Research in Zoos

AZA Ex-situ Research Projects (2004)

BEHAVIOR / ETHOLOGY

Year	Title	Species	Description of Project
2004	Asian Elephant Flooring Substrate Study	Asian Elephant	Comparison of concrete and rubber flooring substrate on behavior and choices of Asian elephants.

BEHAVIOR/ETHOLOGY
BIOETHICS/ANIMAL WELFARE

Year	Title	Species	Description of Project
2004	Effects of Providing a Companion on the Stereotypic Behavior of an Elephant Normally Housed Alone	African and Asian Elephant	The effects of providing a female companion to a solitary male elephant who regularly engages in stereotypic activity was explored. For this study the male's yard was subdivided, so that a female could be held in an adjacent area with the opportunity for social contact. When the female visited the male twice weekly, the male's stereotypic activity decreased during as well as following visits. However, when the female was housed continuously in the subdivided exhibit, the amount of time the male spent in stereotypy remained elevated. These findings suggest that the novelty of a social situation may play an important role in modulating the amount of time spent in stereotypic activity.

ELEPHANT COMMUNICATION

Year	Title	Species	Description of Project
2002 (ongoing)	Examining the Relationship Bewteen Vocalizations, Reproductiv Status and Overt Behavior in Captive Female African Elephants	African Elephant	This study examines the complex communication system of the African elephant by correlating behavior, vocalizations,and hormonal status in a herd of captive African elephants.

HUSBANDRY
REPRODUCTIVE PHYSIOLOGY
VETERINARY

Year	Title	Species	Description of Project
2004	Detection of Fetal Gender Differences in Maternal Serum Progesterone Concentrations of Asian Elephants (Elephas Maximus)	Asian Elephant	Differences in maternal serum progesterone concentrations based on the gender of the in-utero fetus were investigated in the Asian elephant. This project has been completed and published.

REPRODUCTIVE PHYSIOLOGY

Year	Title	Species	Description of Project
2004	African Elephant Acyclycity Study	African Elephant	Specimens contributed to the African Elephant Acyclycity Study.
2004	Elephant LH Research	African and Asian Elephant	This project measures the blood parameters during LH peaks in elephants through the collection of multiple samples within a 4 hour time period.
2004	Elephant Urine Experiment	African Elephant	Behavioral studies of females and males were conducted to determine reaction towards unknown urine samples.
2004	Use of Equidone to Treat Ovarian Cyclicity Problems in Elephants	African Elephant	This project tests the efficacy of the use of Equidone to establish normal ovarian cyclicity in African elephants. (Project concluded in 2005).

REPRODUCTIVE PHYSIOLOGY
BEHAVIOR/ETHOLOGY

Year	Title	Species	Description of Project
2004	African Elephant Survey Study	African Elephant	Two surveys were designed to examine differences in the social and environmental makeup of captive African elephants and how those differences might impact the reproductive status of individuals within the herd.

REPRODUCTIVE PHYSIOLOGY
GENETICS

Year	Title	Species	Description of Project
2004	Study of Female to Male Chemical Signals in Captive and Wild African Elephants	African Elephant	This project placed wild elephant urine samples in a zoo exhibit to observe behavioral reactions of zoo elephants to urine samples.

Updated: March 2, 2008