Recognising and defining stress in harbour seal pups. Sue Wilson and Elizabeth Oriel Tara Seal Research

Transcription

1 Recognising and defining stress in harbour seal pups Sue Wilson and Elizabeth Oriel Tara Seal Research

2 The social harbour seal, Phoca vitulina Affiliative social interaction takes place in the water or at the water s edge Wilson 1974a ; 1978; Wilson & Keiman, 1974)

3 Mother and pup behaviours at haul-out site Wilson 1974b; 1978; Renouf et al., 1983; Lawson & Renouf, 1987) neonatal bonding nursing sleeping Most affiliative behaviour takes place in the water or at the water s edge Pup following play

4 Video clip Mother-pup activity at the water s edge

5 following behaviour and contact call of the pup

6 The pup emits the contact or distress call when it pup loses contact with its mother. When the mother and pup are reunited, the stress has been brief and the biological cost to the pup, met by its reserves, is inconsequential to Its welfare (e.g. Moberg, 2000). The call is a functional part of the bond between mother and pup (sonogram from Renouf, 1984).

7 Orphan pups may be taken into a rehabilitation facility

8 ...where their lives are very different from that of their wild peers Typically pups in rehabilitation may spend their first 3-4 weeks alone

9 Sample video clips of neonate pups in rehab kept in isolation no other seal or surrogate in many facilities in a dry cell with no water no opportunity to suckle deprived of all social and physical stimuli typical of pups of nursing age

10 stress defined as adverse environmental conditions stress response defined as the behavioural and physiological responses to stressor (McNamara & Buchanan, 2005) Stress may be acute (eg attack from predator), repeated or chronic, or sub-clinical. In the case of confined animals, conditions including isolation may be a chronic or sub-clinical stressor which impairs the animal s growth or other biological function. In this case it becomes distress (Moberg, 2000). For orphan pups in rehab, isolation which prevents the expression of any natural behaviours of pups suckling, following, contact with motherfigure, play, swimming, exploration, etc. results in pups which do not appear to thrive and have a slow growth rate (at a time when they should be doubling their birth weight in 3 4 weeks).

11 The primary aim of this study is to demonstrate unequivocally that orphan pups kept in isolation, without water access, for the first 3-4 weeks, is a serious welfare issue, and that this practice should be changed. How can we demonstrate, objectively and convincingly, that these isolated orphan pups are suffering from chronic or sub-clinical stress, or distress (Moberg, 2000)?

12 For our proposed study we intend to use four different approaches to defining these deficits and recognising stress in rehab orphan pups of nursing age, (i.e. Up to about 1 month of age). 1. quantify the behavioural deficit (a) using film clips to compare behaviour in the wild and in different rehabilitation facilities (b) using CCTV, compare behaviour of pups (i) captive-born, (ii) rehab pups kept in pairs or groups and (iii) rehab pups kept alone 2. Qualitative Behaviour Analysis to assess levels of well-being and suffering through analysis of body language 3. Demand studies in which a seal is offered the opportunity to change its social or physical environment 4. Physiological biomarker assays

13 1. (a) quantify the behavioural deficit using film clips from the wild and rehabilitation. Behaviours of pups recorded at 15-s intervals: nearest neighbour, distance, distance to M, in water/on shore, position and orientation of P, behaviour of P (e.g. Sleeping, comfort movements, following M, swimming, locomotor play, etc.) Scoring these behaviours in the wild enables the degree of deficit in rehab to be quantified. Behaviour and activity when awake may be compared in wild, captive born and rehab pups The frequency and duration of sleep episodes may be compared in wild versus rehab or captive-born pups in different conditions (Hänninen et al., 2010). The quality of contact calls by wild and rehab pups in different situations may be compared by means of sonographs

14 2b. Using CCTV, compare behaviour of pups of nursing age......captive born...rehab pups in pairs or groups rehab pups alone

15 2. Qualitative Behaviour Analysis (QBA) to assess levels of well-being and suffering Animals maintain continuous sensory contact with the environment (even during sleep ), through processes of attention, orientation and monitoring...play perhaps is the ultimate manifestation of such diversification.... The recognition that animals are capable of evaluating these stimulus-response chains and directing their course is central to theories of animal welfare (Wemelsfelder, 1997) An animal s attentional style (e.g. relaxed, agitated, listless, curious, contented ) may be indicated by its body language. For QBA, groups of observers are asked to assign categories of attentional style (on a quantitative scale) to individual animals in a short film clip. The observers must decide which qualitative linguistic description best describes the animal s state, and statistical methods are used to test intra- and inter-observer reliability.

16 SAC research programme (Defra/Seerad funded): ( 60 studies: pigs, cattle, sheep, poultry) Methodology: observers (experts) - 1. describe animals BL in own freely chosen terms + 2. score intensity of expressions Multivariate Statistics: Agreement: calculate consensus profile ( best fit ) of observer scoring patterns; Interpretation: correlate main dimensions to individual observer terminologies; Attribute animal scores on main consensus dimensions

17 relaxed content friendly confident playful independent bold boisterous curious aggressive excited calm inquisitive angry irritated 0 gentle quiet wary alert attentive aware suspicious anxious timid nervous

18 For QBA analysis,1-min clips will be used showing seal pups from wild and in different rehab conditions when awake and when resting Rehab pups kept in pairs with bath or paddling pool access

19 Sample of video clips of rehab pups in pairs with water access

20 3. Demand studies in which a seal is offered the opportunity to change its social or physical environment, e.g. a seal must make a choice or overcome an obstacle in order to gain access to another seal. By measuring the degree of the obstruction, it is possible to determine how much value the seal places on access to another seal, i.e. how much the seal wants to be with another animal (Dawkins, 1990) and is an indirect way of measuring the strength of the animal s subjective feelings (Duncan, 2006). (e.g. The famous example of Laurel scaling the security barrier to reach the newly arrived seal Togo ).

21 4. Non-invasive collection of samples for physiology biomarker assays Oxytocin (neuropeptide synthesised in hypothalamus). Recent evidence implicates OT in social behaviours, formation of social bonds and the management of stressful experiences (Carter et al. 2007; Heinrichs et al., 2003), recently studied in weaned grey seal pups (Robinson et al., 2011) Urine - (Bick & Dozier, 2010) Saliva -, possibly if samples concentrated 4-fold (Carter et al., 2007). Cortisol (glucocorticoid produced by adrenal gland). Stimulates gluconeogenesis, mobilises amino acids and increases plasma proteins. Highest during post-moult and pre-breeding seasons in wild harbour seals; captive seals generally lower levels than wild seals (Gardiner & Hall, 1997). Wild adult male Weddell seals showed elevated cortisol when captured and handled (Harcourt et al., 2010), but MPs of southern elephant seals did not (Engelhard et al., 2002). Usefulness as simple Indicator of welfare/well-being questionable (Rushen, 1991). Urine - Saliva - (Beerda et al, 1996). Faeces - (Petrauskas et al. 2006)

22 In wild pups there may be a dynamic balance between cortisol and oxytocin levels elicited by stress and social support respectively (Heinrichs et al, 2003; in the case of seal pups the social support is provided by the mother). In rehab pups that balance may be very different, possibly with little of either hormone. The aim of the study would be to determine that balance. Growth rates in different rehab conditions should also be compared.

23 Physiological measures - Compare: Captive bred pups Orphan pups reared in pairs Single orphan pups reared with surrogate Orphan pups reared alone

24 How much does social, physical and sensory deprivation matter for orphan harbour seals? How much do they suffer when kept in isolation? Harbour seal pups are highly precocial are must be assumed to have highly developed sentience (Duncan, 2006; Fraser, 2009). Their subjective state when subjected to deprivation of maternal surrogate, physical and sensory stimulation and locomotor opportunity is a valid welfare concern. Long term impacts? It is likely that normal psychosocial development in the harbour seal is dependent on stimuli and experience during the neonatal and 3-4 week nursing period (e.g. studies on dog puppies by Fox & Stelzner, 1965), which may be considered a sensitive developmental period. Deprivation of all normal social stimuli for this entire period may be predicted to have long-lasting impact.

25 Thank you for listening Tara Seal Research

26 Beerda, B., Schilder, M.B.H., Janssen, N.S.C.R.M. & Mol, J.A. (202). The use of Saliva cortisol, urinary cortisol and catecholamine measurements for a non-invasive assessment of stress response in dogs. Hormones and Behavior 30(3): Bick, J. & Dozier, M. (2010). Mothers and Children s concentrations of oxytocin following close physical interactions with biological and non-biological children. Dev. Psychobiol. 52(1): Carter, C.S., Pournajafi-Nazarloo, H., Kramer, K.M., Ziegler, T.E., White-Traut, R., Bello, D. & Schwertz, D. (2007). Oxytocin: behavioral associations and potential as a salivary biomarker. Annals NY Aca. Sci. 1098: Dawkins, M.S From an animal s point of view: motivation, fitness and animal welfare. In Behavioral and brain sciences 13: Duncan, I.J.H. (2006). The changing concept of animal sentience. Appl. Anim. Behav. Sc. 100:

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