ArticleAnimals : an open access journal from MDPI2020
Physical and Physiological Indicators of Welfare in Guinea Pigs (
Article in Animals : an open access journal from MDPI, 2020. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 7 papers.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
7 citing papers in PubMed, 16 citations in OpenAlex.
- Guinea pig meat production in South America: Reviewing existing practices, welfare challenges, and opportunities.Animal welfare (South Mimms, England) · 2025Review
- Relationship between Ear Temperature, Behaviour and Stress Hormones in Guinea Pigs (Animals : an open access journal from MDPI · 2024Article
- A Reexamination of the Relationship between Training Practices and Welfare in the Management of Ambassador Animals.Animals : an open access journal from MDPI · 2024Article
- Review of Rat (Animals : an open access journal from MDPI · 2023Review
- Effects of castration and sterilization on baseline and response levels of cortisol-A case study in male guinea pigs.Frontiers in veterinary science · 2022Article
- Understanding impacts of zoo visitors: Quantifying behavioural changes of two popular zoo species during COVID-19 closures.Applied animal behaviour science · 2021Article
- Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
6 authors at 1 institution in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
Special encounters that allow contact between animals and guests are common in zoos and aquariums. Visitors to the Saint Louis Zoo may touch guinea pigs serving as ambassador animals. We evaluated two welfare indicators in ambassador guinea pigs by comparing glucocorticoid levels and body weights between periods when guinea pigs lived in a habitat accessible to the public and while off exhibit. Mean glucocorticoid levels did not differ between sexes or between on- and off-exhibit periods. There was significant individual variation, and females demonstrated greater variation than males. While on exhibit, glucocorticoid levels slightly but significantly increased in males and decreased in females. Moving guinea pigs between habitats only elicited a significant glucocorticoid response when females were moved off exhibit. Temporary closures of the exhibit had no effect on glucocorticoid levels in either sex. Analyses of the impact of handling rates on males found no impact on glucocorticoid levels. Guinea pigs' body weights were lower while on exhibit. We conclude that guinea pigs serving as ambassador animals at the Saint Louis Zoo demonstrate comparable physiological profiles while on and off exhibit and, when used in a rotational schedule, are a suitable species for animal encounters involving contact with the public.
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What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.