APSC 4464 EXAMINATION QUESTIONS WITH
ANSWERS
what is welfare - focuses on the state of the animal
animal's collective physical, behavioral, and emotional states
Animal welfare refers to an animal's collective _____, ______, and ____ states over a period of
time, and is measured on a continuum from good to poor - physical
mental
emotional
characteristics of enhanced welfare - free chronic stressors
environment promotes positive affective states
-underlying emotional state: happy, sad, afraid, anxious
Allows for fun and facilitates expression of natural behaviors, including social interaction and
play for social species
How can you assess welfare - endocrine measures
cardiovascular measures
immune measures
behavioral measures
indicators of poor welfare
indicators of good welfare
endocrine measures: HPA Axis - stressor present
Hypothalamus--> corticotropin releasing hormone and vasopressin --> adreno-corticotrophin
hormone (ACTH) --> cortisol
,stress and cortisol - stress/arousal is necessary
acute stressors
chronic stressor
cortisol indicative of arousal
-increases after arousing events, not just stressors
-learning, exercise, visiting dog park
influences on cortisol - stressors
exercise
cold temperatures
diurnal fluctuations
individual differences
eustress vs distress
cortisol as a measure of stress/welfare - potentially problematic
use as one measure among many
within-subject studies better than group studies
different cortisol measures - salivary cortisol
-more invasive
-useful for acute stressors
Urinary cortisol
,-relatively non-invasive
-reflection period longer than salivary cortisol
Fecal Cortisol
-non invasive
-less variability than saliva
Hair/Fur Cortisol
-relatively non-invasive
-less variability than saliva
shelter dog cortisol levels - higher than dogs living in their home
dogs boarding for first time increases cortisol levels three-fold
large variation between average cortisol levels across shelters
-suggests husbandry and housing practices impact welfare significantly
B-endorphin - increased levels associated with analgesia, positive states
dopamine - increased levels associated with pleasure
oxytocin - social bonding hormone
measured when assessing social interactions
serotonin (urinary) - new biomarker for dogs
-diurnal fluctuations; drawn higher levels than at dusk
-this difference decreases following regular social interaction sessions
-measure of positive welfare?
cardiovascular measures - blood pressure
, -can be taken near base of tail
Heart Rate Variability (HRV)
-decreased HRV occurs during physically or psychologically stressful events
-increased HRV indicates better welfare
Immune Functioning - secretory immunoglobin A (S-IgA)
Immune functioning affected by physiological state of animal including cortisol levels
Highlights importance of welfare more generally
Disease Prevalence in a Shelter - proportion of dogs showing signs of illness across time
behaviors that predict illness - dogs that ranked higher on sociability seemed more prone
to illness
behavioral measures - -in shelters, not feasible to collect physiological data
-must rely on behavior to assess welfare and stress
-behaviors that are indicate of stress?
-behaviors that are problematic whether or not they correlate with cortisol?
-How to assess affective state?
activity monitors - can track activity, position, temperature
monitor for abnormalities or changes
shelter vs owned dogs - shelters dogs showed more activity and less time resting
t/f behavior is environmentally dependent - true
Lin Manual Miranda: We changed based on the room we are in
t/f no "true" dog to be discovered by poking and prodding - true
aspects of behavioral assessments in shelters - assess safety
ANSWERS
what is welfare - focuses on the state of the animal
animal's collective physical, behavioral, and emotional states
Animal welfare refers to an animal's collective _____, ______, and ____ states over a period of
time, and is measured on a continuum from good to poor - physical
mental
emotional
characteristics of enhanced welfare - free chronic stressors
environment promotes positive affective states
-underlying emotional state: happy, sad, afraid, anxious
Allows for fun and facilitates expression of natural behaviors, including social interaction and
play for social species
How can you assess welfare - endocrine measures
cardiovascular measures
immune measures
behavioral measures
indicators of poor welfare
indicators of good welfare
endocrine measures: HPA Axis - stressor present
Hypothalamus--> corticotropin releasing hormone and vasopressin --> adreno-corticotrophin
hormone (ACTH) --> cortisol
,stress and cortisol - stress/arousal is necessary
acute stressors
chronic stressor
cortisol indicative of arousal
-increases after arousing events, not just stressors
-learning, exercise, visiting dog park
influences on cortisol - stressors
exercise
cold temperatures
diurnal fluctuations
individual differences
eustress vs distress
cortisol as a measure of stress/welfare - potentially problematic
use as one measure among many
within-subject studies better than group studies
different cortisol measures - salivary cortisol
-more invasive
-useful for acute stressors
Urinary cortisol
,-relatively non-invasive
-reflection period longer than salivary cortisol
Fecal Cortisol
-non invasive
-less variability than saliva
Hair/Fur Cortisol
-relatively non-invasive
-less variability than saliva
shelter dog cortisol levels - higher than dogs living in their home
dogs boarding for first time increases cortisol levels three-fold
large variation between average cortisol levels across shelters
-suggests husbandry and housing practices impact welfare significantly
B-endorphin - increased levels associated with analgesia, positive states
dopamine - increased levels associated with pleasure
oxytocin - social bonding hormone
measured when assessing social interactions
serotonin (urinary) - new biomarker for dogs
-diurnal fluctuations; drawn higher levels than at dusk
-this difference decreases following regular social interaction sessions
-measure of positive welfare?
cardiovascular measures - blood pressure
, -can be taken near base of tail
Heart Rate Variability (HRV)
-decreased HRV occurs during physically or psychologically stressful events
-increased HRV indicates better welfare
Immune Functioning - secretory immunoglobin A (S-IgA)
Immune functioning affected by physiological state of animal including cortisol levels
Highlights importance of welfare more generally
Disease Prevalence in a Shelter - proportion of dogs showing signs of illness across time
behaviors that predict illness - dogs that ranked higher on sociability seemed more prone
to illness
behavioral measures - -in shelters, not feasible to collect physiological data
-must rely on behavior to assess welfare and stress
-behaviors that are indicate of stress?
-behaviors that are problematic whether or not they correlate with cortisol?
-How to assess affective state?
activity monitors - can track activity, position, temperature
monitor for abnormalities or changes
shelter vs owned dogs - shelters dogs showed more activity and less time resting
t/f behavior is environmentally dependent - true
Lin Manual Miranda: We changed based on the room we are in
t/f no "true" dog to be discovered by poking and prodding - true
aspects of behavioral assessments in shelters - assess safety
