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.
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.
Evaluating ice nests: Effects of a welfare intervention on long-lived insect societies and their guests
Grantee: Christina Kwapich
Institution: University of Central Florida, United States
Project summary
When social organisms are translocated, the destruction of multi-generational nests, loss of familiar territory, and disruption of demography could negatively influence the welfare of society members, future generations, and dependent symbionts. This project will translocate Florida harvester ant (Pogonomyrmex badius) colonies by burying replica nests made from ice. The team will measure risk-averse behaviors in ants across generations, as well as the stability of colony foraging routes, demography, and the re-colonization of symbiont populations. By monitoring ants in freshly transplanted and historically transplanted colonies, the project will provide data on the effects of social disruption on ant societies.
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.