The Development of Anxiety and Exploration in Two Species of the African Striped Mouse Rhabdomys.

Genes and the environment interact to produce complex, environmentally relevant behaviors. We tested whether the behavior of two sister species of striped mice originating from different habitats (semi-arid Rhabdomys pumilio and grassland R. bechuanae) are modulated by the early social rearing environment. We cross-fostered pups between the species, and at adulthood tested their exploratory behavior and anxiety in open field and novel object tests, and a plus maze. We expected that the early social rearing environment would alter the phenotype of both species. Regardless of treatment, R. bechuanae were more exploratory and slightly less anxious than R. pumilio. However, fostered individuals of both species showed no changes in exploratory and anxiety responses. Thus there may be a genetic influence on behavioral development, or the early rearing environments of R. pumilio and R. bechuanae are not sufficiently different to alter behavior.

Environmental correlates of exploratory behavior and anxiety in three African striped mouse (Rhabdomys) taxa occurring in different habitats and contexts.

Species or populations are locally adapted to the environments they occupy because of different selection pressures. Our study considers behavioral differences in rodents originating from environments with different levels of overhead cover. We investigated exploratory behavior and anxiety in 4 populations of the African striped mouse Rhabdomys, in South Africa, from different environments: R. pumilio from a semi-desert; R. bechuanae and R. d. dilectus, which were sympatric in the central grasslands; and another allopatric R. d. dilectus occurred in the northern grasslands. We tested all individuals in 5 standard laboratory tests: light-dark, startle response, open field and novel object tests, and the plus maze. In a principle components analysis, R. pumilio and the central grassland R. dilectus grouped together, and R. bechuanae and the allopatric R. dilectus grouped together, but there was some overlap between populations. Univariate analyses showed population-level differences in exploration and anxiety. R. pumilio and the central R. d. dilectus were more exploratory and less anxious than R. bechuanae and the allopatric R. d. dilectus. The behavior of R. pumilio (more exploratory and less anxious) reflects the open environments it occupies in nature, whereas the allopatric R. d. dilectus and R. bechuanae were less exploratory and more anxious reflecting the closed habitats they occupy. The similarity between R. pumilio and the central R. d. dilectus cannot be explained by habitat and might be related to the effects of coexistence between central grassland R. d. dilectus and R. bechuanae, which may potentially alter the behavior of one or both species. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2021 APA, all rights reserved).

New Zealand National Audit of Outpatient Inflammatory Bowel Disease Standards of Care.

AIM: This study audits the delivery and standards of New Zealand (NZ) inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) care against international standards, with emphasis on the IBD nursing role. METHODS: Utilising international standards in IBD care, a 3 phase national multicentre survey study was performed between 2015 and 2019. We 1) evaluated the current role and practices of IBD nurses, 2) evaluated IBD service provision and identified areas for improvement, and 3) audited key aspects of IBD patient care, directly comparing nurse-led and doctor-led outpatient clinics. RESULTS: The median duration spent in an IBD nursing role was 21 months (range 2 to 120 months) with the majority (12/15) performing two or more nursing roles. The median IBD nurse full-time equivalent (FTE) was 0.8 (range 0.2 to 1.25). The average number of hours spent undertaking IBD nursing tasks was 22.2 - a 6.8-hour shortfall compared to rostered hours. No service had a per capita IBD multidisciplinary team (MDT) FTE which met international standards. Just under two-thirds (62.5%) of departments held a regular MDT meeting. All responding services could be contacted directly by IBD patients and respond within 48 hours of contact. During 492 doctor-led and 196 nurse-led scheduled outpatient clinic visits, nurses were significantly more likely to document weight, smoking status and organise appropriate colonoscopic surveillance than doctors. CONCLUSION: Multiple nursing job roles resulted in rostered hours being insufficient to complete IBD specific tasks. IBD FTE did not meet international standards. The IBD care was patient-centred, encouraging direct contact from patients with prompt response. IBD nurses in NZ provide high-quality outpatient care when measured against auditable standards. As the IBD nursing role continues to develop, following the implementation of an educational framework and education programme, an increase in numbers is required in order to achieve the recommended minimum FTE per 250 000 population.

Anxiety and exploratory behavior in the African striped mouse, Rhabdomys, taxa are partially modified by the physical rearing environment.

The environment may modulate genetic influences on behavioral expression. We investigated whether the physical rearing environment modulates anxiety and exploratory behavior in four populations, representing three species, of the striped mouse Rhabdomys. One population originated from an arid, open habitat and the others from grassy, covered habitats, and two species occurred in sympatry. We raised captive individuals of all populations in treatments that simulated cover or no cover for two generations and investigated the behavior of resulting adults in an open-field, light-dark and startle response tests. We expected that, when raised without cover, the arid population would be less anxious and more exploratory than grassland populations, but found the opposite in the open-field test only. We also expected that all individuals would be anxious and less exploratory when raised under cover, which was the case for anxiety in a light-dark test, but individuals from the no cover treatment were more anxious in the open-field test. Only one population × treatment interaction was detected in which the arid population was least exploratory. Therefore, the physical rearing environment had less of an influence than phylogeny on the development of anxiety and exploration in Rhabdomys.

Separation at weaning from the family is stressful for naturally group-living, but not solitary-living, male African striped mice Rhabdomys.

Early separation from a family is stressful for young mammals, but might be more stressful for group-living than solitary species. Using juvenile males of three African striped mice Rhabdomys taxa that are either group (R. pumilio) or solitary (R. dilectus dilectus and R. d. chakae) living, we predicted greater separation anxiety in R. pumilio than R. dilectus because group-living could reduce anxiety in R. pumilio. Three brothers from each of 10 litters per taxon were randomly assigned soon after natural weaning (25 days) to one of three treatments for 10 days: (1) remained with the family (philopatric); (2) separated from the family by a wire mesh barrier (separated); and (3) isolated from the family (isolated). Males were individually tested in a four-arm maze to assess their anxiety responses and sampled for corticosterone concentrations 20 mins and 10 days later. Compared to R. dilectus males, R. pumilio males showed a greater treatment response to separation: philopatric males used the light arms of the maze less and had higher corticosterone concentrations compared to isolated males, which spent the most time in the light arms and had the lowest corticosterone concentrations overall; separated males showed an intermediate behavioural response, but had similar corticosterone concentrations to philopatric males. Thus, separation from a family group is more stressful in group-living Rhabdomys and this stress response dissipates with time. Philopatry and group-living may be more important for young R. pumilio, whereas dispersal at weaning is an important life history event for solitary R. dilectus.