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.

Near Threatened, Fish, United States, Small, Animal welfare science, Population ecology, Community ecology, Marine biology, Ichthyology, 2023, Not published Wild Animal Initiative Near Threatened, Fish, United States, Small, Animal welfare science, Population ecology, Community ecology, Marine biology, Ichthyology, 2023, Not published Wild Animal Initiative

Assessing the anthropogenic impacts, long-term health, and welfare of elasmobranch species within San Francisco Bay, California

Grantee: Meghan Holst

Institution: University of California, Davis

Project summary

The San Francisco Bay Estuary is used by individuals belonging to several elasmobranch populations during critical periods of their life history. But it is also dredged, used as a major harbor for ships, and fished, with sharks and their prey targeted. This project will measure stress physiology and blood contaminants to evaluate whether the health and welfare of elasmobranchs is threatened within San Francisco Bay. It will also use stable isotope analysis to evaluate the dietary needs and sensitivities of San Francisco Bay’s elasmobranch species to determine whether individuals are threatened with hunger due to fishing, and to map relationships within the ecosystem.

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