Farm animal welfare: assessing risks attributable to the prenatal environment
An ever-expanding scientific literature highlights the impact of the prenatal environment on many areas of biology. Across all major farmed species, experimental studies have clearly shown that prenatal experiences can have a substantial impact on outcomes relevant to later health, welfare and productivity. In particular, stress or sub-optimal nutrition experienced by the mother during pregnancy […]
Digit ratio, polychromatism and associations with endurance and antipredator behaviour in male painted dragon lizards
Variation in sex hormone exposure during early embryonic development contributes to individual differences in behaviour and cognitive abilities later in life. Digit ratio has gained considerable interest as a putative marker for early androgen/oestrogen exposure in behavioural ecology research. Studying digit ratio in nonhuman laboratory as well as wild vertebrate species may be useful to […]
Early social instability affects plasma testosterone during adolescence but does not alter reproductive capacity or measures of stress later in life
The social environment plays an important role in modulating processes of the hormonal and behavioural profile of an animal in a variety of group-living species. In wild cavies for instance, unstable social environmental conditions during pregnancy and lactation lead to an infantilised biobehavioural profile of the male offspring. In the present study, the influence of […]