Master Internships
Please contact the appropriate supervisor in Animal Behaviour and Cognition if you are interested in the following projects as part of a masters study. Please let us know the following when you contact us:
- Which project you are interested in, and why: please detail your motivation.
- Your relevant academic experience (for example, have you completed a course in animal behaviour / animal ecology or an allied discipline? Such experience is normally a prerequisite for beginning an internship).
- Which course you are currently doing, and where you are studying.
- How long an internship you are looking for.
- When you would like to start and finish, and your flexibility regarding these dates.
Students from outside Utrecht should inform us of any special requirements made by their home university and must ensure that academic credit earned here is transferable. Please check with your home university that it is possible for you to do an internship here before you get in touch with us.
Projects categorised by topic:
- Primate social cognition
- Animal welfare (zoo/lifestock)
- Diverse topics: Bonobo's, chimpanzees, great tits, a.o.
PRIMATE SOCIAL COGNITION: IN THE NETHERLANDS AND ELSEWHERE
Cooperation in crested macaques: understanding the roles of prosociality and personality.
Project duration – 8 - 10 months (incl. 6 – 7 months of observations/experiments in Planckendael Zoo, Belgium)
Summary -
Why do animals choose to cooperate? Elucidating the evolutionary mechanism of cooperation has proven to be challenging despite theoretical and empirical explanations. A significant lack in the experimental shreds of evidence regarding the proximate mechanisms can be held responsible. Here we aim to understand the nuances of cooperation using two such proxies – prosociality and personality in an extremely interesting but critically endangered macaque species, the Sulawesi black crested macaques (Macaca nigra).
The project will involve testing macaques in their natural groups rendering ecological relevance. Since partner choice during cooperation is of paramount importance, forming forced dyads for testing will be avoided. We will be assessing the personalities of the macaques, followed by investigating their prosocial tendencies. Based on the outcomes, cooperative behaviour will be examined.
Project start date – Flexible, preferably by August/September 2021.
Supervisors – dr. Jorg JM Massen (j.j.m.massen@uu.nl) & dr. Debottam Bhattacharjee (d.bhattacharjee@uu.nl). Write to us with a short letter of motivation and CV.
Requirements – We are looking for a highly motivated Dutch speaking student for the project with at least some basic exposure to animal behaviour and cognition studies.
Cooperation and hormones: disentangling the influence of peripheral hormones on cooperation.
Project duration – 8 to 9 months (incl. 5 – 6 months of rigorous fieldwork in NL/Austria)
Summary
Cooperation is a dynamic and complicated process. Cooperative decision rules were previously thought to be a result of complex cognition in animals. However, animals that lack elaborate cognitive skills also cooperate. Therefore, emotionally modulated cooperative decision rules are suggested. Unfortunately, the assessment of the mechanism of emotion-driven cooperation is difficult to ascertain. Due to an evolutionary interlink between the ancestral hormonal system with social cognition, exploring the endocrinological basis of cooperation would be highly effective.
In this project, we aim to understand the interplay of oxytocin, cortisol and testosterone, and their influence on cooperation, using different species of macaques as study subjects. Non-invasive methods will be employed focusing on urine and saliva sampling, before and after behavioural tests pertaining to cooperation. Various analytical techniques will be applied on the collected hormone samples with the ultimate aim of deducing their roles on the behaviour showed.
We are looking for a highly motivated students, to work on this fascinating project, preferably with some prior experience of basic endocrinological techniques.
Supervisors
Dr. Jorg J.M. Massen (j.j.m.massen@uu.nl) & Dr. Debottam Bhattacharjee
Cooperation in macaques: understanding the roles of prosociality and personality.
Project duration – 8 to 9 months (incl. 5 – 6 months of rigorous fieldwork in NL/Austria)
Summary
Why do animals choose to cooperate? Elucidating the evolutionary mechanism of cooperation has proven to be challenging despite theoretical and empirical explanations. A significant lack in the experimental shreds of evidence regarding the proximate mechanisms can be held responsible. Here we aim to understand the nuances of cooperation using two such proxies – prosociality and personality. A comparative approach using different macaque species will enable us to answer what motivates cooperation and how individuals choose their cooperative partners.
The project will involve testing macaques in their natural groups rendering ecological relevance. Since partner choice during cooperation is of paramount importance, forming forced dyads for testing will be avoided. We will be assessing the personalities of the macaques, followed by investigating their prosocial tendencies. Based on the outcomes, cooperative behaviour will be examined.
We are looking for a highly motivated students, to work on this fascinating project, preferably with some prior experience of behavioural observation/testing.
Supervisors
Dr. Jorg J.M. Massen (j.j.m.massen@uu.nl) & Dr. Debottam Bhattacharjee
Regulation of primate relationships in macaques: the role of tolerance and cooperation
Group life is only possible when benefits outweigh the costs. However, group members may have different needs and compete with each other. Animals navigate this social environment by forming social relationships with their group members. Traditionally, aggression and the related dominance hierarchy has received most attention. However, it is becoming clear that also friendly relationships are important. While friendly relationships result in fitness benefits, the underlying mechanisms are not clear.
In this research we explore how macaque friendly relationships relate to tolerance in food tasks. This research combines an observational and experimental (by giving enrichment) approach.
Researcher: Prof. dr. Liesbeth Sterck (email: e.h.m.sterck@uu.nl)
Application: at least one month before start student research (a researcher may not be able to place a student in such short notice)
Requirements: course in 'Socioecology'; course in statistics
Is yawning in chimpanzees related to stress or vigilance?
Project duration – 8 to 9 months (incl. 5 – 6 months of rigorous fieldwork in Burgers’ Zoo, Arnhem)
Summary
Yawning is an evolutionarily old behaviour that is widespread among vertebrates. However, there is still much debate on its function. The hypothesis that it serves to increase oxygen uptake, although still pervasive, has been proven false long ago. On a proximate level there is, however, convincing evidence that yawning serves a thermoregulatory function, i.e. it cools the brain back to homeostasis. But the ultimate reason why animals do that remains unknown. Yawning has been linked to arousal levels and stress. Alternatively, it is thought that by cooling the brain, yawning induces vigilance. Evidence for the vigilance hypothesis is still lacking, but there are some studies that indirectly support it.
The aim of the proposed project is to further investigate both the stress and the vigilance hypothesis and we do this by looking at post-conflict yawning in a group of captive chimpanzees and by investigating the effects of reconciliation and consolation on those post-conflict yawning rates. Conflicts induce stress and the possibility of renewed aggression may require vigilance. Reconciliation and consolation influence these patterns differently. This study requires a lot of observational hours to get as many conflicts as possible, as well as the required matched controls.
We’re looking for a highly motivated, contentious and patient student that wants to do that extra mile. Experience with behavioural observations of a social species is preferred.
Supervisors
Dr. Jorg J.M. Massen (j.j.m.massen@uu.nl)
Does personality explain play partners and exploration of enrichment in juvenile macaques
Animals can differ in their personality and show consistent tendencies to behave in a particular way. In macaques, personality has been established as individual differences in social behaviour. In the current study, we aim to explore how personality, age and sex affect the choice of play patterns and exploration of enrichment in juvenile macaques. This is an observational study of social behaviour and combined with measuring reactions to enrichment.
Researcher: drs. Edwin de Laat (e-mail: e.j.a.m.delaat@uu.nl)
Application: internships are available, preferably starting between October 2019 / January 2020
Requirements: course in 'Socioecology'; course in statistics
Bird Internships
String-pulling in galah and azure-winged magpies
Project duration – 6 -8 months (incl. 5 -6 months of experimentation at Avifauna bird park, Alphen a/d Rijn)
Summary –
To study the cognitive capabilities of species, a popular test is the string-pulling paradigm, since this allows testing Gestalt perception, means–end understanding, causal reasoning, and in-sight. By using a comparative approach, i.e., testing multiple species in the same paradigm, we can infer something about the evolution of intelligence within and across taxa. Interestingly, within the parrot and the corvid lineage, there is considerable variation in which specific conditions each species can solve and which not, which would allow for such inferences, although more species need to be tested in a consistent way.
Therefore, here we propose to test two relatively understudied species of both lineages, i.e., galah and azure-winged magpies. As the project requires individual testing, it requires training of the animals to come voluntarily into a testing room. Therefore, we need someone with an affinity with birds, preferably also with experience working with birds, and with a creative mindset to think about the different conditions to be tested and the species-specific requirements to do so.
Project start date - Flexible, preferably by November 2021
Supervisors – dr. Jorg J.M. Massen (j.j.m.massen@uu.nl) & dr. Mark O’Hara (Veterinarian University of Vienna). Write to us with a short letter of motivation and a CV
Number of positions – Up to two
Contrafreeloading in parrots
Research internship (6-9 maanden)
Evaluating the voluntary foraging choices of grey parrots (Psittacus erithacus) in a preference test
We are looking for motivated MSc students who are interested in research into behaviour and welfare of parrots!
Foraging enrichment is often provided to captive animals to allow species-specific foraging behaviour. However, existent foraging enrichment have thus far not been able to naturalize foraging times (>4h/day) in parrots. Currently available enrichments rarely take into account the different phases and corresponding activities of foraging behaviour. During this study, a two components of foraging enrichment will be provided along with free food, and parrots will be observed for their choices and time spent on (contra)freeloading. Results of this study will help to gain insight in behavioural needs of parrots regarding foraging activities.
Other research subjects regarding foraging or feather damaging behaviour can be discussed.
If you are interested, please contact me!
m.h.c.beekmans1[at]uu.nl
Responsibilities
Writing a research proposal with concise research question, daily caretaking of parrots in the study (together with other students), training of parrots in the study, monitoring health and welfare of parrots in the study, writing a scientific report and giving a presentation.
All activities within this study are adjusted according to the covid-19 health measures.
Location
Utrecht, faculty of Veterinary Medicine
Starting period
Flexible
Supervisors
Mandy Beekmans, MSc (biologist, PhD candidate)
Dr. Yvonne van Zeeland (avian veterinarian, specialisation in parrot behaviour)
Dr. Claudia Vinke (biologist, specialisation in animal behaviour, welfare and behavioural disorders)
More information
https://dierenmaatschappij.vriendendiergeneeskunde.nl/project/papegaaie…
Coot nests made from plastic debris - personalities, fledging success and nest isolation
Other internships
Primate welfare: the effect of movement on primate overweight
Overweight is a large-scale problem in captive animals. Preventing overweight is important to promote animal welfare, since overweight may lead to several health problems, such as diabetes and cardiovascular diseases. Also in group-housed macaques that live in spacious enclosures, a portion of the animals carry a few extra pounds. Preliminary data indicate that overweight animals do not have a higher food intake, but are more often inactive. We seek confirmation of this connection between behaviour and overweight. Moreover, we plan to test the effect of a change in animal management on overweight. This contributes to our understanding how management can be adjusted to improve animal welfare.
During a nine-month internship on the macaques living at the Biomedical Primate Research Centre (Rijswijk, NL) you will participate in a project that aims to enhance healthy behaviour in macaques.Researcher: Dian Zijlmans (email: d.g.m.zijlmans@uu.nl)
Application: internships are available, preferably starting between October 2019 / January 2020
Requirements: course in 'Socioecology'; course in statistics
ZOO WELFARE PROGRAM
Dutch zoos united in the NVD (Dutch Association of Zoos) continually strive to improve the welfare of the animals they house. The welfare effects of enrichment are important. Welfare is assessed by observational methods.
We conduct welfare research in Dutch zoos on the basis of their welfare questions.
Minimum length of student research: 6 months (observations, processing of data and writing of student report). Minor/major research project.
Application: Please send your application to Marie Jose Duchateau (m.j.h.m.duchateau@uu.nl), at least one month before the start of your research project.
Requirements: Students participating in this research are required to have followed courses in ‘Socioecology’ and in statistics.
Welfare of male Western lowland gorillas
In zoos, endangered species are part of breeding programs to maintain genetically healthy populations. This is also the case for Western lowland gorillas (WLGs; Gorilla gorilla gorilla). However, because these social animals are kept in their natural social organization of so-called harem-groups (with one leading silverback, his females and offspring), these breeding programs often lead to a surplus of adult males as well. Strategies that are now applied by zoos to socially house these individuals are all-male groups, or castrating some of the young surplus males so they can be kept in breeding groups. Unfortunately, not much is known (yet) about the longitudinal effects on the behaviour and welfare of these animals for both strategies. Also, how these animals cope with their social environments on the long-term is still unclear and research is needed.
In this major research internship (9 months), we assess (social) behaviour and non-invasively measure stress (-hormone levels). You will be participating in a longitudinal study on the behaviour and welfare of surplus male gorillas in Dutch zoos.
Researcher: Lisette van den Berg (email: L.M.vandenberg2@uu.nl)
Application: internship preferably starts beginning of 2020, but contact me to discuss the possibilities when interested.
Requirements: course in ‘Socioecology’ or master repair course ‘Observing Behaviour’ and course in statistics.
OTHER MAJOR/MINOR RESEARCH TOPICS
Primate welfare: overweight in semi-free ranging Japanese macaques
Overweight and obesity are a large-scale problem in captivity, with 10-15% of captive macaques developing obesity somewhere during their life (West & York, 1998). As activity is limited, food is abundant and easily accessible, living in captivity can be considered an “obesifying” lifestyle (Dittus, 2013). Although semi-free ranging macaques have more natural and spacious homes compared to captive primates, they tend to become overweight as well. We hope that comparing overweight and behaviour of macaques in different housing conditions provides more insight about which factors are related to overweight. This contributes to our understanding of what may cause overweight in group-housed macaques and hopefully result in new management strategies to improve animal welfare.
During a six- or nine-month internship, you will participate in a project that quantifies overweight and behaviour of Japanese macaques living semi-free ranging at the Affenberg in Austria (https://www.affenberg.com).
This internship requires a motivated student that is willing to spent at least five months abroad, preferably starting in February/March 2020. The student needs to be able to work independently (as the daily supervisor will be guiding tours during the summer), but also be a team-player.
Researcher: please contact Dian Zijlmans at d.g.m.zijlmans@uu.nl
Application: preferably starting Feb/March 2020.
Requirements: course in 'Socioecology'; course in statistics
The BPRC Primate Welfare Program
The BPRC houses primates and aims at achieving the highest standards of their welfare. The primates are group-housed and have large enclosures with many enrichment devises. An enrichment manual is output form this research program.
Continuing research aims at further improving primate welfare, improving on each of the three R’s. Research can be conducted in three species: rhesus macaques, long-tailed macaques and common marmosets; on the following topics:
-General behaviour
-Social behaviour
-Husbandry
-Enrichment
-Positive reinforcement training
-Physiology
-Non-invasive techniques
For information contact:
Liesbeth Sterck: e.h.m.sterck@uu.nl
Annet Louwerse: Louwerse@bprc.nl
Links:
-BPRC
Pig welfare: Causes of tail-biting in finishing pigs
Tail-biting is a common behavior in finishing pigs (pigs kept for meat production). Outbreaks of tail-biting can be very severe and cause serious welfare issues for affected pigs. Traditionally, pig tails were docked in the first three days after birth to prevent tail-biting. However, this may also cause welfare issues. The removal of the tail causes acute pain and the formation of amputation neuromas may cause chronic pain. Tail docking is therefore considered undesirable from a welfare point of view and in the Netherlands steps are being taken to forbid this management practice. In order to prevent tail-biting in groups of pigs with intact tails, the causes of this behavior need to be studied in more detail.
In this project, we will study finishing pigs on a commercial farm where pigs with intact tails are kept and where regular outbreaks of tail-biting occur. Group-housed pigs will be followed from the formation of the group (at 10 weeks of age) until slaughter age (6 months). Both individual traits such as stress level, growth and behavior and groups characteristics such as dominance structure and affiliative behavior will be studied to see if they are predictors for the outbreak of tail biting and whether an individual will be a “biter” or a victim. In addition, this study will cover new ground by addressing social behavior and relationships in pigs and their effect on welfare.
Two students will work on this project at the same time and will construct an ethogram of pig social behavior. One student will focus on the normal social behavior of pigs and study the social behavior and relationships of the animals, while the other will focus on predictors for tail biting. The work will mainly consist of behavioral observations, but some lab work may also be involved, for example to determine cortisol levels in hair. Students should have good communication skills (since they will require the cooperation of the pig farmer) and should be able to work independently.
Minimum length of student research: 6 months
Requirements: Students participating in this research are required to have followed courses in ‘Socioecology’ and in statistics.
Does this project interest you? Then please contact Liesbeth Sterck (e.h.m.sterck@uu.nl) or Ellen Meijer (e.meijer1@uu.nl) for more information or to apply.
What explains individual and species differences in innovative ability?
The environment around us is constantly changing, and as humans we are capable of adapting ourselves to these changes, finding new ways to overcome difficulties that we encounter and using what we already know. However, we are not the only species capable of doing this. There are many examples of how animals can solve problems they encounter and use this knowledge in new ways. A key factor for this is innovation ability. This ability, however, varies between species, populations, and even individuals within populations. Although studies on innovative ability have shown the importance for adaptation and fitness, it is still largely unclear why some individuals are capable of coming up with extraordinary solutions to problems whereas others are not.
In this project we investigate which key factors make some animals more innovative than others. We use blue tits, marsh tits and great tits as our study species both in the wild and in captivity.
Work can include: fieldwork, behavioural measures in captivity during summer, autumn and winter, Innovation behaviour in spring
Starting date: any date
Supervision contact details:
Kees van Oers (k.vanoers@nioo.knaw.nl)
Utku Urhan (u.urhan@nioo.knaw.nl)
Habitat matching or local adaptation: how does habitat quality drive variation in cognitive traits
The environment is changing rapidly, and it is essential for animals to behaviourally adapt to these changes. In order to adjust their behaviour adaptively they need to collect, retain and use information from their changing environment, processes referred to as cognition. While cognition is known to be important, we still lack information on the existence of consistent cognitive differences across habitat types, suggesting local adaptation in cognitive ability. In this project, we will determine whether natural variation in habitat quality acts as a potential selection pressure on cognitive variation in great tits, a model species for ecological cognition.
Work can include: fieldwork, habitat measures, behavioural measures in captivity, Foraging behaviour during winter
Starting date: any date
Supervision contact details:
Kees van Oers (k.vanoers@nioo.knaw.nl)
Eva Serrano-Davies (e.serrano@nioo.knaw.nl)
Animal Personality
Animal personality; a topic that has received much attention over the last 3 decades. Within this topic many field, lab, data or literature studies on birds are possible. Projects could range from behavioural, ecological, fitness to genomics studies, but also studies using a large 25-year dataset on different aspects on animal personality are possible. Any length or type is possible.
Starting date: Very flexible
Supervision contact details:
Kees van Oers (k.vanoers@nioo.knaw.nl)
The role of birds for managing Oak Processionary Caterpillars
Oak processionary caterpillars (Thaumetopoea processionea ; OPC) have increased in abundance greatly over the last decade. They are seen as a pest, because of their venomous hairs, which can cause skin irritation in humans. Over the past years the role of songbirds, predominantly the great tit (Parus major), as a pest management tool has been widely advocated. However, strong evidence for the effectiveness of an effect of great tits on OPC densities is lacking. In this project, you will be part of a systematic study on the role for passerines in pest management. For this purpose we setup a new nest box population (100 boxes) of great tits in ‘s Gravenlande's Buitenplaatsen around the Natuurmonumenten Bezoekerscentrum “Gooi- en Vechtstreek” . With over 600.000 visitors yearly and an increasing density of OPC, this area is ideal for this study. We look for students that want to do projects on questions related to the foraging behaviour of great tits throughout the year during nestling periods (April, May, June) and/or fledging periods (June, July, August) or winter (September-March). Also possibilities on insect ecology or combinations are possible.
Work includes: Field work in ‘s Gravenland, video recordings, camera traps, insect work, behavioural observations
Starting date: Flexible
Supervision contact details:
Kees van Oers (k.vanoers@nioo.knaw.nl)
MINOR RESEARCH PROJECTS
Pragmatics in guereza colobus monkey (Colobus guereza) communication
For a master student EB:BE interested in gaining experience in (experimental) fieldwork, a (non-funded) minor research project position is available at the Budongo Conservation Field Station, Uganda.
Fieldwork will be conducted from November 2018 – January 2019 under supervision of Dr. A.M. Schel. She will travel to Uganda with the student and will offer training on field methods for two weeks at the start of the fieldwork period.
Scientific framework:
Although some animal calls appear to function as highly informative ‘word-like’ signals, it was recently suggested that many signals are not produced as context-specific as previously claimed, and that listeners’ adaptive responses are more fundamentally dependent on additional cues to infer the underlying cause of calling (i.e. pragmatic inference). This study will investigate which cues guereza colobus monkeys (Colobus guereza) take into account when responding adaptively to conspecifics’ vocal eagle alarms and dawn chorusing. These vocalizations are acoustically similar, but produced in different contexts, leading to highly differential responses that are needed from recipients. A playback experiment is conducted to find out whether call-acoustics or additional cues (e.g. daytime) cause listeners to respond adaptively.
If you are interested in doing your minor research project on pragmatic inference in wild black-and-white colobus monkeys in Uganda, please contact Anne Marijke Schel A.M.Schel@uu.nl
The selection procedure will involve an interview in the week of the 9th of July 2018.
Fauna conservation and certified forestry in Central Africa
Protection of wildlife in nature reserves is important. However, also protection wildlife in forests that are used for selective logging can also provide a major contribution to maintaining wildlife populations. In this research, we determine the effect of logging practices on wildlife densities in Central Africa. We also measure hunting pressure.
Minimum length of student research: 6 months (data collection, processing of data and writing of student report). Minor/major research project.
Application: Please send your application to Joeri Zwerts (j.a.zwerts@uu.nl), at least one month before the start of your research project/internship. The availability of research positions will depend on the planning of the introductions.
Requirements: Students participating in this research are required to have followed courses in ‘Socioecology’ and in statistics.
Internships at the Centre for Research and Conservation, Antwerp Zoo, Belgium.
The Antwerp Zoo Centre for Research and Conservation (CRC) is the research department of the Royal Zoological Society of Antwerp (RZSA). Research activities take place mainly at ZOO Antwerpen at the ZOO Planckendael, and in associated institutions.
Students that would like to conduct a master project can contact Zjef Pereboom (Zjef.Pereboom@kmda.org) or Marjolein Osieck (Marjolein.Osieck@kmda.org). Please indicate your master program; your interests (e.g. zoo animal welfare; conservation genetics; social behaviour; cognition; et cetera); why you want to conduct research at the CRC, Antwerp Zoo, Belgium; when you would like to start; and how much time you can spend (for Major research project: 9 months). For more information about research done at the CRC visit www.zooscience.be .
Relationship between personality and social rank in great tits on feeding tables, NIOO-CTE in Heteren
Click DomGreatTits.pdf for description of the project.
Internship at Stichting AAP, Almere
AAP, Sanctuary for Exotic Animals, is located in Almere, The Netherlands. Exotic mammals (mainly primates, but also raccoons, squirrels and other small mammals) rescued from all over Europe are rehabilitated at our sanctuary and when fully rehabilitated, will be rehomed to high-quality zoos, animal parks or wild reserves. At the sanctuary, we perform several behavioural studies.
For current studies and internship possibilities, please contact Charlotte Kluiver (charlotte.kluiver@aap.nl). Please indicate your master program, your interests, your preferred start date and how much time you want to spend on this internship. We have a minimum research length of 6 months. For more information visit https://www.aap.nl/wo-stages-bij-aap/