Alternative Approaches in the Assessment of Zoo and Aquarium Exhibits
A special issue of Journal of Zoological and Botanical Gardens (ISSN 2673-5636).
Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (31 May 2024) | Viewed by 9211
Special Issue Editors
Interests: zoo animal welfare; animal behaviour; animal physiology; evolutionary biology; social dynamics
Special Issue Information
Dear Colleagues,
The assessment of animal welfare in zoos has rapidly evolved over the past two decades, moving from measures of basic animal needs, through to evaluating the impacts that husbandry routine and housing have on physical and psychological health. Modern zoos aim to design immersive animal exhibits not just for the zoo visitor experience, but to provide animals with an enriching and varied landscape to promote naturalistic behaviours across the 24 hour period. A number of enclosure assessment methods have been implemented over the years, yet many published reports omit the important implications of resource allocation on exhibit utilization. There also remains a lack of taxonomic diversity across such studies, the inclusion of which would provide a useful evidence-base for enclosure design and best practice in the keeping of non-mammalian and other understudied species.
The aim of this Special Issue is to provide an overview of the most recent trends in the evaluation of zoo exhibit and resource utilisation across a range of species. Submissions should focus on the practical applications of methods for use by animal managers to assess current facilities and provide an evidence base for enclosure modifications and future exhibit designs.
Potential topics include but are not limited to:
- The role of scientific methods to inform animal habitat design;
- The use of technology to evaluate enclosure usage and/or resource utilisation;
- Methodological developments in the evaluation of enclosure/resource use, including alternative approaches to statistical analysis;
- Measuring the impacts of animal movements (within or between institutions) on health and well-being;
- Measuring the effectiveness of enclosure modifications/enhancements (e.g. heating, lighting and/or furnishings) to improve and enhance animal welfare.
Dr. Lisa Holmes
Dr. James Waterman
Guest Editors
Manuscript Submission Information
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Keywords
- zoo
- animal welfare
- enclosure use
- resource use
- animal behaviour
- statistical analysis
- technology
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