Captive propagation of Pacific salmon is routine, but few captive breeding programs have been conducted to successfully re-establish extirpated wild populations. A captive breeding program for endangered Sakinaw Lake sockeye salmon was established from 84 adults between 2002 and 2005, just prior to extirpation of the wild population. After several years of absence, sockeye salmon released from ...

The gastrointestinal tracts of animals contain diverse communities of microbes that provide a number of services to their hosts. There is recent concern that these communities may be lost as animals enter captive breeding programmes, due to changes in diet and/or exposure to environmental sources. However, empirical evidence documenting the effects of captivity and captive birth on gut communit...

During the formulative stages of developing the Species Survival Plan (SSP) for the cheetah, the impact of infectious disease upon its survival in captivity was of prime consideration, together with genetics, nutrition, physiology, and behaviour. This paper summarizes the results of an infectious disease surveillance program, initially designed to monitor the infectious agent associated with cl...

The functions of sleep remain an unresolved question in biology. One approach to revealing sleep's purpose is to identify traits that explain why some species sleep more than others. Recent comparative studies of sleep have identified relationships between various physiological, neuroanatomical and ecological traits, and the time mammals spend in rapid eye movement (REM) and non-REM sleep. Howe...

THE ONLY FUR ANIMALS that are now being raised commercially to any great extent are silver foxes and minks. Martens and fishers also have commercial possibilities if satisfactory reproduction can be obtained in captivity. Attempts have been made at one time or -another, largely through the efforts of propagandists, to ''ranch-raise'' skunks, badgers, raccoons, beavers, and muskrats for their fu...

The haematology, plasma biochemistry and erythrocyte osmotic fragility of the Nigerian laughing dove (Streptopelia senegalensis) were studied after 4 and 8 weeks in captivity. At 8 weeks, there was a normocytic hypochromic anaemia characterized by reduced values for packed cell volume (PCV), red blood cell count (RBC), haemoglobin (Hb) concentration, mean corpuscular haemoglobin (MCH) and mean ...

Wild animals and captives display physiological and behavioral differences, and it has been hypothesized, but rarely tested, that these differences are caused by sustained elevation of the hormone corticosterone. We used repeated computed tomography (CT) imaging to examine body composition changes in breeding male and female wild house sparrows (Passer domesticus; n=20) in response to two weeks...

The primate gastrointestinal tract is home to trillions of bacteria, whose composition is associated with numerous metabolic, autoimmune, and infectious human diseases. Although there is increasing evidence that modern and Westernized societies are associated with dramatic loss of natural human gut microbiome diversity, the causes and consequences of such loss are challenging to study. Here we ...

Mantis shrimps (Crustacea: Stomatopoda) are potential aquaculture species as they are constantly fished from the wild to satisfy demands of the seafood industry. Breeding capacity of mantis shrimps in captivity is scarce and implies a gap in this area to achieve successful aquaculture practices for this species. A preliminary observation was conducted with locally obtained mantis shrimps Miyake...

Reintroduction of the threatened red-crowned crane has been unsuccessful. Although gut microbiota correlates with host health, there is little information on gut microbiota of cranes under different conservation strategies. The study examined effects of captivity, artificial breeding and life stage on gut microbiota of red-crown cranes. The gut microbiotas of wild, captive adolescent, captive a...