Applied ethology involves the practical integration of behavioural research into zoo animal management. From an evolutionary point of view, animals will adjust their behaviour to local circumstances to maximise their fitness. In zoos and other captive environments we can expect additional selection pressures, which may and may not compromise the behaviour and welfare of the animals in our zoos. Within the CRC applied welfare research focuses on 1) the influence of enclosure design; 2) presence of zoo visitors and 3) environmental enrichment. In addition, short-term projects are sometimes designed to answer husbandry questions that arise from RZSA zoo staff. In 2013, we focused on the occurrence of abnormal behaviours in the captive bonobo population in Europe, continued with previous studies on the effect of a scatter feeder on the behaviour of small carnivores, and studied the habituation of Humboldt penguins to a new and larger enclosure in Planckendael. Enclosure evaluation was also done for Eurasian black vultures, elephants and bonobos in Planckendael. We also set up some smaller research projects around questions asked by the curators of Antwerp Zoo or Planckendael about stereotypic behaviour in Asian rhinos, and aggression in the mixed-species penguin enclosure at Antwerp Zoo. Since 2011, several students have been collecting behavioural data on bonobos in six European zoos. These data are collected for the PhD of Nicky Staes on bonobo personality, but also yield a large amount of data that can be used for other projects. We used these data to evaluate the occurrence of abnormal behaviour in 43 bonobos. We recorded a total of 22 abnormal behaviours. 40 individuals (93%) showed at least one behavioural abnormality, when single occurrences are included. Eating faeces was the most prevalent behaviour; followed by hair plucking, head wiping, poke anus and regurgitation. The number of abnormal behaviours in each group ranged from five to twelve and was not correlated with group size. The individual repertoire varied from 1 to 8. There was no significant difference in repertoire size between males and females. Age did not have a significant effect on repertoire size or proportion of time spent in abnormal behaviour. Wild-born bonobos had a higher repertoire size, but did not spend more time in abnormal behaviour than mother-reared or hand reared individuals. In conclusion, the bonobos in our sample show less abnormal behaviours compared to the chimpanzees in the study by Birkett and Newton-Fisher. This may be a consequence of different background of the individuals (no bonobos in our study had laboratory backgrounds) or past and/or current management practices: including more naturalistic group sizes and group dynamics. The link between the occurrence and welfare deserves further study. At the end of 2013 we continued collecting data on the occurrence of regurgitation behaviour in the bonobos at Planckendael, as a baseline for further studies in 2014. The scatter feeder had previously been used in the spotted hyena enclosure at Planckendael, and was set up in the raccoon enclosure of the same park in 2013 , to see if scatter feeding would stimulate foraging behaviour for the raccoons and/or increase the visibility of these small carnivores for the public. We found that the level of activity did not improve in the raccoons, and only one male responded to the feeder. It might be the case that the raccoons need more time to adapt to the scatter feeder. This learning period has to be implemented in future studies. The Humboldt penguin (Sphenicus humboldti) project was seen as a baseline study, in which habituation of the penguins to their new enclosure was studied. We found that that resting behaviour increased in the weeks after transfer, possibly indicating that the penguins were settling in their new enclosure. Also, social network analyses was used to evaluate social relationships and pair bonding in this group. In 2014 the exhibit will be opened for the public and a follow up study, comparing new data with the data collected in 2013 will be possible. The data on social relationships will allow for future studies to continue monitoring pair bonding and breeding success of the colony in the coming years. Time line: ongoing Partners: Various Universities and Higher education schools, Paignton Zoo, Chester Zoo Funding: CRC