Evaluating the Impact of Auditory Enrichment on the Welfare and Natural Behaviour of Meerkats
An LSeT student thesis exploring whether sound — conspecific calls, alarm signals, and habitat soundscapes — can meaningfully improve the welfare of captive meerkats.
About this research
Meerkats (Suricata suricatta) are highly social, cooperative breeders that rely heavily on vocal communication for predator avoidance, foraging coordination, and social bonding
In captivity, the absence of natural acoustic stimuli — conspecific alarm calls, colony chatter, and savannah soundscapes — may reduce species-typical behaviour and compromise welfare
This MSc thesis tests whether structured auditory enrichment — playback of conspecific vocalisations, heterospecific alarm calls, and Kalahari ambient recordings — elicits measurable changes in vigilance, foraging, social interaction, and stress indicators
Compares three sound treatments against a silent control in a repeated-measures design over 12 weeks
Behavioural data collected via instantaneous scan sampling and continuous focal sampling; physiological stress assessed through faecal glucocorticoid metabolite analysis
Aims to produce an evidence-based auditory enrichment protocol adoptable by zoos and sanctuaries housing meerkats and similar social mongooses
Research questions
Does playback of conspecific mob calls and alarm signals increase sentinel behaviour and coordinated vigilance?
How does Kalahari ambient soundscape enrichment affect foraging duration and spatial use of the enclosure?
Do different auditory stimuli (conspecific, heterospecific, ambient) differentially influence faecal glucocorticoid metabolite levels?
Can a standardised auditory enrichment schedule be recommended for captive meerkat management guidelines?
Methodology
Baseline observation — Two weeks of behavioural data collection under standard housing conditions to establish individual and group activity budgets.
Treatment phase — Three auditory treatments (conspecific calls, heterospecific alarm, ambient soundscape) and a silent control presented in a balanced Latin-square order across four enclosure groups.
Data collection — Instantaneous scan sampling every 2 minutes during 90-min sessions plus continuous focal sampling of sentinel and social behaviours; faecal samples collected every 48 hours for glucocorticoid assay.
Analysis & reporting — Generalised linear mixed models comparing behavioural and physiological responses across treatments, with findings submitted as an MSc thesis and a co-authored journal paper.
Project Timeline
Lead Researcher
Dr. Sofiia Pyshnieva has 15+ years of experience in wildlife conservation, working with endangered species across five continents. She holds a Ph.D. in Conservation Biology and has published over 30 research papers.