Integrating Individual Animal and Population Welfare in Zoos and Aquariums.

Over the last 50 years, animal welfare science has advanced dramatically, especially in zoos and aquariums. A shifting focus from population-level welfare parameters such as reproductive success and longevity (macroscopic, big-picture concepts) to the subjective experience of individual animals (microscopic, focused concepts) has led to more effective animal welfare assessments and improvements in animal welfare. The interplay between individual animal and population welfare for captive animals is critical to the way zoos and aquariums operate to realize their welfare and conservation missions, especially when these missions conflict with one another.

Does Accreditation by the Association of Zoos and Aquariums Correlate with Animal Welfare Act Compliance?

The Association of Zoos and Aquariums (AZA) promotes itself as the "gold standard" for animal welfare in zoos and aquariums; however, no objective evaluation of this claim has been performed. As the only statute providing protection to individual animals in the United States, the Animal Welfare Act (AWA) also seeks to assure animal welfare at facilities exhibiting animals to the public. In this study, the incidences of AWA noncompliant items (NCIs) at AZA-accredited facilities were evaluated and compared to non-accredited facilities licensed as exhibitors by the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA).

Second Generation Nanoporous Silicon Nitride Membranes for High Toxin Clearance and Small Format Hemodialysis.

Conventional hemodialysis (HD) uses floor-standing instruments and bulky dialysis cartridges containing ≈2 m of 10 micrometer thick, tortuous-path membranes. Portable and wearable HD systems can improve outcomes for patients with end-stage renal disease by facilitating more frequent, longer dialysis at home, providing more physiological toxin clearance. Developing devices with these benefits requires highly efficient membranes to clear clinically relevant toxins in small formats.

Babesia sp. infection in a zoo-housed polar bear (Ursus maritimus).

A 28-year-old female polar bear (Ursus maritimus) housed in a zoo in Upstate New York presented with acute inappetence and lethargy. The bear's condition rapidly deteriorated, and because laboratory testing indicated severe hepatic and renal disease, the bear was humanely euthanized. Examination of a blood smear from a sample collected just prior to euthanasia revealed the presence of intra-erythrocytic inclusions, which were identified as Babesia sp.

A modified LVAD technique to augment caval and pulmonary arterial blood flow in the "failing Fontan" circulation.

Background: There are minimal circulatory support options for patients with a failing Fontan. The Heartmate II (HMII) left ventricular assist device (Thoratec, Bedford, MA) in its packaged state cannot augment caval/pulmonary arterial blood flow.

Aim: We hypothesized that a modified HMII pump could augment caval and pulmonary arterial blood flow.

The Social Nature of European Rabbits (Oryctolagus cuniculus).

Increasing concerns regarding the wellbeing of laboratory animals have caused biomedical research stakeholders to reconsider traditional housing of laboratory species and to provide social companionship for social species. European rabbits (Oryctolagus cuniculus) are commonly individually housed in research facilities despite the occurrence of social groups in the wild. Here we review the current literature to provide a comprehensive description of the social behaviors and preferences of rabbits in the wild and in captivity.

Social Behavior of Adult Male New Zealand White Rabbits Housed in Groups or Pairs in the Laboratory.

Rabbits are usually singly housed in laboratories, but a new emphasis on providing social housing for social species has prompted exploration of alternative housing for this species. However, a paucity of literature on the social behavior of rabbits in captivity has prevented scientific-based recommendations for appropriate housing. This study involved a descriptive analysis of the social behavior of rabbit bucks in the laboratory in 3 different housing situations: in groups in pens, in pairs in cages, and singly in cages.

Uterine Rupture in a Common Marmoset (Callithrix jacchus).

A 5-y-old multiparous female common marmoset (Callithrix jacchus) presented with acute weight loss of approximately 25% over a 1-wk period. An abdominal mass was apparent on physical examination, and radiographs suggested peritoneal effusion. Exploratory laparotomy revealed hemoperitoneum and an enlarged, gray, hemorrhaging uterus; ovariohysterectomy was performed, and the marmoset recovered.

Safety and clinical effectiveness of a compounded sustained-release formulation of buprenorphine for postoperative analgesia in New Zealand White rabbits.

Objective: To determine the clinical effectiveness and safety of a compounded sustained-release formulation of buprenorphine, compared with effects of regular buprenorphine, for postoperative analgesia in rabbits.

Design: Blinded randomized controlled clinical trial.

Animals: 24 purpose-bred adult male New Zealand White rabbits.

Sheep (Ovis aries) as a model for cardiovascular surgery and management before, during, and after cardiopulmonary bypass.

Because of its similarity to humans in important respects, sheep (Ovis aries) are a common animal model for translational research in cardiovascular surgery. However, some unique aspects of sheep anatomy and physiology present challenges to its use in these complicated experiments. In this review, we discuss relevant anatomy and physiology of sheep and discuss management before, during, and after procedures requiring cardiopulmonary bypass to provide a concise source of information for veterinarians, technicians, and researchers developing and implementing protocols with this model.

The evolution of self-control.

Cognition presents evolutionary research with one of its greatest challenges. Cognitive evolution has been explained at the proximate level by shifts in absolute and relative brain volume and at the ultimate level by differences in social and dietary complexity. However, no study has integrated the experimental and phylogenetic approach at the scale required to rigorously test these explanations.

Comparison of select hematology and serum chemistry analtyes between wild-caught and aquarium-housed lake sturgeon (Acipenser fulvescens).

Hematology and serum chemistry analytes were compared between wild-caught and aquarium-housed lake sturgeon (Acipenser fulvescens) to potentially improve understanding of medical issues in lake sturgeon. Blood samples were taken from 30 lake sturgeon exhibited in 11 institutions in the United States and from 23 experimentally stocked lake sturgeon caught in gill nets in the lower Genesee River in Rochester, New York, USA. For hematology, only segmented neutrophil count was significantly different, with wild-caught fish having a higher number of circulating neutrophils.

Inherently Analog Quantity Representations in Olive Baboons (Papio anubis).

Strong evidence indicates that non-human primates possess a numerical representation system, but the inherent nature of that system is still debated. Two cognitive mechanisms have been proposed to account for non-human primate numerical performance: (1) a discrete object-file system limited to quantities <4, and (2) an analog system which represents quantities comparatively but is limited by the ratio between two quantities. To test the underlying nature of non-human primate quantification, we asked eight experiment-naive olive baboons (Papio anubis) to discriminate between number pairs containing small (<4), large (>4), or span (small vs.

Analgesic use in nonhuman primates undergoing neurosurgical procedures.

Animals experiencing major invasive surgery during biomedical research must receive appropriate and sufficient analgesia. The concept of pain management in veterinary medicine has evolved over the past several decades, and a multimodal, preemptive approach to postoperative analgesia is the current standard of care. Here, the pathophysiology of pain and a multimodal approach to analgesia for neurosurgical procedures is discussed, with emphasis on those involving nonhuman primates.

Reference intervals for select hematologic and plasma biochemical analytes of wild Lake Sturgeon (Acipenser fulvescens) from the St. Lawrence River in New York.

Background: Lake Sturgeon (Acipenser fulvescens) is a long-lived freshwater fish distributed throughout the Great Lakes region and is a threatened species in New York State. The species' unique life cycle makes it useful as an indicator of ecosystem health, and efforts to repatriate Lake Sturgeon to their historic range are underway. However, comprehensive hematologic and biochemical reference intervals that would be valuable for assessing the health status of individual animals have not been reported.

Eradication of elephant ear mites (Loxoanoetus bassoni) in two African elephants (Loxodonta africana).

Elephant ear mites, not previously described in North America, were eradicated in two African elephants (Loxodonta africana) after six otic instillations of ivermectin at 2-wk intervals. The microscopic examination of a clear, mucoid discharge collected from the external ear canals of two wild-born African elephants housed in a New York State zoo for 25 yr revealed live mites (Loxoaneotus bassoni). The cytologic examination demonstrated no evidence of inflammation or infection.