Gut microbiota in wild and captive Guizhou snub‐nosed monkeys,Rhinopithecus brelichi

Many colobine species—including the endangered Guizhou snub‐nosed monkey (Rhinopithecus brelichi) are difficult to maintain in captivity and frequently exhibit gastrointestinal (GI) problems. GI problems are commonly linked to alterations in the gut microbiota, which lead us to examine the gut microbial communities of wild and captive R. brelichi. We used high‐throughput sequencing of the 16S rRNA gene to compare the gut microbiota of wild (N = 7) and captive (N = 8) R. brelichi. Wild monkeys exhibited increased gut microbial diversity based on the Chao1 but not Shannon diversity metric and greater relative abundances of bacteria in the Lachnospiraceae and Ruminococcaceae families. Microbes in these families digest complex plant materials and produce butyrate, a short chain fatty acid critical to colonocyte health. Captive monkeys had greater relative abundances of Prevotella and Bacteroides species, which degrade simple sugars and carbohydrates, like those present in fruits and cornmeal, two staples of the captive R. brelichi diet. Captive monkeys also had a greater abundance of Akkermansia species, a microbe that can thrive in the face of host malnutrition. Taken together, these findings suggest that poor health in captive R. brelichi may be linked to diet and an altered gut microbiota.     

Experimental evaluation of environmental enrichment of sea turtles

Although behavioral studies have been conducted at zoos and aquaria for years, documentation concerning the effectiveness of environmental enrichment has dealt primarily with terrestrial animals and marine mammals. Few enrichment studies have been conducted on reptiles. For this study, behavioral observations were made on four captive sea turtles (three loggerhead, Caretta caretta, and one blind green, Chelonia mydas) with enrichment present and absent. Enrichment devices were modified for the special needs of the blind turtle. Behaviors were classified as Resting, Pattern Swimming, Random Swimming, Focused Behavior, Aggression, Hiding, Orientation, and Noncategorized Behavior. It was hypothesized that, when enrichment was present, a decrease in Resting and stereotypic Pattern Swimming would be seen along with an increase in Random Swimming and Focused Behavior. It was found that, when no enrichment devices were present, 77% of the turtles' time was spent in Resting and Pattern Swimming. When enrichment devices were provided, 88% of their time was spent in Random Swimming and Focused Behavior with only 8% spent in Pattern Swimming and Resting. Statistically, there were significant increases in Random Swimming (three of the four turtles) and Focused Behavior (4/4) and significant decreases in Resting (3/4) and Pattern Swimming (3/4) when enrichment devices were present. These results suggest that environmental enrichment is as effective with marine reptiles as has been found with other animals and should be encouraged for all captive sea turtles. Zoo Biol 26:407–416, 2007. © 2007 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.     

周氏闭壳龟人工饲养下的观察资料

1997～2005年3月,先后对2只周氏闭壳龟进行人工饲养,介绍了周氏闭壳龟的一般活动、行为、食性、冬眠、繁殖、生长和疾病资料.测量了12只活体和5只标本的身体量度.     

Circadian emergence and movement of captive juvenile tuatara (Sphenodon spp.)

Abstract

Knowledge of the circadian behaviour of young tuatara (Sphenodon spp.) is relatively scarce because tuatara are difficult to observe in the wild. We document diurnal, nocturnal and crepuscular emergence and movements (half‐body movement, walking and running) of three groups of captive juvenile tuatara (2‐ and 3‐year‐old Sphenodon guntheri, and 5‐year‐old S. punctatus). Juvenile tuatara emerge predominantly at night, but move around above ground, mainly during the day and around sunset. Differences in emergence andmove‐ment scores between the three study groups were evident, probably linked with age, species or housing conditions, which were inevitably coupled in our study. We found that 2‐year‐old tuatara in captive conditions emerged less frequently than, but once above ground, moved more than 3‐ and 5‐year‐olds in semi‐captive conditions. Activities in semi‐captive conditions were not correlated with temperature, light or humidity. We conclude that young tuatara may be primarily adapted to nocturnal activity, but thermal restrictions and possible hardwired adaptations to avoid predators and conspecifics may make day‐time movements safer.     

圈养林麝麝香分泌时间节律及影响因素

在2016年和2017年的5—8月,我们对川西马尔康麝场圈养林麝（Moschus berezovskii）的麝香分泌进行了行为与生理监测,对麝香分泌的各阶段进行了准确判定,记录了泌香启动、泌香盛期开始、泌香盛期终止及泌香结束的时间阶段及持续时间长,分析了林麝麝香分泌的时间阶段与体重和年龄等因素的关系。结果表明,马尔康麝场的雄性林麝平均泌香启动日在6月16日[（167.06±7.75）d,n=141],于6月17日进入泌香盛期[（168.52±7.67）d,n=141],6月21日[（172.17±7.26）d, n=138]泌香活动减弱,至6月25日[（176.27±8.11）d, n=131]泌香结束;雄麝体重与其泌香启动、泌香盛期停止及泌香结束时间呈显著负相关（r_PS = -0.234,P_PS =0.028;r _VSF = -0.215,P_VSF = 0.047;r _SE = -0.229,P_SE = 0.043）,即雄麝的体重越大,其泌香越早;各年龄组间的平均泌香时长差异显著（F _{17, 113} = 3.482, P = 0.003）,其中2岁雄麝平均泌香时长最长[（13.07±2.08）d, n=20],显著高于3岁[（9.38±0.76）d, n=12, P = 0.042]和4岁[（7.80±1.60）d, n=5, P = 0.013]个体;马尔康林麝平均泌香量为（11.85g±0.96）g, （n=114）,随泌香时长延长有增加趋势,但不显著（P = 0.854）。基于上述林麝雄体的泌香时间、泌香量与年龄和体重等因素间的关联,可对圈养的林麝个体间的泌香力、泌香量等进行区分和预判,作为圈养林麝驯养生产力优化的依据,并可为圈养林麝优质品系的选育提供参考。     

圈养大熊猫肠道乳酸菌分离及益生特性

【背景】大熊猫数量稀少、繁殖困难,在其生长过程中极易感染消化系统疾病甚至死亡。【目的】分析圈养大熊猫肠道可培养乳酸菌的群落结构与功能,筛选具有益生特性的乳酸菌菌株,为大熊猫消化系统疾病的预防和肠道微生物研究提供理论参考及菌种资源。【方法】采用3种培养基分离大熊猫粪便中的乳酸菌,通过革兰氏染色镜检和过氧化氢试验对分离的菌株进行初步鉴定,基于BOXA1R-PCR图谱遗传多样性选取代表菌株进行16S rRNA基因测序分析并进行主成分分析(principal component analysis, PCA),同时分析乳酸菌菌株安全性和益生特性。【结果】通过初步鉴定共分离获得58株乳酸菌,根据BOXA1R-PCR结果挑选20株菌进行测序,结果显示20株菌分属于明串珠菌属(Leuconostoc)、肠球菌属(Enterococcus)、魏斯氏菌属(Weissella)和链球菌属(Streptococcus)这4个属,主成分分析结果表明不同年龄段的大熊猫肠道乳酸菌群落结构存在差异。20株乳酸菌均不溶血,17株乳酸菌对11种抗生素均敏感;11株菌耐pH值2.0酸性条件,14株菌对0.3%的胆盐具有良好...     

Behavior of captive-raised rattlesnakes (Crotalus enyo) as a function of rearing conditions

Two litters of rattlesnakes (Crotalus enyo; n = 6 per litter) were raised in large cages and small plastic boxes, respectively. No significant differences in exploration of a novel environment were observed between the litters, or between either of them and a group of wild-caught C. enyo, suggesting that the common practice of rearing baby snakes in small cages has no debilitating consequences on these measures. In the absence of differences between the litters, the two samples were pooled and additional analyses revealed the existence of reliable individual variation. Experiment 2 compared the two litters and the wild-caught snakes on measures of prey-directed behavior. The two captive-reared litters did not differ, but both exhibited lower levels of strike-induced chemosensory searching than did wild-caught snakes.