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CONSERVATION RESEARCH VOLUNTEERS: The Good, the Bad, the Brilliant!

CONSERVATION RESEARCH VOLUNTEERS: The Good, the Bad, the Brilliant!. Conservation Research Volunteers A to Zoo Tammy J. Rach , Senior Volunteer Manager , San Diego Zoo Global Collaborative Conservation Research Stacey Luhring , Senior Education Specialist ,

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CONSERVATION RESEARCH VOLUNTEERS: The Good, the Bad, the Brilliant!

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  1. CONSERVATION RESEARCH VOLUNTEERS:The Good, the Bad, the Brilliant! Conservation Research Volunteers A to Zoo • Tammy J. Rach, Senior Volunteer Manager, • San Diego Zoo Global Collaborative Conservation Research • Stacey Luhring, Senior Education Specialist, • Point Defiance Zoo & Aquarium Breadth of Data Collection Application • Jennifer Tobey, Research Coordinator, • San Diego Zoo Institute for Conservation Research, Behavioral Biology Observing Animals in Zoos • Kirin Daugharty, Manager of Volunteer Programs, • Greater Los Angeles Zoo Association:

  2. Conservation Research Volunteers: A to Zoo Tammy J. Rach Senior Volunteer Manager San Diego Zoo Global Data collection, processing, birth watches, field work, lab work and more. Safety training, keys to effective organization, ensuring consistent data collection, and inter-departmental success.

  3. The ood • Dozens of worker bees at your disposal • Unlimited potential • People who WANT to do the grunt work • A plethora of interesting personalities and skill sets

  4. The ad • Dozens of worker bees at your knees, wanting to suck up your time because • You are cool • You are the link to cool stuff • They want your job • Unlimited potential that will not come to fruition unless you make it so (investment of time, energy, and sometimes resources) • People who DON’T want to do the grunt work • A plethora of interesting personalities and skill sets

  5. Critical for Every Assignment • Skill Sets • Safety Training • Keys to Effective Organization • Inter-Departmental Success

  6. Applied Plant Ecology

  7. Applied Animal Ecology

  8. Behavioral Biology

  9. Genetics

  10. Library

  11. Mountain Yellow-legged Frogs

  12. Panda Research

  13. Reproductive Physiology

  14. Wildlife Disease Labs

  15. Birth Watches

  16. Databases • Design • Input • Management

  17. Field Work

  18. Data Collection & Processing • Consistency

  19. Conservation Research Volunteers:Are they for you?

  20. Conservation Research Volunteers A to Zoo • Conclusion – with the right set-up and effective organization anything is possible…

  21. Collaborative Conservation Research Stacey Luhring, Senior Education Specialist, Volunteer Services & Visitor Experience Point Defiance Zoo & Aquarium

  22. Volunteers Assisting with Research • Behavioral observations • Citizen Science Initiatives • Scientific Diver

  23. PDZA : Dive Program • Started in 2007 • 14 Divers divided into two teams • Responsibilities: • Husbandry of exhibits • Interpretive dive in South Pacific exhibit

  24. Conservation Research & Scientific Divers • Aquarium needs • Small staff needing more hands • Staff wanting to do research but no time • Aquatic world comes in pairs • Volunteer needs: • New opportunities • Keep motivation strong = retention

  25. Scientific Divers • Hosted & taught certification class recognized by the American Academy of Underwater Sciences • Trained on underwater scientific research techniques • Allows volunteers to collect in the field and conduct research projects for PDZA and other agencies • Gives PDZA additional bodies with the knowledge and skill for research projects

  26. Projects currently underway • Rockfish Monitoring Survey • Collaborative project with Seattle Aquarium • Grant from the NW Zoo & Aquarium Alliance • Information used for health of Puget Sound and listed species.

  27. Drawbacks of Volunteer Involvement • Staff time to train = less time maintaining exhibits • Return on class investment (few took test) • Various schedules (staff & volunteers) • Large commitment

  28. Benefits of Volunteer Involvement • Multiple projects if enough bodies • High incentive and motivator for volunteers • Personal satisfaction for volunteers in doing conservation work • More Bodies = More accomplishments for small staff • Additional data collection • Doesn’t deplete staff who are managing exhibits

  29. Breadth of Data Collection Application Jennifer Tobey, Research Coordinator Lance Miller, Scientist Institute for Conservation Research, San Diego Zoo Global Jeff Andrews, Associate Curator San Diego Zoo Global

  30. Breadth of Volunteer Students Other career professionals “Just love it”

  31. Get them all on the same page!... How do you make sure that what you are getting is correct? -Training -Inter-rater reliability Not always the same each project!

  32. Leads to… Breadth of data collection and it’s application.

  33. Three Studies

  34. Bonobo Research • Individual recognition of bonobos • Reliability testing for behavioral events and behavioral states (r > .80) • Safety training (San Diego Zoo Safari Park)

  35. Bonobo Research • Data collected 3/15/2011 – 8/5/2011 • San Diego Zoo and San Diego Zoo Safari Park • Behavioral states (activity budgets) and behavioral events (R/R, affiliative and aggressive) • 275 hours of data

  36. Bonobo Research • Animal management • Presented to animal care teams at Zoo and Park • Submitting for publication

  37. Elephant • Periparturitional behavior and calf development in African elephants. • Long term data collection • Large volunteer pool; high retention rate • Safety & IACUC training

  38. Elephant • Data has been collected for 7 years (10 births) • Doubles as birth watch • 2 weeks prior to birth & continues 5 weeks after • Overnight: 6pm-6am (4 hours/shift) • Complements keeper data collection

  39. Elephant • Publications • Acknowledged • Authorship Data used to obtain firsts information for calves Management practices that support more natural birthing and rearing processes.

  40. Orangutan Up to 15 volunteers trained and actively collecting data over the study period. Long term data collection. Capture pre/post data for group dynamic changes as well as study changes pending. IACUC training and inclusion.

  41. Orangutan • Complex behavior • Proximity • Location in exhibit • Daily observations: 2 hour shifts/3 shifts a day • Animals on exhibit: dealing with public questions and interest

  42. Orangutan • Baseline Data • Publication • Future graduate work?

  43. Observing animals in zoos Kirin Daugharty Manager of Volunteer Programs Greater Los Angeles Zoo Association Participating in local and nationalstudies and supplying valuable info that helps captive populations of endangered species. Collecting data, time observations, and in office data tabulation. Learn effective set-up and team strategies for utilizing volunteers in conservation research.

  44. Observing Animals in Zoo’s

  45. Training Observing Animals in Zoos • UCLA accredited course • 13-weeks • Observational techniques • What’s an ethogram? • How/What do you tabulate? • Solo studies • Group project

  46. The Making of a Research Volunteer

  47. What do the volunteers do? SO MUCH! • Observe animal introductions • Breeding behaviors • Birth watch • New feeder/enrichment device behaviors • New enclosure behaviors

  48. What do the volunteers do? Observe

  49. What do the volunteers do? Tabulate

  50. What do the volunteers do? Enter data

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