Abstract Health and wellness of animals in our care is inexorably linked to their feeding experience (i.e., what how food offered). Usage raw meat-based diets longstanding widespread US zoos aquaria, with a movement towards increased proportions the diet from whole prey. Pet industry has seen steep rise number diversity commercially available products for pets recent decades, whereas suppliers ...

Exploring the interaction between humans and animals has become increasingly important in evaluation of well-being for species housed zoos aquaria. The COVID-19 pandemic saw global closure aquaria to visitors. Chester Zoo, U.K., was no exception, with charity shutting its doors longest period 90-year history. Whilst access site strictly limited essential animal care staff, recent investment net...

Some parrotfishes have developed a unique capacity to form a mucous envelope at night. Scams dubius and S. perspicillams are two Hawaiian species that exhibit envelope-building behavior. Laboratory experiments indicate that envelope formation is promoted by darkness, and is inhibited by constant light. The completed envelope is a transparent, mucous cocoon surrounding the fish. A mass of glandu...

Abstract Two experiments were conducted to evaluate the efficacy of an oil-based substrate, The Water Cleanser™ (TWC). first experiment studied effects two substrates different oil composition (TWC, TWC +), and a commercial bacterial additive (Bio-Aid) on concentrations nitrogen phosphorous in indoor aquaria. second TWC, additive, combination (TWC + B) phosphorous, phytoplankton abundance diver...

Previous studies of symbiotic associations between scleractinians corals and Symbiodinium have demonstrated that the consortium of symbionts can change in response to environmental conditions. However, less is known about symbiont shuffling during early coral development, particularly in brooding species. This study examined whether Symbiodinium consortia (1) varied in Porites astreoides on sha...

We investigated the effects of copper on the structure and physiology of freshwater biofilm microbial communities. For this purpose, biofilms that were grown during 4 weeks in a shallow, slightly polluted ditch were exposed, in aquaria in our laboratory, to a range of copper concentrations (0, 1, 3, and 10 microM). Denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis (DGGE) revealed changes in the bacterial...

Water containing ornamental fishes was found to frequently contain countable numbers of bacteria that were resistant to one or more antibiotic or chemotherapeutic agents. The multidrug-resistant strains most commonly isolated were lactose-fermenting Citrobacter freundii. The overall resistance of these aquaria strains was greater than the previously described resistance of clinical isolates of ...

Surface ocean pH is likely to decrease by up to 0.4 units by 2100 due to the uptake of anthropogenic CO2 from the atmosphere. Short-term experiments have revealed that this degree of seawater acidification can alter calcification rates in certain planktonic and benthic organisms, although the effects recorded may be shock responses and the long-term ecological effects are unknown. Here, we show...

Elasmobranchs are one of the most endangered vertebrate groups on planet, but despite this situation use reproductive techniques in elasmobranch conservation strategies has been scarce. Among these techniques, sperm preservation is a potential tool for ex situ and aquaria sustainability. However, there no widespread protocols sperm, shark cryopreservation never achieved before. Here we present ...