Measuring animal activity in the context of light/dark phase and social proximity

自动化行为评估已成为大规模、高质量、基于动物的研究中不可或缺的工具。在过去的几年里，收集详细的行为数据需要在现场观察或视频评估期间进行劳动密集型评分，但随着最近的技术进步，现在可以使用自动化设备有效客观地获得许多措施。活动记录仪系统是人类研究中使用最广泛的活动监测设备，近年来也越来越多地用于狗和马的研究。除了活动监测，ActiGraph wGT 3X-BT还包括一个照度计来测量光线水平，以及一个接近传感器，可以检测其他单元，无论是安装在有生命的还是无生命的物体上。在光照水平的背景下评估活动对于光照水平因人为干扰或季节而每天变化的研究尤为重要。接近传感器极大地扩展了自动行为评估的能力，因为它允许自动评估社交互动（例如，在动物之间，或者在人和动物之间），以及与环境内的各种无生命物体的使用有关的时间预算（例如，喂食器、休息区）。这是本申请中描述的研究的重要技术进步，因为长期的、基于行为评分的行为在私人家庭和工作环境中是完全不切实际的，在这些环境中，所有者抵抗观察者或摄像机的存在。因此，自动评估是在这些私人环境中收集这类数据的唯一可行和具有成本效益的方法。我们的团队包括一个多样化的研究人员（三个共同申请人和五个合作者），他们需要一个复杂的系统来进行猫，狗和马的自动行为评估。我们将利用这些设备进行尖端研究，旨在改善猫狗的营养、健康和福利，并制定控制策略，以防止马和其他农场物种爆发传染病。受训人员将大量使用这一设备，他们将获得自动行为评估方面的宝贵技能，这对他们未来作为独立研究人员取得成功至关重要。

Automated behavioural assessment has become an indispensable tool for large scale, high quality, animal-based studies. In years past, collection of detailed behavioural data required labour intensive scoring during either live observations or video assessment, but with recent technological advancements many measures can now be obtained efficiently and objectively using automated equipment. The Actigraph system is the most widely used activity monitoring equipment for human research, and it has also been increasingly used in recent years for research examining dogs and horses. In addition to activity monitoring, the ActiGraph wGT3X-BT includes a luxometer to measure light levels, and a proximity sensor that can detect other units, whether mounted on animate or inanimate objects. Assessment of activity in the context of light levels is particularly important for research where light levels are variable from day to day, either due to human interference or season. The proximity sensor dramatically expands the capacity for automated behavioural assessment, since it allows for automated assessment of social interactions (e.g., between animals, or between humans and animals), and of time budgets in relation to use of various inanimate objects within the environment (e.g., feeders, resting areas). This is an important technological advancement for the research described in this application, since long-term, observer-based behaviour scoring is entirely impractical in private home and work environments where owners are resistant to the presence of observers or videos cameras. Thus, automated assessment is the only feasible and cost-effective method for collection of these types of data in these private environments. Our team includes a diverse group of researchers (three co-applicants and five collaborators) that require a sophisticated system for automated behavioural assessment for use in cats, dogs and horses. We will use this equipment to conduct cutting edge research aimed at improving nutrition, health and welfare for cats and dogs, and developing control strategies to prevent infectious disease outbreaks in horses and other farm species. This equipment will be heavily used by trainees, who will gain valuable skills in automated behaviour assessment that will be important to their future success as independent researchers.********