Principal Component Analysis as a Novel Method for the Assessment of the Enclosure Use Patterns of Captive Livingstone’s Fruit Bats (Pteropus livingstonii)
The Spread of Participation Index (SPI) is a standard tool for assessing the suitability of enclosure design by measuring how captive animals access space. This metric, however, lacks the precision to quantify individual-level space utilization or to determine how the distribution of resources and physical features within an enclosure might influence space use. Here we […]
Mealworm Dispensers as Envionmental Enrichment for Captive Rodrigues Fruit Bats (Pteropus Rodricensis)
This study is an assessment of the use of mealworm dispensers as environmental enrichment devices for Rodrigues fruit bats (pteropus rodricensis). Captive animals frequently receive easily consumed food at set times and locations, which often minimizes the time they spend searching for and processing food. The mealworm dispensers used in this study provide an unpredictable […]