2016 Annual Report on Conservation and Science INTRODUCTION 2 2016 Annual Report on Conservation and Science The Association of Zoos and Aquariums’ (AZA) 2016 Annual Report on Conservation and Science (ARCS) celebrates the conservation and science-related activities of AZA-accredited zoos and aquariums and certified related facilities. Each topic included in this report has been carefully defined to maximize consistency of reporting throughout the AZA community. AZA’s Field Conservation Committee and Research and Technology Committee review all of the relevant submissions by members to promote even greater consistency. Field conservation focuses on efforts having a direct impact on animals and habitats in the wild. Education programming includes those with specific goals and delivery methods, defined content and a clear primary discipline and target audience. Mission-focused research projects involve application of the scientific method and is therefore hypothesis (or question)-driven, involves systematic data collection and analysis of those data and draws conclusions from the research process. Green (sustainable) business practices focus on the annual documentation and usage of key resources: energy, fuel for transportation, waste and water, as well as identification of specific green practices being implemented. Content in ARCS reflects the submissions made through annual surveys available through AZA’s website. The response rate for each 2016 survey was as follows: » field conservation – 89% » education programming – 62% » green business practices – 63% » mission-focused research – 74% AZA is grateful to each member that responded to these surveys. While 2016 ARCS focuses on individual activities undertaken in 2016, download Highlights (available at: https://www.aza.org/annual-report-on-conservation-and-science/) to learn more about what the AZA community accomplished together. This Report was compiled by Arslan Ahmad (AZA Conservation and Science Program Assistant), Shelly Grow (AZA Vice President of Conservation and Science) and AZA Conservation, Management and Welfare Sciences Interns Adele Paillard, Sarah Farinelli and MC Mandolia. INTERNATIONAL 3 INTERNATIONAL Bahamas FUEL Documented Amount Spent ATLANTIS, PARADISE ISLAND Documented Amount Used Education Programs GREENHOUSE GAS EMISSIONS Atlantis Stingray Experience Documented Amount of Greenhouse Gas Emissions Discovery Tour PLANS, POLICIES AND BUDGETS Dolphin Deep Water Swim Dedicated Full-Time Equivalent (FTE) Staff to Coordinating Dolphin Shallow Water Swim Green Practices Jr. Ultimate Trainer for a Day Developed or Updated a Sustainability Plan (or Equivalent) Sea Lion Interaction Developed or Updated a Sustainability Policy Sea Squirts Snorkel the Ruins of Atlantis WASTE Ultimate Trainer for Day Documented Amount Composted Documented Amount Recycled Field Conservation Documented Amount Sent to Landfill Bahamas Marine Mammal Research Organization (BMMRO) Documented Amount Spent on Landfill Waste – Stranding Response to Support Marine Mammals in the Bahamas and Marine Mammal Research WATER Field Research and Outreach to Support Conservation of Documented Amount of Wastewater Generated Marine Mammals in the Bahamas Documented Amount Spent Manatee Health Assessment Documented Amount Used Providing the Scientific Basis for a Marine Protected Area Designation and Reef Rehabilitation in the Bahamas Tour de Turtles Bermuda Green (Sustainable) Practices BERMUDA AQUARIUM, MUSEUM AND ZOO ENERGY Documented Amount Spent Educations Programs Documented Amount Used Environmental Youth Conference Documented Square Footage of Conditioned Space Junior Volunteer Program Kids on the Reef EXTERNAL SUPPORT Nonsuch Natural History Camp Received Support From External Sources Specifically for Schools Program Green Projects Spring Camp FOOD Summer Aqua Camps Sourced Local Food or Grew It On-Site Teacher Workshops WILD Encounters INTERNATIONAL 4 Field Conservation Green (Sustainable) Practices Bermuda Amphibian Project ENERGY Bermuda Aquarium, Museum and Zoo (BAMZ) Internship Documented Amount Spent Programme Documented Amount Used Bermuda Reef Ecology Assessment and Mapping (BREAM) Generated Renewable Energy On-Site Bermuda Turtle Project Purchased Renewable Energy Humpback Whale Project Marine Wildlife Rescue and Rehabilitation FOOD ReefWatch Sourced Local Food or Grew It On-Site Sargassum Community Studies FUEL Documented Amount Spent Canada Documented Amount Used PLANS, POLICIES AND BUDGETS ASSINIBOINE PARK ZOO Dedicated Full-Time Equivalent (FTE) Staff to Coordinating Education Programs Green Practices Adult Workshops Developed or Updated a Sustainability Plan (or Equivalent) Assiniboine Park Zoo Camp Developed or Updated a Sustainability Policy Education Outreach WASTE Foodology – Culinary Arts Camp Documented Amount Recycled Guided Zoo Tours Documented Amount Sent to Landfill Nature Tots Documented Amount Spent on Landfill Waste Partners in Education School Programs WATER Teacher Training Workshops Documented Amount of Wastewater Generated Documented Amount Used Field Conservation Bird Strike Mitigation Research Grassland Skipper Conservation and Headstarting Program Abundance Estimates, Haul-Out Patterns and Natural History International Polar Bear Day of Harbour Seals (Phoca vitulina) in the Churchill River Estuary Manitoba Burrowing Owl Recovery Program Exploring the Role of Nature-Based Tourism Experiences and Manitoba Polar Bear Denning Survey Learning at an In-Situ and Ex-Situ Destination Monarch Watch – Butterfly Tagging Fecal Glucocorticoid Metabolite Concentrations in Orphaned MonarchHealth – Ophryocystis elektroscirrha (OE) Testing Polar Bear “Cubs of the Year” Brought into Captivity from Northern Manitoba to Assiniboine Park Zoo through the Red Panda Network Leatherdale International Polar Bear Conservation Centre Snow Leopard Trust (SLT) – Fundraising (LIPBCC) Genetic Variation in Ringed Seal (Pusa hispida): Population Structure and Geographical Isolation in the Canadian Arctic Investigation in to Behaviour of Belugas in the Churchill River Estuary INTERNATIONAL 5 Multiple Richardson’s Ground Squirrels Summer Camps Polar Bear Hormone Monitoring Teacher Workshops Recording of Animal Vocalizations Year Round Value Added Interpretive Programming – Zoo- Wide Ringed Seal (Pusa hispida) Trends in Abundance Inferred From Genetics Youth Badge Programs Use of Seal Oil as an Enrichment Scent for Polar Bears as Zoo School Quantified with a FitBark™ Dog Activity Monitor Using Infrared to Assess Thermoregulation Behaviours in Field Conservation Polar Bears: Implications for an Arctic with Less Snow and Black-Tailed Prairie Dog Ecosystem Research Project More Open Water Burrowing Owl Headstarting Program BIODÔME DE MONTRÉAL Community-Based Conservation in Ghana and Kenya Greater Sage – Grouse Reintroduction Breeding Program Field Conservation Population Dynamics of At-Risk Northern Leopard Frogs in Breeding Western Chorus Frog (Pseudacris triseriata) in Western Canada Captivity Swift Fox Recovery Research Vancouver Island Marmot Reintroduction Breeding and Research Program Macroalgae and Coastal Ecological Bioremediation: Anti- Predatory Strategies and Induced Fixation to Substrate Whooping Crane Reintroduction Breeding and Research Program Valorization Potential of Residual Organic Matter Through Mass Production of Black Soldier Flies (Protein Source) Green (Sustainable) Practices ENERGY CALGARY ZOO Documented Amount Spent Education Programs Documented Amount Used Behind the Scenes Programs Documented Square Footage of Conditioned Space Birthday Parties Generated Renewable Energy On-Site Botanical Education Corporate Teambuilders FOOD Family BBQ Shows and Christmas Shows Sourced Local Food or Grew It On-Site Guided Tours FUEL Illuminasia Lantern Festival Documented Amount Spent In the Heat of the Night – Valentines Day Program Documented Amount Used Keeper for a Day Keeper Talks GREEN CERTIFICATIONS Penguin Plunge Interpretive Programming Certified as a Wildlife Habitat Penguin Walk Certified by a Local or State Agency School Programs PLANS, POLICIES AND BUDGETS Sleepovers Dedicated a Line Item in the Budget for Green Practices Speakers Bureau Dedicated Full-Time Equivalent (FTE) Staff to Coordinating Special Event Programming – Touchtables Green Practices INTERNATIONAL 6 Developed or Updated a Sustainability Plan (or Equivalent) Field Conservation Developed or Updated a Sustainability Policy SExual COral REproduction (SECORE) WASTE TORONTO ZOO Documented Amount Composted Field Conservation Documented Amount Recycled Amphibian Rescue Centre (ARC) Husbandry and Documented Amount Sent to Landfill Reintroduction Program for the Oregon Spotted Frog Documented Amount Spent on Landfill Waste Amphibian Rescue Centre (ARC) Husbandry and Reintroduction Program for the Wyoming Toad WATER Aqua-Links Documented Amount Spent Black-Footed Ferret Conservation Recovery Program Documented Amount Used Blanding’s Turtles Headstarting Canadian National Parks Malaise Program RIPLEY’S AQUARIUM OF CANADA Eastern Loggerhead Shrike Captive Breeding Program Education Programs Freshwater Mussels Field Program Aquarist for a Day FrogWatch USA Discovery Dive Great Lakes Program Dive Show – Rainbow Reef Great Lakes: Redside Dace – Conservation and Community Dive Show – Ray Bay Involvement Ocean Explorers Club Guatemalan Beaded Lizard Conservation School Program – Amazing Algae and Other Aquatic Plants Habitat Use and Nesting Patterns of Turtles in Rouge Park (Grade 3) Investigating the Diet Composition