Invertebrate EnrichmentAnd its applications within animal husbandry

Suzanne RoweThe Deep

What is Enrichment?Enrichment enhances animal environments within the context of an animals’ behavioural biology and natural history.

It is designed to encourage the presentation of natural behaviours within individuals or social groups and therefore enhance animal welfare.

How do animals respond to enrichment?Animals fall into two categories:

Neophillic - Very explorative and inquisitive and will be drawn to new objects and situations/environments.

Neophobic - demonstrate a preference for avoiding new objects or situations

The 5 Types of Enrichment Occupational – occupying time Cognitive – mental challenges Novelty – Exploration and curiosity Co-operative – Team work Emotional – response through senses

and emotion (seeking, care, lust, play, slight fear element, even rage)

Enrichment ObjectiveKey Points in deciding on the type of enrichment to provide: What is the main objective of the enrichment

– what are you wanting to achieve? Is the enrichment suitable for the species in

question? Is the skill required by the animal achievable? Overall cost? – Money? Time expenditure?

Objective worthwhile?

Designing EnrichmentWhat to consider:

Know your animals’ natural history.

What are its behavioural needs?

Can you mimic its natural habitat as close as possible? If not how can you make an artificial or lab setup more stimulating to meet the needs successfully?

Can the enrichment increase sensory/cognitive/emotional stimulation?

Level of stress that may be resulting from the enrichment. Acute short term stress can be a positive to maintain healthy natural response to threats; chronic and constant repetitive stress can however have a negative impact on an animal’s welfare and should be avoided.

Introducing Enrichment to InvertebratesWhy? Environmental variance Enhance/promote natural behaviours Increase reproductive success Dietary variation Reduced stress Engage senses and curiosity/exploration Optimise overall health

Increased Welfare!

Current Methods of EnrichmentEnvironment and Exhibit Design Natural photo period Heat source (if relevant) Humidity Substrate type (compost, bark chip, leaf litter, moss etc.) Climbing structures (logs, branching, exhibit theming) Hides and caves Water sources (misters, drip feeders, water bowls, shallow streams, moats) Live plants Social structure of the animal (solitary/group housing)

Many of these we would consider to be ‘enriching’, and they undoubtedly are, however because they are a constant within the environment they would not

be classed as ‘enrichment’.

Environment and Exhibit DesignWhat else can we do? SeasonalityTemperature and humidity can be adjusted to stay in-line with the animals’ natural habitat allowing for variation throughout the year. Seasons can be a trigger for carrying out essential behaviours and also for courtship, breeding and hatching/emergence Minor re-theming following full cleaning Novel SubstratesLive plants, moss, grasses, leaf litter and bark chips can be added to exhibits to create a new area of interest and heighten their senses, both visual and olfactory, they may even use it as an extra source of food for general grazing.

Enrichment at The DeepBasic enrichment has been trialled to try and offer food in a variety of ways to try and enhance the sensory and explorative behaviours, thus increasing activity levels and cognitive ability.

Focal Species Archimandrita tesselata - Bullshead Cockroach Gromphadorhina portentosa – Madagascan Hissing Cockroach Cryptoglossa verrucosa – Blue Death Feigning Beetle Mastigopractus giganteus – Giant Vinegaroon (seasonal variation

only)

KONG

Stuffed with protein based food pastes (fish flake, soaked cat biscuit, dried mealworms, seed mix)

It plays to the occupational and cognitive aims of enrichment.

Cardboard Tubes or Pipesfilled with food and leaves/grass at each end to offer a minor barrier

Appeals to the cognitive, novelty and at time co-operational aims of enrichment.

Other opportunities similar to this include the use of forage trays with varying types of substrate, leaf parcels and paper piñatas.

Seeded coconut shell and logsStuck on with a harmless flour and water glue these feeders allow for grazing opportunities that can occupy the animal whilst it worked out how to remove the food item.

BrowseFresh leaves and flowers can be provided to add an added interest to the exhibit and also as a natural grazing diet.

Appeals to the sensory aims of enrichment as well as a variation in diet.

See zooplants.net for a list of non-toxic species

What Else?providing protein options alongside fruit and veg to give a well balanced diet.

Recognise the need for minor cannibalism in some species such as our Sunburst Diving Beetles.

Prolonged maternal care until natural dispersal time. This seems to be a required trigger in Mastigopractus for a successful first moult.

Suggested Benefits…. Greater longevity and reproductive rates

Increased activity and interest in foraging behaviours

Identification of preferred food types

Stress indicator?

Future TrialsScent Use of herbs within the exhibit, either as a temporary or permanent fixtureNovel objectsprovided with no food incentive attachedSeasonal Variationswider spread across all exhibitsSensory matsusing cellulose matting to grow grasses, moss and low lying flowers. These can be easily removed to maintain novelty.

EvaluationsAll enrichment devices should be fully evaluated to determine how successful

their application has been. A simple form can be created for use

throughout the institution to maintain informative records, this can also be

shared amongst others.

Table on slide 19 taken fromYoung, Robert J 2006, Environmental Enrichment for Captive Animals

InstitutionMethod or Device Title of the enrichment technique/device

Design and Implementation Brief description of the actual device/technique (size, position in enclosure)

Species Individual species or groups being use on

Purpose Reason for the enrichment (cognitive, sensory, natural behaviours etc.)

Advantages Main good points. Practicality, species appropriate?

Disadvantages General drawback, husbandry problems, health risks?

Improvements Ways it could work more effectively, new design/location

Comments Any other comments

Frequency of use How often the method/device is employed

Ratings methods are rated from 1-10 (10 = best). A new rating is to be given per species or an average rating per taxonomic group

Usefulness How well the technique/device achieves its goals

Convenience How easy the technique is to implement

Value for money How much was it to make and/or maintain? Was it worth it?

Range of users Relative proportion of the animals using the method (scale 1-10). A single animal in a group would score 1; if most were using the technique it would score 6-7; if all species listed use the enrichment, it would score 10.

Contributors Names of the people and their section that provided the information

The Future of Invertebrate Enrichment…….Apart from the benefits it can provide to the species themselves, the provision of enrichment within invertebrate collections can also serve further purposes for the institution too

Get schools involved! – enrichment workshops Get visitors excited about bugs! – educate on adaptations, their

ingenious methods for survival Visitor competitions – veg growing/sunflower growing and use

them in exhibits afterward Naturalistic displays allow for education in geographical regions

– how do they use their habitat? Encourage more students to choose invertebrates for research

Thanks and ReferencesTo all whose talked at the REEC conference: David Shepardson – Oregon Zoo Val Hare – San Diego Zoo/SHAPE Karen Worley – San Diego Zoo/SHAPE Graham Law – Glasgow University Doug Richardson – RZSS Highland Wildlife Park The Edinburgh Zoo Enrichment Committee Matt O’Leary – ZSL Whipsnade Zoo Hannah Buchanan-Smith – Stirling University Prof. Rob J Young – Salford University Holly Farmer – Paignton Zoo Julian Chapman – Twycross Zoo

Robert J Young 2006Environmental Enrichment for Captive Animals

Hosey, Melfi, Pankhurst 2009Zoo Animals. Behaviour, Management and Welfare

www.zooplants.net

www.enrichment.org