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 continuously update this page as new projects are added.
Validating welfare indicators in an arachnid and their relationship to leg loss, a common defense strategy
Grantee: Ignacio Escalante
Institution: University of Illinois, Chicago
Project summary
This project will explore the welfare implications of leg loss, or “autotomy” — a common defensive strategy among animals. The project aims to validate welfare indicators within an understudied group of invertebrates, the Opiliones (Arachnida) in southwestern Costa Rica. Field and lab experiments will be used to test three potential behavioral welfare indicators: 1) movement patterns (approach vs. retreat), 2) speed, and 3) exploratory leg-tapping behaviors (count of leg taps) in response to positively and negatively valanced stimuli. These behaviors will be assessed when individuals are alone, in conspecific aggregations, and in barren versus complex housing. All experiments will include individuals with all legs and those with missing legs to assess how leg condition impacts welfare.