Lectures and seminars Webinar: Environmental factors influence behavior and physiology in Rattus norvegicus
The aim of these CPD webinars (Continuing professional development) is to follow the legal requirements for maintenance and demonstration of competence in laboratory animal science, and to facilitate the implementations of the 3R’s in routine animal work.
Speaker
Dr. Paul Bernard and Logan Bigelow, MSc, from the Department of Biomedical Sciences at the Atlantic Veterinary College, University of Prince Edward Island, Canada. His recent research has focused on the impact of variations in lab animal husbandry on data consistency/variability.
His research aims to identify universally applicable, reliable husbandry protocols to improve animal welfare and reduce data variability, ultimately reducing the number of animals in research to answer important scientific questions and saving valuable resources.
Registration
Register here (by March 14, 16.00 CEST)
Abstract
Over the past couple of decades, there has been much concern over the control of environmental variables in rodent research. Besides the obvious welfare implications, there is concern that environmental variables may be a contributor to the replicability crisis.
As a means of better understanding the contribution of environmental variables to experimental outcomes, we studied the impact of various environmental factors such as housing, handling, and acoustics on welfare outcomes. Measures included both classic tests of anxiety-like behavior as well as stress-related physiology in combination with novel measures such as intra-cage ultrasonic vocalizations.
Both behavioral and physiological markers were affected by interventions, suggesting that environmental variables influence study outcomes. It is therefore critical that environmental parameters be considered in study design and post-study reporting.
Contact
E-mail: las-edu@km.ki.se