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. 
Bozzay, J. D., Walker, P. F., Atwood, R. E. et al. 2023. Development, refinement, and characterization of a nonhuman primate critical care environment. PLOS ONE 18(3), e0281548.

Systemic inflammatory response remains a poorly understood cause of morbidity and mortality after traumatic injury. Recent nonhuman primate (NHP) trauma models have been used to characterize the systemic response to trauma, but none have incorporated...

Verspeek, J., Stevens, J. M. G. 2023. Behavioral and physiological response to inequity in bonobos (Pan paniscus). American Journal of Primatology 85(1), e23455.

Inequity aversion (IA), the affective, cognitive, and behavioral response to inequitable outcomes, allows individuals to avoid exploitation and therefore stabilizes cooperation. The presence of IA varies across animal species, which has stimulated research to investigate...

Luisi, B., Micheletta, J., Julle-Danière, E. et al. 2023. Monkeying around: Non-human primate behavioural responses to humans reproducing their facial expressions. Applied Animal Behaviour Science 265, 105990.

People are often observed mimicking animals’ facial expressions in an attempt to communicate with them. However, to date, there is limited understanding of how animals respond to humans reproducing their facial displays, or if this...

Clark, F. E. 2023. In the zone: Towards a comparative study of flow state in primates. Animal Behavior and Cognition 10(1), 62–88.

Flow is an altered state of feeling ‘in the zone’ when fully absorbed in a challenge and is associated with positive affective state (feelings). Despite almost five decades of research, Flow has not yet been...

Piekarski, N., Hobbs, T. R., Jacob, D. et al. 2023. A comparison of oocyte yield between ultrasound-guided and laparoscopic oocyte retrieval in rhesus macaques. Animals 13(19), 3017.

Obtaining quality oocytes is a prerequisite for ART-based studies. Here we describe a method for transabdominal ultrasound-guided (US) oocyte retrieval in rhesus macaques (Macaca mullata) and compare it to the standard surgical approach using laparoscopy...

Rosales, C., Sands, C. 2022. Confirming sexual maturity in male cynomolgus macaques by urinary spermatozoa microscopic examination. Laboratory Animal Science Professional 10(1) (January/February), 60-61.

Medications often require studies performed in sexually mature cynomolgus macaques. At this time, there are few options available to confirm sexual maturity in male macaques. Electroejaculation and collection of seminal fluid are invasive and require...

Laméris, D. W., Verspeek, J., Salas, M. et al. 2022. Evaluating self-directed behaviours and their association with emotional arousal across two cognitive tasks in bonobos (Pan paniscus). Animals 12(21), 3002.

Self-directed behaviours (SDBs) are widely used as markers of emotional arousal in primates, and are commonly linked to negative arousal, or are used as indicators of stress or poor welfare. However, recent studies suggest that...

Ash, H., Smith, T. E., Buchanan-Smith, H. M. 2021. The long-term impact of infant rearing background on the behavioural and physiological stress response of adult common marmosets (Callithrix jacchus). Applied Animal Behaviour Science 234, 105169.

Although triplet litters are increasing in captive colonies of common marmosets, parents can rarely rear more than two infants without human intervention. There is however much evidence that early life experience, including separation from the...

Sørensen, D., Cloutier, S., Gaskill, B. (Eds.). 2021. Animal-centric Care and Management - Enhancing Refinement in Biomedical Research. CRC Press, Boca Raton, FL.

The concept of the 3Rs (Refinement, Reduction and Replacement) has been used as a framework for improving the welfare of laboratory animals for the last half century. By establishing an animal-centric view on housing and...

Roubos, S., Louwerse, A. L., Langermans, J. A. M. et al. 2021. Retrospective analysis of the effectiveness and reversibility of long-acting contraception Etonogestrel (Implanon®) in common marmosets (Callithrix jacchus). Animals 11(4), 963.

Contraception is an important population control method for the colony management of primates housed in captivity. Etonogestrel (ENG) implants (i.e., Implanon®) are a widely used progestin-based contraceptive in common marmosets (Callithrix jacchus) with the theoretical...

Spiezio C., Vaglio, S., Vandelle C. et al. 2021. Effects of rearing on the behaviour of zoo-housed chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes). Folia Primatologica 92(2), 91–102.

Early-life experiences may considerably affect the behavioural patterns of adult primates. Particularly, atypical rearing practices might lead to abnormal behaviours and social-sexual deficiencies in captive, adult non-human primates. We conducted behavioural observations of mother-reared (n...

McDonald, M. M., Agnew, M. K., Asa, C. S. et al. 2021. Melengestrol acetate contraceptive implant use in colobus monkeys (Colobus guereza): Patterns through time and differences in reproductive potential and live births. Zoo Biology 40(2), 124-134.

Melengestrol acetate (MGA) implants are progestin-based reversible contraceptives used to manage fertility in zoo populations. Although it is recommended that MGA implants should be replaced every 2 years, the duration of efficacy has not been...

Travain, T., Valsecchi, P. 2021. Infrared thermography in the study of animals’ emotional responses: A critical review. Animals 11(9), 2510.

Whether animals have emotions was historically a long-lasting question but, today, nobody disputes that they do. However, how to assess them and how to guarantee animals their welfare have become important research topics in the...

MacLellan, A., Fureix, C., Polanco, A. et al. 2021. Can animals develop depression? An overview and assessment of “depression-like” states. Behaviour 158(14/15), 1303–1353.

Describing certain animal behaviours as 'depression-like' or 'depressive' has become common across several fields of research. These typically involve unusually low activity or unresponsiveness and/or reduced interest in pleasure (anhedonia). While the term 'depression-like' carefully...

Penfold, L. M., Norton, T., Asa, C. S. 2021. Effects of GnRH agonists on testosterone and testosterone-stimulated parameters for contraception and aggression reduction in male lion-tailed Macaques (Macaca silenus). Zoo Biology 40(6), 541-550.

Managing social groups in zoos requires controlling reproduction in individuals that do not have a current breeding recommendation, while simultaneously maintaining social harmony and animal well-being. Contraceptives, such as gonadotropin releasing-hormone (GnRH) agonists, that suppress...

Goldsborough, Z., van Leeuwen, E. J. C., Kolff, K. W. T. et al. 2020. Do chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes) console a bereaved mother? Primates volume 61(1), 93–102.

Comparative thanatology encompasses the study of death-related responses in non-human animals and aspires to elucidate the evolutionary origins of human behavior in the context of death. Many reports have revealed that humans are not the...

Rossi, M. J., de Oliveira Fermoseli, A. F., Hirano, Z. M. B. et al. 2020. Adoption of an orphaned and temporarily captive infant by an unrelated adult female in black-and-gold howler monkey: Implications for management strategies. Primates 61(2), 169–174.

Conservation behavior involves the application of general principles of animal behavior for solving conservation problems. In primates, adoption of infants has been reported in several species and consists of an individual other than the biological...

Andrade, B. M.T., Freire-Filho, R., Bezerra, B. 2020. The behaviours of a female blonde capuchin (Sapajus flavius) towards her dead infant. Behaviour 157(14/15), 1231-1238.

Here we describe the behaviour of a female blonde capuchin (Sapajus flavius) towards her dead infant and discuss possible explanations linked to the anecdotal event. We conducted our study in a fragment of Atlantic forest...

Hopper, L. M., Fernandez‐Duque, E., Williams, L. E. 2019. Testing the weekend effect hypothesis: Time of day and lunar phase better predict the timing of births in laboratory‐housed primates than day of week. American Journal of Primatology 81(7), e23026.

The weekend effect hypothesis proposes that captive primates are more likely to give birth during times of low disturbance and reduced staff activity. The hypothesis specifically predicts that laboratory‐housed primates will be more likely to...

Heintz, M. R.; Fuller, G., Allard, S. 2019. Exploratory investigation of infrared thermography for measuring gorilla emotional responses to interactions with familiar humans. Animals 9(9), 604.

Interactions between zoo professionals and animals occur regularly and are believed to be enriching for animals. Little empirical information exists on how animals perceive these interactions, and particularly how the interactions affect the emotional states...

Chu, X. 2019. Preliminary validation of natural depression in macaques with acute treatments of the fast-acting antidepressant ketamine. Behavioural Brain Research 360, 60-68.

Non-human primates have become one of the most important model animals for the investigation of brain diseases because they share a wide-range of genetics and social similarities with human beings. Naturally-evoked depression models in macaques...

Kennedy, L. H., Nowland, M. H., Nemzek-Hamlin, J. A. 2019. Surgical treatment of spontaneous endometriosis in rhesus macaques (Macaca mulatta): 11 cases (2007–2011). Journal of the American Veterinary Medical Association 254(12), 1454-1458.

OBJECTIVE To determine long-term outcome for rhesus macaques (Macaca mulatta) with endometriosis that underwent surgical treatment and identify factors potentially associated with long-term outcome. DESIGN Retrospective case series. ANIMALS 11 female rhesus macaques. PROCEDURES Medical...

Ermatinger, F. A., Brügger, R. K., Burkart, J. M. 2019. The use of infrared thermography to investigate emotions in common marmosets. Physiology & Behavior 211, 112672.

Measuring body surface temperature changes with infrared thermography has recently been put forward as a non-invasive alternative measure of physiological correlates of emotional reactions. In particular, the nasal region seems to be highly sensitive to...

McMillan, F. D. (ed). 2019. Mental Health and Well-being in Animals (2nd ed). CABI, Wallingford, UK.

This second edition is fully revised, expanded, and comprehensively updated with the most current knowledge about the full array of mental health issues seen in animals. Written by key opinion leaders, internationally-recognized experts and specialists...

Stammen, R. L., Cohen, J. K., Meeker, T. L. et al. 2018. Effect of chronic social stress on prenatal transfer of antitetanus immunity in captive breeding rhesus macaques (Macaca mulatta). JAALAS 57(4), 357-367.

Because tetanus can cause significant morbidity and mortality in NHP, colonywide vaccination with tetanus toxoid is recommended for outdoor breeding colonies of rhesus macaques, with primary immunizations commonly given to infants at 6 mo of...