An examination of nest-building behaviour using five different nesting materials in C57BL/6J and BALB/c mice

2021 ◽  
Vol 30 (4) ◽  
pp. 467-477
Author(s):  
B Obermueller ◽  
C Castellani ◽  
H Till ◽  
B Reininger-Gutmann ◽  
G Singer
Keyword(s):  
Building Materials ◽  
Home Cage ◽  
Statistical Significance ◽  
Random Order ◽  
Nest Building ◽  
Laboratory Animals ◽  
Adult Mice ◽  
Specific Effects ◽  
Female Pair ◽  
Building Behaviour

The aim of our study was to assess the nest-building behaviour of two mouse (Mus musculus) strains using different nesting materials and examine possible sex- and housing-specific effects. Adult mice of two strains (C57BL/6J; n = 64 and BALB/cAnNCrl; n = 99) were randomly allocated to the following housing groups: single-housed male, single-housed female, pair-housed male and pair-housed female. One of the following nest-building materials was placed in each home-cage in a random order: nestlets (Plexx BV, The Netherlands), cocoons (Carfil, Belgium), wooden wool, crinklets and compact (all three, Safe, Germany). The following day, nests were rated applying a nest-scoring scale ranging from 0 to 10, the nests were removed, and a different nest-building material provided. In both tested strains, nestlets achieved the highest nest-building scores when compared to the other four nest-building materials. All nest-building materials scored higher in BALB/c mice compared to C57BL/6J animals reaching statistical significance in crinklets only. Sex comparison revealed that female C57BL/6J mice only scored significantly higher using crinklets than males and BALB/c female mice were rated significantly higher using wooden wool, cocoons and compact than their male counterparts. While pair-housed C57BL/6J animals built higher-rated nests than single-housed mice in the C57BL/6J strain in all five materials tested, the scores were not significantly different in the BALB/c strain. Results of the present study reveal significant strain-, sex- and housing-related influences on the complexity of nests using different standardised building materials. Such observations need to be taken into account when planning the optimal enrichment programme for laboratory animals.

scholarly journals Nest-building Behaviour of the Asian Open Billed Stork Anastomus oscitans, in the Kulik Bird Sanctuary, Raiganj, India

Our Nature ◽  
1970 ◽  
Vol 7 (1) ◽  
pp. 39-47
Author(s):  
A.K. Pramanik ◽  
K.B. Santra ◽  
C.K. Manna
Keyword(s):  
Breeding Season ◽  
Building Materials ◽  
Heavy Rain ◽  
Egg Laying ◽  
Nest Building ◽  
Nest Attendance ◽  
Nest Protection ◽  
The Individual ◽  
Building Behaviour ◽  
Incubation Pattern

A field study of the nest-building behaviour in the breeding season of the Asian Open-Billed Stork, Anastomus oscitans, was conducted in the Kulik Bird Sanctuary, Raiganj, Uttar Dinajpur, West Bengal, India. Observations were made throughout one complete breeding season (2007-2008) in the sanctuary. The open-billed stork comes in the last week of June at the Kulik bird sanctuary, stays there for 5 to 6 months and leaves the place in the month of December of every year. From the present observations it was noticed that about 58920 storks came to Kulik during 2008. Various types of behaviour were observed during this particular period. Coming to the Kulik, pairing of the individual storks start and mating display was observed within a day or two. Birds of a pair supplied the nest building materials to form the nest.  To give a definite shape to the nest it took about 12-15 days before egg laying. The nesting territory consisted of a semicircle, some times circular and approximately with 30.21 ± 0.12 cm radius. The depth of the nest was about 6.9 ± 0.02 cm. The nest building materials consisted of fragments of old branches of trees, some soft green leaves and grasses. These branches helped in strengthening and the leaves and grasses helped in softening of the nest.  During the incubation period both sexes were involved to incubate the eggs. Nest attendance of the breeding birds was continuous during the first 2-months period. From regular observation it was noticed that either of the pair took additional care by spreading their wings during the time of heavy sunshine or heavy rain. The main behavioral patterns examined were aerial displays, mating pattern, nest building, egg laying and incubation pattern, nest defense and nest protection. Diversity of nesting behavior in open-billed stork was pointed out and discussed.Key words: Asian Open-Billed Stork, Kulik Bird Sanctuary, Nest-building behaviorDOI: 10.3126/on.v7i1.2552Our Nature (2009) 7:39-47

Some Social and Hormonal Determinants of Nest-Building Behaviour in the Ring Dove (Streptopelia Risoria)

Behaviour ◽  
1973 ◽  
Vol 45 (1-2) ◽  
pp. 12-36 ◽  
Author(s):  
Carl J. Erickson ◽  
Marie Christine Martinez-Vargas
Keyword(s):  
Building Materials ◽  
Nest Site ◽  
Pine Needles ◽  
Nest Building ◽  
Diurnal Changes ◽  
Streptopelia Risoria ◽  
Ring Dove ◽  
Nest Materials ◽  
Building Behaviour ◽  
Ring Doves

AbstractTwo experiments were performed to evaluate some of the controlling factors in ring dove nest-building behaviour. In the first study six pairs of animals were observed each day until the first egg appeared. Behaviour was recorded during four intervals on each day in order to obtain estimates of diurnal changes in behaviour. Moreover, each pair was presented with a variety of nest-building materials in order to determine those kinds that would be most acceptable to the animals in subsequent studies. The birds showed striking diurnal changes in behaviour. Bow-cooing, aggressive pecking by the male, nest soliciting, time-in-the-nest, and allopreening exhibited a steady decline throughout the day. Nest-building activity reached a peak between one and seven hours after the lights came on in the morning and then declined throughout the remainder of the day. By contrast, copulatory behaviour, though infrequent in the morning hours, rose sharply in the late afternoon and reached a peak during the evening watch. Feeding and self-preening also increased slightly during the afternoon and evening. The ring doves also showed marked preferences in their choice of nest materials. Light-colored reed was preferred almost exclusively to dark-colored reed. Moreover, as nest construction progressed, there was a change in the type of material collected. During early building approximately equal numbers of pine needles as well as light and heavy reed were collected. As the nest neared completion, reed collection diminished and pine needles alone were collected. The resulting structure consisted of a base of several materials lined with pine needles alone. Observations in this first experiment suggested that gathering activity by the male was elicited by the presence of the female in the nest site. A second experiment was designed to examine this relationship. Twelve female ring doves were injected with progesterone and diethylstilboestrol while another twelve females served as oil-injected controls. Hormone-treated females were found to become more firmly established at the nest site during the first two days after introduction to a male. The males mated with these hormone-treated females engaged in more nest material gathering than did males mated with oil-treated females. It was concluded that gathering behaviour by the male is determined, at least in part, by relevant social cues from the female.

Oxidation of combined ingestion of glucose and fructose during exercise

2004 ◽  
Vol 96 (4) ◽  
pp. 1277-1284 ◽  
Author(s):  
Roy L. P. G. Jentjens ◽  
Luke Moseley ◽  
Rosemary H. Waring ◽  
Leslie K. Harding ◽  
Asker E. Jeukendrup
Keyword(s):  
Power Output ◽  
Statistical Significance ◽  
Random Order ◽  
Carbohydrate Oxidation ◽  
Maximum Power ◽  
The Other ◽  
Cycling Exercise ◽  
Oxidation Rates ◽  
Maximum Power Output ◽  
Exercise Period

The purpose of the present study was to examine whether combined ingestion of a large amount of fructose and glucose during cycling exercise would lead to exogenous carbohydrate oxidation rates >1 g/min. Eight trained cyclists (maximal O2consumption: 62 ± 3 ml·kg-1·min-1) performed four exercise trials in random order. Each trial consisted of 120 min of cycling at 50% maximum power output (63 ± 2% maximal O2consumption), while subjects received a solution providing either 1.2 g/min of glucose (Med-Glu), 1.8 g/min of glucose (High-Glu), 0.6 g/min of fructose + 1.2 g/min of glucose (Fruc+Glu), or water. The ingested fructose was labeled with [U-13C]fructose, and the ingested glucose was labeled with [U-14C]glucose. Peak exogenous carbohydrate oxidation rates were ∼55% higher ( P < 0.001) in Fruc+Glu (1.26 ± 0.07 g/min) compared with Med-Glu and High-Glu (0.80 ± 0.04 and 0.83 ± 0.05 g/min, respectively). Furthermore, the average exogenous carbohydrate oxidation rates over the 60- to 120-min exercise period were higher ( P < 0.001) in Fruc+Glu compared with Med-Glu and High-Glu (1.16 ± 0.06, 0.75 ± 0.04, and 0.75 ± 0.04 g/min, respectively). There was a trend toward a lower endogenous carbohydrate oxidation in Fruc+Glu compared with the other two carbohydrate trials, but this failed to reach statistical significance ( P = 0.075). The present results demonstrate that, when fructose and glucose are ingested simultaneously at high rates during cycling exercise, exogenous carbohydrate oxidation rates can reach peak values of ∼1.3 g/min.

Pulmonary gas exchange in humans exercising at sea level and simulated altitude

1986 ◽  
Vol 61 (1) ◽  
pp. 260-270 ◽  
Author(s):  
P. D. Wagner ◽  
G. E. Gale ◽  
R. E. Moon ◽  
J. R. Torre-Bueno ◽  
B. W. Stolp ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Gas Exchange ◽  
Arterial Pressure ◽  
Sea Level ◽  
Pulmonary Arterial Pressure ◽  
Minute Ventilation ◽  
Statistical Significance ◽  
Random Order ◽  
Normal Subjects ◽  
Simulated Altitude ◽  
Pulmonary Arterial

In a previous study of normal subjects exercising at sea level and simulated altitude, ventilation-perfusion (VA/Q) inequality and alveolar-end-capillary O2 diffusion limitation (DIFF) were found to increase on exercise at altitude, but at sea level the changes did not reach statistical significance. This paper reports additional measurements of VA/Q inequality and DIFF (at sea level and altitude) and also of pulmonary arterial pressure. This was to examine the hypothesis that VA/Q inequality is related to increased pulmonary arterial pressure. In a hypobaric chamber, eight normal subjects were exposed to barometric pressures of 752, 523, and 429 Torr (sea level, 10,000 ft, and 15,000 ft) in random order. At each altitude, inert and respiratory gas exchange and hemodynamic variables were studied at rest and during several levels of steady-state bicycle exercise. Multiple inert gas data from the previous and current studies were combined (after demonstrating no statistical difference between them) and showed increasing VA/Q inequality with sea level exercise (P = 0.02). Breathing 100% O2 did not reverse this increase. When O2 consumption exceeded about 2.7 1/min, evidence for DIFF at sea level was present (P = 0.01). VA/Q inequality and DIFF increased with exercise at altitude as found previously and was reversed by 100% O2 breathing. Indexes of VA/Q dispersion correlated well with mean pulmonary arterial pressure and also with minute ventilation. This study confirms the development of both VA/Q mismatch and DIFF in normal subjects during heavy exercise at sea level. However, the mechanism of increased VA/Q mismatch on exercise remains unclear due to the correlation with both ventilatory and circulatory variables and will require further study.

scholarly journals Nests of the Brazilian squirrel Sciurus ingrami Thomas (Rodentia, Sciuridae)

2005 ◽  
Vol 22 (3) ◽  
pp. 816-818 ◽  
Author(s):  
Cibele A. Alvarenga ◽  
Sônia A. Talamoni
Keyword(s):  
Tree Species ◽  
Minas Gerais ◽  
Side Branch ◽  
Nest Building ◽  
Palm Tree ◽  
High Concentration ◽  
Exotic Tree ◽  
Building Behaviour ◽  
Syagrus Romanzoffiana

Descriptions of Sciurus ingrami Thomas, 1901 nests are not available in the literature. In this study, a survey was made of the distribution of S. ingrami nests in a woodlot located near to the headquarters of the Serra do Caraça Reserve, in state of Minas Gerais, where there is a high concentration of Syagrus romanzoffiana (Chamisso) Glassman palm tree, among other exotic tree species. The nest-building behaviour and the nest characteristics, such as height from the ground, total circumference, diameter of the entrance, and the position of the nest in the tree - in the crown, along the trunk or in a side branch, were described.

Modality-Specific Effects on Discrimination of Short Empty Time Intervals

1979 ◽  
Vol 48 (3) ◽  
pp. 807-814 ◽  
Author(s):  
Shraga Hocherman ◽  
Gita Ben-Dov
Keyword(s):  
Human Subjects ◽  
Visual Stimuli ◽  
Random Order ◽  
Strong Response ◽  
Time Intervals ◽  
Specific Effects ◽  
The Subject ◽  
Response Biases ◽  
Empty Time

The ability of human subjects to judge the duration of short empty time intervals was studied in relation to the modality composition of the marker signals. Ac each trial, a pair of empty intervals was presented by a series of three successive stimuli, and the subject was asked to point out the longer interval of the two. Tone pips and flashes of light were used as the bounding signals. All the possible combinations of auditory and visual stimuli were used, in random order, to delimit pairs of intervals. Performance was found modality-independent when the first two stimuli were of the same modality. Strong response biases were introduced by varying the modality of the first or the second stimulus. Analysis of these biases indicates that memorization of the empty time intervals is affected by the modality of the binding signals.

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