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ZooRisk is a computer program designed to assist managers in making scientifically based decisions for captive populations. It provides a quantitative assessment of a population’s risk of extinction due to the demographic, genetic and management processes that affect captive populations. This assessment is based on a population’s history, the science of the biology of small populations and the ability to manage captive populations.
ZooRisk is shareware that is distributed free of charge by Lincoln Park Zoo. The software and the manual are not guaranteed to be free of bugs and errors, and the user is responsible for ensuring that the application of ZooRisk is appropriate to the problem at hand. ZooRisk is owned and copyrighted by Lincoln Park Zoo but not copy-protected. Individuals can hereby make unlimited copies of ZooRisk for the purposes of population management, research and education.
ZooRisk was developed by Lincoln Park Zoo with grants from the Institute of Museum and Library Services and the Association of Zoos and Aquariums’ Conservation Endowment Fund. The project also received support from Lincoln Park Zoo, the Chicago Zoological Society, Minnesota Zoological Gardens, Smithsonian National Zoological Park, the Association of Zoos and Aquariums and United Airlines.
ZooRisk continues to be developed. The most current version of ZooRisk is version 3.8, released February 6, 2008.
To see what’s new in version 3.8, click here
Questions and comments can be directed to software@lpzoo.org.
For more information about ZooRisk and its uses in population management, download the users’ manual (PDF) here.
To Install ZooRisk:
The installed program will include two sample single-species projects and one sample space and risk-analysis project that you can load at the beginning of the program. See the manual for more information on these projects and how to get started in the program.
Manual Citation
Faust, LJ, Earnhardt, JM, Schloss, CA, and Bergstrom, YM. 2008. ZooRisk: A Risk Assessment Tool. Version 3.8 User’s Manual. Lincoln Park Zoo. Chicago, IL.
Software Citation
Earnhardt, JM, Bergstrom, YM, Lin, A, Faust, LJ, Schloss, CA, and Thompson, SD. 2008. ZooRisk: A Risk Assessment Tool. Version 3.8. Lincoln Park Zoo. Chicago, IL.