Running head: ANIMAL BEHAVIOUR PSYCHOLOGY 1

The Effects that, Habitat, Eating Habits and Captivity have on an Animals Behaviour

Ally Taylor

English 122

2022-01-23
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Abstract

Ethology is the study of animal behaviour (Department of Zoology, 2017). Animals are

always evolving and adapting to their surroundings. This can prove to be dangerous for animal’s

held in captivity because they lose all the natural instincts they once had (Mcphee, M., &

Carlstead, K.). Animals are also changing their eating habits because of changes in their

environment; which creates feedback loops (phys.org, 2019). The main priority of a Zoo

Biologist is to keep animals feeling safe and comfortable while in captivity; exhibiting natural

behaviours is a sign that the animal’s needs are being met (Mcphee, M., & Carlstead, K.).

Heightened stress levels in animals causes behavioural changes and if not handled properly can

lead to death (Mcphee, M., & Carlstead, K.). Thinking about the consequences of our actions

pertaining to animal habitats can help preserve instincts in animal’s that have been passed down

for generations.
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Habitat, Eating Habits and Captivity’s Effects on Animal Behaviour

The proper name for ‘the study of animal behaviour’ is Ethology. Ethology is used to

fully understand evolution; there are two main types of studying Ethology, proximate

explanations, deals with the animals’ motivational mechanisms and the experiences of the animal

related to behaviour. The other is: ultimate explanations, which deals with the understanding of

evolution (Department of Zoology, 2017). As animals evolve and adapt to their surroundings, so

do their behaviours. When an animal is kept in captivity, their feeding behaviours adapt since

they don’t need to go scrounge for sustenance. This can prove to be dangerous since these

animals have forgotten how to survive on their own (Mcphee, M., & Carlstead, K.). To maintain

animal populations, we must understand why captivity, change in habitat and eating habits have

such a great effective on an animals’ means of survival.

Background

The Habitat in which an animal lives is very important to their species. “Habitats are

places in nature that provide food, protection from predators and unfavorable weather, and a

home in which to raise young,” (National Geographic, 2022). To be suitable for an animal to live

in, a habitat must have everything that set animal requires to live comfortably. For example, a

habitat for a puma could have the right amount of water, food and comfortable shelter for the

mammal but what if there isn’t enough space? Pumas are large in size which means they require

more area to roam than other smaller mammals. With Humans using up more and more space by

building and landscaping, this Puma wouldn’t have enough space to live comfortably so they

would have to relocate (National Geographic, 2022).

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Habitats are diminishing quickly; the spread of farming grounds have made some animals

lose their homes. People building houses and cutting down the forests are also a factor; even

climate change has been causing problems for many animals around the world (The National

Wildlife Confederation, 2000). Climate change has been affecting animals eating habits as well,

mostly for arctic animals. A study done by some researchers found that seals and arctic whales

were changing their eating habits due to the decreasing climate. They tagged 28 seals and

monitored them between 1996-2003 and then 2010-2016. They looked at 18 whales’ data

between 1995-2001, and 16 from 2013-2016 (phys.org, 2019). Their findings were that both

groups had spent around half of their day looking for food two decades ago. They stayed around

glacier fronts and polar cod dominated their diet. Now, the seals are spending a far greater time

at the glacier fronts looking for food, while the whales took the opposite approach and went

elsewhere (phys.org, 2019).

Captivity doesn’t necessarily always mean that the animals are being harmed. Caring for

a captive animal is no easy feat; their makeshift habitat should resemble their natural habitat

almost completely. That’s why the habitats at a zoo all look different. An unsuitable habitat can

cause stress for the animal and behavioural issues. “Animals kept in an improper environment or

fed the wrong diet can suffer, resulting in illness or death.” (RSPCA, 2022). Even the way

animals eat in captivity has an effect on their health; a study was done on captive gorillas in

order to reduce regurgitation. The study was successful, they found it beneficial to make the

animals “work” for their food. They scattered food around the enclosure making the gorillas

explore and scrounge as they would in the wild; this method is called “feeding browse” (Mcphee,

M., & Carlstead, K.).

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Literature Review

Most habitat changes for animals are due to human-altered conditions; most likely the

first response to this from an animal is changes in their behaviours. These behavioural

modifications can cause an animal to have a heightened sense of survival. For example, some

organism’s change their foraging routes in order to avoid humans and vehicles sprouting from

urbanization; some animals change their vocal signs, making them louder so they can be heard

over vehicles (Wong, B., & Candolin, U., 2014). A study was conducted on California ground

squirrel communication; the researchers wondered if it was possible for the squirrels to

communicate through the highway noise. “This line of inquiry specifically addresses how

wildlife and their communicative systems can be affected by one type of anthropogenic habitat

alteration.” (Rabin, L., McCowen, B., Hooper, S., & Owings, D., 2003). Deeper research into

habitat characteristics on sound transmission has indicated that it is potentially possible for these

creatures to adapt to their acoustic environments by adjusting their vocal cords (Rabin, L.,

McCowen, B., Hooper, S., & Owings, D., 2003).

The habitat of an animal and its consumption rates are very much related. If the

ecosystem is changed some how, this can lead to many changes in animals eating habits. The

bottom-up process is a result of changes in nutrition input or primary production resulting from

human activities. The top-down process is induced by the abundance or behaviour of apex

predators. An example of the top-down process: comes from Western Alaska where

anthropogenic changes in the offshore oceanic ecosystem were linked to an increase of Orcinus

orca-more commonly know as the killer whale-predation on sea otters. This caused a decrease in

the sea otter population and an increase in herbivorous sea urchins, the killers whales primary
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food source, the sea urchins flourished while they decimated vast tracts of kelp forests (Wong,

B., & Candolin, U., 2014). These kelp forests would have been a habitat for a different animal

which would make the process repeat itself.

Being raised in captivity can affect an animal’s behaviour in three ways. The first

behavioral change is, the animal can change its behaviour to meet an immediate specific need,

for example conforming to a feeding schedule. The second, if the enclosure where the animal

grows up is more confined than their normal habitat this can cause problems with learning, and

can change how the organism responds to future events. This behaviour builds over time as the

animal develops. The third behavioural change is, that the changes that occur to an individual

gets passed down through generations and throughout the population; for example, a heightened

sense of hearing (McPhee, M., & Carlstead, K.).

The top priority of a Zoo Biologist is to make sure the behaviour of the animals they are

tending to stay close to the same as it would be in the wild. The presence of species-specific,

individual normal behaviours, similar to those in the wild, is an indication that the animal’s

needs are being met (Mcphee, M., & Carlstead, K.). These animal’s have thousands of

generations of instincts in their body, keeping animals in a comfortable enclosure, close to what

they would experience in the wild, helps us maintain these instincts (RSPCA, 2022).

In most articles the consensus was the same, changes in behaviour are usually the first

response to alterations of conditions. “Behaviorally induced changes in evolutionary processes

will, in turn, alter the ecosystem, resulting in feedback loops connecting behavioral responses

with evolutionary and ecological processes.” (Wong, B., & Candolin, U., 2014). The primary

mission of zoos is to spread conservation education through exhibits. Focusing on understanding

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the affects of captivity on behaviours both developmentally and genetically, and how to counter

them if they are deleterious, thus, helping us maintain the animal’s well-being (Mcphee, M., &

Carlstead, K.). Most of the articles came to the same conclusion, habitat, eating habits and

captivity are all very detrimental to an animal’s behaviour. One small change to one of these

variables can create a feedback loop.

Methodology

A study was conducted to see if the stress level pertaining to changes in their

environment was different between species. The variables they were changing to the animal’s

environment were sound and sound pressure, olfactory stimulation from predators and chemicals

and space restriction. They tested the stress levels of 74 clouded leopards, gorillas and red

pandas (Mcphee, M., & Carlstead, K.).

Results

The clouded leopard’s fecal corticoid levels were heightened, resulting in fur plucking,

extensive pacing and hiding. They also showed aberrant behaviour. The gorillas had heightened

fecal glucocorticoids levels as well; which led to aggressive displays and fighting. The giant

pandas’ reaction to their heightened levels was door scratching and making loud noises. The

measurement of glucocorticoids from urine and feces had become more popular because the

collection method is non-invasive and represents a pooled sample of corticoid levels over several

hours (Mcphee, M., & Carlstead, K.).

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Discussion

With the result of the experiment, it showed that the result of not having a proper

enclosure for an animal can lead to heightened stress levels. Certain changes in the environment

would cause more of a reaction in the animal’s stress rate. For example, switching keepers

constantly, removal of scent marks and lack of elevation in the enclosure (Mcphee, M., &

Carlstead, K.). While the leopards were living in a cage with little to no elevation they paced

constantly, once heightened platforms and vegetation was added, they went back to showing

natural behaviours such as hiding and exploring (Mcphee, M., & Carlstead, K.).

Conclusion

Habitat, eating habits and captivity have a major affect on animal behaviour. In order to

make these amazing creatures feel at home and safe, we need to try our best to not stress them

out. Humans are the backbone of the changes in animal behaviour; in order for a feedback loop

to start, something has to trigger it. Most of the time, Homo sapiens are on that end; if we think

about the consequences our actions could hold pertaining to an animal’s home, we could

minimize change in animal behaviour and protect the instincts they have passed down for

generations.
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References

Department of Zoology. (2017). What is Ethology? Department of Zoology.

https://www.su.se/zoologi/english/research/2.50141/2.50017/courses/what-is-ethology-

Mcphee, M., & Carlstead, K. The Importance of Maintaining Natural Behaviours in Captive

Mammals. ACADEMIA.

https://d1wqtxts1xzle7.cloudfront.net/43478362/Effects_of_Captivity_on_the_Behavior_

phys.org. (2019). Climate change forces Artic animals to shift feeding habits: study. phys.org.

https://phys.org/news/2019-03-climate-arctic-animals-shift-habits.html

Rabin, L., McCowan, B., Hooper, S., & Owings, D. (2003). Anthropogenic Noise and its Effect

on Animal Communication: An Interface Between Comparative Psychology and

Conservation Biology. eScholarship.

https://escholarship.org/content/qt3z41n20n/qt3z41n20n.pdf?t=lnpnpm

RSPCA. (2022). Wild animals in captivity. RSPCA.

https://www.rspca.org.uk/adviceandwelfare/wildlife/captivity

The National Wildlife Federation. (2000). Habitats. The National Wildlife Federation.

https://www.nwf.org/Our-Work/Our-Lands

Wong, B., & Candolin, U. (2014). Behavioral responses to changing environments. ISBE

(International Society for Behavioural Ecology).

https://watermark.silverchair.com/aru183.pdf
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