Monitoring the behavior and habitat use of animals to enhance welfare using the ZooMonitor app
Regular monitoring of the behavior, habitat use, and appearance of animals can provide valuable insight into their welfare. These ongoing data can help identify meaningful trends that can be acted upon to enhance welfare, and potentially reveal individual preferences and patterns that can facilitate care tailored to the individual. To provide a low cost, flexible, […]
Animal Welfare in Conservation Breeding: Applications and Challenges
Animal welfare and conservation breeding have overlapping and compatible goals that are occasionally divergent. Efforts to improve enclosures, provide enriching experiences, and address behavioral and physical needs further the causes of animal welfare in all zoo settings. However, by mitigating stress, increasing behavioral competence, and enhancing reproduction, health, and survival, conservation breeding programs must also […]
Observational methods to measure behaviors of captive cotton-top tamarins (Saguinus oedipus)
Abstract The purpose of this study was to identify efficient sampling methods for establishing accurate activity budgets for zoo animals. Seven cotton-top tamarins (Saguinus oedipus) from two zoos were videotaped for multiple 90 min sessions, 3 to 4 days per week for 12 weeks. An activity budget was constructed for each animal using a continuous sampling […]
Behavioral monitoring in zoos and aquariums: a tool for guiding husbandry and directing research
Abstract 10.1002/zoo.20207.abs Behavioral monitoring is the scientific collection of animal behavior data to understand normal patterns of behavior and changes in these patterns. This tool is underutilized in the zoo industry although it can be an effective indicator of many potential problems that compromise zoo animal well-being. We suggest that a behavioral monitoring program should […]
The Burden of Motherhood: The Effect of Reproductive Load on Female Lizard Locomotor, Foraging, and Social Behavior
The costs of reproduction, involving demands associated with both current and future reproductive efforts, may place a substantial burden on females. However, animals may minimize these costs by modifying their behavior across the reproductive cycle. We examined the effects of reproductive load on three types of behavior (locomotion, foraging, and social displays) in green anole […]