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Author Berger, A.; Scheibe, K.-M.; Eichhorn, K.; Scheibe, A.; Streich, J.
Title Diurnal and ultradian rhythms of behaviour in a mare group of Przewalski horse (Equus ferus przewalskii), measured through one year under semi-reserve conditions Type Journal Article
Year 1999 Publication Applied Animal Behaviour Science Abbreviated Journal Appl. Anim. Behav. Sci.
Volume (down) 64 Issue 1 Pages 1-17
Keywords Horse; Przewalski horse; Circadian rhythm; Ultradian rhythm; Feeding and nutrition; Telemetry; Stress
Abstract Investigations were conducted on four horses from a group of 12 Przewalski mares raised in different zoos and kept in a 44-ha enclosure under semi-natural conditions. Activity and feeding were continuously measured every second and were saved every 15 min by the storage-telemetry system ETHOSYS, from June 1995 to July 1996. Body mass of the horses was regularly recorded. Daily and monthly mean values, power spectra and DFC (as a measure for stability of rhythms synchronised with circadiurnal period) for activity and feeding were calculated. The general pattern of activity and feeding over the year was closely related to sunrise and sunset. Feeding accounted for 40% of total activity in summer and 62% in spring (all-year average being 52%). The level of activity was lowest in winter; whereas feeding was lowest in summer. The time budget for feeding reflected both feeding conditions and the annual pattern of body condition. Greatest activity occurred during daylight hours. Only on hot summer days, activity at night was higher than during daylight hours. Spectral analysis of activity and feeding in Przewalski horse showed a time pattern which was characterised by 24-h rhythmicity, but also by ultradian components with period lengths between 4.8 and 12 h, i.e., an activity pattern of up to five strong bouts per day. Annual variation in the pattern of power spectra was not high during the year. Results are discussed in connection with horse feeding strategy. Analysing the time structure of long-term and continuously measured activity and feeding could be a useful method to follow the general living conditions, especially the nutritional situation and to detect stressful conditions.
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Call Number Equine Behaviour @ team @ Serial 2236
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Author Lomas, C.A.; Piggins, D.; Phillips, C.J.C.
Title Visual awareness Type Journal Article
Year 1998 Publication Applied Animal Behaviour Science Abbreviated Journal Appl. Anim. Behav. Sci.
Volume (down) 57 Issue 3-4 Pages 247-257
Keywords Visual awareness; Colour vision; Rhythm
Abstract Awareness varies between different species and humans can never truly appreciate what it is like to be another individual, either of the same species or another. Visual perceptual faculties provide some evidence of the extent to which domesticated animals derive information from objects in their environment, whilst changes in behaviour resulting from different visual stimuli can also provide valuable information on the state of visual awareness. Extensive processing of potentially visual information must occur in all domesticated species, but is much less well understood than purely sensory based information. For example, sensory aspects of colour vision are reasonably well understood, but the role of wavelength variables in an animal's cognition and its colour experience is not clear. Considerable use is made of diurnal changes in photoperiod to synchronise endogenous rhythms to particular times of the day and the year. Variation in light intensity in natural images is also important for social reasons for animals to be able to discriminate between, e.g., different faces, but little is known about intensity preferences or the effects of intensity on behaviour. It appears likely that in many cases visual stimuli represent some of the most important influences on an animal's awareness, either alone or in combination with, e.g., olfactory cues. However, a much greater understanding of their processing is required before we can make useful deductions about visual awareness in domesticated animals.
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Call Number Equine Behaviour @ team @ Serial 4309
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Author Scheibe, K.M.; Schleusner, T.; Berger, A.; Eichhorn, K.; Langbein, J.; Dal Zotto, L.; Streich, W.J.
Title ETHOSYS (R)--new system for recording and analysis of behaviour of free-ranging domestic animals and wildlife Type Journal Article
Year 1998 Publication Applied Animal Behaviour Science Abbreviated Journal Appl. Anim. Behav. Sci.
Volume (down) 55 Issue 3-4 Pages 195-211
Keywords Telemetry; Diurnal patterns; Activity; Rhythms; Feeding and nutrition
Abstract A storage telemetry system has been developed to monitor domestic animals and wildlife, and has been tested under variable conditions on sheep, Przewalski horse and mouflon. It can be used for automatic recording of different patterns of behaviour, such as activity and feeding, and is based on advanced analysis of sensor-emitted signals. The system is made up of collars (ETHOREC) with sensors and electronic devices for behaviour recording, a central station (ETHOLINK) and software for data transmission and processing (ETHODAT). All components of the ETHOREC recording device are integrated in the collar. Long-time recording of behaviour through up to four different channels and in numerous animals at one and the same time are necessary elements to facilitate biorhythmic analysis of animals under free-ranging conditions. The results obtained from this telemetry system were compared with visual observations on six sheep and four Przewalski horses. Parallel recordings were taken from four sheep, using a recorder for jaw movements. Locomotor activity usually was rated somewhat higher by observers, whereas feed uptake was rated lower. Higher feed uptake values were measured by means of the jaw movement recorder, although deviations thus measured varied less than those noticed by visual observations. All measured series exhibited significant correlations with control values. The system, consequently, was found to be more suitable for determination of diurnal patterns, change over time and relative comparison between behaviour levels than it actually was for measurement of absolute duration of a given behaviour.
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Call Number Equine Behaviour @ team @ Serial 2237
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Author Stahlbaum, C.C.; Houpt, K.A.
Title The role of the Flehmen response in the behavioral repertoire of the stallion Type Journal Article
Year 1989 Publication Physiology & behavior Abbreviated Journal Physiol. Behav.
Volume (down) 45 Issue 6 Pages 1207-1214
Keywords Animals; Behavior, Animal/*physiology; Circadian Rhythm; Discrimination (Psychology)/physiology; Estrus; Feces; Female; Horses/*physiology; Male; Sexual Behavior, Animal/*physiology; Smell/*physiology; Taste/physiology; Urine
Abstract The role of the Flehmen response in equine behavior was investigated under field and laboratory conditions. In Experiment 1, a field study made of five stallions on pasture with between three and eighteen mares each during the season indicated the following: 1) The Flehmen response was most frequently preceded by nasal, rather than oral, investigation of substances; 2) The stallions' rate of Flehmen varied with the estrous cycles of the mares; 3) The rate of Flehmen response did not show a variation with time of day; and 4) The Flehmen response was most frequently followed by marking behaviors rather than courtship behaviors. The results suggest that the Flehmen response is not an immediate component of sexual behavior, e.g., courtship of the stallion but may be involved in the overall monitoring of the mare's estrous cycle. Therefore the Flehmen response may contribute to the chemosensory priming of the stallion for reproduction. In Experiment 2 stallions were presented with urine or feces of mares in various stages of the reproductive cycle as well as with their own or other males' urine or feces. The occurrence of sniffing and Flehmen was used to determine the discriminatory ability of the stallions. Stallions can differentiate the sex of a horse on the basis of its feces alone, but cannot differentiate on the basis of urine. This ability may explain the function of fecal marking behavior of stallions.
Address New York State College of Veterinary Medicine, Cornell University, Ithaca 14853
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ISSN 0031-9384 ISBN Medium
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Notes PMID:2813545 Approved no
Call Number refbase @ user @ Serial 44
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Author Touma, C.; Palme, R.; Sachser, N.
Title Analyzing corticosterone metabolites in fecal samples of mice: a noninvasive technique to monitor stress hormones Type Journal Article
Year 2004 Publication Hormones and Behavior Abbreviated Journal Horm Behav
Volume (down) 45 Issue 1 Pages 10-22
Keywords Adrenal Cortex/drug effects; Adrenal Cortex Function Tests; Adrenocorticotropic Hormone/pharmacology; Analysis of Variance; Animals; Circadian Rhythm; Corticosterone/*analysis/metabolism; Dexamethasone/pharmacology; Feces/*chemistry; Female; Immunoenzyme Techniques/*methods; Male; Mice; Mice, Inbred C57BL; Models, Animal; Reproducibility of Results; Stress, Psychological/*metabolism
Abstract In small animals like mice, the monitoring of endocrine functions over time is constrained seriously by the adverse effects of blood sampling. Therefore, noninvasive techniques to monitor, for example, stress hormones in these animals are highly demanded in laboratory as well as in field research. The aim of our study was to evaluate the biological relevance of a recently developed technique to monitor stress hormone metabolites in fecal samples of laboratory mice. In total, six experiments were performed using six male and six female mice each. Two adrenocorticotropic hormone (ACTH) challenge tests, two dexamethasone (Dex) suppression tests and two control experiments [investigating effects of the injection procedure itself and the diurnal variation (DV) of glucocorticoids (GCs), respectively] were conducted. The experiments clearly demonstrated that pharmacological stimulation and suppression of adrenocortical activity was reflected accurately by means of corticosterone metabolite (CM) measurements in the feces of males and females. Furthermore, the technique proved sensitive enough to detect dosage-dependent effects of the ACTH/Dex treatment and facilitated to reveal profound effects of the injection procedure itself. Even the naturally occurring DV of GCs could be monitored reliably. Thus, our results confirm that measurement of fecal CM with the recently established 5alpha-pregnane-3beta,11beta,21-triol-20-one enzyme immunoassay is a very powerful tool to monitor adrenocortical activity in laboratory mice. Since mice represent the vast majority of all rodents used for research worldwide and the number of transgenic and knockout mice utilized as animal models is still increasing, this noninvasive technique can open new perspectives in biomedical and behavioral science.
Address Department of Behavioural Biology, University of Muenster, D-48149 Muenster, Germany. touma@uni-muenster.de
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ISSN 0018-506X ISBN Medium
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Notes PMID:14733887 Approved no
Call Number Equine Behaviour @ team @ Serial 4084
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Author Lees, P.; Tavernor, W.D.
Title Influence of halothane and catecholamines on heart rate and rhythm in the horse Type Journal Article
Year 1970 Publication British journal of pharmacology Abbreviated Journal Br J Pharmacol
Volume (down) 39 Issue 1 Pages 149-159
Keywords Anesthesia, Inhalation; Animals; Arrhythmia/*chemically induced; Atropine/pharmacology; Catecholamines/*pharmacology; Consciousness; Epinephrine/administration & dosage; Ethers; Female; Halothane/*pharmacology; Heart Rate/*drug effects; Horses; Hypercapnia/physiopathology; Isoproterenol/pharmacology; Male; Norepinephrine/pharmacology; Propranolol/pharmacology
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ISSN 0007-1188 ISBN Medium
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Notes PMID:5420092 Approved no
Call Number refbase @ user @ Serial 103
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Author Keay, J.M.; Singh, J.; Gaunt, M.C.; Kaur, T.
Title Fecal glucocorticoids and their metabolites as indicators of stress in various mammalian species: a literature review Type Journal Article
Year 2006 Publication Journal of zoo and wildlife medicine : official publication of the American Association of Zoo Veterinarians Abbreviated Journal J Zoo Wildl Med
Volume (down) 37 Issue 3 Pages 234-244
Keywords Animals; *Animals, Wild/metabolism; Chromatography, High Pressure Liquid/methods/veterinary; Circadian Rhythm; Conservation of Natural Resources; *Ecosystem; Feces/*chemistry; Glucocorticoids/*analysis/metabolism; Humans; Seasons; Species Specificity; Specimen Handling/methods/veterinary; Stress, Psychological/*metabolism
Abstract Conservation medicine is a discipline in which researchers and conservationists study and respond to the dynamic interplay between animals, humans, and the environment. From a wildlife perspective, animal species are encountering stressors from numerous sources. With the rapidly increasing human population, a corresponding increased demand for food, fuel, and shelter; habitat destruction; and increased competition for natural resources, the health and well-being of wild animal populations is increasingly at risk of disease and endangerment. Scientific data are needed to measure the impact that human encroachment is having on wildlife. Nonbiased biometric data provide a means to measure the amount of stress being imposed on animals from humans, the environment, and other animals. The stress response in animals functions via glucocorticoid metabolism and is regulated by the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis. Fecal glucocorticoids, in particular, may be an extremely useful biometric test, since sample collection is noninvasive to subjects and, therefore, does not introduce other variables that may alter assay results. For this reason, many researchers and conservationists have begun to use fecal glucocorticoids as a means to measure stress in various animal species. This review article summarizes the literature on many studies in which fecal glucocorticoids and their metabolites have been used to assess stress levels in various mammalian species. Variations between studies are the main focus of this review. Collection methods, storage conditions, shipping procedures, and laboratory techniques utilized by different researchers are discussed.
Address Department of Biomedical Sciences and Pathobiology, Virginia-Maryland Regional College of Veterinary Medicine, Virginia Tech, 0442 Duck Pond Drive, Blacksburg, Virginia 24061, USA
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ISSN 1042-7260 ISBN Medium
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Notes PMID:17319120 Approved no
Call Number refbase @ user @ Serial 616
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Author Bottoms, G.D.; Roesel, O.F.; Rausch, F.D.; Akins, E.L.
Title Circadian variation in plasma cortisol and corticosterone in pigs and mares Type Journal Article
Year 1972 Publication American Journal of Veterinary Research Abbreviated Journal Am J Vet Res
Volume (down) 33 Issue 4 Pages 785-790
Keywords Animals; *Circadian Rhythm; Corticosterone/*blood; Female; Horses/*metabolism; Hydrocortisone/*blood; Methods; Swine/*metabolism; Time Factors
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ISSN 0002-9645 ISBN Medium
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Notes PMID:5017871 Approved no
Call Number Equine Behaviour @ team @ Serial 4074
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Author Perez-Cruz, C.; Simon, M.; Czéh, B.; Flügge, G.; Fuchs, E.
Title Hemispheric differences in basilar dendrites and spines of pyramidal neurons in the rat prelimbic cortex: activity- and stress-induced changes Type Journal Article
Year 2009 Publication European Journal of Neuroscience Abbreviated Journal Eur. J. Neurosci.
Volume (down) 29 Issue 4 Pages 738-747
Keywords dendrite; diurnal rhythm; lateralization; prefrontal cortex; spine
Abstract Abstract Pyramidal neurons of the rat medial prefrontal cortex have been shown to react to chronic stress by retracting their apical dendrites and by spine loss. We extended these findings by focusing on the basilar dendritic tree of layer III pyramidal neurons in both hemispheres of the rat prelimbic cortex. Animals were subjected to daily restraint stress for 1 week (6 h/day), during either the resting or the activity period. The morphology of basilar dendrites and spines of Golgi–Cox-stained neurons in the left and right hemispheres was digitally reconstructed and analyzed. We observed the following: (i) there was an inherent hemispheric asymmetry in control rats during the resting period: the number of spines on proximal dendrites was higher in the left than in the right hemisphere; (ii) basal dendrites in controls displayed a diurnal variation: there was more dendritic material during the resting period than in the activity period; (iii) chronic stress reduced the length of basal dendrites in only the right prelimbic cortex; (iv) chronic stress reduced spine density on proximal basal dendrites; (v) restraint stress during the activity period had more pronounced effects on the physiological stress parameters than restraint stress during the resting period. Our results show dynamic hemisphere-dependent structural changes in pyramidal neurons of the rat prelimbic cortex that are tightly linked to periods of resting and activity. These morphological alterations reflect the capacity of the neurons to react to external stimuli and mirror presumptive changes in neuronal communication.
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Publisher Blackwell Publishing Ltd Place of Publication Editor
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ISSN 1460-9568 ISBN Medium
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Call Number Equine Behaviour @ team @ Serial 5355
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Author Tavernor, W.D.; Lees, P.
Title A pharmacological investigation of the influence of suxamethonium on cardiac function in the horse Type Journal Article
Year 1968 Publication Experientia Abbreviated Journal Experientia
Volume (down) 24 Issue 6 Pages 582-583
Keywords Animals; Arrhythmia/chemically induced; Consciousness; Halothane; Heart/innervation; Heart Rate/*drug effects; Horses/*physiology; Oxygen; Propranolol/pharmacology; Receptors, Sensory/drug effects; Stimulation, Chemical; Succinylcholine/antagonists & inhibitors/*pharmacology; Sympathetic Nervous System/physiology; Tachycardia/chemically induced; Thiopental
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ISSN 0014-4754 ISBN Medium
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Notes PMID:5697737 Approved no
Call Number refbase @ user @ Serial 104
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