This electronic thesis or dissertation has been downloaded from Explore Bristol Research, http://research-information.bristol.ac.uk Author: Rodriguez Lopez, Rogelio Title: Identification of stimuli and challenges to improve the environment of captive kea General rights Access to the thesis is subject to the Creative Commons Attribution - NonCommercial-No Derivatives 4.0 International Public License. A copy of this may be found at https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/legalcode This license sets out your rights and the restrictions that apply to your access to the thesis so it is important you read this before proceeding. Take down policy Some pages of this thesis may have been removed for copyright restrictions prior to having it been deposited in Explore Bristol Research. However, if you have discovered material within the thesis that you consider to be unlawful e.g. breaches of copyright (either yours or that of a third party) or any other law, including but not limited to those relating to patent, trademark, confidentiality, data protection, obscenity, defamation, libel, then please contact [email protected] and include the following information in your message: •Your contact details •Bibliographic details for the item, including a URL •An outline nature of the complaint Your claim will be investigated and, where appropriate, the item in question will be removed from public view as soon as possible. Identification of stimuli and challenges to improve the environment of captive kea Rogelio Rodríguez López A dissertation submitted to the University of Bristol in accordance with the requirements for award of the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in the Faculty of Health Sciences, Bristol Veterinary School, June 2020. Word count: 67186 1 Abstract Inadequate environments can compromise the well-being of captive animals, at least in part because they may inhibit the expression of behavioural needs. There are several complementary approaches to assessing captive animal well-being, such as “function”, “feelings” and “natural-living” approaches. These rely on specific indicators (e.g. of physical health, fitness, physiology, suffering, expression of natural behaviours, motivation, and affective states) to assess if animals have poor or good well-being. To address the potential shortcomings of captive environments and improve captive animal well-being, additional stimuli, resources, or other behavioural engagement opportunities are often provided as environmental enrichment. Such “enrichment”, however, is commonly provided merely under the assumption that its well-being effects will be positive, with no prior evaluation. In addition, research on captive animal well-being can be biased towards certain enrichment types and certain taxa. This thesis consists of a systematic investigation of stimuli, resources, and challenges to improve the environment of an understudied species of captive psittacine, the kea (Nestor notabilis), with a view to improving its well-being in captivity. Kea are common across European zoos but research on their husbandry conditions and well-being is lacking. Information on other parrot species and on the behaviour of wild kea suggests that their well-being could be compromised in captivity. This thesis therefore starts with a survey of the husbandry and well-being of captive kea distributed to kea- keeping institutions. It finds that behaviours recognised as indicators of poor well-being in other captive psittacines (pacing, feather damaging, and abnormal reproduction) are also present in the kea population. It furthermore shows that enrichment practices have a bias towards foraging interventions. This thesis then investigates a range of environmental stimuli and challenges identified as holding potential for improving captive kea well-being. This covers the effects of sensory stimulation on captive kea behaviour, of foraging interventions to promote foraging behaviours, and identifies preferred manipulations and challenges on the basis that animals have been shown to make choices that positively affect their well-being. Sensory stimulation is found to increase naturalistic behaviours and decrease behaviours associated with poor well-being and is thus interpreted as having a positive effect on kea well-being. Kea are found to contrafreeload, highlighting their motivation to perform a range of foraging strategies. Kea preferred to manipulate membranes when solving a foraging task and choose more often an arm of a T-maze containing a difficult visual discrimination task when an easy task was the alternative. These thesis findings may be used to shape improvements to captive kea well-being by designing motivating engagement opportunities that allow the expression of key behaviours. 2 Dedication and acknowledgments This thesis would not have been possible without the help and support of many people. During these five years, I have been fortunate to have had a great supervisory team by my side. First, Andrew Kennedy, who saw something in me that made him believe I would fare well in a wildlife conservation MSc coming from an engineering background. Second, Sue Dow, who was my first guide in the field of zoo research. Third, Suzanne Held, who joined us later during my PhD but had a very impactful role, being responsible for my time playing with and studying Austrian kea. Last, but not least, Mike Mendl, who went from being a masters lecturer with what seemed a very complicated topic at the time (affective state) to a primary supervisor who inspired me to wish I could have performed an affective state experiment with the kea. I would also like to thank Ludwig Huber, Raoul Schwing and Amelia Wein from the Kea Lab. Being accepted as a visiting student gave me invaluable experience in lab-based research. Furthermore, Raoul and Amelia became colleagues and friends who made my stay in Austria even more enriching with amusing discussion, both PhD and non-PhD related. Special thanks go to Grainne McCabe and the Conservation Education department at Bristol Zoo for allowing me to be lucky enough to call Bristol Zoo my office for the first part pf my PhD. Also, thanks to Becky Muir and the whole Bird Section at Bristol Zoo for having a smile on their face every time I waited for them to ask for help with their kea. Thanks to the Parrot section at Paradise Park for also welcoming my research demands and for later welcoming me as part of their team. This thesis would not have been possible without my closest collaborators: the kea. Thanks to the kea at Bristol Zoo, the Kea Lab and Paradise Park. Every day in which I had to do behavioural observations, run a test or simply fed and clean after these creatures was a joyful experience. I would be lying if I said I did not have a favourite kea, so thanks to Jean-Luc and Papu for offering a soft nibble to my ears (and for damaging some of my clothes). 3 Thanks to CONACyT, México for funding this project and my living expenses. Thanks to all the people who I am fortunate to call friends. You made this journey more bearable by supporting me when I needed it. To my oldest friends Andrés and Cassandra; my Europe-based friends Nadia and Jimena; my uni friends Karla and Kristell and my MSc friend Nadisha. You all played a significant role in the completion of this stage of my life. I would also like to thank Daniel. He, unknowingly, became the most important teacher in my life, making me learn so much about myself that I did not know. He became a lighthouse during my darkest times. During my experiments, I sometimes had to put up with a lazy kea not wanting to cooperate, but Daniel had to put up with a cheekier subject. I said I was lucky for working with animals on a subject that I feel passionate about, but I am N times luckier for having him by my side. Finally, thanks to my wonderful parents. The person I am know is all because of you. I dedicate this thesis to you as you also had to adapt to the changes of having me living abroad for all these years. This achievement is equally yours. 4 Author’s Declaration I declare that the work in this dissertation was carried out in accordance with the requirements of the University’s Regulations and Code of Practice for Research Degree Programmes and that it has not been submitted for any other academic award. Except where indicated by specific reference in the text, the work is the candidate’s own work. Work done in collaboration with, or with the assistance of, others, is indicated as such. Any views expressed in the dissertation are those of the author. SIGNED: …………………………………………… DATE: …………………..……………. 5 Table of Contents Abstract................................................................................................................................. 2 Dedication and acknowledgments ......................................................................................... 3 Author’s Declaration .............................................................................................................. 5 Table of Contents .................................................................................................................. 6 List of Tables ...................................................................................................................... 14 List of Figures ..................................................................................................................... 16 Chapter 1. General Introduction 1.1 Captive animals and their well-being ............................................................................