No description available.

A garantia de bem-estar animal é essencial para assegurar resultados científicos confiáveis, e as técnicas de enriquecimento ambiental, utilizadas nessa busca, não podem ignorar as preferências e necessidades da espécie em questão, tais como o modo de utilização do espaço disponível. Nosso objetivo foi analisar como 35 gatos domésticos (12 machos e 23 fêmeas) utilizam seu espaço e as influências do enriquecimento ambiental nessa questão, visto que tal grupo contempla características de animais de companhia e também de biotério, sendo modelo em diversas pesquisas científicas. A utilização do espaço vertical foi quantificada a partir de filmagens das camas continuamente disponíveis em 4 níveis (0,60; 0,88; 1,16 e 1,46 m) e de refúgios (enriquecimento) em 3 diferentes alturas: 0, 0,5 e 1,0 m. Os resultados indicaram predileção pelas camas mais elevadas (1,46 m); entretanto, houve diferença significativa no tempo de utilização apenas para os refúgios a 0,5m, reforçando a importância de testar e confrontar as preferências dos animais em diferentes circunstâncias. Quanto ao uso do espaço horizontal, a disponibilização de refúgios alterou a distribuição dos animais na área de teste e aumentou comportamentos ativos e passivos. Testamos a escolha entre refúgios descobertos (100%) e com 50% de cobertura e também entre refúgios com aberturas laterais de 25% e 100%. Preferências não identificadas no primeiro teste (100% e 50% descobertas) tornaram-se aparentes quando as aberturas estavam nas laterais: os refúgios com 25% de abertura lateral foram utilizados por mais tempo. Tais resultados podem estar relacionados a ansiedade dos animais confinados, podendo esse teste ser uma potencial alternativa ao labirinto em cruz elevado para estudos de ansiedade com felinos. As diferenças observadas entre machos e fêmeas podem apontar influência diferenciada entre gêneros do confinamento no comportamento de animais castrados. Nossas conclusões ressaltam a necessidade do enriquecimento ambiental bem fundamentado na manutenção do bem-estar animal e sua interferência no uso do espaço. / The guarantee of animal welfare is essential to ensure reliable scientific results, and the techniques of environmental enrichment, used in this quest, shall not ignore the needs and preferences of the species in question, such as how to use the available space. Our objective was to analyze how 35 cats (12 males and 23 females), use their space and the influences of environmental enrichment on this issue, since this group includes characteristics of pets and also of laboratory animals, being a model in several scientific studies. The use of vertical space was quantified through the filming of the continuously available beds in four levels (0.60, 0.88, 1.16 and 1.46 m) and the refuges (enrichment) in three different heights: 0, 0.5 and 1.0 m. Our results show that there is a preference for the higher beds (1.46 m); however, significant differences in time use was observed only for refuges in 0.5 m, reinforcing the importance of testing and comparing the preferences of animals in different circumstances. Regarding the use of horizontal space, the availability of refuges changed the distribution of animals in the test area and increased active and passive behaviors. We tested the choice between uncovered shelters (100%) and ones with 50% coverage and also shelters with lateral openings between 25% and 100%. Preferences which were not identified in the first test (100% and 50% uncovered) became apparent when the openings were on the sides: refuges with 25% side opening were used for a longer period. This finding may be related to the anxiety of confined animals, and this test may be a potential alternative to the elevated plus maze for studies of anxiety in cats. The differences observed between males and females may indicate the influence between genders of confinement on the behavior of castrated animals. Our findings highlight the need for well founded environmental enrichment in the maintenance of animal welfare and its interference with the use of space.

No description available.

A garantia de bem-estar animal é essencial para assegurar resultados científicos confiáveis, e as técnicas de enriquecimento ambiental, utilizadas nessa busca, não podem ignorar as preferências e necessidades da espécie em questão, tais como o modo de utilização do espaço disponível. Nosso objetivo foi analisar como 35 gatos domésticos (12 machos e 23 fêmeas) utilizam seu espaço e as influências do enriquecimento ambiental nessa questão, visto que tal grupo contempla características de animais de companhia e também de biotério, sendo modelo em diversas pesquisas científicas. A utilização do espaço vertical foi quantificada a partir de filmagens das camas continuamente disponíveis em 4 níveis (0,60; 0,88; 1,16 e 1,46 m) e de refúgios (enriquecimento) em 3 diferentes alturas: 0, 0,5 e 1,0 m. Os resultados indicaram predileção pelas camas mais elevadas (1,46 m); entretanto, houve diferença significativa no tempo de utilização apenas para os refúgios a 0,5m, reforçando a importância de testar e confrontar as preferências dos animais em diferentes circunstâncias. Quanto ao uso do espaço horizontal, a disponibilização de refúgios alterou a distribuição dos animais na área de teste e aumentou comportamentos ativos e passivos. Testamos a escolha entre refúgios descobertos (100%) e com 50% de cobertura e também entre refúgios com aberturas laterais de 25% e 100%. Preferências não identificadas no primeiro teste (100% e 50% descobertas) tornaram-se aparentes quando as aberturas estavam nas laterais: os refúgios com 25% de abertura lateral foram utilizados por mais tempo. Tais resultados podem estar relacionados a ansiedade dos animais confinados, podendo esse teste ser uma potencial alternativa ao labirinto em cruz elevado para estudos de ansiedade com felinos. As diferenças observadas entre machos e fêmeas podem apontar influência diferenciada entre gêneros do confinamento no comportamento de animais castrados. Nossas conclusões ressaltam a necessidade do enriquecimento ambiental bem fundamentado na manutenção do bem-estar animal e sua interferência no uso do espaço. / The guarantee of animal welfare is essential to ensure reliable scientific results, and the techniques of environmental enrichment, used in this quest, shall not ignore the needs and preferences of the species in question, such as how to use the available space. Our objective was to analyze how 35 cats (12 males and 23 females), use their space and the influences of environmental enrichment on this issue, since this group includes characteristics of pets and also of laboratory animals, being a model in several scientific studies. The use of vertical space was quantified through the filming of the continuously available beds in four levels (0.60, 0.88, 1.16 and 1.46 m) and the refuges (enrichment) in three different heights: 0, 0.5 and 1.0 m. Our results show that there is a preference for the higher beds (1.46 m); however, significant differences in time use was observed only for refuges in 0.5 m, reinforcing the importance of testing and comparing the preferences of animals in different circumstances. Regarding the use of horizontal space, the availability of refuges changed the distribution of animals in the test area and increased active and passive behaviors. We tested the choice between uncovered shelters (100%) and ones with 50% coverage and also shelters with lateral openings between 25% and 100%. Preferences which were not identified in the first test (100% and 50% uncovered) became apparent when the openings were on the sides: refuges with 25% side opening were used for a longer period. This finding may be related to the anxiety of confined animals, and this test may be a potential alternative to the elevated plus maze for studies of anxiety in cats. The differences observed between males and females may indicate the influence between genders of confinement on the behavior of castrated animals. Our findings highlight the need for well founded environmental enrichment in the maintenance of animal welfare and its interference with the use of space.

Animals must sense their surroundings to update their internal representations of the external environment, and exploratory behaviours such as sensory sampling are influenced by past experiences. This thesis investigates how voluntary sensory sampling activities undergo learning-dependent changes. Studies of freely behaving animals impose two major challenges: 1) the accuracy of biological measurements is compromised by movement-induced artifacts, and 2) large degrees of freedom in unrestrained behaviours confound well-controlled studies. Pulse-type weakly electric fish (WEF) are an ideal choice to study adaptive sensory sampling from unrestrained animals, since they generate readily observable and quantifiable sensory capture events expressed by discrete pulses of electric organ discharges (EODs). To study the voluntarily movements and sensory sampling while animals navigated in darkness, we developed three novel experimental techniques to track movements and detect sensory sampling from a freely behaving WEF: 1) an EOD detector to remotely and accurately measure the sensory sampling rate, 2) an electrical tracking method to track multiple WEF using their own EODs, and 3) visual tracking algorithm for robust body tracking through water under infrared illumination. These techniques were successfully applied to reveal novel sensory sampling behaviours in freely exploring Gymnotus sp. Cortical activity precedes self-initiated movements by several seconds in mammals; this observation has led into inquiries on the nature of volition. Here we demonstrate the sensory sampling enhancement also precedes self-initiated movement by a few seconds in Gymnotus sp. Next, we tested whether these animals can be trained to learn a location of food using electrically detectable landmarks and, if so, whether they can use their past experiences to optimize their sensory sampling. We found that animals revisited the missing food location with high spatial accuracy, and they intensified their sensory sampling near the expected food location by increasing the number of EOD pulses per unit distance travelled.

The purpose of this study is to explore online consumers' experiential response towards visual user-generated content in online shopping environments for fashion online shopping. The Stimulus-Organism-Response (S-O-R) framework has been widely used in online shopping environment studies to examine the effect of website attributes on online shoppers' internal affective and cognitive states, and shopping behaviour (Kawaf and Tagg, 2012). Recent literature in the field proposes a more holistic approach towards online experiences (e.g., Pentina, Amialchuk, and Taylor, 2011) which is conceptualise to mediate the relationship between website attributes and behavioural responses. Consumer experiences are considered to be a critical concept in consumer behaviour and marketing for understanding consumers and to create competitive advantage in online retailing (Schmitt, 2010). Building on existing online shopping environment research, the study conceptualises online experiences for fashion online. This study seeks to investigate online consumers' experiential responses (aesthetics, relational, emotional, Flow experience and interactivity) towards two visual user-generated stimulus: (1) Looks - photographs of individuals modelling their own fashion, and (2) Outfits - digital collages displaying an assortment of products centred around a theme. They are both features which have been created by community members in an online social shopping community, ASOS Fashion Finder. The context of this study was exploratory and utilised a mixed methods approach where 13 photo-elicited interviews (PEI) with female online shoppers of ASOS, aged 18-34, were conducted to identify and understand consumers' online experiential responses and online shopping intentions towards the two visual stimulus. Using the same sample criteria, an online survey with 555 responses was also conducted to measure and test relationships between consumers' experiential responses and shopping intentions. The results of this study provides insight to the experiential states of fashion online consumers for online retail marketing, and contributes knowledge to research literature and theory on online shopping environments and customer experiences.