Refinement Database

Database on Refinement of Housing, Husbandry, Care, and Use of Animals in Research

This database, created in 2000, is updated every four months with newly published scientific articles, books, and other publications related to improving or safeguarding the welfare of animals used in research.

Tips for using the database:

  • This landing page displays all of the publications in the database.
  • Use the drop-down menus to filter these publications by Animal Type, Setting, and/or Topic.
  • Clicking on a parent category (e.g., Rodent) will include publications relating to all the items in that category (e.g., Chinchilla, Gerbil, Guinea Pig, etc.).
  • You may also add a keyword to further narrow your search.
  • Please note that at this time, only publications dated 2010 or later (with some exceptions) can be filtered by Animal Type and Topic, and only publications dated 2020 or later (with some exceptions) can be filtered by Setting. Most publications older than 2010 can only be searched by keyword. 
Williams, M. D., Long, C. T., Durrant, J. R. et al. 2017. Oral transmucosal detomidine gel in New Zealand White rabbits (Oryctolagus cuniculus). JAALAS 56(4), 436-442.

Handling and restraining rabbits for routine procedures may be impossible without prior sedation, result in unnecessary stress or injury to the rabbit or handler, and increase experimental variability. Parenteral administration of sedatives can cause stress...

Chatigny, F., Kamunde, C., Creighton, C. M. et al. 2017. Uses and doses of local anesthetics in fish, amphibians, and reptiles. JAALAS 56(3), 244-253.

Local anesthetics are an integral part of routine pain management in mammals, yet their use is relatively limited in fish, amphibians and reptiles. These animals frequently undergo potentially painful surgical procedures and therefore could possibly...

Chinnadurai, S. K., Johnson III, J. G., Langan, J. N. 2017. Comparison of 3 methods for preventing perianesthetic hypothermia in callimicos (Callimico goeldii). JAALAS 56(3), 318-321.

Perianesthetic hypothermia is one of the most common complications in veterinary anesthesia, especially in small patients with a large body surface area to mass ratio. During anesthesia, body heat can be lost through 4 mechanisms—radiation...

Heagerty, A., Wales, R. A., Prongay, K. et al. 2017. Social hair pulling in captive rhesus macaques (Macaca mulatta). American Journal of Primatology 79(12), e22720.

Alopecia is common among captive populations of nonhuman primates. There are many potential causes of alopecia, including physiological conditions such as hormonal imbalance and infection, features of the captive environment such as housing type, ground...

Novak, M. A., Menard, M. T., El-Mallah, S. N. et al. 2017. Assessing signi?cant (>30%) alopecia as a possible biomarker for stress in captive rhesus monkeys (Macaca mulatta). American Journal of Primatology 79(1), e22547.

Hair loss is common in macaque colonies. Very little is known about the relationship between psychological stress and hair loss. We initially examined alopecia and hair cortisol concentrations in 198 (89 male) rhesus macaques from...

Kroeker, R., Lee, G. H., Bellanca, R. U. et al. 2017. Prior facility affects alopecia in adulthood for rhesus macaques. American Journal of Primatology 79(1), e22551.

Alopecia has proven to be a persistent problem for captive macaques; many cases continue to elude explanations and effective treatments. Although almost all captive populations exhibit alopecia rates higher than those seen in the wild...

Dettmer, A. M., Rosenberg, K., Menard, M. T. et al. 2017. Differential relationships between chronic hormone pro?les in pregnancy and maternal investment in rhesus monkey mothers with hair loss in the neonatal period. American Journal of Primatology 79(1), e22489.

Hair loss is commonly used as an indicator of well being in primate facilities, yet it has been shown to also occur in otherwise healthy pregnant and postpartum females. There is significant variability in the...

Martin, A. L. 2017. Theprimatologist as a behavioral engineer. American Journal of Primatology 79, e22500.

The field of primate behavior management has had only limited success in preventing and treating abnormal behaviors, such as stereotypy and self‐injury, in captive non‐human primates (NHP). In contrast, applied behavior analysts have had great...

Stanwicks, L. L., Hamel, A. F., Novak, M. A. 2017. Rhesus macaques (Macaca mulatta) displaying self-injurious behavior show more sleep disruption than controls. Applied Animal Behaviour Science 197, 62-67.

Self-injurious behavior (SIB) is a pathology observed in both humans and animals. In humans, SIB has been linked to various mental health conditions that are also associated with significant sleep disruption. In rhesus macaques, SIB...

Rose, P. E., Nash, S. M., Riley, L. M. 2017. To pace or not to pace? A review of what abnormal repetitive behavior tells us about zoo animal management. Journal of Veterinary Behavior 20, 11-21.

Performance of abnormal repetitive behavior (ARB) is noted in many captive wild species. ARB can be categorized into 2 basic forms: those whose aim appears to be to compulsively reach an inappropriate goal and those...

Cannon, T. H., Heistermann, M., Hankison, S. J. et al. 2016. Tailored enrichment strategies and stereotypic behavior in captive individually housed macaques (Macaca spp.). Journal of Applied Animal Welfare Science 19(2), 171-182.

The welfare of nonhuman animals in captivity is widely dependent on the natural psychological, physical, and behavioral needs of the animals and how adequately these needs are met. Inability to engage in natural behaviors can...

Brand, C. M., Boose, K. J., Squires, E. C. et al. 2016. Hair plucking, stress, and urinary cortisol among captive bonobos (Pan paniscus). Zoo Biology 35(5), 415-422.

Hair plucking has been observed in many captive primate species, including the great apes; however, the etiology of this behavioral pattern is poorly understood. While this behavior has not been reported in wild apes, an...

Winnicker, C., Gaskill, B., Garner, J. P. et al. 2016. A Guide to the Behavior & Enrichment of Laboratory Rodents. Charles River Laboratories.

Covering species-typical behavior as well as abnormal/malfunctional behavior and stereotypes observed in mice, rats, hamsters and gerbils, this is an excellent resource for those looking to implement or enhance an existing behavioral husbandry and enrichment...

Morrison, K.E., Strahl-Heldreth, D. Clark-Price, S.C. 2016. Isoflurane, sevoflurane and desflurane use in cane toads (Rhinella marina). Veterinary Record Open 3(1), e000185.

Anaesthetic chamber concentrations of isoflurane, sevoflurane and desflurane that resulted in loss of righting reflex within 15 minutes in 50 per cent of toads (Rhinella marina) exposed (ED50-LRR

Leeds, A., Elsner, R., Lukas, K. 2016. The effect of positive reinforcement training on an adult female western lowland gorilla’s (Gorilla gorilla gorilla) rate of abnormal and aggressive behavior. Animal Behavior and Cognition 3(2), 78–87.

Positive reinforcement training (PRT) has become a widely used tool in improving the ease with which husbandry and veterinary procedures are performed for animals under human care. PRT provides positive social interaction, cognitive stimulation, and...

Gottlieb D. H., Maier, A., Coleman, K. 2015. Evaluation of environmental and intrinsic factors that contribute to stereotypic behavior in captive rhesus macaques (Macaca mulatta). Applied Animal Behaviour Science 171,184-91.

Full body repetitive behaviors, known as motor stereotypic behaviors (MSBs), are one of the most commonly seen abnormal behaviors in captive non-human primates, and are frequently used as a behavioral measure of well-being. The main...

Pearson, B. L., Reeder, D. M., Judge, P. G. 2015. Crowding increases salivary cortisol but not self-directed behavior in captive baboons. American Journal of Primatology 77, 462-67.

Reduced space can lead to crowding in social animals. Crowding increases the risk of agonistic interactions that, in turn, may require additional physiological defensive coping mechanisms affecting health. To determine the stress induced from increased...

Bayne, K. A., Beaver, B. V., Mench, J. A. et al. 2015. Laboratory animal behavior. In: Laboratory Animal Medicine, 3rd edition. Fox, J. G., Anderson, L., Otto, G., et al. (eds). Elsevier, Inc., Amsterdam, NL. pp. 1617-1651.

The study of laboratory animal behavior has increased steadily over the last decade, with expanding emphasis on a variety of commonly used species. In the United States, this trend was initially focused on species for...

Novak, M., Hamel, A., Coleman, K. et al. 2014. Hair loss and hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenocortical axis activity in captive rhesus macaques (Macaca mulatta). JAALAS 53(3), 261-266.

Hair loss is a common problem in captive macaque colonies. A potential factor is the possible influence of stressful environments in the development of hair loss. We examined the relationship between hair loss and chronic...

Meade, T. M., Hutchinson, E., Krall, C. et al. 2014. Use of an aquarium as a novel enrichment item for singly housed rhesus macaques (Macaca mulatta). JAALAS 53(5), 472-477.

Locomotor stereotypies are behaviors often seen in singly housed rhesus macaques (Macaca mulatta) and are considered to represent a maladaptive response to captive environments. Active and passive enrichment items are commonly used to mitigate these...

Lutz, C. K., Williams, P. C., Sharp, R. M. 2014. Abnormal behavior and associated risk factors in captive baboons (Papio hamadryas spp.). American Journal of Primatology 76(4), 355-361.

Abnormal behavior, ranging from motor stereotypies to self‐injurious behavior, has been documented in captive nonhuman primates, with risk factors including nursery rearing, single housing, and veterinary procedures. Much of this research has focused on macaque...

Kroeker, R., Bellanca, R. U., Lee, G. H. et al. 2014. Alopecia in three macaque species housed in a laboratory environment. American Journal of Primatology 76(4), 325-334.

Alopecia is a persistent problem in captive macaque populations and despite recent interest, no factors have been identified that can unequivocally explain the presence of alopecia in a majority of cases. Seasonal, demographic, and environmental...

Gottlieb, D. H., O'Connor, J. R., Coleman, K. 2014. Using porches to decrease feces painting in rhesus macaques (Macaca mulatta). JAALAS 53(6), 653-656.

The goal of this project was to evaluate the efficacy of a porch in decreasing feces painting in captive rhesus macaques. The porch is a small extension that is hung on the outside of a...

Crast, J., Bloomsmith, M. A., Perlman, J. E. et al. 2014. Abnormal behaviour in captive sooty mangabeys. Animal Welfare 23(2), 167-177.

The influence of several factors on abnormal behaviour was investigated in 46 singly housed sooty mangabeys (Cercocebus atys) (eight nursery-reared, 38 mother-reared), including self-injurious, self-directed, stereotypic locomotion, and faeces/urine-related behaviours (SIB, SDB, SL, FUR, respectively)...

Reinhardt, V. (ed.) 2013. Compassion Makes a Difference - Discussions by the Laboratory Animal Refinement & Enrichment Forum [LAREF], Volume III. Animal Welfare Institute, Washington, DC.

This is the third volume of discussions that took place on the Laboratory Animal Refinement & Enrichment Forum (LAREF). This forum is dedicated to the exchange of personal experiences of refining the conditions under which...