Case Study: San Diego Zoo achieves data-driven conservation breakthroughs with JMP

San Diego Zoo scientists bring ecosystems back into balance to stave off extinctions

The San Diego Zoo’s Applied Animal Ecology Division needed to understand the complex factors driving habitat loss and population decline in San Diego County, especially how changes affected California ground squirrels and the western burrowing owl. With hundreds of ecological and behavioral variables to assess, the team needed a better way to analyze survival and translocation data. JMP helped the San Diego Zoo make sense of this challenging research.

Using JMP, the San Diego Zoo ran multiple survival analyses and built statistical models to identify key predictive factors, including soil clay content, and to guide translocation decisions. The results helped researchers choose sites with better chances of survival for squirrels and support broader conservation planning. JMP saved time, improved understanding of the data, and contributed to the comeback of several formerly declining species in San Diego County.

San Diego Zoo

J.P. Montagne

Applied Animal Ecology Division