Free-ranging Behavior Research Articles

Detection of abnormal behaviors in prenatal Poly(I:C) exposed mice in a group-rearing environment.

During pregnancy, the maternal environment is critical for normal ontogeny and central nervous system development. Occasionally, prenatal exposure to environmental factors affects tissue architecture and functional development of the brain, which causes developmental disorders, including disorders of the autism spectrum. One of these environmental factors is the exposure to infectious diseases during pregnancy. In this study, we generated mice with infectious disease-induced inflammation by prenatal exposure to 200 μg/kg polyinosinic-polycytidylic acid sodium salt [Poly(I:C)] at embryonic day 12.5 and analyzed their phenotypes on 30-weeks-old. We attempted to detect abnormalities in spontaneous activity and social interaction, which may be indicators of developmental disorder-like behavioral abnormalities, in free-ranging behaviors in multiple rearing environments using multiple animal positioning systems and UMATracker in mice with fetal inflammation. Increased spontaneous activity and abnormal social interactions were observed in mice in the Poly(I:C)-treated group compared with those in the control group. Prenatal exposure to Poly(I:C) increased motor activity and decreased social interaction, and social behavior in prenatally treated mice in a multiple-individual rearing environment. Poly(I:C) exposure during the fetal period resulted in developmental disorder-like behavioral abnormalities, such as increased activity and abnormal social interactions, even after maturation in a multiple-individual rearing environment. This experimental method may provide a new way to analyze the behavior of mouse models of developmental disorders in a multiple-individual rearing environment, in which free-ranging behavior is possible.

Citizen science and diet analysis shed light on dog-wildlife interactions in Italy

Domestic dogs Canis familiaris may cause a range of impacts on wildlife through predation, competition, pathogen transmission, harassment and hybridisation with wolves and other wild canids, yet such effects are less known than those of other domestic species.In this work, we have combined citizen science data and information collected by scientists on the potential impact of free-ranging dogs on wildlife in Italy. Citizen science data, obtained through online surveys on social networks, consisted of pictures of wildlife killed or harassed by dogs from 2002 to 2022. Additional records were collected from articles in newspapers. We also provide the results of a diet analysis from domestic dog scats, collected in the countryside in central Italy in 1998–1999, for which we assessed prey selection by comparing consumption with availability. The citizen science survey provided 589 records: dogs attacked and killed 95 species, mostly mammals and birds, including small game species. Among species of conservation concern, dogs attacked/killed Mustela putorius and Hystrix cristata, both included in Annex IV of the Habitats Directive, and the Italian endemic Lepus corsicanus and Passer italiae. Over 90% of the attacks were caused by unleashed dogs in the presence of their owner in urban and periurban areas. The 148 dog scats analysed contained 30 prey species, mainly mammals, which made the staple of the dog diet, followed by amorphous material, most likely pet food. Remains of domestic sheep were frequent in the diet, as were hares Lepus europaeus and roe deer Capreolus capreolus among wild mammals. Wild boar Sus scrofa ranked first among the selected prey species, followed by hares, whereas roe deer and grey partridges Perdix perdix were negatively selected. The mitigation of the impact of domestic carnivores on wildlife strongly requires awareness raising to promote responsible pet ownership and strict avoidance of dogs’ free-ranging behaviour, especially where encounters with wildlife are most likely.

Co-infection patterns of vector-borne zoonotic pathogens in owned free-ranging dogs in central Chile

We investigated the co-occurrence of the nine of the most relevant canine vector-borne pathogens (CVBP) using conventional and real-time PCR and evaluated risk factors and potential non-apparent haematological alterations associated with co-infection in 111 rural, owned, free-ranging dogs in the Metropolitan Region of Chile.At least one pathogen was detected in 75% of the dogs. DNA of Anaplasma platys (Ap; 36%), Candidatus Mycoplasma haematoparvum (CMhp; 31%), Mycoplasma haemocanis (Mhc; 28%), Trypanosoma cruzi (17%), Leishmania spp. (4.5%), and Acanthocheilonema reconditum (1%) was detected. All dogs were negative for Ehrlichia spp., Rickettsia spp., Bartonella spp., Piroplasmida, and Hepatozoon spp. Thirty-eight dogs (34%) were coinfected. CMhp was involved in 71%, Mhc in 58%, and Ap in 50% of the co-infections. The most common co-infection pattern was CMhp–Mhc (37% of the cases). The prevalence of Ap was higher in juvenile than in adult dogs, whereas the opposite was found for CMhp and Mhc. Adult dogs were four times more likely of being co-infected than juveniles. Co-infected animals showed higher white blood cell count, segmented neutrophil count, and GGT levels than non-co-infected dogs. Clinically healthy but infected dogs may act as reservoirs of CVBP, and their free-ranging behavior would facilitate the spread of these pathogens to other dogs as well as human beings or wild carnivores.

Effects of shelter type, early environmental enrichment and weather conditions on free-range behaviour of slow-growing broiler chickens

Free-range use by broiler chickens is often limited, whereas better use of the free-range area could benefit animal welfare. Use of free-range areas could be stimulated by more appropriate shelter or environmental enrichment (by decreasing birds’ fearfulness). This study aimed to assess the effects of shelter type, early environmental enrichment and weather conditions on free-range use. Three production rounds with 440 slow-growing broiler chickens (Sasso T451) were carried out. Birds were housed indoors in four groups (two with males, two with females) from days 0 to 25, during which two of the groups received environmental enrichment. At day 23 birds’ fearfulness was assessed with a tonic immobility (TI) test (n=100). At day 25 all birds were moved (in mixed-sex groups) to mobile houses, and provided with free-range access from day 28 onwards. Each group could access a range consisting for 50% of grassland with 21 artificial shelters (ASs, wooden A-frames) and for 50% of short rotation coppice (SRC) with willow (dense vegetation). Free-range use was recorded by live observations at 0900, 1300 and 1700 h for 15 to 21 days between days 28 and 63. For each bird observed outside the shelter type (AS or SRC), distance from the house (0 to 2, 2 to 5, >5 m) and its behaviour (only rounds 2 and 3) were recorded. Weather conditions were recorded by four weather stations. On average, 27.1% of the birds were observed outside at any given moment of observation. Early environmental enrichment did not decrease fearfulness as measured by the TI test. It only had a minor effect on the percentage of birds outside (0.4% more birds outside). At all distances from the house, SRC was preferred over AS. In AS, areas closer to the house were preferred over farther ones, in SRC this was less pronounced. Free-range use increased with age and temperature and decreased with wind speed. In AS, rainfall and decreasing solar radiation were related to finding more birds outside, whereas the opposite was true in SRC. Behaviour of the birds depended on shelter type, distance from the house, early environmental enrichment, time of day and age. Chickens ranged more and farther in SRC, possibly because this provided a greater sense of safety because of the amount of cover and/or better protection against adverse weather conditions. These results indicate that SRC with willow is a more appropriate shelter for slow-growing broiler chickens than A-frames.

Risk factors for gastrointestinal parasite infections of dogs living around protected areas of the Atlantic Forest: implications for human and wildlife health.

Despite the ubiquity of domestic dogs, their role as zoonotic reservoirs and the large number of studies concerning parasites in urban dogs, rural areas in Brazil, especially those at the wildlife-domestic animal-human interface, have received little attention from scientists and public health managers. This paper reports a cross-sectional epidemiological survey of gastrointestinal parasites of rural dogs living in farms around Atlantic Forest fragments. Through standard parasitological methods (flotation and sedimentation), 13 parasite taxa (11 helminths and two protozoans) were found in feces samples from dogs. The most prevalent were the nematode Ancylostoma (47%) followed by Toxocara (18%) and Trichuris (8%). Other less prevalent (<2%) parasites found were Capillaria, Ascaridia, Spirocerca, Taeniidae, Acantocephala, Ascaris, Dipylidium caninum, Toxascaris, and the protozoans Cystoisospora and Eimeria. Mixed infections were found in 36% of samples, mostly by Ancylostoma and Toxocara. Previous deworming had no association with infections, meaning that this preventive measure is being incorrectly performed by owners. Regarding risk factors, dogs younger than one year were more likely to be infected with Toxocara, and purebred dogs with Trichuris. The number of cats in the households was positively associated with Trichuris infection, while male dogs and low body scores were associated with mixed infections. The lack of associations with dog free-ranging behavior and access to forest or villages indicates that infections are mostly acquired around the households. The results highlight the risk of zoonotic and wildlife parasite infections from dogs and the need for monitoring and controlling parasites of domestic animals in human-wildlife interface areas.

Prevalence and risk factors for viral exposure in rural dogs around protected areas of the Atlantic forest.

BackgroundDespite the crucial role of domestic dogs as reservoirs for zoonosis and some of the most threatening diseases for wild carnivores such as distemper and parvovirosis, little is known about the epidemiological features and the risk factors involved in pathogen exposure of dogs that live in human/wildlife interfaces and actually contacts wildlife. Through a cross-sectional serological approach and questionnaire survey, we assessed the prevalence along with individual and environment-associated risk factors for four important viral diseases of rural dogs living in households around six Atlantic Forest fragments in southeast Brazil.ResultsWidespread exposure to canine parvovirus (97 %), canine distemper virus (15 %) and canine adenovirus (27 %) was detected, but none for canine coronavirus. Dogs from small private reserves were more exposed to parvovirus and canine distemper virus than those from larger state parks. Exposure was associated with dog sex and age, lack of health care and the number of people in the households. Remarkably, factors linked to free-ranging behaviour of dogs were associated with the exposure for all pathogens detected.ConclusionsAccording to identified associations, reducing viral pathogen exposure in dogs will require inhibiting dog’s movements and access to nearby forests and villages and improving veterinary assistance. Promoting dog vaccination and population control through sterilization around protected areas is also necessary. The study provides support for preventive management actions aimed to protect the health of rural dogs, and consequently of Atlantic Forest’s wild carnivores.

Factors associated with the seroprevalence of leishmaniasis in dogs living around Atlantic Forest fragments.

Canine visceral leishmaniasis is an important zoonosis in Brazil. However, infection patterns are unknown in some scenarios such as rural settlements around Atlantic Forest fragments. Additionally, controversy remains over risk factors, and most identified patterns of infection in dogs have been found in urban areas. We conducted a cross-sectional epidemiological survey to assess the prevalence of leishmaniasis in dogs through three different serological tests, and interviews with owners to assess features of dogs and households around five Atlantic Forest remnants in southeastern Brazil. We used Generalized Linear Mixed Models and Chi-square tests to detect associations between prevalence and variables that might influence Leishmania infection, and a nearest neighbor dispersion analysis to assess clustering in the spatial distribution of seropositive dogs. Our findings showed an average prevalence of 20% (ranging from 10 to 32%) in dogs. Nearly 40% (ranging from 22 to 55%) of households had at least one seropositive dog. Some individual traits of dogs (height, sterilization, long fur, age class) were found to positively influence the prevalence, while some had negative influence (weight, body score, presence of ectoparasites). Environmental and management features (number of cats in the households, dogs with free-ranging behavior) also entered models as negative associations with seropositivity. Strong and consistent negative (protective) influences of the presence of chickens and pigs in dog seropositivity were detected. Spatial clustering of cases was detected in only one of the five study sites. The results showed that different risk factors than those found in urban areas may drive the prevalence of canine leishmaniasis in farm/forest interfaces, and that humans and wildlife risk infection in these areas. Domestic dog population limitation by gonadectomy, legal restriction of dog numbers per household and owner education are of the greatest importance for the control of visceral leishmaniasis in rural zones near forest fragments.

Long-Term GPS Tracking of Ocean Sunfish Mola mola Offers a New Direction in Fish Monitoring

Satellite tracking of large pelagic fish provides insights on free-ranging behaviour, distributions and population structuring. Up to now, such fish have been tracked remotely using two principal methods: direct positioning of transmitters by Argos polar-orbiting satellites, and satellite relay of tag-derived light-level data for post hoc track reconstruction. Error fields associated with positions determined by these methods range from hundreds of metres to hundreds of kilometres. However, low spatial accuracy of tracks masks important details, such as foraging patterns. Here we use a fast-acquisition global positioning system (Fastloc GPS) tag with remote data retrieval to track long-term movements, in near real time and position accuracy of <70 m, of the world's largest bony fish, the ocean sunfish Mola mola. Search-like movements occurred over at least three distinct spatial scales. At fine scales, sunfish spent longer in highly localised areas with faster, straighter excursions between them. These ‘stopovers’ during long-distance movement appear consistent with finding and exploiting food patches. This demonstrates the feasibility of GPS tagging to provide tracks of unparalleled accuracy for monitoring movements of large pelagic fish, and with nearly four times as many locations obtained by the GPS tag than by a conventional Argos transmitter. The results signal the potential of GPS-tagged pelagic fish that surface regularly to be detectors of resource ‘hotspots’ in the blue ocean and provides a new capability for understanding large pelagic fish behaviour and habitat use that is relevant to ocean management and species conservation.

Analysis of the free range behaviour of laying hens and the genetic and phenotypic relationships with laying performance

1. Over twelve 28-d laying periods (almost one year), 272 laying hens of the Lohmann Silver strain, individually tagged with transponders, were monitored on their ranging behaviour and laying performance in an aviary system with an adjacent winter garden. 2. From laying periods 1 to 12, the daily frequency of passages between the barn and the winter garden of individual hens, showed an antagonistic trend compared to the average duration of single visits. While the frequency of passages decreased until the end of the recording period to 8 passages per hen and day, the average duration of single visits increased to a maximum of 32 min per hen. 3. The heritability estimates for the traits, length of stay in the winter garden and frequency of passages were higher for the last 5 laying periods than at the beginning of the recording period. For the last 5 laying periods, the estimates for the duration of stay in the winter garden varied between h 2 = 0·21 and 0·32 and for the frequency of passages, between h 2 = 0·30 and 0·49. 4. Most of the estimated heritabilities for the rate of lay were on an expected medium level (h 2 = 0·09 to 0·45). Deviant h 2-values to a few laying periods were based on low additive genetic variances or high environmental variance. 5. Genetic correlations between both free range traits and the laying performance were negative (r g length of stay = −0·34 and r g passage frequency = −0·08). 6. Generally, there seems to be a possibility to influence the ranging behaviour through selection. Further investigations with different genotypes and varying dates of exposure to the laying environment, should be carried out to clarify possible influences on other traits and the negative correlation with laying performance.

Nutritional and Health Status of Woolly Monkeys

Woolly monkeys (Lagothrix lagotricha and L. flavicauda) are threatened species in the wild and in captivity. Numerous zoological institutions have historically kept Lagothrix lagotricha spp., but only a few of them have succeeded in breeding populations. Therefore the majority of institutions that formerly kept Lagothrix lagotricha are no longer able or willing to do so. Captive populations of the species have frequent health problems, most significantly hypertension and related disorders. Researchers have conducted free-ranging dietary and behavior studies with respect to woolly monkeys, but have established no concrete link between diet or nutrients and captive health problems. The available literature we discuss indicates that researchers need to examine the link further. In addition, it is critical to the survival of the primates to be able to keep breeding populations in captivity owing to increasing natural pressures such as deforestation and hunting. Therefore, better understanding of the captive and free-ranging behavior and health parameters of the species is vital to ensure their survival and to maintain forest health and diversity. Researchers need to conduct large-scale research studies comparing the health and complete diet of individuals in the wild and captivity to resolve health problems facing the species in captivity.

Auslaufverhalten von Legehennen - Automatisierte Erfassung und Auswertung über Bildanalyse

Due to legal changes, as well as the increasing importance of organic agriculture, free-range housing systems for laying hens are on the rise. There are only a few reliable investigations about free-range behaviour and to what extent the laying hens take advantage of the free-range. At the Bavarian State Institute of Agriculture the free-range behaviour is being researched with the help of automatic image recording and analysis. On selected days during the study, the average number of hens on the free-range was 109 out of about 500. The identification accuracy on these days was about 84%.

Behavioral and electrophysiological consequences of deafferentation following chronic constriction of the infraorbital nerve in adult rats

Deafferentation of the hind paw following sciatic nerve injury results in behavioral changes, such as autotomy, suggestive of persistent, spontaneous pain. The effects of deafferentation involving trigeminal nerves have, however, received less attention. Here, alterations in trigeminal ganglion neuronal activity and mechanically evoked and spontaneous behavior were studied in adult rats after a chronic constriction injury of the infraorbital nerve (ION). Compared to sham-operated rats, most rats with ION damage were unresponsive to mechanical stimulation of the mystacial vibrissae up to 56 days after surgery. Increased facial grooming was observed only in rats with chronic ION constriction 10 days after surgery. Free-ranging behavior was similar to that of sham-injury animals. In contrast, increases in the number of spontaneously active trigeminal ganglion neurones were observed in those rats with ION injuries at both 3 and 56 days. These data suggest that chronic constrictive injuries of the ION resulting in prolonged loss of low-threshold input from the periphery lead to only transient behavioral changes, despite the presence of spontaneous activity in trigeminal sensory neurones.

Effects of noradrenaline on neuronal response induced in the motor cortex by conditioned stimuli

In chronic experiments on cats, the effects were investigated of iontophoretic application of the adrenomimetic ephedrine and the β-blocker obsidan (propranolol) on neuronal response induced in the motor cortex by conditioned stimulus presentation during performances of instrumental lever-pressing response. Inhibition of background firing activity and response in most neurons induced by conditioned stimuli was produced by ephedrine, whereas obsidan application enhanced this activity. It was concluded that steady, tonic inhibitory action of the noradrenergic system on background and induced firing activity in cortical neurons takes place during free-ranging behavior. Temporary reinforcement of noradrenergic influences could be an important element in mechanisms of external inhibition during stressful situations, aversive effects, and distractive stimuli.

Prefatory Note

The Audiovisuals Editor has embarked on a new format in which every second or third issue will contain a comprehensive section of reviews under the direction of an expert in the field of consideration. It is our hope to provide, in addition to the general reviews, a resource for scholars and teachers. In this issue David Horr of Brandeis University presents the first in the series: Primate Behavior films. Professor Horr is now completing a film on free-ranging behavior and ecology of orang-utans, shot during his nearly three years of field research on that species in eastern Borneo. Donald Miller is currently developing a review section on Archeology, Nancie Gonzalez on Urban Anthropology and Scott Robinson on Problems in Politics and Development. We are also planning special issues on Physical Anthropology, Medical Anthropology, Hunters and Gatherers, Horticulturalists, Pastoralists and Peasants. We hope that this compilation of film reviews on a single subject and similar review sections in the future will not only provide a resource for teaching, but will offer standards for specialists in anthropology making films in the field.