Hostname: page-component-84b7d79bbc-dwq4g Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-08-05T05:06:50.806Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Effect of supplementary ultraviolet lighting on the behaviour and corticosterone levels of Japanese quail chicks

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  11 January 2023

EL Smith ,
VJ Greenwood ,
AR Goldsmith  and
IC Cuthill
EL Smith*
Affiliation:
Centre for Behavioural Biology, School of Biological Sciences, University of Bristol, Woodland Road, Bristol BS8 1UG, UK
VJ Greenwood
Affiliation:
Centre for Behavioural Biology, School of Biological Sciences, University of Bristol, Woodland Road, Bristol BS8 1UG, UK
AR Goldsmith
Affiliation:
Centre for Behavioural Biology, School of Biological Sciences, University of Bristol, Woodland Road, Bristol BS8 1UG, UK
IC Cuthill
Affiliation:
Centre for Behavioural Biology, School of Biological Sciences, University of Bristol, Woodland Road, Bristol BS8 1UG, UK
*
* Contact for correspondence and requests for reprints: emma.smith@bristol.ac.uk
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

Most birds have visual sensitivity to ultraviolet (UV) wavelengths, and this sensitivity appears to play a role in their colour vision. Artificial lighting is normally deficient in UV wavelengths. Hence, there may be welfare implications for captive birds kept under such lighting. We investigated whether the absence of UV wavelengths during rearing adversely affects Japanese quail (Coturnix coturnix japonica). We also investigated the short-term effect of switching from UV-containing to UV-deficient lighting, and vice versa. Stress was assessed by monitoring behaviour and plasma corticosterone levels. We did not detect any significant difference in these variables between birds reared either with or without UV. We conclude that rearing quail in an absence of UV does not appear to have a significant impact on their welfare, as measured using these indicators.

Keywords

animal welfarebehaviourcorticosteroneJapanese quailultravioletUV
Type
Research Article
Information
Animal Welfare , Volume 14 , Issue 2: The Three Rs: past, present and future , May 2005 , pp. 103 - 109
Copyright
© 2005 Universities Federation for Animal Welfare

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Bennett, ATD and Cuthill, IC 1994 Ultraviolet vision in birds: what is its function? Vision Research 34: 1471–1478CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Beuving, G, Jones, RB and Blokhuis, HJ 1989 Adrenocortical and heterophil/lymphocyte responses to challenge in hens showing short or long tonic immobility reactions. British Poultry Science 30: 175–184CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Bowmaker, JK, Heath, LA, Wilkie, SE and Hunt, DM 1997 Visual pigments and oil droplets from six classes of photoreceptor in the retina of birds. Vision Research 37: 2183–2194CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Chatfield, C and Collins, AJ 1995 Introduction to Multivariate Analysis. Chapman & Hall: London, UKGoogle Scholar
Cuthill, IC, Partridge, JC, Bennett, ATD, Church, SC, Hart, NS and Hunt, S 2000 Ultraviolet vision in birds. Advances in the Study of Behavior 29: 159–214CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Greenwood, VJ, Smith, EL, Cuthill, IC, Bennett, ATD, Goldsmith, AR and Griffiths, R 2002 Do European starlings prefer light environments containing UV? Animal Behaviour 64: 921–926CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hart, NS 2001 The visual ecology of avian photoreceptors. Progress in Retinal and Eye Research 20: 675–703CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Jones, EKM and Prescott, NB 2000 Visual cues used in the choice of mate by fowl and their potential importance for the breeder industry. World's Poultry Science Journal 56: 129–138CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Jones, EKM, Prescott, NB, Cook, P, White, RP and Wathes, CM 2001 Ultraviolet light and mating behaviour in domestic broiler breeders. British Poultry Science 42: 23–32CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Lewis, PD and Morris, TR 1998 Responses of domestic poultry to various light sources. World's Poultry Science Journal 54: 7–25CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Lewis, PD, Perry, GC, Sherwin, CM and Moinard, C 2000 Effect of ultraviolet radiation on the performance of intact male turkeys. Poultry Science 79: 850–855Google ScholarPubMed
Maddocks, SA, Bennett, ATD, Hunt, S and Cuthill, IC 2002 Context-dependent visual preferences in starlings and blue tits: mate choice and light environment. Animal Behaviour 63: 69–75CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Maddocks, SA, Cuthill, IC, Goldsmith, AR and Sherwin, CM 2001 Behavioural and physiological effects of absence of ultraviolet wavelengths for domestic chicks. Animal Behaviour 62: 1013–1019CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Moinard, C and Sherwin, CM 1999 Turkeys prefer fluorescent light with supplementary ultraviolet radiation. Applied Animal Behaviour Science 64: 261–267CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Nuboer, JFW 1993 Visual ecology in poultry houses. In: Savory, CJ and Hughes, BO (eds) Proceedings of the Fourth Symposium of Poultry Welfare pp 39–44. World's Poultry Science Association: Edinburgh, UKGoogle Scholar
Osorio, D, Vorobyev, M and Jones, CD 1999 Colour vision of domestic chicks. The Journal of Experimental Biology 202: 2951–2959CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Prescott, NB and Wathes, CM 1999a Spectral sensitivity of the domestic fowl (Gallus g. domesticus). British Poultry Science 40: 332–339CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Prescott, NB and Wathes, CM 1999b Reflective properties of domestic fowl (Gallus g. domesticus), the fabric of their housing and the characteristics of the light environment in environmentally controlled poultry houses. British Poultry Science 40: 185–193CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Satterlee, DG, Abdullah, RB and Gildersleeve, RP 1980 Plasma corticosterone radioimmunoassay and levels in the neonate chick. Poultry Science 59: 900–905CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Satterlee, DG and Johnson, WA 1988 Selection of Japanese quail for contrasting blood corticosterone response to immobilization. Poultry Science 67: 25–32CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Sherwin, CM 1998 Light intensity preferences of domestic male turkeys. Applied Animal Behaviour Science 58: 121–130CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Sherwin, CM and Devereux, CL 1999 Preliminary investigations of ultraviolet-induced markings on domestic turkey chicks and a possible role in injurious pecking. British Poultry Science 40: 429–433CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Sherwin, CM, Lewis, PD and Perry, GC 1999 Effects of environmental enrichment, fluorescent and intermittent lighting on injurious pecking amongst male turkey poults. British Poultry Science 40: 592–598CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Smith, EL, Greenwood, VJ and Bennett, ATD 2002 Ultraviolet colour vision in European starlings and Japanese quail. Journal of Experimental Biology 205: 3299–3306CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Widowski, TM, Keeling, LJ and Duncan, IJH 1992 The preferences of hens for compact fluorescent over incandescent lighting. Canadian Journal of Animal Science 72: 203–211CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Wingfield, JC 1994 Modulation of the adrenocortical response to stress in birds. In: Davey, KG, Peter, RE and Tobe, SS (eds) Perspectives in Comparative Endocrinology pp 520–528. National Research Council of Canada: Ottawa, CanadaGoogle Scholar
Wingfield, JC and Ramenofsky, M 1997 Corticosterone and facultative dispersal in response to unpredictable events. Ardea 85: 155–166Google Scholar
Wingfield, JC, O'Reilly, KM and Astheimer, LB 1995 Modulation of the adrenocortical responses to acute stress in arctic birds: a possible ecological basis. American Zoologist 35: 285–294CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Wingfield, JC, Smith, JP and Farner, DS 1982 Endocrine responses of white-crowned sparrows to environmental stress. Condor 84: 399–409CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Wingfield, JC, Vleck, CM and Moore, MC 1992 Seasonal changes in the adrenocortical response to stress in birds of the Sonoran Desert. Journal of Experimental Zoology 264: 419–428CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed