<p>When breeding wild species in captivity, the animals may gradually become more adapted to captivity and therefore less suited for reintroduction which is the ultimate goal for some species. This study measured the activity budget of European bison (<em>Bison bonasus</em>) in six enclosures in Sweden with the aim to find out how the characteristics of the enclosures – with and without pasture - influenced the activity budget. The results show that there were significant differences in the activity budget, i.e. the activity was higher in the enclosures with pasture than in enclosures with barren ground. However, since barren enclosures were smaller than naturalistic, it was not possible to exclude the effect of size. Judged from observations of bison in the wild, there seems to be a direct correlation between food availability and ranging, indicating that enclosure characteristics affect activity more than size. The bison foraged differently in the two enclosure categories, but the total amount of time spent on feeding did not differ. A feeding enrichment experiment showed to have more positive effects in the barren enclosures than in the naturalistic ones, as the amount of time of inactivity decreased in the former. Since the genetic characteristics of all Swedish bison are very similar, the differences between the two enclosure groups indicate that the animals still have the ability to respond appropriately to improved environmental quality. Hence the next step in the assessment of the suitability of these bison for release would be to study them during an acclimatisation program.</p>

When breeding wild species in captivity, the animals may gradually become more adapted to captivity and therefore less suited for reintroduction which is the ultimate goal for some species. This study measured the activity budget of European bison (Bison bonasus) in six enclosures in Sweden with the aim to find out how the characteristics of the enclosures – with and without pasture - influenced the activity budget. The results show that there were significant differences in the activity budget, i.e. the activity was higher in the enclosures with pasture than in enclosures with barren ground. However, since barren enclosures were smaller than naturalistic, it was not possible to exclude the effect of size. Judged from observations of bison in the wild, there seems to be a direct correlation between food availability and ranging, indicating that enclosure characteristics affect activity more than size. The bison foraged differently in the two enclosure categories, but the total amount of time spent on feeding did not differ. A feeding enrichment experiment showed to have more positive effects in the barren enclosures than in the naturalistic ones, as the amount of time of inactivity decreased in the former. Since the genetic characteristics of all Swedish bison are very similar, the differences between the two enclosure groups indicate that the animals still have the ability to respond appropriately to improved environmental quality. Hence the next step in the assessment of the suitability of these bison for release would be to study them during an acclimatisation program.

Submitted by Renata Lopes (renatasil82@gmail.com) on 2016-07-14T15:47:32Z No. of bitstreams: 1 camilamendoncanettojobim.pdf: 1741926 bytes, checksum: 4e01cf9852d3df8c3d347e0e79055e6f (MD5) / Approved for entry into archive by Diamantino Mayra (mayra.diamantino@ufjf.edu.br) on 2016-07-19T15:31:18Z (GMT) No. of bitstreams: 1 camilamendoncanettojobim.pdf: 1741926 bytes, checksum: 4e01cf9852d3df8c3d347e0e79055e6f (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2016-07-19T15:31:18Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 camilamendoncanettojobim.pdf: 1741926 bytes, checksum: 4e01cf9852d3df8c3d347e0e79055e6f (MD5) Previous issue date: 2011-02-25 / Pela proximidade filogenética com os seres humanos os primatas não humanos são utilizados freqüentemente em estudos comparativos sobre o comportamento e como modelos experimentais na pesquisa biomédica. Contudo, o uso destes primatas implica numa série de questões éticas, incluindo as condições de seu cativeiro e os potenciais fatores da experimentação que podem acarretar dor, injúrias e estresse, interferindo diretamente no bem-estar do animal. O presente trabalho buscou avaliar as respostas comportamentais e endócrinas de sagüis-de-tufos-pretos (Callithrix penicillata) cativos, machos e fêmeas, frente à técnica de enriquecimento ambiental do tipo alimentar (tubo) e isolamento visual (barreira). As observações foram realizadas em uma amostra de seis fêmeas e seis machos adultos de C. penicillata mantidos no Centro de Biologia da Reprodução da Universidade Federal de Juiz de Fora, Minas Gerais, Brasil. As observações comportamentais foram realizadas antes, durante e depois da aplicação da técnica de enriquecimento, no período da manhã, iniciando entre 10 e 11 horas. A avaliação endócrina foi realizada através da mensuração dos níveis de cortisol presente nas amostras fecais dos animais. Tais análises foram realizadas no Laboratório de Dosagens Hormonais da Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Norte. Para o enriquecimento alimentar foram encontradas alterações significativas que indicam que este foi eficaz reduzindo comportamentos de alimentação durante a exposição ao enriquecimento e reduzindo a agitação. Para este tipo de enriquecimento os machos se mostraram comportamentalmente mais reativos que as fêmeas e não houve diferença significativa para os níveis de cortisol. Com a utilização do enriquecimento social, foi verificado o conflito gerado com a proximidade entre indivíduos do mesmo sexo, sendo a fase com a barreira a que menos apresentou comportamentos indicativos de estresse, e as fêmeas apresentaram os menores valores para o cortisol. No confronto dos dados de machos e fêmeas, estas se mostraram mais reativas à presença de outras fêmeas, possivelmente pelo fato que sua estratégia reprodutiva ser reflexo do status social. Para os machos o isolamento foi um fator de estresse, uma vez que tiveram maior concentração de cortisol. / Non-human primates are often used in behavioral studies and in biomedical research as a model mainly because their phylogenic proximity to human beings. However, the use of non-human primates in researches implies in many ethical issues, including the captivity conditions and the potential aspects of the procedures that may cause pain, injuries and stress which can interfere with their welfare. The present research intended to analyze the behavioral and endocrine responses of six males and six females of captive black-tuffed marmosets (Callithrix penicillata) to a feeding (tube) and a visual isolation (barrier) environmental enrichment techniques. The animals belong to the colony maintained by Centro de Biologia da Reprodução of Universidade Federal de Juiz de Fora, in Juiz de Fora, Minas Gerais state, in Brazil. The behavior and hormonal data were collected before, during and after the exposure to environmental enrichment. The hormonal analysis of fecal cortisol was performed in the Laboratorio de Dosagens Hormonais of the Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Norte. During the exposure to the feeding enrichment technique – FASE II, it was observed a decrease in movement and in ingestion of the regular diet by the animals. Besides, in this experiment, the male marmosets were more reactive than the females and no significant differences on cortisol levels were detected. Using the social enrichment (a visual barrier between the cages), it was verified the existence of conflicts between close same-sex animals, which decreased cortisol when the barrier was used. In this case, the marmoset females were more reactive to the enrichment probably because they compete to reproductive as a consequence of social dominance. For males the isolation seems to be a stressful situation since they increase cortisol on this situation.