Meet our grantees
Wild Animal Initiative funds academic research on high-priority questions in wild animal welfare.
The goal of our grants program is to fund research that deepens scientific knowledge of the welfare of wild animals in order to better understand how to improve the welfare of as many wild animals as possible, regardless of what causes the threats to their well-being.
We showcase our grantees and their projects here and will be adding more in the coming weeks and months.
A bird’s eye view to the five domains of welfare: a quantitative framework and proof-of-concept evaluation in a cetacean, Orcinus orca
Grantees: Saana Isojunno, Eve Jourdain
Institutions: University of St. Andrews, Norwegian Orca Survey
Project summary
This project will carry out body condition and welfare assessments for inshore-foraging killer whales in the northeast Atlantic. The researchers will use the Five Domains model to categorize likely factors influencing killer whale welfare and quantify some of those factors using aerial photography from drones. They will gather data on foraging time and feeding rates, group composition and surface behavior, body shape as a proxy for body condition and blubber reserves, and reproductive success. The researchers will then develop a proof-of-concept statistical model to infer latent motivational states beneath the observable data. The project will also utilize data from known cases of poor welfare to help define their welfare scale.
Grantees: Saana Isojunno and Eve Jourdain
Institutions: University of St. Andrews, Scotland, and Norwegian Orca Survey, Norway
Grant amount: $28,707
Grant type: Small grants
Focal species: Orca (Orcinus orca)
Conservation status: Data deficient
Disciplines: Animal welfare science, bio/eco-informatics, physiology, animal behavior, marine biology
Research location: Scotland, Norway
Project summary
This project will carry out body condition and welfare assessment for inshore-foraging killer whales (Orcinus orca) in the northeast Atlantic as an extension to ongoing research in Scotland and Norway. The researchers will use the Five Domains model to categorize likely factors influencing killer whale welfare, and then quantify some of those factors using aerial photography from drones. Specifically, the researchers intend to gather data on foraging time and feeding rates (nutrition), group composition and surface behavior (behavior), and body shape as a proxy for body condition and blubber reserves (health). Data will also be collected on reproductive success (e.g., calf loss). The researchers will then develop a proof-of-concept statistical model to infer latent motivational states (i.e., “true” welfare as a psychological state) beneath the observable data. The project will also utilize data from known cases of poor welfare (where individual social and nutritional needs are not met) to help define their welfare scale.
Why we funded this project
We funded this project because we see hidden state models as promising statistical tools for representing the relationship between disparate data types and welfare, and would like to see this project provide a proof of the concept. This project will also implement a cost-effective and non-invasive approach method based on photogrammetry to assess cetacean health and behavior. Finally, we wanted to fund this project because it spans multiple universities and a citizen science community, creating significant networking opportunities to promote welfare biology.
Photos
Density-Dependent Welfare in Wild Bird Social Networks: Linking resource distributions with disease dynamics
Grantee: Joshua Firth
Institution: University of Oxford
Project summary
This project will investigate how various potential density-dependent drivers of welfare interact and influence net welfare in two species of tit. Population density is expected to be directly related to infectious disease transfer and increased competition, but also to covary with processes that are potentially beneficial to welfare. The study will use historical data to determine how the relationship between population density and individual welfare is shaped by infectious disease, body condition, and mortality risk. The investigators will then manipulate density experimentally to test model outputs and determine potential causal links.
Grantee: Josh Firth
Institution: University of Oxford, United Kingdom
Grant amount: $99,466
Grant type: Challenge grants
Focal species: Great tits (Parus major), blue tits (Cyanistes caeruleus)
Conservation status: Least concern
Disciplines: Animal behavior, community ecology, infectious disease, population ecology, ornithology, bio/eco-informatics, ecological modeling, animal welfare science
Research location: United Kingdom
Project summary
This project seeks to understand the interplay among various potential density-dependent drivers of positive and negative welfare impacts to determine net welfare related to aggregation (increased density) in wild birds (two species of tit). Infectious disease transfer and increased competition, both likely to reduce welfare, are expected to be directly related to population density. However, population density also covaries with processes that are potentially beneficial to welfare, such as congregation around areas that provide high nutrition, various social benefits, opportunities for increased cooperation, or access to social information. The study will use long-term datasets to empirically determine how the relationship between population density and individual welfare is shaped by infectious disease, including the density-dependent relationship with disease spread. Additionally, using historical data, the project will test how population density, mediated by social contact, environment, and disease, determines individuals’ body condition and mortality risk. Based on the results of this observational phase of the study, the investigators will then manipulate density experimentally, to test model outputs and determine potential causal links.
Why we funded this project
This project brings two unique advantages. First, the investigators have access to a population that has been subject to intensive monitoring for decades, meaning that much of the relevant ecological context is known and there is historical data to analyze retrospectively. Secondly, in part due to this long-term monitoring, the birds are tagged and observed at feeding stations equipped with RFID tags/readers that allow for experimental manipulation of the density and identity of birds feeding at particular stations. By empirically testing density-dependent models of welfare, the project could provide an increased understanding of the interplay among population density, infectious disease, and various social and environmental characteristics, and in doing so, identify drivers of welfare in wild birds.
