The University of Kansas IACUC and Field Research

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The University of Kansas IACUC and Field Research

• University of Kansas
• Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee

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Field Studies

• Why are field biologists required to submit a
  protocol for IACUC review?

Field research that involves SOLELY
invertebrates, or the salvage of dead
vertebrates, does not need to be reviewed by the
Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee
(IACUC). In this presentation, animal refers
to live vertebrates.
The majority of Federal regulations and
guidelines involving animal welfare focus mainly
on biomedical and behavioral research, teaching,
and testing that takes place in the laboratory.
However, there are several Federal agencies with
oversight involving animal research and each has
its own regulations.
In order to assure institutional compliance with
these regulations and guidelines, the IACUC must
review ALL projects involving the use of live
vertebrates.
KU, the Animal Care Unit (ACU), and the IACUC are
subject to regular performance audits by external
reviewers, and departures from regulations or
guidelines can endanger funding from sources such
as NSF, NIH, and others.
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Guidelines and Regulations

• What guidelines and regulations are involved?

More than you might think! For example, the U.S.
Dept. of Agriculture (USDA) Animal Welfare Act
(AWA) regulations define Field Research as
any study done on free-living wild animals in
their natural habitat, which does not involve an
invasive procedure, and which does not harm or
materially alter the behavior of the animals
under study. However, if the animals are conf
ined in any way, an invasive procedure is
involved, or the behavior of the animal is harmed
or materially altered, then they the field
studies are regulated and must comply with the
regulations and standards.
Public Health Service (PHS), of which NIH is a
part, in its Guide for the Care and Use of
Laboratory Animals (p. 5) states that
Zoonoses and occupational health and safety
issues should be reviewed by the IACUC to ensure
that field studies do not compromise the health
and safety of other animals or persons working in
the field.
NSF requires funded investigators to comply with
PHS policies.
Other considerations are involved for example,
euthanasia of specimens may be affected by the
Euthanasia Guidelines of the American Veterinary
Medical Association. Or, if animals are confined
for study, the research may in part be regulated
by the NIH Office of Laboratory Animal Welfare
(OLAW).
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Funding Sources

• What funding sources require IACUC review?

Essentially, ALL of them. Sources such as NSF
and NIH have already been mentioned. And most
other federal sources such as US Geological
Survey (USGS), Bureau of Land Management (BLM),
US Forest Service (USFS), etc. defer to NSF
standards. But because many different funding
sources exist for field biologists, KU (like
other such institutions) must provide formal
Assurance that research with live vertebrates is
reviewed. An Assurance is a formal legal
document filed with major granting agencies. It
contains very specific requirements for
institutional oversight of ALL live vertebrate
research conducted under the auspices of the
institution, regardless of funding source.
In addition to being a KU requirement and a
requirement of most funding agencies, review is
expected by an increasing number of scientific
journals for publication of your research. Thus,
it is increasingly required that scientists
provide an IACUC review number for the research
as part of the manuscript acceptance process.
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IACUC Review

• Doesnt this pose problems for the IACUC?

Inclusion of field studies of free-ranging
wildlife, as well as studies that combine field
study with captive housing/care for behavioral
study, postoperative care (as after transmitter
implant), species inventories, etc. poses several
challenges for the IACUC, not the least of which
include
The use of species for which there are no
established guidelines or standards
The differing approaches of scientists to
studies of the vast range of vertebrate species
Different field research practices for the
different Classes of vertebrates.
These challenges are not new. In the mid-1980s,
when NSF first accepted the political
desirability, as one consequence of increasing
animal welfare activist demands, of IACUC review
of live vertebrate field research, NSF Program
Officers suggested that the appropriate
professional societies formulate
discipline-specific research Guidelines to assist
scientists and IACUCs.
The societies, seeing this as a means of being
part of the coming regulatory process, prepared
detailed Guidelines that were rolled out at a
NSF-sponsored meeting in 1987. Guidelines are
revised periodically.
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Society Guidelines
The IACUC strongly adheres to, and advises
observance of, these Professional Society
Guidelines.

• Links to Society Guidelines

Guidelines for the Capture, Handling, and Care
of Mammals, American Society of Mammalogists.
Guidelines to the Use of Wild Birds in
Research, Ornithological Societies of North
America.
Guidelines for Use of Live Amphibians and
Reptiles in Field and Laboratory Research, Second
ed., Revised by the Herpetological Animal Care
and Use Committee (HACC) of the American Society
of Ichthyologists and Herpetologists, 2004.
Guidelines for Use of Fishes in Research,
American Institute of Fishery Research
Biologists, American Society of Ichthyologists
and Herpetologists, 2004.
Also useful is the publication
Guidelines for Proper Care and Use of Wildlife
in Field Research, The Wildlife Society National
Wildlife Federation.
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These Guidelines deal with issues such as
collection procedures, humane methods of
euthanasia, identification practices, tissue
collection methods, and transport and release of
specimens.
While these Guidelines are the primary means for
the KU IACUC to evaluate field protocols, from
time to time as needed we may utilize
publications in respected journals and texts,
standard veterinary protocols for wildlife,
personal experience of field biologists serving
on the IACUC, and the input of the Principal
Investigator. On occasion, we may also request
advice or comment from well-known experts in the
research area under review.
In all instances, the goal of the IACUC is to
fulfill its charge of assuring university
compliance with funding agency requirements.
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If everything in field research is regulated,
what am I to do if I am afield and observe some
interesting behavior, wish to document it, and
have not filed a Statement with the IACUC?
We recognize the importance of fortuitous
observation to the process of science in all
research fields, and nothing in IACUC policies
would hamper publication of such observations.
Were you to afterward decide to design a field
investigation to explore this fortuitous find in
greater detail, IACUC review would be required.
Similarly, a manager of a field station facing a
pest control problem involving, for example,
rodents or introduced fish would not need to seek
IACUC approval of control measures. This same
principle applies to the Universitys on-campus
pest control activities. Use of certain chemical
control agents, or control of some species, may
be subject to State and/or Federal regulations
with which field station managers must comply.
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So, what do I have to do?

• Requirements for Field Research Approval

To secure IACUC approval, a Statement of Field
research form must be completed and submitted for
review at the monthly IACUC meetings. To assist
investigators, a checklist of specific
requirements is posted on our web site.
The process has been simplified for studies that
involve solely the observation of animals (i.e.,
the animals are not handled if they are trapped
or netted, handling is involved), as might be the
case in many studies such as bird or amphibian
censuses conducted by call monitoring,
observation of mammals from a blind, photographic
censusing, etc.
Completion of the Health Assessment form is
required for all types of study. This
requirement does not involve giving detailed
medical history to the IACUC (forms are kept in
Watkins Hospital), nor does it involve a clinical
visit to Watkins Hospital. The form is used to
fulfill the IACUCs responsibility to the
mandated PHS guidelines, and asks that persons
check off items relevant to their general health
and allergy history. This latter can be of
particular importance to persons conducting field
research, as certain hyperallergic responses can
result in anaphylaxis and death.
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Fulfillment of IACUC requirements does not free
you from other regulatory requirements that may
bear upon your study, such as acquisition of
applicable local, state or federal permits
regulations imposed by international entities
such as CITES requirements of the USA and other
countries regarding export/import of specimens
collected.
Similarly, acquisition of permits or approval of
your project from any management agency does not
supercede IACUC protocol review. These are
entirely separate, though related, processes.
Finally, in all field research Principal
Investigators are required to be familiar with
the Professional Society Guidelines applicable to
the study (which may be ALL of them for some
faunal inventory studies), and also are
responsible for certifying that all project
participants are familiar with these Guidelines.
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Where to get more information
Checklist of IACUC Requirements for Field Research

• Animal Use Statement for Field Research (AUS)

Classes of Field Research (part of AUS item 6)
Health Assessment Form
Periodic Health Review Form
IACUC Members
Animal Care Unit Staff