Species differences in responses to captivity: stress, welfare and the comparative method
Open accessAbstract
Approximately 26 billion animals, spanning over 10 000 species, are kept on farms and in zoos, conservation breeding centers, research laboratories and households. Captive animals are often healthier, longer-lived and more fecund than free-living conspecifics, but for some species the opposite is true. Captivity is a very long way from the ideal 'common garden' often assumed by evolutionary and ecological researchers using data for captive animals. The use of comparative methods to investigate the fundamental biological causes of these species differences would help to improve husbandry and enclosure design, and might even reveal relationships between susceptibilities to poor captive welfare and susceptibilities to anthropogenic threat in the wild. Studies of these species differences could also inspire and facilitate 'evo-mecho' research into the functions of behavioral control mechanisms.
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An area in which to retreat may minimise visitor-induced stress on zoo animals by providing choice and control over interactions with visitors.
“Research has shown that an area in which to retreat may minimise visitor-induced stress on zoo animals by providing a level of choice and control over their interactions with visitors [61,62,63,64].”
From Effect of Covering a Visitor Viewing Area Window on the Behaviour of Zoo-Housed Little Penguins (Eudyptula minor) (2020) · cites this paper as [62]
Box 1 reports that human proximity increased activity in zoo primates and suggests that smaller primates are particularly threatened by visitors. The paper does not say that a retreat area reduces visitor-induced stress or that it works by giving animals choice and control over visitor interactions. (LLM, conf=0.82)
Experimental — accuracy not yet measuredSpecies vary considerably in their responses to captivity, even among close taxonomic relatives.
“Research has demonstrated that species vary considerably in their responses to captivity, even among close taxonomic relatives (for a review, see Mason [113]).”
From The visitor effect on zoo animals: implications and opportunities for zoo animal welfare (2019) · cites this paper as [113]
Many species breed successfully and have longevity records greater than their wild counterparts, whereas others fare worse than expected with poorer longevity in zoos than in the wild and show susceptibility to 'stress related illnesses'.
“Many species breed successfully and have longevity records greater than their wild counterparts, whereas others fare worse than expected with poorer longevity in zoos than in the wild and show susceptibility to ‘stress related illnesses’ [113].”
From The visitor effect on zoo animals: implications and opportunities for zoo animal welfare (2019) · cites this paper as [113]
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- Authors
- Mason, G. J.
- Affiliations
- University of Guelph (CA)
- Corresponding author
- Mason, Georgia J.
- ORCID
- Mason, Georgia J.
- Venue
- Trends in Ecology & Evolution
- Publisher
- Elsevier BV
- Published
- 2010-12
- Volume
- 25
- Issue
- 12
- Pages
- 713-721
- ISSN
- 0169-5347 (ISSN-L)
- OpenAlex
- W2079347110
- Cited by
- 470
- References
- 2
- Citations by year
- 2026: 30 · 2025: 31 · 2024: 37 · 2023: 33 · 2022: 38 · 2021: 69 · 2020: 37 · 2019: 32 · 2018: 25 · 2017: 32 · 2016: 27 · 2015: 17 · 2014: 20 · 2013: 15 · 2012: 13
- FWCI
- 2.54
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- hybrid
- doi.org
- Licence
- public-domain
- www.elsevier.com/tdm/userlicense/1.0/ (tdm)
- Locations
- Trends in Ecology & Evolution (publishedVersion, public-domain)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- The Atrium (University of Guelph) (submittedVersion)
- Funders
- Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada
- Topics
- Health Sciences › Veterinary › Small Animals › Animal Behavior and Welfare Studies
- Life Sciences › Agricultural and Biological Sciences › Ecology, Evolution, Behavior and Systematics › Animal Behavior and Reproduction
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Social Psychology › Primate Behavior and Ecology
- Keywords
- captivity, captive animals, animal welfare, stress, species differences, comparative analysis, husbandry, enclosure design, zoo animals, conservation breeding
- MeSH terms
- Animals, Animal Welfare, Animals, Zoo, Biological Evolution, Species Specificity, Stress, Physiological, Pets
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