Annotated bibliography:
Robert J. Richards. (1987). Instinct and the Mechanisms of Species Change. David L. Hull (Ed.), Darwin and the Emergence of Evolutionary Theories of Mind and Behaviour (pp. 85). United States of America: The University of Chicago Press.

The reference entitled ‘Darwin and the Emergence of Evolutionary Theories of Mind and Behaviour’, was a beneficial piece of reading that explored the origins of Darwin’s views and theories on evolution, by using the knowledge of natural selection Darwin used the theory as a baseline on how individual’s developed the apposed behaviours. 

The discovery of classical conditioning by Ivan Pavlov involved an experiment in which salivation in dogs was observed. The experiment saw that the dogs would show certain responses when being presented with food once a bell had been rung, these responses were in fact the dog salivating when hearing the bell ring, this is now known as a conditional response to an external stimulus i.e. the bell.

Classical conditioning is the associated learning in which a natural response is triggered through means of an external stimulus. The process of conditioning contributes to the welfare of individuals in modern research through means of desensitization and ongoing training which benefits the further understanding of animal behaviour. Pavlov’s contribution of classical conditioning founded the essentials of behavioural therapy is known to be a “continuous centre point in behavioural science” (Wolpe, J., Plaud, J.J, 1997).  

Classical Conditioning in behavioural science and therapy can be implemented from a welfare perspective by monitoring the behaviour of animals and understanding if that animal is receiving enough stimulus to be more proactive and expressing natural behaviours
. An example of testing classical conditioning can be found in one source of modern research where White-Lipped Peccary were monitored through means of their feeding behaviours, in comparison to wild peccary the natural behaviours of foraging were not naturalistic enough in zoos and collection meaning the peccary had become accustom to a predictable feeding regime resulting in the peccary associating a specific time and place in their paddock to which they would be fed. The review on their feeding behaviours was then tested by changing the feeding pattern from being predictable to unpredictable, encouraging the peccary at become less susceptible to the associated feeding regime, this change to an unpredictable feeding regime meant the peccary could express natural behaviours more frequently and show more similar behaviours to that of their wilder counterparts.

Clark, R. (2004). The classical origins of Pavlov’s conditioning. Integrative Physiological & Behavioral Science, 39(4), 279-294. https://doi.org/10.1007/bf02734167

Nogueira, S., Abreu, S., Peregrino, H., & Nogueira-Filho, S. (2014). The Effects of Feeding Unpredictability and Classical Conditioning on Pre-Release Training of White-Lipped Peccary (Mammalia, Tayassuidae). Plos ONE, 9(1), e86080. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0086080

Wolpe, J., Plaud, J.J, (1997). Pavlov's Contributions to behavior therapy: The obvious and the not so obvious. American Psychologist, 52(9),  966-972, https://doi.org/10.1037/0003-066X.52.9.966

The resources provided towards Pavlov’s contribution to ethology through classical conditioning show the origins of his findings and how they were constructed through discovering the related stimulus and response in feeding domestic dogs, how modern usage of classical conditioning is provided in the welfare of animals and how his contributions provided a new advancement through means of behavioural therapy and science.

Thorndike’s law of effect contributes to the wider field of ethology due to Thorndike founding the behavioural science that would in future be advanced upon by B.F. Skinner’s contribution and discovery of Operant Conditioning. Thorndike’s law of effect was often described as imitation in animals when an individual response to a situation with a certain behaviour the other shall immediately relate that behaviour to that situation in which the behaviour is then repeated when the second individual comes across that situation. This process of imitation gives way to Skinner’s view on behaviour by making advancements on the idea that animals will relate certain stimulus to certain situations which then provides a certain behaviour that soon becomes an act of habit for the animal and setting that conditioned behaviour into the animal so that a form of imitation is still present but is displayed as a conditioned behaviour.  

Thorndike, E. (1927). The Law of Effect. The American Journal Of Psychology, 39(1/4), 212. https://doi.org/10.2307/1415413

Thorndike, E., & Bruce, D. (2000). Animal intelligence. Transaction Publ.

The references above contribute information on how Thorndike came about his theory on the Law of Effect and how the idea of imitation would become the founder for B.F. Skinner’s work on operant conditioning.

Operant Conditioning is divided into two main outcomes reinforcement and punishment. Reinforcement is composed of two outcomes, a positive outcome which encourages a requested behaviour through means of reward or praise, and a negative outcome which removes an unpleasant stimulus, but the requested behaviour is still performed. 

Skinner’s contribution of Operant Conditioning is used similar towards that of Pavlov’s Classical conditioning, both are associative learning methods that are developed and used in different ways, Skinner’s Operant Conditioning can contribute to the welfare of animal through its process of conditioned behaviours. These behaviours can be adapted to assisted animals that have health problems and allowing them to participate in activities that are beneficial to their welfare for instance zoos are assisting giraffes in their recovery and management of arthritis by training individuals through positive reinforcement. Operant Conditioning can affect conservation by means of relocation and reintroduction such as the recovery program for California Condors, studies show that through means of operant conditioning the capturing of condors becomes more successful by reducing the amount of injury and stress upon the condors when being captured and relocated for the program.  

Dadone, L. (2019). Lameness Diagnosis and Management in Zoo Giraffe. Fowler's Zoo And Wild Animal Medicine Current Therapy, Volume 9, 623-629. https://doi.org/10.1016/b978-0-323-55228-8.00088-6

Skinner, B. (1963). Operant behaviour. American Psychologist, 18(8), 503-515. https://doi.org/10.1037/h0045185

Miller, R., & Fowler, M. (2012). Fowler's zoo and wild animal medicine. Elsevier Saunders.

The referred sources provide information on Skinner’s contribution to ethology by providing modern in animal welfare and conservation. The sources titled ‘Lameness Diagnosis and Management in Zoo Giraffe’ and ‘The extinction in the wild and reintroduction of the California condor (Gymnogyps californianus)’ use different techniques of operant conditioning, both provide a beneficial impact on the health and welfare of the species while one focus on captive species the other focuses on wild species in need of relocation in an act of conservation.

O’Connell’s research was gathered through means of recording elephant behaviours through seismic communication, her contribution to modern day behavioural science in animals assists not only in the welfare and conservation of elephants but benefits that of human ethology. O’Connell’s contributions are said to benefit human care through means of adapting her research on vibrotactile sense to assist in aid of human hearing. The Ecologist’s research on seismic behaviours contributes to the welfare of elephants by analysing how individual’s behaviour within herds and how changes to their behaviour may be affected by any external stimulus such as predators in the wild, illness, or changes in herd dynamics. Conservation wise the research on biotremology can record populations in field research, by analysing the distinct behavioural patterns of individuals conservationists can determine the location and wellbeing of herds by analysing their seismic behaviours as well as their status whether the individual is male and going through must or female and producing oestrus calls to show the female is ready to reproduce. 

Caitlin O'Connell-Welcome. Caitlin O'Connell. (2020). Retrieved 10 December 2020, from https://www.caitlineoconnell.com/.

TED. (2013, June 20). The Secret Lives of Elephants: Caitlin O’Connell-Rodwell at TEDxStandford [Video file]. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yd0MRjq37uw