My recent review examined the complex and intimate relationship between hermit crabs and the empty gastropod shells upon which they depend for survival. Because shells come with costs as well as benefits, the crabs are...
Conspecific aggressiveness often increases after social isolation for species that are not entirely solitary, and this increased aggression could also be reversed after resocialization. However, literature on this aggression plasticity refers to either permanently social...
This paper explores the ethical considerations surrounding research on echinoderms, a group of invertebrates that has recently garnered attention in the scientific community. The importance of responsible animal handling and the need for an ethical...
In a new review article, experiments on hermit crab behaviour are discussed in the context of possible animal sentience. Sentience can be defined as the ability to experience feelings such as pleasure or pain but...
There is an ethical responsibility to provide all animals living in human care with optimal and positive well-being. As animals living in zoos and aquariums frequently interact with their human caregivers as part of their...
Octopus cyanea has a wide range of natural distribution and is interesting for scientific research. However, unlike Octopus vulgaris, the species is poorly studied, and few data exist on best practices for keeping them. One...
Welfare metrics have been established for octopuses in the laboratory, but not for octopuses living in the wild. Wild octopuses are constantly exposed to potentially harmful situations, and the ability to assess the welfare status...
Color preference testing for animals is a prerequisite for optimizing facilities and ensuring animal welfare in aquaculture. Swimming crabs (Portunus trituberculatus) are aggressive, and shelters are often installed in ponds to reduce the high mortality...
Accredited zoos and aquariums are required to have a welfare assessment process in place for the animals in their care. However, welfare assessment theoretical frameworks and methodologies vary widely. Previous studies have shown that taxonomic...
Mud crabs (Scylla spp.) are economically important portunid species for aquaculture in many countries across the Indo-Pacific region. However, there is still no commercial species-specific formulated feed available for mud crabs, and mud crabs generally...