Lindsay Mehrkam is a third-year graduate student in Behavior Analysis (Psychology) at the University of Florida. Lindsay obtained her Bachelor’s degree in animal behavior from Franklin & Marshall College in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, where she studied the behavior of wolves and wolf-dog hybrids at a nearby wildlife sanctuary. Her interest in the behavioral welfare of captive animals led her to an opportunity assisting with research projects at Disney’s Animal Kingdom in Lake Buena Vista, Florida. on a wide range of endangered species, including Western lowland gorillas, tigers, Micronesian kingfishers, and Key Largo woodrats.
Lindsay has been fortunate enough to combine her interests in species generality and environmental enrichment working with Dr. Clive Wynne in the Canine Cognition and Behavior Lab at the University of Florida. Her current research focuses on the use of free-contact human interaction as environmental enrichment for socialized canids in sanctuaries and wildlife parks in Florida, North Carolina, and Indiana. These studies have provided data on the occurrence of species-typical social behavior, activity levels, and stereotypic behavior in response to interactions with familiar staff and volunteers. Lindsay is also conducting research to investigate the environmental conditions under which diverse topographies of social behavior – from human-directed aggression to social play – occurs in domestic dogs living in shelters and private homes. Her interest in the behavioral welfare of a wide range of species also allows her to train students in zookeeping in measuring and evaluating enrichment efficacy for collection animals at the AZA-accredited Teaching Zoo at Santa Fe College in Gainesville, Florida, where she collaborates with Dr. Nicole Dorey.
Outside of research, Lindsay assists with teaching courses at the University of Florida, the Teaching Zoo at Santa Fe College, and tutoring student athletes in psychology through the University Athletics Association. Lindsay is an active member of the Animal Behavior Management Alliance, the American Psychological Association, the Florida Association for Behavior Analysis, and the Society for Comparative Cognition, and has spoken at numerous professional conferences. In her spare time, Lindsay enjoys training her adopted Akita-mix, Kobe, for flying disc competitions.
Recorded OnDemand Lecture: Enriching the Lives of Canines through Human Interaction: Research Evaluations and Practical Applications