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.
Developing & refining behavioral assays for the measurement of ‘sentient welfare’ in gastropod molluscs
Grantee: Elizabeth Paul
Institution: University of Bristol, United Kingdom
Project summary
Compared to cephalopod mollusks, gastropod mollusks have been neglected in welfare research and public and legislative concern. This project will develop and refine key assays for the behavioral measurement of welfare in two gastropod species: the great pond snail (Lymnaea stagnalis) and the common garden snail (Cornu aspersum). The researchers will study the capacities of snails to experience consequences within two hypothesized domains of affective function: the first relating to a Punishment Avoidance System (associated with an animal’s responses to threats and punishments) and the second to a Reward Acquisition System (associated with an animal’s responses to opportunities and rewards).
Grantee: Elizabeth Paul
Institution: University of Bristol, United Kingdom
Grant amount: $49,476
Grant type: Discovery grants
Focal species: Great pond snail (Lymnaea stagnalis), common garden snail (Cornu aspersum)
Conservation status: Least concern
Disciplines: Sentience, animal behavior, malacology
Research location: United Kingdom
Project summary
The welfare of cephalopod mollusks is a topic of rapidly increasing scientific and public interest. But to date, their close relatives, the gastropod mollusks, have been almost completely neglected in welfare research, as well as in public and legislative concern. This project will develop and refine key assays for the behavioral measurement of welfare in two gastropod species: the great pond snail (Lymnaea stagnalis) and the common garden snail (Cornu aspersum). The researchers will focus on the capacities of snails to experience consequences within two hypothesized domains of affective function — the first relating to a Punishment Avoidance System (PAS; associated with an animal’s responses to threats and punishments) and the second to a Reward Acquisition System (RAS; associated with an animal’s responses to opportunities and rewards).
Why we funded this project
Extensive scientific attention has been paid to the pollutants and other anthropogenic challenges facing gastropod mollusks, but from the point of view of broader environmental damage and effects on vertebrate populations. This project extends that interest to the welfare of gastropod animals themselves. The research team hopes that this project will lead to a larger research program on molluscan welfare.
Feeling salty: A welfare framework for estuarine fishes
Grantee: Samantha Levell
Institution: New College of Florida, United States
Project summary
Estuaries are highly dynamic environments in which salinity can change rapidly. This project will study how short-term, ecologically realistic salinity shifts influence welfare in estuarine fishes using non-invasive measures such as waterborne cortisol, metabolic rate, exploration, shoaling behavior, and decision making. The project will focus on two common estuarine species: the sheepshead minnow (Cyprinodon variegatus) and the sailfin molly (Poecilia latipinna). By comparing juveniles and adults, the project aims to develop practical tools for assessing fish welfare in the wild and to better understand how environmental variability shapes the experiences of aquatic animals.
Grantee: Samantha Levell
Institution: New College of Florida, United States
Grant amount: $26,200
Grant type: Discovery grants
Focal species: Sheepshead minnow (Cyprinodon variegatus), sailfin molly (Poecilia latipinna), and others
Conservation status: N/A: Multiple focal species
Disciplines: Ichthyology, physiology, animal behavior
Research location: United States
Project summary
Estuaries are highly dynamic environments in which salinity can change rapidly. This project will study how short-term, ecologically realistic salinity shifts influence welfare in estuarine fishes using non-invasive measures such as waterborne cortisol, metabolic rate, exploration, shoaling behavior, and decision making. The project will focus on two common estuarine species: the sheepshead minnow (Cyprinodon variegatus) and the sailfin molly (Poecilia latipinna). By comparing juveniles and adults, the project aims to develop practical tools for assessing fish welfare in the wild and to better understand how environmental variability shapes the experiences of aquatic animals.
Why we funded this project
Most previous work on estuarine fishes has focused on survival and physiological tolerance rather than the animals’ lived experiences or affective states. By integrating non-invasive physiological and behavioral indicators, this project will help validate a practical framework for assessing fish welfare under ecologically realistic conditions.
Validating acoustic monitoring as a non-invasive welfare indicator in urban coyotes: Linking vocalizations to health status, social dynamics, and environmental quality
Grantee: Caroline Rowley
Institution: Duke University, United States
Project summary
Urban coyotes face welfare challenges including disease, parasites, habitat degradation, reliance on anthropogenic food sources, and stress from human-wildlife conflict. This project is a pilot study aimed at validating passive acoustic monitoring as a welfare assessment tool. Data will be collected via GPS collars fitted with microphones, autonomous recording units, thermal camera traps and biological sampling. Using models and machine learning, the researchers will test whether vocal features correlate with established welfare indicators and whether individual coyotes can be identified from their howls alone. The aim is to develop a scalable, non-invasive framework for monitoring the welfare of free-ranging animals.
Grantee: Caroline Rowley
Institution: Duke University, United States
Grant amount: $49,978
Grant type: Discovery grants
Focal species: Eastern coyote (Canis latrans)
Conservation status: Least concern
Disciplines: Animal behavior, mammalogy
Research location: United States
Project summary
Coyote populations have expanded dramatically across North America, but population-level success does not necessarily equate to good welfare. Urban coyotes in particular face welfare challenges including disease, parasites, habitat degradation, reliance on anthropogenic food sources, and stress from human-wildlife conflict. This project is a pilot study aimed at validating passive acoustic monitoring as a welfare assessment tool. Data will be collected via GPS collars fitted with microphones, autonomous recording units, thermal camera traps and biological sampling. Using models and machine learning, the researchers will test whether vocal features correlate with established welfare indicators and whether individual coyotes can be identified from their howls alone. The goal is to develop a scalable, non-invasive framework for monitoring the welfare of free-ranging animals.
Why we funded this project
By systematically linking acoustic features of coyote vocalizations to established welfare indicators across multiple domains, this study positions passive acoustic monitoring as a scalable, whole-animal welfare assessment tool that is likely transferable to other similar species using vocalizations for communication.
Comparative assessment of capybara (Hydrochoerus hydrochaeris) welfare in protected, semi-anthropized, and anthropized environments in Argentina
Grantee: Débora Silvia Racciatti
Institution: Universidad de Buenos Aires, Argentina
Project summary
This project will assess how different levels of human disturbance are associated with behavioral, physiological, and health-related welfare indicators in capybara (Hydrochoerus hydrochaeris). Using camera traps, direct observations, non-invasive fecal sampling, and body condition assessments, the team will evaluate a suite of indicators and test not only whether they vary in predicted directions across environments, but how consistently they converge across welfare domains, identifying which measures most reliably discriminate conditions of higher versus lower welfare in free-ranging populations.
Grantee: Débora Silvia Racciatti
Institution: Universidad de Buenos Aires, Argentina
Grant amount: $45,400
Grant type: Discovery grants
Focal species: Capybara (Hydrochoerus hydrochaeris)
Conservation status: Least concern
Disciplines: Human-wildlife conflict, physiology, animal behavior, mammalogy
Research location: Argentina
Project summary
This project compares capybara (Hydrochoerus hydrochaeris) populations living in protected, semi-anthropized, and highly anthropized environments in Argentina to assess how different levels of human disturbance are associated with behavioral, physiological, and health-related welfare indicators. Using camera traps, direct observations, non-invasive fecal sampling, and body condition assessments, the team will evaluate a suite of indicators and test not only whether they vary in predicted directions across environments, but how consistently they converge across welfare domains, identifying which measures most reliably discriminate conditions of higher versus lower welfare in free-ranging populations. By integrating validated measures into a comparative welfare assessment framework, the project aims to advance the empirical foundations of wild animal welfare science and generate evidence to inform welfare-aware wildlife management and coexistence strategies.
Why we funded this project
This project addresses a critical but underexplored question in wild animal welfare science: how anthropogenic landscape transformations affect not just population-level metrics, but also the welfare of individual wild animals. It provides a methodological proof of concept by evaluating a multi-domain suite of non-invasive behavioral, physiological, and health-related indicators that can be validated under real-world field conditions, explicitly assessing their sensitivity, directionality, and cross-domain convergence across contrasting anthropogenic contexts.
Assessing anthropogenic fear in a wild decapod crustacean
Grantee: Mark Briffa
Institution: University of Plymouth, United Kingdom
Project summary
This project will investigate whether urban coastal environments alter fear-related behavioral and physiological responses in wild hermit crabs, using two species that differ in their history of exposure to urbanization. Researchers will compare crabs of both species collected from urban and rural shorelines and measure indicators that may be linked to affective state, including startle responses, shell investigation behavior, and resting metabolic rate under field conditions. By repeatedly measuring behavior within individuals, they will also test whether urban disturbance influences behavioral predictability, which may provide additional insight into fear and stress-related processes.
Grantee: Mark Briffa
Institution: University of Plymouth, United Kingdom
Grant amount: $49,656
Grant type: Discovery grants
Focal species: Common European hermit crab (Pagurus bernhardus), St. Pirin’s hermit crab (Clibanarius erythropus)
Conservation status: Not evaluated
Disciplines: Animal behavior, climate science
Research location: United Kingdom
Project summary
This project will investigate whether urban coastal environments alter fear-related behavioral and physiological responses in wild hermit crabs, using two species that differ in their history of exposure to urbanization. Researchers will compare crabs of both species collected from urban and rural shorelines and measure indicators that may be linked to affective state, including startle responses, shell investigation behavior, and resting metabolic rate under field conditions. By repeatedly measuring behavior within individuals, they will also test whether urban disturbance influences behavioral predictability, which may provide additional insight into fear and stress-related processes.
Why we funded this project
This project applies concepts and analytical approaches from animal personality research to the assessment of welfare-related states in free-living animals. It also addresses a priority taxonomic gap in the field: Crustaceans are abundant yet remain largely neglected in wild animal welfare research, despite growing evidence for their behavioral complexity and sentience-related capacities.
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.
Grantee: Ignacio Escalante
Institution: University of Illinois, Chicago, US
Grant amount: $29,946
Grant type: Discovery grants
Focal species: Several species of the arachnid order Opiliones in the genus Prionostemma (family Sclerosomatidae)
Conservation status: Not evaluated
Disciplines: Animal behavior, sentience
Research locations: Costa Rica, United States
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.
Why we funded this project
If validated, these behaviours will provide a novel set of welfare indicators in an arachnid, a group whose welfare has historically been neglected. The researchers’ previous work also shows that autotomy is very common in this taxon, so this project has the potential to help researchers understand the welfare of a very large number of individuals.
Remote welfare assessment in wildlife using stand-off Raman spectroscopy
Grantees: Jose Gonzalez-Rodriguez and Teresa Romero
Institution: University of Lincoln
Project summary
This project aims to develop a stand-off Raman spectroscopy system as a non-invasive tool to assess hormonal levels in wild animals, which can be integrated into welfare assessments. The project also aims to validate under standardized and natural conditions how biomarkers of long-term stress relate to a range of stressors that may affect wild animal welfare. They will use a combination of socio-positive (e.g., play, grooming) and negative (e.g., aggression, screaming) behaviors, indices of social integration, behavioral indicators of anxiety (i.e., self-directed behaviors), and resting behavior, as well as physical indicators of welfare (body condition, instances of injury).
Grantees: Jose Gonzalez-Rodriguez and Teresa Romero
Institution: University of Lincoln, UK
Grant amount: $55,519
Grant type: Discovery grants
Focal species: Tufted capuchin monkeys (Sapajus apella)
Conservation status: Least concern
Disciplines: Physiology, animal behavior
Research locations: United Kingdom, United States
Project summary
To enhance the welfare of wild animals, it is crucial to continuously monitor biomarkers and other metrics that can indicate changes in their welfare. However, this presents the challenge of obtaining repeated measurements from individuals, which often involves capture, restraint, and/or handling — procedures that can have significant negative welfare impacts on free-living wild animals. This project aims to develop a stand-off Raman spectroscopy system as a non-invasive tool to assess hormonal levels in wild animals, which can be integrated into welfare assessments. The project also aims to validate under standardized and natural conditions how biomarkers of long-term stress relate to a range of stressors that may affect wild animal welfare. They will use a combination of socio-positive (e.g., play, grooming) and negative (e.g., aggression, screaming) behaviors, indices of social integration, behavioral indicators of anxiety (i.e., self-directed behaviors), and resting behavior, as well as physical indicators of welfare (body condition, instances of injury).
Why we funded this project
This project builds on a previous WAI-funded project, which validated the use of Raman spectroscopy as an efficient way of testing hormones in hair. It will test whether this method can be used to measure hair cortisol levels from a distance, potentially helping to make the use of this indicator more scalable for long-term monitoring in the field, and reducing the need for distressing or invasive methods for welfare assessment.
Assessing the Impact of Ectoparasites on Nestling Welfare: Validating Behavioral and Physiological Indicators in Darwin’s Finches
Grantee: Sabine Tebbich
Institution: University of Vienna
Project summary
Nestling finches are particularly vulnerable to blood-sucking ectoparasites because they lack the ability to preen, dust-bathe, or escape infested nests. Invasive parasites are especially detrimental to bird welfare because naïve hosts lack behavioral adaptations such as nest sanitation or preening, and hosts often suffer from exceptionally high parasite loads. This project aims to integrate behavioral (breathing rate and sleep duration) and physiological (haematocrit, baseline corticosterone, oxidative stress and telomere length) indicators to assess the welfare impact of the bloodsucking larvae of the avian vampire fly (Philornis downsi) on nestlings of Galápagos finches.
Grantee: Sabine Tebbich
Institution: University of Vienna, Austria
Grant amount: $42,000
Grant type: Discovery grants
Focal species: Green warbler-finches (Certhidae olivacea) and small ground finches (Geospiza fuliginosa)
Conservation status: Least concern
Disciplines: Physiology, animal behavior, ornithology, infectious disease
Research locations: Austria, United States, Ecuador
Project summary
Nestling finches are particularly vulnerable to blood-sucking ectoparasites because they lack the ability to preen, dust-bathe, or escape infested nests. Invasive parasites are especially detrimental to bird welfare because naïve hosts lack behavioral adaptations such as nest sanitation or preening, and hosts often suffer from exceptionally high parasite loads. This project aims to integrate behavioral (breathing rate and sleep duration) and physiological (haematocrit, baseline corticosterone, oxidative stress and telomere length) indicators to assess the welfare impact of the bloodsucking larvae of the avian vampire fly (Philornis downsi) on nestlings of Galápagos finches.
Why we funded this project
We appreciate the diversity of welfare indicators this project will bring to bear on an important threat to the welfare of juveniles (an especially abundant and neglected life stage) in this species. By examining correlations between these putative welfare indicators, the project will contribute to understanding their validity, both individually and as a combined index, with potential transferability to other species and research questions.
A quest for a non-lethal method to assess spiders’ welfare in the urban environment
Grantee: Alessandra Costanzo
Institution: University of Milan
Project summary
This pilot project aims to develop welfare indicators for the orb-weaver spider Araneus angulatus, a species commonly found in urban settings. Juveniles will be exposed to urban stressors such as non-lethal mosquito-repellent pesticides, elevated temperatures simulating the Urban Heat Island effect, and changes in food availability. Once they reach adulthood, the effects of these stressors on individuals will be assessed using physiological (biomarkers of oxidative stress, detoxification, neurotoxicity, and energy metabolism) and morphological (body size, mass, and fluctuating asymmetry) indicators, and behavioral endpoints (prey capture rates and web structure). By integrating these measures, the project aims to triangulate spider welfare across multiple domains and improve our understanding of how urban stressors affect individual well-being.
Grantee: Alessandra Costanzo
Institution: University of Milan, Italy
Grant amount: $27,000
Grant type: Discovery grants
Focal species: Orb-weaver (Araneidae) and long-jawed orb-weaver spiders (Tetragnathidae)
Conservation status: n/a
Disciplines: Physiology, animal behavior
Research locations: Italy
Project summary
Urban areas are the fastest-growing habitat type worldwide, causing significant loss of other types of habitats and biodiversity declines, while also potentially reducing the welfare of some individual animals through sublethal stress. While urban wildlife research has mainly focused on charismatic species like birds and pollinators, less attention has been given to neglected taxa such as spiders. This pilot project aims to develop welfare indicators for the orb-weaver spider Araneus angulatus, a species commonly found in urban settings. Juveniles will be exposed to urban stressors such as non-lethal mosquito-repellent pesticides, elevated temperatures simulating the Urban Heat Island effect, and changes in food availability. Once they reach adulthood, the effects of these stressors on individuals will be assessed using physiological (biomarkers of oxidative stress, detoxification, neurotoxicity, and energy metabolism) and morphological (body size, mass, and fluctuating asymmetry) indicators, and behavioral endpoints (prey capture rates and web structure). By integrating these measures, the project aims to triangulate spider welfare across multiple domains and improve our understanding of how urban stressors affect individual well-being.
Why we funded this project
This project advances wild animal welfare science by introducing a multi-indicator framework for assessing welfare in an arachnid, a taxonomic group largely neglected in welfare research.
Examining mechanistic relationships between metabolic rates, wild bird welfare and impacts of selective logging on eastern Himalayan birds
Grantee: Akshay Bharadwaj
Institution: Indian Institute of Science
Project summary
Animals must balance energy spent with energy consumed, and can only persist in habitats that allow for this balance. All warm-blooded animals have a Basic Survival Cost (BSC) required for basal metabolism and thermoregulation. This project aims to understand how basic survival costs (BSC) affect wild bird welfare in the Eastern Himalayas. Using a combination of thermal imaging, respirometry, and ambient-temperature humidity data, we will estimate BSC in free-living birds across habitat gradients. Subsequently, the project will relate the BSC to multiple welfare indicators, allowing a triangulation of a bird's lived experience. By linking energy metabolism with welfare outcomes, this work will provide a novel, mechanistic perspective on wild animal welfare in an understudied tropical system.
Grantee: Akshay Bharadwaj
Institution: Indian Institute of Science, India
Grant amount: $37,500
Grant type: Discovery grants
Focal species: Understory insectivorous/frugivorous birds including the yellow-throated fulvetta, rusty-fronted barwing, and coral-billed scimitar babbler
Conservation status: n/a
Disciplines: Physiology, ornithology
Research locations: India
Project summary
Animals must balance energy spent with energy consumed, and can only persist in habitats that allow for this balance. All warm-blooded animals have a Basic Survival Cost (BSC) required for basal metabolism and thermoregulation. This project aims to understand how basic survival costs (BSC) affect wild bird welfare in the Eastern Himalayas. Using a combination of thermal imaging, respirometry, and ambient-temperature humidity data, we will estimate BSC in free-living birds across habitat gradients. Subsequently, the project will relate the BSC to multiple welfare indicators, allowing a triangulation of a bird's lived experience. By linking energy metabolism with welfare outcomes, this work will provide a novel, mechanistic perspective on wild animal welfare in an understudied tropical system.
Why we funded this project
This project builds on previous WAI-funded research and will provide insight into the relationship between welfare and energy expenditure, a commonly measured ecological parameter. Better understanding this relationship could prove useful in anticipating the welfare impacts of ecological changes, such as selective logging (the direct priority of this study).