ZooMonitor Community
A New Tool for Multi-institutional Research
A New Tool for Multi-institutional Research
We can do more, together
ZooMonitor is the leading tool for recording animal behavior in zoos and aquariums and used by hundreds of organizations around the world to enhance the welfare of animals in their care.
Monitoring individual animals is crucial but research at a single institution limits our ability to understand broader behavioral patterns of a species or how animals may be impacted by different housing and husbandry practices.
With the ZooMonitor Community, users can collaborate by sharing projects and data with one another to build broad, powerful insights that can transform how we care for animals.
It’s all happening in the Community
The ZooMonitor Community is a space available only to ZooMonitor users where you can create shared projects or browse and join projects shared by others.
You can access the Community in the navigation menu of your admin area (if you do not see the Explore Community option, check with your account's Institutional Representative to confirm your admin user permissions).
Not a ZooMonitor user? You can register now!
The ZooMonitor Community is a space available only to ZooMonitor users where you can create shared projects or browse and join projects shared by others.You can access the Community in the navigation menu of your admin area (if you do not see the Explore Community option, check with your account's Institutional Representative to confirm your admin user permissions).
Not a ZooMonitor user? You can register now!
Key Features
Multiple ways to shareYou can choose how you want to share your project:Open - accessible to all ZooMonitor users
Restricted - accessible to specified accreditation groups
Private - hidden by default with a private access code to share
Built-in project managementFrom organizing and summarizing your data and providing tools to share updates and track your participants activity (and nudge them if necessary!), multi-institutional research has never been easier.
Data privacy controlsIn the ZooMonitor Community, you have control over your data. When creating a project, you can choose between identifiable or pseduonymized data collection and, as a participant, you can decide when to share your data.
Share training materialsEnsure your observers are prepared by adding training resources to your study, like behavior videos, guides, or quizzes.You can even assign resources to specific observers to help you manage your training and testing process.
Multiple ways to shareYou can choose how you want to share your project:Open - accessible to all ZooMonitor usersRestricted - accessible to specified accreditation groups
Private - hidden by default with a private access code to share
Built-in project managementFrom organizing and summarizing your data and providing tools to share updates and track your participants activity (and nudge them if necessary!), multi-institutional research has never been easier.Data privacy controlsIn the ZooMonitor Community, you have control over your data. When creating a project, you can choose between identifiable or pseduonymized data collection and, as a participant, you can decide when to share your data.Share training materialsEnsure your observers are prepared by adding training resources to your study, like behavior videos, guides, or quizzes.You can even assign resources to specific observers to help you manage your training and testing process.How it works, step by step:
- Go to your ZooMonitor admin area on a computer or tablet that has the app installed.
- Create a project in admin, where you’ll specify your ethogram, methods, and training materials.
- Create a shared study in Community and import your project’s methods and materials from admin.
- Publish your study to the Community.
- Participants that want to join your study can request access.
- Review and approve participants to join the study.
- Participants can then access the shared project in their admin area, where they’ll be able to add information on their animals and habitats.
- Participants can conduct observations and then sync their data with the study database.
FAQ
Do I have to be a ZooMonitor member to access the Community?
Yes, and good news - if you work for an accredited zoo or aquarium you can join for free!
What data are being shared?
When you join a shared project, only the observation session data you record for that project and any surveys you complete are shared.
Who can view my shared data?
The data you share for Community studies are only available to the Principle Investigators of those studies.
Are my data being shared automatically?
No! You must manually sync your project data to share it with the Principle Investigator.
Who owns my data?
You always retain ownership of your data. When joining a shared study, you provide consent to the researchers to summarize and share their findings.
Can my organization be identified in presentations or publications without consent?
Although this is a possibility, sharing identifiable data from an organization in a presentation or publication without consent would be a violation of the Community guidelines that all users must agree to and could result in the Principle Investigator's account being suspended.
Can I have my data anonymized?
When creating a shared study, the Principle Investigator can choose to request identifiable or pseudonymized data. This can't be changed after the study is published, so please consider the requested data identifiability before joining a shared study.
What if I make a mistake recording data?
You can edit your session data or hide sessions at any point. Just make sure to share your data again after you make changes so that the Principle Investigator has the up-to-date data.
How can I contact you?
If you have any other questions, you can always email us at ZooMonitor@lpzoo.org or join our next office hours event.
Yes, and good news - if you work for an accredited zoo or aquarium you can join for free!
What data are being shared?
When you join a shared project, only the observation session data you record for that project and any surveys you complete are shared.
Who can view my shared data?
The data you share for Community studies are only available to the Principle Investigators of those studies.
Are my data being shared automatically?
No! You must manually sync your project data to share it with the Principle Investigator.
Who owns my data?
You always retain ownership of your data. When joining a shared study, you provide consent to the researchers to summarize and share their findings.
Can my organization be identified in presentations or publications without consent?
Although this is a possibility, sharing identifiable data from an organization in a presentation or publication without consent would be a violation of the Community guidelines that all users must agree to and could result in the Principle Investigator's account being suspended.
Can I have my data anonymized?
When creating a shared study, the Principle Investigator can choose to request identifiable or pseudonymized data. This can't be changed after the study is published, so please consider the requested data identifiability before joining a shared study.
What if I make a mistake recording data?
You can edit your session data or hide sessions at any point. Just make sure to share your data again after you make changes so that the Principle Investigator has the up-to-date data.
How can I contact you?
If you have any other questions, you can always email us at ZooMonitor@lpzoo.org or join our next office hours event.
Thank you to our supporters!
The ZooMonitor Community was made possible, in part, by the support from the Institute of Museum and Library Services (MG-245613-OMS-20).
The ZooMonitor Community was made possible, in part, by the support from the Institute of Museum and Library Services (MG-245613-OMS-20).We are also grateful for the generous support of our colleagues that helped provide feedback on this project, including:Akron Zoo (Stephanie Chandler)
Animal Concepts (Sabrina Brando)
Cincinnati Zoo (Catherine Razal & David Orban)
Cleveland Metroparks Zoo (Noah Dunham)
Colombus Zoo and Aquarium (Adam Felts & Shannon Borders)
Dallas Zoo (Alex Hauenstein)
Denver Zoo (Heather Genter & Jessica Meehan)
Detroit Zoological Society (Grace Fuller & Megan Jones)
Disney’s Animal Kingdom (Andrew Alba)
European Association of Zoos and Aquaria (Sally Binding)
Georgia Aquarium (Dennis Christen)
Jacksonville Zoo (Aimee Little, Lindsay Mahovetz-Myers, & Ryan Nugent)
Lincoln Park Zoo (John Andrews)
National Aquarium (Stephanie Allard)
North Carolina Aquariums (Carol Price)
North Carolina Zoo (Emily Lynch)
Oklahoma City Zoo (Kimberly Leser)
Oregon Zoo (Laurel Fink and Nadja Wielebnowski)
San Diego Zoo (Jessica Sheftel)
San Diego Zoo Safari Park (Louisa Radosevich)
San Francisco Zoo (Bethany Krebs)
SeaWorld San Antonio (Steve Aibel)
Shedd Aquarium (Kim Ralston)
Smithsonian’s National Zoo (Betsy Herrelko)
South-East Zoo Alliance for Reproduction and Conservation (Lara Metrione & Nancy Pham)
Steinhart Aquarium (Brenda Melton)
Toledo Zoo (Beth Posta)
Woodland Park Zoo (Bonnie Baird)
Zoo Atlanta (Marieke Gartner)
Animal Concepts (Sabrina Brando)
Cincinnati Zoo (Catherine Razal & David Orban)
Cleveland Metroparks Zoo (Noah Dunham)
Colombus Zoo and Aquarium (Adam Felts & Shannon Borders)
Dallas Zoo (Alex Hauenstein)
Denver Zoo (Heather Genter & Jessica Meehan)
Detroit Zoological Society (Grace Fuller & Megan Jones)
Disney’s Animal Kingdom (Andrew Alba)
European Association of Zoos and Aquaria (Sally Binding)
Georgia Aquarium (Dennis Christen)
Jacksonville Zoo (Aimee Little, Lindsay Mahovetz-Myers, & Ryan Nugent)
Lincoln Park Zoo (John Andrews)
National Aquarium (Stephanie Allard)
North Carolina Aquariums (Carol Price)
North Carolina Zoo (Emily Lynch)
Oklahoma City Zoo (Kimberly Leser)
Oregon Zoo (Laurel Fink and Nadja Wielebnowski)
San Diego Zoo (Jessica Sheftel)
San Diego Zoo Safari Park (Louisa Radosevich)
San Francisco Zoo (Bethany Krebs)
SeaWorld San Antonio (Steve Aibel)
Shedd Aquarium (Kim Ralston)
Smithsonian’s National Zoo (Betsy Herrelko)
South-East Zoo Alliance for Reproduction and Conservation (Lara Metrione & Nancy Pham)
Steinhart Aquarium (Brenda Melton)
Toledo Zoo (Beth Posta)
Woodland Park Zoo (Bonnie Baird)
Zoo Atlanta (Marieke Gartner)
