email: rswaisgood@sandiegozoo.org
office:
lab:
research interests: Application of behavioral research to conservation problem-solving
Research Interests
I am interested in using behavioral research, theoretically driven, to tackle conservation problems, especially those related to captive breeding, reintroduction, and translocation. Generally, I address problems using an approach referred to as captive-field synergism, where I move back and forth between field and zoo-based studies. Most of my work has been with mammals, such as bears, rhinoceros, and elephants. In my longest-running project, I have worked closely with my Chinese colleagues at the Wolong Breeding Center for giant pandas for the past decade in a successful effort to overcome breeding problems in this species. One of my main areas of research addresses the role that chemical communication plays in reproduction and aggression. I have also worked to develop enrichment strategies in captive animals to promote wellbeing and captive breeding, and prepare animals for release to the wild. Other topics of interest include maternal care patterns, mating strategies, denning ecology, and an emerging interest in habitat selection and dispersal. As Head of the Applied Animal Ecology Division (at the Beckman Center for Conservation and Research for Endangered Species, Zoological Society of San Diego; http://cres.sandiegozoo.org/staff/div_applied_cons.html), I also supervise several recovery programs for species such as California condors, endangered Hawaiian birds, San Clemente Island loggerhead shrikes, Caribbean rock iguanas, mountain yellow-legged frogs, and Pacific pocket mice. My overarching goal is to move beyond research that has implications for conservation in favor of research that has true, immediate application.
Selected Publications
Swaisgood RR, Dickman DM, White AM. 2006. A captive population in crisis: testing hypotheses for reproductive failure in captive-born southern white rhinoceros females Biological Conservation 129: 468-476 .
Swaisgood, RR & Shepherdson, DJ. 2005. Scientific approaches to enrichment and stereotypies in zoo animals: what's been done and where should we go next? Zoo Biology 24: 499-518 .
Swaisgood, RR, White, AM, Zhou, X, Zhang, G & Lindburg, DG. 2005. How do giant pandas respond to varying properties of enrichments? A comparison of behavioral profiles among five enrichment items Journal of Comparative Psychology 119: 325-334 .
G. Zhang, R. R. Swaisgood, and H. Zhang. 2004. An evaluation of the behavioral factors influencing reproductive success and failure in captive giant pandas Zoo Biology 23: 15-31 .
R. R. Swaisgood, M. P. Rowe, and D. H. Owings. 2003. Antipredator responses of California ground squirrels to rattlesnakes and rattling sounds: Effects of sex, parity, and offspring characteristics on assessment and decision-making rules Behavioral Ecology and Sociobiology 55: 22-31 .
R. R. Swaisgood, X. Zhou, G. Zhang, D. G. Lindburg, and H. Zhang. 2003. Application of behavioral knowledge to giant panda conservation International Journal of Comparative Psychology 16: 65-84 .
R. R. Swaisgood, S. Ellis, D. L. Forthman, and D. J. Shepherdson. 2003. Improving well-being for captive giant pandas: Theoretical and practical issues Zoo Biology 22: 347-354 .
H. S. Fisher, R. R. Swaisgood, and H. Fitch-Snyder. 2003. Countermarking by male pygmy lorises (Nycticebus pygmaeus): Do females use odor cues to select mates with high competitive ability? Behavioral Ecology and Sociobiology 53: 123-130 .
H. S. Fisher, R. R. Swaisgood, and H. Fitch-Snyder. 2003. Odor familiarity and female preferences for males in a threatened primate, the pygmy loris, Nycticebus pygmaeus: Applications for genetic management of small populations Naturwissenschaften 90: 509-512 .
A. M. White, R. R. Swaisgood, and H. Zhang. 2003. Chemical communication in the giant panda (Ailuropoda melanoleuca): The role of age in the signaller and the assessor Journal of Zoology, London 259: 171-178 .