling of body temperature in endotherms, using data from 596 species of mammal and 490 species of bird. 2. Among higher groups of mammals there is statistically significant scaling of body temperature with mass in Marsupialia (positive), Ferae and Ungulata (both negative). In mammalian orders where data […]
History and future of comparative analyses in sleep research
The comparative methods of evolutionary biology are a useful tool for investigating the functions of sleep. These techniques can help determine whether experimental results, derived from a single or few species, apply broadly across a specified group of animals. In this way, comparative analysis is a powerful complement to experimentation. The variation in the time […]
Fertility assessment of cheetah males with poor quality semen
Abstract 10.1002/zoo.1430120109.abs Reports on semen quality of the cheetah (Acinonyx jubatus) indicate that high percentages of abnormal morphs and sperm concentrations, 10 times lower than in domestic cats, are found in all populations. These characteristics are believed to result from unusual genetic homozygosity, hypothesized to have been caused by passage of the species through one […]
Variation in dental wear and tooth loss among known-aged, older ring-tailed lemurs (Lemur catta): a comparison between wild and captive individuals
Tooth wear is generally an age-related phenomenon, often assumed to occur at similar rates within populations of primates and other mammals, and has been suggested as a correlate of reduced offspring survival among wild lemurs. Few long-term wild studies have combined detailed study of primate behavior and ecology with dental analyses. Here, we present data […]
Offspring sex, current and previous reproduction affect feeding behaviour in wild eastern grey kangaroos
In mammals, lactation is the most energetically demanding component of female reproduction. Theory predicts an increase in food intake by lactating females, but very few studies have used contraceptives to experimentally test the influence of reproduction on foraging behaviour of wild mammals. From 2009 to 2011, we observed 182 individually marked female eastern grey kangaroos, […]
Preliminary report on the behavior of spotted-necked otter (Lutra maculicollis, Lichtenstein, 1835) living in a lentic ecosystem
Little is known of spotted-necked otter behavior, particularly in lentic ecosystems. In 2005, the Association of Zoos and Aquariums (AZA) selected this species for management under the Small Carnivore Taxonomic Regional Collection Plan (SCTAG). In 2012, the AZA Otter group recommended this species for Red SSP status. As a result of the paucity of information […]
Short- and long-term repeatability of docility in the roe deer: sex and age matter
Behavioural consistency is a key assumption when evaluating how between-individual differences in behaviour influence life history tactics. Hence, understanding how and why variation in behavioural repeatability occurs is crucial. While analyses of behavioural repeatability are common, few studies of wild populations have investigated variation in repeatability in relation to individual status (e.g. sex, age, condition) […]