Publications by authors named "Lukas Reese"
Reference intervals for clinical chemistry analytes are important for the interpretation of blood results, but reference intervals available in journal articles for specific flamingo collections are often based on a small number of individuals or are only available for a limited number of analytes. Differences in husbandry and nutritional conditions may impact reference intervals. The goal of this study was to establish reference intervals from a mixed population of greater () and American () flamingos when husbandry parameters are equal and to compare the results between the different species, sexes, and age groups in order to evaluate differences between these factors.
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- - The research aimed to validate a less painful method of sampling feathers (cutting vs. plucking) for analyzing feather corticosterone (CORTf) levels, supporting the principles of animal welfare through reduced stress in studies.
- - Two wild bird species, the Mallard and the Greater Flamingo, were tested, and results showed minor differences between the two sampling methods, indicating that cutting feathers is as effective as plucking for CORTf analysis.
- - The study found no significant influence of sex on CORTf levels, suggesting that while CORTf values should not be viewed in isolation, the new sampling method is a suitable alternative for future animal welfare research.
Article Synopsis
- The study examined the welfare effects of deflighting (feather-clipping) on great white pelicans in German zoos, focusing on different flight statuses: irreversibly deflighted, reversibly deflighted, and airworthy.
- Behavioral observations and feather corticosterone concentration (CORTf) measurements were used to assess stress levels among 215 pelicans across various exhibits.
- Results indicated that reversibly deflighted pelicans showed higher stress levels than airworthy ones, and factors like group size and fluttering behavior were linked to increased stress, suggesting that fluttering could be a sign of stress in these birds.
The most common feather sampling method for feather corticosterone measurement is by plucking the feathers from the bird's skin. This procedure performed on living, restrained birds is qualified as an animal experiment according to German/European legislation, which has to be applied for from the competent authorities. The Directive 2010/63/EU requires the full implementation of the 3-R Principle of Russel and Burch in animal experiments, which means not only to replace the use of animals, but also to reduce the number of animals used and to refine procedures whenever possible.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFDeflighting zoo birds is a practice that receives increasing criticism due to its presumed incompatibility with animal welfare. To our knowledge, this is the first approach to address this problem in a scientific way. To do this, we compared feather corticosterone (CORTf) from Greater Flamingos (, n = 151) of different flight status (i.
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