With increased milkproduction in our dairy cattle, comes a risk for a reduced fertility. Studies performed on animals and humans have shown that it is possible to manipulate the oestrous cycle through exposure to Pheromones. This means that Pheromones could potentionally be used to make reproduction more efficient. To evaluate the bioactivity of the substances in question, there is need for a bioassay. In insects, Pheromones can induce a changed cardiac activity.

Pheromones are chemical substances representing very specific signal messages within a species. Although a lot remains unknown about their precise effects, it is known that Pheromones influence the behaviour of the receiver. Since the mid 1990s, when it was first possible to synthesise analogues of two fractions of feline facial pheromone, F3 (Feliway®) and F4 (Felifriend®), these have been used in so called pheromonotherapy to treat behavioural problems in cats. The initial use of Pheromones for specific behavioural problems has been extended to cover the wide field of stress related issues. This studycontains a questionnaire where veterinary nurses and surgeons at 50 Swedish veterinary hospitals and clinics were asked about their use of synthetic analogues to feline facial Pheromones in the care and treatment of cats.

During the last 50 years the production of milk per cow has increased. This has, however, been followed by a decreased reproductive performance. Shorter and more indistinct signs of oestrus make it harder for the Swedish farmers to discover when the cows are in oestrus. There is a need for ways to control reproduction. The use of Pheromones could possibly provide means to satisfy this need.

The codling moth, Cydia pomonella is a common pest in apple orchards and can be found worldwide. Feeding by codling moth larvae can cause a substantial decrease in apple yield. Control methods comprise for example the use of pesticides, viruses and Pheromones. As a sustainable control method, Pheromones have been successfully applied to disrupt moth mating behaviour. Other behaviours like foraging, search for mating sites or host finding could be potential targets for additional odour-mediated behavioural manipulation but need further investigations of the underlying odour stimuli and behavioural plasticity. Many insects are attracted to the smell of fermenting fruit and associated microorganisms.

Stress is common in today?s society, but the word stress has numerous connotations. The aim of this study was to investigate how dogs are effected by stress and what the veterinary nurse can do to help dogs to avoid or at least mitigate stress within the veterinary hospital. The goal was also to see how dogs perceive the environment in the veterinary hospital and what behaviours dogs demonstrate when they enter the hospital and during their stay. Studies have shown that dogs have a reluctant feeling on entering a veterinary hospital. They can feel stressed by coming to a new environment, as well as by being put in a cage with no control over what is going to happen to them.

Numerous dogs are stressed during a stay at a veterinary clinic. Stress has an impact physically as well as mentally, and may influence animal care. There are different ways to prevent and handle animal stress. Dog Appeasing Pheromones (DAP) is sometimes used to reduce stress. The aim of this study was to investigate the potential need for stressreducers, explore the use of DAP and evaluate pheromonatherapy for dogs as a potential stressreducer within veterinary health care.

FLUTD - Feline Lower Urinary Tract Disease ? is a complex disease and a common sight in the veterinary setting. Although FLUTD excluding urethral obstruction may be discomforting for the cat and its owner due to symptoms such as periuria, stranguria, hematuria, dysuria and pollakiuria, obstruction presents an acute and potentially lethal form of the disease as a result of uremia and disturbances in fluids, electrolytes and acid-base balances. A study of literature has been performed to investigate the causes of FLUTD with urethral obstruction and the actions available to the owner to avert them. Potential causes of obstructive and non-obstructive FLUTD have been found to include infections, uroliths, urethral plugs, neoplasia, anatomic abnormalities, trauma, neurogenic or iatrogenic causes. Most commonly a cause cannot be identified and the terms idiopathic FLUTD or feline idiopathic cystitis are used. As the mortality rate due to urethral obstruction likely is somewhere around 5.8-8.9% and FLUTD including and excluding urethral obstruction constitute great inconveniences, precautionary measures are warranted.

Delia flies (Diptera: Anthomyiidae) are economically important pests in several horticultural crops. The control is commonly relying on chemical insecticides, though there are possibilities with biological control from the natural enemies in the field. An important natural enemy is the parasitic wasp, Trybliographa rapae Westwood (Hymenoptera: Figitidae) that lays eggs in the Delia fly larvae. The parasitoid larva and the host larva have a parallel development until the host dies within its puparium and an adult parasitoid emerges. The aim of this thesis was to understand the attraction to host- and food-associated plant volatiles of T. rapae, in order to enhance the effectiveness of the parasitic wasp as a biological control agent.

Då hästar är flyktdjur och bytesdjur och vanligen hålls i miljöer som är långt ifrån deras naturliga, uppstår ofta situationer som kan upplevas som stressande för hästen. Syftet med detta arbete var att undersöka om hästars ras och grundpersonlighet har inverkan på hur stressbenägna de blir, samt även se om hästar kan drabbas av posttraumatiskt stressyndrom (PTSD). Arbetet syftade dessutom till att undersöka om det finns någon träningsmetod som visat sig ha bättre eller sämre effekt gällande hästar och rädslor, samt vilken effekt feromoner har hos hästar i de sammanhang där hästar utsätts för situationer som är stressande för dem. Stress kan påverka både individens fysiologi och beteende. Studier har visat att hästar som hade olika typer av skador eller sjukdomar hade förändrade nivåer av kortisol, ACTH, serotonin och adrenalin, jämfört med en frisk kontrollgrupp.