[IATCB] News and updates for December 2022

Hello Visitor,

Board Happenings

Finally, after being an establishing board member of IATCB and serving for more than 10 years, Jayne Hardwick has decided that it is time for her to step down. We cannot express how much we appreciate all the work she has done. She prepared our Byelaws and our Incorporation application both with the IRS and with Sunbiz. Almost all of the documents we use, from certificates to CEU request forms, were prepared by Jayne. Just one small part of that would have been outstanding. Jayne is currently on the board of the Zoo Registrars Association and continues her high level of commitment having just recently hosted their conference at Nashville Zoo. Thank you, Jayne, for all your hard work. You will be greatly missed and we wish you the best on your next adventure.

Applied Behavior Analysis and Zoo

By Kimm Hunt

A Summary of Fernandez and Martin’s review article “Animal Training, Environmental Enrichment, and Animal Welfare: A History of Behavior Analysis in Zoos”

Where did the application of behavioral science in zoos come from and where is it going? Eduardo Fernandez and Allison Martin briefly recap the history of applied behavior analysis (ABA) in US zoos. The authors then suggest how to further use ABA to improve enrichment practices, evaluate the effectiveness of enrichment strategies for individual animals, and to improve animal-visitor interactions.

Modern zoo training and enrichment practices have their roots in Skinner’s laboratory research with rats in the 1930s and 40s. Skinner’s first “real world” application of his research was Project Pelican, a WWII defense project. Skinner’s team trained pigeons to guide missiles from tiny pressure chambers inside the missiles. By continuously pecking at a specific military target reflected by a lens in the missile’s nose onto a pressure-sensitive plate, the pigeons created a guidance signal for the missile. Although Skinner’s pigeons never saw combat, other industries took notice of Skinner’s team’s accomplishments.

Two of Skinner’s graduate students from the project, Keller and Marion Breland, formed a private animal training company. In the 1950s, they consulted with marine parks to implement the first marine mammal shows in the US. They championed the use of training, naturalistic habitats, and visitor education in zoos. By the 1980s, many zoos began using ABA to train husbandry and veterinary behaviors, such as shifts, receiving injections, and blood draws.

In the late 70s, Dr. Hal Markowitz at the Oregon Zoological Research Center began promoting a systematic, functional approach to animal behavior he called “behavioral engineering” or behavioral enrichment. To reduce repetitive and other undesirable behaviors, Markowitz and his colleagues trained animals to perform contrived foraging behaviors, such as pulling levers, pouncing on artificial prey moving through a transparent tube, or vocalizing into a microphone, to get part of their daily rations. Critics, such as zoo architect David Hancocks, argued that a better method of promoting well-being in zoo animals is to provide animals with some natural environmental complexity in their habitats to support the expression of natural behaviors.

Contemporary enrichment practices include Markowitz’s and Hancocks’ philosophies. They incorporate the needs and learning histories of individual animals and consider the development and function of species behavior from an evolutionary perspective. Visitors who watch animals on habitat performing naturalistic behaviors get a glimpse of the animal’s natural history. This can help visitors connect an animal’s natural environment and behavior to its survival needs.

Current ABA research focuses on expanding a human learner’s range of behaviors to improve social or occupational skills, which is being adapted for use with animals under human care in zoos, shelters, farms, and homes. The authors suggest animal trainers can apply learning theory principles, such as schedules of reinforcement, preference testing, motivation, and choice, when designing enrichment opportunities to increase their effectiveness. For example, training new behaviors that enable animals to better use enrichment items or that help maximize their use of their entire habitat can improve welfare without having to alter the current environment.

Trainers can also use ABA to identify enrichment items or activities that reduce problem behaviors. By collecting baseline behavioral data for individual or groups of animals that tracks the expression of unwanted behaviors, then comparing it to data collected after different enrichment interventions, trainers can identify the most effective types of competing reinforcers that are helpful in reducing undesirable behavior in individual animals. This data makes designing additional enrichment opportunities more efficient.

This type of experiment, called a within-subject design, enables trainers to assess the behavior of individual animals in their specific habitats, identify contingencies, and monitor their response to interventions. Knowing that a particular species responds well to some type of enrichment intervention isn’t helpful if your particular animal doesn’t! Designing enrichment strategies that consider the species and individual needs is key.

The authors suggest that ABA can also be used to manage animal-visitor interactions to minimize potential negative effects on the animals and maximize visitor experience, education, and engagement with conservation efforts. Behavior analysts can design interactions that function as enrichment and then monitor the behavior of the animals and visitors to ensure the outcomes conform to the organization’s goals. For example, visitors could introduce elements such as sound, movement, or food into habitats that the animals could choose to respond to.

Current research in ABA is becoming more accessible to animal trainers as behavior analysts increasingly consult with or work in animal settings. The authors assert that a deeper understanding and application of ABA in zoos can be a useful tool for improving welfare.

Open Access: Fernandez, E.J. and Martin, A.L. (2021) ‘Animal Training, Environmental Enrichment, and Animal Welfare: A History of Behavior Analysis in Zoos’, Journal of Zoological and Botanical Gardens, 2(4), pp. 531–543. doi:10.3390/jzbg2040038

2023 Testing Dates

*Applications will not be accepted after 11:59pm Eastern on this date

Mark your calendars, the next application deadline is March 15, 2023 and September 13, 2023.

*************** There are no additional International Testing fees!!**************

The International Avian Trainers Certification Board and the International Animal Trainers Certification Board, IATCB, offers you a way to gain professional credibility, increase your earnings potential, and advance your career. We live in a competitive world, and animal trainers are no different than anyone else looking for advanced knowledge and skill in their profession. IATCB endorses voluntary certification by examination for all professionals involved with animals, including trainers, educators, handlers, veterinarians, and all others involved in the care and handling of animals.