Validating a Mixed Qualitative Behavioral Assessment for Adult Western Lowland Gorillas (Gorilla gorilla gorilla) II:...

The Gorilla Behavioral Assessment Tool (GBAT) is the first of a new class of research and welfare tools termed mixed qualitative behavioral assessments or M-QBAs. An M-QBA is a unique tool that integrates the affective welfare indicators of classic QBAs with the behavioral and physiological indicators of typical welfare assessments to create a more comprehensive whole animal tool. Previous validation efforts for the GBAT during baseline conditions (Part I) have established high inter-rater agreement across raters, subjects, and institutions as well as strong or preliminary construct validity for seven of the 12 tested items. Our second validation focused on a significant life event, specifically an inter-institutional transfer of two groups (n = 6) of western lowland gorillas (Gorilla gorilla gorilla) between the Cincinnati Zoo & Botanical Garden and the Detroit Zoo. Both teams collected behavioral data and fecal samples in addition to daily completion of the GBAT. We used Gwet's AC₂ to establish near-perfect inter-rater reliability and Spearman's correlations and generalized linear mixed models to assess construct validity. We validated all 12 of the tested items, including the 7 items previously validated in Part I. Across both validation efforts, we have demonstrated high, consistent inter-rater reliability, including application both for adult males and a small sample (n = 2) of adult females. We have also established significant or preliminary construct validity for all tested items. Ultimately, we present the GBAT as a welfare and research tool with promising validation results as a model for future M-QBAs.