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EURCAW-Pigs Reflection Board meeting 26 October 2021.

Contains fulltext : 225796.pdf (Publisher’s version ) (Open Access), The impact of trauma on mental health is complex with poorly understood underlying mechanisms. Mitochondrial dysfunction is increasingly implicated in psychopathologies and mood disorders, including post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). We hypothesized that defects in mitochondrial energy metabolism in the cerebellum, an emerging region of interest in the pathobiology of mood disorders, would be associated with PTSD-like symptomatology, and that PTSD-like symptomatology would correlate with the activities of the mitochondrial electron transport chain (mtETC) and fatty acid oxidation (FAO) pathways. We assayed mitochondrial energy metabolism and fatty acid profiling using targeted metabolomics in mice exposed to a recently developed paradigm for PTSD-induction. 48 wild type male FVB.129P2 mice were exposed to a trauma, and PTSD-like and resilient animals were identified using behavioral profiling. Mice displaying PTSD-like symptomatology displayed reduced mtETC complex activities in the cerebellum, and cerebellar mtETC complex activity negatively correlated with PTSD-like symptomatology. PTSD-like animals also displayed fatty acid profiles consistent with FAO dysfunction in both cerebellum and plasma. Machine learning analysis of all biochemical measures in this cohort of animals also identified plasma acetylcarnitine, along with reduced activity of cerebellar complex I and IV as well as succinate:cytochrome c oxidoreductase as state predictive discriminators of PTSD-symptomatology. Our data also suggest that trauma-induced impaired mtETC function in the cerebellum and concomitant impaired multi-system fatty acid oxidation are candidate drivers of PTSD-like behavior in mice. These bioenergetic and metabolic changes may offer an informative window into the underlying biology and highlight novel potential targets for diagnostics and therapeutic interventions in PTSD.

This paper focuses on the reliability of the multi-criteria evaluation model included in the Welfare Quality® protocol for growing pigs to aggregate the animal-based indicators, first to criteria, then to principle level and finally to an overall welfare score. This assessment was carried out in a practical application study on a sample of 24 farms in Germany. Altogether, 102 protocol assessments were carried out in repeated visits to these farms in order to evaluate the inter-observer and test-retest repeatability of the overall scores calculated by the multi-criteria evaluation system. Reliability is then assessed by the calculation of different reliability and agreement parameters: Spearman Rank Correlation Coefficients (RS), Intraclass Correlation Coefficients (ICC), Smallest Detectable Changes (SDC) and Limits of Agreement (LoA). Inter-observer repeatability was insufficient for the criteria comfort around resting, absence of injuries, expression of social behaviours, expression of other behaviours, good human-animal relationship and positive emotional state as well as for the principles good housing and appropriate behaviour. This is probably due in the main to insufficient repeatability of the underlying indicators that have been revealed in previous studies. Test-retest repeatability is predominantly insufficient. Overall, the present results highlight the importance of absolutely reliable indicators at the baseline level. Furthermore, it could be shown that the calculation procedure is partly incorrect and consequently needs correction. Therefore, this study is an important contribution to the future progression of the Welfare Quality® protocols and animal welfare assessment tools in general.

Animal welfare has become an important subject of public and political debate, leading to the necessity of an objective evaluation system for on-farm use. As welfare is a multi-dimensional concept, it makes sense to use a multi-criteria aggregation system to obtain an overall welfare score. Such an aggregation system is provided by the Welfare Quality((R)) Network. The present paper focusses on the assessment of the multi-criteria evaluation model included in the Welfare Quality((R)) protocol for growing pigs in order to aggregate the animal-based indicators first to criteria, then to principles and finally to an overall welfare score. Specifically, the importance of the indicators on the overall assessment of growing pig farms is analysed in a given population which consisted of a total of 198 protocol assessments carried out on a sample of 24 farms in Germany. By means of partial least squares modelling, the influence of measures in the calculation procedure is estimated by calculation and interpretation of Variable Importance for Projection (VIP) scores. Variable Importance for Projection scores revealed some meaningful, unexpected influences as the multi-criteria evaluation model of Welfare Quality((R)) aimed at avoiding interferences and double-counting. Some of these influences led to the assumption that some measures might have potential as iceberg indicators, whereas others showed lesser importance. Thus, feasibility can be gained by the deletion and special weighting of indicators according to their importance. Altogether, the study is an essential contribution to the further development of the Welfare Quality((R)) protocols as well as the application of multi-criteria decision systems in the field of animal welfare science in general.

Members of the GAGA consortium (in alphabetical order) Ehab Abouheif, Department of Biology, McGill University, Montréal, Québec H3A 1B1, Canada Rachelle M.M. Adams, Department of Evolution, Ecology and Organismal Biology, Museum of Biological Diversity, Columbus, OH 43212, USA Serge Aron, Evolutionary Biology & Ecology - C.P. 160/12, Université Libre de Bruxelles, Brussels, Belgium Maurício Bacci Jr, Centro de Estudos de Insetos Sociais, Universidade Estadual Paulista, Rio Claro, SP, Brasil Sarah E. Bengston, Rice University Houston, Texas, USA Abel Bernadou, LS Zoologie / Evolutionsbiologie, Universität Regensburg, Regensburg, Germany Bonnie B. Blaimer, Department of Entomology, National Museum of Natural History, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, DC, USA Raphaël Boulay, Research Institute of Insect Biology, University François Rabelais of Tours, Tours, France Erich Bornberg-Bauer, Institute for Evolution and Biodiversity, Westfalian Wilhelms University Münster, Münster, Germany Michael G. Branstetter, USDA-ARS Pollinating Insects Research Unit, Logan, UT 84322-5310, USA Evan P. Economo, Okinawa Institute of Science and Technology, Graduate University, 1919-1 Tancha, Onna, Okinawa, 904-0495, Japan Ofer Feinerman, Department of Physics of Complex Systems, Weizmann Institute of Science, Rehovot, Israel Heike Feldhaar, Animal Ecology I, BayCEER (Bayreuth Center of Ecology and Environmental Research), University of Bayreuth, Bayreuth, Germany Barbara Feldmeyer, Senckenberg Biodiversity and Climate Research Centre (BiK-F), Molecular Ecology, Frankfurt, Germany Brian Fisher, California Academy of Sciences, San Francisco, CA 94118, USA Susanne Foitzik, Institute of Organismic and Molecular Evolution, Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz, Mainz, Germany Erik Thomas Frank, Department of Animal Ecology and Tropical Biology (Zoology III), Biocentre University of Würzburg, Würzburg, Germany Donato A. Grasso, Department of Chemistry, Life Sciences and Environmental Susta

Keel bone damage (KBD) is a critical issue facing the laying hen industry today as a result of the likely pain leading to compromised welfare and the potential for reduced productivity. Recent reports suggest that damage, while highly variable and likely dependent on a host of factors, extends to all systems (including battery cages, furnished cages, and non-cage systems), genetic lines, and management styles. Despite the extent of the problem, the research community remains uncertain as to the causes and influencing factors of KBD. Although progress has been made investigating these factors, the overall effort is hindered by several issues related to the assessment of KBD, including quality and variation in the methods used between research groups. These issues prevent effective comparison of studies, as well as difficulties in identifying the presence of damage leading to poor accuracy and reliability. The current manuscript seeks to resolve these issues by offering precise definitions for types of KBD, reviewing methods for assessment, and providing recommendations that can improve the accuracy and reliability of those assessments

In farm animals, salivary cortisol has become a widely used parameter for measuring stress responses. However, only few studies have dealt with basal levels of concentration of cortisol in pigs and its circadian rhythm. The aim of this study was to examine the effects of ambient temperature and thermoregulatory behaviour on the circadian rhythm of salivary cortisol levels in fattening pigs. Subjects were 30 fattening pigs of different weight (60 to 100 kg), kept in six groups in an uninsulated building in pens with partly slatted floors. Saliva samples were taken every 2 h over periods of 24 h at different ambient temperatures at two times in winter and four times in summer. Thermoregulatory behaviour was recorded in the same 24-h time periods. The effect of time of day, body weight, ambient temperature and behaviour on the cortisol level was analysed using a mixed-effects model. Two peaks of cortisol levels per day were found. This circadian pattern became more pronounced with increasing weight and on days where thermoregulatory behaviour was shown. Mean cortisol levels per day were affected by weight but not by thermoregulatory behaviour. From our data, we conclude that long-term variations in cortisol concentration may be influenced by increasing age and weight more than by the respective experimental situation. In assessing animal welfare, it seems more reliable to consider the circadian pattern of cortisol concentration instead of only one value per day

The major transition to eusociality required the evolution of a switch to canalize development into either a reproductive or a helper, the nature of which is currently unknown. Following predictions from the 'theory of facilitated variation', we identify sex differentiation pathways as promising candidates because of their pre-adaptation to regulating development of complex phenotypes. We show that conserved core genes, including the juvenile hormone-sensitive master sex differentiation gene doublesex (dsx) and a krüppel homolog 2 (kr-h2) with putative regulatory function, exhibit both sex and morph-specific expression across life stages in the ant Cardiocondyla obscurior. We hypothesize that genes in the sex differentiation cascade evolved perception of alternative input signals for caste differentiation (i.e. environmental or genetic cues), and that their inherent switch-like and epistatic behavior facilitated signal transfer to downstream targets, thus allowing them to control differential development into morphological castes.

The aim of this study was to assess the feasibility and test-retest reliability of the Welfare Quality (R) Animal Welfare Assessment Protocol for Growing Pigs. Twenty-three German pig farms were visited repeatedly by the same trained observers; each farm being visited six times during two fattening periods. The entire protocol assessment was carried out during each farm visit, ie a Qualitative Behaviour Assessment (QBA), behavioural observations (BO), a Human Animal Relationship test (HAR) and different individual parameters (IPs), eg bursitis and tail-biting. Test-retest reliability was evaluated by a Wilcoxon signed rank test (W) and by calculation of the Smallest Detectable Change (SDC) and Limits of Agreement (LoA). The QBA presented non-satisfactory agreement between farm visits. However, good agreement, in general, was found for the BO. For the HAR, no reliability could be detected. Most IPs were of acceptable agreement, with the exception of bursitis and manure on the body. Bursitis showed great differences, which can be explained by difficulties in the assessment when the animals moved around or their legs were dirty. The disagreement in the parameter manure on the body can be explained by seasonal effects. Disagreement was further found concerning the parameters coughing, sneezing, pleuritis, pneumonia and milkspots. Feasibility was good; both observers could be well-trained to fulfil the protocol. Furthermore, the time needed for an assessment did not exceed 6 h. The parts of the protocol that proved to be insufficiently reliable need to be addressed in the future in order to enhance and improve the objective measurement of animal welfare.

The present paper focuses on evaluating the interobserver reliability of the 'Welfare Quality (R) Animal Welfare Assessment Protocol for Growing Pigs'. The protocol for growing pigs mainly consists of a Qualitative Behaviour Assessment (QBA), direct behaviour observations (BO) carried out by instantaneous scan sampling and checks for different individual parameters (IP), e.g. presence of tail biting, wounds and bursitis. Three trained observers collected the data by performing 29 combined assessments, which were done at the same time and on the same animals; but they were carried out completely independent of each other. The findings were compared by the calculation of Spearman Rank Correlation Coefficients (RS), Intraclass Correlation Coefficients (ICC), Smallest Detectable Changes (SDC) and Limits of Agreements (LoA). There was no agreement found concerning the adjectives belonging to the QBA (e.g. active: RS: 0.50, ICC: 0.30, SDC: 0.38, LoA: -0.05 to 0.45; fearful: RS: 0.06, ICC: 0.0, SDC: 0.26, LoA: -0.20 to 0.30). In contrast, the BO showed good agreement (e.g. social behaviour: RS: 0.45, ICC: 0.50, SDC: 0.09, LoA: -0.09 to 0.03 use of enrichment material: RS: 0.75, ICC: 0.68, SDC: 0.06, LoA: -0.03 to 0.03). Overall, observers agreed well in the IP, e.g. tail biting (RS: 0.52, ICC: 0.88; SDC: 0.05, LoA: -0.01 to 0.02) and wounds (RS: 0.43, ICC: 0.59, SDC: 0.10, LoA: -0.09 to 0.10). The parameter bursitis showed great differences (RS: 0.10, ICC: 0.0, SDC: 0.35, LoA: -0.37 to 0.40), which can be explained by difficulties in the assessment when the animals moved around quickly or their legs were soiled. In conclusion, the interobserver reliability was good in the BO and most IP, but not for the parameter bursitis and the QBA.