Jason Watters

University of California, Davis

San Francisco

Research Expertise

animal behavior, animal welfare

animal behavior

animal welfare

conservation biology

About

Jason Watters is an accomplished animal behavior scientist holding a Ph.D. from the University of California, Davis. He brings extensive expertise from his previous roles, including an Executive Vice President position at San Francisco Zoo, and research positions at the Chicago Zoological Society and leadership as Executive Editor of Zoo Biology. Additionally, Dr. Watters contributes to academia as an Adjunct Associate Professor of Animal Science at the University of California, Davis.

Publications

The mix matters: behavioural types and group dynamics in water striders

Behaviour

2005

The keystone individual concept: an ecological and evolutionary overview

Animal Behaviour

2014

Different strokes: Can managing behavioral types increase post-release success?

Applied Animal Behaviour Science

2007

Measuring Animal Personality for Use in Population Management in Zoos: Suggested Methods and Rationale

Zoo Biology

2011

Zoo Visitors' Affective Responses to Observing Animal Behaviors

Visitor Studies

2016

Searching for behavioral indicators of welfare in zoos: Uncovering anticipatory behavior

Zoo Biology

2014

Effect of a time-out session with working animal-assisted therapy dogs

Journal of Veterinary Behavior

2011

Behavioral monitoring in zoos and aquariums: a tool for guiding husbandry and directing research

Zoo Biology

2008

Odor-Based Recognition of Familiar and Related Conspecifics: A First Test Conducted on Captive Humboldt Penguins (Spheniscus humboldti)

PLoS ONE

2011

Phenotype management: a new approach to habitat restoration

Biological Conservation

2003

Assessing Animal Welfare with Behavior: Onward with Caution

Journal of Zoological and Botanical Gardens

2021

Value of captive populations for quantitative genetics research

Trends in Ecology & Evolution

2009

Applying Fecal Endocrine Monitoring to Conservation and Behavior Studies of Wild Mammals: Important Considerations and Preliminary Tests

Israel Journal of Ecology & Evolution

2007

Managing Aged Animals in Zoos to Promote Positive Welfare: A Review and Future Directions

Animals

2018

Toward a predictive theory for environmental enrichment

Zoo Biology

2009

The Evolution of the Animal Welfare Movement in U.S. Zoos and Aquariums

Der Zoologische Garten

2017

Can the alternative male tactics ‘fighter’ and ‘sneaker’ be considered ‘coercer’ and ‘cooperator’ in coho salmon?

Animal Behaviour

2005

Simple but temporally unpredictable puzzles are cognitive enrichment

Animal Behavior and Cognition

2017

Note on optimizing environmental enrichment: a study of fennec fox and zoo guests

Zoo Biology

2010

Applying Behavioral Conditioning to Identify Anticipatory Behaviors

Journal of Applied Animal Welfare Science

2017

Crowdfunding Campaigns Help Researchers Launch Projects and Generate Outreach

Journal of Microbiology & Biology Education

2016

Measuring Welfare through Behavioral Observation and Adjusting It with Dynamic Environments

Scientific Foundations of Zoos and Aquariums

2019

Assessing and Enhancing the Welfare of Animals with Equivocal and Reliable Cues

Animals

2019

Introduction to the special issue on zoo animal welfare

Zoo Biology

2009

Zoo foraging ecology: Preference and welfare assessment of two okapi (Okapia johnstoni) at the Brookfield Zoo.

Animal Behavior and Cognition

2017

A framework for determining the fitness consequences of antipredator behavior

Behavioral Ecology

2006

Space, time, and context drive anticipatory behavior: Considerations for understanding the behavior of animals in human care

Frontiers in Veterinary Science

2022

A Multi-Institutional Assessment of Factors Influencing Locomotion and Pacing in Captive Okapis (Okapia johnstoni)

Journal of Applied Animal Welfare Science

2015

A Quantitative Approach for Using Anticipatory Behavior as a Graded Welfare Assessment

Journal of Applied Animal Welfare Science

2022

Dither: A unifying model of the effects of visitor numbers on zoo animal behavior

Zoo Biology

2022

Behavioral Responses of Mosshead and Woolly Sculpins to Increasing Environmental Hypoxia

Copeia

2003

Phenotype Management: An Inclusive Framework for Supporting Individuals’ Contributions to Conservation Populations

Personality in Nonhuman Animals

2017

Keeper effect: Animals are more active in the presence of their caretakers

Zoo Biology

2024

Behavioral changes in senescent giant Pacific octopus (Enteroctopus dofleini) are associated with peripheral neural degeneration and loss of epithelial tissue

Comparative Biochemistry and Physiology Part A: Molecular & Integrative Physiology

2022

HCI Goes to the Zoo

Proceedings of the 2016 CHI Conference Extended Abstracts on Human Factors in Computing Systems

2016

A Guide to Managing Zoo Animal Welfare

Unknown Venue

2025

What Happens When Animals Tweet? A Case Study at Brookfield Zoo

2015 48th Hawaii International Conference on System Sciences

2015

Scientific, Ethical, and Economic Aspects of Farm Animal Welfare

Unknown Venue

2018

Editorial note: On optimism and pessimism in conservation science and messaging

Zoo Biology

2016

Quantifying animals' perception of environmental predictability using anticipatory behavior

Zoo Biology

2023

The Effects of Sex, Climate, and Management on Normal and Repetitive Behaviors in Okapis (Okapi johnstoni)

Journal of Applied Animal Welfare Science

2013

Greatest hits in behavioral ecology

Trends in Ecology & Evolution

2002

The Growing Pain of Animal Welfare Weaponization: Get the Ghost Out of the Machine

Zoo Biology

2025

Anticipatory Behavior and Enrichment: Insights into Assessing and Managing Harbor Seal (Phoca vitulina richardii) Pup Welfare in a Wildlife Rehabilitation Setting

Animals

2025

EVOLUTIONARY QUESTIONS IN AN ECOLOGICALLY RELEVANT CONTEXT1

Evolution

2001

Behavioral changes in senescent giant Pacific octopus (Enteroctopus dofleini) are associated with peripheral neural degeneration and loss of epithelial tissue

Unknown Venue

2022

Education

University of California, Davis

Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.), Animal Behavior

Experience

San Francisco Zoological Society

Executive Vice President of Wellness and Animal Behavior / June, 2020 — October, 2022

Vice President of Wellness and Animal Behavior / October, 2013 — June, 2020

My role at San Francisco Zoo is to oversee the Integrated Animal Wellness Team. This multi-disciplinary team is comprised of four Zoo departments - Wellness and Animal Behavior, Nutrition, Animal Health and Conservation.

University of California, Davis

Adjunct Associate Professor, Animal Science / March, 2015 — Present

Zoo Biology

Executive Editor / April, 2011 — December, 2021

Chicago Zoological Society/Brookfield Zoo

Research Scientist / September, 2006 — September, 2013

Links & Social Media

Advisory Board: Smithsonian Mason School for Conservation

ResearchGate

Guide to Managing Zoo Animal Welfare

SF Chronicle Opinion

Marin Voice Opinion

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