Fiene Steinbrecher
PhD Researcher
- Faculty:
- Faculty of Science and Engineering
- School:
- Life Sciences
- Location:
- Cambridge
Research interests
Thesis title:
The effects of the acoustic environment of captive pied tamarins.
Supervisory Team
Research Group
Fiene is a member of our Behavioural Ecology Research Group.
Summary of Research
It is clear that habitat loss and fragmentation are the main driver of species extinction. However, continuous urbanization and increasing anthropogenic pressure also creates an acoustic environment that is much noisier, and markedly different to that of undisturbed areas. Therefore, noise represents a potential stressor that should be considered in animal welfare and conservation planning, not only for wildlife, but also for captive animals that permanently live within anthropogenic settings. Although animals are equipped with behavioural and physiological mechanisms for adapting to day-to-day environmental challenges, chronic stressors, such as a louder, varied, and/or irregular acoustic environment, can negatively affect their health and behaviour. Studying the effects of the acoustic environment in a captive setting, particularly focusing on pied tamarins as a model species - a not only a very sensitive New World primate species that is endangered in the wild, but also one that struggles under captive conditions - will provide useful information about the animals’ responses and ultimately allow us to improve the health, conservation and survival of both wild and captive animals.