LABORATORY PRIMATE NEWSLETTER Vol
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LABORATORY PRIMATE NEWSLETTER Vol. 43, No. 1 January 2004 JUDITH E. SCHRIER, EDITOR JAMES S. HARPER, GORDON J. HANKINSON AND LARRY HULSEBOS, ASSOCIATE EDITORS MORRIS L. POVAR, CONSULTING EDITOR ELVA MATHIESEN, ASSISTANT EDITOR ALLAN M. SCHRIER, FOUNDING EDITOR, 1962- 1987 Published Quarterly by the Schrier Research Laboratory Psychology Department, Brown University Providence, Rhode Island ISSN 0023-6861 POLICY STATEMENT The Laboratory Primate Newsletter provides a central source of information about nonhuman primates and re- lated matters to scientists who use these animals in their research and those whose work supports such research. The Newsletter (1) provides information on care and breeding of nonhuman primates for laboratory research, (2) dis- seminates general information and news about the world of primate research (such as announcements of meetings, research projects, sources of information, nomenclature changes), (3) helps meet the special research needs of indi- vidual investigators by publishing requests for research material or for information related to specific research prob- lems, and (4) serves the cause of conservation of nonhuman primates by publishing information on that topic. As a rule, research articles or summaries accepted for the Newsletter have some practical implications or provide general information likely to be of interest to investigators in a variety of areas of primate research. However, special con- sideration will be given to articles containing data on primates not conveniently publishable elsewhere. General descriptions of current research projects on primates will also be welcome. The Newsletter appears quarterly and is intended primarily for persons doing research with nonhuman primates. Back issues may be purchased for $5.00 each. We are no longer printing paper issues, except those we will send to subscribers who have paid in advance. We will not accept future subscriptions, unless subscribers are willing to pay $60/year within the U.S.; $80/year outside the U.S. (Please make checks payable to Brown University.) Readers with access to electronic mail may receive the nongraphic contents of each issue by sending the message subscribe LPN-L your-own-name to [email protected] (Send the message subscribe LPN-PEF to receive PDF files by e-mail; or the message subscribe LPN-WARN to receive a notice when a new issue is put on the Website.) Current and back issues of the Newsletter are available on the World Wide Web at <http://www.brown.edu/primate>. Persons who have absolutely no access to the Web, or to the electronic mail- ing, may ask to have paper copies sent to them. The publication lag is typically no longer than the three months between issues and can be as short as a few weeks. The deadline for inclusion of a note or article in any given issue of the Newsletter has in practice been some- what flexible, but is technically the tenth of December, March, June, or September, depending on which issue is scheduled to appear next. Reprints will not be supplied under any circumstances, but authors may reproduce their own articles in any quantity. PREPARATION OF ARTICLES FOR THE NEWSLETTER. – Articles, notes, and announcements may be submitted by mail, e-mail, or computer disk, but a printed copy of manuscripts of any length or complexity should also be sent by regular mail. Articles in the References section should be referred to in the text by author(s) and date of publication, e.g., Smith (1960) or (Smith & Jones, 1962). Names of journals should be spelled out com- pletely in the References section. Technical names of monkeys should be indicated at least once in each note and article. In general, to avoid inconsistencies within the Newsletter, the scientific names used will be those in Mam- mal Species of The World: A Taxonomic and Geographic Reference, 2nd Ed. D. E. Wilson & D. M. Reeder (Eds.). Washington, DC: Smithsonian Institution Press, 1993. For an introduction to and review of primate nomenclature see the chapter by Maryeva Terry in A. M. Schrier (Ed.), Behavioral Primatology: Advances in Research and The- ory (Vol. 1). Hillsdale, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, 1977. All correspondence concerning the Newsletter should be addressed to: Judith E. Schrier, Psychology Department, Box 1853, Brown University Providence, Rhode Island 02912 [401-863-2511; FAX: 401-863-1300] e-mail address: [email protected] Current and back issues of the Newsletter are available on the World Wide Web at http://www.brown.edu/primate ACKNOWLEDGMENTS The Newsletter is supported by U. S. Public Health Service Grant RR-00419 from the Comparative Medicine Program, National Center for Research Resources, N.I.H. Cover illustration is a Chinese print, purchased in a “tourist shop”. The inscription reads something like “Monkey, Garden, Pleasure” Copyright © 2004 by Brown University Cage Enrichment for Galagos: A Cautionary Tale Melissa S. Schaefer and Leanne T. Nash University of Utah and Arizona State University Introduction “Old” housing: In the original facility, all 14 colony members were housed in a single animal room. Non- Enrichment studies have become increasingly com- subject animals were housed in smaller cages lining the mon since the implementation of the Animal Welfare Act. periphery of the animal room. The subjects were housed Most of these studies have focused on large, diurnal an- in two wire mesh cages, one measuring 2.4 m x 1.4 m x thropoid primates. Research with prosimians, especially 2.4 m high (8 m3) and the other 2.4 m x 2.4 m x 2.4 m nocturnal ones, has been rare. While increasing cage high (13.8 m3) (Figure 1). The cages contained several complexity often results in an increase of activity (Freder- branches of varying size and orientation, wood ledges, ick & Fernandes, 1996; Pereira et al., 1989; Roullet & swings, elevated nestboxes, and solid vertical panels (as Gauthier, 1999), it has become obvious that “successful” recommended in Izard & Pereira, 1994). The floors were enrichment varies with every species, as well as by colony covered with woodchip litter. As the animals had been in and even by individual (Novak & Suomi 1988; Novak et this condition all their lives, these data were “baseline”. al., 1995). These studies have demonstrated the need to Lighting cycle (12D:12L), light levels, and diet remained empirically test enrichment strategies instead of relying constant throughout both old and new facility conditions. on our own “common sense” and human aesthet- ics. More stringent housing regulations forced the removal of our colony of Senegal galagos from a room in the Anthropology Building to a new facility in a separate building. Although we had little control over the construction materials of cages in the new facility, and the maximum cage size was constrained by the overall space avail- able in the colony room and the number of groups ultimately to be housed, we did have in- put on the furnishings. We took this opportunity to investigate behavior changes relating to alter- ing cage size and furnishings. By many measures of psychological well- being, our colony was relatively “healthy”. We had observed no stereotypies, aggression was low, and the animals reproduced well. Inactivity was the biggest concern; we hoped that increas- ing cage size and complexity would lead to more activity. Methods Subjects: Subjects were seven adult laboratory- born Galago senegalensis braccatus, part of a colony of 14 galagos. The subjects were housed in two groups. Initially, one group contained one male and two females (mother and daughter) and the other group contained two males (unrelated) and two females (mother and daughter). While we were Figure 1: Outline (overhead view) of the cages in the two facili- taking baseline data in the old facility, one male from the ties (to same scale). Small horizontal lines in walls of “home second group died and was not replaced. Observations of cages” indicate doors between cages. this male were not included in the analysis. “New” housing: The new facility consisted of two ani- mal rooms. The two subject groups were now in a room Corresponding author: L. T. Nash, Dept. of Anthropology, separate from the other colony members. The room hous- Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ 85287-2402 [480-965- ing the subjects contained four adjacent solid-wall cages, 3 4812; fax: 480-965-7671; e-mail: [email protected]] each measuring 1.5 m x 2.4 m x 2.7 m high (9.7 m ) (Fig- 1 ure 1); the floor was covered with woodchip litter. Each 156 focal samples per subject. Observation times were cage was initially furnished with one large branch, ele- scheduled during the first three hours and the last three vated nestboxes, vertical and horizontal wire panels, and a hours of the dark cycle, when the animals were most ac- vertical solid panel. Initially, two of these cages were tive (Nash, personal observation). Data were collected for empty while the other two each housed one animal group. 4 weeks in the original facility and for 3 weeks per condi- tion in the new facility. Subjects had been in the new Caging conditions: The three conditions evaluated in the new facility were (in temporal order): (1) double cage facility for 8 weeks prior to observations. In all cases, size with the minimal furnishings listed above (DM), (2) data were balanced between morning and evening hours. double cage size with enriched furnishings (DE), and (3) Both Event (well under one minute, and almost always single cage size with enriched furnishings (SE). For en- less than 10 seconds) and State (longer duration; see richment, several branches of varying size and orienta- Altman, 1974; Martin & Bateson, 1993) unit behaviors tion, swings, ropes, and chains were added to each cage. were recorded and all behaviors were mutually exclusive.