Conducting Behavioural Research in the Zoo: A Guide to Ten Important Methods, Concepts and Theories
Behavioural research in zoos is commonplace and is used in the diagnosis and treatment of potential husbandry and management challenges. Robust methods that allow valid data collection and analysis constitute an evidence-based approach to animal care. Understanding behaviour is essential to improving animal management, and behavioural research is therefore popular, with a wide choice of […]
On-farm assessment of laying hen welfare: a comparison of one environment-based and two animal-based methods
Methods available to assess animal welfare at farm level are based on a range of welfare parameters, which can be divided into two categories, environment-based and animal-based parameters. The first category describes features of the environment and management, which can be considered prerequisites for welfare. The second category records animals’ responses to that particular environment […]
Estimating the diet of urban birds: The problems of anthropogenic food and food digestibility
A variety of methods exist for assessing the diets of wild birds, each of which has its strengths and weaknesses. The objective of this study was to compare diet data collected in parallel by behavioural observations and faecal analysis from an urban population of Penelope superciliaris (rusty-margined guan) over a 12-month continuous period (April 2006 […]
Human-marmoset interactions in a city park
Urban wildlife, frequently, comes into contact with human city dwellers and these interactions can be viewed positively or negatively by people. In the city of Belo Horizonte (Minas Gerais, Brazil) many city parks have groups of black-tufted marmosets (Callithrix penicillata), which interact with park visitors. In this study we observed 205 separate groups of people […]