Individual variation in activity budgets of a stable population of killer whales in managed care across a year.

Activity budget investigations are necessary to understand how individuals within a group manage their daily activities, thus providing insights into the social dynamics of a species. Our objective was to explore and describe the behavioral activities within a group of managed care killer whales. From 261 hours of coded surface video collected from April 2022 to January 2023, we scan-sampled day-time hours to examine eight behavioral categories exhibited by 8-9 killer whales bimonthly.

Zoo and Aquarium Animal Welfare, Ethics, and Behavior.

This Special Issue of was launched to promote the discussion of how animal welfare can be best addressed in zoos and aquariums while accommodating conservation needs, as well as how further improvements can be made in a similar vein to how medical and scientific research has advanced human health and welfare [...

Training the Concept of Innovate in Dolphins () Is Both Creative and Cognitively Stimulating.

Creative or novel behaviors in bottlenose dolphins () can be indicators of flexible thinking and problem solving. Over 50 years ago, two rough-tooth dolphins demonstrated creative novel behaviors acquired through reinforcement training in human care. Since this novel training, a variety of species have been trained to respond to this conceptual cue.

Killer whale innovation: teaching animals to use their creativity upon request.

Thinking flexibly is a skill that enables animals to adapt to changing environments, which enhances survival. Killer whales, Orcinus orca, as the ocean apex predator display a number of complex cognitive abilities, especially flexible thinking or creativity when it comes to foraging. In human care, smaller dolphins and other marine mammals have been trained to think creatively while under stimulus control.

The partial merger of two dolphin societies.

Interactions between mammalian social groups are generally antagonistic as individuals in groups cooperate to defend resources from non-members. Members of the family Delphinidae inhabit a three-dimensional habitat where resource defence is usually impractical. Here, we describe a long-term partial fusion of two communities of Atlantic spotted dolphins ().

Using social network analysis to confirm the 'gambit of the group' hypothesis for a small cetacean.

Social network analysis (SNA) can be used to explore a population's social structure and how individuals contribute to social cohesion. Quantifying relationships between individuals in a network can vary depending on the data available or the relationship of interest. Studies of readily visible species can use direct interaction measures in SNA, while studies of cryptic species usually rely on the 'gambit of the group'; individuals observed in a group are considered associates.

A new approach to the study of relationship quality in dolphins: Framework and preliminary results.

Proximity and synchronous behaviours from surface observations have been used to measure association patterns within and between dolphin dyads. To facilitate an investigation of relationship quality in dolphins, we applied a method used for primates and ravens that examined three main components to describe relationships: value, security, and compatibility. Using pilot data from long-term research of two study populations for this preliminary assessment, these three components were extracted from PCA of eight behavioural variables with more than 80 % variance accounted for in both study groups.

Testing use of a potential cognitive enrichment device by an Indo-Pacific bottlenose dolphin (Tursiops aduncus).

Cognitive enrichment aims to provide animals with opportunities to use their cognitive skills and to promote behaviors associated with positive wellbeing. Cooperation in mammals has been recorded during various behavioral contexts such as hunting, mating, playing, and parental care. Coordinated activity, often with some level of problem-solving action included, is required during cooperation.

Emerging Topics in Vaccine Therapeutics for Adolescents and Adults: An Update for Immunizing Pharmacists.

Vaccine therapeutics and the practice of immunization provision are ever-changing. As pharmacy-based immunization services continue to flourish in the United States, more and more patients are requesting both routine and travel vaccines in community pharmacies. However, vaccine recommendations from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention/Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (CDC/ACIP) can sometimes differ from product-specific US Food and Drug Administration (FDA)-indicated uses.

Long-term passive acoustic recordings track the changing distribution of North Atlantic right whales (Eubalaena glacialis) from 2004 to 2014.

Given new distribution patterns of the endangered North Atlantic right whale (NARW; Eubalaena glacialis) population in recent years, an improved understanding of spatio-temporal movements are imperative for the conservation of this species. While so far visual data have provided most information on NARW movements, passive acoustic monitoring (PAM) was used in this study in order to better capture year-round NARW presence. This project used PAM data from 2004 to 2014 collected by 19 organizations throughout the western North Atlantic Ocean.

Associations and the role of affiliative, agonistic, and socio-sexual behaviors among common bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops truncatus).

Little is known about the specific behavioral exchanges that occur on a day-to-day basis between dyads of common bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops truncatus). This study assesses the proportion of time dyads spend in proximity (within ∼2m) and the proportion of time spent in affiliative, agonistic, or socio-sexual contexts within and between age/sex dolphin pairings to better understand their social relationships. Observations of bottlenose dolphins housed at the Roatan Institute of Marine Sciences provided 10.

Is blood thicker than water? The role of kin and non-kin in non-mother-calf associations of captive bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops truncatus).

Relationships are important for social animals and kinship can play a vital role. Still, occurrence and function of kin bonds (aside from mother) in delphinid calf associations, alloparenting, or calf rearing are poorly represented in the literature. This study examined the role of kin and non-kin in non-mother-calf associations for a managed population of bottlenose dolphins.

Documenting and Assessing Dolphin Calls and Ambient and Anthropogenic Noise Levels via PAM and a SPL Meter.

Song Meter SM2M marine recorders were deployed to document dolphin calls and ambient and anthropogenic noise. Recordings from Bimini were split into 2-h segments; no segment was without dolphin calls. At Dolphin Encounters, average noise levels ranged from 110 to 125 dB; the highest source level was 147.

Vocalizations associated with pectoral fin contact in bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops truncatus).

Pectoral fin contact in bottlenose dolphins represents one form of tactile communication. Acoustic communication associated with pectoral fin contact is an additional level of communication that may change or enhance the tactile message between two individuals. In this study, we examine vocalization types associated with pectoral fin contact in a group of captive bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops truncatus).

The effect of limitation in ankle dorsiflexion on knee joint function. A pilot study.

Background: A restriction in ankle dorsiflexion is a common complication of ankle fractures. This kind of dysfunction, if severe, can significantly influence gait. A restriction in ankle dorsiflexion (forward movement of the shin relative to the foot) can cause, among others, hyperextension of the knee during the stance phase.

Dolphin underwater bait-balling behaviors in relation to group and prey ball sizes.

We characterized dusky dolphin (Lagenorhynchus obscurus) feeding behaviors recorded on underwater video, and related behaviors to variation in prey ball sizes, dolphin group sizes, and study site (Argentina versus New Zealand, NZ). Herding behaviors most often involved dolphins swimming around the side or under prey balls, but dolphins in Argentina more often swam under prey balls (48% of passes) than did dolphins in NZ (34% of passes). This result may have been due to differences in group sizes between sites, since groups are larger in Argentina.

Selected gait parameters in children with obstetric brachial plexus injury (OBPI) - a pilot study.

Background: Brachial plexus injury is one of the most common obstetric injuries (OBPI). It results in upper limb muscle weakness of various severity. This affects the growth and function of the limb and the child's postural development, which in turn disturbs some gait parameters in children with OBPI.

An efficient organocatalytic method for highly enantioselective Michael addition of malonates to enones catalyzed by readily accessible primary amine-thiourea.

A practical and highly enantioselective Michael addition of malonates to enones catalyzed by simple and readily available bifunctional primary amine-thiourea derived from 1,2-diaminocyclohexane is reported. The addition of weak acids and elevated temperature (ca. 50 °C) improved the efficiency of the Michael reaction.

Characterizing dusky dolphin sounds from Argentina and New Zealand.

Dusky dolphin (Lagenorhynchus obscurus) acoustic sounds were characterized by analyzing narrowband recordings [0-16 kHz in New Zealand (NZ) and 0-24 kHz in Argentina], and sounds in broadband recordings (0-200 kHz) were compared to their counterparts in down-sampled narrowband recordings (0-16 kHz). The most robust similarity between sounds present in broadband recordings and their counterparts in the down-sampled narrowband recordings was inter-click interval (ICI); ICI was therefore primarily used to characterize click sounds in narrowband recordings. In NZ and Argentina, distribution of ICIs was a continuum, although the distribution of ICIs in NZ had a somewhat bimodal tendency.

High-pressure accelerated asymmetric organocatalytic Friedel-Crafts alkylation of indoles with enones: application to quaternary stereogenic centers construction.

An organocatalytic Friedel-Crafts alkylation of indoles with α,β-unsaturated ketones was found to be efficiently accelerated under high-pressure conditions with a low loading of chiral primary amine salts with good yield and enantioselectivity up to 90%. This approach also allows, for the first time, selected indole derivatives containing quaternary stereogenic centers to be obtained from prochiral β,β-disubstituted enones with an enantioselectivity up to 80%.

Effect of high pressure on the organocatalytic asymmetric Michael reaction: highly enantioselective synthesis of γ-nitroketones with quaternary stereogenic centers.

The significant effect of hydrostatic pressure on the difficult organocatalytic 1,4-conjugate addition of nitroalkanes to prochiral sterically congested β,β-disubstituted enones is demonstrated. This approach allows for the synthesis of γ-nitroketones containing quaternary stereogenic centers with good yields, excellent enantioselectivity, and low loading (1-5 mol %) of simple chiral primary amine catalysts.

Trouble-shooting deployment and recovery options for various stationary passive acoustic monitoring devices in both shallow- and deep-water applications.

Deployment of any type of measuring device into the ocean, whether to shallow or deeper depths, is accompanied by the hope that this equipment and associated data will be recovered. The ocean is harsh on gear. Salt water corrodes.

Analysis of postural sway in patients with normal pressure hydrocephalus: effects of shunt implantation.

Poor postural balance is one of the major risk factors for falling in normal pressure hydrocephalus (NPH). Postural instability in the clinic is commonly assessed based upon force platform posturography. In this study we focused on the identification of changes in sway characteristics while standing quiet in patients with NPH before and after shunt implantation.

A comparison of pectoral fin contact behaviour for three distinct dolphin populations.

Tactile exchanges involving the pectoral fin have been documented in a variety of dolphin species. Several functions (e.g.

The experimental study of polyelectrolyte coatings suitability for encapsulation of cells.

Living cells encapsulated in polymeric shells are receiving increasing attention because of their possible biotechnological and biomedical applications. The aim of this work is to evaluate how different polyelectrolyte coatings, characterized by different numbers of polyelectrolyte layers and by different polyelectrolyte conformations, affect the viability of encapsulated biological material. We demonstrate the ability to individually encapsulate HL-60 cells as well as rat pancreatic islets within polymeric shells consisting of different PE layers using the layer-by-layer process.