Assessing emotions in wild animals

Date:
May 17, 2023
Source:
University of Technology Sydney
Summary:
A new study examines indicators of mental wellbeing in wild animals
to improve conservation efforts.


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FULL STORY ==========================================================================
A world-first holistic framework for assessing the mental and
psychological wellbeing of wild animals has been developed by UTS
Chancellor's Postdoctoral Research Fellow Dr Andrea Harvey, a veterinarian
and animal welfare scientist in the TD School at the University of
Technology Sydney.

The significance of the study lies in its potential to revolutionise conservation efforts. Instead of focusing solely on population numbers
and reproductive success, the research explores the quality of life
experienced by wild animals.

This shift in perspective could provide crucial early warning signals
about species challenges and population declines, leading to more
effective conservation strategies.

"While research on the welfare of domestic and farm animals has been considerable, including indicators of emotional states such as stress,
pain and fear, my aim is to bridge the gap by examining the individual
lives, feelings and mental experiences of wild animals," Dr Harvey said.

"A deeper understanding of the wellbeing of wild animal populations can
not only enhance conservation efforts, but also provide an indication of
the state of the natural environment and its recognised links to human
health and wellbeing." The study, which was part of Andrea's PhD research
at the UTS Centre for Compassionate Conservation, focuses on brumbies -- free-roaming wild horses - - from Australia's alpine regions, however
the framework is widely applicable for evaluating many wildlife species.

Dr Harvey chose brumbies as horse welfare has been studied in domestic environments, providing a bridge to wild animals. The paper, Mental
Experiences in Wild Animals: Scientifically Validating Measurable Welfare Indicators in Free-Roaming Horses, was recently published in Animals.

Her comprehensive conceptual framework, called the '10 Stage Protocol', includes physical and behavioural indicators for both negative and
positive mental experiences in wild animals.

"If you have a dog, you know their usual routine, what they like, and
how they behave in certain circumstances. You know if they're happy,
sad, or distressed, so this research is shifting that understanding to
wild animals.

"We can never be certain what's going through an animal's mind and
exactly what they're feeling. It's also an area that scientists have traditionally shied away from. However, we know mental experiences arise
from physical states, and we can directly measure these states.

"Nutrition, the physical environment, health, and behavioural interactions
all provide clues to the mental experience of animals. This includes
negative states such as thirst, hunger, heat and cold discomfort,
pain, fatigue, anxiety and fear and positive ones such as satiety,
exercising agency, physical vitality and positive social interactions."
This holistic approach brings together different areas of scientific
knowledge, including neuroscience, behaviour, and neuroethology --
the study of the neural basis of an animal's natural behaviour -- to
interpret the data collected and gain insights into wellbeing.

Dr Harvey is currently collaborating with researchers studying Australian
water birds, such as the straw-necked ibis and pelicans. These birds
serve as indicators of water quality and wetland health, which could
inform management decisions in the Murray Darling Basin.

The welfare of koalas, which have been declared endangered in NSW, is also under scrutiny. Previous koala research has focused primarily on survival
and disease. Dr Harvey's research aims to evaluate overall koala wellbeing
to inform policy decisions around conservation and habitat protection.

Dr Harvey is also working with other researchers studying the welfare
of kangaroos and dingoes at a field station in southern Queensland,
focusing on the predator-prey relationship, and the impact of climate
change and drought recovery.

Each species presents unique challenges, such as identifying individuals, evaluating mental experiences in large populations, and considering
different environments and habitats.

Dr Harvey acknowledges the challenges of studying the mental experiences
of wild animals compared to domesticated ones. The absence of close human relationships with individual animals and the difficulty in observing
them for extended periods pose significant hurdles.

However, innovative methods like remote camera traps have proven valuable
in collecting fine-detail data on wild animal behaviour, including body
posture and facial expressions.

Dr Harvey's ground-breaking research holds immense potential in
transforming the field of conservation biology, by shedding light on
the mental experiences of wild and endangered animals.

"Welfare assessments need to be part of all wildlife monitoring, and
ultimately all environmental policy decision making, which needs to take
into account not just individual species, but also interactions between different species, and their ecosystems."
* RELATED_TOPICS
o Plants_&_Animals
# Wild_Animals # Nature # Animals # Dogs
o Earth_&_Climate
# Rainforests # Ecology # Environmental_Policy #
Environmental_Awareness
* RELATED_TERMS
o Zoo o Biology o Wild_Horse o Comparative_psychology o Puma
o Conservation_biology o Marine_conservation o Dog_training

========================================================================== Story Source: Materials provided by University_of_Technology_Sydney. Note: Content may be edited for style and length.


========================================================================== Journal Reference:
1. Andrea M. Harvey, Ngaio J. Beausoleil, Daniel Ramp, David J. Mellor.

Mental Experiences in Wild Animals: Scientifically Validating
Measurable Welfare Indicators in Free-Roaming Horses. Animals,
2023; 13 (9): 1507 DOI: 10.3390/ani13091507 ==========================================================================

Link to news story: https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2023/05/230517122134.htm

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