It’s a Zoo Out There

After years of informal collaboration between Rice researchers and the Houston Zoo, the relationship recently was formalized with the establishment of the Houston Zoo and Rice University Consortium in Conservation Biology.

Hanszen senior Diana Cox observes the activity of an okapi named Kwame and documents it every 30 seconds as part of her project to record the behavior patterns before and after items such as horse toys are introduced into its environment.

Consortium co-directors Lisa Meffert, assistant professor of ecology and evolutionary biology at Rice, and Stan Mays, curator of herpetology at the Houston Zoo, had been exchanging information on a small scale for several years. “It’s only fair that the zoo gets credit for helping with Rice research,” Meffert says. “At the same time, we’d like to reciprocate to the zoo staff and give them any benefits that Rice may have that could help with their work.”

Until now, to receive research credit in ecology and evolutionary and conservation biology, Rice students were limited to on-campus facilities. Those, however, don’t always meet student needs. In Meffert’s lab, for example, all the experiments deal with houseflies. “I admit it’s hard to sell students on working with flies,” she says. “Houseflies aren’t very charismatic, so I can see why some students would rather choose something that at least has bones.”

The zoo, on the other hand, offers numerous project possibilities that wouldn’t otherwise be available to students. And the zoo will benefit as well. Working so closely with the animals, the zookeepers see research opportunities every day but simply don’t have the time to follow through. “The keepers know that the Rice students will throw themselves into the projects and do an excellent job,” Meffert says. “It makes perfect sense for both institutions.”

Under the consortium, any Rice student can conduct research at the Houston Zoo, using the zookeepers as supervisors, mentors, and consultants. The projects mostly will be observational and noninvasive, but true research nonetheless.

In return, zoo personnel will be able to obtain visiting scholar status at Rice, audit classes, and have access to library resources. “Considering how exclusive Rice is, I think it’s great for zookeepers to be able to take classes here,” Meffert says. “And our library and electronic resources are invaluable to them.”

Through the consortium, both institutions also will be included on any research manuscripts produced by the collaboration between the zoo and Rice.

“Both Rice and the Houston Zoo have good reputations,” Mays says, “and this formal collaboration will bring together the best of both the academic and practical worlds. Access to Rice’s library is going to be phenomenal for the zoo staff. We’re looking forward to expanding this program in the future.”

This is an opportunity, Meffert says, that the students will never forget. “In working with the keepers, the students get a backstage pass, and they’ll learn so much by being behind the scenes,” she notes. “It’s absolutely ideal for students interested in ecology and evolutionary biology to work with complex organisms—big and interesting animals like they have at the Houston Zoo.”

—Lindsey Fielder