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.

Discovery, Austria, United States, Ecuador, Birds, Least concern, Physiology, Animal behavior, Ornithology, Infectious disease, 2025, Not published Wild Animal Initiative Discovery, Austria, United States, Ecuador, Birds, Least concern, Physiology, Animal behavior, Ornithology, Infectious disease, 2025, Not published Wild Animal Initiative

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.

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Least concern, Ecological modeling, Birds, Population ecology, Austria, Seed, 2024, Not published Wild Animal Initiative Least concern, Ecological modeling, Birds, Population ecology, Austria, Seed, 2024, Not published Wild Animal Initiative

To feed or not to feed wild birds

Grantee: Marion Chatelain

Institution: University of Innsbruck

Project summary

Despite providing otherwise limited resources, bird feeders may attract predators, facilitate the exchange of pathogens, and increase intraspecific conflict. This project will study two common bird species: great tits, who use feeders intensively, and black redstarts, who typically do not use feeders. By monitoring the use of nestboxes in gardens with or without feeders, the project aims to evaluate social stress and competition for nesting sites caused by bird feeding. Fecal samples from nestlings will also be analyzed to understand impacts on stress physiology, growth rate, and ectoparasite load.

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