Effect of housing and husbandry practices on adrenocortical activity in captive Canada lynx (Lynx canadensis)
Effect of housing and husbandry practices on adrenocortical activity in captive Canada lynx (Lynx canadensis)
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DOI：
10.7120/09627286.22.2.159
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发表时间：
2013-05-01
期刊：
影响因子：
1.2
通讯作者：
Wielebnowski, N. C.
中科院分区：
文献类型：
--
作者：
Fanson, K. V.;Wielebnowski, N. C.
近年来，人们越来越关注圈养环境（如动物园和水族馆）中动物福利的研究和评估。加拿大猞猁（lynx canadensis）是动物园中相对常见的物种，但众所周知，在圈养环境中经常出现繁殖问题。我们提供了一个探索性的分析住房和饲养因素，是相关的模式，在猞猁肾上腺皮质活动。采用监测粪便糖皮质激素代谢物（FGM）的无创技术评估肾上腺皮质活性。首先，我们计算了每个人的女性生殖器切割基线值，并控制了性别、年龄和生殖状况。残差值用于确定肾上腺皮质活动水平如何与机构畜牧业实践相关。其次，我们将女性生殖器切割高峰的发生与饲养员记录的事件和干扰进行了比较。我们的研究结果强调，肾上腺皮质活动与以下因素密切相关：(i)围栏的大小；（ii）可用的藏匿地点数目；（三）社会环境。根据我们的研究结果，我们建议猞猁通常应该单独居住（除非有依赖的后代或为了交配而临时配对），在更大的围栏中，并提供几个适合物种的藏身之处。
In recent years, there has been an increasing focus on the study and assessment of animal welfare in captive settings, such as zoological gardens and aquaria. Canada lynx (Lynx canadensis) are a relatively common species in zoos, yet are known to exhibit frequent reproductive problems in captive environments. We provide an exploratory analysis of housing and husbandry factors that are associated with patterns of adrenocortical activity in lynx. Adrenocortical activity was assessed using the non-invasive technique of monitoring faecal glucocorticoid metabolites (FGM). First, we calculated baseline FGM values for each individual and controlled for sex, age class, and reproductive status. The residual values were used to determine how levels of adrenocortical activity correlated with institutional husbandry practices. Second, we compared the occurrence of FGM peaks to events and disturbances recorded by keepers. Our results highlighted that adrenocortical activity is strongly correlated with: (i) the size of the enclosure; (ii) the number of hiding locations available; and (iii) the social environment. Based on our findings, we recommend that lynx should generally be housed alone (unless with dependant offspring or temporarily paired up for mating purposes), in larger enclosures and with the provision of several species-appropriate hiding locations.