Animals living in captivity are often subjected to various kinds of stress. Individuals within species can respond differently to the same stressor depending on differences in coping style and physiology. Active and passive coping is a common way to describe different coping styles in animals and it is likely that these strategies have a high heritability. Individuals with an active coping style are characterized by an urge of control and a higher level of aggression than individuals with passive coping style, who in general are more flexible and respond to stress by immobilisation to a greater extent. The aim of this bachelor?s thesis is to investigate the presence of different coping styles and personality types in dogs (Canis lupus familiaris) and horses (Equus ferus caballus) and to find fields of application for this information.

A fauna passage is a way for animals to cross roads separated from the traffic. In Sweden, there are an unknown number of passages with different functions and appearances. These passages would, with the question ?Which fauna passages can be found in Sweden, and how well do they work?? as a base, be compiled in a comparable way. This would be done with a number of questions asked to the different regions of Vägverket.

Käppala wastewater treatment plant situated on the island of Lidingö northeast of Stockholm is running a project during 2004 and 2005 with the purpose to map out the capacity of anaerobic digestion in the digesters that treat primary and excess sludge. The purpose of this thesis work, which is part of that project, was to characterize the present anaerobic digestion process and to investigate its capacity to treat other organic wastes such as restaurant waste and waste from water works. To decide the potential of both methane and biogas production from different substrates batch laboratory tests were carried out. To imitate the anaerobic digestion process at Käppala continuous tests with small scale reactors were carried out. These reactors were later fed with restaurant waste.The batch laboratory tests showed that primary sludge had a potential biogas and methane production of 0,62 and 0,35 Ndm3/g VS respectively after 40 days of digestion.

To reconstruct a building is a long-term investment for farmers and it is important that people with different qualifications are involved at an early stage for making the system adapted to the animals as well the animal keeper. Therefore, ethologists who can contribute with their expertise are needed to design the system and get it to function well for the animals.A Swedish farmer who planned to rebuild her stall for tied dairy cattle to a loose-housing system for recruitment heifers for milk production asked me as an ethologist to find a system which can be fit to her existing tie-stall barn for 30 dairy cows, considering the animal needs in terms of movement, social interactions and play behaviors, and to theoretically compare the system with other systems with respect to the behaviors mentioned.The theoretical comparison between different systems was made through a scientific literature review.In agreement with the animal keeper I set out to fit a system with feeding cubicles, a system with cubicles and a system with deep straw bedding to the barn. After measurements were taken and preliminary drawings were outlined it was found that only the feeding cubicle system was possible to fit to the barn.The space provided will limit the animals to perform some playing behaviors. To decrease aggressive interactions between animals even thought a limiting area it is possible to provide partitions between resources animals compete around to prevent that more than one animal can get success to the resource at a particular place at one time. To increase the animal movement in the system the water trays were moved to the outer wall instead of kept in contact with the stalls.Although this report provides guidelines for rebuilding, other competences regarding building construction and a pre-test of the suggested building solution according to Swedish legislation are needed before the rebuilding can start.The results are directed mainly to the owner of the barn, but the literature review can be used by other cattle farmers and might bring increased understanding of the possible effects of different building solution on the animals..

The veterinary handling of wildlife, both in zoos and in the wild, commonly requires that the patients need to be captured and immobilized for examination or treatment. This emphasises the need for quick, on-site, laboratory equipment, in order to minimize the analysis time and thus the stress for the animal and also in order to increase the possibility of starting relevant treatment early on. The aim of this pilot study was to determine whether Serum Amyloid A (SAA) could be a measured in blood samples from bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops truncatus), Asian elephants (Elephas maximus) and South American tapirs (Tapirus terrestris). SAA rises to its maximum about 24 hours after the introduction of an inflammatory agent in companion animals. This also correlates with the estimated time it takes for animals at Kolmården Wildlife Park to be examined and having blood samples collected after being observed as sick. The study also evaluated whether the Eurolyser SOLO, using a turbidometric immunoassay (TIA) developed for human diagnostics, could be used for such analysis. This pilot study was a retrospective analysis of SAA in convenience sampled frozen serum, collected from dolphins, elephants and tapirs.

Plesiomonas shigelloides is a gram-negative, oxidase-positive rodshaped bacterium of the family Enterobacteriaceae. P. shigelloides is most frequently isolated in tropical and subtropical areas, but has also been isolated in colder areas for instance in Sweden. The primary natural habitat of the bacterium is fresh water and indirectly waterliving animals, but the bacterium can also be recovered from humans, mammals (of which cats are over-represented), birds, insects and poikilothermic animals. P.

This essay describes and compares the extensive reindeer management to the more intensive, but grazing based, sheep management system in Sweden. Differences and similarities between the two production systems will be investigated by elucidating the economy, land use and possibilities to influence production and economy through breeding, feeding and product development. The reindeer management area covers the northern part of Sweden whilst the sheep management is dispersed over the country. Both reindeer and sheep are ruminants and have relatively high demands on the quality and digestibility of the feed however reindeers graze on mountain-and forest lands whilst sheep often graze inaccessible areas or cultivated grasslands. Selection intensity is generally lower in the reindeer management compared to the intensity in sheep breeding.

Reptiles are animals than have been neglected in the research for all times. Some people have the opinion that these animals have fewer needs and demand less from their caretakers. The Aldabra Giant Tortoise lives on the Aldabra atoll outside the coast of Tanzania. The Aldabra tortoise population has varied throughout the years, but today the population is around 100.000 animals. The purpose of this study was to analyze the enclosure utilization of two Aldabra tortoises, a male and a female, at Parken Zoo in Eskilstuna, Sweden.

The purpose of this literature study was to investigate the possibilities to improve longevity and stayability of beef cattle with breeding. The breeding goal for beef breeds is to produce animals with high capacity for growth and good feed efficiency. Longevity and sustainability are two important features to include in the breeding goal. If longevity is increased each cow can produce more calves and the number of female calves used for recruitment can be reduced and only the best heifers need to be selected for breeding. The benefits of longer life is that it lowers the costs of recruitment animals, it increases the number of young animals that become available for slaughter, and it increases the proportion of high producing animals in the herds.

No previous studies have been conducted on elementary school in Sweden about children`s thoughts about the first animals on earth. The work takes up the children`s ideas of the first animals and the difference between girls and boys knowledge. The purpose of this work was to determine if student`s views are consistent with the science know today. In the interview, five girls and five boys participated. Mankind is asking where it all began, today we know that the first life arose for 4 billion years ago and it was from the water.

The purpose of this thesis is to try to find out what effect subject oriented projects like Energiutmaningen has on the teachers, with a focus on teachers? physics education. What was the experience for the teachers who participated and what effects did the project have on them. Four teachers were interviewed through qualitative interviews. From the result it showed that the most experienced teachers, who have been teaching physics for many years, gained a new perspective of their teaching, through their participation a development showed in their education.

Cattle production systems are changing to bigger intensified systems with larger numbers of animals per farm and more free range systems while at the same time employing fewer people. Aversive handling has been known to affect cattle production negatively for many years, but lately scientists have started to focus more on what positive effects gentle handling and positive human-cattle interactions may have on beef and dairy production. Fear can cause high stress in production animals and this can contribute to not only reduced production within beef and dairy cattle, but also increased risks for accidents and decreased animal welfare. Therefore, by reducing the fear cattle experience of humans, it could be possible to increase production, decrease accidents and increase the welfare of the animals. Reducing the animals fear and stress can be done by simple means, such as walking and talking calmly around the cattle, associating humans to positive feelings (such as feed) and stroking the cattle?s body regions associated with social grooming.

A fauna passage is a way for animals to cross roads separated from the traffic. In Sweden, there are an unknown number of passages with different functions and appearances. These passages would, with the question ?Which fauna passages can be found in Sweden, and how well do they work?? as a base, be compiled in a comparable way. This would be done with a number of questions asked to the different regions of Vägverket.

There has been a lot of debate in media about mathematics teaching in grade school in Sweden. Many students experience that mathematics in grade school is abstract, which leads to decreased interest of mathematics in early years. An international study indicates that Swedish students in class 4 do not fulfill the mean for mathematics according to EU/OECD countries. The study also shows that Sweden practice a textbook driven education, compared to other countries. The aim for this study was to find out how a few pedagogues for class F-6 teach mathematics, and why they have chosen to educate the way they do.

This essay describes and compares the extensive reindeer management to the more intensive, but grazing based, sheep management system in Sweden. Differences and similarities between the two production systems will be investigated by elucidating the economy, land use and possibilities to influence production and economy through breeding, feeding and product development. The reindeer management area covers the northern part of Sweden whilst the sheep management is dispersed over the country. Both reindeer and sheep are ruminants and have relatively high demands on the quality and digestibility of the feed however reindeers graze on mountain-and forest lands whilst sheep often graze inaccessible areas or cultivated grasslands. Selection intensity is generally lower in the reindeer management compared to the intensity in sheep breeding.