A Guide to Ethical Information Required for Animal Behaviour Papers
The list below is a guide to some of the main issues requiring consideration from an ethical point
of view in manuscripts submitted to Animal Behaviour. It is a guide only and not intended to be
exhaustive. Its purpose is to encourage reflection on their procedures by authors prior to
submitting their manuscript for review so reducing the need for editors to request further details.

Specify the authority who granted any licences or permits held for the study: don’t just
say ‘conforms to legal requirements’.

The number of individuals involved in the study should be clearly given, together with
age and sex.

Details are needed of housing conditions, such as cage size, number of animals per cage,
temperature, light:dark regime, relative humidity, bedding, diet, water, whether food and
water were provided ad libitum, shelter, environmental enrichment. If any of these were
not provided say why.

Origins: Where did the animals come from? For wild animals, how were they caught and
transported.

Disposal: What happened to captive animals after the study? If killed, say why and
describe the method. If released, say when and where?

Disturbance: If the observer or experimenter’s activities could have caused disturbance,
e.g. approaching marine animals by boat or a colony of breeding birds, give details of the
disturbance, if any, or of how disturbance was minimized.

Potentially harmful manipulations: If the study involved any of the following, give
full details of the procedure and of any short-term or long-term adverse effects: marking,
use of live vertebrate food, blood and tissue sampling, anaesthesia, hormone
manipulations, staged fights or predation (including the use of stimuli of predators),
parasitism, exposure to blood-sucking invertebrates, removal of individuals from a
territory or group, plumage or colour manipulations, food deprivation or limitation, diet
manipulations, social deprivation, separation of mother and offspring, infanticide, drug
administration, hot plate or other potentially harmful tests, manipulations of broods or
litters, manipulations of the environment with potentially harmful effects.

Invasive samples: If blood or other tissue was taken, how much and from where on the
animal?

Trapping: If traps were used, what type of trap, how often were traps checked, at what
times of day and were shelter, bedding, food and water available?

If tags were used, give the size and type; say where and how they were attached. When
and how were tags removed? Could tags have impeded normal behaviour?

If radiotransmitters were used, did the collar/transmitter impede the animal or increase
costs of locomotion? How was it secured? When and how was it removed? If glue was
used, was the skin damaged during removal? Specify which glue was used. Give the
weight of the tag/radiotransmitter (in absolute terms and as a percentage of the animal’s
weight; give mean and range i.e. percentage weight for smallest and largest animal
marked).

If data loggers were used, explain the choice of logger; say how long they were used in
total, for how many foraging trips. Were they all retrieved? How was the animal caught
each time?

If internal tags such as transponders were used, how and where were they implanted?
Was an anaesthetic used? If surgery was necessary, give details of this. Give details of
the transponder such as weight and dimensions (including as a percentage of the animal’s
weight/volume; give mean and range i.e. percentage weight for smallest and largest
animal marked).

If a procedure or experimental manipulation could potentially cause distress or pain or
have other adverse effects, justify its use and explain any measures taken to minimize
such effects. Did the experimenter have plans to intervene if adverse effects were severe,
and if so, were intervention measures ever implemented?