Introduction: applied ethology and poultry science

As a scientific discipline, the study of the biological basis of behavior in animals, ethology, is comparatively new. Ethologists have traditionally conducted primarily observational studies designed to ascertain the evolutionary significance of behaviors in wild animals. There is, however, a growing branch of ethology that is concerned with the application of ethological principles to areas such as the management and welfare of economically important species like poultry. Because of the complexity of the causation and expression of behaviors in animals, it is particularly important that such studies be rigorously designed and analyzed. The purpose of this symposium was to stimulate interest in the study of poultry behavior and welfare, and to provide information about current methodology in ethology.