Do Birds of a Feather Always Flock Together? Assessing Differences in Group and Individual Zoo Enclosure Usage by Comparing Commonly Available Methods

Heather Mcconnell,Tom Rice,Paul Rose,James Brereton

doi:10.3390/jzbg3010007

Heather Mcconnell, Tom Rice + Show 2 more

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.3390/jzbg3010007

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Abstract

Data on zoo enclosure usage provide meaningful evaluation of husbandry and welfare but for social species, group-level data may not capture individual occupancy preferences. Determining zone occupancy using group data may give an inaccurate assessment of enclosure suitability for each individual. We compared three formulae (traditional and modified Spread of Participation Index and Electivity Index) to determine how estimations of space usage compare between individuals and their group overall. Two flamingo flocks at two zoos were sampled with enclosures separated into discrete zones. Counts of where each bird in the flock was located at each minute of sampling were compared against the number of minutes that randomly selected individual flamingos spent in each zone. Overall, there was little difference in preferred zone occupancy when flock data were compared to individual data. Group data suggested that flamingos were more consistent in their enclosure usage, with individual data showing wider overall usage of enclosures. Individual Electivity Index (EI) values suggested zone underuse whereas group EI suggested zone overuse. As a proxy for welfare measurement, we recommend both group-level and individual monitoring of space use to provide a complete picture of how individuals within a social group occupy their space and choose where to be.

Highlights

Zoo enclosures do not fully meet the needs of wild animals [1] meaning that animals cannot experience the habitat structures or features that they would in the wild
At PZ, there was a significant difference between the SPI for the individual birds and those values calculated for the group, with individual SPI being higher than for group data
For Bristol Zoo Gardens (BZ), enclosure usage calculation and time of day was significantly different for SPI and mSPI, with enclosure usage becoming less varied up to early afternoon (Figure 2)

Summary

Introduction

Zoo enclosures do not fully meet the needs of wild animals [1] meaning that animals cannot experience the habitat structures or features that they would in the wild. Assessment of daily activity patterns within the different spatial zones provided is an important tool that can (in part) infer welfare states [3,9,10]. Such data collection enables detailed behavioural profiles to be created, which in turn enable our understanding of what an animal gains and needs from its immediate environment [11]. This eventually allows for the creation of enclosures tailored to the behavioural and biological priorities of species or individual animals [12]. Identification of positive welfare outputs can be inferred from enclosure use studies that observe an animal occupying multiple zones throughout the enclosure and that document specific zones being actively avoided [13]

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