Monitoring cow comfort and rumen health indices in a cubicle-housed herd with an automatic milking system: a repeated measures approach     

Arne Vanhoudt  Steven van Winden  John C. Fishwick  Nicholas J. Bell 《Irish veterinary journal》2015,68(1)

Background

Cow rumination and lying behaviour are potentially useful and interrelated indicators of cow health and welfare but there is conflicting evidence about how reliable these measures are. The objective of this study was to quantify the variation of indices of cow comfort and rumen health in a herd with an automatic milking system for which husbandry was relatively constant, in order to propose an alternative approach to optimising the use of these indices when continuous monitoring is not available. During a period of 28 days, standing index, cud chewing index and rumination index were observed.

Results

The daily mean standing index ranged between 9.0 and 18.0 per cent, cud chewing index between 43.5 and 74.0 per cent, and rumination index between 49.0 and 81.0 per cent. The point of lowest variation in the indices was determined as that with the lowest coefficient of variation. The coefficient of variation was lowest for data collected between 240 and 270 minutes after refreshing of the bedding material on the cubicles for both the standing index and rumination index, and for data collected between 120 and 150 minutes after refreshing of the bedding material on the cubicles for the cud chewing index.

Conclusions

In spite of relative constant husbandry practices in a herd with an automatic milking system, the variation in the standing index, cud chewing index and rumination index was still considerable. This suggests these measures should be repeated on several consecutive days, according to population size and wanted margin of error, to be representative and useful.  相似文献   

The role of learning in shark behaviour     

Tristan L Guttridge  Arthur A Myrberg  Ila F Porcher  David W Sims  Jens Krause 《Fish and Fisheries》2009,10(4):450-469

The role of learning in behaviour is well known for many animal taxa, including teleost fishes, insects, birds and mammals. However, its importance to sharks in everyday behavioural processes has rarely been considered. Almost 50 years ago the first learning experiments on sharks were conducted; our first section discusses these studies and places them in a framework of associative and non‐associative learning. These experiments showed that sharks were capable of different forms of learning, such as operant and classical conditioning and habituation. Sharks could learn associations as rapidly as other vertebrates and also remember training regimes for several months. However, much of this experimental evidence was based on small sample sizes and few shark orders, such as Carcharhiniformes and Orectobliformes, leaving large gaps in our knowledge of the general learning capabilities of other shark orders. We also examine recent research that has tested for, or inferred learning in behavioural processes. This section reveals that sharks, like teleost fishes use learning to improve prey search and capture to potentially navigate and orientate in their home range and recognize conspecifics, heterospecifics and mates. Learning is also discussed in relation to ecotourism and fisheries. Findings indicated that these activities may lead to conditioning of sharks and that considerable effort should go into investigating what impact this could have on the shark species involved. Finally, we discuss the importance of combining laboratory experiments with field studies, the use of new experimental techniques, the role of model species and research priorities for future work.  相似文献   

Welfare assessment in porcine biomedical research - suggestion for an operational tool     

Søndergaard LV  Dagnæs-Hansen F  Herskin MS 《Research in veterinary science》2011,91(3):e1-e9

In recent years, increasing interest in using the pig (Sus scrofa) for biomedical research has become evident. Today, the pig is considered an advantageous alternative animal model for various human diseases and conditions. However, even though a considerable amount of biomedical research has been done on pigs, hardly any studies include systematic welfare assessment. Still, it is essential to assess welfare of laboratory pigs, both domestic pig breeds and smaller purpose-bred breeds, as (1) scientific obligations entail responsibility to ensure and document a fair welfare standard for animals used for experimental purposes; and (2) the scientific outcome can be dependent upon the welfare state of the animals. In order to be able to quantify and control laboratory pig welfare, a practical tool is needed. The purpose of the present paper is to provide an overview of the current status of the extent of welfare assessment in pigs used in biomedical research and to suggest a welfare assessment standard for research facilities based on an exposition of ethological considerations relevant for the welfare of pigs in biomedical research. The tools for porcine welfare assessment presented suggest a method for monitoring the welfare status of individual laboratory pigs, intended to relieve the practical scoring of the welfare of individual pigs as well as the interpretation of the findings.  相似文献   

The effects of density on the behaviour and growth of juvenile blacklip abalone (Haliotis rubra)     

Sylvain M.H. Huchette  C.S. Koh  Rob W. Day 《Aquaculture International》2003,11(5):411-428

The growth of juvenile abalone in aquaculture is known to be affected by density as a result of competition for food and decreases in water quality. Our results suggest that behaviour is also affected by density and this also has a significant impact on the growth of individual abalone. 1800 juveniles of Haliotis rubra were individually tagged and reared for 5 months in 12 gravity-fed tanks at two levels of density. The experimental design allowed the differentiation of the direct from the indirect effects of density. The abalone growth and distribution was monitored monthly along with the water quality. The distribution of abalone during daytime was closely related to the availability of preferred shelter space. The percentage of abalone stacked on the top of others increased with density. Preferred shelter space was characterized by low light intensity and a corner or edge for the abalone to rest against. Hides at the ends of the tanks were not occupied as much as others. Abalone were found crawling on the side of the tank during daytime when tanks were shaded. Abalone juveniles of 15–60 mm showed fidelity to their resting shelter during daytime but this fidelity was significantly reduced at the higher density. Shading of the tanks totally changed the distribution of the abalone and their daytime behaviour. Competition for shelter space reduced growth more than water quality. This revised version was published online in August 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.  相似文献   

A two-chambered trap reduces within-trap predation by octopus on rock lobsters in aquarium trials     

Daniel John Brock  Thor Mayo Saunders  Timothy Mark Ward  Adrian Joseph Linnane   《Fisheries Research》2006,80(2-3):129-135

A two-chambered lobster trap was developed that in aquarium trials significantly (p < 0.01) reduced octopus predation on trap-caught spiny lobster. The trap was designed using information gained from an investigation of the behavioural interactions of the maori octopus (Octopus maorum) with traps used in the South Australian commercial lobster (Jasus edwardsii) fishery. This study showed that octopuses were primarily attracted to traps by the presence of bait as opposed to lobsters and that octopus entry into traps was ‘fortuitous’ and mediated by speculative exploration. The outer chamber of the modified trap contained bait and allowed entry by octopuses but not lobster and the inner chamber allowed access to both animals. The trap worked on the principle that octopuses would enter the outer chamber containing bait via a side entrance in preference to entry to the inner chamber containing lobsters via the neck. This was found to be the case and lobster mortality was 70% lower in the two-chambered trap than a standard trap. Successful adaptation of this trap design to commercial fishing conditions could significantly reduce rates of octopus predation on rock lobsters in several important southern hemisphere fisheries for spiny lobsters.  相似文献   

Effects of hook and release on Atlantic salmon in the River Alta, northern Norway   总被引：4，自引：0，他引：4  

Eva B. Thorstad  Tor F. Nsje  Peder Fiske  Bengt Finstad 《Fisheries Research》2003,60(2-3):293-307

The purpose of the study was to collect information on angling procedures and the effects of hook and release on Atlantic salmon in the River Alta, northern Norway, covering both grilse and multi-sea-winter salmon in a non-artificial setting with real anglers. Information on the angling procedure, handling of the fish and the condition of the fish at release was collected for individual salmon in catch logs (n=543, mean body length 82 cm), whereas physiological stress was studied in a sub-sample (n=15, mean body length 77 cm). To study post-release behaviour, survival and recapture rates, salmon were tagged with radio transmitters (n=30, mean body length 83 cm) and anchor T-tags (n=353, mean body length 79 cm). To evaluate the effects of the hook and release programme on the salmon population, number of spawning redds were recorded from a helicopter in 6 years during 1989–2000.

The results showed that at water temperatures 10.0–14.5 °C, a high proportion of the radio tagged salmon (97%) survived hook and release and stayed in known spawning areas during the spawning period. However, the behaviour after release seemed to be affected by hook and release. Only a small proportion (4%) of the anchor T-tagged salmon was caught more than once within the same season. Increased playing time, increased number of runs during the angling event, hooking in the throat, bleeding at the hook wound, increased handling time, air exposure and water temperature were factors that affected hooked and released Atlantic salmon negatively, either indicated by a poor condition at release, increased stress levels or unnatural behaviour after release. Number of spawning redds were more than doubled after the introduction of compulsory release of all angled salmon in Sautso (the upper 16% of the watershed inhabited by salmon) in 1998, which indicates that hook and release can be an effective management tool to enhance declining Atlantic salmon populations.  相似文献   

Aircraft operations near concentrations of birds in Antarctica: The development of practical guidelines     

Colin M. Harris 《Biological conservation》2005,125(3):309-322

Aircraft operations have the potential to disturb and to impact negatively on bird life. A gradient of increasing behavioural response is evident in birds when exposed to increasing aircraft stimulus. The most major disturbance is likely to lead to impacts on the health, breeding performance and survival of individual birds, and perhaps bird colonies. A process of revision to policies on aircraft operations contained in management plans for a number of specially protected areas in Antarctica by the United Kingdom, accompanied by consultations made within the scientific community through the Scientific Committee on Antarctic Research (SCAR) and with operational interests through the Council of Managers of National Antarctic Programmes (COMNAP) resulted in new guidelines being adopted by the Antarctic Treaty Consultative Parties in June 2004. The principal recommendations of the guidelines are that bird colonies should not be overflown below 2000 ft (∼610 m) above ground level and landings within 1/2 nautical mile (∼930 m) of bird colonies should be avoided wherever possible. These guidelines are less stringent and less specific than those that were recommended by the SCAR specialist group on birds, and represent a compromise to accommodate operational needs. While the adoption of clear and consistent guidelines for the operation of aircraft in Antarctica is welcome in that this provides practical advice that is likely to reduce incidences of close aircraft/bird encounters, there remains insufficient knowledge of the interactions between aircraft and birds in Antarctica, and the consequent impacts on individual birds and on bird populations. It is important, therefore, that the guidelines adopted are considered interim, and should be kept under scrutiny with revisions made as new and improved research results appear.  相似文献   

Temperature-driven river utilisation and preferential defecation by cattle in an English chalk stream     

Trevor Alan Bond  David SearMary Edwards 《Livestock Science》2012,146(1):59-66

Cattle have the potential to be important geomorphic and ecological agents in the low-energy, high biodiversity chalk rivers of southern England. To improve our understanding of cattle-river interactions, a unique high temporal resolution study of cattle behaviour and distribution was conducted across 500 h on a chalk river in Hampshire, England (UK) between April and October 2010. It was observed that cattle spent approximately 2% of their time in the aquatic environment and approximately 7% of their time in the riparian zone. Cattle activity and distribution varied according to the time of day and the time of year. A statistically significant correlation was recorded between the amount of time spent in-stream by cattle and air temperature. Cattle also defecated five times more frequently in-stream than the average defecation frequency, contributing greater than expected direct organic matter and nutrient inputs. The study suggests that the impacts of cattle in chalk river environments may have been underestimated, particularly at a time of global warming.  相似文献   

Swimming Activity of Farm Mink (Mustela vison) and its Relation to Stereotypies     

Claus Peter Bjaelke Hansen  Leif Lau Jeppesen 《Acta Agriculturae Scandinavica, Section A - Animal Sciences》2013,63(1):71-76

Eighty farm mink were used to investigate whether access to swimming water and:or difference in cage size led to a difference in the level of stereotypies. Half of the animals grew up with free access to swimming water, and the other half without. In addition, two different cage sizes were used. Over 2 weeks the animals were scanned a total of 141 times. Animals in small cages had a higher level of stereotypies and were more active than those in large cages. No difference between animals with swimming water and animals with an empty basin was detected. The level of activity was lowest in animals in large cages, although not significantly so when water was present. The results presented here do not offer any support for the claim that farm mink with access to swimming water have a lower level of stereotypies than mink with access to an empty basin. Whether swimming is a behavioural need in farm mink is still debatable.  相似文献   

Effect of lipopolysaccharide on sickness behaviour in hens kept in cage and free range environments     

N.G. Gregory  S.R. Payne  C.J. Cook 《Research in veterinary science》2009,87(1):167-170

The aim of this study was to assess whether environmental enrichment and environmental conditions can influence the expression of sickness behaviour. The behaviour in response to injection of lipopolysaccharide or saline was examined in a total of 96 62-weeks old hatchmate hens kept in a free range or cage environment. There were eight experimental treatments, each with 12 birds. Half the birds were sourced from a commercial cage layer unit (C/-) and half from a commercial free range unit (FR/-). After intraperitoneal injection with either lipopolysaccharide or saline (as a control), the hens were placed in either a cage (-/C) or free range (-/FR) environment. Lipopolysaccharide caused greater suppression of activity in free range (FR/FR) than in caged hens, including less walking (53% reduction), roosting (−86%) and preening (−60%) (p < 0.05). Those responses were not observed in caged birds released into free range, nor in free range birds introduced to cages, suggesting that both the presence of and the familiarity with an environment affected sickness behaviour patterns. Increased sleeping was the most consistent response (+147%; p < 0.001), and it was least influenced by environment. It was concluded that free range layer hens can express a greater range of sickness behaviours than caged hens, and this may make it more difficult to recognise disease expression in the caged environment.  相似文献