Investigating individual and social behaviour of the Northern bald ibis (Geronticus eremita): behavioural variety and welfare

Abstract

The Northern bald ibis (Geronticus eremita) (NBI) is one of the most threatened birds in the world. Intense conservation efforts have been undertaken and several research projects on the species are being done in Morocco and in Europe. Observing animal behaviour has been proved to be an efficient and non-invasive technique to assess the animal welfare, with the performance of a wide array of natural behaviours being one of the mostly used indicators of good mental and physical well-being. The aim of this study was to investigate the behaviour of a flock of 14 zoo-living NBI of different ages. The study focused on the variety of species-specific individual and social behaviours, in the light of reintroduction of the study juveniles in the wild. Per subject, 20 10-min. sessions were done. A continuous focal animal sampling method was used to collect individual and social behaviours. Behavioural data have been compared between adults and juveniles. Moreover, a Behavioural Variety Index (BVI) has been proposed and calculated based on previous literature describing natural ibis behaviours. The BVI might help in the evaluation of the variety of behaviours performed by each individual and the monitoring of the diversity of the behavioural repertoire of zoo animals. Our results showed that the birds performed species-specific behaviours and no abnormal behaviour was reported. Moreover, the BVI highlighted a good behavioural variety as each bird performed approximately 78% of the natural behaviours described in the Northern bald ibis and in close relative species. Our findings seem to suggest the presence of qualitative and quantitative similarities between the behavioural repertoires of the study ibises and those described in wild conspecifics, suggesting a good welfare of the colony. Finally, the BVI proposed in the current study seems to be a useful and practical tool to test behavioural diversity in zoo animals.

Effects of personality and rearing-history on the welfare of captive Asiatic lions (Panthera leo persica)

“…Maintaining behaviour diversity of captive animals housed at breeding programmes is essential for the preservation of essential learned behaviours required for post-release survival (Rabin, 2003). Complex and cognitively enriching enclosures have been shown to stimulate captive animals to display a diverse behaviour repertoire (Spiezio et al, 2018). We used Shannon-Weiner diversity index (SWI) to measure species-typical behaviour diversity as this approach considers both richness and evenness of species-typical behaviours in the data set (Clark & Melfi, 2012;Miller, Pisacane & Vicino, 2016;Spiezio et al, 2018).…”

“…Complex and cognitively enriching enclosures have been shown to stimulate captive animals to display a diverse behaviour repertoire (Spiezio et al, 2018). We used Shannon-Weiner diversity index (SWI) to measure species-typical behaviour diversity as this approach considers both richness and evenness of species-typical behaviours in the data set (Clark & Melfi, 2012;Miller, Pisacane & Vicino, 2016;Spiezio et al, 2018). We compiled an ethogram of all behaviour states and events observed from all subjects during the study period (Table 2).…”

Peer Review #3 of "Effects of personality and rearing-history on the welfare of captive Asiatic lions (Panthera leo persica) (v0.2)"

“…Complex and cognitively enriching enclosures have been shown to stimulate captive animals to display a diverse behaviour repertoire (Spiezio et al, 2018). We used Shannon-Weiner diversity index (SWI) to measure species-typical behaviour diversity as this approach considers both richness and evenness of speciestypical behaviours in the data set (Clark & Melfi, 2012;Miller, Pisacane & Vicino, 2016;Spiezio et al, 2018). We compiled an ethogram of all behaviour states and events observed from all subjects during the study period (Table 2).…”

Effects of Rearing on the Behaviour of Zoo-Housed Chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes)

“…The physical and psychological welfare of zoo-housed animals is crucial for both in situ and ex situ conservation efforts, as poor welfare might lead to stress, suppression of immune function and decrease of breeding success (Wingfield & Sapolsky, 2003;Morgan & Tromborg, 2007). The occurrence of species-specific and abnormal behaviours has been highlighted as a rigorous indicator of the welfare status in zoo-housed animals (e.g., Bracke & Hopster, 2006;Hill & Broom, 2009;Spiezio et al, 2018). Particularly, the behavioural parameters involved in zoohoused animal welfare's assessment are social interactions, problem-solving abilities, and the display of species-specific individual behaviours (Hosey et al, 2013), whereas abnormal behaviours can indicate a stressful situation (Davey, 2007;Hosey et al, 2013).…”