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.
Are populations that are well-adapted to their environment less stressed than those that are not?
Grantee: Ryan S. Mohammed
Institution: Auburn University
Project summary
In this pilot study, wild-caught guppies will be exposed to an apparent threat of predation as researchers transfer water from a tank containing a common predator (pike cichlid) into their tank. The amount of water transferred from the predators’ tank will be varied to simulate a range of predator densities. Cortisol levels will then be measured in the guppies’ tissue and tank water. These tissue and water cortisol measurements will be compared to develop a protocol for inferring the cortisol levels of fish based on non-invasive water measurements. The researchers hypothesize that the strength of the guppies’ physiological stress response (cortisol) will vary with apparent predation risk.
Grantee: Ryan S. Mohammed
Institutions: Auburn University, United States
Project start date: February 2024
Grant amount: $30,374
Grant type: Seed grants
Focal species: Guppy (Poecilia reticulata), jumping guabine (Anablepsoides hartii)
Conservation status: Least concern
Disciplines: Physiology, ichthyology
Research location: Trinidad and Tobago, United States
Project summary
In this project, wild-caught guppies (Poecilia reticulata) will be exposed to an apparent threat of predation by transferring water from a tank containing a common predator (pike cichlid) into their tank. The amount of water transferred from the predators’ tank will be varied to simulate a range of predator densities. Then, cortisol levels will be measured in both the tissue of guppies and the water they are kept in. These tissue and water cortisol measurements will be compared to develop a protocol for inferring the cortisol levels of fish based on non-invasive water measurements. The researchers hypothesize that the strength of the guppies’ physiological stress response (cortisol) will vary with apparent predation risk, and they intend to eventually build on this pilot study by using the developed non-invasive protocol to compare guppies from populations the are adapted to varying intensities of predation.
Why we funded this project
This project will develop a protocol for inferring the cortisol levels of fish based on non-invasive water measurements, which should allow researchers seeking to use cortisol as a metric of physiological stress to avoid needing to kill fish in order to measure the chemical in their tissues. In terms of broader wild animal welfare theory, we also appreciate the project’s focus on the indirect effects of predator-induced fear, which are likely ubiquitous. This project is also intended as a pilot for a larger project that would investigate the impact of evolutionary adaptation to avoid predation on the stress response to the presence of predators.
How do human activities impair the welfare of highly social fish?
Grantee: Joachim Frommen
Institution: Manchester Metropolitan University
Project summary
This project will investigate the welfare of a common fish species in Lake Tanganyika, the princess cichlid, as they are exposed to varying levels of human activity. Across eight populations representing a range of distances to human settlements and shipping routes, the researchers will monitor behaviors indicative of stress or aggression and measure body condition and the brain tissue expression of five genes involved in stress physiology (glucocorticoid response pathway; crf, cyp11b, gr1, gr2, mr). These welfare indicators will be compared with environmental characteristics including boat noise, water visibility (sedimentary and algal load), human fishing intensity, temperature stress, and structural complexity of the local environment.
Grantee: Joachim Frommen
Institutions: Manchester Metropolitan University, United Kingdom
Project start date: September 2024
Grant amount: $28,960
Grant type: Seed grants
Focal species: The princess of Zambia (Neolamprologus pulcher)
Conservation status: Least concern
Disciplines: Ichthyology, physiology, genetics/genomics
Research location: United Kingdom, Zambia
Project summary
This project will investigate the welfare of a common fish species in Lake Tanganyika, the princess cichlid (Neolamprologus pulcher), as they are exposed to varying levels of human activity. Across eight populations representing a range of distances to human settlements and shipping routes, the researchers will monitor behaviors indicative of stress or aggression, and measure body condition and the brain tissue expression of five genes involved in stress physiology (glucocorticoid response pathway; crf, cyp11b, gr1, gr2, mr). These welfare indicators will be compared with specific environmental characteristics, including boat noise, water visibility (sedimentary and algal load), human fishing intensity, temperature stress, and structural complexity of the local environment.
Why we funded this project
By focusing on an established model system (cichlids), this project is able to benefit from background knowledge of the species’ ecology and behavior and proceed to more neglected welfare questions, as well as potentially engaging a ready audience of cichlid researchers. An especially interesting component of this project is its investigation of brain gene expression to potentially better understand how stress physiology relates to an animal’s subjective experience.
Street smarts and bold behaviors: How humans and urban environments influence the welfare of wild mesocarnivores
Grantee: Lauren Stanton
Institution: University of California, Berkeley
Project summary
This project will evaluate the welfare impacts of urban landscapes and human-wildlife conflict scenarios, focusing on environmental contamination and anthropogenic disturbance by assessing how they introduce poor diet and diseases that impact wild animals’ health and behavior, potentially increasing the likelihood of further conflict. It will use motion-activated infrared trail cameras, a novel method, to noninvasively assess and compare the behavior, cognition, and health of urban wildlife in relation to differences in environmental conditions, establishing an individual-based assessment of welfare. The project will also provide a welfare vulnerability assessment in relation to environmental characteristics, which will facilitate modeling and predicting welfare risk according to environmental variables, as well as identifying mitigation opportunities for reducing poor-welfare urban environments.
Grantee: Lauren Stanton
Institutions: University of California, Berkeley, United States
Project start date: August 2023
Grant amount: $255,000
Grant type: Fellowship
Focal species: Urban canine
Conservation status: Least concern
Research location: United States
Project summary
This project will evaluate the welfare impacts of both urban landscapes and human-wildlife conflict scenarios, focusing in particular on those of environmental contamination (e.g., pollution, anticoagulant rodenticides) and anthropogenic disturbance by assessing how they introduce poor diet and diseases that impact wild animals’ health and behavior, potentially increasing the likelihood of further conflict in a vicious cycle. The project will use a novel method to noninvasively assess and compare the behavior, cognition, and health of urban wildlife in relation to differences in environmental conditions. The study will use motion-activated infrared trail cameras to observe the behavior and evaluate the health and cognition of urban wildlife. By measuring important facets of each individual’s behavior (e.g., risk-taking), cognition (e.g., problem-solving), and health (e.g., body condition), the project will establish an individual-based assessment of welfare. The project will also provide a welfare vulnerability assessment in relation to environmental characteristics, which will facilitate modeling and predicting welfare risk according to environmental variables, as well as identifying mitigation opportunities for reducing poor-welfare urban environments. In addition to improving understanding of the drivers of welfare in urban wildlife, the project will develop and demonstrate a novel approach that can be further used to understand individual welfare and, in particular, address limitations in the current ability to assess subjective experiences by validating the use of relevant cognitive indicators.
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Quantifying the impact of sea ice coverage on the welfare of grey seal pups
Grantee: Daire Carroll
Institution: University of Gothenburg
Project summary
This project will use historic necropsy assessment and drone-based photogrammetry to establish and validate welfare proxies and remote behavioral and body conditions in grey seals as a remote welfare assessment tool. It will compare cortisol levels, behavior, and body condition of juvenile seals in land and ice breeding colonies at different densities to understand density-dependent welfare in relation to differences in environmental conditions. This information will be used to develop predictive models to identify welfare risk factors and opportunities to mitigate them. Opportunities to alleviate stress for juveniles during land breeding years will be identified and proposed. The project will demonstrate proof-of-concept for a combined population modeling and behavioral/health assessment approach that can be transferred to other species.
Grantee: Daire Carroll
Institutions: University of Gothenburg, Sweden
Project start date: January 2024
Grant amount: $151,000
Grant type: Fellowship
Focal species: Grey seal (Halichoerus grypus)
Conservation status: Least concern
Research location: Sweden
Project summary
This project will use historic necropsy assessment, including body condition indicators (size and blubber layer), cause of death, age, and parasite load, coupled with drone-based photogrammetry, to establish and validate welfare proxies. The project will subsequently establish and validate remote behavioral and body conditions in grey seals as a remote welfare assessment tool. The project will further seek to understand density-dependent welfare in relation to differences in environmental conditions by comparing cortisol levels from feces, behavior, and body condition of juvenile seals in land and ice breeding colonies at different seal densities. The combined information will be used to develop predictive models that can identify welfare risk factors and opportunities to mitigate them. Finally, the project will identify and propose opportunities to alleviate stress for juveniles during land breeding years to improve welfare. The project will demonstrate proof-of-concept for a combined population modeling and behavioral/health assessment approach that can be transferred to other species to understand risk factors for poor welfare and identify opportunities for correcting them.
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Identifying species traits underlying conservation translocation failure, to understand risk factors, help redesign procedures, and pre-emptively protect vulnerable wild animals
Grantee: Emma Mellor
Institution: University of Bristol
Project summary
This project uses survival as a welfare indicator in relation to life history characteristics using a database of animal translocations. Traits significantly relating to successful translocation (as indicated by post-release survival) will be identified as risk or protective factors for a variety of animals. The project aims to enable inferences about welfare risk factors for species beyond the datasets available by integrating a phylogenetic approach to understanding welfare. It could therefore provide insights into susceptibility or life history characteristics that provide greater resilience to welfare harms and thus help characterize and prioritize sources of welfare concern in the wild.
Grantee: Emma Mellor
Institutions: University of Bristol, United Kingdom
Project start date: September 2023
Grant amount: $226,987
Grant type: Fellowship
Focal species: Multi-species
Research location: United Kingdom
Project summary
This project focuses on using survival as an indicator of welfare in relation to life history characteristics using a database of animal translocations. Traits significantly relating to successful translocation (as indicated by post-release survival) would be identified as risk or protective factors for a variety of animals. The project aims to enable inferences about welfare risk factors for species beyond the datasets available by integrating a phylogenetic approach to understanding welfare. Therefore, the project could provide valuable insights into susceptibility or life history characteristics that provide greater resilience to welfare harms and thus help characterize and prioritize sources of welfare concern in the wild. The project could directly inform translocation practices while providing insights into potential welfare interventions supporting multiple animal groups based on their life history traits.
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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.
Grantee: Ross MacLeod
Institutions: Liverpool John Moores University, United Kingdom
Project start date: August 2023
Grant amount: $159,744
Grant type: Challenge grants
Focal species: House sparrow (Passer domesticus)
Conservation status: Least concern
Disciplines: Ecological modeling, population ecology, animal welfare science
Research location: United Kingdom
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.
Why we funded this project
We funded this project because it addresses our proposal request very closely and proposes to investigate a key wild animal welfare question using a modeling framework. They are also planning to address their question using an abundant avian species. The project has high potential to inform future work focused on modeling total welfare in a population (i.e., combining both individual welfare and population size), and to create a model that can be replicated in other systems.
Find Ross’ other project, studying wild birds, here.
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Empirical assessment of welfare in wild American mink and Eurasian otters: the effects of intra- and inter-specific population density
Grantees: Lauren A Harrington, Maria Diez Leon
Institution: Oxford University
Project summary
This project seeks to determine whether the welfare of American mink is negatively impacted in the presence of high densities of Eurasian otters, whether both species’ welfare is compromised at relatively higher densities of conspecifics, and whether there is a seasonality to welfare impacts. The project will also assess whether behavioral time budget shifts in mink are associated with higher chronic stress levels as a proxy for negative impact on mink welfare. These questions will be addressed by measuring welfare through several different domains, including behavioral (exploratory behavior, vocalizations), physical (body condition, ectoparasite load), and physiological (telomere length, fecal glucocorticoid metabolites and hair cortisol) metrics.
Grantees: Lauren A. Harrington, Maria Diez Leon
Institutions: Oxford University, United Kingdom
Project start date: August 2023
Grant amount: $162,257
Grant type: Challenge grants
Focal species: American mink (Neovison vison), Eurasian otter (Lutra lutra)
Conservation status: Near threatened
Disciplines: Animal welfare science, community ecology, wildlife management
Research location: United Kingdom
Project summary
This project seeks to determine whether the welfare of American mink (Neovison vison) is negatively impacted in the presence of high densities of Eurasian otters (Lutra lutra), whether both species’ welfare is compromised at relatively higher densities of conspecifics, and whether there is a seasonality to welfare impacts. The project will also assess whether behavioral time budget shifts in mink are associated with higher chronic stress levels, as a proxy for negative impact on mink welfare. These questions will be addressed by measuring welfare through several different domains, including behavioral (exploratory behavior, vocalizations), physical (body condition, ectoparasite load), and physiological (telomere length, fecal glucocorticoid metabolites and hair cortisol) metrics.
Why we funded this project
This project has the potential to contribute significant information to the understanding of intra-specific density-dependent welfare and to the understanding of network effects among predator-prey and competitor interactions of wild animals. Its unusually diverse set of welfare metrics will allow for cross-validation, strengthening both this project and other projects applying the same metrics. The investigators each have a strong background in animal welfare and have made efforts to better align their work with Wild Animal Initiative’s priorities for wild animal welfare, which makes them good candidates to carry forward the validation of these welfare indicators (particularly telomere attrition, which is still relatively immature in its use as a welfare indicator).
Find Maria’s other project, studying European minks, here.
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Determination of Fecal Tri-iodothyronine and Cortisol as Physiological Proxies of Animal Welfare
Grantees: Michael Cherry, Joe Hediger
Institutions: Caesar Kleberg Wildlife Research Institute, Texas A&M University, University of Massachusetts Dartmouth
Project summary
Wild animals are susceptible to the effects of thermal stress imposed by a warming climate, including increased energetic costs to maintain a healthy body temperature, immune system impairment, changes in food availability, and increases in disease transmission. White-tailed deer in southern Texas are on the front lines of this challenge. This project aims to assess the reliability of fecal tri-iodothyronine (T3) and fecal glucocorticoids (FGC) as non-invasive physiological metrics for monitoring their health. The use of T3 as an indicator of wildlife health and welfare is relatively novel, and the researchers will attempt to refine it through controlled experiments, correlating the T3 measurements with a more widely used indicator in FGC. Both physiological indicators will be validated against behavioral observations.
Grantees: Michael Cherry, Joe Hediger
Institutions: Caesar Kleberg Wildlife Research Institute, Texas A&M University, University of Massachusetts Dartmouth, United States
Project start date: May 2023
Grant amount: $25,860
Grant type: Small grants
Focal species: White-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus)
Conservation status: Least concern
Disciplines: Physiology, animal welfare science
Research location: United States
Project summary
Wildlife are susceptible to both direct and indirect effects of thermal stress imposed by a warming climate. Direct effects include increased energetic costs to maintain a healthy body temperature and immune system impairment, while indirect effects include changes in food availability and increases in disease transmission. White-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus) in southern Texas are on the front lines of this environmental challenge. This project aims to assess the reliability of fecal tri-iodothyronine (T3) and fecal glucocorticoids (FGC) as non-invasive physiological metrics for monitoring the health of white-tailed deer. The use of T3 as an indicator of wildlife health and welfare is relatively novel, and the researchers will attempt to refine the use of these metrics through controlled experiments, correlating the T3 measurements with a more widely used indicator in FGC. Both physiological indicators will also be validated against behavioral observations of the same deer that are thought to reflect their emotional state.
Why we funded this project
The study findings will help in understanding how wild animals cope with increasing temperatures and the impact of thermal stress on their welfare and health. Notably, previous work has suggested that T3 measurements in ungulates are especially sensitive to thermal stress, and so comparing T3 with other indicators based on different physiological pathways, such as glucocorticoids, could help researchers to diagnose the relative significance of different environmental stressors an animal is facing. The project’s behavioral metrics are also crucial for realizing that potential. A secondary reason for our interest in this project is that it has near-term policy implications, potentially highlighting the value of preserving or promoting specific landscape features for the ecosystem service they offer, in the form of shade, to wild ungulates.
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Validation and efficacy of faecal glucocorticoid metabolites as indicators of animal welfare
Grantee: Miriam Zemanova
Institutions: University of Fribourg, Animalfree Research, Oxford Centre for Animal Ethics
Project summary
Fecal glucocorticoid metabolites (FGM) may be a suitable non-invasive alternative to blood analysis in animal welfare studies. While there have been several reviews of fecal glucocorticoids, no systematic review of their validity as an animal welfare indicator has been done. Through a systematic review process, this project seeks to provide an evidence base for the efficacy of non-invasive measurement of stress levels in wild animals using fecal glucocorticoids. Evidence will be compiled from studies that have assessed the correlation between fecal glucocorticoids and at least one other credible animal welfare indicator or factor that may be assumed to lead to impaired welfare. The project also aims to compare the performances of blood and fecal samples to assess stress levels.
Grantee: Miriam Zemanova
Institution: University of Fribourg, Animalfree Research, Switzerland, Oxford Centre for Animal Ethics, United Kingdom
Project start date: June 2023
Grant amount: $28,500
Grant type: Small grants
Disciplines: Physiology, animal welfare science
Research location: Switzerland, United Kingdom
Project summary
One of the central components of the stress response is the production of glucocorticoids (GC). The measurement of glucocorticoid levels in blood serum is therefore often used in animal welfare studies. However, it is not always apparent how valuable these measurements are for understanding stress reactions and their relationship to animal welfare. Moreover, blood sampling causes discomfort and is impossible without restraint or immobilization, which can be harmful to the animal and distort the experimental results. Fecal glucocorticoid metabolites (FGM) may be a suitable non-invasive alternative to blood analysis. While there have been several reviews written on fecal glucocorticoids, no systematic review of their validity as an animal welfare indicator is currently available. Therefore, through a systematic review process, this project seeks to provide an evidence base for the efficacy of non-invasive measurement of stress levels in wild animals using fecal glucocorticoids. Evidence will be compiled from studies that have assessed the correlation between fecal glucocorticoids and at least one other credible animal welfare indicator or factor that may be assumed to lead to impaired welfare. The project also aims to compare the performances of blood and fecal samples to assess stress levels.
Why we funded this project
This study will review the evidence base for the validity and efficacy of non-invasively obtained glucocorticoid measurements and identify both challenges and best practices for working with fecal samples across multiple animal taxa. This is important because WAI is supporting multiple projects utilizing FGM as a physiological welfare indicator. Invasive measurements of stress, such as blood-based GCs, are disadvantageous because, without proper strategy and training, the stress induced by the sampling procedure can influence the measurement. Therefore, non-invasive measurement techniques are not only better for the animals, but may make the science less expensive and more reliable. Another reason we are supporting this study is that it will help to address a general need for better validation of the link between glucocorticoids and animal welfare, which is related to but conceptually distinct from physiological stress.
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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.
Grantee: Ross MacLeod
Institution: Liverpool John Moores University, United Kingdom
Project start date: August 2023
Grant amount: $29,810
Grant type: Small grants
Focal species: Wild birds
Conservation status: Least concern
Disciplines: Physiology, animal welfare science, population ecology, ornithology
Research location: United Kingdom
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 different levels of 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 free-living wild animals. The methodology will be validated using bird communities visiting 54 standardized feeding and drinking stations spread across three urban-rural gradients in the UK, to quantify how changes in surface temperature are linked to starvation risk, predation risk, and human disturbance.
Why we funded this project
This approach to measuring wild animals’ physiological stress levels through thermal imaging analysis has great potential for scalable monitoring of large numbers of individuals and is usable for cross-species comparisons. We appreciated that this team was interested in addressing non-anthropogenic causes of suffering in starvation and predation, and in extending their method to other species that tend to be neglected (e.g., wild rodents). This work also relates to the project by Paul Jerem that we previously funded, creating a longer-term relationship between Wild Animal Initiative and project participants.
Find Ross’ other project, studying house sparrows, here.
