Trish Fleming

Traditionally, the main focus in behavioural studies of group-housed sows has been how aggression changes over time, with little attention paid to other (not necessarily negative) aspects of behaviour. For example, it has been established that, compared with open group pens, the presence of partial feeding stalls results in reduced levels of aggression over the first 90 min of mixing (Barnett et al, 1992), but there are few data regarding other behaviour. Behaviour is dynamic and negative interactions are not the only welfare-relevant actions, and therefore other behaviour such as investigation (sniffing/interacting with pen or another animal), time spent walking, standing (in the group or stalls) or lying should also be quantified to provide a more holistic picture of sow activity at mixing into groups. There are also limited studies on sows mixed at 5 d post-mating. We predicted that behaviour of sows changes over the 90 min post-mixing and that the expression of aggression is transient as the animals establish their social structure.

Working with captive wild birds presents researchers with a multitude of challenges. Not least of these is appropriate cage size. Previous studies have highlighted some AEC concerns in this area. Our AEC has worked with a research group to ensure improved outcomes for captive wild birds in a specific study as well as for future studies. This involved the redesign of an outdoor aviary for the latest cohort of birds (n=8). The re-design includes 8 individual aviaries with sufficient space to allow flight for small birds (<150 g). The birds have been taught to feed in smaller cages within the aviaries so that they are easily re-caught and can be handled for the research. The capacity to reduce the aviary size for trial participation has also been incorporated, allowing researchers to conduct experiments with minimal handling of the birds. Current occupants (Silvereyes, ~10 g) appear to have adapted well. The AEC has also endeavoured to set some guidelines for the time space between the various components of the research so that the birds are provided with time frames free from research interaction in the aviaries. The student researcher has been proactive in including remote monitoring through cameras as well as through nearby windows, and has recently implemented a remote design to close the smaller cages. This session will discuss the process and evaluate its outcomes to date.

The value to fauna of dead fallen wood or coarse woody debris (CWD) in Australian forest ecosystems is well established. Reptiles use logs for shelter, to lay eggs and as basking sites, while mammals may use logs for shelter or for nesting (Bell 2004, Grove and Meggs 2003, Lindenmayer et al. 2002). Mac Nally (2006) has also demonstrated the reliance on CWD of certain bird species. Consideration of CWD is therefore important for forest restoration. However, there is only limited information to guide decisions on the quality, condition or configuration of CWD in practical habitat reconstruction activities (Mac Nally et al. 2001). The aim of this study is to determine the response of selected faunal groups to varying quantities of CWD, routinely returned as piles of logs (Brennan et al. 2005), in the restoration of a jarrah forest ecosystem following bauxite mining in the south-west Western Australia. In particular, do increasing densities of log piles in mines sites simply provide more habitat, or do the shorter distances between log pile habitats resulting from higher densitities facilitate animal movement (Lindenmayer et al. 2002) and therefore the rate of recolonisation.