Join us for a virtual seminar to celebrate National Zoo Lovers Day! The online event will include three short talks which explain how statistics are being used to promote animal welfare and help conservation efforts in Zoos across the UK.

12:00 to 12:15:
Sean Jellesmark (UCL & Zoological Society of London):
"Measuring the impact of conservation on wetland birds”

Over the last three decades, breeding populations of wading birds have experienced severe declines across the United Kingdom. Conservation organisations, such as the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds, have invested considerable resources into halting this decline by creating and managing wildlife reserves. However, the extent to which these reserves actually benefit breeding wading bird populations, is largely unknown. Because of limited resources, reserves are rarely evaluated. Furthermore, evaluation is complicated because reserves cover large areas which makes replication across space extremely resource demanding and in practice often infeasible. In this talk I will show how breeding wader counts from reserves and from the wider countryside can be used to evaluate the impact of wetland reserves.
 
12:20 to 12:35:
Dr Sophie Moittie (University of Nottingham):
"Great ape cardiac diseases at Twycross Zoo”
 
12:40 to 13:10:
Dr Anna Auer-Fowler and Dr Maria Sudell (University of Liverpool):
“Looking after animals: Statistics at Chester Zoo”

Chester Zoo are collecting large amounts of data on their animals and on endangered populations. We'll discuss how statistics are used to promote animal welfare and to preserve and protect endangered species.

• Sean Jellesmark (UCL & Zoological Society of London)
• Dr Sophie Moittie (University of Nottingham)
• Dr Anna Auer-Fowler and Dr Maria Sudell (University of Liverpool)

Lucy Teece for the RSS East Midlands Local Group