BEHAVIORAL AND VETERINARY APPROACHES TO PRIMATE BREEDING
Project Number1R01RR009797-01
Contact PI/Project LeaderDE WAAL, FRANS B
Awardee OrganizationEMORY UNIVERSITY
Description
Abstract Text
DESCRIPTION (Adapted from the applicant's abstract): The purpose of this
interdisciplinary project is to accumulate information on the relation
between physical and psychological health of captive primates and their
social housing conditions. This information is needed to successfully
manage existing colonies of AIDS animal models, such as the chimpanzee
(Pan troglodytes), rhesus macaque (Macaca mulatta), and pigtail macaque
(M. nemestrina). Data collected on nonhuman primates under a variety
of conditions will be supplemented with a unique data base accumulated
during previous research. Standardized behavioral protocols and a
computerized data base will enhance the ability of national breeding
programs to justify existing housing conditions and/or provide an
empirical basis for the design of future facilities. One of the
envisaged end-products is a guide with behavioral data collection
techniques, basal levels of easy-to-observe behavior patterns, as well
as general health information. At the same time, the proposed research
is part of an ongoing effort to develop a new theoretical model of
environmental effects on aggressive behavior. The existing model, which
attributes aggression levels to crowding, has serious flaws. Nonhuman
primates have many checks and balances on aggression and violence, and
appear to effectively cope and neutralize social tensions related to
high population densities through appeasement and peacemaking. Research
on chimpanzees will concern three main conditions: small groups in
indoor/outdoor runs; larger groups in outdoor compounds; and, zoo groups
in naturalistic enclosures. The chimpanzees will be observed with
existing, detailed methods to determine the frequency of aggressive
behavior, affiliation patterns, play, reproductive behavior, etc. The
proposed study seeks to integrate behavioral and veterinary measures of
well-being while paying special attention to measures of environmentally
induced stress, ranging from behavioral stress measures to fecal
cortisol levels, and immunological data. Research on pigtail macaques
will be modeled after a previous large-scale study of rhesus monkeys.
It will involve corral-housed groups as well as small harem groups. The
study of pigtail macaques will be entirely observational and behavioral.
No Sub Projects information available for 1R01RR009797-01
Publications
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Patents
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Outcomes
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No Outcomes available for 1R01RR009797-01
Clinical Studies
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History
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Similar Projects
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