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.
Does DNA methylation reflect environmental and social adversity?
Grantee: Daniel T. Blumstein
Institution: University of California, Los Angeles
Project summary
This project will investigate the welfare effects of early cumulative adversity in free-living yellow-bellied marmots. It will look for associations between the adversity index and behaviors that indicate general wariness (flight initiation distance, time allocated to vigilance while foraging, the propensity to emit alarm calls while foraging); biomarkers that indicate physiological stress (fecal glucocorticoid levels, neutrophil:lymphocyte ratios); and two measures of aging (telomere length and DNA methylation). By quantifying these behavioral indices of wariness and the suite of biomarkers that culminate in telomeres and epigenetic state in pups throughout their first year and in older animals throughout their lives, the project will determine whether adverse environmental experiences have immediate and lasting effects on welfare.
Between freedom and security, what makes a feral pigeon happier?
Grantee: Brandon Mak
Institution: Technical University of Munich
Project summary
Feral pigeons in Germany are subject to the Augsburg model of non-lethal population control, which involves attracting them to breed in dovecots where food and nest sites are provided, and their eggs exchanged with dummies. Others are captured and housed in aviaries under similar conditions. This project investigates the welfare implications of Germany’s non-lethal population control strategies. This is done by comparing the stress profiles of feral pigeons living “wild” in the streets, free-living pigeons breeding and feeding in dovecots, and formerly free-living pigeons translocated into aviaries. Fieldwork will be conducted to weigh pigeons (body mass measurement), collect egg and feather samples from their nests (corticosterone concentrations), and observe their behavior (locomotion and aggression).
The impact of winter food provisioning on the welfare of wild urban hedgehogs
Grantee: Julia Nowack
Institution: Liverpool John Moores University
Project summary
This project will investigate the welfare impacts of supplemental feeding during winter on European hedgehogs. Hedgehogs and other species have adapted to the lack of natural food during the winter by hibernating. Previous research, however, has suggested that hibernation may be interrupted when anthropogenic food sources are available. This project will use biologgers to collect data on winter activity and hibernation, as well as the animals’ use of specially designed feeding stations equipped with miniature thermal imaging devices, which will be used to non-invasively measure eye temperature as an indicator of physiological stress. Welfare assessment will also be supplemented by data on ectoparasite load, body mass, fecal glucocorticoid concentrations, latency to approach a feeding station, and survival rate for adults and juveniles.
Parasites in the city: How is the impact of parasites on wild animal welfare affected by urbanization?
Grantee: Amanda Trask
Institutions: Institute of Zoology (IOZ), Zoological Society of London (ZSL)
Project summary
This project will evaluate the extent to which parasitism and urbanization impact wild animal welfare, both independently and synergistically, using physiological data on the internal and external parasite loads of deceased gray squirrels, as well as their body condition, immune function, and stress response. The researchers will also collect behavioral welfare indicators from other squirrels using camera traps. This data will be collected along a gradient of urbanization levels and analyzed in the context of the squirrels’ sex and age, to compare population-level welfare across sites varying in degree of urbanization and average parasite metrics and predict how future increases in urbanization might impact wildlife welfare.
Predicting density dependence of welfare of wild animal populations based on resource access linked to habitat availability and usage
Grantee: Ross MacLeod
Institution: Liverpool John Moores University
Project summary
This project seeks to adapt a habitat and population model to incorporate welfare and apply it to the study of an abundant and widespread avian species, the house sparrow (Passer domesticus). The researchers propose to utilize a variety of welfare metrics to validate model assumptions, which will then allow them to test assumptions related to the welfare implications of density-dependent population dynamics.
Thermal imaging as a non-invasive welfare assessment tool for tracking the impact of environmental stressors across wild animal populations
Grantee: Ross MacLeod
Institution: Liverpool John Moores University
Project summary
This project aims to test and validate a standardized multi-species approach to monitoring physiological stress in wild birds by using thermal imaging cameras to measure the animals’ body surface temperature, which could enable tracking of chronic stress in wild populations facing environmental stressors. Building on pilot work, the project will focus on wild bird populations to develop a standardized thermal imaging methodology capable of monitoring surface temperature of a wide range of wild animals. The methodology will be validated using bird communities visiting 54 standardized feeding and drinking stations spread across the UK, to quantify how changes in surface temperature are linked to starvation risk, predation risk, and human disturbance.
Novel epigenetic approaches to measure wild animal welfare and stress
Grantee: Dave Daversa
Institution: University of California, Los Angeles
Project summary
A challenge in wild animal welfare science is developing composite assays that consider the full breadth of factors collectively shaping subjective experiences. This project will demonstrate proof of concept for a DNA methylation (DNAm)-based model of wild animal welfare, characterizing DNAm in western toads. It will test the influence of infection with Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis (Bd) on DNAm and its covariance with demographic factors such as age, sex, and body condition. Captive-reared toads will be sampled to characterize DNAm under controlled conditions, providing a standardized profile of DNAm rates over toad life stages. The researchers will then sample toads from wild populations experiencing starkly different levels of Bd infection, with accelerated biological aging signaling elevated stress and impaired welfare.
Developing an approach for assessing the welfare of wild birds through the use of bioacoustics analysis
Grantee: Luiza Figueiredo Passos
Institution: Liverpool John Moores University
Project summary
Vocalization analysis has been used to monitor the welfare of farmed animals and animals in laboratories, but lacks validation for wild animals. This project will use passive acoustic monitoring to record wild bird calls throughout the UK. It will identify vocal patterns and chorus characteristics related to various environmental risks that can be used to infer the welfare status of local bird populations across multiple environments. The focal species will be house sparrows, who have undergone a massive population decline and may be facing welfare challenges. Validating acoustic monitoring as a tool for non-invasive welfare monitoring in the wild for the first time will provide a method that could be used to monitor the welfare of wild birds globally.
Assessing animal welfare from bioacoustic monitoring in red-billed choughs (Pyrrhocorax pyrrhocorax)
Grantee: Claudia Wascher
Institution: Anglia Ruskin University
Project summary
Bioacoustic monitoring is a well established method of measuring welfare in captive animals, but has not been used in wild animals. This project will assess and validate the use of passive bioacoustic monitoring to assess welfare in a reintroduced population of red-billed choughs. The researchers will conduct a combination of automatic acoustic monitoring using “passive” acoustic recorders and direct observations (recording behavior via videos and monitoring activity during the night with night vision scopes) and “active” acoustic monitoring, using a high-quality directional microphone and parabolic dish. Their approach will allow them to record vocalizations and behavior during natural events expected to influence welfare, such as anthropogenic noise, predation events, intraspecific aggression, resting, or affiliative behaviors.
Impacts of land-use on social networks in mixed-species bird flocks, with implications for the short-term and long-term welfare of Himalayan birds
Grantee: Akshay Bharadwaj
Institution: Indian Institute of Science
Project summary
This project will use mist-netting and bird-banding, followed by standardized observations of behavior and body condition, to examine the relationship between individual-level social behavior, bird health, and survival within mixed-species bird flocks (MSFs) in Eaglenest Wildlife Sanctuary, Arunachal Pradesh, India. Feather corticosterone level, ectoparasite load, and other morphological parameters will be used to measure the health of each banded individual. The researcher will also take advantage of a long-term bird-banding dataset, spanning 12 years, to examine the linkages between inter-individual differences in social behavior and the survival of each individual, comparing survival rates and reproductive success in primary and logged forest.