Exploring the Effect of the COVID-19 Zoo Closure Period on Flamingo Behaviour and Enclosure Use at Two Institutions
Abstract
:Simple Summary
Abstract
1. Introduction
2. Materials and Methods
2.1. Study Species and Study Sites
2.2. Data Collection
2.3. Image Processing
2.4. Statistical Analysis
3. Results
3.1. Flamingo Behaviour
3.1.1. Greater Flamingo Behaviour
3.1.2. Chilean Flamingo Behaviour
3.2. Flamingo Enclosure Usage
3.2.1. Greater Flamingo Enclosure Usage
3.2.2. Chilean Flamingo Enclosure Usage
4. Discussion
5. Conclusions
Supplementary Materials
Author Contributions
Funding
Institutional Review Board Statement
Informed Consent Statement
Data Availability Statement
Acknowledgments
Conflicts of Interest
References
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Study Enclosure Site (Size) | Study Species (N) | Period of Data Collection | ||
---|---|---|---|---|
Zoo Closed | Zoo Open | |||
Dates | Dates | Gate Admissions (Zoo Open Dates Only) | ||
Africa Alive, Suffolk, UK (2868 m2) | Greater Flamingo (N = 36) | 25/06/2020 | 29/06/2020 | 200 |
26/06/2020 | 01/07/2020 | 563 | ||
27/06/2020 | 02/07/2020 | 384 | ||
28/06/2020 | 03/07/2020 | 544 | ||
30/06/2020 | 04/07/2020 | 1032 | ||
06/07/2020 | 693 | |||
07/07/2020 | 746 | |||
08/07/2020 | 558 | |||
Banham Zoo, Norfolk, UK (2118 m2) | Chilean Flamingo (N = 37) | 24/06/2020 | 28/06/2020 | 283 |
25/06/2020 | 01/07/2020 | 904 | ||
26/06/2020 | 02/07/2020 | 593 | ||
27/06/2020 | 03/07/2020 | 1032 | ||
29/06/2020 | 04/07/2020 | 1754 | ||
30/06/2020 | 06/07/2020 | 1296 | ||
07/07/2020 | 1097 | |||
08/07/2020 | 868 |
Behaviour | Definition |
---|---|
Preening | Cleaning feathers with bill or water by scooping water over the body with wings and or bill, either sitting or standing. Flamingo uses feet or head to move plumage behind its head. |
Foraging | Trough feeding (Consumption of food from feeders provided by zoo: head is either inside trough or directly above trough); Natural feeding (Moving the bill through the water from side to side or picking food off the ground with bill. Can occur either whilst still or moving. Flamingo is extending its neck down to the floor, either whilst standing, walking, or sitting) |
Inactive | Rest (Motionless with head tucked under wing, standing, or sitting, with eye(s) open or closed); Standing (motionless, not vigilant, head is held in front of body. General inactivity, with neck in a relaxed ‘S’ shape. Bill is pointed at the ground); Sitting (Flamingo is sitting motionless, not vigilant. Eyes are open, legs are tucked under body and neck is not erect). |
Aggression | Spreading the scapular feathers to look more threatening, either whilst sitting or standing; Hooking and/or jousting (extension of the neck either fully straight or in an extended S-bend, and pointing of the bill at a nearby bird with the head swayed side to side and engaging in direct contact, spreading of scapular feathers; Fighting (birds push and shove one-another, using wings and beaks, either sitting or standing). |
Courtship | Head flagging (neck straight and erect, head is held above a 90 degree ankle, jerked from side to side quickly); Marching displays (birds pack closely together and move quickly in an exaggerated fashion with straight heads and necks); Wing salute (wings are opened quickly and then snapped shut, whilst standing.); Wing-leg stretch (one wing is outstretched along the leg, which is also being stretched on that side of the body); Twist preen (wing is opened up and outwards and to the side, but not fully extended and the head and bill are placed behind the opened wing as if preening its black primary feathers.); Mating attempt (copulation between male and female birds). |
Movement | Running/walking (bipedal movement along the ground at a hurried /gentle pace. Identifiable as the ‘peeling’ of one foot off the ground, or the foot in mid-air extended forward. Includes wading through water. If running, wings may also be open); Swimming (movement across the water similar to a duck); Social following (positive social interaction where one flamingo follows another directly behind across the enclosure). |
Vigilance | Neck held in an erect ‘S’ shape or fully extended, whilst visually scanning surroundings, either sitting or standing. Bill is held up slightly compared to relaxed standing posture. |
Unknown | Bird is out of sight or performing a behaviour not described in this ethogram. |
Correlates | Greater Flamingo | Chilean Flamingo | ||
---|---|---|---|---|
No. Visitors | No. Visitors | |||
rho | p | rho | p | |
Temp | 0.123 | <0.001 | 0.129 | <0.001 |
Wind | 0.032 | 0.167 | 0.084 | <0.001 |
Precipitation | 0.100 | <0.001 | −0.167 | <0.001 |
Humidity | 0.129 | <0.001 | 0.230 | <0.001 |
Sunshine | −0.084 | <0.001 | −0.206 | <0.001 |
Flock | Did Zoo Reopening Affect Behaviour? | Did Zoo Reopening Affect Enclosure Usage? | Did Increasing Visitor Numbers Show a Relationship with Behaviour? | Did Increasing Visitor Numbers Show a Relationship with Enclosure Usage? | Did Increasing Visitor Numbers Show a Relationship with Weather? | Did Flamingo Behaviour Show Any Relationship with Weather? | Did Flamingo Enclosure Usage Show Any Relationship with Weather? |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Greater Flamingo | No. | No. | No. | No. | Yes, with temperature, precipitation, and humidity. | Yes, for feeding, preening, inactivity, movement, and vigilance. | Yes, for all zones analysed. |
Chilean Flamingo | Yes, for inactivity, movement, and feeding. Inactivity increased, while movement and feeding decreased when zoo reopened. | No. | Yes, weak negative association with vigilance. Relationship maintained when controlling for weather. | No, weak negative association with occupancy in zone 6 disappeared when controlling for weather. | Yes, with temperature, precipitation, humidity, and sunshine. | Yes, for feeding, preening, inactivity, movement, and vigilance. | Yes, for all zones analysed. |
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Kidd, P.; Ford, S.; Rose, P.E. Exploring the Effect of the COVID-19 Zoo Closure Period on Flamingo Behaviour and Enclosure Use at Two Institutions. Birds 2022, 3, 117-137. https://doi.org/10.3390/birds3010009
Kidd P, Ford S, Rose PE. Exploring the Effect of the COVID-19 Zoo Closure Period on Flamingo Behaviour and Enclosure Use at Two Institutions. Birds. 2022; 3(1):117-137. https://doi.org/10.3390/birds3010009
Chicago/Turabian StyleKidd, Peter, Steph Ford, and Paul E. Rose. 2022. "Exploring the Effect of the COVID-19 Zoo Closure Period on Flamingo Behaviour and Enclosure Use at Two Institutions" Birds 3, no. 1: 117-137. https://doi.org/10.3390/birds3010009