every picture tells a story - association of zoos & aquariums · pdf fileevery picture...

A publication of the Association of Zoos & Aquariums

February 2015

FrogWatch USa™ Make a Difference by

counting croaks

on the BeacheS, online anD in SchoolS

citizen Science at three aZa Facilities

gothaM Whale citizen Science for a Small Zoo

Professionals and Novices Collaborate with Camera Traps

Every Picture Tells a Story

February 2015 | www.aza.org 1

Features

February 2015

18Every Picture Tells a StoryWhat do you get when you put camera traps together with volunteers? Critical data for scientific researchers and a more involved and educated public. This win-win approach to data collection is becoming more prevalent in Association of Zoos and Aquariums- accredited facilities.By MAry EllEn Collins

26FrogWatch USA™1,400 volunteers took part in FrogWatch UsA during 2014. FrogWatch UsA is a citizen science program of the Association of Zoos and Aquariums that engages people in collecting data instrumental to environmental research. Volunteers identify frogs and toads by listening to their mating calls.By CAThiE GAndEl

36On the Beaches, Online and In SchoolsEngaging people in citizen science programs is one way that Association of Zoos and Aquariums-accredited facilities contribute to long-term studies on wild populations, mortality rates, migration and breeding trends, efficacy of conservation initiatives and more. By TrACEy lynn shiFFlETT

44Gotham Whale and Citizen Science for the Small ZooWhen studying whales, dolphins and seals, new york City probably does not come to mind. Understanding why their populations are so close to so many people will be critical as humans and marine life inevitably come into conflict. By PAUl l. siEsWErdA

Have an Exhibit like this?

Have an Exhibit like this?

Have an Exhibit like this? Need To Re-dress Your Nest?

NETS Unlimited, Inc. 866-NETS-R-US (638-7787) ◊ www.netsunlimited.com ◊ AZROC #236070

• • • Imagining the Alter NET ives • • •

Contact the Nets Unlimited team to help make your budget dollars go further during these difficult economic times. We offer a wide range of materials & installation options to spruce up your existing facility. We specialize in exhibits, pedestrian paths, children’s play areas, bridges and animal enrichment products. Let us help you quickly convert your old, dull, and worn exhibit into something Vibrant and exciting. Regardless of your budget, contact us today to see what we can do for your zoo.

Before

After (Houston Zoo Hornbill exhibit)

Want one like Want one like Want one like this?this?this?

Member View Departments

February 2015 | www.aza.org 3

VisiT Us onlinEaza.org

liKE Us on FACEBooKfacebook.com/Association ofZoosAndAquariumsFolloW Us on TWiTTErtwitter.com/zoos_aquariums

E-MAil ThE [email protected]

Editorial policy: Connect is published by the Association of Zoos & Aquariums (AZA), a nonprofit, tax-exempt organization dedicated to the advance-ment of zoological parks and aquariums for conser-

vation, education, scientific studies and recreation. Issued to members as a free service; not available as a subscription. Mailed during the first week of the month. Articles submitted for Connect do not necessarily reflect the opinions and policies of AZA.Mission: Connect is a forum for promoting AZA’s mission by highlighting zoo and aquarium trends, industry initiatives, conservation efforts and member achievements. Copyright policy: All items appearing in Connect are copyright of AZA. Permission to reprint items must be obtained by contacting AZA’s Publications department at [email protected] policy: Advertising is available. AZA reserves the right to refuse advertising not consistent with its mission. Ad contracts are issued on an annual basis, and ads are accepted on a one, three, six, nine or 12-time basis. Deadline for insertion orders is the first of the month preceding publication. deadline for artwork is the 10th of the month preceding publication. rates and mechanical requirements are available upon request.

36

7 AZA Conservation Grants FundCGF funds management, stress and reproduction study of the Guam Micronesian kingfisher.

8 Animal WelfareiMls-funded Elephant Welfare study provides take home messages for elephant managers.

9 Zoo Conservation Outreach Groupresearch team tags rare bellbirds for satellite monitoring study.

9 Pizzazz in PrintCheyenne Mountain Zoo’s “i Will Protect” is an integrated marketing campaign.

10 Northern White Rhino Receives Veterinary Care at San DiegoCritically endangered female one of five remaining of her species.

11 Greensboro Science Center Begins Zoo, Museum and Aquarium TransformationThe Greensboro science Center embarks on its largest expansion to date.

12 Green Talesshark reef Aquarium recognized the opportunity to reduce its impact on the environment by implementing a new company wide engagement application called My Green Advantage.

13 By The NumbersAZA and citizen science programs.

53 Faces & Places54 Advertiser Index57 Exhibits57 Calendar59 Announcements68 Births & Hatchings

About the Cover Fox © Thinkstock

8 44

4 www.aza.org | February 2015

Dennis E. PateExecutive Director and CEOOmaha’s Henry Doorly Zoo and Aquarium

Editor Tim lewthwaiterEdEsign and art dirEction lTd Creativegraphic dEsignEr lisa Cadigan, Cadigan CreativeadvErtising Gina Velosky(301) 562-0777, ext. 254, [email protected] BoardThom Benson | Tennessee AquariumJulie larsen-Maher | Wildlife Conservation SocietyTim lewthwaite | EditorKristin l. Vehrs | Executive Director

president and cEo Jim MaddyExecutive director Kristin l. Vehrschief operating officerJill nicollsenior vice president of conservation r & d and policy Paul Boyle, Phdsenior vice president of conservation and science debborah luke, Phdsenior vice president of External affairs rob Vernonsenior vice president of Finance Phil Wagnervice president of animal programs Candice dorsey, Phd vice president, conferences and MembershipMelissa howertonvice president of congressional affairsJennifer Keaton vice president accreditation programs denny lewisvice president of Federal relationssteve olsonFor a full listing of AZA’s staff, visit www.aza.org/about-aza

aZa Board oF dirEctors

chair dennis E. Pate | Executive Director and CEO, Omaha’s Henry Doorly Zoo and Aquariumchair Elect steve Burns | Director, Zoo Boisevice chair dennis W. Kelly | Director, Smithsonian National Zoological Parkpast chair Jackie ogden, Phd | Vice President, Animals, Science and Environment, Walt Disney Parks and Resortsdirectors Jim Breheny | Executive Vice President and General Director, Zoos and Aquarium, Jonathan Little Cohen Director of the Bronx Zoo, Wildlife Conservation Societylynn B. Clements | Director, Virginia Aquarium and Marine Science CenterJim hekkers | Managing Director, Monterey Bay AquariumGregg hudson | Executive Director and Chief Executive Officer, Dallas Zoo Management, Inc.steve Marshall | Zoo Director, El Paso ZooAmos Morris | Zoo Director, Mesker Park Zoo and Botanic Gardendouglas G. Myers | President and CEO, San Diego Zoo GlobalCraig Pugh | CEO, Tampa’s Lowry Park ZooPeggy sloan | Director, North Carolina Aquarium at Fort Fisher

The Value of Citizen Science ProgramsSaving species and engaging people: a simple statement that you will be hearing more of in the coming months and years. Yet, it encompasses the vast amount of hard work that you, the dedicated and talented zoo and aquarium professionals that drive forward the 228 Association of Zoos and Aquariums (AZA)-accredited facilities, are involved in every day.

One important tool we have at our disposal when looking to engage people to save wildlife and wild habitats is citizen science. AZA-accredited facilities across the breadth of North Ameri-ca and internationally have dynamic citizen science programs that tap into a motivated group of volunteers. These programs allow institutions to grow their science-based conservation programs and knowledge beyond what limited budgets might otherwise allow, while at the same time, engaging and educating an important constituent in saving wildlife and wild habitats. Those citizen scientists are deeply engaged in the programs they work on and can then take what they have learned - combined with their enthusiasm for our facilities - and inspire others.

Whether it is AZA’s own FrogWatch USA™ program (www.aza.org/frogwatch), a program using camera traps to better understand local wildlife behavior on grounds or a beach survey program, there are many different ways to incorporate a citizen science program at your institution, all the while working toward our goal of saving species and engaging people.

Speaking of which, I hope you have already made plans to attend AZA’s Mid-Year Meeting. The meeting takes place next month at Riverbanks Zoo and Garden in Colum-bia, S.C., from March 21-27. You can view the full schedule and register at www.aza.org/midyearmeeting. I look forward to seeing you there.

February 2015 | www.aza.org 7 6 www.aza.org | February 2015

Our hope is to identify conditions most likely to reduce stress, and, therefore, increase the birds’ reproductive potential. To date, environmental data have been col-lected from all 23 facility participants in the Association of Zoos and Aquariums Species Survival Plan® (SSP) breeding program. We developed and implemented a protocol to monitor stress levels, as evidenced by corticosterone in kingfisher feathers, and are comparing those measures to managed conditions and breeding success.

We have obtained and analyzed feather samples from more than 90 percent of the current adult population, with samples rep-resentative of each facility housing the birds. Feathers from wild congeneric relatives of the Guam Micronesian kingfisher, including

collared kingfishers and Pohnpei kingfishers, were also collected to serve as a marker for stress in wild birds.

We are now working to evaluate the effect of facility conditions on feather corti-costerone concentrations. Our preliminary results suggest that variation in sound levels may be associated with corticosterone. Moreover, we used clutch data obtained in partnership with the SSP to compare breeding success from the 2013 season with corticosterone concentrations of feathers collected from those pairs. Preliminary re-sults suggest linkages between reproduction and stress, including indications that birds that did not lay eggs had higher corticos-terone than birds that laid. We are now working to finalize the dataset with clutch

information from the 2014 season. Upon project completion in spring 2015, we intend to recommend management techniques most likely to minimize stress and maximize breeding success in captive Guam Microne-sian kingfishers.

We hope that this research will accelerate population growth, bolster genetic viability and lead to standardization of husbandry techniques. Application of our results will be critical for program expansion and in preparing the population for future releases to the wild.

Andrew C. Alba, University of Missouri-Columbia, Fisheries and Wildlife sciences, Anheuser-Busch natural resources Building

AZA Conservation Grants Fund

Management, Stress and Reproduction in the Guam Micronesian Kingfisherby Andrew C. Alba

The Guam Micronesian kingfisher (Todiramphus cinnamominus) is among the most endangered species in the world, as the birds exist only as a managed population in zoos and breeding facilities. Our study was designed to gather information about the environmental conditions and husbandry procedures experienced by managed Guam Micronesian kingfishers and to use results to develop management recommendations that may eventually serve to facilitate full recovery of the birds in the wild.


Animal Welfare

Elephant Welfare StudyTake Home Messages for Elephant Managers

By Mike Keele

Enhancing elephant welfare in Association of Zoos and Aquariums (AZA)-accredited facilities continues to be a high priority. More findings from the IMLS-funded Elephant Welfare Study were presented at the AZA Annual Conference in September 2014:• An Overview of What We Have Learned

About Zoo Elephant Welfare – Janine Brown

• Role of Life History and Temperament in the Reproductive Success of Elephants in North American Zoos – Natalia Prado-Oviedo

• Keepers Assessing Elephants and Them-selves, and Associations with Corticoste-roids in Elephants – Kathy Carlstead

• How Do I Apply the Results from the IMLS-funded Elephant Welfare Study to My Own Elephants? – Jill Mellen.

Research outcomes continue to provide elephant managers with key information to help encourage positive welfare and better understanding of what might negatively

impact welfare. Initial findings of the study presented in 2013 showed soft or natural substrate correlate with good foot and joint health and that elephants prefer to rest and sleep on soft substrate. The study identified that an elephant’s exposure to numerous social groups can result in a decrease perfor-mance in stereotypy.

The study found that, just like many humans and pets in North America, some of our elephants are heavy. Results showed positive impacts of ideal body condition, in-cluding regular ovarian cycles, and provided methods of promoting ideal body condition through social activities and exercise.

Many elephant care facilities already have comprehensive management programs that are aimed at promoting positive welfare, and information from the study can help these managers continue to implement the goals of their programs. The results of the study provide all elephant care facilities an opportunity to review their programs and

look for ways to improve welfare envi-ronments based on the findings. Facilities planning major changes to their elephant exhibits can use this work to be sure they are including critical components when design-ing elephant habitats.

This study can be used when developing enrichment and exercise programs, diets and behavior profiles for proper management as required by the AZA Standards for Ele-phant Management and Care. The research provides actionable results for elephant man-agers to use as tools for assessing individual welfare and developing strategies for welfare enhancement based on a firm scientific basis.

A webinar, entitled “Zoo Elephant Wel-fare Study,” summarizes the results of this broad-based study first presented at the 2013 AZA Annual Conference in Kansas City. It can be found at animalprofessionals.com.

Mike Keele is a retired elephant manager.


Zoo Conservation Outreach Group

Research Team Tags Rare Bellbirds for Satellite Monitoring StudyFor the first time ever, researchers have affixed Global Positioning System (GPS) transmitters to one of Central America’s most endangered bird species, the three-wattled bellbird (Procnias tricarunculatus). This enigmatic bird is characterized by unique vocalizations, including squeaks, bonks and thunderous bell-like sounds that register among the loudest bird calls on the planet. In late September, a field research team led by Dr. Robin Bjork traveled deep into the cloud forests of the Sierra de Agalta National Park in eastern Honduras, captured four of the rare bellbirds and affixed state-of the-art solar powered GPS units to the birds before releasing them back into the wild. The field research is a crucial component of the Zoo Conservation Outreach Group’s (ZCOG) Three-wattled Bellbird Conservation Moni-toring Program, and this latest accomplish-ment has already enabled the researchers to begin studying the complex migratory movements of the bellbirds. The ultimate goal of the project is to better understand the behavioral ecology of the bellbirds in an effort to promote conservation of the species and the preservation of its tropical cloud forest habitat.

Three-wattled bellbirds range from Honduras to Panama, and the males are distinguished by having three long, prom-

inent “wattles” that hang from the corners of the mouth and beak, and for producing loud, unmistakable vocalizations that can be heard more than a kilometer away. Dr. Bjork described being mesmerized by the “sympho-ny of loud bells, bonks, and squeaks calling all around us” as the team set up treetop capture nets in the Sierra de Agalta National Park. Bellbirds congregate in the rugged Sierra de Agalta region of eastern Honduras to feast on abundant fruiting trees from July through September and then migrate to other cloud forests. Bellbirds have complex annual migratory movements between some of the most biodiverse—and threatened—regions of Central America and present various chal-lenges for conservation.

ZCOG Executive Director Dr. Daniel Hilliard said that “the Bellbird Conservation Monitoring Program aims to fill a gap in scientific knowledge by providing a better un-derstanding of the migratory patterns of the bird, which are crucial to developing compre-hensive conservation planning.” In addition to Dr. Bjork, the research team that captured and tagged the birds included Jenifer Hernán-dez, a biologist with the Honduran Forestry, National Parks and Wildlife Institute (ICF), and local conservationist Isidro Zuniga. Additional support was provided by Dr. Mark Bonta and Robert Hyman of the Honduran

Conservation Coalition and Said Lainez, director of the Department of Wildlife at ICF. The program is funded by Zoo Boise, Naples Zoo at Caribbean Gardens and the Disney Worldwide Conservation Fund (DWCF).

Microwave Telemetry provided the state-of-the-art GPS monitoring devices, which are solar powered and weigh less than five grams, allowing for the collection of remote satellite data for the first time. The research team is already collecting data from the four bellbirds that were released back into the wild and hope to learn even more as the program proceeds.

Dr. Bonta, project consultant and author of Seven Names for the Bellbird: Conserva-tion Geography in Honduras (Texas A&M Press, 2003), hopes that the research “will not only expand our information about the three-wattled bellbird but also draw atten-tion to sustainable development and forest management in the Sierra de Agalta region.”

Each month the Association of Zoos and Aquariums (AZA) Marketing Committee will feature one ad from a participating AZA-accredited facility to extend the visibility of your facilities’ adver-tising campaigns beyond the Pizzazz reel at the AZA Annual Conference. Ads with a conservation message are encouraged. For future submissions, please send materials to [email protected].

Cheyenne Mountain Zoo: I Will ProtectCheyenne Mountain Zoo’s “I Will Protect” is an integrated marketing campaign that combines OOH, print, radio, TV, web and social media. This campaign launched in June 2014, one year af-ter the opening of the largest exhibit in the Zoo’s history, and the Zoo has continued to see record attendance numbers throughout this summer and fall.

Pizzazz in Print


Animal Health Care

Northern White Rhino Receives Veterinary Care at San Diego Zoo Safari ParkCritically Endangered Female One of Five Remaining of Her Species

Nola, a 40-year-old northern white rhino, underwent a veterinary exam at the San Di-ego Zoo Safari Park near Escondido, Calif., allowing associate veterinarian Meredith Clancy to swab her nostrils to collect mu-cus samples. The elderly Nola was placed under veterinary care after her keepers noticed she had reduced appetite and activ-ity levels and had a thick nasal discharge. The Safari Park’s veterinary team examined Nola, giving her an injection of antibiotics to ward off any possible infection, and was awaiting results from blood work and the nasal samples.

“We collected samples of Nola’s nasal discharge to submit for culture to see if there is any fungus or bacteria growing, and also allowing us to look at cells to see what might be causing Nola’s illness,” stated Meredith Clancy, associate veterinarian, San Diego Zoo Safari Park. “One of our main concerns is Nola’s comfort level. We will continue to monitor her round-the-clock and hope her health improves.”

Nola has been moved to a heated enclo-sure inside her Asian Plains field exhibit to provide her comfort and allow the animal care team to keep close watch over her. Keep-

ers report she appears to be improving slight-ly, eating again and gaining some mobility.

Nola is one of just five northern white rhinos left in the world. Recently, Angalifu, a 44-year-old male northern white rhino who also lived at the Safari Park, died of age-relat-ed causes. Three other northern white rhinos are in the Ol Pejeta Conservancy in Kenya and one is in the Dvůr Králové Zoo in the Czech Republic. The five remaining rhinos are all of an advanced age and have not been able to breed. Poaching for its horn has brought the northern white rhino to such critically low numbers.


On the heels of a record-setting year follow-ing the opening of the $8.7 million Caro-lina SciQuarium, the Greensboro Science Center (GSC), in Greensboro, N.C., has embarked on its largest expansion to date. The Center has systematically initiated four areas of reinvention, renewal and growth: a 40,000-square-foot science museum transformation, a 10-acre Rainbow River Gorge Endangered Species Conservation Zone, SkyWild (a treetop adventure park) and a 5,000-square-foot Ocean Gallery attached to the SciQuarium. The total cost of all four phases is approximately $15.8 million.

Museum Reinvention and Renewal Science museum reinvention projects include: SciPlay Bay, Prehistoric Passages: Realm of Dragons and wUNDERworld: Deni-zens of the Dark. SciPlay Bay will transform a former Kids’ Alley play area into an interac-tive beach and undersea exploration zone for children ages two to seven. Highlights will include Octavia, the musical octopus, an interactive sunken research ship, a “washed ashore” shelter building island, a magical in-door kite flying interactive and six additional early education experiences focused on inspiring passion for marine biology. Prehis-toric Passages: Realm of Dragons will bring T. rex and Komodo dragons nose to nose through exhibits and story lines that span 65 million years. Finally, wUNDERworld will transform the Center’s original herpetarium into an underground lair where resident pa-leontological hero, Dr. Bones, made many of his first discoveries while seeking to unravel the mysteries of life and science below the surface of the planet.

Rainbow River Gorge The Center’s first outdoor expansion since opening Animal Discovery in 2007, Rainbow River Gorge will utilize a natural property ravine to create an endangered species con-servation zone focused on color, camouflage and other adaptations for survival. The

Reinvention and Renewal

Greensboro Science Center Begins Zoo, Museum and Aquarium Transformation

Octavia, the musical octopus.

Rainbow River Gorge Conservation Zone will overlook a woodland with waterfalls, six major habitats, pond gardens, sculptures, shelters, an endangered species carousel and an all-new ticketing, gift shop and café complex.

SkyWildSkyWild will add “adventure tourism” to the Center’s already unique blend of science education, zoo animals, aquarium exhibits, full-dome shows and ‘edutainment’ theaters. Starting with 59 animal adaptation-fo-cused feats in the trees, SkyWild will utilize more than three acres of mature hardwood woodlands to place “humans on exhibit” and create a one-of-a-kind experience focused on health and fitness by allowing visitors to go “wild” 25 feet in the air.

Wiseman Aquarium Ocean GalleryThe Center’s highly successful new aquari-um building is filled with great exhibits that highlight animals like fishing cats, small-clawed otters, African penguins and more.

One thing it lacks is fish and invertebrate diversity. Thanks to a $1 million contribu-tion from the Wiseman Family Foundation, a 5,000-square-foot Ocean Gallery will soon be added to the existing 23,000-square-foot building. The Ocean Gallery will compare and contrast cold and warm water oceanic animals while adding approximately 50 new species for our visitors. Per the wishes and passion of the Wiseman Family, the new exhibit will focus on diversity, reef conserva-tion, overfishing and greater appreciation for the earth’s final frontier, our world oceans.

The Greensboro Science Center is seeking to break the mold by offering unique and fun experiences in context with the countless disciplines that make science such a vast and interconnected field of the future. From STEM (Science, Technolo-gy, Engineering and Math) to sharks and fitness to fossils, the Center firmly believes that the future of conservation is rooted less in emotion and more in a comprehensive understanding of the magnificent world in which we live.


Green Tales

MGM Resorts International’s MY Green Advantage By Adrienne rowland and regina stepanov

Shark Reef Aquarium at Mandalay Bay in Las Vegas, Nev., is a part of MGM Resorts, a multi-faceted entertainment company that recognized the opportunity to harness the collective power of our employees to reduce our impact on the environment by implementing a new company wide engage-ment application, called MY Green Advan-tage. The application focuses on advancing employee knowledge, promoting innovative green actions and motivating employees to share behavioral best practices with peers.

MY Green Advantage is a fun, social application that challenges employees to be greener at work and at home. By completing actions, employees earn points and badges, in addition to sharing and commenting on peer activity. MGM Re-sorts understands that in order to achieve a positive and long lasting impact on the environment through responsible behavior change and sustainable action, our social and community efforts must be strate-gically aligned across our 17 resorts and 62,000 employees.

Challenging Engagement The MY Green Advantage application is designed to provide company-wide employees with an opportunity to tailor their engagement and educational expe-rience based on their personal interests. With more than 600 unique actions and 40 projects, MGM Resorts employees are able to make a positive difference on the environment across a dynamic array of environmental issues and topics such as water conservation, recycling, energy conservation, alternative transportation, sustainable eating and many more.

MY Green Advantage campaigns align with strategic goals such as our com-pany-wide recycling rate of 50 percent, or decrease our energy consumption 20 percent by 2020. In addition, campaigns anchor on calendar events such as World Water Day, Earth Hour and Earth Day.

Due to the exponential, organic partic-ipation and engagement on the applica-tion, MGM Resorts has been challenged with providing new and relevant content

Have you heard about Miguel Wattson, the Tennessee Aquarium’s

tweeting Electric Eel? His tweets are triggered by his electrical discharges!

You can follow him on Twitter at @EelectricMiguel.

Learn how it works: http://bit.ly/tnaqeeltweets

– Tennessee Aquarium Facebook Page

Medical researchers are studying how wood frogs and other animals survive freezing in hopes that understanding the process may help us preserve donated human organs.

#AmazingAmphibians #FunFact

- FrogWatch USA™ Facebook Page

Don’t blink! The red lionfish (left) has

a fearsome reputation as an invasive

species, but its smaller cousin, the

fuzzy dwarf lionfish, is harmless—

just beware of its dangerous level

of cuteness! Look for lionfish in our

Splash Zone exhibit:

http://mbayaq.co/U0LwBF

– Monterey Bay Aquarium Facebook Page

Did You See?


to drive positive environmental changes. In partnership with a third-party devel-oper, we have developed focus themes and new actions and implemented reward programs to maintain engagement and diverse interest.

This also allows us to tailor projects or actions to relevant areas such as earning a Shark Badge by learning about protecting sharks or how your seafood choices make a difference. The Aquarium education staff provide the content and the developer creates a fun and informative way to earn the badge. This is then shared with the community of employees when completed.

The ResultsSince the initial launch of MY Green Ad-vantage in July 2013, the social education platform has launched across 17 properties, empowering employees to challenge their coworkers and friends to be greener, while organically developing sustainable lifestyles of their own. The collective actions and positive behavior of our employees has resulted, to date, in some of the following exponential accomplishments: • Nearly 27.5 million gallons of water

saved• More than 423,000 pounds of trash

diverted from local landfills• Conserved 383,000 gallons of fuel• Saved 15.4 million kWh of energy• Conserved more than 2,100 trees• Completed nearly 900,000 green actions

such as recycling, turning off the lights, using alternative transportation and much more

Furthermore, by harnessing the passion and dedication of MGM Resorts’ em-ployees has help drive natural resource conservation efforts throughout our operations and guest experiences, allowing us to achieve:• A company-wide 52.6 percent recycling

rate in 2013• Cumulative company-wide savings of 380

million kilowatt hours (kWh) since 2008• 1.2 billion gallons of water consumption

savings in the past five years

Adrienne rowland is the director of shark reef Aquarium.regina stepanov is the sustainability

Manager at MGM resorts.

By the Numbers

Association of Zoos and Aquariums (AZA)-accredited

zoos and aquariums reported participating in almost

different citizen science programs.

More than 80 percent

AZA’s FrogWatch™ USA and Audubon’s Christmas Bird Count were the most commonly reported citizen science programs, followed by butterfly tagging through Monarch Watch and surveys conducted for BioBlitz.

of the programs took place on or in the coastal

environments and oceans off North America.

Amphibians, closely

followed by birds,

were the most frequently targeted taxonomic groups

in citizen science programs.

18 www.aza.org | February 201518 www.aza.org | February 2015

Every Picture Tells a

Professionals and Novices Collaborate with Camera TrapsBY MARY ELLEN COLLINS

St ry

February2015.indd 18 1/28/15 11:48 AM

February 2015 | www.aza.org 19 18 www.aza.org | February 201518 www.aza.org | February 2015

Every Picture Tells a

Professionals and Novices Collaborate with Camera TrapsBY MARY ELLEN COLLINS

St ry

February2015.indd 18 1/28/15 11:48 AM


Professionals and Novices Collaborate with Camera Traps

February2015.indd 19 1/28/15 11:48 AM


ritical data for scientific researchers and a more involved and educated public.

This win-win approach to data collection is becoming more

prevalent as Association of Zoos and Aquariums (AZA)-accredited facilities

reach out to individuals who love the chance to be citizen scientists. Using infrared motion-activated cameras is an easy way to gather valuable informa-tion about wildlife distribution without disturbing the animals, and it is a very effective way to en-courage volunteers of all ages to develop an interest in the natural environment.

What do you get when you put camera traps and the resulting photos together with wildlife-loving volunteers?

Red Fox


Into the Woods ... and ElsewhereAt the Smithsonian National Zoologi-cal Park’s Conservation Ecology Center, training volunteers to use camera traps has netted much more information than a small staff of professionals could have gathered on their own.

“Six or seven years ago we got money to look at mammals along the Appala-chian Trail from North Carolina through Pennsylvania using camera traps,” said Dr. Bill McShea, wildlife ecologist. “It was just me and my staff person and we said, ‘There are already volunteers taking care of the Appalachian Trail – let’s recruit them to take pictures.’”

During that three-year project, McShea recruited and trained approximately 150 Appalachian Trail volunteers on how to calibrate and position the camera traps at the designated Global Positioning System (GPS) coordinates. The volunteers later retrieved the cameras and uploaded the images to the Center. With a 90 percent retention rate among members of the group, not to mention thousands of photographs gathered, that model prompted McShea to broaden his efforts.

“It worked so well that we took the idea to the National Science Foundation and said, ‘We want to do the mammals in the Mid-Atlantic States and use the citizen science model to collect the data.’” The new program, eMammal (www.facebook.com/eMammal), runs on a website (https://emammal.wordpress.com) that contains pho-

Appalachian Trail, Pennsylvania © L

isa C

adig

an

tos amassed by the volunteers who placed camera traps throughout the designated areas. The first project covers 32 national parks from Maryland to South Carolina, and a second project focuses on an urban to wild gradient, which includes placing camera traps in backyards and parks in the Washington, DC, area.

McShea has recruited eMammal volunteers from Audubon Society chapters,

the Sierra Club, Friends of the National Zoo, the Boy Scouts and area schools. From 2012-2013, 486 volunteers placed cameras at 1,953 locations and collected 42,000 camera nights of data with a whopping 52,836 ani-mal detections. Knowing where the animals are – and where they are not – is valuable information in conservation efforts, and McShea hopes to expand this field research to other cities.

Red-Bellied Woodpeckers

© e

Mam

mal


The Volunteer Perspective “I enjoy science and nature and going into the woods and being with my friends. It’s fun to see what’s living there,” said 10-year-old Viggo Stewart, an eMammal participant and a student at the British School of Wash-ington. The school has been involved with McShea’s efforts for about three years, said Chris Horton, year six Sydney class teacher.

“As a school, we volunteered in Dumbarton Oaks Park in Washington, DC, clearing trash from the stream as part of the Rock Creek Conservancy Stream Team initiative, removing invasive species, logging insects and plants and generally helping out. When we heard about eMammal, we thought it sounded great for us.” Horton

© C

hrist

ophe

r Hor

ton,

Brit

ish S

choo

l of W

ashi

ngto

n

went through the training and then taught the fifth and sixth graders in his Eco Club how to calibrate and position the camera traps.

Club member Samuel Waghorn, age ten, has learned several things from the camera traps in the park and in his back yard. “I didn’t know coyotes were in Rock Creek Park, and I knew we had a raccoon in our garden, but I didn’t know we had possums.”

Other eMammal volunteers, Kathy and Pete Madsen, were taking a class to become master naturalists in 2009 when they saw the eMammal project on a list of volunteer opportunities and jumped at the chance to get involved.

“The first year, you think, ‘I’m just going to walk out in the woods and deploy a camera – no big deal,”’ said Pete. “You don’t consider the thickets and ravines … some of these GPS points are not easily gotten to.”

Despite the occasional challenge, Kathy said, “retrieving the camera and getting the first glimpse of photos is just like Christmas morning!”

The Madsens have enjoyed the expe-rience so much they actually bought their own camera trap, which provides educa-tional entertainment for the whole family. “We have two and a half acres that back up to county parkland. We see hawks, possums and raccoons, and the kids and grandkids love it.”

Students from the British School of Washington set up camera traps.


From the Comfort of HomeFor nature lovers or budding researchers who don’t have the time or desire to place and retrieve the camera traps, Chicago Wildlife Watch (www.chicagowildlifewatch.org) offers the perfect opportunity to partici-pate in the photo identification part of the process.

Dr. Seth Magle, director of the Urban Wildlife Institute at the Lincoln Park Zoo in Chicago, Ill., has been conducting the Chi-cagoland Biodiversity Study for four years, a project with a very broad focus.

“Most people had just studied one species, and we decided that what was really needed was to understand the whole ecosystem of an urban environment. We wanted to study how animals adapt to an urban environment and there were few, if any, long-term data sets.”

Magle’s team has deployed more than 100 camera traps in parks, forest preserves, golf courses and cemeteries in a four-county area, resulting in more than one million photos of 65 species of wildlife to date. In order to address the backlog of photos and the daunting chal-lenge of accurately identifying the wildlife in them, the Institute found the answer in Zooniverse, a collection of web-based citizen science projects, and a collabora-tion between Chicago’s Adler Planetarium and the University of Oxford.

The result is Chicago Wildlife Watch, which launched in September 2014. Any-one, anywhere in the world, can log into this Zooniverse project and go through a simple process to identify whatever ani-mal is present in a photo. The technology tags a photo when there is sufficient agreement about the identification of the animal, and Magle’s team only has to look at the small minority of photos about which there is disagreement. It is a terrific tool for everyone from armchair

naturalists to families to science clubs and classes.

“We’re in the process of getting the word out to school groups and the Zoo mem-bership,” said Magle. “We may have staff with iPads showing the site to Zoo visitors, and we may put a kiosk with the site in one of our buildings. Not only can anyone actively contribute to scientific research, but they may learn a little bit about our urban wildlife neighbors, and, I hope, feel more connected to the urban ecosystem.”

Raccoon

Gray Squirrel©

eM

amm

al


The Next GenerationScience-minded teens can now acquire hands-on experience with state-of-the-art re-search techniques when they attend the North Carolina Zoo Field Research Camp (www.nczs.org/wildscience).

The camp is a new and unique initiative that is under the direction of Dr. Corinne J. Kendall, assistant curator of conservation and research at the North Carolina Zoo, and Dr. Jayne Owen Parker, director of communica-tions and education for the North Carolina Zoo Society.

“It occurred to me that the field research the Zoo does is so important, and so few people really understand it,” said Parker. “I

thought it would be terrific to do a camp like this and Corinne said she had always wanted to do something similar. As far as we know, there is not a camp anywhere in the world that actually teaches field research methods.”

During the two days and one night spent at the Zoo, campers work alongside scientists and learn how to use an array of research technologies, including radio telemetry, night-vision goggles, drones and camera traps. “The camera trap activity is done in tandem with existing camera trap studies,” said Kendall. “Our Zoo has quite a bit of forested property and our ongoing camera trap project started by looking

for bobcats on the property. We’re now monitoring a little more broadly because it’s helpful to establish what is and isn’t there. Students get to see photos from the real studies to inform placement of their own camera traps.”

Sixteen-year-old Floyd Clapp signed up for the camp because he’s thinking about eventually becoming a wildlife biologist or a zoologist. “My uncle volunteers at the Zoo a lot and he thought the camp might be some-thing I’d be interested in. It looked really cool and it was really cool. I didn’t know you could use things like drones and radio te-lemetry, and all the writing and document-ing you have to do was a real surprise.”

© C

hrist

ophe

r Hor

ton,

Brit

ish S

choo

l of W

ashi

ngto

n

Students from the British School of Washington log data.


That learning experience is a valu-able aspect of any project that pairs pros with volunteers and students. But the time and energy required for cam-era trap studies is a particularly good opportunity for conservationists to join forces with the large pool of willing and able assistants. And who knows? Those collaborations may well produce a new generation of researchers who attribute their careers to the scientists who first taught them how and why every picture tells a story.

Mary Ellen Collins is a st. Petersburg, Fla., based writer. Deer in a forest preserve in the Chicago suburbs.

Great-Horned Owl Red Fox

© e

Mam

mal

© e

Mam

mal

© e

Mam

mal

By CATHIE GANDEl

Make a Difference by Counting Croaks

Frog Watch

™USA

Spring Peeper


Carolyn Rinaldi and her 14-year-old daughter sit silently for three

minutes on the shores of the lake at Wadsworth Falls State Park in

Middletown, Conn. Then, tools at the ready – including notebook,

pencil, clock, flashlight, cell phone and a permit from the Connecticut

Department of Energy and Environmental Protection (DEEP) allowing

them to be in a state park after closing – their ears go into overdrive.

For three minutes they count the different grunts, gribbets, croaks and

peeps emanating from frogs and toads resident in the wetlands.

They are just two of the 1,400 volunteers that took part in FrogWatch USA during 2014. FrogWatch USA is a hands-on citizen science program of the Association of Zoos and Aquariums (AZA) that engages groups, families and individuals in collecting data instrumental to environmental research. The name is somewhat of a misnomer. The pro-gram could be called FrogListen. Volunteers identify frogs and toads by listening to their mating calls and indicating whether each was heard individually, in a group or in a full chorus. Calling intensity rates the degree of overlap among calls for a single species and provides an assessment of numbers and

activity level for a population at that point in time.

Although the program began in 1998, AZA took over the management in 2009, and in 2010 began to establish a network of chapters throughout the country.

“The chapter model works well,” said Rachel Gauza, education outreach coordina-tor at AZA. Chapter coordinators, who get specific training from AZA, bring organiza-tion and creativity to the program, as well as train volunteers in the necessary monitoring protocols. “The volunteers feel connected to a local group and engaged with a local community,” Gauza said.

at dusk,


A vernal pool in New England.


Why Frogs and Toads are Important According to the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), more than one-third of the world’s 6,000 amphibian species are threatened with extinction. Frogs and toads have been symbols of fertility and regeneration for centuries, but today they are valued as key players in the effort to protect our environment. Their permeable skins make them sensitive to environmen-tal changes, including habitat destruction, climate change and water pollution caused by fertilizer runoff and pesticides.

“It’s the canary in the coal mine kind of thing,” said James Sirch, education coordina-tor at the Yale Peabody Museum of Natural History and leader of the chapter cohosted by the museum and Connecticut’s Beardsley Zoo in Bridgeport, Conn. As the environ-ment changes, the frogs will let us know, he said. Dangers also come from the spread of invasive species like the Cuban treefrog, and diseases like amphibian chytridiomycosis (Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis, or Bd), where a chytrid fungus severely damages an amphibian’s skin, ultimately causing death.

Training“This is one program that is easily learned with a little bit of help and time,” said Sirch. But it does take practice. Calls sound different in traffic, in rain or when it’s cold. Training begins in early winter well before the start of the breeding season in February. It may vary from chapter to chapter but always involves a few hours of class time, usually at chapter

headquarters or a partner institution. Volun-teers learn the mating calls of frogs and toads in their area and then test their ability to identify a species correctly. Chapter coordi-nators are there to give their volunteers that little bit of extra help if needed. Pam Martin, lead coordinator of the Cheyenne Bottoms Chapter at the Kansas Wetlands Education Center, will send an e-mail to her volunteers offering to go with them to help identify species.

Since recognizing the different calls of species is the key skill needed for Frog-Watch USA volunteers, some chapters are developing their own tools to augment the basic training materials. For example, Matt Neff, in the Department of Herpetology at the Smithsonian National Zoological Park in Washington, DC, and lead coordinator of the Smithsonian National Zoo chapter, has designed a website that allows volun-teers to practice their skills. (And if you think all frogs and toads sound alike, check out his web site: http://dcfrogcalls.webs.com/). The chapter at Hiram College in Hiram, Ohio is working on a CD of calls recorded at different sites.

“The training usually involves listening to one call at a time,” said Dr. Jennifer Clark, assistant professor of biology at the college. “But in the field, you hear overlapping calls. The CD will be more realistic.”

The Hiram College chapter has also developed “Junior FrogWatch USA” materi-als that will be used with a local Girl Scout troop in 2015.

and toads have been symbols of fertility and regeneration for centuries, but today they are valued as key players in the effort to protect our environment.

Frogs


Spring Peeper

Pine Barrens Treefrog Southern leopard Frog

© M

att N

eff

© R

usty

Wils

on


MonitoringWhile training materials may differ, mon-itoring protocols are the same. Volunteers must be at their site at least 30 minutes after sundown, sit quietly for two minutes and listen for three minutes. Then, on a FrogWatch USA data sheet provided by AZA, they note the species name and calling intensity. “If you hear just a few separate individuals without overlap, that is a one, calls overlapping is a two and a full chorus is a three, said James Sirch. “If you don’t hear any toads or frogs, you write down zero,” he says. “Hearing nothing tells you something, too.” Data is ultimately submitted to the national database.

In addition to counting mating calls, volunteers are asked to note wind, tempera-ture and moisture. “We love to go out in the rain,” said Barbara Foster, lead coordinator of the FrogWatch Researchers of the Greenville Zoo (FROGZ) chapter in South Carolina. “You hear a lot more frogs in the rain.”

Foster’s volunteers go armed with a waterproof key chain version of a field guide with pictures of the frogs and a description of the calls. “It’s very useful because it fits in your pocket,” said volunteer Valerie Murphy.

Volunteers can choose sites near their homes – even in their backyards, provided there are wetlands. Groups are encouraged to monitor twice a week from February through August because different species of frogs breed at different times over those seven months. Chapter coordinators recom-

mend that people find a site close to home. One volunteer sits on his back porch and listens. Don’t be intimidated by what might seem like a big time commitment. Yes, more often is better in order to capture more spe-cies, but there is no pressure. “Do what you can,” said James Sirch. “Even one monitoring session contributes to the data.” However, AZA does encourage volunteers to monitor at least four times over the season.

A new online data entry, mapping and analysis system introduced last year allows volunteers to enter their data directly into the national database instead of submitting paper reports (http://frogwatch.fieldscope.org/v3). The system, FrogWatch-FieldScope, makes information instantly available to anyone who wants to see and track a species’ range, create a map or graph or discover what other species are being heard in their community and throughout the country. Some volunteers love FrogWatch-Field-Scope.

“We’ve actually found that Frog-Watch-FieldScope has definitely helped with the retention of volunteers,” said the National Zoo’s Matt Neff. “Volunteers can see the impact of their data in real time.”

Barbara Foster in South Carolina appreciates the immediacy of the data. “I know when I check FrogWatch-FieldScope it is current information,” she said. For volunteers on a learning curve with this new system, AZA provides online materials to ease the transition.

Frog Watch researchers of the Greenville ZOO (F.R.O.G.Z.). Chapter coordinator Barbara Foster mentoring two Frog Watch USA volunteers in the field.

A spring peeper on a daylily.

© G

reen

ville

Zoo


A spring peeper on a daylily.


Why Get Involved?There are other benefits to participating in FrogWatch USA. There is a sense of fellowship. Volunteers enjoy and support each other.

“We’re doing it for fun but also for the greater good of protecting a whole class of animals,” said Jenny Kinch, an education instructor at the Greenville Zoo in Green-ville, S.C. FrogWatch USA also gets you out of the house and into nature where you never know what you might discover.

“You’ll be listening for frogs and all of a sudden, a beaver will slap its tail right behind you. It’s just fun,” said Greenville volunteer Valerie Murphy.

Dolores Reed and her husband, vol-unteers near Washington, DC, go out to-gether. “It’s our date night,” she said. They have seen foxes and watched the courtship flights of snipes and woodcocks.

And then there is what Rachel Gauza calls the “treasure hunt” aspect of the program: hearing an unexpected or rare mating call, or even observing a new spe-cies for the area.

Youth are welcome to participate in FrogWatch USA, although to monitor independently, volunteers must be able to follow the protocol and identify calls accurately. Many chapters reach out to

elementary schools, introducing third and fourth grade groups to the secrets of nature on a nighttime field trip. Kids love frogs, and “if we can get kids off video games and outside and interested in nature, I will consider that a win,” said Dr. Cara Constance, associate professor of biology at Hiram College. The college has incorporated FrogWatch USA into a popular spring semester course, and students monitor sites at the nearby James H. Barrow Field Station.

This program is more than just am-phibian research, said Amanda Watson, an education instructor at the Greenville Zoo. “The program ties into so much that the AZA is about: climate change, the health of the habitat and conservation,” she said.

One reason for the success of the pro-gram may be the manageability of listen-ing as opposed to having to find and count individual amphibians. To date, more than 120 chapters have been established in 39 states and Washington, DC. A complete list of chapters and a variety of resources are available at the AZA website (www.aza.org/frogwatch). Join FrogWatch USA and make a difference.

Cathie Gandel is a Bridgehampton, n.y., based writer.

Green Frog

© R

usty

Wils

on


© R

ache

l Gau

za

Volunteers at Reelfoot lake in Tennessee.

On the Beaches, Online and in Schools

By TrACEy lynn shiFFlETT

Three AZA AccrediTed-FAciliTies discuss Their ciTiZen science ProgrAms


is one way that Association of Zoos and Aquariums (AZA)-accredited facilities contribute to long-term studies on wild populations, mortality rates, migration and breeding trends, efficacy of conservation initiatives and more. Citizen science involves the engagement of volunteers and scientists in collaborative research to generate new science-based knowledge. While some projects also have education and conservation objectives, many are all about the data collection that both sustains and advances the science. Three AZA-accredited facilities recently discussed their citizen science programs.

On the Beach with Cabrillo Marine AquariumA rich ecosystem within a breakwater constructed to protect San Pedro Har-bor and the Port of Los Angeles creates very different ocean dynamics for the Inner and Outer Cabrillo Beaches in California. It’s one reason the data collected by Cabrillo Marine Aquarium in San Pedro, Calif., citizen scientists contain unique discoveries—including an entirely new species of leech.

As the Aquarium’s executive director Mike Schaadt explains, the Outer Cabrillo Beach sits outside the breakwater with a direct connection to the open ocean, while Inner Cabrillo Beach is located inside the breakwater within the harbor, allowing the aquarium to conduct multiple regional surveys.

“While other institutions may have much larger focuses, some even global, our programs include long-time research based on cumulative data collection in a regional area with vastly different ecosystems,” he explained. “Our staff and scientists work side-by-side with volunteers to collect data from these habitats three times a year.”

The Cabrillo Beach Surveys began in 2006 when what was intended to be a short-term study revealed a long-term need to monitor the abundance

Engaging people in citizen science programs

and diversity of the beach’s invertebrates and fishes. Nearly ten years later the surveys continue, pairing three to four Aquarium staff members with UCLA graduate students and volunteers that include everyone from Aquarium visitors to sanitation district workers, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) staff and UCLA faculty members. About 25 people gather, casting a weighted net into the water, then measuring and examining the collected animals, recording the data and returning the animals to the water. Dr. Julianne Kalman Passarelli, the Aquarium’s exhibits and collec-tions curator, said the program goal is to capture the changes to the beaches and how they affect the community of animals.

“Reaching the public and letting them participate in the research end of what we do is a unique experience,” she said. “People volunteer their time to aid the research, which saves the aquarium costs and staff, but it also gives us the opportu-nity to teach people about the animals.”

That data includes the discovery of a new species of par-asite found on kelpfish in the area, a leech that is now named after the Cabrillo Marine Aquarium: Heptacyclus cabrilloi. The beach survey data is also contributing to parasitological studies of the northern anchovy at UCLA and coastal sharks in South Africa.

The Cabrillo Marine Aquarium also participates in Grunion Greeters, a program that began on the beaches of San Diego and now includes population data about grunion fish from citizen scientists all along the California coast and even some from Mexico. The program, run by Dr. Karen Martin of Pepperdine University, was actually begun by a lone citizen scientist, concerned about the safety of grunion eggs on public beaches.

© C

abril

lo M

arin

e Aq

uariu

m


Twelve area high schools participate in Seattle Aquarium’s citizen science program.

© S

eattl

e Aq

uariu

m


“The grunions are iconic California animals,” explained Martin.

“People love to watch them dance on the shore when they come to spawn on the beaches.” But Martin said that California’s almost daily beach raking posed a threat to the eggs they left buried in the sand, a concern that a pri-vate citizen reported in 2001. “She got a group of people to go out and count how many grunion eggs were left and submit the data to the beach man-agement coastal commission,” she said. “By 2002, with the help of aquarium partners, it was a robust citizen science program with one of the first-ever online data repositories—grunion.org.”

Online with the California Academy of SciencesThe California Academy of Sciences in San Francisco, Calif., recently

announced its acquisition of the crowd-sourcing scientific observation platform iNaturalist.org, a social network and mobile application for sharing biodiversity observations.

Since its launch in 2008, the iNaturalist application has been accessed by more than 1.4 million visitors around the world, with a new observation recorded every 45 seconds. These observations, which include over 600,000 natural history sightings representing more than 50,000 distinct species to date, are verified and referenced by researchers from around the world.

Dr. Meg Lowman, the Academy’s chief of science and sustainability, said the app is a unique way of combining the virtual world with actual nature to engage younger generations.

“Citizen science is a wonderful nexus of appreciating nature and then contributing to scientific data,” she said. “iNaturalist has the capacity to build a global community of millions of citizen scientists and ensure their efforts genuinely make a difference.”

Encouraging Student Citizen Scientists in Puget SoundThe citizen science program at Seattle Aquarium, in Seattle, Wash., consists of 375 students from 12 area high schools and has offered the Aquarium an opportunity to collect scientifically-sig-nificant plant and animal data from Puget Sound while encour-aging students to become environmental leaders.

“The citizen science program gets to the heart of scientific literacy,” explained Nicole Ivey, the Aquarium’s school outreach coordinator. “These students are getting hands-on experience participating in a real-world field study that will benefit them—whether or not they follow a science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) career path.”

The students receive four to eight hours of hands-on training from experienced Aquarium staff and partner field researchers, and then they visit the beach on low tide days during April and May to collect relative abundance data for 24 key species, as well as data on physical conditions at the beach. It teaches the students field-based research techniques while yielding meaningful data on local species populations.

Ivey said the Aquarium has almost reached its ultimate goal to provide 15 years of data to other institutions and universities, local government officials and fellow researchers.

The Cabrillo Beach survey monitors the diversity of invertebrates and fishes.

© C

abril

lo M

arin

e Aq

uariu

m


Above: Citizen science teaches students field based research techniques while yielding

meaningful data on local species populations.left: Thornback ray.

Citizen Science EvaluationIf the future of citizen science programs includes evaluation, AZA-accredited members unprepared may find program growth, professional development of program coordinators and even grant underwriting a bit more of a challenge. To support its own and its members’ citizen science programs, AZA’s Con-servation Education Committee (CEC) promoted a new, useful and cost-effective tool to help members approach evaluation of citizen science programs, The User’s Guide for Evaluating Learning Outcomes from Citizen Science, published by the Cornell Lab of Ornithology.

The guide is online, it’s free and, according to Cornell’s project coordinator Tina Phillips, by late November 2014 it had already been downloaded approximately 600 times since its release in Fall 2014. “Building evaluation into the design and development of a program is a much better strategy than trying to address it when funding is impacted,” Phillips advised. “The guide is a primer on evaluation and shows how to align evaluations with existing goals and outcomes. It offers basic tools that can be adopted in-house without breaking the bank.” ©

Cab

rillo

Mar

ine

Aqua

rium


using consistent methods to allow for a year-to-year comparison,” she said. “Looking at 15 years of that comparable data will allow us to establish a base-line and examine trends on our local beaches.”

With Ivey and six seasonal staff members dedicated to the program February through June each year, the Aquarium commits a portion of its education budget to the program—but only in staff time. Since the program’s inception, Ivey estimated that between 60 to 100 percent of the program budget has been covered by direct philanthropic support from corporate and foundation funders.

How Seattle Aquarium secures more than half to all of its citizen sci-ence funding program may, at least in part, be credited to its comprehen-sive evaluation process. Ivey and her team have used an outside evaluator since the program started.

“Typically, the evaluations look at student learning and outcomes,” explained Ivey. “But they also show effectiveness and inform program

“The data is collected in the same locations each year

changes—what’s working, what’s not and how we can be most effective in our approach to the program.”

The level of evaluation changes from year to year as the program changes and the costs vary accordingly, but Ivey estimated that evaluation accounts for 0.5 to 7 percent of the program’s overall budget. While no small investment, Ivey ex-plained that the costs are included in the budget that is largely funded by third parties and that evaluation findings are used when responding to requests for proposals.

Citizen science programs offer a powerful and cost effective way for AZA-accredited facilities to engage and educate people while expanding their own capacity to collect and understand important scientific data. What better way to engage with your local and regional communities than have them participate in important educational and scientific work to better understand habitats and wildlife.

Tracey Lynn Shifflett is an Odenton, Md., based writer.

Students in Seattle Aquarium’s citizen science program receive training from experienced staff.

© S

eattl

e Aq

uariu

m


A citizen scientist with a halibut.

© C

abril

lo M

arin

e Aq

uariu

m


Gotham Whale


Gotham Whale and Citizen Science

for the Small ZooBy PAUl l. siEsWErdA


itizen science programs are growing in popularity. The citizen science program concept was born back in

1900 when the National Audubon Society asked its members to participate in the Christmas Bird

Count. Many eyes counted birds in backyards throughout the country. Trained ornithologists could never be in so many places at one time. But, average citizens could, and if supervised and organized, would help provide an understanding to many questions in the natural world.

The Staten Island Zoological Society (SIZS) has initiated such a project: the monitoring of marine mammals in the Western New York Bight. Called Gotham Whale, the project consists of a group of inter-ested citizen scientists who contribute their effort and expertise under my direction, a retired aquarium cu-rator and Association of Zoos and Aquariums (AZA) professional. The Western New York Bight includes the waters in and around the entrance to one of the world’s busiest ports: New York City. When one thinks of studying whales, dolphins and seals, New York City probably does not come to mind. However, that is part of the attraction; these animals are returning to these waters in significant numbers, and understanding their population occurring so close to so many people will

be critical as humans and marine life inevitably come into conflict. Are whales likely to be in the shipping lanes? If wind farms are planned, what will be the impact? Questions such as these are likely, all of which begin with how many, when and where? These are the basic questions for our project.

A small zoo or aquarium is not likely to have fund-ing for rigorous, citizen or any kind of science beyond its veterinary or husbandry concerns. A program that is self-funding may sound attractive, but usually there are some demands on staff or support.

“This is a great project, and the Staten Island Zoo-logical Society recognizes the importance of studying and documenting the increase in marine mammals in the waters surrounding New York City, one of the busiest sea lanes in the world,” said Staten Island Zoo Director Ken Mitchell. “We are thrilled to partner with Gotham Whale and provide guidance and support to this important project.”

In 2009, Gotham Whale connected with a com-mercial vessel that was looking to expand its pro-ductive use and we volunteered to provide naturalist commentary for winter bird and seal watching. Early efforts were barely profitable for the boat. The Ameri-can Princess is a commercial enterprise that must meet the cost of gas and crew before they even think about profit. They supported Gotham Whale as a partner and provided a platform to survey the seal population. More precisely, their patrons and our citizen scientists gave Gotham Whale the opportunity to be on the water and make observations that only a well-funded research project would otherwise be able to do.

“This is a great project, and the Staten Island Zoological Society recognizes the

importance of studying and documenting the increase in marine mammals in the

waters surrounding New York City, one of the busiest sea lanes in the world ...”

February 2015 | www.aza.org 47 46 www.aza.org | February 2015 Healthy populations of menhaden have brought humpback whales to the Western New york Bight. © Gotham Whale


Our project began with counting seals and each year, we have documented a continual rise in the population in our survey area and expect that trend to continue. In 2011, in response to whales being report-ed locally, we began whale watches with the American Princess. It was difficult at first, with few New Yorkers aware that whale watches were available. In 2011, we had only enough passengers to be mildly encouraged and in 2012, it increased marginally. In 2013 and 2014, the numbers of whales and supportive patrons increased exponentially. Our research has produced valuable data. The number of whales that we observed in the area went from five in 2011 to more than 100 in 2014. We have documented the area as a feeding ground as the whales feed on menhaden. As the popu-lation of menhaden has increased impressively, we feel it is the underlying cause of the whales’ return. This information is shared with agencies and organizations that share our concern for marine mammals in the area. Being the only organization currently collecting such data, our records are of great value and likely to guide more directed research in the future.

Gotham Whale is modeling its mission on well-established models within the marine mammal community. In particular, the method to identify humpback whales—photographing and cataloging the unique coloration patterns of the ventral fluke—has been done around the world. The research groups in Massachusetts and Maine have compiled thousands of unique images. Our effort to date has identified 19 individuals—a modest, but significant step. From those identifications, we have established that the same whales have returned to our area year over year and that some whales have remained in the Western New York Bight throughout the feeding season. Our data are establishing the water around New York City as a feeding ground similar to those off Massachusetts and Maine.

With the support of the Staten Island Zoological Society we hope to take this project to the next step—a self-funding project made possible through grants and donations that will be at the center of marine mammal research in the unlikely area of New York City. While Gotham Whale enjoys a unique situation—the juxta-position of mega-vertebrates next to a megalopolis—there are many local projects that can excite and enlist citizen scientists, and zoos and aquariums around the country can benefit by endorsing these activities with the same support that volunteer programs enjoy today.

Paul l. sieswerda is the Executive director of Gotham Whale Watch.

Our effort to date has identified 19

individuals ... From those identifications, we

have established that the same whales have

returned to our area year over year ...

© A

rtie

Rasli

ch

Viewing marine mammals in the Western New york Bight.


YOUR ZOO AND AQUARIUM ONLINE NETWORKING COMMUNITY

START DISCUSSIONS. INVITE COLLEAGUES. SHARE RESOURCES.

GET CONNECTED.

Login at www.aza.org and click on My AZA Network.

52 www.aza.org | February 201552 www.aza.org | February 2015

February 2015 | www.aza.org 53 52 www.aza.org | February 201552 www.aza.org | February 2015

Faces & Places

In Memoriam

Remembering Marilyn McBirney

Marilyn McBirney, most recently general curator of the Abilene Zoo, passed away on 25 No-

vember 2014. Because much of her life revolved around her passion for animals and her concern for the future of our earth, she pursued a field where she could join others in seeking solutions to global human-animal conflicts and in providing comfort to the zoo animals, which are am-bassadors for their species.

She began her career at the Houston Zoo, where she progressed from a teenage volunteer to supervisor of the Children’s Zoo. In 1991 she joined the staff of the Pueblo Zoo in the position of general curator/conservation manager, leaving in January 2014 to assume the position of general curator at the Abilene Zoo.

At the Pueblo Zoo her work was critical in achieving the first AZA accreditation of that facility, as well as in the devel-opment of several major animal exhibits, including the Eco-center, North American river otters, African lions, and Islands of Life. Chair of the Swift Fox Species Survival Plan ® (SSP) and a member of the African Penguin SSP, she guided the Pueblo Zoo’s participation in numerous other SSP programs.

In the words of a long-time keeper at the Pueblo Zoo, “You knew Marilyn cared about everyone and every animal. She cared so much. You never could ques-tion her commitment. Her own life took second place to the needs of the Zoo.”

Newland Hired as Director of lee Richardson ZooThe City of Garden City, Kan., announced that Kristi Newland will serve as direc-tor of Lee Richardson Zoo. Newland was chosen after the City held a competitive, nation-wide, selection pro-cess including an assessment center designed to provide insight into candidates’ knowledge, skills and abilities as they relate to zoo manage-ment and associated areas of financial management, marketing, communication and customer service.

Newland brings nearly 30 years of experience to the po-sition, including eight years with Lee Richardson Zoo. She was hired as the general curator of Lee Richardson Zoo in 2006. In 2007 she was promoted to general curator/deputy director.

Newland said she is excited for the new oppor-tunity. “Lee Richardson Zoo has tremendous community support and a great staff. The Zoo has so much to offer, from a wonderful educational component to conservation and quality animal care. It’s a perfect place for friends and families to enjoy themselves while connecting with nature. I look forward to guiding the Zoo into the future, which will of course include continuing the great things people have come to know and love about the Zoo. It’s quite an honor to be part of such a community treasure,” she said.

Detroit Zoological Society Names Manager of Sustainability Beth Wallace has been appoint-ed manager of sustainability for the Detroit Zoological Society (DZS) in Royal Oak, Mich. She is responsible for leading the DZS Greenprint, a comprehen-sive strategic plan to refine and improve facilities and daily prac-tices, develop new policies and programs and improve green literacy in the community.

Wallace joins the DZS from the National Wildlife Feder-ation’s Great Lakes Regional Center where she was commu-nity outreach regional coordina-tor, helping to organize support around protecting communities, natural resources and wildlife. She is also the founder of SURF Great Lakes, an online journal to promote stories that sustain, unite, restore and fortify Great Lakes protection.

“Beth is a dedicated envi-ronmentalist whose passion for sustainability will serve us well as we continue to create and implement environmen-tally-sustainable practices and programs,” said DZS Executive Director and CEO Ron Kagan.

Wallace serves on the board of directors of the Pipeline Safety Trust and was named one of “Three Heroes Against Three Pipelines” by environmentalist Bill McKibben and Patagonia. She led a public campaign on pipeline safety in the Great Lakes and started a movement opposing the expansion and use of tar sands oil following the Enbridge oil spill in 2010. Wal-lace received a Bachelor’s degree

in environmental studies and political science from Western Michigan University.

Texas State Aquarium Announces New Director of SalesThe Texas State Aquarium in Corpus Christi, Texas, named Jennifer Vela as the Aquarium’s new director of sales. Having held the sales manager position for three years prior to her promotion, Jennifer is skilled in providing guests and various groups with stunning, memo-rable events and trips ranging from weddings, class reunions, corporate events, and more.

Jennifer’s new position will involve leading the Aquarium’s private and special events sales and execution efforts, while striving to maintain a top-notch level of customer satisfaction. She will also partner with local organizations such as the Corpus Christi Convention & Visitors Bureau, the Regional Tourism Council, and local hotel partners to promote the Aquar-ium as the city’s top destination for corporate events, parties, conventions and meetings.

Jennifer started at the Aquarium as an event coordi-nator, quickly worked her way up to group sales representative and then secured the sales manager position. She has been with the Aquarium for a total of five years and earned her Bachelor’s degree in liberal arts and communications, with a minor in media at Texas A&M – Corpus Christi. Furthermore, Jennifer is involved with the Social Committee of the Young


Business Professionals of the Coastal Bend, and she is also a member of the Texas Society of Association Executives, the Greater Corpus Christi Hospi-tality Association and Certified Tourism Ambassadors.

Chief Marketing Officer Richard Glover said he fully supports Jennifer’s role as a director. “With her extensive knowledge of the city’s tour-ism and hospitality indus-tries and her track record of providing guests with events that exceed their expectations, I know Jennifer is the perfect person to be at the helm of our sales department.”

Seattle Aquarium Honored for Sustainable OperationsThe Seattle Aquarium in Seattle, Wash., received two awards for sustainable operations in Octo-ber 2014. The first was the 2014 Visionary Leadership Award presented by the Seattle 2030 District, or S2030D, a high-per-formance building district in downtown Seattle that aims to dramatically reduce environ-mental impacts of building construction and operations.

The Aquarium was honored for energy-efficient retrofits, carbon capture through tree planting and solar panels con-structed on its Pier 59 facility, among the largest array on an aquarium in the country. The institution was cited by the 2030 District for embodying “the visionary leadership across dis-ciplines necessary to meet our most challenging environmental goals and for being a champion for water quality and restoration of Puget Sound.”

In addition, the Aquarium was honored to receive a Com-munity Impact Award from Seattle Business magazine. The awards honored “the region’s most influential community

leaders” and celebrated 24 honorees in categories ranging from sustainability to youth development. The Aquarium received a silver award in the Sustainability in Business Op-erations category.

Sustainable business prac-tices are an important part of delivering on our institution’s vi-sion, noted Aquarium President & CEO Bob Davidson. “The Aquarium’s mission is Inspiring Conservation of Our Marine Environment. And that’s not limited to our waterways. Every step we take toward sustainabil-ity—from energy sources we rely on to reducing our carbon footprint—benefits the incredi-ble marine and terrestrial world around us.”

Mystic Aquarium CEO to Receive Distinguished Service AwardDr. Stephen M. Coan, presi-dent and chief executive officer of Sea Research Foundation, which operates Mystic Aquar-ium in Mystic, Conn., is the recipient of the 2014 William Crawford Distinguished Ser-vice Award.

The Chamber of Com-merce of Eastern Connecticut periodically gives the award to an outstanding member of the community who exemplifies the spirit of service and who contributes to the quality of life in eastern Connecticut.

“I’m humbled,” said Coan. “I’m just doing my job. We have a wonderful board of trustees, volunteers and staff who are all very committed to the community. It’s just a mat-ter of unleashing their talents. They bring our mission alive. This local community is such a great place. We have good schools, wonderful businesses and we all come together. We all pull together.”

Faces & Places

Advertiser IndexA Thru Z Consulting and distributing, inc. ......................................17Aqua logic, inc. ..................................................................................51Carnivore Essentials ..........................................................................58Cemrock landscapes, inc. naturalistic Environments ...................63Central nebraska Packing, inc. ..........................................Back CoverClr design .........................................................................................52Corners limited ................................................................................... 6dan inject dart Guns .........................................................................63Fauna research ..................................................................................66GlMV Architecture, inc. .....................................................................14hayward ..............................................................................................62howe Corporation .............................................................................67Milliken Meats ....................................................................................64nets Unlimited, inc............................................................................... 2northeast Brine shrimp .....................................................................65Pentair Aquatic Eco-systems ............................................................15The Portico Group ..............................................................................16Pr Aqua ...............................................................................................54richards-Wilcox, inc. ..........................................................................52rodentPro.com, llC ............................................... inside Back Coverskulls Unlimited international, inc. ....................... inside Front CoverTenji, inc. .............................................................................................14Tokensdirect .......................................................................................50Tom Tischler Bronze ..........................................................................67Torre design Consortium, ltd. .........................................................61Trains of America, inc/island Carousel, inc. ....................................61Triple A Brand Meat Company .........................................................67WA davidson of Jax, inc. ...................................................................60WdM Architects .................................................................................65Zoo Med laboratories, inc. ................................................................. 5


Institution News

Fort Wayne Children’s Zoo Earns NISBC’s Sustainable Business of the Year Award

On 28 October 2014 the North-east Indiana Sustainable Business Council (NISBC), in cooperation with The Nature Conservancy and the Northeast Indiana Regional Partnership, awarded the Sustain-able Business of the Year award to the Fort Wayne Children’s Zoo in Fort Wayne, Ind.

Kerri Garvin, NISBC exec-utive director, explains why the Zoo was selected for the award. “The Fort Wayne Children’s Zoo has shown significant progress in sustainability by continually improving their certification level

in the NISBC’s Bright Green Busi-ness program. We are delighted to have the opportunity to work with The Nature Conservancy and the Northeast Indiana Region-al Partnership to give the Zoo recognition for a job well done,” Garvin said.

Adam McLane, director of operations for the Nature Conser-vancy, addressed Zoo staff during the presentation. He lauded Zoo employees for their willingness to practice and promote conser-vation, saying, “You can preach sustainability and conservation

in ways that we cannot. Thank you so much for the hard work you do.”

Amber Eagleson, African Journey area manager and chair of the Zoo’s Resource Conservation Task Force, spoke on behalf of the Zoo. “We want to thank the half-million Zoo guests who are willing to take part in our sustain-able practices. We couldn’t do it without them. We’re also grateful to the NISBC for their guidance throughout the year. Last but not least, thank you so much to our staff for their hard work.”

Detroit Zoological Society Receives Energy Efficiency AwardThe Detroit Zoological Society (DZS) has received an award for Economic Leadership in Energy Efficiency from the Pure Michigan/Energy Office and Energy Services Coalition – Michigan Chapter. The award was given in recogni-tion of the DZS’s energy efficiency improvement project at the Detroit Zoo in Royal Oak, Mich.

“We are grateful for the recognition of our commitment to environmental leadership and pro-gressive resource management,” said Ron Kagan, DZS executive director and CEO. “The energy and resource efficiencies realized through this project represent another big step on our green journey.”

The $2 million project promises to save the Zoo nearly $275,000 in annual utility costs. The DZS’s performance contract with Johnson Controls, Inc., provides a guar-anteed payback of its investment within seven years through savings of energy usage and related opera-tional expenses.

The energy efficiency upgrades span more than 50 Detroit Zoo buildings and include installation of additional utility meters and low-flow toilets as well as rooftop unit upgrades and boiler control upgrades. An automated building management system allows the Zoo to monitor the HVAC systems of multiple buildings from one loca-tion and make adjustments in real time based on actual conditions.

The energy efficiency im-provement project is part of the DZS’s Greenprint, a plan to refine and improve daily practices and facilities, develop new policies and programs and improve green litera-cy in the community. To learn more about the project and other green initiatives, visit www.detroitzoo.org/about/greenprint.

Amber Eagleson with the award.


Faces & Places

Member Updates

Welcome New MembersAZA is pleased to warmly welcome new Professional Affiliate, Professional Fellow, Conservation Partners, Accredited Institutions, Certified Related Facilities and Commercial Members.

Kristen Aguanno, san Antonio Zoological societyKyle Baumgartner, Area Manager, The Maryland Zoo in BaltimoreDavid Blaszkiewicz, Zookeeper, John Ball ZooSarah Bontinen, Zookeeper, John Ball ZooKathryn Elise Campbell, Education outreach instructor, Cincinnati ZooDanielle Carter, Marine science Educator, seattle AquariumAmy Demchak, Area Manager, The Maryland Zoo in BaltimoreDan Dunlap, Education Program Manager, newport AquariumVictoria Wells Edel, Associate registrar, Audubon ZooSarah Elfreth, director of Government Affairs, national AquariumSara Fox, lead Guest services supervisor, omaha’s henry doorly ZooLindsay Garrett, Manatee springs senior Keeper, Cincinnati ZooSamantha Goosen, Zookeeper Aide, John Ball ZooKatherine Hyde, John Ball ZooMeredith Jaworek, Education Program developer, Cincinnati ZooIna Saliklis Jencks, Public relations representative, san diego ZooLaurel Johnson, newport AquariumNatalie Johnson, Animal

records Keeper, Kansas City ZooShannon King, Zookeeper, John Ball ZooMatt Kinney, Veterinarian, saint louis ZooElizabeth Klochack, John Ball ZooAnne Kneibel, Zookeeper, John Ball ZooAli Kochtanek, director of Volunteer services, saint louis ZooKrissti Koole, Zookeeper, John Ball ZooDanielle Marin, Education Coordinator, hutchinson ZooJohnny May, Memphis ZooJason Miles, Assistant Elephant Manager, Birmingham ZooFrances Miller, Assistant director of institutional Advanceness, John Ball ZooJoshua Murray, Animal supervisor, Kansas City ZooKatie Oxnam, Zookeeper, happy hollow ZooKristen Phair, staff Veterinarian, Phoenix ZooJaime Racalla, Zookeeper, John Ball ZooEric Reinsch, Area supervisor – hoofstock, nashville Zoo, inc.Rebecca Rhule, director of development, dallas ZooDominique Rochon, Aquarist , Biodôme de MontrealBeth Rusch, Zoo Business Administrator, Greenville ZooRobyn Russnogle, Woodland Park ZooErin Sattler, Zookeeper,

John Ball ZooNathan Schlagel, red river ZooVera Smith, Curator of Education, detroit ZooKaitlynn Snowden, Guest service Manager, Potawatomi ZooKatherine Spada, Coordinator of short-Term Volunteer Programs, Greater los Angeles Zoo AssociationKeith Sprague, Zoo Keeper, John Ball ZooKim Szawan, ZooKeeper, Woodland Park ZooPamela Taylor, CFo, Zoo AtlantaBianca Tinker, Training Manager and Animal Keeper, Biodôme de MontrealSioux Trujillo, Curator of Education - Fine Arts, detroit ZooLindsey Vansandt, Post-doctoral scientist, Cincinnati Zoo & Botanical GardenVernon Robert Veer, Zookeeper / nights, denver ZooKelley Lynne Walsh, senior Zookeeper, happy hollow ZooSarah Zigmond, Trainer ii, Texas state Aquarium

New Professional Fellow MembersAlisha Anderson, Chief development / Marketing Officer, Fresno Chaffee Zoo

Thomas Anderson, Assistant Curator of herpetology, san Francisco Zoological GardensSusan M. Arbuthnot, Bird Keeper ii, honolulu ZooStephanie Bohr, Assistant director of learning Planning and Evaluation, John G. shedd AquariumKevin G Bouma, director of Business and operations, Potawatomi ZooTim Morrow, CEo/Executive director, san Antonio Zoological societyDjuan L. Rivers, Vice President, disney’s Animal KingdomAndrew Schleis, Assistant director, dolphin islandRodney Schnellbacher, staff Veterinarian, dickerson Park ZooRichard Sim, Birmingham ZooJohanna Soto, Zoo registrar, Assiniboine Park Zoo

New/Reinstated Commercial Memberslonestar decking and CladdingPo BoX 188del Valle, TX 78617-0188Email: [email protected]: (512)717-2336lonestardeckingandclad-ding.com/Primary Contact: isabel rodriguezFSC wood installation, exterior wood structures and siding.

For member news, visit

www.aza.org/pressroom


Small Wonders of Africa Exhibit Opens at the Sacramento ZooThe Small Wonders of Africa exhibit, located across from the giraffe habitat, opened at the Sacramento Zoo in Sacra-mento, Calif. This dynamic multi-species exhibit includes permanent residents as well as visiting exhibits and species. Each of the animal species, including aardvark, straw-col-ored fruit bat, red-billed horn-bill, crested guineafowl and Wolf ’s guenon, help to tell the story of East Africa, presenting the challenges of conserving wildlife in this corner of the world.

The $700,000 renovation has increased the footprint of the older building and includes three new exhibit spaces. Finer-grade stainless steel mesh and glass allow up-close viewing by visitors – enabling them to get nose-to-nose with an aardvark exploring inside a termite mound. Visitors will be able to explore the base camp and dig for fossilized bones as part of their African adventure.

Exhibits

FEBRUARy 201517-19: Elephant Care WorkshopPhoenix Zoo, Phoenix, Ariz. E-mail [email protected]

24-27: Animal Transport for Animal Care ProfessionalsPhoenix Zoo, Phoenix, Ariz. www.aza.org/professional-training

MARCH 20159-13: AZA Professional Development Course: Amphibian Management SchoolDetroit Zoo, Royal Oak, Mich. www.aza.org/professional-training

21-27: AZA 2015 Mid-Year MeetingRiverbanks Zoo and GardenColumbia, S.C. www.aza.org/midyearmeeting

27-29: Sea Otter Conservation Workshop, Seattle AquariumSeattle, Wash.www.seattleaquarium.org/sea-otter-workshop/2015

APRIl 2015

7-9: Bear TAG WorkshopReid Park Zoo, Tucson, Ariz.http://reidparkzoo.org/events/public/professional

13-18: AZA Professional Development Course: Nature StartBrookfield Zoo, Brookfield, Ill.www.aza.org/professional-training

APRIl- MAy 2015April 27-May 2: AZA Professional Development Course: Best Practices in Animal KeepingBuffalo Zoo, Buffalo, N.y.www.aza.org/professional-training

MAy-JUNE 2015May 29-June 5: AZA Professional Development Course: Crocodilian Biology and Captive ManagementSt. Augustine Alligator Farm, St. Augustine, Fla.www.aza.org/professional-training

SEPTEMBER 201517-21: AZA Annual ConferenceUtah’s Hogle Zoo, Salt lake City, Utahwww.aza.org/annualconference


Announcements

2015 AZA Photo ContestPhotos must be taken in 2015 or the last three months of 2014 by staff or volunteers at an AZA-accredited institution. Connect staff will judge the photos, and the winner will appear on the December 2015 cover. Other exceptional pho-tos will be highlighted inside the magazine. The photos may also appear on AZA’s website and/or other promotional materials.

Format for Submission:Submissions should include the name of the photographer, the AZA institution, the species, the date of the picture and the equipment used. Only one photo entry will be accepted per photographer, so send in your best image. Pictures can include animals, people and zoo or aquarium scenes – if you think it will make a good cover, send it in.

Deadline: The deadline for entries is 15 September 2015.

Format: JPG, TIFF or EPS; 300+ dpi and 9”x12” in size (jpgs preferred). Both electronic and hard copy images will be accepted – though electronic images are preferred. All sub-missions become the property of AZA and will not be acknowl-edged or returned. Send electronic imag-es to Tim Lewthwaite at [email protected] with “Photo Contest” in the subject line. Hard

copies may be mailed to: 2015 Photo ContestTim Lewthwaite, AZA Publica-tions Manager, 8403 Colesville Road, Suite 710, Silver Spring, MD 20910-3314.

license: By entering the contest, you grant to AZA, and its successors and assigns, the non-exclusive, worldwide, perpetual right and license to use, display, repro-duce, publish, transmit, and distribute your photograph on AZA’s website, in our magazine, and/or in any other promotional materials. Your grant and license shall also apply to any reprints, revised editions, or derivative works in any media or format, whether now or hereafter known, including without limitation other kinds of print media and electronic media.

By entering the contest you also represent, acknowl-edge and warrant that (i) the submitted photograph is an original work created solely by you, and you are the sole owner of all right, title, and interest in and to your photo-graph, including the copy-right; (ii) AZA’s publication of your photograph as autho-

rized herein will not violate or infringe any right, title, or interest of any person or entity; (iii) AZA’s publication of your photograph will not violate any right of privacy or publicity nor create any other liability in tort and that you have obtained a valid model release from any identifiable, individual person who is the subject of the photograph; (iv) you are not a party to and your photograph is not subject to any contract or arrangement

that would conflict with your permission herein; and (v) you agree to indemnify and hold harmless AZA against any damages, losses, or expenses occurring as a result of any claimed breach of warranty.

Release Form: To be considered for publication in Connect, all contest photos that include people must be accompanied by AZA’s Model Release Form signed by each person depicted.

2015 AAZK Awards Nominations OpenedThe American Association of Zoo Keepers AAZK Awards Committee is accepting nominations for the Lifetime Achievement Award, Jean M. Hromadka AAZK Excellence in Animal Care Award, The Lutz Ruhe Meritorious Achievement - AAZK Professional of the Year Award, the Lee Houts Enrichment Excellence Award, the Certificate of Merit for Zoo Keeper Education, the Certificate of Excellence in Exhibit Renovation, the Certificate of Merit in Conservation and the Mazuri Animal Nutrition Award, which will be presented at the 2015 AAZK Conference in St. Louis, Missouri. The deadline for nominations is 1 May 2015. Information concerning the qualifications, nomination procedure, selection procedure and an explanation of the awards may be obtained by contacting [email protected].


BE CONNECTEDTHE AZA MARKETPLACE Building a network of AZA Commercial Members

AZA community connections.

Collaboration and information

exchange with colleagues.

Exploration of product and

service providers.

For questions on how to

search, how to use various

features and more, please feel

free to contact Gina Velosky

at [email protected].

LifeStarTM Pumps from Hayward are your best solution for aquatic and animal life support systems, even in the most sensitive environments. Self-priming, energy efficient and fully rated single speed pumps provide high flow rates and reduced energy consumption.

Hayward is a registered trademark of Hayward Industries, Inc. © 2014 Hayward Industries, Inc. Thermoplastic Valves | Actuation & Controls | Strainers | Filters | Bulkhead Fittings & Tank Accessories | Pumps

Get us on LifeStar.™ Please!

Ideal for fresh or salt water environments

All wetted hardware manufactured from 316 Stainless Steel

Silicon carbide/silicon carbide shaft seal

Corrosion resistant housing

Suitable for high-volume pumping

Clear high capacity basket strainer lid for visual inspection

Available with ODP or TEFC motor

Visit haywardflowcontrol.com for more information.

29966 HAY Intr_Hatchery ad_v3.indd 1 2/11/14 3:32 PM


When Every Shot Counts....

[email protected]

www.DanInjectDartGuns.com

USA and Latin America Agents • Only Authorized Repair Center

Virtually silent, versatile, lightweight and maintenance free

humane darting equipment.

Anaesthetize • Medicate • TranquilizeVaccinate and take biopsy samples.

....why settle for less than the best.


Have your Zoo & Aquarium sales figures left you out in the cold?

Did you forget to

For rate sheet and contract information, visit www.aza.org/Advertising or call (301) 562-0777, ext. 254.


For more Births & Hatchings, visit our website: www.animalsinc.net

NATIONAl AqUARIUMBaltimore, Maryland

The National Aquarium has maintained its current pair of Amazon big-headed turtles

(Peltocephalus dumerilianus) together in the Amazon River Forest exhibit since 2003. In

early September, four hatchlings successfully emerged. The Aquarium believes this is the first time this species has been successfully

reproduced in a North American collection.

TAMPA’S lOWRy PARk ZOOTampa, Florida

A rare pygmy hippopotamus was born on 11 October at Tampa’s Lowry Park Zoo. The newest offspring, a female, marks the third successful pygmy hippo birth in the Zoo’s history

and just the 30th animal in the AZA population.

CHARlES PADDOCk ZOOAtascadero, CaliforniaThe Charles Paddock Zoo announced the hatching of two curl-crested aracari chicks. The chicks hatched in late August and since that time have been hand-raised by the Zoo’s staff. Curl-crested aracari are native to tropical moist lowland forests of South America.

lINCOlN PARk ZOOChicago, illinois

One of Lincoln Park Zoo’s Francois’ langurs gave birth

to a baby at the Helen Brach Primate House on 30 September 2014. The

infant is the fifth successful offspring of dam Pumpkin

and sire Cartman who were recommended to breed as a

part of AZA’s Francois’ Langur Species Survival Plan® (SSP).

SAN DIEGO ZOOsan diego, CaliforniaA rare kiwi chick recently hatched at the San Diego Zoo’s Avian Propagation Center in San Diego, Calif. The San Diego Zoo is one of just six zoos in the United States working with these endangered birds. Currently, there are four brown kiwis at the Zoo, all living in off-exhibit areas.

STATEN ISlAND ZOOstaten island, new york

Seven rare Chinese crocodile lizards recently hatched at the

Staten Island Zoo. Chinese crocodile lizards are an

endangered species native to the cool forests in China and

Vietnam, where habitat loss is the main threat to the species.

PRESORTED STANDARD

U.S. POSTAGE

PAIDRockville, Maryland

PERMIT #42978403 Colesville Road, Suite 710Silver Spring, Maryland 20910(301) 562-0777www.aza.org

DATED MATERIAl MUST BE RECEIVED By THE 10TH

ForWArdinG sErViCE rEQUEsTEdMOVING? sEnd old lABEl And nEW AddrEss

CENTRAL NEBRASKA PACKING, INC. OFFERS:Classic & Premium Frozen Carnivore Diets

ALSO AVAILABLE:� Horse Short Loins / Horse & Beef Bones� Meat Complete with Taurine

(Raw Meat Supplement for All Carnivores)

Member: AZA | AAZV | AAZK

FELINE & SENIOR FELINE | BIRD OF PREY | CANINE | SPECIAL BEEF FELINE

877.900.3003 | 800.455.2881P.O. Box 550, North Platte, NE [email protected] • nebraskabrand.com

SOUND NUTRITION FOR NATURE’S ROYALTY

CENTRAL NEBRASKA PACKING, INC. OFFERS:Classic & Premium Frozen Carnivore Diets

ALSO AVAILABLE:� Horse Short Loins / Horse & Beef Bones� Meat Complete with Taurine

(Raw Meat Supplement for All Carnivores)

Member: AZA | AAZV | AAZK

FELINE & SENIOR FELINE | BIRD OF PREY | CANINE | SPECIAL BEEF FELINE

877.900.3003 | 800.455.2881P.O. Box 550, North Platte, NE [email protected] • nebraskabrand.com

SOUND NUTRITION FOR NATURE’S ROYALTY

every picture tells a story - association of zoos & aquariums · pdf fileevery picture...

Documents