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Lindsey Robbins

Bio: Lindsey Robbins is an academic researcher from Canisius College. The author has contributed to research in topics: Rock music & Gorilla. The author has an hindex of 2, co-authored 2 publications receiving 35 citations.

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TL;DR: The results suggest that auditory enrichment, which is not commonly used in zoos in a systematic way, can be easily utilized by keepers to help decrease stereotypic behavior, but the nature of the stimulus, as well as the differential responses of individual animals, need to be considered.
Abstract: Several studies have demonstrated that auditory enrichment can reduce stereotypic behaviors in captive animals. The purpose of this study was to determine the relative effectiveness of three different types of auditory enrichment-naturalistic sounds, classical music, and rock music-in reducing stereotypic behavior displayed by Western lowland gorillas (Gorilla gorilla gorilla). Three gorillas (one adult male, two adult females) were observed at the Buffalo Zoo for a total of 24 hr per music trial. A control observation period, during which no sounds were presented, was also included. Each music trial consisted of a total of three weeks with a 1-week control period in between each music type. The results reveal a decrease in stereotypic behaviors from the control period to naturalistic sounds. The naturalistic sounds also affected patterns of several other behaviors including locomotion. In contrast, stereotypy increased in the presence of classical and rock music. These results suggest that auditory enrichment, which is not commonly used in zoos in a systematic way, can be easily utilized by keepers to help decrease stereotypic behavior, but the nature of the stimulus, as well as the differential responses of individual animals, need to be considered.

33 citations

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: Auditory stimuli designed for enrichment of primates influenced the behavior of captive birds in the zoo setting, and if the specific type of auditory enrichment impacted bird behavior was determined.
Abstract: With the increase of mixed species exhibits in zoos, targeting enrichment for individual species may be problematic. Often, mammals may be the primary targets of enrichment, yet other species that share their environment (such as birds) will unavoidably be exposed to the enrichment as well. The purpose of this study was to determine if (1) auditory stimuli designed for enrichment of primates influenced the behavior of captive birds in the zoo setting, and (2) if the specific type of auditory enrichment impacted bird behavior. Three different African bird species were observed at the Buffalo Zoo during exposure to natural sounds, classical music and rock music. The results revealed that the average frequency of flying in all three bird species increased with naturalistic sounds and decreased with rock music (F = 7.63, df = 3,6, P = 0.018); vocalizations for two of the three species (Superb Starlings and Mousebirds) increased (F = 18.61, df = 2,6, P = 0.0027) in response to all auditory stimuli, however one species (Lady Ross's Turacos) increased frequency of duetting only in response to rock music (X2 = 18.5, df = 2, P < 0.0001). Auditory enrichment implemented for large mammals may influence behavior in non-target species as well, in this case leading to increased activity by birds. Zoo Biol. 35:29–34, 2016. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

14 citations


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Journal ArticleDOI
23 Jul 2018-PeerJ
TL;DR: It is reported that twice-daily exposure to continuous musical sounds may provide benefits over the ongoing 50–55 dB background noise of equipment in the laboratory setting and support utilizing auditory enrichment in laboratory zebrafish to reduce stress and improve welfare in this experimental aquatic organism.
Abstract: Environmental enrichment is widely used to improve welfare and behavioral performance of animal species It ensures housing of laboratory animals in environments with space and complexity that enable the expression of their normal behavioral repertoire Auditory enrichment by exposure to classical music decreases abnormal behaviors and endocrine stress responses in humans, non-humans primates, and rodents However, little is known about the role of auditory enrichment in laboratory zebrafish Given the growing importance of zebrafish for neuroscience research, such studies become critical To examine whether auditory enrichment by classical music can affect fish behavior and physiology, we exposed adult zebrafish to 2 h of Vivaldi's music (65-75 dB) twice daily, for 15 days Overall, zebrafish exposed to such auditory stimuli were less anxious in the novel tank test and less active, calmer in the light-dark test, also affecting zebrafish physiological (immune) biomarkers, decreasing peripheral levels of pro-inflammatory cytokines and increasing the activity of some CNS genes, without overt effects on whole-body cortisol levels In summary, we report that twice-daily exposure to continuous musical sounds may provide benefits over the ongoing 50-55 dB background noise of equipment in the laboratory setting Overall, our results support utilizing auditory enrichment in laboratory zebrafish to reduce stress and improve welfare in this experimental aquatic organism

32 citations

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: The finding that male chimpanzees showed a larger response to sound than female chimpanzees was consistent with previous literature about “rain dances” in the wild, and the fact that rhythmic swaying was induced regardless of beat regularity may be a critical difference from humans.
Abstract: Music and dance are universal across human culture and have an ancient history. One characteristic of music is its strong influence on movement. For example, an auditory beat induces rhythmic movement with positive emotions in humans from early developmental stages. In this study, we investigated if sound induced spontaneous rhythmic movement in chimpanzees. Three experiments showed that: 1) an auditory beat induced rhythmic swaying and other rhythmic movements, with larger responses from male chimpanzees than female chimpanzees; 2) random beat as well as regular beat induced rhythmic swaying and beat tempo affected movement periodicity in a chimpanzee in a bipedal posture; and 3) a chimpanzee showed close proximity to the sound source while hearing auditory stimuli. The finding that male chimpanzees showed a larger response to sound than female chimpanzees was consistent with previous literature about "rain dances" in the wild, where male chimpanzees engage in rhythmic displays when hearing the sound of rain starting. The fact that rhythmic swaying was induced regardless of beat regularity may be a critical difference from humans, and a further study should reveal the physiological properties of sound that induce rhythmic movements in chimpanzees. These results suggest some biological foundation for dancing existed in the common ancestor of humans and chimpanzees ∼6 million years ago. As such, this study supports the evolutionary origins of musicality.

30 citations

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: Exposure to audiobooks significantly influences the behaviour of kennelled dogs, and resulted in dogs spending more of their time resting than when exposed to any of the other auditory conditions.

28 citations

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: Exposure to certain natural stimuli improves people’s moods, reduces stress, enhances stress resilience, and promotes mental and physical health, and preferred natural stimuli could therefore provide effective and efficient ways to improve captive animal well‐being.

23 citations

Journal ArticleDOI
29 Mar 2017-PLOS ONE
TL;DR: The resultsdo not suggest music is enriching for group-housed captive chimpanzees, but they also do not suggest that music has a negative effect on welfare.
Abstract: Many facilities that house captive primates play music for animal enrichment or for caregiver enjoyment. However, the impact on primates is unknown as previous studies have been inconclusive. We conducted three studies with zoo-housed chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes) and one with group-housed chimpanzees at the National Centre for Chimpanzee Care to investigate the effects of classical and pop/rock music on various variables that may be indicative of increased welfare. Study one compared the behaviour and use of space of 18 animals when silence, classical or pop/rock music was played into one of several indoor areas. Overall, chimpanzees did not actively avoid the area when music was playing but were more likely to exit the area when songs with higher beats per minute were broadcast. Chimpanzees showed significantly fewer active social behaviours when music, rather than silence, was playing. They also tended to be more active and engage in less abnormal behaviour during the music but there was no change to either self-grooming or aggression between music and silent conditions. The genre of music had no differential effects on the chimpanzees’ use of space and behaviour. In the second study, continuous focal observations were carried out on three individuals with relatively high levels of abnormal behaviour. No differences in behaviour between music and silence periods were found in any of the individuals. The final two studies used devices that allowed chimpanzees to choose if they wanted to listen to music of various types or silence. Both studies showed that there were no persistent preferences for any type of music or silence. When taken together, our results do not suggest music is enriching for group-housed captive chimpanzees, but they also do not suggest that music has a negative effect on welfare.

20 citations