Announcing the 2017 ZWNF/NAG Conference on Zoo and Wildlife Nutrition

Published · Updated

Howdy, Folks!  Welcome to Texas!  Come explore the wild and wooly world of zoo nutrition in Frisco, TX, hosted by the Dallas Zoo. Join us and the American Association of Zoo Veterinarians to hear all the latest advances in the field of zoo and wildlife nutrition.

Frisco, TX is 25 miles north of Dallas/Ft. Worth, and is home to the National Railroad Museum and a slew of stadiums for all you sports fans, and don’t miss the National Videogame Museum(!).  Even better yet, take in the lovely Ft. Worth and  Dallas Zoos just a few miles away.

Book hotel  Submit your paper  Register!

GENERAL SCHEDULE

Download the Detailed Schedule

  • Saturday, Sept. 23
    • 4:30 – 5:30 pm: Registration in hotel lobby
    • 6:00 pm: NAG steering committee meeting (location TBD)
  • Sunday, Sept. 24
    • 8:00 – 9:00 am: Registration at conference center
    • 9:00 – noon: Workshop
    • noon-2 pm: Lunch on your own
    • 2:00 – 4:00 pm: Workshop continued
    • 3:00 pm – ?: Poster setup
    • 4:00 – 5:00 pm: Registration
    • 6:00 pm: Icebreaker
  • Monday, Sept 25
    • 7:00 – 7:45 am: Registration
    • 8:00 – 8:15 am: Joint Welcome
    • 8:20 – 10:15 am: NAG session 1
    • 10:20 – 10:50 am: Poster session
    • 10:50 – 2:55 pm: NAG session 2
    • Lunch on your own
    • NAG session 3
    • 2:55 – 3:25 pm: Poster session
    • Dinner on your own
    • 7:00 – 9:00 pm: SCARF benefit
  • Tuesday, Sept 26
    • NAG session 4
    • 9:35 – 10:00 am: Posters/Break
    • noon: Depart for zoo
  • Wednesday, Sept 27
    • NAG session 5
    • 9:35 – 10:20 am: Break/Exhibits
    • NAG session 6
    • Lunch on own
    • NAG session 7
    • 3:20 – 4:00 pm: Break/Exhibits
    • Membership Meeting
    • 6:00 pm: Banquet

WORKSHOP

Sunday September 24, 2017
Workshop: “Produce Classification: Revolutionary Considerations for Improving Zoo Animal Diet Formulation” 9 am- 4 pm.

Commercially-available fruits rarely mimic fruits consumed by free-ranging wildlife.  What are the implications for diet formulation and produce selection for optimal health of the animals in our collections? This workshop aims to tackle these questions through presentation and discussion, with the goal of producing consensus recommendations for how to standardize produce classification for zoo nutrition diet formulation. The program will begin with invited speaker Erin Vogel, Ph.D, who will discuss her work on food acquisition and diet selection in non-human primates, with an emphasis on the nutrient composition of free-ranging fruits and overall diet in those species. A series of talks will follow Dr. Vogel’s presentation on the classification systems of produce currently in use by various institutions.  After a break for lunch (12-2pm, on your own), the afternoon session consists of a discussion and breakout into working groups to assemble/organize data providing categories/charts that can be adapted for use at your home institution.

Erin Vogel, Ph.D., is an associate professor at Rutgers University.  She is a primate dietary ecologist with a primary interest in factors that affect food acquisition and diet selection in non-human primates. In particular, she studies how primates have adapted to maximize energy intake in the face of variable environments by examining the behavior, morphology, and physiology within an ecological context.