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.
Decoding aquatic mollusk welfare: an investigation of potential physiological and cognitive indicators
Grantee: Laura Webb
Institution: Wageningen University, Netherlnads
Project summary
This project aims to explore physiological and cognitive indicators of welfare in two species of aquatic mollusk: highly mobile cuttlefish (dwarf cuttlefish; Ascarosepion bandense) and sessile (blue) mussels (Mytilus edulis). Valid indicators of mollusk welfare can help us better understand their welfare in changing environmental conditions, such as those associated with climate change. The researchers will explore heart rate variability and respiratory variability as possible physiological indicators, and optimism in a judgment bias test as a cognitive indicator of welfare. Following this, successful metrics can in turn be used to explore the impact of environmental changes on these species' welfare.
Grantee: Laura Webb
Institution: Wageningen University, Netherlands
Grant amount: $10,000
Grant type: Seed grants
Focal species: Bobtail squid (Euprymna berryi), dwarf cuttlefish (Ascarosepion bandense), blue mussel (Mytilus edulis)
Conservation status: Not evaluated
Disciplines: Malacology, cognition, physiology
Research location: Netherlands
Project summary
This project aims to explore physiological and cognitive indicators of welfare in two species of aquatic mollusk: highly mobile cuttlefish (dwarf cuttlefish; Ascarosepion bandense) and sessile (blue) mussels (Mytilus edulis). Valid indicators of mollusk welfare can help us better understand their welfare in changing environmental conditions, such as those associated with climate change. The researchers will explore heart rate variability (mussels) and respiratory variability as possible physiological indicators, and optimism in a judgment bias test as a cognitive indicator of welfare (cuttlefish). Following this, successful metrics can in turn be used to explore the impact of environmental changes on these species' welfare.
Why we funded this project
This project is highly innovative and exploratory in nature, focused on neglected species in welfare research, with sentience accepted for cuttlefish in EU law but not yet for mussels. This work will raise attention to the topic of aquatic mollusk welfare and possible assessment methods in these species.