Visitors or visits? An examination of zoo visitor numbers using the case study of Australia.

Usually cited in reference to the potential reach of zoo education, one of the popular figures for global zoo visitation is that 600 million people visit zoos annually. However, this number needs clarification on two fronts. First, there are many zoo visitors who are not included in the calculation because they visited a zoo that was not included in the count. Second, it does not take into consideration the people visit either the same or different zoos more than once annually. Using data collected from several sources, including zoo visitors themselves, this article focuses on one country--Australia--that contributes 15.6 million to the visitation total, and contends that the correct number of unique annual zoo visitors to Australian zoos is likely to be between 8 and 10 million. However, rather than suggesting an overemphasis on the potential of zoos for educating visitors, having regular repeat visitors represents a distinct advantage for zoos, allowing for progressive education opportunities.

Dolphin shows and interaction programs: benefits for conservation education?

Dolphin shows and dolphin interaction programs are two types of education programs within zoological institutions used to educate visitors about dolphins and the marine environment. The current study examined the short- and long-term effects of these programs on visitors' conservation-related knowledge, attitude, and behavior. Participants of both dolphin shows and interaction programs demonstrated a significant short-term increase in knowledge, attitudes, and behavioral intentions. Three months following the experience, participants of both dolphin shows and interaction programs retained the knowledge learned during their experience and reported engaging in more conservation-related behaviors. Additionally, the number of dolphin shows attended in the past was a significant predictor of recent conservation-related behavior suggesting that repetition of these types of experiences may be important in inspiring people to conservation action. These results suggest that both dolphin shows and dolphin interaction programs can be an important part of a conservation education program for visitors of zoological facilities.

Incorporating Research into an Undergraduate Animal Behavior Course using Zoos and Webcams.

In our nonmajors animal behavior class, we developed a semester-long research project assignment that incorporates project-based learning (PBL) and the opportunity for Course-Based Undergraduate Research Experiences (CUREs) that introduces, assesses, and applies the course concepts. This project can easily be adapted for nonmajors biology, majors biology, or other more general survey classes, including remote courses. This student-led project involves a field trip for data collection at our local zoo, additional data collection using webcams, and writing and presenting a scientific report. Students apply the scientific method to design their research project and formulate a hypothesis. Throughout the semester, students learn about different behavioral sampling methods and how to develop and use an ethogram in class using animal webcams from zoos. At the zoo, students conduct a comparative behavior project by collecting data from their main animal and two related animals using multiple trials, so students can observe differences in behavior. At the conclusion of the project, students write a report demonstrating their data analysis, graphing, explanation, and interpretation of their own scientific data. We discuss how others can design and implement PBL and CUREs in their classes and what we have learned from our experiences.

Putting the community back in community ecology and education: the role of field schools and private reserves in the ethical training of primatologists.

In 1993 and 1999, with the assistance of a Nicaraguan family, we founded La Suerte Biological Research Station in northeastern Costa Rica and Ometepe Biological Research Station in southern Nicaragua as a privately owned conservation-oriented business. Our goal was to develop a program of sustainable community ecology focused on education, research, and the conservation of primates and tropical forests. In order to accomplish this we developed field courses in which undergraduate and graduate students conduct scientific research, experience local cultures, and learn about conservation. Over 120 of these students have received doctoral degrees or are currently in graduate programs. Four doctoral dissertations, several MA theses, and some 20 scientific articles have been published based on research conducted at our field stations. In order to achieve our long-term goals of preserving the environment, we also needed to engage directly with local communities to address their needs and concerns. To this end, we developed a series of community-based initiatives related to health care, bilingual education, and conservation education using traditional and on-line teaching tools. In this article, we describe our efforts in Costa Rica and Nicaragua teaching conservation-oriented field courses and working with the local human communities. Building upon these experiences, we outline a set of ethical considerations and responsibilities for private reserves, conservation-oriented businesses, NGOs, and conservancies that help integrate members of the local community as stakeholders in conservation.

The situational interest of undergraduate students in zoophysiology.

Situational interest has been identified as an important motivational variable that has an impact on students' academic performances, yet little is known about how the specific variable of the learning environment might trigger students' situational interest. The purpose of this study was to investigate sources that stimulate the interest of students in an undergraduate course in zoophysiology. Observations, informal conversational interviews, and responses to a survey were used to identify sources of interest. Five situational variables and one predominantly individual variable are documented to influence the catching of interest of students. The situational variables are live animals, "Ah-ha!" experiences, meaningfulness, social involvement, and humor, whereas the predominantly individual variable is background knowledge. We conclude that the situational variables are largely under the control of the faculty and should be considered when planning instruction. By focusing on the enhancement of situational interest in physiology lessons, faculty members can find ways to foster students' involvement in specific content areas and increase levels of academic motivation.

Extant primates and development of primatology in China: Publications, student training, and funding.

China supports the richest non-human primate diversity in the northern hemisphere, providing an excellent opportunity for Chinese primatologists to take a leading role in advancing the study of primatology. Primatology in China began to flourish after 1979. To date, Chinese primatologists have published more than 1000 papers in journals indexed by the Chinese Science Citation Database and the Web of Science Core Collection, and universities and academic institutions have trained 107 PhD students and 370 Masters students between 1984 and 2016. In total, the National Science Foundation of China has funded 129 primate projects (71.7 million Yuan) supporting 59 researchers from 28 organizations. However, previous research has also shown obvious species bias. Rhinopithecus roxellana, Rhinopithecus bieti, and Macaca mulatta have received much greater research attention than other species. Researchers have also tended to continue to study the same species (55.2%) they studied during their PhD training. To promote the development of primatology in China, we suggest 1) the need for a comprehensive primatology textbook written in Chinese, 2) continued training of more PhD students, and 3) encouragement to study less well-known primate species.

Professor Ernst Bresslau, founder of the Zoology Departments at the Universities of Cologne and Sao Paulo: lessons to learn from his life history.

In this article, the life history of the founding father of the departments of Zoology at the Universities of Cologne and Sao Paulo, Prof. Ernst Bresslau, is described on occasion of the establishing of the "Ernst Bresslau Guest Professorship" at the University of Cologne. His main scientific achievements are discussed, in particular his research on the evolutionary origin of the mammary apparatus, in addition to his broad interest in biological topics. Among the many technical advancements that he introduced was the micro slow-motion camera developed together with the Zeiss Company which allowed to film ciliary beats at high speeds.

How a collaborative integrated taxonomic effort has trained new spongiologists and improved knowledge of Martinique Island (French Antilles, eastern Caribbean Sea) marine biodiversity.

Although sponges are important components of benthic ecosystems of the Caribbean Sea, their diversity remained poorly investigated in the Lesser Antilles. By organizing a training course in Martinique, we wanted both to promote taxonomy and to provide a first inventory of the sponge diversity on this island. The course was like a naturalist expedition, with a field laboratory and a classroom nearby. Early-career scientists and environmental managers were trained in sponge taxonomy. We gathered unpublished data and conducted an inventory at 13 coastal sites. We explored only shallow water habitats (0-30 m), such as mangroves, reefs or rocky bottoms and underwater caves. According to this study, the sponge fauna of Martinique is currently represented by a minimum of 191 species, 134 of which we could assign species names. One third of the remaining non-identified sponge species we consider to be new to science. Martinique appears very remarkable because of its littoral marine fauna harboring sponge aggregations with high biomass and species diversity dominating over coral species. In mangroves, sponges cover about 10% of the surface of subtidal roots. Several submarine caves are true reservoirs of hidden and insufficiently described sponge diversity. Thanks to this new collaborative effort, the Eastern Caribbean has gained a significant increase of knowledge, with sponge diversity of this area potentially representing 40% of the total in the Caribbean Sea. We thus demonstrated the importance of developing exploratory and educational research in areas historically devoid of biodiversity inventories and systematics studies. Finally, we believe in the necessity to consider not only the number of species but their distribution in space to evaluate their putative contribution to ecosystem services and our willingness to preserve them.

Zoological medicine education in Canada: options and opportunities.

Canada has four veterinary schools, from which approximately 325 veterinarians graduate each year. Curricular offerings in zoological medicine consist of limited core material and a variety of internal and external electives pursued by students with particular interests. Several electives are offered jointly by and rotate among the existing schools. All schools offer graduate programs that encompass some aspects of zoological medicine. A fifth veterinary school, expected to open in 2007, will have a stronger focus on ecosystem health and zoological medicine. In Canada, the most effective method of increasing educational opportunities in zoological medicine is likely through enhanced collaboration among the five schools. Employment opportunities exist in private veterinary practice and at universities, research establishments, provincial or federal governments, and zoological gardens and safari parks. Increasing recognition of the importance of ecosystem health and of the relevance of wildlife diseases to public and domestic animal health will likely result in additional opportunities for veterinarians with an interest in and knowledge of zoological medicine.

Lizard Island Polychaete Workshop: sampling sites and a checklist of polychaetes.

In August 2013, a two week polychaete workshop was held at Lizard Island, Great Barrier Reef. Twenty-one sites representing 121 collection events were sampled for polychetes around Lizard and on the Outer Barrier. Workshop participants sorted polychaetes to family and each participant received on loan selected families to work up. This Zootaxa monograph describes 91 new species, 67 new records for Lizard Island, and 19 for Australia. Details regarding the habitats and locations are provided in Table 2 together with two maps (Figs 1, 2) showing sampling locations. In this paper we also list previously collected polychaete material from the region together with any published records for families which are not included in this volume.

[The sea in the museum: a perspective on education at aquariums]. / O mar no museu: um olhar sobre a educação nos aquários.

The musealization of the sea, today spearheaded by aquariums and oceanariums, encapsulated man's relationship with these environments and the techniques used to explore them and keep organisms alive in captivity. Recognizing the combined roles of research and entertainment at aquariums, some aspects of their constitution over time are analyzed, especially the education and communication dimensions they have focused on more in recent times. For this purpose, we investigate in detail a Brazilian institution, Ubatuba Aquarium, indicating how its musealization incorporates clear intentions to promote education and communication in subjects from the realms of zoology, ecology and conservation.

Teaching professionalism in science courses: anatomy to zoology.

Medical professionalism is reflected in attitudes, behaviors, character, and standards of practice. It is embodied by physicians who fulfill their duties to patients and uphold societies' trust in medicine. Professionalism requires familiarity with the ethical codes and standards established by international, governmental, institutional, or professional organizations. It also requires becoming aware of and responsive to societal controversies. Scientific uncertainty may be used to teach aspects of professionalism in science courses. Uncertainty about the science behind, and the health impacts of, climate change is one example explored herein that may be used to teach both professionalism and science. Many medical curricula provide students with information about professionalism and create opportunities for students to reflect upon and strengthen their individually evolving levels of professionalism. Faculties in basic sciences are rarely called upon to teach professionalism or deepen medical students understanding of professional standards, competencies, and ethical codes. However they have the knowledge and experience to develop goals, learning objectives, and topics relevant to professionalism within their own disciplines and medical curricula. Their dedication to, and passion for, science will support basic science faculties in designing innovative and effective approaches to teaching professionalism. This paper explores topics and formats that scientists may find useful in teaching professional attitudes, skills, and competencies in their medical curriculum. It highlights goals and learning objectives associated with teaching medical professionalism in the basic sciences.

Is Primatology an equal-opportunity discipline?

The proportion of women occupying academic positions in biological sciences has increased in the past few decades, but women are still under-represented in senior academic ranks compared to their male colleagues. Primatology has been often singled out as a model of "equal-opportunity" discipline because of the common perception that women are more represented in Primatology than in similar fields. But is this indeed true? Here we show that, although in the past 15 years the proportion of female primatologists increased from the 38% of the early 1990s to the 57% of 2008, Primatology is far from being an "equal-opportunity" discipline, and suffers the phenomenon of "glass ceiling" as all the other scientific disciplines examined so far. In fact, even if Primatology does attract more female students than males, at the full professor level male members significantly outnumber females. Moreover, regardless of position, IPS male members publish significantly more than their female colleagues. Furthermore, when analyzing gender difference in scientific productivity in relation to the name order in the publications, it emerged that the scientific achievements of female primatologists (in terms of number and type of publications) do not always match their professional achievements (in terms of academic position). However, the gender difference in the IPS members' number of publications does not correspond to a similar difference in their scientific impact (as measured by their H index), which may indicate that female primatologists' fewer articles are of higher impact than those of their male colleagues.