The domestication process is associated with substantial phenotypic changes through time. However, although morphological integration between biological structures purported to have a major influence on the evolution of new morphologies, little attention has been paid magnitude integration. Here, we assessed constraints captivity, considered as one crucial first steps in process, cranial and ma...

Brazil has a wide diversity of exotic birds that were brought to this country during the European colonization. These animals are kept in captivity and, in some cases, in inadequate facilities, which may facilitate the introduction of pathogens, including gastrointestinal parasites. The purpose of this study was to identify the main gastrointestinal parasites that affect exotic birds living in ...

A total of 26 Vibrio damsela strains were isolated in Denmark. Fifteen strains were isolated from the head kidney of rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss) in aquaculture, eight were from organs of two stingrays (Dasyatis pastinaca) held in captivity, two were from organs and pathological material of a nurse shark (Orectolobus ornatus) held in captivity, and one was from the water in the aquarium ...

Every year, billions of wild diurnal songbirds migrate at night. To do so, they shift their daily rhythm from diurnality to nocturnality. In captivity this is observed as a gradual transition of daytime activity developing into nocturnal activity, but how wild birds prepare their daily rhythms for migration remains largely unknown. Using an automated radio-telemetry system, we compared activity...

The interclick intervals of captive dolphins are known to be longer than the two-way transit time between the dolphin and a target. In the present study, the interclick intervals of free-ranging baiji, finless porpoises, and bottlenose dolphins in the wild and in captivity were compared. The click intervals in open waters ranged up to 100-200 ms, whereas the click intervals in captivity were in...

Natural hybridization occurs rarely in mammals, but it is thought to have the potential to produce viable hybrid offspring in cetaceans more easily than in other mammals. Among cases of cetacean hybridization, hybrids between bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops truncatus) and Risso’s dolphins (Grampus griseus) have been documented in both the wild and in captivity. However, until now, no molecular ev...

This study investigates the effects of captivity and testosterone treatment on the volumes of brain regions involved in processing visual and spatial information in adult dark-eyed juncos (Junco hyemalis). We treated captive and free-living male juncos with either testosterone-filled or empty implants. Captive juncos had a smaller hippocampal formation (HF) (both in absolute volume and relative...

This work described and compared the hematological findings of 25 clinically healthy Harris’s hawks(Parabuteo unicinctus) in captivity at two different tropical locations: 16 samples from Aguascalientes, which altitude is 1878 mean sea level, and nine samples from Amecameca which altitude is 2650 mean sea level. Blood samples were collected from the brachial vein of each raptor under p...

This case report describes for the first time pulmonary blastomycosis in a captive common eland (Taurotragus oryx). The animal has been in captivity for over 14 years and the clinical signs observed before death were non-specific. The carcass was examined grossly and histologically using special stains. There were yellowish, firm and gritty nodules of varying sizes (0.5–2 cm in diameter) on the...

Paternal care is rare in mammals, occurring mainly in carnivores and neotropical primates, in which the difficulties of long generation time and large individuals lead to small sample sizes. Here, the authors show that paternal care can be easily studied in the four-striped mouse (Rhabdomys pumilio) because (a) captive males show all the patterns of parental care as do females, with the obvious...