The cyclic interaction between daytime behavior and the sleep behavior of laboratory dogs

Sleep deprivation has been found to negatively affect an individual´s physical and psychological health. Sleep loss affects activity patterns, increases anxiety-like behaviors, decreases cognitive performance and is associated with depressive states. The activity/rest cycle of dogs has been investigated before, but little is known about the effects of sleep loss on the behavior of the species. Dogs are polyphasic sleepers, meaning the behavior is most observed at night, but bouts are also present during the day. However, sleep can vary with ecological and biological factors, such as age, sex, fitness, and even human presence. In this study, kennelled laboratory adult dogs’ sleep and diurnal behavior were recorded during 24-h, five-day assessment periods to investigate sleep quality and its effect on daily behavior. In total, 1560 h of data were analyzed, and sleep metrics and diurnal behavior were quantified. The relationship between sleeping patterns and behavior and the effect of age and sex were evaluated using non-parametric statistical tests and GLMM modelling. Dogs in our study slept substantially less than previously reported and presented a modified sleep architecture with fewer awakenings during the night and almost no sleep during the day. Sleep loss increased inactivity, decreased play and alert behaviors, while increased time spent eating during the day. Males appeared to be more affected by sleep fragmentation than females. Different age groups also experienced different effects of sleep loss. Overall, dogs appear to compensate for the lack of sleep during the night by remaining inactive during the day. With further investigations, the relationship between sleep loss and behavior has the potential to be used as a measure of animal welfare.

Phenology and diurnal behavior of common shelduck Tadorna tadorna at Sebkhet Bazer (El-Eulma, Nouth-East of Hauts Plateaux, Algeria)

This work aims to study phenology and daytime budget of common shelduck Tadorna tadorna (Anatidae) for two wintering seasons (2017/2018, 2018/2019) at Sebkhet Bazer (El-Eulma) North-East of Algeria from September to March. The obtained results show that common shelduck has the status of a wintering species. It was observed presently in the site during the study period. Common shelduck numbers begin to increase from the first decade of September to reach the maximums between late December and early January, where we had recorded the peaks of abundance 840 for the first season and 930 for the second. During our monitoring, budget time results showed that feeding is the dominant activity (surface water feeding, feeding on banks, and feeding by tipping), which take a ratio of more than 68%, the second activity is swimming with 18.71%, followed by preening which holds 9.14%, sleeping activity with a ratio of 2.38%, flight take the five range with a ratio of 0.82%. Finally, courtship and agonistic behavior recorded the lowest ratio on all budget time – 0.42% and 0.38% respectively. We can conclude that Sebkhet Bazer is a diurnal grazing ground for this Anatidae species.

The cyclic interaction between daytime behavior and the sleep behavior of laboratory dogs: A correlational study

Sleep deprivation has been found to negatively affect an individual´s physical and psychological health. Sleep loss affects activity patterns, increases anxiety-like behaviors, decreases cognitive performance and it is associated with depressive states. The activity/rest cycle of dogs has been investigated before, but little is known about the effects of sleep loss on the behavior of the species. Dogs are polyphasic sleepers, meaning the behavior is most observed at night, but bouts are also present during the day. However, sleep can vary with ecological and biological factors, such as age, sex, fitness, and even human presence. In this study, adult dogs’ sleep and diurnal behavior was recorded during 24-hour, five-day assessment periods to investigate sleep quality and its effect on daily behavior. In total, 1560 hours of data were analyzed, and sleep metrics and diurnal behavior were quantified. The relationship between sleeping patterns and behavior and the effect of age and sex were evaluated using non-parametric statistical tests and GLMM modeling. Dogs in our study slept substantially less than previously reported and presented a modified sleep architecture with fewer awakenings during the night and almost no sleep during the day. Sleep loss increased inactivity, decreased play and alert behaviors, while increased time spent eating during the day. Males appeared to be more affected by sleep fragmentation than females. Different age groups also experienced different effects of sleep loss. Overall, dogs appear to compensate the lack of sleep during the night by remaining inactive during the day. With further investigations, the relationship between sleep loss and behavior has the potential to be used as a measure of animal welfare.

10 Behavior and Landscape-Use Pattern of Small Ruminants Co-grazed in Woodlands with different Vegetation Characteristics

Woodland is the major landcover in Alabama (69%) and other states of the Southeast (≈60%). The understory vegetation present in woodlands can be a great feed resource for small ruminants when woodland grazing is practiced well, for which the understanding of animals’ landscape-use pattern is important. The study objective was to determine the diurnal behavior and landscape-use pattern of Kiko wethers and Katahdin rams co-stocked in woodlands. Eight Kiko wethers (77±2.5 kg. LW) and five Katahdin rams (92±4.6 kg. LW) were co-stocked rotationally in three woodland plots (0.4-ha. each) during May–August 2019 in Atkins Agroforestry Research and Demonstration site, Tuskegee University, Tuskegee, Alabama. Each study plot contained four treatments, where the average canopy height were 0.82 m, 1.34 m, 1.67 m and 1.73 m. The diurnal behavior (grazing, browsing, loafing, lying) and landscape-use pattern of animals were monitored from dawn to dusk when they were in each study plot at each rotation. Diurnal period was categorized into morning (dawn–11:00 am), midday (11:00 am–3:00 pm), and post-midday (3:00 pm–dusk) for the analysis and diurnal behavior and distribution pattern of animals were analyzed in SAS 9.4, GLM procedure with MANOVA option. Animal species differed in their feeding behavior (P < 0.0001), with wethers mostly browsing and rams grazing. Significant interaction effects of animal species and diurnal period occurred on all behavior categories, except loafing and lying (P < 0.0001). Wethers spent less time grazing (84–88%), but more time browsing (90%) during morning and post-midday vs. rams. Animals were actively feeding when the weather was nice and cool, and resting when it was hot. Feeding behavior was dominant during the post-midday period (3 PM–dusk) and lying during midday (11 AM–3 PM). The specific behavior and landscape-use pattern observed in this study can be useful to design and utilize woodland resources more efficiently.