Zoo foraging ecology: Patch use and giving-up densities as tools for animal care

Zoos are committed to providing enriching comfortable animal environments that maintain natural behaviors and activity levels. The principles and methodologies of patch use theory, specifically giving-up densities (GUDs), were used to analyze three exhibits and assess the foraging behavior of captive bred mice at Chicago Zoological Society's Brookfield Zoo.;American bison and Grant's zebra spatial and temporal exhibit preferences were measured using GUDs over four seasons. American bison showed little spatial variation in their exhibit through the seasons, feeling comfortable in their entire exhibit. While Grant's zebra's perception of areas in their exhibit changed seasonally. Temperature influenced foraging levels differently for the two species, while the number of zoo guests did not.;The Rock hyraxes were analyzed to see if they were exhibiting central place foraging, as some wild colonies do, in their naturalistic exhibit. The zoo colony conformed to central place foraging showing the strongest preference for the 1/3 of their exhibit closest to off exhibit holding areas. The data suggests that 1/3 of their exhibit may not be used. The preference zones and foraging levels were not impacted by an annual special event.;The effects of captivity on perceptions of predation risk and behavioral type variation was tested with the 12 generation of three breeding lines of Peromyscus. While captivity has influenced foraging levels between the breeding lines, it has not altered the overall perception of risky versus safe areas. There was significant individual variation in the behavioral type bold/shy within the three lines.;As an emerging forum for research and application, zoo foraging ecology can explore questions of behavior, activity levels, diet, exhibit use and perception. Measuring GUDs in zoos may provide: (1) a quick means for assessing animal's comfort levels which could have implications for animal welfare, (2) an accurate way for assessing the animals' perception of their exhibit, (3) an additional behavioral enrichment tool that increases activity, (4) a means for improving the enjoyment and educational experience of zoo visitors, and (5) a joint research opportunity for integrating captive and wild studies of the same species.