What is the natural behaviour of domestic animals?
Pär Segerdahl (project leader)
Summary of results and list of publications from Department of Public Health and Caring Sciences, Uppsala University.
Email: par.segerdahl@bioethics.uu.se
Mother knows best
The tendency to idealise the natural state as unsullied by humans is manifested by how easy it is to think that farmers, who really want to assist the natural behaviour of their animals, should let them go free or at least minimise contact with them. This project is an attempt to show philosophically that the natural behaviour of animals can be understood in an entirely different way with humans at the centre.
The cultural analysis in the project of the natural behaviour of domestic animals supports the innovative attitude of farmers to local production possibilities. But since a dynamic analysis does not produce the clear guidance to good welfare which the lists of the natural behaviours of animals were believed to promise, the project stresses the importance of the continual daily assessments of animal welfare by the carers. It was not the objective of the project to analyse these assessments, but to find whether the reports of the animal welfare inspectors show any differences between organic and conventional farms in a way that can be associated with the organic ideal of naturalness.
Behaviour and health of dairy cows kept in large groups
Lena Lidfors (project leader)
Summary of results with list of publications from Veterinary Medicine, SLU.
Email: lena.lidfors@hmh.slu.se
In dairy production, the size of herds has been increasing for a number of years, and this may result in a number of problems for behaviour and health. This project was the Swedish part of a Nordic research project, with the objective to find how different milk feeding and weaning methods influence abnormal sucking behaviour in calves in conjunction with milk intake, fodder intake and weight increase during or immediately after the milk feeding period, and how differences in particle size and times of cutting of grass silage influence the abnormal behaviour of heifers.
During the milk feeding period, a high milk allowance at a low flow rate and access to a sufficient number of teats can increase the time the calves spend in drinking milk and thus reduce the risk that they develop cross-sucking behaviour. This can however result in low intake of concentrate and hay or silage. Gradual weaning and feeding with short cut silage may give rise to longer eating and ruminating times which reduces the risk that heifers will develop cross-sucking behaviour.
Studies of the immune response to lungworm infection of cattle
Anna Lundén (project leader)
Summary of results with list of publications from Microbiology, SLU.
Email: Anna.Lunden@bvf.slu.se
The cattle lungworm is a parasite that is common in Sweden and can cause severe pulmonary disease. The infection is spread via grazing and is controlled by change of pasture and anthelmintics, but there is a need for alternative control methods, e.g. vaccination. A vaccine has been available since the 1950s, but it consists of nematode larvae that have been attenuated by irradiation. The design of a vaccine that consists of recombinant proteins produced in bacterial culture necessitates knowledge of which parasite components can stimulate an effective immune response. To combat the infection, it also necessary to identify the protective immune mechanisms.
The objective of the project was to identify the types of immune cells and immune mechanisms needed. When trying to identify components of lungworm that are recognised by immune cells, we found that a homogenate of the worms has mitogenic effects, i.e. it stimulates lymphocytes from immune animals and also from uninfected animals in an unspecific manner. This effect of the lungworm homogenate completely disappeared after treatment with enzymes that degrade proteins. The mitogenic effect seems to depend on a small number of low molecular weight proteins. Experiments to identify these by determining the constituent amino acids and comparing these with known proteins in various databases have not produced reliable results, and further studies are therefore needed.
The function of the gastro-intestinal tract in young animals
Björn Weström (project leader)
Summary of results with list of publications from Cell and Organism Biology, Lund University.
Email: Bjorn.Westrom@cob.lu.se
In young mammals, the gastro-intestinal tract is subject to important changes after birth and at the time of weaning in order to adapt them for effective nutrient utilisation. These maturational changes are genetically programmed and conform to a "biological clock", but external stimuli can influence the process. The function of the digestive system and the growth and health of the animal are of key importance for animal production.
In pig production, where early and abrupt weaning is practised, the digestive system of piglets is poorly adapted to the plant based diet. Ca 20% of the piglets cannot utilise the new feed.
The objective of the project was to study the digestive and absorptive capacity of the intestine and the way maturation of the GI tract can be speeded up. The project has generated new knowledge and greater understanding of the functional maturation of the GI tract and the way in which the clinical use of antibiotics in today's intensive animal production can be reduced.
Behavioural and genetic aspects of the conservation of small animal populations in zoos
Per Jensen (project leader)
Summary of results with list of publications from Linköping University.
Email: perje@ifm.liu.se
A large number of endangered animal species are today involved in conservation breeding programmmes all over the world. Small populations are kept in protected environments, e.g. zoos, with the objective in many cases of reintroducing them into the wild. Unfortunately, problems can arise on release owing to behavioural adaptations during captivity. The aim of the study was therefore to investigate the behavioural aspects of conservation breeding and to try to find whether, and how, animals are affected by being kept in protected captive environments.
Examination of behavioural variation in different populations of red junglefowl in captivity showed differences in antipredator, social and exploratory behaviours. In a study of the same populations a relationship was detected between genetic diversity and behavioural variation, which may be of interest from the conservation perspective. Antipredator behaviour was also studied in two populations over four generations, and it was found that they became more similar to one another the longer they were kept under identical environmental conditions. It also appeared that antipredator behaviour can be altered through breeding in a certain environment after only a few generations. This case study is one of the first experiments to study how captive environments can affect the behaviour of animals, and the results indicate that it is important to take these aspects into consideration when conservation breding is being planned.
Plants and planting designs for dynamic urban vegetation systems and structures
Roland Gustavsson (project leader)
Summary of results with list of publications from Landscape Planning, SLU.
Email: Roland.Gustavsson@ltj.slu.se
The aim of this project is to develop new planting design concepts in urban environments, by merging landscape architecture and ecology in a new way. A changed climate also involves risks to indigenous plant species, which presents researchers with new challenges. There is a need for plant material of greater variety, a more robust plant community and a planting design concept which includes field layers. The basis of the work was that the use of plants in an increasingly urban society is tending towards more complex, dynamc solutions with a system oriented plant combination and management which is based on increased knowledge of the relationships among architecture, plant ecology, natural strategies and development. The interactions of indigenous plants as the basis for human experiences also demand greater knowledge.
The experiments have attracted great international attention and, through this project, it is now possible to see examples at full scale and to compare Scandinavian, East Asian and North American examples in the landscape laboratory at Alnarp. What is perhaps most innovative is the addition of a field layer in urban planning, with the establishment of herbs, grass, bamboo and ferns, with compost soil and newspaper pages as weed barrier.
Chickens, cages, perches and dustbathing
Linda Keeling (project leader)
Summary of results from SLU.
Email: Linda.Keeling@hmtr.slu.se
Life on a perch
Many factors influence the way chickens adapt to new situations, but one important aspect is the rearing environment. What a bird learns as a chick has an effect on how it behaves as an adult. In large loose housing systems built in several tiers which are used since conventional cages were prohibited, it is important that the bird finds its way to the different tiers where perches, food and water are to be found. Studies show that birds which have early access to perches are good at using different tiers.
Although it is important for them to find perches, there are individual variations in how well they learn. An investigation was therefore made of the relationship between spatial ability and the use of perches. An experiment was also performed to find how access to a suitable substrate for dustbathing affects the birds' interest in dustbathing. Birds that do not have access to litter nevertheless perform typical dustbathing movements, and it has been discussed whether such "sham bathing" has any practical effect. One objective of the study was therefore to find how motivated they are to dustbathe "properly" if they have access to litter while growing up.