Zoo Animals: How Actual Zoological Institutions Assess, Ensure, and Promote Their Animals’ Welfare?
A special issue of Animals (ISSN 2076-2615). This special issue belongs to the section "Zoo Animals".
Deadline for manuscript submissions: 15 July 2024 | Viewed by 5149
Special Issue Editor
Interests: ethology; cognition; phenomenology; animal welfare; human-animal relations; marine mammals
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Special Issue Information
Dear Colleagues,
Zoological institutions communicate on their efforts to ensure a high quality of life for the animals under their care. They also communicate on their actions to assess, maintain, and promote animal welfare and their involvement in conservation projects. Assessing animal welfare requires studying the individuals’ physiology, behaviors, and cognitions. Many institutions set up their own evaluation grids, implement enrichment programs, and ask their animal professionals to gain special training on animal behavior and welfare.
Many scientific projects on zoo animal behaviors, cognition, emotions, and welfare are conducted in zoological parks, along with scientific inquiries on the relationship between the caregivers and the animals they work with and on the interactions between visitors and animals. This Special Issue aims to give an update on what is happening today in modern zoos in terms of animal studies, animal welfare, human–animal relationships and interactions, and conservation programs.
We invite original research papers and reviews or studies focused on but not limited to: the behavioral, physiological, and cognitive aspects of animals under human care, the enrichment methods contributing to the welfare of these animals, novel methods used to improve the life in zoos, and the role of zoos in conservation.
Dr. Fabienne Delfour
Guest Editor
Manuscript Submission Information
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Keywords
- zoo
- behavior
- enrichment
- captivity
- stressors
- welfare of animals in captivity
- restricted mobility
- effects of stressors on animal behaviour
- non-living sources of stress, captivity-specific stressors
- socialisation
- social interaction
Planned Papers
The below list represents only planned manuscripts. Some of these manuscripts have not been received by the Editorial Office yet. Papers submitted to MDPI journals are subject to peer-review.
Title: Validating a non-invasive method for assessing cortisol concentrations in scraped epidermal skin from bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops truncatus) and beluga whales (Delphinapterus leucas)
Authors: Oriol Talló Parra; Clara Agusti
Affiliation: School of Veterinary Science, AWEC (Animal Welfare Education Centre)
Abstract: Societies show a growing concern about the welfare of cetaceans kept in captivity or threatened by anthropogenic disturbances. The study of the physiological stress response is increasingly being used to address cetacean conservation and welfare issues. Within it, a newly described technique of extracting cortisol from epidermal desquamation may serve as a non-invasive, more integrated measure of a cetacean’s stress response and welfare. However, confounding factors are common when measuring glucocorticoid hormones. In this study, we validate a steroid hormone extraction protocol and the use of a commercial enzyme immunoassay (EIA) test to measure cortisol concentrations in bottlenose dolphin (Tursiops truncatus) and beluga whale (Delphinapterus leucas) epidermal samples. Moreover, we examined the effect of sample mass and body location on cortisol concentrations. Validation tests (i.e., assay specificity, accuracy, precision, and sensitivity) suggested that the method was suitable for quantification of cortisol concentrations. Cortisol was extracted from small samples (0.01 g), but the amount of cortisol detected and the variability between duplicate extractions increased as the sample mass decreased. In bottlenose dolphins, epidermal skin cortisol concentrations did not vary significantly across body locations while there was a significant effect of the individual. Overall, this paper presents a contribution towards advancing and standardizing skin hormone assessments in cetaceans.
Title: The Royal Zoological Society of Scotland's approach to assessing and promoting animal welfare in collaboration with Universities.
Authors: Kristine Gandia (corresponding author); Sharon Kessler; Jo Elliot; Simon Girling; and Hannah M. Buchanan-Smith
Affiliation: 1 Psychology, Faculty of Natural Sciences, University of Stirling, Stirling, FK9 4LA, Scotland
2 The Royal Zoological Society of Scotland, Edinburgh Zoo, 134 Corstorphine Road
Edinburgh, EH12 6TS
Abstract: All good zoos have animal welfare assessment policies and practices in place to promote their animals’ welfare, 24/7 across the lifespan. In this paper, we describe the range of approaches that The Royal Zoological Society of Scotland’s (RZSS) Edinburgh Zoo and Highland Wildlife Park take to provide conditions for animals to thrive in captivity, in collaboration with Universities. We describe the governance and philosophical stance that RZSS takes (e.g. on ethical decision making), their policies (e.g. whistleblowing, euthanasia, hand-rearing), veterinary facilities and preventive care, enrichment protocols, staff training etc. In collaboration with Universities a wide range of research is conducted, including in two Public Engagement with Science Research facilities, where researchers are able to record the behaviour and test the cognitive abilities of individual primates, with strict protocols to safeguard welfare. Other collaborations with Universities include research that maps well to the Five Domains model of animal welfare, including on circadian rhythms, effects of environment, mixed-species groups, enrichment, nutrition, and veterinary research. We use a wide range of methodologies from social network analyses, enclosure use, behaviour, vocalisations, visitor effects, thermo-imaging, veterinary and physiological data and reproductive parameters. Assessing the whole collection of animals systematically is challenging given the wide range of species, number of animals, and the time and resource commitment in terms of creation and analysis of data. None-the-less, the University of Stirling has collaborated closely with the RZSS to make their welfare assessment tool for the whole animal collection more efficient and reliable, and to provide a quantitative evidence base for key individuals or groups that require in depth behavioural data to understand what type of intervention might be appropriate. It is concluded that zoos should work together to streamline and share behavioural projects (e.g. generic ethograms in the data collection software ZooMonitor) to provide a broader understanding of “baseline” behaviours in captivity, across the 24 hour day and seasons, life stages and in relation to a range of housing and husbandry practices.
Title: Acoustic Behavior of Rehabilitated Cetaceans: Progress and Challenges
Authors: Giardino, Gisela; Cosentino, Mel; Juan Pablo Loureiro; Sergio Rodriguez Heredia; Karina Alvarez; Sergio Moron; Alejandro Saubidet; Adrian Faiella; Javier Olguin; Ricardo Bastida; Giuseppa Buscaino; Diego Rodriguez
Affiliation: 1 Instituto de Investigaciones Marinas y Costeras (IIMyC), FCEyN, Universidad Nacional de Mar del Plata-CONICET, Mar del Plata, 7600 , Argentina.
2 Section for Marine Mammal Research, Department of Ecoscience, Aarhus University, 4000, Roskilde, Denmark
3 Fundación Mundo Marino.Mundo Marino. San Clemente del Tuyú, Argentina.
4 Aquarium Mar del Plata, Dolphin discovery, Argentina.
Abstract: Passive acoustics is an underexplored research area in our region but widely used globally, serving as a powerful tool to understand fundamental aspects of cetaceans that are difficult to observe in open water. This work is part of a long-term project aimed at obtaining a sound database of cetaceans from the Argentine Sea undergoing rehabilitation, with the goal of understanding how sound emission varies between healthy and sick animals. This sound baseline seeks to be utilized as a tool in animal welfare diagnosis. In this study, we present the initial results obtained, as well as the progress and challenges faced.
Using passive acoustic monitoring with self-contained hydrophones and automated detectors (FPODs), we have recorded five cetacean species undergoing rehabilitation, both at the Rehabilitation Center of the Mundo Marino Foundation (San Clemente del Tuyú, Argentina) and at Aquarium Mar del Plata (Mar del Plata, Argentina). We have documented the sounds of the common dolphin (Delphinus delphis) from the Southwest Atlantic, confirming the presence of characteristic whistles in the terminal stage of life. For the first time, we have recorded the sound behavior of a Burmeister's porpoise (Phocoena dioptrica), showing exclusive production of pulsed signals, similar to other known porpoises, as well as the sound behavior of a Burmeister's porpoise (Phocoena spinipinnis) in rehabilitation, with signals associated with feeding. Additionally, we have continuously recorded two neonates and one juvenile franciscana dolphin (Pontoporia blainvillei), as well as a dwarf minke whale (Balaenoptera acutorostrata subsp). These records serve not only to enhance our understanding of cetacean acoustics but also underscore the critical role of rehabilitation centers in both conservation efforts and scientific research. Collaboration with such centers provides invaluable opportunities to study cetaceans in controlled environments, offering insights into their behavior, communication, and welfare.