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Jason Wark, Ph.D.

Department
Animal Care & Horticulture
Center
Animal Welfare Science Program
Title
Director, Animal Welfare Science Program
Education
  • Ph.D. – Biology, Case Western Reserve University
  • B.S. – Biology, Pennsylvania State University

Areas of Expertise

  • Animal behavior and welfare
  • Behavior data collection
  • Data analysis and visualization
  • Product management

About

Jason oversees the Animal Welfare Science Program, a program through which scientists and Animal Care staff collaborate to evaluate and enhance the wellbeing of animals at Lincoln Park Zoo. He supervises an animal behavior monitoring program here that features ongoing data collection for more than 35 species by trained volunteers and keepers. He also works with Animal Care staff to translate the behavioral data into actionable insights that help animals thrive in the zoo environment.

Jason’s work also advances the scientific understanding that benefits animal welfare more broadly. Jason has led multi-institutional research studies on giraffes and Asian small-clawed otters, adding to the body of knowledge on how to best care for these species across zoos.

Jason joined Lincoln Park Zoo in 2015 to design and launch ZooMonitor, an animal behavior monitoring app created to support evidence-based decision-making. Freely available to all zoos, aquariums, and sanctuaries, ZooMonitor is being used by hundreds of organizations around the world to advance animal wellbeing. Jason guides the strategic development of ZooMonitor and supports organizations seeking to grow their behavior monitoring efforts.

Before joining Lincoln Park Zoo, Jason conducted his graduate research at Cleveland Metroparks Zoo and Case Western Reserve University. His research included behavioral thermoregulation of colobus monkeys, social dynamics of piranhas, and the influence of sound on the behavior and hormone levels of callitrichid monkeys.

A toad
At Zoos, Enhancing Animal Welfare
Developing Welfare Indicators for Less-understood Species
Animal Care staff observing a swimming penguin in exhibit
At Zoos, Enhancing Animal Welfare
Evaluating the Impact of Zoo Programs on Animal Welfare
A bettong in exhibit
At Zoos, Enhancing Animal Welfare
Measuring the Impact of Light and Sound on Animal Welfare
Zoo scientist observing birds in exhibit
At Zoos, Enhancing Animal Welfare
ZooMonitor

Publications

  • Wark, J. D., & Cronin, K. A. (2025). Factors shaping giraffe behavior in U.S. zoos: A multi-institutional study to inform management. PLoS One, 20(5), e0324248. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0324248
  • Wierzal, N., Seiler, S., Boehm, D., & Wark, J. (2025). Hide-and-seek: Examining hide preferences and behavior patterns of reptiles through 24-hour monitoring. Animal Behavior and Cognition, 12(2), 243-257. https://doi.org/10.26451/abc.12.02.04.2025
  • Wark, J. D., & Cronin, K. A. (2024). The behavior patterns of giraffes (Giraffa camelopardalis) housed across 18 US zoos. PeerJ, 12, e18164. https://peerj.com/articles/18164.pdf
  • Oldfield, R. G., Thal, J. E., Das, P., Zarlinga, N. J., Lukas, K. E., & Wark, J. D. (2023). Agonistic behavior and feeding competition in the largest piranha species, Pygocentrus piraya, in a zoo. Journal of Ethology, 41(1), 25–37.
  • Cairo-Evans, A., Wierzal, N. K., Wark, J. D., & Cronin, K. A. (2022). Do zoo-housed primates retreat from crowds? A simple study of five primate species. American Journal of Primatology, 84(10), e23386. https://doi.org/10.1002/ajp.23386
  • Wark, J.D. (2022) Power up: Combining behavior monitoring software with business intelligence tools to enhance proactive animal welfare reporting. Animals, 12, 1606. https://doi.org/10.3390/ani12131606.
  • Wark, J.D., Schook, M.W., Dennis, P.M., Lukas, K.E. (2022) Do zoo animals use off-exhibit areas to avoid noise? A case study exploring the influence of sound on the behavior, physiology, and space use of two pied tamarins (Saguinus bicolor). American Journal of Primatology. https://doi.org/10.1002/ajp.23421.
  • Wark, J.D., Wierzal, N.K., Cronin, K.A. (2021) Gaps in live inter-observer reliability testing of animal behavior: A retrospective analysis and path forward. Journal of Zoological and Botanical Gardens. 2(2):207-221. https://doi.org/10.3390/jzbg2020014.
  • Cairo-Evans, A., Wierzal, N.K., Wark, J.D., Cronin, K.A. (2021) Do zoo-housed primates retreat from crowds? A simple study of five primate species. American Journal of Primatology.
  • Wark, J. D., Wierzal, N. K., & Cronin, K. A. (2020) Mapping shade availability and use in zoo environments: A tool for evaluating thermal comfort. Animals, 10(7), 1189. doi:10.3390/ani10071189.
  • Wark, J. D., Cronin, K. A., Niemann, T., Shender, M. A., Horrigan, A., Kao, A., & Ross, M. R. (2019) Monitoring the Behavior and Habitat Use of Animals to Enhance Welfare using the ZooMonitor App. Animal Behavior and Cognition, 6(3), 158–167. https://doi.org/10.26451/abc.06.03.01.2019.
  • Rog, J. E., Lukas, K. E., & Wark, J. D.  (2015) Social and environmental influences on pacing in a female Malayan sun bear (Helarctos malayanus). Journal of Zoo and Aquarium Research, 3(4), 151–156.
  • Wark, J.D., Kuhar, C.W., Lukas, K.E. (2014) Behavioral thermoregulation in a group of zoo-housed colobus monkeys (Colobus guereza). Zoo Biology, 33: 257-266.

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