The Impacts of a Commercial Bubble Curtain on Zoo-Housed African Penguin (Spheniscus demersus) Swimming Behavior
Swimming is an important behavior for all penguin species. However, zoo-housed penguins typically do not swim as often as their wild counterparts, which may have consequences for their health and welfare. In an effort to increase the swimming time of the African penguin (Spheniscus demersus) population at Lincoln Park Zoo in Chicago, IL, USA (21 […]
Behavioral diversity as a potential positive indicator of animal welfare in bottlenose dolphins
Accredited zoological facilities are committed to fully understanding the behavioral, mental, and physical needs of each species to continuously improve the welfare of the animals under their professional care and detect when welfare has diminished. In order to accomplish this goal, internally consistent and externally valid indicators of animal welfare are necessary to advance our […]
Behavioral diversity as a potential positive indicator of animal welfare in bottlenose dolphins
Accredited zoological facilities are committed to fully understanding the behavioral, mental, and physical needs of each species to continuously improve the welfare of the animals under their professional care and detect when welfare has diminished. In order to accomplish this goal, internally consistent and externally valid indicators of animal welfare are necessary to advance our […]
Relationships between animal management and habitat characteristics with two potential indicators of welfare for bottlenose dolphins under professional care
Accredited zoos and aquariums continually strive to ensure high levels of animal welfare for the animals under their professional care. Best management practices include conducting research to better understand factors that lead to optimal welfare and then turning findings into practice. The current study is part of the larger Cetacean Welfare Study or more formally, […]
Towards understanding the welfare of cetaceans in accredited zoos and aquariums
Cetaceans are long-lived, social species that are valued as ambassadors inspiring the public to engage in conservation action. Under professional care, they are critical partners with the scientific community to understanding the biology, behavior, physiology, health, and welfare requirements of this taxonomic group. The Cetacean Welfare Study was a highly collaborative research effort among zoos […]
Bottlenose dolphin habitat and management factors related to activity and distance traveled in zoos and aquariums
High-resolution non-invasive cetacean tagging systems can be used to investigate the influence of habitat characteristics and management factors on behavior by quantifying activity levels and distance traveled by bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops truncatus and Tursiops aduncus) in accredited zoos and aquariums. Movement Tags (MTags), a bio-logging device, were used to record a suite of kinematic and […]
Habitat characteristics and animal management factors associated with habitat use by bottlenose dolphins in zoological environments
The way an animal uses its habitat can serve as an indicator of habitat appropriateness for the species and individuals. Bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops truncatus and Tursiops aduncus) in accredited zoos and aquariums experience a range of habitat types and management programs that provide opportunities for dolphins to engage in species-appropriate behaviors and potentially influence their […]
Assessment of animal management and habitat characteristics associated with social behavior in bottlenose dolphins across zoological facilities
Bottlenose dolphins are a behaviorally complex, social species that display a variety of social behaviors. Because of this, it is important for zoological facilities to strive to ensure animals display species-appropriate levels of social behavior. The current study is part of the multi-institutional study entitled “Towards understanding the welfare of cetaceans in zoos and aquariums” […]
A note on swimming group size in captive African penguins (Spheniscus demersus) in relation to weather conditions
The swimming group size of captive African penguins (Spheniscus demersus) was studied in relation to weather conditions at Ueno Zoo. The occurrence of swimming behaviour did not vary between fair and cloudy conditions. However, the birds synchronized the timing of swimming with each other under cloudy conditions, and swimming group size increased under cloudy conditions. […]
Temperature influences the coercive mating and swimming performance of male eastern mosquitofish
Although the functional consequences of temperature variation have been examined for a wide range of whole-animal performance traits, the implications of thermal variation for reproductive behaviour or performance are poorly known. I examined the acute effects of temperature on the mating behaviour and swimming performance of male eastern mosquitofish, Gambusia holbrooki, which rely on a […]