scholarly journals Effects of Nearby Construction Work on the Behavior of Asiatic Lions (Panthera leo persica)

2021 ◽  
Vol 2 (1) ◽  
pp. 66-74
Author(s):  
Leah J. Williams ◽  
Katherine Finch ◽  
Rose Agnew ◽  
Lisa Holmes

In order to be successful and have high standards of animal welfare, modern zoos strive to regularly modify, improve, and build animal enclosures and visitor areas. However, these periods of development could result in temporary durations of sub-optimal welfare for animals housed nearby. In this study, we monitored the behavior of three Asiatic lions (Panthera leo persica) prior to, during, and following a period of construction on a nearby building. Our results provide evidence that welfare may have been temporarily reduced during the construction period. Compared to the pre-construction period, the male exhibited an increase in pacing behavior and all three lions reduced the time they spent resting. We infer that the most significant negative stimulus related to the construction was sound and/or ground vibrations, as a physical barrier ruled out stress from visual stimuli. The behavioral response to the construction work was relatively short-lived and no long-term changes were observed one year on. This research highlights the importance of measuring animal behavior around events outside routine husbandry, and considering animal welfare on an individual basis. Finally, this work adds to the body of literature surrounding the impacts of construction on animal wellbeing and outlines some suggestions for potential mitigation.

1997 ◽  
Vol 80 (1) ◽  
pp. 347-350 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kelly Kulkoski ◽  
Catherine Kilian

Past studies indicate that sexual assault is negatively associated with victims' general self-esteem, but little is known about how the experience affects body esteem. We hypothesized that sexual assault would have a long-term negative association with measures of both general self-esteem and body esteem. Participants were 76 women, ages 18 to 45 years, 13 of whom had been sexually assaulted at least one year previously. Analysis supported the hypothesis that the sexually assaulted women scored lower than nonassaulted women on Rosenberg's Self-esteem Scale but not on the Body Esteem Scale. When individual body-attitude items were analyzed, the assaulted women's negative ratings of sexual activities fell just short of significance, so further and longitudinal study of a larger group is needed.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tina Hollandt ◽  
Markus Baur ◽  
Caroline Wöhr

AbstractConsidering animal welfare, animals should be kept in animal-appropriate and stress-free housing conditions in all circumstances. To assure such conditions, not only basic needs must be met, but also possibilities must be provided that allow animals in captive care to express all species-typical behaviors. Rack housing systems for snakes have become increasingly popular and are widely used; however, from an animal welfare perspective, they are no alternative to furnished terrariums. In this study, we therefore evaluated two types of housing systems for ball pythons (Python regius) by considering the welfare aspect animal behavior. In Part 1 of the study, ball pythons (n = 35) were housed individually in a conventional rack system. The pythons were provided with a hiding place and a water bowl, temperature control was automatic, and the lighting in the room served as indirect illumination. In Part 2 of the study, the same ball pythons, after at least 8 weeks, were housed individually in furnished terrariums. The size of each terrarium was correlated with the body length of each python. The terrariums contained substrate, a hiding place, possibilities for climbing, a water basin for bathing, an elevated basking spot, and living plants. The temperature was controlled automatically, and illumination was provided by a fluorescent tube and a UV lamp. The shown behavior spectrum differed significantly between the two housing systems (p < 0.05). The four behaviors basking, climbing, burrowing, and bathing could only be expressed in the terrarium. Abnormal behaviors that could indicate stereotypies were almost exclusively seen in the rack system. The results show that the housing of ball pythons in a rack system leads to a considerable restriction in species-typical behaviors; thus, the rack system does not meet the requirements for animal-appropriate housing.


2020 ◽  
pp. 000370282097974
Author(s):  
Diane Smith ◽  
Todor Todorov ◽  
Adrian Defante ◽  
Jessica Hoffman ◽  
John Kalinich ◽  
...  

Many medical devices contain metals that interface with the body. Additionally, embedded metal fragments from military wounds are typically not removed, to avoid the risk of morbidity associated with invasive surgery. The long-term health consequences of many of these materials are not thoroughly understood. To this end, we have exposed rats for up to one year to implanted single-element metal pellets of any one of Al, Co, Cu, Fe, Ni, Pb, Ta, or W. Various tissues were harvested and flash frozen for analysis of their metal distribution. We discuss approaches to most thoroughly and reliably evaluate the distribution of metal in these tissues. The path to the most appropriate analytical technique took us through extensive examination of the tissues using Scanning Electron Microscopy with Energy Dispersive X-ray Spectroscopy (SEM-EDS), X-ray Photoelectron Spectroscopy (XPS), and Laser Ablation Inductively Coupled Plamsa Mass Spectrometry (LA-ICP-MS). Though any one of these methods is highly relied upon in surface chemistry analysis, LA-ICP-MS alone showed presence of metal in the tissue. This information will help build robust methods to bridge the gap in our understanding of biosolubility and distribution of embedded metal throughout the body.


Behaviour ◽  
2005 ◽  
Vol 142 (11-12) ◽  
pp. 1615-1641 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michael Taborsky ◽  
Lyanne Brouwer ◽  
Dik Heg ◽  
Zina Bachar

AbstractGroup size has been shown to positively influence survival of group members in many cooperatively breeding vertebrates, including the Lake Tanganyika cichlid Neolamprologus pulcher, suggesting Allee effects. However, long-term data are scarce to test how these survival differences translate into changes in group extinction risk, group size and composition. We show in a field study of 117 groups from six different colonies (three from two populations each), that group size critically influences these parameters between years. Within one year, 34% of the groups went extinct. Group size correlated positively between years and large groups did not go extinct. The latter were more likely to contain small helpers the subsequent year, which is a cumulative measure of the previous months' reproductive success. Finally, there was a tendency that large groups were more likely to contain a breeding male and female still a year after the first check. The breeder male size, breeder female size, and largest helper size did not influence these parameters, and also did not correlate with the sizes of these categories of fish after one year. This suggests that group size, and not the body size or fighting ability of group members, was the critical variable determining the success of groups. In total, seven groups had fused with other groups between years. To our knowledge, this is the first study showing long-term benefits of large group size in a cooperatively breeding fish. We discuss the importance of differential survival and dispersal of group members for the demonstrated group size effects.


Vital Bodies ◽  
2018 ◽  
pp. 1-6
Author(s):  
Charlotte Bates

This book is the story of twelve people, each living with illness. Based on ethnographic research conducted over one year, it unfolds everyday experiences of living with a long term physical or mental health condition. In doing so, the book offers an innovative account of the body, health and illness in everyday life told from a sociological perspective.


PLoS ONE ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 16 (5) ◽  
pp. e0247082
Author(s):  
Tina Hollandt ◽  
Markus Baur ◽  
Anna-Caroline Wöhr

Considering animal welfare, animals should be kept in animal-appropriate and stress-free housing conditions in all circumstances. To assure such conditions, not only basic needs must be met, but also possibilities must be provided that allow animals in captive care to express all species-typical behaviors. Rack housing systems for snakes have become increasingly popular and are widely used; however, from an animal welfare perspective, they are no alternative to furnished terrariums. In this study, we therefore evaluated two types of housing systems for ball pythons (Python regius) by considering the welfare aspect animal behavior. In Part 1 of the study, ball pythons (n = 35) were housed individually in a conventional rack system. The pythons were provided with a hiding place and a water bowl, temperature control was automatic, and the lighting in the room served as indirect illumination. In Part 2 of the study, the same ball pythons, after at least 8 weeks, were housed individually in furnished terrariums. The size of each terrarium was correlated with the body length of each python. The terrariums contained substrate, a hiding place, possibilities for climbing, a water basin for bathing, an elevated basking spot, and living plants. The temperature was controlled automatically, and illumination was provided by a fluorescent tube and a UV lamp. The shown behavior spectrum differed significantly between the two housing systems (p < 0.05). The four behaviors basking, climbing, burrowing, and bathing could only be expressed in the terrarium. Abnormal behaviors that could indicate stereotypies were almost exclusively seen in the rack system. The results show that the housing of ball pythons in a rack system leads to a considerable restriction in species-typical behaviors; thus, the rack system does not meet the requirements for animal-appropriate housing.


1997 ◽  
Vol 2 (4) ◽  
pp. 293-300 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ype H. Poortinga ◽  
Ingrid Lunt

In national codes of ethics the practice of psychology is presented as rooted in scientific knowledge, professional skills, and experience. However, it is not self-evident that the body of scientific knowledge in psychology provides an adequate basis for current professional practice. Professional training and experience are seen as necessary for the application of psychological knowledge, but they appear insufficient to defend the soundness of one's practices when challenged in judicial proceedings of a kind that may be faced by psychologists in the European Union in the not too distant future. In seeking to define the basis for the professional competence of psychologists, this article recommends taking a position of modesty concerning the scope and effectiveness of psychological interventions. In many circumstances, psychologists can only provide partial advice, narrowing down the range of possible courses of action more by eliminating unpromising ones than by pointing out the most correct or most favorable one. By emphasizing rigorous evaluation, the profession should gain in accountability and, in the long term, in respectability.


REVITALISASI ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 8 (1) ◽  
pp. 56
Author(s):  
Dessy Kusuma Wardani ◽  
Edy Swasono

This study aims to identify the dominant factors of the successful implementation of benchmarking on the performance of contracting companies and test the significance of the application of benchmarking on the performance of contracting companies. The research sample was saturated samples of 65 qualified contractor companies. The method and type of research used were correlational methods of multiple regression analysis using SPPS. The results of the study concluded that 1.Benchmarking significantly influences the performance of contracting companies in the Blitar City DPUPR; 1. The ranking of success factors for the Blitar City contractor companies in the process of implementing benchmarking (1) planning, (2) data collection, (3) acception and action and (4) analysis; 2.Benchmarking has proven to significantly improve company performance as measured by increasing (1) Corporate Finance (2) Company productivity, (3) DPUPR Consumer Satisfaction, (4) Community Satisfaction, (5) Quality of the company's construction technical personnel, (6) Satisfaction employee work, (7) Project acquisition rate in one year, (8) Effective completion of construction work, (9) Construction product quality.


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