Objective evaluation of a behavioral enrichment device for captive chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes)

A quantitative evaluation was made of a food puzzle designed to be a behavioral enrichment device for captive chimpanzees. Subjects were two social groups of chimpanzees housed in semifree-ranging conditions at the University of Texas Science Park in Bastrop. Subjects used the device for a mean of 91.6 minutes after it was filled with peanuts. Group levels of agonistic interactions, displays, coprophagy, regurgitation, excessive grooming, and consumption of wood were not significantly altered by the use of the peanut box. However, the data indicate that some of these categories of behavior were significantly increased or decreased in individual animals. Although the food puzzle box appears to be a promising behavioral enrichment tool, the necessity of recognizing individual differences in response to environmental manipulations must be emphasized.     

单宁酸对棕色田鼠和小鼠食物选择、日食量和蛋白质消化率的影响

目的用不同浓度单宁酸（tannic acid,TA）处理后的花生喂养棕色田鼠（Lasiopodomys mandarinus）和小鼠（Mus musculus）,研究单宁酸对两种鼠食物选择倾向、食物摄入量、蛋白质消化率的影响。方法本研究的设计如下：1）选择一批棕色田鼠和小鼠,单笼饲养,自由饮水。用正常花生饲喂二周实验用棕色田鼠和小鼠,使其适应这种食物;2）随机选出棕色田鼠和小鼠各10只（雌雄各半）,单笼饲养。用经0%、5%、10%TA处理的花生饲喂供试鼠一周,观察和记录两种鼠对TA处理后花生的选择和取食特征;3）随机选出18只棕色田鼠和18只小鼠,单笼饲养,并各分为3组（每组均为6只）,按两种鼠分别命名为对照组、低单宁酸组、高单宁酸组,并分别用经0%、5%和10%TA处理的花生饲喂一周,测定两种鼠的食物摄入量;同时收集粪便,用凯氏定氮仪测定粗蛋白含量,计算蛋白质消化率。结果1）棕色田鼠和小鼠均优先选择无TA食物（P〈0.001）,二者间差异达显著性水平（P〈0.001）;2）食物中的TA降低棕色田鼠和小鼠的相对日食量（P〈0.001）和食物中蛋白质的消化率,随TA含量的升高,棕色田鼠和小鼠的相对日食量和蛋白质消化率均显著下降。结论TA降低棕色田鼠和小鼠的食物摄入量和食物中蛋白质的消化率。TA对鼠类的食物摄入量和蛋白质消化率的影响有种间差异性,小鼠对TA的适应性更强。     

Using the Activity-based Anorexia Rodent Model to Study the Neurobiological Basis of Anorexia Nervosa

Anorexia nervosa (AN) is a psychiatric illness characterized by excessively restricted caloric intake and abnormally high levels of physical activity. A challenging illness to treat, due to the lack of understanding of the underlying neurobiology, AN has the highest mortality rate among psychiatric illnesses. To address this need, neuroscientists are using an animal model to study how neural circuits may contribute toward vulnerability to AN and may be affected by AN. Activity-based anorexia (ABA) is a bio-behavioral phenomenon described in rodents that models the key symptoms of anorexia nervosa. When rodents with free access to voluntary exercise on a running wheel experience food restriction, they become hyperactive – running more than animals with free access to food. Here, we describe the procedures by which ABA is induced in adolescent female C57BL/6 mice. On postnatal day 36 (P36), the animal is housed with access to voluntary exercise on a running wheel. After 4 days of acclimation to the running wheel, on P40, all food is removed from the cage. For the next 3 days, food is returned to the cage (allowing animals free food access) for 2 hr daily. After the fourth day of food restriction, free access to food is returned and the running wheel is removed from the cage to allow the animals to recover. Continuous multi-day analysis of running wheel activity shows that mice become hyperactive within 24 hr following the onset of food restriction. The mice run even during the limited time during which they have access to food. Additionally, the circadian pattern of wheel running becomes disrupted by the experience of food restriction. We have been able to correlate neurobiological changes with various aspects of the animals’ wheel running behavior to implicate particular brain regions and neurochemical changes with resilience and vulnerability to food-restriction induced hyperactivity.     

Florida Scrub-Jays (Aphelocoma coerulescens) are Sentinels More When Well-Fed (Even with no Kin Nearby)

Sentinels occupy high, exposed positions while other group members forage nearby. If sentinel behavior involves a foraging–predation risk trade‐off, animals should be sentinels more when fed supplemental food. When individual Florida scrub‐jays (Aphelocoma coerulescens) were fed fragments of peanuts, during the following 30 min they shifted 30% of their time from foraging to sentinel behavior. In a follow‐up experiment, we fed either one or two members in each group. As before, the jays reduced their foraging and spent much more time as sentinels when given supplemental food. In each treatment, pairs were sentinels simultaneously considerably less often than expected by chance. The dramatic shift from foraging to sentinel behavior suggests that for Florida scrub‐jays sentinel behavior brings substantial benefits for no greater cost than that of lost opportunities to forage. Because the results held for simple mated pairs of scrub‐jays, we argue that kin selection and social prestige are not necessary to explain sentinel behavior.     

Acute exposure to pulsed 2450-MHz microwaves affects water-maze performance of rats

Rats were trained in six sessions to locate a submerged platform in a circular water maze. They were exposed to pulsed 2450-MHz microwaves (pulse width 2 micros, 500 128;pulses/s, average power density 2 mW/cm(2), average whole body specific absorption rate 1.2 W/kg) for 1 h in a circular waveguide system immediately before each training session. One hour after the last training session, they were tested in a probe trial during which the platform was removed and the time spent in the quadrant of the maze in which the platform had been located during the 1-min trial was scored. Three groups of animals, microwave-exposed, sham-exposed, and cage control, were studied. Microwave-exposed rats were slower than sham-exposed and cage control rats in learning to locate the platform. However, there was no significant difference in swim speed among the three groups of animals, indicating that the difference in learning was not due to a change in motor functions or motivation. During the probe trial, microwave-exposed animals spent significantly less time in the quadrant that had contained the platform, and their swim patterns were different from those of the sham-exposed and cage control animals. The latter observation indicates that microwave-exposed rats used a different strategy in learning the location of the platform. These results show that acute exposure to pulsed microwaves caused a deficit in spatial "reference" memory in the rat.     

Stress induced differential intake of various diets and water by rat: the role of the opiate system

The purpose of this study was to explore the effect of acute mild stress (12–48 hour food and water deprivation) and acute severe stress (12 hour food and water deprivation followed by 10 min swim in water at 4°) on the intake of different isocaloric dietary regimes. Each group of experimental animals was given only one particular diet. Rats subjected to mild stress showed very little preference of dietary regimes. When the food intake was measured during 3 hour period, following 48 hours of fasting, animals showed 2 to 3 fold increase in the food and water intake but no particular dietary preference. However, when rats were subjected to severe stress, there was an increase in the food intake of 154% (control diet); 174% (high-carbohydrate diet); 310% (high protein diet) and 423% (high fat diet) compared to animals subjected to mild stress. In terms of the absolute quantity of food, the animals subjected to severe stress ate more high-fat diet than any other diet; the consumption of high fat diet was 142% more than high-protein diet, 180% more than control diet and 258% more than high carbohydrate diet. Animals subjected to severe stress and given high-carbohydrate and high fat diet also showed 80% increase in the water intake. Prior administration of naloxone (1 mg/kg body weight, i.p.) reduced the stress induced increase in the intake of food and water. Naloxone inhibited the intake of high-fat diet more than any other diet. The ability of naloxone to block the increase in the intake of high-fat diet, and the reported increase in the concentration of β-endorphin in the different regions of brain of the animals subjected to the cold swim, suggest that endogenous opioid system in body is activated during stress. An activation of the endogenous opioid system leads to a preferential increase in the intake of palatable foods.     

Close Proximity of the Heterosexual Partner Reduces the Physiological and Behavioral Consequences of Novel-Cage Housing in Black Tufted-Ear Marmosets (Callithrix kuhli)

The present studies assessed the extent to which heterosexual pairmates could buffer marmosets (Wied's black tufted-ear marmoset,Callithrix kuhli)against stress. Six male and six female marmosets from established groups were exposed to two experimental manipulations together with a control condition. Each condition lasted a total of 4 days. For the two experimental conditions, animals were removed from the family group and housed in a novel cage for 48 h in either the presence or the absence of the heterosexual pairmate. During the 48-h novel-cage housing period and for 48 h upon reunion of the subjects with the family group, concentrations of urinary cortisol were measured in the first void sample of the day and behavioral observations were conducted. When animals were housed alone in a novel cage they exhibited significant elevations in levels of urinary cortisol after 24 and 48 h of novel-cage exposure. In contrast, when marmosets were housed in the novel cage in the presence of the pairmate, levels of urinary cortisol did not change across the 4-day period. The presence of the social partner also reduced the behavioral manifestations of exposure to novelty. Upon reunion with the family group, animals that had been housed in the novel cage alone spent significantly more time in close proximity to the pairmate than animals that had been housed with the partner. A second experiment was conducted to determine the effect that separation from the pairmate, only (independent of any effects of novelty), had on levels of cortisol. Concentrations of urinary cortisol were measured in subjects housed in the familiar home cage, but in the absence of the pairmate, over a 48-h period and compared to concentrations of excreted cortisol immediately prior to separation. Separation from the pairmate did not elevate cortisol levels when the subject was housed in the home cage, suggesting that elevated cortisol levels in animals housed alone in the novel cage were in response to novelty exposure rather than to separation from the pairmate. Since the physical presence of the heterosexual partner reduced the physiological and behavioral effects of novel-cage housing, social attachments might function as homeostatic regulators of HPA function in marmosets.     

The effects on heart rate and temperature of mice and vas deferens responses to noradrenaline when their cage mates are subjected to daily restraint stress

Performing stressful procedures in view of cage mates may cause stress in observer animals. However, it is not known if stressful procedures performed in close proximity to, but not in view of cage mates are stressful for the (observer) cage mates. Radiotelemetry and postmortem in vitro studies of the vas deferens were used to determine the effects of stress on observers. Heart rate (HR) and core body temperature (cBT) were recorded for 1 h following weighing of a cage mate or 1 h during restraint of a cage mate and the hour following return of the restrained mouse to the cage. This procedure was repeated daily for 15 days. HR and cBT were increased in observers during both restraint and weighing of cage mates. Analysis of the area under the curve showed that HR and cBT in observers were significantly higher during restraint of a cage mate than after weighing of a cage mate. When mice were returned to the cage after weighing or restraint, HR and cBT were significantly higher in the cage mates of restrained animals. Comparison between days 1, 3, 7 and 14 found that, as the experiment progressed, HR and cBT were significantly reduced in the observer mice during the hour following return of the cage mates after restraint. Results from previous studies have shown that chronic stress causes the vas deferens to become hypersensitive to exogenous application of noradrenaline (NAd). In this study, vas deferens from observers of restraint had a significantly increased response to NAd. These results indicate that stressful procedures should be conducted in isolation from other mice.     

广聚萤叶甲成虫交配时长对产卵量与孵化率的影响

【目的】明确不同交配时长对广聚萤叶甲雌虫产卵量和卵的孵化率的影响。【方法】在室内条件下,对不同交配时长下广聚萤叶甲的雌虫产卵量和卵的孵化率进行观察:(1)选取羽化第3d的广聚萤叶甲雌雄虫随机配对,观察24 h,记录交配情况和时长;(2)在交配开始1、5、15、30、60 min时,强行分开雌雄成虫,然后将不同交配时长的雌虫进行单独饲养,以正常交配一次的雌虫作为对照,每个处理选取23组;(3)将15～30 cm健壮豚草小苗插入注满水的塑料小瓶内,将配对的一组雌雄成虫和豚草小苗放入养虫盒中饲养,每天更换带卵的小苗并记录叶片上的产卵量;(4)将上述带卵的小苗至于适宜条件下培养,记录5～7 d内卵块孵化的情况。【结果】广聚萤叶甲正常交配一次的对照组的产卵水平显著高于各处理组,单雌产卵为889粒,交配时间15 min以下各组雌虫的产卵量明显低于交配30 min以上的各组雌虫。同时交配时长5 min以下雌虫产的卵基本不能孵化,而交配时间达到30 min以上的各组卵块的孵化率明显提高。【结论】雄虫转移雌虫受精所需精子量需要耗费的时间为30 min左右,且雄虫有延长交配时间的趋性。该结果为研究广聚萤叶甲的生态特性以及优化种群繁殖提供科学依据。     

Perinatal hypothermia and maternal temperature declines during labor in pigtailed macaques (Macaca nemestrina)

Body temperature, respiration, and heart rate were recorded for 90 perinatal pigtailed macaques (Macaca nemestrina) within the first hour after birth. Hypothermia and corresponding depressed respiration and heart rate were evident in all animals. Regression analysis revealed that time-since-birth accounted for most of the observed variance in all measures. Temperatures of three pregnant females were monitored during labor and delivery. Declines in maternal temperature during labor suggested that depressed maternal temperature influenced the observed hypothermia in newborns. Increases in ambient (cage) temperatures during labor indicated that the females were emitting heat while declining in temperature.     

Sex differences in food hoarding behaviour of Long Evans rats

Food hoarding was examined in male and female Long Evans rats. During a three-week period the animals were regularly submitted to the testing procedures, with food pellets in the home cage being either unrestricted (first week), or restricted (second and third week). When food pellets were present ad libitum, the hoarding scores were low, lower in females than in males. When food deprivation was imposed (second week), the animals responded by hoarding more pellets. This increase was more pronounced in males than in females. During the third week the hoarding scores became more or less stable, with males hoarding significantly more pellets than females.     

Hoarding versus the immediate consumption of food among hamsters and gerbils

This project dealt with a comparative analysis of the effects of food deprivation on feeding and hoarding in hamsters and gerbils. The animals were given food in their home cage and their food intake was measured during a 30-min period after which they were transferred to an apparatus in which hoarding behaviour was assessed. The results indicated interesting species differences in the animals' reactions in the test situations. Whereas food-deprived gerbils ate more food than nondeprived gerbils, the food intake of hamsters was not significantly enhanced by deprivation. In the hoarding test, although significant differences were observed between deprived and nondeprived gerbils, the absolute level of hoarding in gerbils was very low in comparison to that of hamsters tested under the same conditions. These results suggest that hamsters and gerbils respond to challenges to their food reserves with different strategies.     

The development,inhibition and disinhibition of pup-cannibalism in the Mongolian gerbil

The responses of juvenile and adult gerbils towards newborn test pups were investigated. Young animals of both sexes are less likely to attack the test pup than are older animals. Mature females are more likely to attempt to cannibalize pups than are mature males. Attempted cannibalism by adult males is inhibited when their mate becomes pregnant. If the pregnant female is removed from the cage for one to three days, however, attempted cannibalism is disinhibited. On the other hand, males which have reared a previous litter will not harm test pups when the female is removed. Experience of a pregnant female and of young pups during the pre-weaning stage does not influence the incidence of attempted cannibalism in adulthood. These data suggest that gerbils take full advantage of changing social conditions.     

The effect of adult diet on the biology of butterflies

Summary Euploea core is a long lived butterfly which lays a few relatively large eggs each day. In such a species it is unlikely that reserves of carbohydrate and amino acid accumulated during the larval instars would be sufficient to last its entire adult life. Female E. core were kept in a large flight cage and assigned to one of four treatments. Each treatment comprised a different concentration of sugar and amino acid in the adult diet of the butterflies. Individuals with 25% sugar in their diet lived for longer and attained higher fecundities than those with 1% sugar in their diet. Butterflies on the 1% sugar diet removed greater volumes of food solution than those on the 25% sugar diet. The availability of amino acids in the adult diet had no marked effect on longevity and, if anything, had a negative effect on fecundity. The composition of the adult diet had no discernable effect on egg weight in this species. Sugar is shown to be an important component of the adult diet of E. core but their requirement for amino acids in their adult diet remains unresolved. Finally, using the known volume of food solution removed each day, estimates were made of the minimum amount of energy required by this species each day and the amount of energy required to produce an egg.     

Sexual behavior and male volatile compounds in wild and mass‐reared strains of the Mexican fruit fly Anastrepha ludens (Diptera: Tephritidae) held under different colony management regimes

We compared the calling and mating behavior and volatile release of wild males Anastrepha ludens (Loew) with males from 4 mass‐reared strains: (i) a standard mass‐reared colony (control), (ii) a genetic sexing strain (Tap‐7), (iii) a colony started from males selected on their survival and mating competitiveness abilities (selected), and (iv) a hybrid colony started by crossing wild males with control females. Selected and wild males were more competitive, achieving more matings under field cage conditions. Mass‐reared strains showed higher percentages of pheromone calling males under field conditions except for Tap‐7 males, which showed the highest percentages of pheromone calling males under laboratory cage conditions. For mature males of all strains, field‐cage calling behavior increased during the last hour before sunset, with almost a 2 fold increase exhibited by wild males during the last half hour. The highest peak mating activity of the 4 mass‐reared strains occurred 30 min earlier than for wild males. By means of solid phase microextraction (SPME) plus gas chromatography‐mass spectrometry (GC‐MS), the composition of volatiles released by males was analyzed and quantified. Wild males emitted significantly less amounts of (E,E)‐α‐farnesene but emitted significantly more amounts of (E,E)‐suspensolide as they aged than mass‐reared males. Within the 4 mass‐reared strains, Tap‐7 released significantly more amounts of (E,E)‐α‐farnesene and hybrid more of (E,E)‐suspensolide. Differences in chemical composition could be explained by the intrinsic characteristics of the strains and the colony management regimes. Characterization of calling behavior and age changes of volatile composition between wild and mass‐reared strains could explain the differences in mating competitiveness and may be useful for optimizing the sterile insect technique in A. ludens.     

Relative contributions of rib cage and abdomen to breathing in normal subjects.

By use of the method of Konno and Mead and the respiratory magnetometer, the partition of respired gas volumes into rib cage and diaphragm-abdomen components was accomplished in 81 normal subjects including 32 young and middle-aged men, 29 young and middle-aged women, and 20 elderly men. Studied were isovolume maneuvers and the relaxation configuration over the inspiratory capacity range, quiet tidal breathing, increased amplitudes of slow breathing, rapid inspirations and expirations, and both quiet and forceful phonation. No major differences were noted between men and women or between the young and the elderly during any respiratory acts. During quiet breathing most normal subjects are abdominal breathers when supine and thoracic breathers when upright. Rapid respiratory maneuvers were accomplished mostly through rib cage displacement suggesting that rib cage muscles are capable of more rapid action than diaphragm and abdominal muscles. Data from deep breathing and rapid maneuvers supported the view that abdominal and rib cage muscles often act to optimize the mechanical (length-tension) advantage of the diaphragm.     

Fruit-feeding behaviour and use of olfactory cues by the fruit bat<Emphasis Type="Italic">Rousettus leschenaulti</Emphasis>: an experimental study

This paper describes the feeding behaviour ofRousettus leschenaulti Desmarest, 1820 on lychees, the preferred cultivated food of this bat in captive conditions. We found that feeding comprised 25–30% of the total activity of these animals in a flight cage and that feeding durations were not significantly different between two sexes. To evaluate the role of odor and vision in foraging behaviour, we provided animals with artificial lychees, real lychees and artificial lychees soaked in the juice of real lychees and we recorded the number of feeding approaches to the different “fruit” types. The results indicated that bats approached real fruit significantly more than artificial fruit, and that the number of approaches to the soaked artificial fruit was also significantly higher than to the unsoaked artificial fruit. There were no significant differences between sexes in approach rates to any “fruit” type. We discuss the role of different sensory cues in the foraging behaviour of these bats and emphasize that the olfactory cue is important in detecting food resources and discriminating between different kinds of food items.     

Effect of reproductive state and body size on food consumption in captive Galago senegalensis braccatus

Measurements of food consumption for different types of foods were made for seven Galago senegalensis braccatus. Differences because of reproductive state in females and body size were found. Lactating females consumed more food in total and had greater energy and protein intake than they did during other reproductive states. Near-term pregnant females consumed less food, energy, and protein than they did during other reproductive states. Body size affected food intake, with smaller animals ingesting more per unit metabolic weight than larger subjects.     

Problem-solving of the cylinder,tile and lever tasks by wild animals in Dryandra National Park,Western Australia

Problem-solving is an important ability that allows animals to overcome environmental challenges. As such, it is a useful measure of behavioural flexibility and could be beneficial for conservation work. However, there is currently little known about the solving abilities of many Australian species, despite the high threat of environmental degradation and loss that they face. We therefore measured the problem-solving abilities of native Australian species living in the Dryandra National Park, Western Australia using food-baited puzzles (cylinder task, tile task and lever task) placed in front of camera traps. We recorded 12 species on cameras, with 10 species interacting with at least one puzzle. Of these species, woylies and koomal solved all tasks across multiple sites and using multiple behaviours, suggesting that they may be capable of adapting to novel conditions or environments. We also recorded a chuditch solving the tile task at one site. Regardless of species and puzzle type, animals had a higher chance of solving puzzles with increasing interactions. Our results document the first occurrence of problem-solving in woylies and chuditch, and highlight the potential for problem-solving measures to be incorporated into conservation management.     

Behavioral Analysis of Social Effects on the Problem-Solving Ability in the House Mouse

The effects of the social context on the problem‐solving ability in the house mouse was evaluated by means of a puzzle box containing food, which could be opened by rotating a revolving door. The aim of the study was to clarify which mechanisms of social learning promote the acquisition of this complex motor skill. Young mice were exposed to the puzzle box in the presence of (i) demonstrators opening of the puzzle box; (ii) adults unable to open the puzzle box; and (iii) adults confined in one part of the cage and not manipulating the puzzle box. Results of the detailed analysis of the sequence of behaviors showed that (i) young mice successful in opening the puzzle box did not copy the sequence of actions performed by demonstrators; and (ii) the presence of adult conspecifics in proximity of the problem apparatus increased the rate of success of young mice. Results suggest that trial‐and‐error learning, social exposure and stimulus enhancement all play a role in the acquisition of the opening ability.