Rachel Grant

London South Bank University | LSBU · Department of Applied Science

Human associations with animals involve a diversity of sectors that promote animals as being domesticated, and that position may also convey that individuals used in those situations require lesser concern in captivity than if they were utilised wild organisms. The domestication phenomenon is complex and multi-stage, involving genetics, successive...

Eyespots are found across many taxa, usually for predator intimidation. In human artefacts, eye designs have been presumed to have an apotropaic function (warding off supernatural evil and envy) rather than an evolutionary function related to protection from agonistic interactions. We hypothesised that, instead, eyespot designs may have been used i...

The Five Freedoms, Five Domains, Five Welfare Needs, and other similar models or principles, are key aspirational or outcome-led frameworks aimed at safeguarding animals under human custodianship, and are widely used in legislation, guidance documents, and protocols. We aimed to investigate the effectiveness of these animal welfare models as intend...

Reptile expos are typically itinerant events at which live wild-caught and/or captive-bred turtles, tortoises, crocodiles, lizards, and snakes are displayed, sold, or exchanged for pet keeping purposes. We conducted a literature review and analysis of reports regarding animal welfare and public health issues of concern associated with the display a...

Fur farming involves the captive-breeding, rearing, and killing of between 85 – 100 million animals annually for their pelts. The purpose of this report is to summarise key areas of significance and concern regarding fur farming, and discuss these matters and their one-health considerations. We conducted primary literature searches using Google Sch...

Background: Elephants are exploited for public entertainment tourism throughout Asia and Africa. Areas of concern include public health and safety and animal welfare. Materials and Methods: We examined over 500 scientific publications with respect to our primary objectives, as well as non-peer-reviewed materials relating to other relevant subject...

Simple Summary Definitions and usage of the terms short-term, temporary, and transitional are pivotal to animal husbandry and welfare. English Government guidance regarding acceptable short-term, temporary, or transitional accommodation for animals varies widely from <1 day to 3 months; whereas independent scientific criteria and guidance typically...

Captive animal welfare has benefited from various new technologies and a new generation of welfare-minded and better-informed individuals adopting more welfare-oriented practices. However, for captive reptiles, there remain many aspects that are grounded in and reflect a long history of arbitrary or folklore husbandry and advice, and reptile-keepin...

Mobile zoos are events in which non-domesticated (exotic) and domesticated species are transported to venues such as schools, hospitals, parties, and community centres, for the purposes of education, entertainment, or social and therapeutic assistance. We conducted literature searches and surveyed related government agencies regarding existing prov...

Snakes are sentient animals and should be subject to the accepted general welfare principles of other species. However, they are also the only vertebrates commonly housed in conditions that prevent them from adopting rectilinear behavior (ability to fully stretch out). To assess the evidence bases for historical and current guidance on snake spatia...

Snakes are sentient animals and should be subject to the accepted general welfare principles of other species. However, they are also the only vertebrates commonly housed in conditions that prevent them from adopting rectilinear behavior (ability to fully stretch out). To assess the evidence bases for historical and current guidance on snake spatia...

In species with explosive breeding strategies, large numbers of individuals may congregate at a defined location for a very short period of time. Effective synchronisation in arrival at breeding sites is crucial to ensure mating success. Amphibians with explosive breeding strategies often congregate at ponds for only a few days or weeks a year. Pre...

The rescue shelter environment is known to be stressful for domestic cats, which can lead to them becoming less active, playful and exploratory as well as spending a long time hiding. Early adoption can prevent long term stress in shelter cats, but adopters often look at behaviour and friendliness as criteria when choosing a cat to rehome. This stu...

During human evolution the prevention of cuckoldry has been an adaptive problem for the human male, solved in many other species by intensely guarding females during fertile periods. Signs of estrus in human females are much subtler than in many other species meaning that there is less certainty of the exact timing of the fertile period. This neces...

The causes of marine mammals stranding on coastal beaches are not well understood, but may relate to topography, currents, wind, water temperature, disease, toxic algal blooms, and anthropogenic activity. Offshore earthquakes are a source of intense sound and disturbance and could be a contributing factor to stranding probability. We tested the hyp...

The oceanic oarfish of the genus Regalicus comprises two species (R. glesne and R. russellii) and is sighted infrequently, usually singly or in pairs. The relative infrequency of sightings relates to the depth at which the species normally resides (up to 1000m). While single or paired sightings are not in themselves rare events, somewhat rarer are...

The effects of watching eyes upon prosocial behavior have been explored in various contexts, for example, in relation to charitable donations, honor-system payments and littering. Whilst studies have explored the effects of both photographic and stylized eyes upon prosocial behavior, no study, to our knowledge, has compared stylized eyes to photogr...

There has been a recent trend towards keeping non-traditional companion animals, also known as exotic pets. These pets include parrots, reptiles, amphibians and rabbits, as well as small species of rodent such as degus and guinea pigs. Many of these exotic pet species are not domesticated, and often have special requirements in captivity, which man...

The psychological and physiological effects of different genres of music are well documented in humans. These concepts have also been studied in kenneled dogs and some exotic animals, implying that animals may experience benefits similar to those of humans. This study tested the hypothesis that auditory enrichment changed the behavior of ten zoo-ho...

During human evolution the prevention of cuckoldry has been an adaptive problem for the human male, solved in many other species by intensely guarding females during fertile periods. Signs of estrus in human females are much more subtle than in many other species meaning that there is less certainty of the exact timing of the fertile period. This n...

Simple Summary We exposed two invertebrates to hydrogen peroxide to mimic some of the conditions that occur before large earthquakes. Water fleas changed their position in an aquarium to avoid the hydrogen peroxide but earthworms appeared not to be affected and did not change position. We discuss this in the context of unusual animal behavior often...

During earthquake preparation geophysical processes occur over varying temporal and spatial scales, some leaving their mark on the surface environment, on various biota, and even affecting the ionosphere. Reports on pre-seismic changes in animal behaviour have been greeted with scepticism by the scientific community due to the necessarily anecdotal...

Simple Summary Recent reports from several countries such as China, Italy and Japan support the existence of strange animal behaviour before strong earthquakes. However, the stimuli to which animals are sensitive preceding seismic activity are still not completely understood. Here we report the case of a herd of cows (reported by an entire village)...

Abstract Long-term solutions to crop raiding by elephants (Loxodonta africana) should be based on an understanding of their behaviour and ecology. The real and perceived risks from humans have been shown to affect elephant behaviour. This is evidenced by elephants predominantly raiding crops at night, avoiding the height of human activity. If such...

Simple Summary Media reports linking unusual animal behaviour with earthquakes can potentially create false alarms and unnecessary anxiety among people that live in earthquake risk zones. Recently large frog swarms in China and elsewhere have been reported as earthquake precursors in the media. By examining international media reports of frog swarm...

When tectonic stresses build up in the Earth's crust, highly mobile electronic charge carriers are activated which cause a range of follow-on reactions when they arrive at the Earth's surface, primarily air ionization and at the rock-water interface oxidation of water to hydrogen peroxide. Anecdotal reports of many earthworms appearing at the groun...

Unusual behaviour of domestic cattle before earthquakes has been reported for centuries, and often relates to cattle becoming excited, vocal, aggressive or attempting to break free of tethers and restraints. Cattle have also been reported to move to higher or lower ground before earthquakes. Here, we report unusual movements of domestic cows 2 days...

The way in which amphibians respond to the geophysical changes brought about by the lunar synodic cycle is a neglected area of their ecology, but one which has recently generated interest. Knowledge of how amphibians respond to lunar phase is of intrinsic interest and also may be important for conservation and monitoring of populations. We surveyed...

We analysed 12 years of data on the spring migration of the common toad Bufo bufo L. to breeding ponds across 25 locations in Derbyshire, UK, to determine factors influencing the number of toads active per night. We also tested whether the timing of spring migration is predicted by annual variation in temperature or precipitation. More toads migrat...

We fully agree with Dr. Vassiliki Katsika-Tsigourakou that there is more than one possible explanation for the wide range of electromagnetic (EM) field bioeffects reported in the literature. In order to generate EM fields electric currents need to flow that oscillate. Currents that flow through the ground also generate electrical potentials. Such p...

Prior to major earthquakes many changes in the environment have been documented. Though often subtle and fleeting, these changes are noticeable at the land surface, in water, in the air, and in the ionosphere. Key to understanding these diverse pre-earthquake phenomena has been the discovery that, when tectonic stresses build up in the Earth's crus...

The Dumont d’Urville Sea (East Antarctic region) has been less investigated for DNA barcoding and molecular taxonomy than other parts of the Southern Ocean, such as the Ross Sea and the Antarctic Peninsula. The Collaborative East Antarctic MARine Census (CEAMARC) took place in this area during the austral summer of 2007–2008. The Australian vessel...

The Dumont d’Urville Sea (East Antarctic region) has been less investigated for DNA barcoding and molecular taxonomy than other parts of the Southern Ocean, such as the Ross Sea and the Antarctic Peninsula. The Collaborative East Antarctic MARine Census (CEAMARC) took place in this area during the austral summer of 2007–2008. The Australian vessel...

The widespread belief that animals can anticipate earthquakes (EQs) is poorly supported by evidence, most of which consists of anecdotal post hoc recollections and relates to a very short period immediately before such events. In this study, a population of reproductively active common toads Bufo bufo were monitored over a period of 29 days, before...

Coordinated, circum-Antarctic sampling expeditions during International Polar Year 2008/09 have given access to comprehensive collections suitable for DNA barcoding. Collaborations between the Census of Antarctic Marine Life (CAML), the Marine Barcode of Life project and the Canadian Centre for DNA Barcoding have enabled the Antarctic scientific co...

The Census of Antarctic Marine Life (CAML) aims to collate DNA barcode data for Antarctic marine species. DNA barcoding is a technique that uses a short gene sequence from a standardised region of the genome as a diagnostic ‘biomarker’ for species. This study aimed to quantify genetic data currently available in GenBank in order to establish whethe...

Lunar cycles give rise to cues that can be recognized by animals, including changes in light intensity, geomagnetism and gravity. Many environmental variables affect reproductive timing in amphibians and we tested the hypothesis that lunar cycles provide one of the cues for amphibian breeding phenology. For several species of anurans, the number of...

The macrolide FK506 inhibited, by up to 50%, neutrophil migration and the production of the Superoxide radical in response to the formyl peptide, formyl-methionyl-leucyl-phenylalanine (FMLP). The production of the Superoxide radical in response to phorbol 12-myristate 13-acetate (PMA) was unaffected by FK506. The inhibition of neutrophil functions...

A reproducible assay was established to assess the number of formyl-peptide receptors expressed on the surface of human polymorphonuclear leukocytes (PMN). Using this assay the number of receptors was shown to demonstrate wide within- and between-subject variability. However, the receptor numbers were related to the chemotactic response (r = 0.572)...