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.
Stranding: a blessing or a curse? Testing assumptions of fish welfare during habitat fragmentation
Grantee: Laura R. Stein
Institution: University of Oklahoma
Project summary
Fragmentation of freshwater habitats due to drought and heatwaves poses significant risks to aquatic organisms, particularly small fish, who are often overlooked in animal welfare studies. While fragmentation is generally considered detrimental to fish welfare — leading to stress, reduced social interactions, and increased mortality — there is also potential for positive welfare effects, such as reduced predation pressure or temperature-induced metabolic benefits. This project will use threespine stickleback (Gasterosteus aculeatus) as a model system to: 1) validate tests of fish welfare for use in the field (indicators include metabolic scope, cortisol release rate, attention bias, and behavioral expression), and 2) test the hypothesis that fish stranded in fragmented areas experience different welfare outcomes compared to those in connected river regions.
Remote welfare assessment in wildlife using stand-off Raman spectroscopy
Grantees: Jose Gonzalez-Rodriguez and Teresa Romero
Institution: University of Lincoln
Project summary
This project aims to develop a stand-off Raman spectroscopy system as a non-invasive tool to assess hormonal levels in wild animals, which can be integrated into welfare assessments. The project also aims to validate under standardized and natural conditions how biomarkers of long-term stress relate to a range of stressors that may affect wild animal welfare. They will use a combination of socio-positive (e.g., play, grooming) and negative (e.g., aggression, screaming) behaviors, indices of social integration, behavioral indicators of anxiety (i.e., self-directed behaviors), and resting behavior, as well as physical indicators of welfare (body condition, instances of injury).
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.
A quest for a non-lethal method to assess spiders’ welfare in the urban environment
Grantee: Alessandra Costanzo
Institution: University of Milan
Project summary
This pilot project aims to develop welfare indicators for the orb-weaver spider Araneus angulatus, a species commonly found in urban settings. Juveniles will be exposed to urban stressors such as non-lethal mosquito-repellent pesticides, elevated temperatures simulating the Urban Heat Island effect, and changes in food availability. Once they reach adulthood, the effects of these stressors on individuals will be assessed using physiological (biomarkers of oxidative stress, detoxification, neurotoxicity, and energy metabolism) and morphological (body size, mass, and fluctuating asymmetry) indicators, and behavioral endpoints (prey capture rates and web structure). By integrating these measures, the project aims to triangulate spider welfare across multiple domains and improve our understanding of how urban stressors affect individual well-being.
Examining mechanistic relationships between metabolic rates, wild bird welfare and impacts of selective logging on eastern Himalayan birds
Grantee: Akshay Bharadwaj
Institution: Indian Institute of Science
Project summary
Animals must balance energy spent with energy consumed, and can only persist in habitats that allow for this balance. All warm-blooded animals have a Basic Survival Cost (BSC) required for basal metabolism and thermoregulation. This project aims to understand how basic survival costs (BSC) affect wild bird welfare in the Eastern Himalayas. Using a combination of thermal imaging, respirometry, and ambient-temperature humidity data, we will estimate BSC in free-living birds across habitat gradients. Subsequently, the project will relate the BSC to multiple welfare indicators, allowing a triangulation of a bird's lived experience. By linking energy metabolism with welfare outcomes, this work will provide a novel, mechanistic perspective on wild animal welfare in an understudied tropical system.
Swan Lake: Assessing the welfare of urban mute swans
Grantee: Irena Uzelac
Institution: Animal Rescue Serbia
Project summary
This project investigates how human-provided food, environmental conditions, and injuries affect the welfare of mute swans in urban Belgrade. The project will assess welfare using indicators such as body condition, visible deformities, injury rates, and behavior patterns like foraging and aggression. By comparing sites with different levels of human feeding and variations in temperature, the project aims to understand how these factors shape swan health and behavior. Reproductive success and juvenile survival will also be monitored to evaluate long-term welfare outcomes. A mix of behavioral observation, environmental monitoring, and welfare scoring will be used, integrating both natural and anthropogenic stressors. The ultimate goal is to develop ecologically valid welfare indicators that reflect real-world challenges faced by urban wildlife.
Validating body posture as a novel marker of well-being in animals
Grantee: Nicola Koyama
Institution: Liverpool John Moores University
Project summary
A few studies on nonhuman primates have found that a hunched posture is a response to social separation and physical inflammation, but research linking whole body posture and physiological measures of welfare is lacking. This project will combine established measures of affective valence (nasal temperature) and arousal (iris-pupil ratio) to validate body posture as a new measure of affective valence. Two months of video data will be collected and used for thermal imaging, behavioral, and postural analysis from groups of wild Barbary macaques, along with pilot data for comparison from non-human primate zoo animals. Ultimately, the project aims to share a new validated measure and conceptual framework that can be applied to a range of wild mammals.
An evaluation of effective disturbance mitigation measures for European badgers (Meles meles) occupying setts during forestry operations
Grantee: Stephen McAuliffe
Institution: University of Brighton and Forest Research
Project summary
In order to avoid possible disturbance to European badgers, forestry guidance in England states that activities using heavy machinery should be prohibited within 20 meters of active badger setts. This research aims to validate that the approved noise and vibration mitigation buffer distances intended to prevent disturbance from anthropogenic activities are effective. Observations of badger behavior will be made in woodland habitats, and fecal cortisol metabolites will be collected for analysis. If changes in behavior and increases in cortisol levels are not found following exposure to forestry noise and vibration greater than 20 meters away, robust evidence will be provided to validate that badger welfare is not being adversely impacted by legally sanctioned forestry activities.
Assessment of welfare impacts of parasites and pathogens on migratory flamingos among Salt Lakes of East Africa
Grantee: Robert Modest Byamungu
Institution: Sokoine University of Agriculture
Project summary
This project will investigate the effects of parasites and pathogens on the welfare of two flamingo species ― the greater flamingo and the lesser flamingo — in the Salt Lakes of East Africa using non-invasive methods. To achieve this, the project will establish two sites: an experimental site and a control site. At both sites, it will (i) estimate parasites and pathogens loads, (ii) assess stress behaviour, (iii) quantify stress physiology and, (iv) monitor food resources of flamingos. Welfare will be assessed through behaviors (e.g., body scratching and feathers plucking), as well as signs of stress (e.g., fecal cortisol levels). The project helps provide an understanding on how environmental pressures impact wild animals' quality of life.
Effect of an invasive competitor on the welfare of a threatened fish in a soft-release program
Grantee: Rafael Freire
Institutions: Charles Sturt University
Project summary
Invasive fish are common in most freshwater systems, yet their impact on the welfare of resident fish is often ignored. Invasive fish species compete and displace small-bodied native fish in several ways, including by preventing access to refuge sites, preferred foods, breeding grounds, and other important resources. This project will assess the welfare of native fish placed in sites with and without invasive competitors. Welfare will be measured using a novel population-level judgement bias test, differences in telomere attrition, and typical physical correlates of welfare in fish. In addition to revealing the impact of invasive fish on small-bodied fish welfare, this work will also promote greater consideration of the impact of animal translocation and release activities on wild animal welfare.