Pheromonal enrichment in the zoo: An empirical approach with Asian elephants (Elephas maximus)
The use of odors is a popular form of sensory enrichment, yet few studies have investigated the longer lasting effects of biologically relevant chemical signals like pheromones. Asian elephants (Elephas maximus) are unique because they are commonly held in zoos and utilize two single-compounds to synchronize reproduction: frontalin (a pheromone produced by male elephants in […]
Pheromonal enrichment in the zoo: An empirical approach with Asian elephants (Elephas maximus)
The use of odors is a popular form of sensory enrichment, yet few studies have investigated the longer lasting effects of biologically relevant chemical signals like pheromones. Asian elephants (Elephas maximus) are unique because they are commonly held in zoos and utilize two single-compounds to synchronize reproduction: frontalin (a pheromone produced by male elephants in […]
Pheromonal enrichment in the zoo: An empirical approach with Asian elephants (Elephas maximus)
The use of odors is a popular form of sensory enrichment, yet few studies have investigated the longer lasting effects of biologically relevant chemical signals like pheromones. Asian elephants (Elephas maximus) are unique because they are commonly held in zoos and utilize two single-compounds to synchronize reproduction: frontalin (a pheromone produced by male elephants in […]
Sensory Ecology of Feeding in the Hummingbird Hawkmoth Macroglossum stellatarum (Lepidoptera: Sphingidae)
The European hummingbird hawkmoth, Macroglossum stellatarum (Linnaeus 1758), drinks nectar while hovering in front of flowers of all colours, odours, sizes and shapes. Naive moths orient predominantly towards visual stimuli and prefer blue flowers with a radial pattern and a central contrasting spot. Hummingbird hawkmoths have trichromatic colour vision and can learn any colour and […]
Translation of sensory input into behavioral output via an olfactory system
We investigate the logic by which sensory input is translated into behavioral output. First we provide a functional analysis of the entire odor receptor repertoire of an olfactory system. We construct tuning curves for the 21 functional odor receptors of the Drosophila larva and show that they sharpen at lower odor doses. We construct a […]
Behavioral indices of estrus in a group of captive African elephants (Loxodonta africana)
Abstract 10.1002/zoo.20053.abs This study investigated behavioral signals of estrus by systematically monitoring the interactions of one male with four female African elephants housed in a naturalistic outdoor enclosure at Disney’s Animal Kingdom over a period of 11 months. We measured changes in five spatial behaviors and 22 tactile-contact behaviors, as well as changes in serum […]
Scent marking in wild banded mongooses: 1. Sex-specific scents and overmarking
Overmarking occurs when one individual places its scent mark directly on top of the scent mark of another individual. Although it is almost ubiquitous among terrestrial mammals, we know little about the function of overmarking and detailed field observations are rare. We investigated the chemical composition of scents and patterns of overmarking by wild banded […]
Scent marking in wild banded mongooses: 2. Intrasexual overmarking and competition between males
Sexual selection has resulted in the elaboration of secondary sexual characteristics in many animals. Although mammalian scent glands, secretions and marking behaviour are commonly sexually dimorphic, these traits have received little attention compared to avian plumage and mammalian weaponry. Overmarking, when one individual places a scent mark directly over that of another individual, is of […]
What is it like to be a rat? Rat sensory perception and its implications for experimental design and rat welfare
This review of rat sensory perception spans eight decades of work conducted across diverse research fields. It covers rat vision, audition, olfaction, gustation, and somatosensation, and describes how rat perception differs from and coincides with ours. As Nagel’s seminal work (1974) implies, we cannot truly know what it is like to be a rat, but […]
Rats seem indifferent between their own scent-marked homecages and clean cages
Previous large-scale, long-term studies suggest that rat welfare is little affected by cage-cleaning frequency. Here, we investigate this further using a preference test: arguably a more sensitive welfare indicator than those used previously. Nine pairs of rats were each housed in two interconnected cages of differing cleanliness. One cage was cleaned every 3–4 days, while […]