Behavioral Biology of Laboratory Animals

Product Description
This 30-chapter volume informs students and professionals about the behavioral biology of animals commonly housed in laboratory and other captive settings. Each species evolved under specific environmental conditions, resulting in unique behavioral patterns, many of which are maintained in captivity even after generations of breeding. Understanding natural behavior is therefore a critical part of modern animal care practices. The descriptions, data, guidance, resources, and recommendations in this book will help the reader understand their animals better, refine the care and treatment that they receive, and improve the well-being, welfare, and wellness of their animals.
The book is divided into three sections, all focusing on aspects of the behavioral biology of animals found in laboratories and related research settings. After five introductory chapters, 25 chapters are dedicated to specific taxonomic groups (including mice, zebrafish, zebra finches, reptiles, macaques) while a concluding section of ethograms provides a centralized resource for those interested in understanding, and potentially quantifying, animal behavior.
The Behavioral Biology of Laboratory Animals will provide anyone working in maintenance, care, and/or research programs that involve laboratory animals with information about the way the animals live in the wild, and the way that they should live in captive research settings. Many of the guidelines and recommendations will also be valuable to those managing and working with animals in other environments, including zoological parks, aquaria, and sanctuaries.
Review
Everyone working with animals, veterinarians, zookeepers, trainers and hobbyists, will want a copy of this volume! Books on the care of individual species are common enough, but this tome, in addition to bringing together guidance on over two dozen species, also emphasizes the importance of understanding the natural history of the ancestral species. The behavior of Jungle Fowl in the forests of India may not seem relevant to someone raising domestic chickens but the significance of such information will not be lost to the readers of BBLA. It is an invaluable addition to the literature on animal care.
-- Peter H. Klopfer, Professor Emeritus, Biology Department, Duke University, USA
Behavioral Biology of Laboratory Animals represents a new and insightful way of looking at the behavior and welfare of laboratory animals. Each of the three sections provides fresh insights into their topic: Part 1 uniquely covers behavior in broad terms, Part 2 addresses most animals used in a laboratory setting, and Part 3 provides the ethograms of various animals, something not previously available for most of them. Chapters are written by individuals intimately familiar with the topic they cover. The editors have done an excellent job at harmonizing materials from people with different writing styles who are covering animals that are extremely diverse in their behaviors. Because of this, the book will serve as an excellent resource for individuals interested in laboratory animals and animal behavior.
-- Bonnie V. Beaver, Professor, Department of Small Animal Clinical Sciences, Texas A&M University, USA
About the Author
Kristine Coleman is an associate professor in the Division of Comparative Medicine, and Head of the Behavioral Services Unit at the Oregon National Primate Research Center (ONPRC), Oregon Health & Science University. Dr. Coleman received her PhD in behavioral ecology from Binghamton University, where she studied individual differences in temperament in pumpkinseed sunfish. She went to the Oregon Regional (now National) Primate Research Center for her postdoctoral training and never left. Since 2001, she has overseen the ONPRC behavioral management program, where she studies ways to improve the psychological well-being of laboratory macaques.
Steven J. Schapiro, Ph.D. is an associate professor of