Final annotated reading!!!! Hurrah! This is from the textbook, Principles of Animal Behavior. I read chapter 15, which is all about play, and why animals play. I am going to do my blog post about it, so read more there.
April 5th, 2012
So, I have missed two days of annotated bibliography. Here's catch up:
Dugatkin, Lee Alan. Principles of Animal Behavior. New York: W.W. Norton and Company, 2009.
This is the textbook I will be using for my wildlife behavioral ecology class. I wanted to read some chapters, or pieces of chapters, that might particularly apply to my zoo study. So I started with Chapter 4, which is about how individual animals learn.
Why do they learn? What? How?
What is learning - the relatively permanent change in behavior as a result of experience
Phenotypic plasticity - ability of animal to produce different phenotypes (phenotype is the observable characteristics of an organism)
Animals can learn from a single-stimulus experience....two kinds: sensitization - animals become more sensitive to a stimulus over time versus habituation - animals pay less attention to stimulus over time
Zoo application - habituate animals to things that can cause stress so that they are less stressed
Animals can learn from Pavlonian (Classical) Conditioning - we've all heard of this, Pavlov's dog - it is pairing a first stimulus with a second stimulus. The first stimulus is conditioned...it probably won't cause a response...like the ringing of a bell. Pair it with a second stimulus, or unconditioned stimulus, like some juicy meat, that would cause a reaction from the dog, and the dog will learn to associate the ringing with the meat.
Zoo application - the sun coming up paired with being fed - animal expects food when the sun rises
Animals can also learn from instrumental or operant conditioning - this occurs when a response made by an animal is reinforced by reward or punishment. Difference from Classical conditioning is that the animal is required to react a certain way in order for the learning to take place.
Thought - what is stronger, reward or punishment? Obviously animal right activists would want the reward to be used, rather than a punishment
Zoo application - positive enrichment training - train or "teach" animal to accept a shot and then reward it with a treat. It will learn to associate the shot with something good, and thus accept the shot more readily.
Why do animals learn? Natural selection - adapt to survive, so evolution and natural selection require animasl to learn to survive
March 29th, 2012
Another chapter from If A Lion Could Talk.
March26th, 2012
Budiansky, Stephen. If A Lion Could Talk: Animal Intelligence and the Evolution of Consciousness.
New York: The Free Press, 1998.
This is a book recommended to me by Dr. Smith. I'll probably just use it for most of the rest of my annotated sources because I am pretty sure I have exhausted the articles about zoo keeper/animal relationships...there are not that many. Anyway, I have only read the introduction to this book so far, but as I go along I will add pertinent information to this page. Or I might blog about it : ) But the gist of the book is discussing animal intelligence and behavior and what humans have learned about those things. The introduction was mostly a warning against anthropomorphism and projecting human behavior onto animals...
March 19th, 2012
"Origins." People and Parks Programme. Department of Environmental Affairs, Republic of South
Africa, 2010. Web. 19 Mar 2012. http://www.peopleandparks.com/about.
This website talked a little about the conservation history of South Africa and what is being done now. I used it to talk about why South Africa is a good place to do my project.
"The Pretoria Zoo." History. ThinkQuest, 1999. Web. 19 Mar 2012.
http://library.thinkquest.org/26161/ZOO/index.html.htm.
This is a website for the Pretoria Zoo put together by school children. It had a brief page about the history of zoos in South Africa. I also used this to talk about South Africa being a good fit for my project.
March 14th, 2012
South African National Standard: Zoo and Aquarium Practice. 1. Pretoria: SABS , 2005.
Okay, so this is a whole book/leaflet thing about zoos and aquariums. SABS - as far as I can make out is a statutory body in charge creates and maintains standards of commodities and service rendering things...it is a little weird. Anyway they have a statute about how zoos should be run. It talks about a lot of interesting stuff - how enclosures should be designed - provide a haven for animal to hide, be stimulating to the animal, novel, complex. It gives a list of behaviors that should be accommodated or considered - I can totally use that to assess relationships! It talks about how animals should be managed. Put social animals in social groups - do not isolate. Talks about feeding and food - hygiene, requirements. Personnel should be trained in a variety of areas, including animal welfare, behavior enrichment and animal training....cool, so do people really have that training in the East London Zoo?
a) feeding behaviour;
b) excretory and elimination behaviour;
c) agonistic and aggressive behaviour;
d) sexual and reproductive behaviour;
e) relaxation behaviour;
f) comfort-seeking behaviour;
g) investigatory behaviour;
h) mimicry and group behaviour;
i) care-seeking behaviour; and
j) care-giving behaviour.
March 13th, 2012
South Africa. Animals Protection Act 1962.
Here's the web address - http://www.animallaw.info/nonus/statutes/stat_pdf/AnimalsProtectionAct71-62.pdf
I am not sure how to cite a law....anyway, this law talks all about animal rights. Who can have animals, how animals can be treated, punishment for mistreatment of animals. It's all there. This shows that South Africa has an awareness of animal welfare and how animals should be treated.
March 7th, 2012
Waiblinger, S., C. Menke and G. Coleman. "The relationship between attitudes, personal characteristics and
behavior of stockpeople and subsequent behavior and production of dairy cows." Applied Animal
Behavior Science. 79. (2002): 195-219. Web. 7 Mar. 2012.
Another study that looked at how stocksmen treated and handled dairy cows. This was a pretty broad study - 30 farms were looked at and they had good correlation between positive interactions and less avoidance by cows and positive interactions and milk yield. Negative interactions resulted in cows that misbehaved more in the milking cubicle and had a lower milk yield. The difference with this study and other similar studies is that research was conducted on smaller farms with a different husbandry system - cows were loose-housed - allowed to roam more? Not a huge dairy production farm. They used questionnaires to see how handlers treated and thought about cows and then looked at different things - cow avoidance and misbehavior i.e. kicking, side stepping, when being milked.
March 6th, 2012
Hemsworth, P. H., G.J. Coleman, J.L. Barnett and S. Borg. "Relationships between human-animal
interactions and productivity of commercial dairy cows." Journal of Animal Science. 78. (2000):
2821-2831. Web. 6 Mar. 2012.
This article looked at how stocks-people treated dairy cows. They observed that stocksperson attitudes and behaviors affected animal fear and subsequently animal productivity. This has also been observed with pigs. The stocks-people that had more positive behavior - positive words and handling - also were more likely to think that working with cows was a pleasure or enjoyable. Animals that had more negative handling would stay a greater distance away from people. There was some evidence that less fear leads to a greater milk yield - not sure if there was significant data on this. Human characteristics can be targeted to reduce fear responses (stress) in dairy cows.
Waiblinger, S. "Assessing the human-animal relationship in farmed species: A critical review." Applied
Animal Behavior Science. 101.3-4 (2006): 185-242. Web. 7 Mar. 2012.
This article has a ton of great information!!!!
Here is the abstract for this article -
The present paper focuses on six main issues. First, we briefly explain why an increased understanding of the human–animal relationship (HAR) is an essential component of any strategy intended to improve the welfare of farmed animals and their stockpersons. Second, we list the main internal and external factors that can influence the nature of the relationship and the interactions between human beings and farm animals. Third, we argue that the numerous tests that have been used to assess the HAR fall into three main categories (stationary human, moving human, handling/restraint), according to the degree of human involvement. Fourth, the requirements that any test of HAR must fulfil before it can be considered effective, and the ways in which the tests can be validated are discussed. Fifth, the various types of test procedures that have been used to assess the HAR in a range of farmed species are reviewed and critically discussed. Finally, some research perspectives that merit further attention are shown.
The present review embraces a range of farmed animals. Our primary reasons for including a particular species were: whether or not general interest has been expressed in its welfare and its relationship with humans, whether relevant literature was available, and whether it is farmed in at least some European countries. Therefore, we include large and small ruminants (cattle, sheep, goats), pigs, poultry (chickens), fur animals (foxes, mink) and horses. Although horses are primarily used for sport, leisure or therapy they are farmed as draught, food or breeding animals in many countries. Literature on the HAR in other species was relatively scarce so they receive no further mention here.
March 2nd, 2012
Watters, Jason V and Nadja Wielebnowski. "Introduction to the Special Issue on Zoo Animal Welfare." Zoo
Biology. 28. (2009): 501-506. Web. 2 Mar. 2012.
This article mentioned many of the articles that I have already read; it is good to know that I am on the right track and that I am reading all the foremost papers on this subject. When I need more articles to read, this article will be a great source, because it is pretty much a review of a bunch of articles dealing with zoo animal welfare. One issue is that most of the research on welfare and HARs has been done on farm or laboratory animals, not a lot done on zoo animals. And zoo animals are much more diverse and numerous then your typical lab rat or dairy cow. It talks about the usefulness of looking at animal behavior in the wild - how much of that behavior can be used to determine how zoo animals should act? We need to learn more about what factors cause animals stress, in the wild and in captivity. Unfortunately there is not enough field data on animals...mostly just the charismatic ones have been studied i.e. dolphins and cheetahs. This article provides a list of areas that need further research and collaboration.
March 1st, 2012
Claxton, Anna M. "The potential of the human-animal relationship as an environmental enchrichment for the
welfare of zoo-housed animals." Applied Animal Behavior Science. 133.1-2 (2011): 1-10. Web. 1 Mar.
2012.
Provide animals with opportunity to behave freely in naturalistic environment
While a natural looking environment is nice to look at...doesn't actually mean it is the best thing for the animals
A big part of whether or not animals exhibit fear towards human is how they were reared - are they wild born or captive bred? How much were they handled when young?
Stressed behavior different between species...lions pacing; marmosets scratching themselves a lot...but it seems like any behavior that is out of the normal "wild" behavior is indicative of stress; repetitive behavior
Give choice to the animal, control - control defined as ‘the ability to make active responses during an aversive stimulus’
Want predictability - in the environment? feeding? handling? rewards for good behavior?
Visitor behavior and density - unpredictable - how does this affect animals? Apparently crouching in front of cage instead of standing had a positive effect
With felids, inactivity is a characteristic of behavior of wild cats...so that would be a positive thing in zoos? Or does it just mean the animal is bored and under-stimulated, which would be a bad thing...
How can the HAR be assessed???
Methods of Behavioral Assessment (MBA)
Species-specific behavior profiles
Approach test (what other behaviors to look at?)
Training sessions in front of zoo goers - they had a better experience at the zoo, stayed longer, more likely to go back
February 28th, 2012
Laule, Gail Ellen. "Positive reinforcement training and environmental enrichment: enhancing animal
well-being." JAVMA. 223.7 (2003): 969-972. Web. 28 Feb. 2012.
Zoo animals may be well provided for, but the reality is that they live a life much more sterile and boring then a life in the wild. Well-being can be assessed by looking at behavior, health, reproduction, and longevity.
A huge part of well-being: how much control does the animal have? Should have some choice and some control in day to day activities
Signs of good well-being - animal is curious, responds to changes in environment, has a wide range of behavior
Positive reinforcement training - reward animal with something they life after they exhibit the desired behavior
Positive obviously better then negative - giving monkey shot example
“Environmental enrichment is a process for improving or enhancing zoo animal environments and care within
the context of their inhabitant’s behavioral biology and natural history. It is a dynamic process in which changes to structures and husbandry practices are made with the goal of increasing behavioral choices
available to animals and drawing out their species appropriate behaviors and abilities, thus enhancing
animal welfare.”
Types of enrichment
Physical - aspects of the enclosure, natural features (logs, water, dirt), artificial features (ropes, nets), light, temperature
Feeding - novelty and variety, hide food, different kinds
Sensory - sounds, scents, different bedding material
Social - group size, new individuals
Occupational - problem solving, physical manipulation
Human-animal - play, grooming, training
Some things that can cause distress to zoo animals - husbandry routines, vet checks, social living
So provide positive reinforcement for getting shots, or being moved around
Desensitize animals to stressful situations
How to create new "life cycle" in the zoo
How to get animals to behave like their species is supposed to behave - that is valued over making something look natural
Exploration very important behavior
February 25th, 2012
Dingemanse, Niels J. and Denis Reale. "Natural Selection and Animal Personality." Behavior. 142.
(2005): 1159-1184. Web. 25 Feb. 2012.
Personality directed by genes??
Behavioral differences among individuals of same species attributed to personality traits
Personality traits heritable i.e. aggressiveness [Really, are traits like personality inherited? Or are they learned from parents? I guess that only works with atricial species that hang around their parents for a while...]
Personality traits - curiosity; exploring; reactivity; aggressiveness; boldness; risk-taking; reacting to novel or challenging stimuli
This article talks a lot about natural selection and how personality traits affect survival. That is not really a concern with my project, since the animals are fed and cared for and do not have to depend on themselves for survival. What do effects do their personalities have then? What good are they? How would they be passed from parent to offspring? Do animals learn personality traits from humans?
February 23rd, 2012
Hosey, Geoff. "A preliminary model of human-animal relationships in the zoo." Applied Animal
Behavior Science. 109.2 (2008): 105-127. Web. 25 Feb. 2012.
Relationships require repeated interactions
An interaction is usually taken to mean “a sequence in which individual A shows behaviour X to individual B, or A shows X to B and B responds with Y
An interaction can take place even if there is no observable response...
Interactions can be negative, neutral or positive
Interactions affected by: nature of interaction, history of past experiences/interactions, personality, motivation
How does the presence of numerous zoo visitors affect the relationships of zoo keeper and animals???
"Thus, in applying the HAR concept to the zoo setting, we need to consider human–animal interactions involving familiar (keepers, other zoo personnel, zoo researchers) and also unfamiliar (zoo visitors) humans."
Some ways animal could view keeper - potential threat, competition for mating; or as something to mate with...
"zoo visitors were treated like interlopers, keepers like familiar conspecifics, and observers like familiar neighbours"
Some evidence of positive relationships leading to better reproductive success
Unfamiliar people and their behavior stressful to zoo animals [How do I become familiar and less-threatening???]
Part of the difficulty of this study is the differences between species; housing; husbandry methods; visitor behavior
Sparse research makes it hard to determine trends
[Pick one species to work with/observe??]
So, to what extent are animals able to discriminate between different kinds of people, or even individual people?
Negative interactions can include hits, slaps, shouting and fast speed of movement and generally rough, aversive and/or unpredictable handling
Positive interactions include feeding and petting and positive use of verbal and physical effort
Enclosure design is probably important because it can influence the behaviour of the animals in so many ways - important feature of enclosure design is the amount of control it gives the animal over the extent to which it is exposed to humans
A further variable which is likely to influence the establishment of the HAR in zoo animals is the extent of handling it experiences during its early life
Things to remember with this model:
Differences in species
Differences between keepers
Different relationships between different keepers and animals
Animals more likely to show less fear if given more control in enclosure
Animals with history of negative interactions will show more fear
Positive reinforcement training - does this take place in East London Zoo?
February 22nd, 2012
Butterworth, Andrew and Joy A. Mench and Nadja Wielebnowski. "12 Practical Strategies to Assess
(And Improve) Welfare." Animal Welfare. 2. (2011): 200-212. Web. 22 Feb. 2012.
Areas to look at:
Good feeding and watering
Good housing
Good health - temperature, ease of movement, not sick, not in pain
Animals express appropriate behavior
Parts of a good measurement/assessment of welfare:
Cost
Time
Validity
Repeatable
Use of score sheets
Resource based measures - looking at the housing or feeding practices versus Outcome based measures - actually looking at the animals and how they react to things
February 20th, 2012
Watters, Jason V. and David M. Powell. "Measuring Animal Personality for Use in Population
Management in Zoos: Suggested Methods and Rationale." Zoo Biology. 29. (2011): 1-12. Web.
Sweet, an article about animal personalities! This might be helpful in determining if animals have bonds with zoo keepers or preferences for certain keepers over others.
Animal personalities affect animal welfare and zoo guest experience
Three primary roles zoo animals asked to fulfill - be exhibit animal, breed, act as program animals - provide guests with more intimate experiences....obviously personalities will play into what animals perform what jobs better
Some definitions of personality
- behavioral differences across individuals that are consistent over time and across contexts
- temperament - refers more to genetic behavioral differences; personality denotes non-
genetic behavioral differences
Different personalities
- shyness/boldness
- exploration-avoidance
- activity
- sociability
- aggressiveness
Measuring personality (great chart to look at)
- coding used in most studies - direct observation and recording of animal behavior - naturally or in
a test situation
- zoos more likely to use rating method - must have person who is very familiar with an
individual animal and then "rate" that animals behavior based on other animals in same species
- naturalist rating - uses people who are familiar with a species rate an animal after a very short
observation period, even though they are not familiar with that particular individual, use a
questionnaire
So, if the data-providers are experience, coding or rating works well; coding easier to learn
Natural observation better than setting up tests or simulations for animals
February 16th, 2012
Hosey, Geoff and Vicky Melfi. "Human-Animal Bonds Between Zoo Professionals and the Animals in Their
Care." Zoo Biology. 29. (2010): 1-14. Web. 16 Feb. 2012.
Another great article that totally pertains to my project!!! I am just going to take notes on things that I think are important for my project.
Questionnaires used again....asked zoo keepers whether they thought they had established bonds with animals...most keepers thought they did have bonds and that those bonds were beneficial to them (the zoo keeper) in that animals were easier to handle and the job was more fulfilling....not sure of benefits to animals...animals calmer when being handled, less stress, seemed more content
Mentions HARs again, defines relationships likes the other article does...positive interactions form bond - Human-Animal Bond (HABs) - ‘‘a mutually beneficial and dynamic relationship between people and other animals that is influenced by behaviors that are essential to the health and well-being of both’’
Research done so far shows positive relationships can cause less stress on animals which helps them with reproduction and behavior
Humans spend more time with animals, learn their signals (interesting, do zoo keepers use animal signals, like in Julie of the Wolves)
Do zoo keeper relationships become bonds?
Different kinds of contact to look at - visual inspection, feeding and cleaning, talking to the animals - training, moving animals without tactile contact - verbal commands, physical contact, aversive contact
Human benefits
Operational benefits
Easier husbandry, training, veterinary treatment, etc.
Increased knowledge and awareness of the animal’s needs
Increased easiness with animal (e.g. better communication,
ability to read animal’s moods)
Can spot illness or discomfort earlier or more easily
Can give animal a better life
Affective benefits
Emotionally rewarding
Greater enjoyment
Increased trust from animal
Companionship
Generally positive
Increased sense of responsibility
Animal benefits
Animal more relaxed, less stressed, happier
Animal receives medical attention earlier, is less stressed by it
Animal shows pleasure with the contact and interaction
Animal gets better husbandry, is easier to manage
Enrichment
Animal knows respondent and is not afraid; has trust
Animal can communicate something to (or manipulate!) respondent
Animal has more confidence
Generally positive
Animal has better welfare
Companionship
Can give animal more freedom
Animal shows better behaviour with other animals and people
Large mammals were the biggest taxa of animals that zoo keepers thought they had bonds with...
Zoos support keepers forming bonds with animals (ask East London Zoo administrators/top guys what they think about that)
