Animal Behavior Conversations: The Podcast of The ABMA
The Animal Behavior Management Alliance (ABMA) strives to spread knowledge throughout the animal care field to help enhance animal care through operant conditioning. Each episode we will discuss a topic in the world of animal care and break down the science of behavior change. To achieve this, the podcast’s host, Shane Gorbett, will interview fellow trainers and experts from across the world to discuss all things training, behavior, enrichment, welfare, and much more! This podcast will be a great resource for all trainers. Let's talk some training and banter about behavior!
Episodes
This is a very special episode where we highlight ABMA’s 2025 Premier Sponsor: Pets for Vets with the organization’s founder and executive director Clarissa Black. Clarissa starts by discussing how the organization was formed, what the organization does, and their very important mission. She then gives information on how trainers can get involved with the organization and the process for applying for a pet while sharing some incr...
This episode Ryan Cartlidge, Animal Training Academy, discusses how to get “unstuck” in training. Ryan starts the episode by operationalizing what getting “stuck” in training may look like and the process of thinking “How do I get unstuck?” Ryan breaks down this process into three steps 1. Building a tool kit of knowledge 2. Having the Courage to Act and 3. Having the Systems for Learning in place. Throughout the entire episode Ry...
This episode continues on "The Behaviors of..." series which dives into the people side of the animal care field. This episode, which is a continuation of episode 29, Dave O’Connell, Bearizona, discusses “The Behaviors of a Unified and Supportive Team”. The biggest takeaway from the entire episode is that one of the most important behaviors of a supportive team is the ability to talk with another. Through talking with o...
This episode Justin Garner, Busch Gardens Tampa Bay, provides some great learning on behavior chains and the process of chaining. Justin starts by breaking down the process of chaining while giving practical application examples. The discussion then dives into how a behavior chain works and dissects what it means for each behavior in the chain to serve as both a discriminative stimulus and a conditioned reinforcer. Justin then e...
This episode wraps up (for now) the two episode arc discussing how changing conditions can change motivation with Wouter Stellaard, Behavior 360 and the Kuzo Group. Before listening to this episode, please take the time to listen to Part 1 of this topic which is episode 68 of the podcast. This episode is a direct continuation of Episode 68 in which Wouter discusses a multitude of ways in which we can change conditions to change mo...
This episode begins a two episode arc discussing how changing conditions can change motivation with Wouter Stellaard, Behavior 360 and the Kuzo Group. In this episode Wouter discusses the many, and not exclusive, ways in which we can change conditions to change motivation that do not involve diet management. The episode begins by discussing motivation as a construct and a label and then breaking down motivating operations and sett...
This episode Ari Bailey, Natural Encounters, Inc., discusses a topic that she will be presenting on at the IAATE Symposium titled “Get Out of the Way and Let Behavior Happen.” The episode is a great conversation that focuses on recognizing when to fade out and when to implement specific tools such as baiting, prompts, target, etc. Ari also gives advice on how to approach others with ideas on changing or trying something new in th...
This episode Dr. Susan Friedman, Behavior Works, provides some great learning and insights into a multitude of current topics surrounding the science of behavior change. Dr. Friedman starts with discussing the Hierarchy of Behavior Change Procedures; what it is, how we can view it to provide optimal welfare to animals, and also the importance of antecedent arrangement and the environment to behavior change. She also breaks down w...
This episode, through daily live recordings, features a recap of the 2025 ABMA Annual Conference (April 27 - May 2 2025) hosted by Moody Gardens in Galveston, Texas, United States. Each day of the conference, one of the presenters for the day discusses their presentation and other learning that impacted them.
Day 1: Marie Filipek, Zoo Tampa at Lowry Park
Day 2: Heidi Moomaw, Charles River Labs
Day 3: Benjamin Fainsod, Jerusalem Zoo
Da...
This episode was a live panel recording at the 2025 ABMA annual conference in Galveston Texas hosted by Moody Gardens. The expert panel consisted of Tim Sullivan - Brookfield Zoo, Elly Neumann - Jerusalem Zoo, Nicki Boyd- San Diego Zoo, Anaka Nazareth - National Aquarium, and Chris Jenkins - Natural Encounters Inc. The panel’s theme was “The Importance of Behavior in Modern Animal Care” with questions submitted in real time from ...
This episode Steve Martin, President and CEO of Natural Encounters, Inc., discusses training on a continuum by moving away from coercion and towards genuine choice. Steve starts the episode by giving a review of the concepts of choice and… control with some practical examples. The discussion then turns to breaking down behavioral degrees of freedom, genuine choice, and coercion with many more great practical examples. The episode ...
This episode Mel Paynter and Alyse Stitt, Georgia Aquarium, discuss motivation in the context of animal behavior and training. In part 1 of this two episode discussion Mel and Alyse discuss what motivation is, what it looks like in practice, and give some o-fish-ally great examples from the many aquatic species that they work with in the Ocean Voyager habitat at the Georgia Aquarium. They both dive deeper into breaking down and d...
This episode Shane Gorbett, Philadelphia Zoo and host of the podcast, discusses and breaks down fading. Shane first discusses examples of what fading looks like in practice and how we can apply the artful application of the science of behavior change in order to know when and how to fade. Shane also discusses the challenges of fading too quickly, too slowly, or not at all. Stay tuned in for Shane’s "Training Tale" about...
This episode Tricia Dees, the second vice president of the ABMA, continues on with the discussion from Episode 59 and goes deeper into primary/unconditioned and secondary/conditioned reinforcers. Tricia gives some common examples of primary/unconditioned and secondary/conditioned reinforcers but also talks about how individual preference plays a role in determining what is actually a reinforcer for each individual. The discussion...
Welcome back for the first episode of 2025! This episode Shawna Spencer, Coral World Ocean Park, dives deeper into breaking down reinforcers and punishers. This episode is full of examples and practical applications. Shawna starts with a brief introduction to primary and secondary reinforcers before listing examples of common reinforcers and punishers. The episode finishes with a discussion about how reinforcers can change over...
This episode Jose Bello, Disney’s Animals, Science and Environment, discusses superstitious behavior. Jose starts with breaking down what it means for a behavior to be superstitious and examples of what that looks like in a practical application. Next, Jose educates about the “potential danger” in labeling behaviors as superstitious and how taking the blame away from the animal and placing it on us as the trainers, can give us a b...
In a special ABMA Behavior Month 2024 episode, Jonelle Mason, California National Primate Research Center - UC Davis, discusses training and behavior in a research setting. Jonelle educates about the similarities and differences between training, cooperative care, and enrichment programs in a zoo compared to a research setting. Additionally, Jonelle talks about some of the unique challenges that arise and the future of behavior man...
56: The Modern Zookeeper and the Importance of Redefining What We Do with Sam Meinke, Palm Beach Zoo
This episode Sam Meinke, Palm Beach Zoo, and podcast host, Shane Gorbett, discusses what it means to be a modern zookeeper. The definition of what a zookeeper is and does has drastically changed and is constantly evolving as we continue to progress animal care forward. Some other modern zookeepers were kind enough to share what being a modern zookeeper means to them so Sam and Shane dissect those answers as we redefine what it mea...
This episode Rick Hester, Cheyenne Mountain Zoo and BehaviorWorks, discusses a free operant approach to behavior management. Rick starts with explaining the practical application of free operant behavior and, in order to get the full scope, also discusses discrete trial training and the relationship between the two. Breaking down some of the science, Rick educates about Lindsley's (1996) Four Free Operant Freedoms and the consi...
This episode continues on "The Behaviors of..." series which dives into the human side of the animal care field. In this episode Scott Trauger, Natural Encounters, Inc., dives deeper into a discussion centered around his presentation at the 2024 ABMA Annual Conference titled "Expanding Our Feedback Loop: Evolving the Way that We Give Feedback to Our Peers". Scott discusses the different types of feedback and con...
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