Laboratory Primate Newsletter

VOLUME 43 NUMBER 1 JANUARY 2004
Printable (PDF) Version of this issue

CONTENTS

Articles and Notes

Cage Enrichment for Galagos: A Cautionary Tale, by M. S. Schaefer & L. T. Nash......1

Nighttime Behavior in Captive Stumptail Macaques (Macaca arctoides): A Preliminary Report on Age and Sex Differences, by J. Muñoz-Delgado, R. Arenas-Rosas, A. M. Santillan-Doherty & R. Mondragón-Ceballos......6

Sideburn Size as a Measurement of Sex and Age in Saimiri sciureus sciureus, by L. Williams & S. Gibson......10

Suppression of Lactation in Post-Weaning Macaca radiata Females by Bromocriptine Under Laboratory Conditions, by P. Nagarajan, R. Venkatesan, J. Mahesh Kumar & S. S. Majumdar......12

Oral Medication Administration: Training Monkeys to Take Juice from a Syringe, by B. Crouthamel & G. Sackett......14

Black and White Ruffed Lemur Nest Box......15

Importation of Fecal Samples: A Summary......16

Personal Protection Equipment: A Discussion......17

Plants for Browse, and Plants Not for Browse......34

News, Information, and Announcements

Workshop Announcements......9
. . . Workshop, Symposium on Lab Animal Diseases; Teaching Research Ethics

Volunteer Opportunity: Primate Work in Africa......11

Resources Wanted and Available......13
. . . The Virtual Anesthesia Machine; Harlan Teklad Enrichment Treats; AAALAC Conference available on CD-ROM; “Pocket Observer” from Noldus; CAAT “Enhancing Humane Science” Program

Announcements from Publications......20
. . . R.I.P. - The PFA Newsletter; Lancet Back Files Archived on the Web; Neotropical Primates Articles on the Web

Information Requested or Available......21
. . . Animal Behavior/Conservation Database; Animal Welfare Veterinary Syllabus; Female-Female Agonistic Interactions; More Interesting Websites

News Briefs......22
. . . PFA Has a New Research Director; Madagascar Plans to Increase Nature Reserves; Officials Debate Guarding Florida Squirrel Monkeys; San Antonio Science Giants at Loggerheads; Utah Primate Freedom Project; New Director of Chimpanzee Refuge in Congo; Patricia S. Goldman-Rakic, Neuroscientist, Dies at 66; Tulane Primate Center Awarded Large Grant; New Primate Research Facility - China; Ice Cream Treat for Apes; Scientists Count Rare Mountain Gorillas; Confiscated Chimps - from Congo to Sudan to Kenya; New NIH Steering Committee; Barbara Rich Joins AMP As Vice President; Duke Primate Center Gets Four Million Dollars; Nuisance Monkeys Face Sterilization; First Meeting of Indian National Board for Wildlife; Conservation Director Named for Sanctuary; World’s Only Known Albino Gorilla Dies; Primate Research Facility Approved; Safari World Raided for Illegal Wildlife

Research and Educational Opportunities......27
. . . Biomedical Research for Veterinarians - MIT; Scholarships for Research in the Biology of Aging; Primate Behavior and Ecology Field Course; Internships with Macaca fuscata - Texas; Post-DVM Graduate Training in Biomedical Research; Residency/Graduate Training - Louisiana; Latin American Conservation Biology Field Course; Fellowships in Tropical Biology; Graduate Traineeships - New York City; Summer Apprentice Program - Washington State

Meeting Announcements......29

Award Nominations: Fyssen Foundation 2004 International Prize......31

Awards Granted......32
. . . ASP Student Prize Award Winners; ASP Grant Awards; ASP Conservation Committee Awards; ASP Awards and Recognition Committee; Stem Cell Pioneer Receives 2003 Annunzio Award

Grants Available......33
. . . Proteomics in Aging and Age-Related Disorders; Research and Conservation Grants - Southeast Asia; Fyssen Foundation Postdoctoral Study Grants; Animal Models of Adolescent Drug Abuse; Conservation Information: Primate Habitats

Directory of Graduate Programs in Primatology and Primate Research...... 49

Departments

Position Available: Medical Research Technician - Louisiana......4

Primates de las Américas…La Página......19

Recent Books and Articles......35

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Cage Enrichment for Galagos: A Cautionary Tale

Introduction

Enrichment studies have become increasingly common since the implementation of the Animal Welfare Act. Most of these studies have focused on large, diurnal anthropoid primates. Research with prosimians, especially nocturnal ones, has been rare. While increasing cage complexity often results in an increase of activity (Frederick & Fernandes, 1996; Pereira et al., 1989; Roullet & Gauthier, 1999), it has become obvious that “successful” enrichment varies with every species, as well as by colony and even by individual (Novak & Suomi 1988; Novak et al., 1995). These studies have demonstrated the need to empirically test enrichment strategies instead of relying on our own “common sense” and human aesthetics.

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 available in the colony room and the number of groups ultimately to be housed, we did have input on the furnishings. We took this opportunity to investigate behavior changes relating to altering 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 increasing 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 taking baseline data in the old facility, one male from the second group died and was not replaced. Observations of this male were not included in the analysis.

“Old” housing: In the original facility, all 14 colony members were housed in a single animal room. Non-subject animals were housed in smaller cages lining the periphery of the animal room. The subjects were housed in two wire mesh cages, one measuring 2.4 m x 1.4 m x 2.4 m high (8 m3) and the other 2.4 m x 2.4 m x 2.4 m high (13.8 m3) (Figure 1). The cages contained several branches of varying size and orientation, wood ledges, swings, elevated nestboxes, and solid vertical panels (as recommended in Izard & Pereira, 1994). The floors were covered with woodchip litter. As the animals had been in this condition all their lives, these data were “baseline”. Lighting cycle (12D:12L), light levels, and diet remained constant throughout both old and new facility conditions.

Figure 1: Outline (overhead view) of the cages in the two facilities (to same scale). Small horizontal lines in walls of “home cages” indicate doors between cages.

“New” housing: The new facility consisted of two animal rooms. The two subject groups were now in a room separate from the other colony members. The room housing the subjects contained four adjacent solid-wall cages, each measuring 1.5 m x 2.4 m x 2.7 m high (9.7 m3) (Figure 1); the floor was covered with woodchip litter. Each cage was initially furnished with one large branch, elevated nestboxes, vertical and horizontal wire panels, and a vertical solid panel. Initially, two of these cages were empty while the other two each housed one animal group.

Caging conditions: The three conditions evaluated in the new facility were (in temporal order): (1) double cage size with the minimal furnishings listed above (DM), (2) double cage size with enriched furnishings (DE), and (3) single cage size with enriched furnishings (SE). For enrichment, several branches of varying size and orientation, swings, ropes, and chains were added to each cage. Between an animal group’s “home” cage and an adjacent uninhabited cage was a door measuring 40 cm x 40 cm. This door was opened for the doubled cage condition (allowing each group access to two single-sized cages) and closed during the smaller cage condition (confining each group to its home cage. (The observer sat in front of each cage during observations (Figure 1).

Data collection: Sampling was done using 10-minute continuous focal samples (Altmann, 1974); 12 focal samples were collected per subject per week for a total of 156 focal samples per subject. Observation times were scheduled during the first three hours and the last three hours of the dark cycle, when the animals were most active (Nash, personal observation). Data were collected for 4 weeks in the original facility and for 3 weeks per condition in the new facility. Subjects had been in the new facility for 8 weeks prior to observations. In all cases, data were balanced between morning and evening hours.

Both Event (well under one minute, and almost always less than 10 seconds) and State (longer duration; see Altman, 1974; Martin & Bateson, 1993) unit behaviors were recorded and all behaviors were mutually exclusive. For analysis, unit behaviors were aggregated into the Event and State categories listed in Table I. Behaviors were entered directly into a RadioShack laptop computer programmed to keep Event and State behaviors separate and to automatically record the duration of each occurrence of each state. The proportion of time spent exhibiting each State category or the rate per hour of all Event bouts was compared across the conditions using a nonparametric equivalent to a repeated measures one-way ANOVA (Conover & Iman 1981). When the overall ANOVA was significant using a sequential Bonferroni test (Rice, 1989), two-tailed post-hoc Tukey’s studentized range tests were done to determine which pairs of conditions were significantly different. All tests required a < 0.05 for significance.

EVENT CATEGORIES	EVENTS
Aggression	Biting, Boxing, Defensive posture
Autogrooming	Autogrooming
Solitary Activity	Stretching; Entering or Leaving nest box
Sexual Activity	Attempting mount
“Sociality Index” (Other Social Activities)	Approaching, Approaching vicinity, Attempting to take food, Taking food, Displacing, Naso-nasal sniff, Naso-genital sniff, Other sniff, Reaching towards, Touching
Urinewashing	Urinating on own hands and/or feet - scent marking and/or grip facilitation
Vocalization	Vocalization
STATE CATEGORIES	STATES
Aggression	Fighting
Autogrooming	Self-grooming
Eating/Drinking	Eating/drinking
Locomotion/ Exploration	Locomotion, Acrobatics (solitary play), Sniffing cage
Passive Contact	Passive contact
Resting	Resting, Looking around
Sexual Activity	Chasing, Mounting, Prolonged mounting
Social Activity	Grooming, Mutual grooming, Wrestling (Social play), Staring at another

Table I: Behavior categories and associated unit behaviors. More detailed definitions available in Nash & Flinn (1978), Nash & Chilton (1986), or by request from Nash.

Results

Significant differences (df=3 in all tests) were found for only three Event behavior categories: Other Solitary Activity (F=20.93), Sexual Activity (F=8.20), and Sociality Index (F=23.95); and one State category: Locomotion/Exploration (F=17.35) (Figures 2, 3). Post-hoc paired tests within the new facility conditions showed that only two behavioral categories, Sociality and Sexual Activity, significantly changed during the nine weeks of the three conditions. Enrichment resulted in a decrease of Sociality while the larger cage size resulted in a decrease in Sexual Activity. Most of the significant differences found by post-hoc paired comparisons were between baseline and the various new facility conditions with the new facility conditions having lower levels of Locomotion/Exploration, Other Solitary and Sexual Activity, and Sociality Index. The absence of significant differences among any of the new facility conditions was the most interesting result of this study.

Figure 2: Median rates per 120 minutes of each event category in the four conditions (DM = double size, minimally enriched; DE = double size, enriched furnishings; SE = single size, enriched furnishings. * significant ANOVA, p < 0.05.

Figure 3: Median proportion of time for each state category in the four conditions (conventions as in Figure 2).

Discussion

We hoped activity (specifically Locomotion/Exploration) would increase and inactivity (specifically Resting and Passive Contact) would decrease with enrichment and/or increased cage size. Results of enrichment (DM vs DE) showed only a reduction in active social contact. It is possible the enrichment furnishings were not preferred substrates for locomotion. The galagos were never observed on the flexible substrates and rarely on the swings, supporting previous studies utilizing non-rigid substrates (Kopecky & Reinhardt, 1991; Bryant et al., 1988; Williams et al. 1988; O’Neill 1988).

Results of comparisons between double- and single-cage size (DE vs SE) showed only a significant increase of Sexual Events for the smaller cage condition, which is almost solely related to the presence or absence of a female in estrus. Lack of increase in Locomotion may be due to the manner by which the cage size was doubled. In order to access the double-size cage, an animal had to move through the small opening in the wall between adjacent cages. This, in effect, resulted in the subjects having access to two single-size cages instead of one double-size cage. Providing cover, or the opportunity to get away from cagemates, has been shown to be beneficial (Izard & Pereira, 1994; Estep & Baker, 1991) and the solid partition between single-sized cages provided this. Additionally, previous studies have indicated no clear relationship between cage size and activity levels (for example see Macedonia, 1987; Line et al., 1990; Novak & Drewsen 1989).

The most interesting comparisons were between baseline and all new facility conditions. Baseline cages were comparable with the “enriched” new facility conditions except all furnishings were rigid (no chains or ropes). Additionally, three walls and the ceiling in baseline were made of graspable wire as opposed to a solid surface in the new facility. However, with the layout of the new facility room, cages had to be directly adjacent to each other, having wire panels separating the adjoining cages may have yielded more graspable surfaces but would have led to injuries, as galagos will fight with neighboring animals if they can touch them. Baseline showed more activity (Locomotion/Exploration, Other Solitary Activity, Social Activity) compared to new facility enriched conditions. Two confounding factors in comparing baseline with the other conditions are: (1) the presence of a fourth subject (who died during baseline condition); though his focal samples were not included in the analysis, he would have been an additional partner for the others to interact with, and (2) the other seven colony members, not part of this study, that were in the same room as the study subjects, possibly stimulating this relatively nongregarious species.

The lack of significant behavioral differences among new facility conditions following “enrichment” was unexpected and emphasizes the importance of empirically testing supposed enrichment features. Majolo et al. (2003) found similar results with marmosets when testing the position and type of enrichment objects. With our galagos, neither increasing space nor furnishings in the cages of the new facility seemed particularly beneficial in increasing activity. Our intuition suggested that increasing the amount of space and the number of locomotor substrates would “be good” for the galagos by increasing activity, especially locomotion. However, what seemed “intuitively obvious” to us was evidently less obvious to the galagos.

References

Altmann, J. (1974). Observational study of behavior: Sampling methods. Behavior, 49, 227-265.

Bryant, C. E., Rupniak, N. M. J., & Iversen, D. D. (1988). Effects of different environmental enrichment devices on cage stereotypies and autoaggression in captive cynomolgous monkeys. Journal of Medical Primatology, 17, 257-269.

Conover, W. J., & Iman, R. L. (1981). Rank transformations as a bridge between parametric and nonparametric statistics. American Statistician, 35, 124-129.

Frederick, C., & Fernandes, D. (1996). Behavioral changes in pottos (Perodicticus potto): Effects of naturalizing an exhibit. International Journal of Primatology, 17, 389-399.

Izard, M. K., & Pereira, M. E. (1994). Design of indoor housing for a breeding and research colony of prosimian primates. In E. F. Gibbons, Jr., E. J. Wyers, E. Waters, and E. W. Menzel, Jr. (Eds.), Naturalistic environments in captivity for animal behavior research (pp. 111-125). Albany: State University of New York Press.

Kopecky, J., & Reinhardt, V. (1991). Comparing the effectiveness of PVC swings versus PVC perches as environmental enrichment objects for caged female rhesus macaques (Macaca mulatta). Laboratory Primate Newsletter, 30 [2], 5-6.

Line, S. W., Morgan, K. N., Markowitz, H., & Strong, S. (1990). Increased cage size does not alter heart rate or behavior in female rhesus monkeys. American Journal of Primatology, 20, 107-113.

Macedonia, J. M. (1987). Effects of housing differences upon activity budgets in captive sifakas (Propithecus verreauxi). Zoo Biology, 6, 55-67.

Majolo, B., Buchanan-Smith, H., & Bell, J. (2003). Response to novel objects and foraging tasks by common marmoset (Callithrix jacchus) female pairs. Lab Animal, 32, 32-38.

Martin, P., Bateson, P. 1993). Measuring behaviour. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

Novak, M. A., Drewsen, K. H. (1989). Enriching the lives of captive primates: Issues and problems. In E. F. Segal (Ed.), Housing, care and psychological wellbeing of captive and laboratory primates (pp. 161-182). Park Ridge, New Jersey: Noyes Publications.

Novak, M. A., & Suomi, S. J. (1988). Psychological well-being of primates in captivity. American Psychologist, 43, 765-773.

Novak, M. A., Rulf, A., Munroe, H., Parks, K., Price, C., O’Neill, P., & Suomi, S. J. (1995). Using a standard to evaluate the effects of environmental enrichment. Lab Animal, 24, 37-42.

Nash, L. T., & Flinn, L. (1978) Group formation in captive lesser galagos (Galago senegalensis). Primates, 19, 493-504.

Nash, L. T. & Chilton, S.-M. (1986) Space or novelty? Effects of altered cage size on Galago behavior. American Journal of Primatology, 10, 37-50.

O’Neill, P. (1988). Developing effective social and environment enrichment strategies for macaques in captive groups. Lab Animal, 18, 23-36.

Pereira, M. E., Macedonia, J. M., Haring, D. M., & Simons, E. L. (1989). Maintenance of primates in captivity for research: The need for naturalistic environments. In E. F. Segal (Ed.), Housing, care and psychological wellbeing of captive and laboratory primates (pp. 40-60). Park Ridge, New Jersey: Noyes Publications.

Rice, W. R. (1989). Analyzing tables of statistical tests. Evolution, 43, 223-225.

Roullet, D. L. E., & Gauthier, C. A. (1999). Effects of physical enrichment on agonistic and exploratory behaviours of several groups of lesser mouse lemurs, Microcebus murinus, in captivity. Folia Primatologica, 70, 218-219.

Williams, L. E., Abee, C. R., Barnes, S. R., & Ricker, R. B. (1988). Cage design and configuration for an arboreal species of primate. Lab Animal Science, 38, 289-291.

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Corresponding author: L. T. Nash, Dept. of Anthropology, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ 85287-2402 [480-965-4812; fax: 480-965-7671; e-mail: leanne.nash@asu.edu]

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Position Available: Medical Research Technician - Louisiana

Qualifications are a BS degree in a related field with two years’ experience in lab animal medicine, or four years’ experience in lab animal medicine plus certification as an AALAS-certified LAT, or six years’ experience in animal medicine. Previous behavioral research experience and computer skills are essential and previous experience working with laboratory primates is preferred. This job will be full time for five years. Please contact Dr. Kate Baker, Tulane University, Tulane NPRC, 18703 Three Rivers Rd, Covington, LA 70433 [985-871-6578; fax: 985-871-6328; e-mail: kate@tpc.tulane.edu].

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Nighttime Behavior in Captive Stumptail Macaques (Macaca arctoides): A Preliminary Report on Age and Sex Differences

Introduction

Anderson (1984, 1998) has repeatedly pointed out that behavioral studies of nonhuman primates, mostly Anthropoids, are biased towards daytime, yielding incomplete pictures of 24-hour activity patterns of this suborder. Anderson’s remarks are of interest in understanding particular ecological and psychophysiological patterns underlying nighttime behavioral adaptations. The American Journal of Primatology (Raleigh, 1998) devoted an entire issue to nesting and resting as a review of this particular research domain and to draw attention to one of the most neglected areas of primate behavioral ecology (Fruth & McGrew, 1998). Yet, upon reading the five seminal papers and browsing through the references, one finds that while nest-building and site-choosing received a lot of attention, little is known about the nocturnal behavior of primates. Only Anderson (1998) addresses such topics as presleep behaviors and nighttime activity. Recording behavioral activity in the dark, in the wild, of animals who mostly prefer high places, such as branches and tree-holes, to spend the night is a dismaying challenge (Anderson, 1998). Yet a bit of anthropocentric bias, towards assuming that primates might sleep all throughout the night just as so many humans do, is suspected also to permeate this kind of research.

The use of highly-sensitive video equipment can help to overcome the above mentioned problems, and opens a window to an exciting and unexpected vista of nonhuman primate behavior. In this way Todt et al. (1982) found that unrestrained captive spot-nosed monkeys (Cercopithecus petaurista) of all sex-age classes ramble and engage in activity throughout the night. Erffmeyer (1982), in Macaca mulatta, and Muñoz-Delgado et al. (1994, 1995), in M. arctoides, have described night resting in a particular sitting posture, seldom observed during daytime. They also observed some light-period behaviors throughout the night.

The present paper addresses the question whether nocturnal activity in stumptail macaques is merely due to awakenings and shifting from one resting site to another, or whether it includes a wider set of behaviors. The night period presents two main threats to nonhuman primates: a) thermoregulation in colder temperatures, and b) enhanced vulnerability to predators or unexpected attacks by individuals from the same or neighboring groups. Although temperature drop is the main environmental threat that outdoor-living captive animals have to cope with, it seemed sensible to look for behaviors that appear to be adaptations to sleeping-imposed isolation.

Methods

Animals and housing: The study group was a mixed sex group of 10 stumptail macaques (M. arctoides) housed in one of four contiguous, pie-slice-shaped, outdoor cages, arranged in a semi-cylinder, measuring 6.2 m radius x 6.3 m high, at the Department of Ethology of the National Institute of Psychiatry. The cages are provided with two platforms, each 6.2 x 1 m. Access to these platforms and the roof is though a tubular structure. The cages also contain two smaller platforms (1 x .075 m), accessible by a series of metal rungs set into the walls. The roof is covered with wire mesh; monkeys can move along it. The cages also each contain a swing and other enrichments. There are five males and five females (see Table 1). The cages were washed each morning, after which the animals were fed fresh fruit and monkey chow around 0900 h. Fresh tap water was always available. Details of feeding and care can be found in Muñoz-Delgado et al. (1994).

Behaviors recorded: The following social behaviors were assessed in the present work: Grooming; Aggression (biting, pushing, and hitting); Playing; Changing huddling partners; Hold-bottom ritual, a behavior related to reconciliation and announcing a friendly relation in this species (de Waal & Ren, 1988); and Changing contact partners. The following non-social activities were also noted: Scratching; Self-grooming; Shaking, as a wet dog does; and Locomotion.

Procedure: Descriptions of the video equipment used, as well as the recording procedures, are found in Muñoz-Delgado et al. (1994). The camera was in the center of the observation area; the operators were inside the laboratory. Sixty hours of recordings were done, beginning at 1900 h and ending at 0700 h. Focal subject sampling (Altmann, 1974; Martin and Bateson, 1986) was done randomly throughout the night by scanning the cages and recording each animal for 10 to 20 min. As stumptails form sleeping groups (Muñoz Delgado et al., 1994), more than a single animal was often recorded during a sampling period. The number of hours recorded is given in Table 1.

.	Sex	Age	Hours	Grooming	Aggression	Play	Change huddle partner	Hold-bottom	Change contact partner	Scratching	Self-grooming	Shaking	Locomotion
Mean	M	11.26	18.07	0.82	0.23	0.17	0.11	0.02	0.01	2.44	1.41	0.32	0.09
S.E.M.	.	2.79	0.34	0.28	0.11	0.17	0.04	0.01	0.01	0.46	0.26	0.10	Locomotion
Mean	F	13.68	16.23	1.48*	0.30**	0.20**	0.02***	0.14*	0.01	1.48***	1.05	0.60	0.08
S.E.M.	.	3.80	1.23	0.49	0.12	0.17	0.02	0.07	0.01r	0.25	0.34	0.44	0.04

* Significantly different from males at P < 0.05; ** P < 0.025; *** P < 0.01

Table I: Age/sex average, total time recorded, and rates of behaviors displayed throughout the night.

Analyses: Ours was an event rather than a state sampling, so the behavior frequencies were transformed to bouts/subject/h for analyses (Table 1). As rate variances were not homogeneous and non-normally distributed, a natural logarithm transformation was performed. One was added to all data to avoid negative or indefinite logarithms due to rates smaller than 1 or zeros, respectively. The following General Linear Model (Brown and Rothery, 1993) was used in statistical analyses: ln (gamma +1) = mu + AiSi where each log-transformed cell value (bouts/subject/h rate + 1) is due to the overall mean m effect plus the individual’s age per sex AiSi effect. Kendall’s partial correlation test (Siegel and Castellan, 1988) was used to search for correlations between behaviors, controlling for age effects.

Results

Distribution of daytime behaviors throughout the night: Figure 1 shows the frequency of daytime behaviors throughout the night. The distribution is U-shaped, showing that most of the behaviors were displayed at the beginning of the night and at sunrise. Moreover, much activity was displayed until 2200 h.

Figure 1: Overall distribution of social and nonsocial behavior throughout the night. Frequency accounts for the total number of behaviors observed from nightfall to dawn.

The most frequent social behaviors were Grooming and Aggression, while Scratching and Self-grooming were the most frequent non-social behaviors. Aggression and Self-grooming (R=.448; P<0.025), Changing huddling partner and Changing contact partner (R=.583; P<0.01), and Self-grooming and Shaking (R=.414; P<0.05) were positively and significantly correlated. Significant negative correlations were between Grooming and Locomotion (R=-.485; P<0.025), Play and Scratching (R=-.445; P<0.05), Play and Shaking (R=-.602; P<0.01), and Hold-bottom and Shaking (R=-.578; P<0.01).

Figure 2: Nighttime Grooming rates in relation to age and sex. Solid lines account for the males’ trend, while dashed lines show the females’ trend. See text for details.

Social behavior: Grooming showed a significant age-by-sex interaction (F=6.213, d.f.=1/6, P=0.047). These results are shown in Figure 2. Males showed a significant decrease (R=-0.833) in Grooming rates in relation to age. In contrast, as females grew older they showed higher rates of Grooming (R=0.658). Throughout the night females significantly engaged in more Aggressive behaviors than males (F=6.481, d.f.=1/6, P=0.021). Play bouts were significantly related to age (F=9.23, d.f.=1/6, P=0.023; R=-0.840), being displayed only by infants and juveniles (Figure 2). Also, females engaged in Play significantly more than males (F=7.109, d.f.=1/6, P=0,026), an effect due to the fact that a young adult female (6.7 yr) did show some Play bouts throughout the night, while a young adult male (7.4 yr) did not. The age by sex interaction was also significant for Changing huddling partners (F=8.616, d.f.=1/6, P=0.026). Younger males changed huddling partners more often than older males (R=-0.905), while females, except for one 19.6-year-old), did not change huddling partners (R=0.390; Figure 3). Throughout the night the Hold-bottom ritual was displayed significantly more often by females than by males (F=4.236, d.f.=2/8, P=0.056). Changing contact partners was seldom seen, and its rates throughout nighttime were very similar in females and males of all ages (Table 1 and Figure 4).

Figure 3: Nighttime Play rates in relation to age. The broken line indicates the trend line.

Figure 4: Rates of changing huddling partners throughout the night in relation to age and sex. The solid line shows the males’ trend. Except for a single animal, females did not change huddling partners throughout the night. See text for details.

Non-social behavior: Scratching increased significantly with age (F=5.729, d.f.=1/6, P=0.054; R=0.989; (Figure 5), and was seen significantly more frequently in males than in females (F=12.959, d.f.=1/6, P=0.007). Neither sex nor age had effects on Self-grooming, Shaking or Locomotion.

Figure 5: Nighttime Scratching rates in relation to age. The trend line is shown. Scratching increased significantly with age. See text for details

Discussion

Our results show that stumptail macaques do not sleep all night, but they engage in other sorts of behaviors rather frequently, although the distribution of these behaviors (Figure 1) suggests that much of these are presleep (1900-2000 h) and awakening behaviors (0500-0600 h). Nevertheless, in contrast to Erffmeyer’s (1982) results in rhesus macaques, but in accordance with Todt et al.’s (1982) findings in the lesser spot-nosed monkey, we did record continuous activity throughout the night. Yet, as the monkeys are housed within Mexico City, which is brightly illuminated all through the night, care should be taken in regarding our results as conclusive. There is a great likelihood that this activity might be elicited by the dim light provided to the outdoor cages by the public lighting system, as it is known that in various free-ranging primates nighttime activity increases during full moon periods (Erkert, 1976a,b; Gursky, 2003).

Of interest is our finding that that social behavior was more frequent than non-social activities, and that much of the nighttime activity was related to sex, age, or both, providing support to Anderson’s (1984, 1998) hypothesis that social “diachrony” (change extending through time) is not interrupted by the night. The negative correlation between Grooming and Locomotion suggests that some animals would engage in affiliative interactions rather than move from one place to another during the night. In a previous work (Muñoz-Delgado et al., 1994), as well as in this one, we found that - except for some animals, for brief periods - all monkeys spend the night in close contact or huddling at least in pairs. Data for changing huddling partners show that females and older males seldom changed from one sleeping group to another, while younger males changed more often. Apparently, this close and prolonged contact elicits conflict situations which young males may avoid by changing partners. Fully adult males of this highly sexually dimorphic species would rather sleep alone or with one male friend, keeping apart from each other as they do throughout the day (Lopez-Luján et al., 1989). Females, on the other hand, engaged in more aggressive encounters throughout the night, the opposite of the diurnal dynamics of this species (Santillán-Doherty et al., 1991). Moreover the most aggressive female was also the only one that changed huddling partners. Adding the differences in Grooming due to sex and age, we can conclude that females (as they grow older) would rather invest in repairing social bonds and reducing tensions with their sleeping partners, instead of moving to another sleep-group. Additional support lies in the fact that Hold-bottom, a behavior related to reconciliation (de Waal & Ren, 1988), and which is more frequently displayed by males in daytime, was more frequently observed in females at night.

A previous study (Muñoz-Delgado et al., 1994, 1995) and this one confirmed the importance of female kinship in aggregation to sleep groups, with mothers, daughters, and juvenile and young adult sons huddling together. Moreover, the two matrilines that were present in the group during both studies spent part of the night as two separate groups, merging into a single one, along with the alpha male, for most of the second part of the night (0100-0500 h). This male, which showed the highest rates of Locomotion, was observed to alternatively move from one matriline grouping to the other, resting for periods within each one, until they merged. This behavior, which does not allow the alpha male to rest for long periods, suggests an appeasement tactic to inhibit conflicts between matrilines, proving that the dominant male is the most powerful animal in the group, and thus the most desirable companion (Mayagoitia et al., 1993).

The only female without a single relative within the group managed to huddle peripherally to one sleep group; that is, she occupied the outermost position. It should be noted that she showed the highest Grooming rates, and never changed huddling partners, suggesting a heavy investment in maintaining friendly relations to assure sleep-group membership. Two males, aged 11.7 yr and 18.9 yr, formed a distinct sleep-group that kept several meters apart from the rest of the animals.

Playing occurred exclusively among three siblings, the younger male (3.11 yr) and female (2.4 yr) engaging more often in this behavior than their older sister (6.7 yr). As diurnal primates have poor night vision, and playing can make infants quite conspicuous to predators, most surely in our study this behavior was elicited by, besides closeness, the faint city light mentioned above. Thus, its occurrence might be more an artifact of housing than a true expression of natural behavior.

Concerning non-social behavior, Scratching and Shaking were elicited by mosquito attacks, which occurred all through the night. Shaking was most likely used to frighten away these insects. Thus, the negative correlation between these two behaviors, as animals that did not scare off mosquitoes were more likely to be bitten. Males and older animals were preferred targets (we were able to observe the mosquito clouds above them), as they have larger body surfaces than juveniles and infants - these latter usually slept at the core of the sleep groups. Self-grooming rates might also be a consequence of mosquito bites. Yet, as this behavior was slightly correlated with Aggression (Txy.z=0.45, N=10, P<0.025), most surely the 20% of Self-grooming bouts that account for the correlation were either displacement or redirected activities (Troisi & Schino, 19­87) intending reconciliation.

So far, our results show not only that animals engage in social interactions throughout the night, but also that nighttime social dynamics are not entirely similar to the diurnal ones, but seem to be adjusted to the particular requirements of this period (Muñoz-Delgado, 1997). Although more extensive studies are needed, nighttime diachrony in stumptail macaques seems to be related to thermoregulation, as well as preventing social isolation while sleeping (McKenna et al., 1993).

References

Altman, J. (1974). Observational study of behavior: sampling methods. Behavior, 49, 227-265.

Anderson, J. R. (1984). Ethology and ecology of sleep in monkeys and apes. Advances In the Study of Behavior, 14, 156-229.

Anderson, J. R. (1998). Sleep, sleeping sites, and sleep-related activities: Awakening to their significance. American Journal of Primatology, 46, 63-75.

Brown, D., & Rothery, P. (1993). Models in biology: Mathematics statistics and computing. Chichester, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

De Waal, F., & Ren, R. (1988). Comparison of the reconciliatory behavior of stumptail and rhesus macaques. Ethology, 78, 129-142.

Erffmeyer, E. S. (1982). The nocturnal behavior of caged rhesus monkeys (Macaca mulatta). Folia Primatologica, 38, 240-249.

Erkert, H. G. (1976a). Lunarperiodic variation of the phase-angle difference in nocturnal animals under natural Zeitgeber-conditions near the Equator. International Journal of Chronobiology, 4, 125-138.

Erkert, H. G. (1976b). Beleuchtunsabhängiges Aktivitätsoptimum bei Nachtaffen (Aotus trivirgatus). Folia Primatologica, 25, 186-192.

Fruth, B., & McGrew, W. C. (1998). Resting and nesting in primates: behavioral ecology of inactivity. American Journal of Primatology, 46, 3-5.

Lopez-Luján, A. X., Ramirez Ochoa, I., Mayagoitia, L., & Mondragón-Ceballos, R. (1989). Sex differences in intra-group spacing behaviour in stumptailed macaques (Macaca arctoides). Folia Primatologica, 52, 102-108.

Martin, P., & Bateson, P. (1986). Measuring behaviour: An introductory guide. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

Mayagoitia, L., Santillan-Doherty, A. M., Lopez-Vergara, L., & Mondragon-Ceballos, R. (1993). Affiliation tactics prior to a period of competition in captive groups of stumptail macaques. Ethology, Ecology and Evolution, 5, 435-446.

McKenna, J. J., Thoman, E. B., Anders, T. F., Sadeh, A., Schettman, V. L., & Glotzbach, S. F. (1993). Infant-parent co-sleeping in an evolutionary perspective: Implications for understanding infant sleep development and the sudden infant death syndrome. Sleep, 16, 263-282.

Muñoz-Delgado, J., Luna-Villegas, G., & Mondragón-Ceballos, R. (1994). Relaciones de parentesco y conductas de vigilia-sueño en macacos cola de muñón (Macaca arctoides) en cautiverio exterior. Anales del Instituto Mexicano de Psiquiatría, 4, 167-171.

Muñoz-Delgado, J; Luna-Villegas, G; Mondragón-Ceballos, R., & Fernández-Guardiola, A. (1995). Behavioral characterization of sleep in stumptail macaques (Macaca arctoides) in exterior captivity by means of high-sensitivity videorecording. American Journal of Primatology, 36, 245-249.

Muñoz-Delgado, J., Luna-Villegas, G., Garrido-Guil, L., Mondragón-Ceballos, R., & Fernández-Guardiola, A. (1997). Un modelo de estrategia social durante el reposo nocturno en los macacos cola de muñón (Macaca arctoides), en cautiverio exterior. Salud Mental, 20[4], 16-22.

Raleigh, M. (1998). Editorial. American Journal of Primatology, 46, 1-2.

Santillan-Doherty, A. M., & Mondragon-Ceballos, R. (1991). Male-female coalitions in dominance takeovers in a captive group of stumptail macaques. In A. Ehara, T. Kimura, O. Takenada, & M. Iwamonto (Eds.), Primatology today (pp. 145-146). Amsterdam: Elsvier Scientific Publications.

Siegel, S., & Castellan, N. J., Jr. (1988). Nonparametric statistics for the behavioral sciences. New York: McGraw-Hill Book Co.

Todt, D., Bruser, E., Hultsch, H., & Lange, R. (1982). Nocturnal actions and interactions of newborn monkeys. Journal of Human Evolution, 11, 383-389.

Troisi, A., & Schino, G. (1987). Environmental and social influences on autogrooming behaviour in a captive group of Java monkeys. Behaviour, 100, 292-302.

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First author's address: Dpto de Etología y Conducta, Instituto Nacional de Psiquiatría, Camino a Xochimilco 101, Col. San Lorenzo Huipulco, Tlalpan 14370, México, D.F., México [e-mail: munozd@imp.edu.mx].

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Workshop Announcements

The Biologic Resources Laboratory’s collection of study materials will be available for review at the BRL, 1840 West Taylor St, beginning at 8:30 AM April 21, and continuing through April 23. The 2 x 2” slide collection includes 14,000 Kodachromes, many of which have been digitized, on laboratory animal diseases and management. In addition, 3,000 glass micropathology slides with histories and sixty-six T60 video tutorials, of the Foundation’s Independent Study Center at the BRL, will be available for individual and/or group study. Microscopes, projectors (2x2 and LCD), and VCRs will be available at the BRL. In addition, members of the senior staff of the BRL will give a Simulated Practical Examination on April 23.

Teaching Research Ethics

Indiana University’s eleventh annual Teaching Research Ethics Workshop will convene on the campus at Bloomington, Indiana, May 14-17, 2004. Session topics will include an overview of ethical theory; using animal subjects in research; using human subjects in clinical and nonclinical research; and responsible data management. Many sessions will feature techniques for teaching and assessing the responsible conduct of research. For more information, contact Kenneth D. Pimple, Teaching Research Ethics Project Director, Poynter Center, Indiana Univ., 618 East Third St, Bloomington, IN 47405-3602 [812-856-4986; fax: 812-855-3315; e-mail: pimple@indiana.edu]; see <pointer.indiana.edu>.

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Sideburn Size as a Measurement of Sex and Age in Saimiri sciureus sciureus

“Identifying the age and sex of nonhuman primates in the field can be difficult because of subject inaccessibility, lack of habituation, or ambiguous morphological cues” (Ensminger & Hoffman, 2002). This can be particularly true for arboreal species like Saimiri. While there are techniques to determine the age of animals using teeth and bone measurements, these techniques are too invasive for most field studies. What is needed is a technique that can be used with trapped animals or while viewing animals through binoculars.

Hershkovitz (1984) reported that there appeared to be a sex-linked chromatic difference between male and female Saimiri sciureus. He noted that sexual dichromatism is more common in Saimiri sciureus sciureus, with females having a blackish “wash” in the preauricular patch of hair (“sideburns”). We find in our captive Saimiri sciureus that we could readily distinguish between males and females based on the presence or absence of sideburns. We also noticed that among the females with known birth dates, older females seemed to have more pronounced sideburns, leading us to hypothesize a relationship between the length of the sideburns and the age of the female.

During a routine, semi-annual colony examination, measurements were made of the black preauricular patch of hair just anterior to the auditory canal, using digital calipers that measured to the nearest mm. The subjects were 49 Saimiri sciureus sciureus (39 females and 10 males), born at the Squirrel Monkey Breeding and Research Resource at the University of South Alabama between the years 1985 and 2001. In addition, we measured the sideburn length on eight females with unknown birthdates.

The black, preauricular patch was not present on any male. No female less than four years of age has a black preauricular patch of hair; one four-year-old had a sideburn of less than .4 cm. A nonlinear regression analysis shows a significant relationship between age and sideburn size (F(2,14) = 166, p < 0.01). The adjusted R² indicates that 95% of the variance in sideburn size is accounted for by the age of the female. The results of a regression analysis between sideburn size and age are shown in Figure 1. Figure 1 also shows a line indicating the average length of the exterior ear (mean = 2.23 cm, SD = 1.5 cm). By tracing up from the ¼, ½, and ¾ marks to the fitted regression line, age estimates of 4-5, 7-8, and 10-11 years old, respectively, are made.

Figure 1: Scattergram, with regression line, of females of known age (diamonds) and sideburn length. The regression equation and adjusted R² value are shown on the figure. Estimated ages of five females (two dots overlie one another) with unknown birthdates are shown as dark dots along the regression line.

We measured the sideburn length on five females with unknown birthdates. The estimated ages of these females are shown in Figure 1 as the dark dots along the regression line. These females were acquired as adults in 1990. This would make them approximately 20 years old, close to what is predicted by the regression curve.

Figure 2: Lateral views of a three-year-old (left) and a 10-year-old (right) female Saimiri showing the differences in sideburn size.

In summary, the black, preauricular patch of hair on Saimiri sciureus can be used to estimate the age and sex of individuals in the field. The lack of a patch can mean that the animal is a male or a female less than five years old. The presence of a black sideburn means the animal is a female and she is at least 4 years old. In our captive colony, only 10% of the females become pregnant at 3 years of age (Williams et al., in press). This matches reports by Baldwin and Baldwin (1981) that sexual maturity in Saimiri occurs when the female is around 2.5 years old, and suggests that females with little or no black sideburn could be considered juvenile and non-reproductive.

References

Baldwin, J. D., & Baldwin, J. I. (1981). The squirrel monkeys, genus Saimiri. In A. F. Coimbra-Filho & R. A. Mittermeier (Eds.). Ecology and behavior of Neotropical primates, Vol 1. Rio de Janeiro: Academia Brasileria de Ciiencias.

Ensminger, A. L., & Hoffman, S. M. G. 2002. Sex identification assay useful in great apes is not diagnostic in a range of other primate species. American Journal of Primatology, 56, 129-134.

Hershkovitz, P. (1984). Taxonomy of squirrel monkey genus Saimiri (Cebidae, Platyrrhini): A preliminary report with description of a hitherto unnamed form. American Journal of Primatology, 7, 155-210.

Williams, L. E., Brady, A. G., Gibson, S. V., & Abee, C. R. (2003). The squirrel monkey breeding and research resource: A review of Saimiri reproductive biology, behavior, and breeding performance. Primatologie, 6, in press.

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Authors' address: Department of Comparative Medicine, University of South Alabama, Mobile, AL 36688-0002 [251-460-6293; e-mail: lwilliams@usouthal.edu].

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Volunteer Opportunity: Primate Work in Africa

Expatriate staff work as technical advisors in support of national staff on animal husbandry, and share responsibility with Nigerian management for daily operations, facility/equipment maintenance and improvement, administration, some veterinary care, and some community and government liaison activities.

In-country expenses, housing and meals are provided. Minimum time commitment is one year; subsidized assistance may not be available to volunteers for lesser periods of time.

The following skills and experience are considered valuable: * Animal husbandry, veterinary and/or medical experience * Practical and mechanical skills (construction, automotive, electrical, etc.) * Appropriate educational background * Developing country experience * Administration, management, fund-raising, PR and good writing skills * Conservation or development work, particularly in Africa.

These positions are very demanding, requiring determination and genuine commitment to African wildlife conservation. They may be ideal for a couple with a balance of the above skills. Applicants must be at least 25 years old, be willing to shoulder tremendous responsibility and take direction, while having the ability to make decisions independently as needed. Daily routines include long hours of often mundane work.

Contact: Liza Gadsby or Peter Jenkins, Pandrillus Nigeria, HEPO Box 826, Calabar, Nigeria [234-87-234-310; e-mail: drill@infoweb.abs.net]; Pandrillus Foundation, P.O. Box 10082, Portland, OR 97296 [503-228-4045 (GMT-8); e-mail: pandrillus@earthlink.net]. Please mention the ZooNews Digest.

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Suppression of Lactation in Post-Weaning Macaca radiata Females by Bromocriptine Under Laboratory Conditions

In mammals, prolactin has a vital role in lactation and receptiveness of parents towards their infants. The removal of infants has a marked effect on lactation and behavior in mothers. Among the nonhuman primates, species of the family callitrichidae (Dixson & George 1982) and, specificially, cotton-top tamarins (Ziegler et al., 1996) were recorded as having prolactin positively correlated with parental behavior. In lactating rabbits the effect of bromocriptine and prolactin on milk secretion has been studied (Mena et al., 1982). In human beings an inhibitory action of bromocriptine on prolactin secretion and the efficiency of this drug in the suppression of puerperal lactation have been reported (Weinstein et al., 1976; Hutchison et al., 1981). The purpose of the present study is to learn the effect of bromocriptine on suppression of postpartum lactation of bonnet macaques after weaning.

Materials and Methods

Six Macaca radiata (bonnet macaques) were studied at the Primate Research Center. The macaques, which delivered live babies, were housed in individual cages along with their infants. They were fed commercial pellet feeds and soaked grams (Cicer arietinum, chick peas) in the morning, bread in the afternoon, and fruits/vegetables in the evening; they have ad lib water. They were maintained in an air-conditioned environment (22-25° C; 55-60% humidity) with 12:12 dark/light photoperiod. The infants were weaned at the age of six months. After weaning some mothers exhibited behavioral changes such as restlessness, decreased activity, and reduction in feed intake, as well as distension and apparent pain in the mammary glands. One also had milk letdown. Four mothers were given bromocriptine tablets (2.5 mg) at the rate of 1 mg/kg of body weight (Aruldhas et al., 1994). The tablets were crushed and mixed with jam, which was spread over two slices of bread and given twice daily after food for 14 days. Two of the mothers were left untreated. All the animals were examined routinely for twenty days and changes in their behaviors were recorded.

Results and Discussion

The macaques that were treated with bromocriptine showed marked suppression of lactation. Bromocriptine has direct action on D2-dopamine receptors of lactotroph cells of the anterior pituitary glands and decreases prolactin release from the pituitary (Delpozo et al., 1972). There was marked reduction in swelling and apparent pain of the breasts, with no letdown of milk. Those treated animals appeared to be more comfortable, with normal appetite, and they resumed cycling after two months.

The two macaques that were left untreated appeared apathetic and restless, with little appetite. Even after one week there was breast distension, which took a few more days to become normal; body weight also declined.

Changes in hormonal status during pregnancy contribute to maternal behavior of mammals, and during weaning mothers exhibit psychological disturbances (Rosenblatt, 1994), which can be alleviated by use of bromocriptine. Prolactin and its regulatory neurotransmitters are involved in the control of parental responsiveness, as in marmosets (Roberts et al., 2001). However Bridges and Ronstim (1990) recorded a reversal of the bromocriptine effects on steroid-treated rats with peripheral injections of ovine prolactin, indicating that prolactin is directly implicated in parental behavior and not a secondary effect of altered dopamine activity.

As prolactin in the mother plays an important role in maternal carrying behavior, bromocriptine at the time of weaning helps in the removal of infants without distress; it also helps in reducing mammary development and suppressing lactation during weaning.

References

Aruldhas, M. M., Thampi, L. T., Kumari, T. M., & Govindarajulu, P. (1994). Prolactin and bromocriptine induced changes in liver, adipose tissue and blood lipids of mature male bonnet monkeys, Macaca radiata (Geoffroy). Endocrine Journal, 41, 207-212.

Bridges, R. S., & Ronsheim, P. M. (1990). Prolactin (PRL) regulation of maternal behavior in rats: Bromocriptine treatment delays and PRL promotes the rapid onset of behavior. Endocrinology, 126, 837-848.

Delpozo, E., Del Re, R. B., Varga, L., & Friesen, H. (1972). The inhibition of prolactin secretion in man by CB-154 (2-Br-alpha-ergocryptine). Journal of Clinical Endocrinology and Metabolism, 35, 768-771.

Dixson, A. F., & George, L. (1982). Prolactin and parental behaviour in a male New World primate. Nature, 299, 551-553.

Hutchison P., & Sill, H. (1981). Lactation suppression with bromocriptine. New Zealand Medical Journal, 94, 309-310.

Mena, F., Martinez-Escalera, G., Aguayo, D., Clapp, C., & Grosvenor, C. E. (1982). Latency and duration of the effects of bromocriptine and prolactin on milk secretion in lactating rabbits. Journal of Neuroendocrinology, 94, 389-395.

Roberts, R. L., Jenkins, K. T, Lawler, T., Jr., Wegner, F. H., & Norcross, J. L. (2001). Bromocriptine administration lowers serum prolactin and disrupts parental responsiveness in common marmosets (Callthrix j. jacchus). Hormones and Behavior, 39, 106-112.

Rosenblatt, H. J. S (1994) Psychobiology of maternal behavior: Contribution to the clinical understanding of maternal behavior among humans. Acta Paediatrica Supplement 397, 3-8.

Weinstein, D., Ben-David, M., & Polishuk, W. Z. (1976). Serum prolactin and the suppression of lactation. British Journal of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, 83, 679-682.

Ziegler, T. E., Wegner, F. H., & Snowdon, C. T. (1996). Hormonal responses to parental and nonparental conditions in male cotton-top tamarins, Saguinus oedipus, a New World primate. Hormones and Behavior, 30, 287-297.

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First author's address: National Institute of Immunology, New Delhi 67, India [e-mail: naga@yahoo.com].

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Resources Wanted and Available

Chapter 1 of the VAM workbook is now available free in Italian, Chinese, English, German, and Korean. Chapter 1 contains 50 pages covering normal function of traditional anesthesia machines and consists of structured exercises designed for instruction or self-paced learning. Used in conjunction with the VAM simulation, it provides step-by-step guidance to help users learn objectives related to the anesthesia machine and patient safety.

Harlan Teklad Enrichment Treats

At the American Society of Primatology meeting in Calgary this summer, Harlan Teklad was passing out samples of their new Enrichment Treats. They included (#1023) Treat Bars, small cakes containing fruit, seeds, and nuts; and (#1024) Bagel Treats, which are, simply, bagels. As a former “monkey runner” who munched many “monkey biscuits” while waiting for animals to finish their trials, your Editor can attest that these new treats are much tastier. Check out <www.tekladcustomdiets.com>, or write to Harlan Teklad, P.O. Box 44220, Madison, WI 53744 [e-mail: teklad@teklad.com].

AAALAC Conference available on CD-ROM

All presentations and materials shared during the May 19, 2003, symposium, “Trends and Expectations: the Association for Assessment and Accreditation of Laboratory Animal Care (AAALAC) Conference on Quality Laboratory Animal Care,” are now available on CD-ROM. The CD includes 13 feature presentations on topics such as: An Overview of Trends Reported by AAALAC Evaluators Since 1999; Operating an Effective IACUC; and Occupational Health and Safety. To order, see <www.aaalac.org> or e-mail <accredit@aaalac.org>.

“Pocket Observer” from Noldus

Noldus Information Technology has announced their “Pocket Observer” program. It supports interval sampling and has user-selectable sound options via loudspeaker or earphone jack. The sound lasts only a fraction of a second. Pocket Observer runs on HP iPAQ (previously called Compaq iPAQ), Dell Axim, and Panasonic Toughbook 01 handheld computers under the Pocket PC 2003 operating system.

Noldus’ previous handheld, the Psion Workabout, is still supported. Its software also offers interval sampling with a sound option, but that model does not have an earphone jack. For information on either system, see <www.noldus.com>.

CAAT “Enhancing Humane Science” Program

The Johns Hopkins Center for Alternatives to Animal Testing (CAAT) has a new course: “Enhancing Humane Science/Improving Animal Research”, designed to provide researchers with the tools they need to practice the most humane science possible, and to demonstrate that humane science is the best science.

At present, the program is offered to Johns Hopkins University faculty and graduate students in the life sciences and to laboratory technicians who work with animals. The course covers a variety of replacement and refinement issues, including non-invasive techniques, humane endpoints, enrichment, post-surgical care, pain management, and the impact of stress on the quality of data. It also addresses such topics as in vitro and other replacement approaches, proper experimental design, statistical concepts, and the role of pilot studies in minimizing animal use and refining experiments.

Once the course is established at Johns Hopkins, CAAT will promote the program to the scientific community more broadly. For information about CAAT, see <caat.jhsph.edu>. - from the Netherlands Centre Alternatives to Animal Use newsletter

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Oral Medication Administration: Training Monkeys to Take Juice from a Syringe

Many research projects and some clinical procedures require repeated daily doses of medications over many days, weeks, or months. Administration can often be done by mouth or by injection. For practical purposes and to minimize stress on both primate and human, the oral route would usually be the most desirable, but oral delivery of many macromolecular drugs has been limited by nonabsorption. However, research on agents promoting absorption has expanded the range of substances allowing oral delivery (Leone-Bay, et al., 2000). Although many articles have been published concerning automated devices for oral delivery of fluids to nonhuman primates (e.g., Grunzke, 1961; Brammblett & Bramblett, 1988; Hyatt & Leavens, 1997), we could not find any literature specifically addressing the question of how to train young monkeys to routinely ingest a single daily dose of fluid. Here we detail a technique for repeated daily dosing of young monkeys involving voluntary consumption of a tasty liquid.

We are in the early stages of a project that will eventually require 48 young pigtailed macaques (Macaca nemestrina) to receive oral medication or a placebo daily for an eight-month period. The study subjects are mother-reared males who come to the laboratory from outdoor corral groups at about 6 months of age. Oral ingestion training begins during an initial one-month quarantine period, with the procedure continuing for the next 12 months. In this article we discuss our experience in getting 19 infants to initially try the liquid and then to complete a training regimen to ensure that they will take the medication at the appropriate time.

All animals are housed in individual cages. Initial training occurs between 8 am and 4 pm. Subsequent training with the personnel who will eventually do the dosing is done at 6:45 am, the time that medications will be given during the dosing phase of the study. Initial training begins by offering the animal a 5-ml drink of commercial apple juice from a 5-cc syringe held by a member of the research staff. Four of the 19 animals were immediately interested in the syringe and readily came forward, sniffed or licked the syringe, and discovered the tasty apple juice. However, the other 15 animals were reluctant to try the syringe and required more intensive training with different encouraging techniques. This may be due to the fact that when we began training, the animals had recently moved from another facility and were unfamiliar with the new surroundings and people. Training animals already familiar with the facility and staff would probably reduce the initial number of training days.

Several techniques were tested to get reluctant animals to try the juice. One was to dribble a little of the juice onto the bars of the cage and step back. Often the monkey would come forward and inspect the liquid on the cage, lick it, and discover that it tastes good. Another method was to put small pieces of fruit on the tip of the syringe. This encourages the animal to come forward and put its fingers or mouth on the syringe to take the fruit, at which time the trainer gently squirts a little juice into the mouth or onto the monkey’s hand. This soon results in most monkeys drinking the total 5 ml. However, 10 monkeys would not even come forward to take the fruit. These animals were placed in a transfer box, smaller than the home cage, with wire mesh sides. The trainer gently squirted the monkey with the juice on the face or the hand, after which the monkey usually licked it off. After 5 to 10 days of five-minute training sessions using these techniques as necessary, all 19 monkeys voluntarily approached the syringe and drank the juice.

Once the monkeys were readily sucking or licking the juice from the syringe, they were rewarded for drinking all of the juice. This was done by giving them a grape or small piece of fruit after they had taken all of the juice. After several weeks, two monkeys developed apparent “syringe-sucking boredom”, and did not take the full 5 ml and therefore did not get the usual grape reward. To cure this, the monkey was allowed one or two good sucks and then the syringe was taken away for a few seconds. This generally motivated ingestion of all the juice.

The medications being administered in this project are given in an apple-flavored syrup. This syrup is much thicker than the apple juice used in training. We found that one of the first four animals receiving the medication needed to be adapted to the taste and texture of the syrup. This step has been added to the standard training procedure. It is done by mixing the syrup with the apple juice and gradually, by about a one-half ml per day, increasing the concentration until it is 50/50 - the juice concentration of the actual medication doses. After this step was added only one of the last nine animals has refused to take the syrup with the apple juice. Two animals in the second group of four stopped drinking their juice/syrup mixture once the medications were added and one animal in the first group stopped taking the medications after about a month of drinking them without any problems. All of the animals who have had trouble taking the juice/syrup mixture, either with or without medications, take their dose if it is mixed with a flavored yogurt. Our young pigtail monkeys all find flavored yogurt to be highly palatable.

Last, we found that it is important for the monkeys to be familiarized with the person(s) who will be doing the actual research dosing. When our monkeys, who liked apple juice, were given it by a person with whom they were familiar, but who had not given it before, they needed one to two days (one animal needed three weeks) of adaptation to that person giving them the juice before consistently ingesting all of the liquid each day.

It is likely that most singly-caged monkeys of any age can be trained to ingest a fixed dose of fluid using these, or similar, techniques. As in any operant learning situation, the primary variable underlying success will probably be finding a palatable fluid for each individual, and perhaps when necessary, identifying a prized item as reward for ingesting all of the fluid. As shown by the success of Klaiber-Schuh and Welker (1997) in training group-housed macaques to receive individual doses, these methods could also be applied to individual monkeys living in a social situation that are trained to enter a cage or go to a specific area in their environment.

References

Bramblett, R. D., & Bramblett, C. A. (1988). A liquid dispenser for caged primates, Laboratory Primate Newsletter, 27[4], 16.

Grunzke, M. E. (1961). A liquid dispenser for primates. Journal of the Experimental Analysis of Behavior, 4, 326.

Hyatt, C. W., & Leavens D. A. (1997). An inexpensive liquid dispenser. Behavior Methods, Instruments, and Computers, 29, 448-449.

Klaiber-Schuh, A., & Welker, C. (1997). Crab-eating monkeys (Macaca fascicularis) can be trained to cooperate in non-invasive oral medication without stress. Primate Report, 47, 11-30.

Leone-Ray, A., Paton, D. R., & Weidner, J. J. (2000). The development of delivery agents that facilitate the oral absorption of macromolecular drugs. Medical Research Reviews, 20, 169-186.

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First author's address: University of Washington, CHDD, Box 357920, Seattle, WA 98195 [e-mail: Brenda@bart.rprc.Washington.edu].

This work is supported by NIMH grant MH64647, NCRR grant RR00166, and NICHHD grant HD02274. We thank Britni Curtis, Caroline Kenney, Claudette Meyer, Erika Rainwater, Kate Skypeck, Emily Spaulding, Sarah Ward, and Rebecca Warren, Infant Primate Laboratory personnel assisting in the juice-training procedures.

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Black and White Ruffed Lemur Nest Box

I have had a lot of luck using a “Rubbermaid” 50-gallon garbage can (with lid), with an 8 x 10-inch opening on the side of the can, placed about one foot from the bottom. (This keeps the infants inside the nest box, avoiding accidents.) Remember that ruffed lemurs build their nests on the ground, so place the “nest box” on the ground. I also like to install a “Baby Cam” wireless CCTV system to the lid so keepers can make observations without disturbing the mother and infant. These cams are available in the U.S. for less than $200 and can work in complete darkness using infrared.

Another tip is to provide hay or alfalfa to be used as nesting material. Do not put the nesting material inside the nest box, but rather place it elsewhere in the animals’ habitat. On average, a week before birth, you will observe the female gathering the nesting material and placing it inside the nest box. This is a great way to predict an upcoming birth.

I usually offer the female two or three nest boxes of this design at the same time to choose from. Once the babies are a week old, the mother will appreciate the additional nest boxes as additional places to “park” her infant(s). This allows her to perform her natural behaviors, which in turn helps promote better maternal care.

It would be a good idea to place a first-time mother in a smaller enclosure by herself two weeks before birth is expected. This drastically reduces her abandoning her infants as she is “forced” to be with them. Often a new mother will abandon her infant for long periods (especially just after delivery), and when she does come back, the infant(s) are cold and she completely stops caring for them. If she does desert the baby, sometimes you can warm it up and reintroduce it to the mother. Ruffed lemurs are notorious for abandoning “cold” babies. For this reason, depending on your climate, you might install a safe heating device in or under the nest box. I have used everything from human heating pads purchased at the drug store and placed inside the box, to “Stanfield” brand heating pads placed underneath. See <www.osborne-ind.com/petsub/heatpad/RLX-0575_A.pdf> for directions and cautions. The real trick is to see her nursing and caring for her infants right away. If you observe this, you are usually out of the woods. If she seems distracted without paying attention you have more to deal with.

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Importation of Fecal Samples: A Summary

Scenario A: You are tired of all this stuff and would like to avoid all the hassle:
Have a broker do the work. Here is a contact: John Meehan, Fauna and Flora Brokers, NY [718-977-7700].

Scenario B: Do It Yourself:

1. CITES permit.
   Agency in the U.S.A.: U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service <www.fws.gov/>. USFWS considers feces to be a byproduct and hence does not require an import permit (regardless of CITES status). Check <permits.fws.gov/faqs/FaqFGH.shtml>. This may, however, depend on the country of origin. If the country requires an import permit for the U.S., follow the procedure outlined at <permits.fws.gov/ instructions/ObtainPermit.shtml>. Note that there might be other, country-specific, regulations. Check with the authorities in the country of origin: <www.cites.org/common/directy/e_directy.html>. It might still be helpful when dealing with customs here in the U.S. to have an Informational Letter (or e-mail) from USFWS stating that no CITES import permit is required: <permits.fws.gov/Contacts/contacts.shtml> has contact information.

2. Determine whether your samples contain etiologic agents and require import permission from CDC (most important permit for fecal samples).
   Agency: CDC, Office for Health and Safety: <www.cdc.gov/od/ohs/default.htm>. Even if you consider the samples “safe”, apply for import permission with CDC. They will determine whether you will need a permit or whether they will provide an Informational Letter (which helps with customs, see above). For the application form and explanations check <www.cdc.gov/od/ohs/biosfty/imprtper.htm> or <www.cdc.gov/od/ohs/biosfty/gen_app.pdf>. Note: CDC requests specific information about the samples and the lab where the work will be performed, i.e., a statement of the nature of the samples and the purpose for importation, a statement that the material does not contain or is not suspected of containing any etiological agent, host, or vector of human disease (or if the material does contain these items, describe). In addition “The person requesting the permit (applicant) should be (1) knowledgeable and skilled in the handling of the infectious agent or biological material, (2) be directly responsible for work with the infectious material, and (3) should be located at the address within the U.S. where work with the infectious material will be performed.” Finally, there are specific guidelines regarding packaging on the CDC Webpage. For international shipment International Air Transport Association (IATA) regulations need to be consulted; check, e.g., <www.ehs.ufl.edu/Bio/shipping.htm>.

3. Get an Informational Letter from USDA (not required). USDA seems not to be involved in the process - check <www.aphis.usda.gov/ppq/permits/>. But (as already stated) to deal with customs, it might be helpful to have an Informational Letter (or e-mail) stating that no import permit from USDA is required. I got the following contact: <Sue.F.Collins@aphis.usda.gov>.

4. Get the right packaging / labels.
   Apart from following the guidelines of CDC and IATA it is important to note - on the samples and the shipping papers - that these are samples for RESEARCH (not for commercial use). As one unfortunate person pointed out, the term “samples” is not enough for U.S. customs - these “samples” are still with customs to determine their commercial value.

Acknowledgement and disclaimer: Grateful thanks to all people who contributed ideas and information (Joe Erwin, Amy Fontarensky, Jeff French, Matthew Hoffman, Matthew Jennings, Jim Moore, Jessica Rothman, Thomas Ziegler, and Toni E. Ziegler).

Please note that this summary refers to fecal samples only. The situation may (or may not) be similar for other “byproducts”, but certainly differs for animal “products”. Similarly, CITES offices in other countries may (or may not) view fecal samples as “byproducts”. The information provided here represents my latest knowledge, but I cannot guarantee its completeness and I cannot take over liability for any errors, misinterpretations, or missing information. - Andreas Koenig, Dept of Anthropology, Stony Brook University, Stony Brook, NY 11794-4364 [e-mail: akoenig@notes.cc.sunysb.edu]

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Personal Protection Equipment: A Discussion

“Well, here is the problem: the sealed goggles we have been wearing and the N95s are not compatible. The N95 rides high enough on the bridge of the nose that it does not allow the goggles to seal appropriately. We have considered going to Powered Air Purifying Respirators (PAPR), but I’m not committed yet. Any help or suggestions would be welcomed.”

Responses

1. My experience is, by all means use PAPRs if you can afford it and if you don’t have too many issues with decontamination. They are incredibly comfortable: goggles hurt and get foggy, and N95s hurt and do their job only with a perfect fit. PAPRs, on the other end, are very comfortable, and provide you with cool air (great under all these PPEs) and of course with very clean air (a wonderful break from allergies if you have any).

2. My two cents is this: Why did they bother suggesting the N95? There are no regulations regarding the “proper face/mouth mask”. If there are, then I’d love someone to show me. The B virus working group published a paper in late 2002 that is available on the CDC Website that addresses these issues, but gives no specifics. A traditional surgical face mask sold by any medical distributor is waterproof - to convince myself I put one under a faucet and the water ran off. What do the AAALAC visitors think that human MD’s wear in surgery? They certainly aren’t wearing N95 masks - how ridiculous. Surgeons have a much greater risk of exposure to AIDS, hepatitis, etc. Aren’t we trying to prevent a splash? I’d say as long as the full mouth is covered then that is sufficient.

   Plus the fact that N95s are supposed to be fitted by a respiratory specialist. I think your idea of tight-fitting goggles is great. I would “politely” ignore the suggestion and continue with a regular surgical mask. I stopped using the N95 because they are uncomfortable, you need a specialist to fit them, they are expensive, and I see no real need for them.

3. Our facility also uses “sealed” goggles for any macaque contact, including feeding, visual inspection, etc. We use surgeon’s masks for all situations except our Bio-safety Level (BSL) 2+ SHIV-infected monkeys. We wear N95 respirators when working with the latter. Since Her-pes B is not transmitted by aerosol, I’m not sure why your safety folks are asking you to wear the respirators. SHIV is not transmitted by aerosol either, and we may be going a little beyond what is necessary there by using respirators as part of our 2+ practices. I suppose that if you use a wet system for cleaning cages (i.e. water hoses) as we do, you could potentially aerosolize some feces, urine or other body fluid that could potentially be infectious. The N95 respirators are less comfortable, but I personally have not noticed a problem with the mask not sealing.

4. I really liked the PAPR’s. I have also had lots of experience doing husbandry with N95s, blue 3M masks, goggles, face shields - you name it. I think that the greatest concern with the PAPR (Breathe Easy brand is what I used) is if you have your rooms really crammed it reduces your maneuverability, but the monkeys really like to see your whole face.

5. I use safety glasses with side protection and a face shield with the 3M model 1860 N95 for Animal Biosafety Level 2 (ABSL2) use. I’d recommend the PAPR for the ABSL3 or 3+.

6. I have no real help for you, but I do have a question. We are using regular surgical masks, along with face shields. We have the same worry you have about liquid travel inside the face shield. But I have not seen any goggles that seal well and don’t have severe fogging problems. Where are you going to purchase these goggles? When AAALAC was here (less than one year ago) they didn’t seem to mind our system, and did not mention switching to N95 masks. It will be interesting to see if this becomes the standard. I’m certainly not sold on the N95 providing much better protection than the regular surgery mask, since it is so dependent on getting a good seal over the nose. The N95 masks we use seem to seal at about the same place on the nose as a surgical mask. We use them for biohazard work, but not specifically for NHP work. The mask we use is the Technol PFR95, Model # PFR95-170, reorder code 46727.

7. We have looked extensively at these issues. Eye protection is straightforward. We are of the opinion that, at least with macaques (B virus) and chimps (hepatitis B), you really can’t be too conservative. Employees don’t like it, but we push it. You’ve probably already done this, but take a look at Cohen, et al. (2003, p. 1193); also NIOSH Hazard ID 5 (1999). Both recommend goggles.

   N95s are another issue. In the past, we have thrown N95s at virtually everything. Problem is, N95s are considered a respiratory protection device, under OSHA regulations, which require a medical questionnaire for every employee wearing one, evaluation of the question-naire by an MD, and selected respiratory physicals, as prescribed, focusing on spirometry, possibly chest film, etc., etc. This must be repeated annually. Fit testing is also required and has to be performed by a qualified person. All these requirements apply equally to PAPR use.

   We have performed risk assessments on all animal care/tech positions and eliminated probably 90% of the N95s. The only time, under OSHA regulations, that an N95 is indicated is with potential airborne exposure (SARS, TB, etc.).

   Bottom line, definitely your respiratory and eye protection programs must meet OSHA requirements. It, then, is an institutional call to go beyond OSHA requirements. As to the AAALAC “suggestion” you received, it’s not based on regulations. A “hunch” is the reason, over the years, that we increased N95 use so dramatically. That is, until we really performed in-depth risk assessments and critically reviewed the regulations.

8. Before I went to requiring the N95 masks, I’d need some rational justification. Unless you are working with BSL3 agents, I don’t see the need. Granted the paper surgical masks probably don’t prevent us from spewing microparticles out into the air, but they seem to be adequate for most surgical applications. Are you going to require people working with monkeys in a corral situation to wear N95 masks or Racal hoods?

9. I wonder why they suggested a N95. We require the N95s because we operate at ABSL3. With the recent SARs situation the N95s are worth their weight in gold! IF you can get any. From an animal care taker’s position (I cared for primates at the University of Iowa for a few years) I feel it was more comfortable to wear a face shield instead of goggles. That way it didn’t interfere with the mask. I tried goggles with a mask but had the same situation as you. They don’t fit together well.

   As for using a PAPR, you must maintain them monthly. I have to drain the battery and recharge. If you don’t drain the batteries completely and put them on the charger after each use, it does something to the battery. We have three PAPR units so that I can always have at least two fully charged and ready for use. These are available for BSL3 users with facial hair who can’t be fit tested for a N95.

10. In our operations we use the N95’s. This was a “suggestion” by CDC. The recommendation is that they be fitted to the worker. In wash-down situations we use the N95’s and a face shield. When actually working with the animals in quarantine they are all anesthetized, so it’s N95’s and any appropriate eyewear. If the animals are not anesthetized, e.g., outdoors, it’s N95s, eye protection, and/or face shields. I have avoided consideration of respirators for many reasons; the biggest is - try to work in one sometime. I think that they may be more of a hazard than they are really worth in this particular case.

11. Did they say what they expected the switch to N95’s to accomplish? Assuming that the animals don’t have TB or other respiratory zoonoses, I can’t see what the extra benefit would be for either N95 or PAPR.

12. We are using safety glasses or goggles at the wearer’s discretion and standard surgical masks. We have the N95 masks available, but have been told by our Environmental Health and Safety Office that they are considered a respirator and therefore must be fit tested, etc., for each individual. We have face shields that are worn over both mask and eye protection when cleaning cages or in surgery.

13. We use the same type of goggles over the standard blue surgical face mask for situations in which there is no hazard of aerosolization. The alternative is a full-face shield (which we refer to as the “welder’s mask”) that is more extensive in covering the face than all others usually used. The face mask is not required under the face shield for routine husbandry, again in situations where there is not an aerosolization hazard. There are different N95 masks available; not all are high-profile. Our face shield is the Double Matrix from U.S. Safety. See <www.ussafety.com>.

14. Have you considered positive airflow respirators with built-in face shields? It may sound like overkill but this would provide both eye and respiratory protection.

Thanks to everyone for your help.

References

Cohen, J. I., Davenport, D. S., Stewart, J. A., Deitchman, S., Hilliard, J. K., Chapman, L. E., & the B Virus Working Group (2002). Recommendations for prevention of and therapy for exposure to B virus (Cercopithecine herpesvirus 1). Clinical Infectious Diseases, 35, 1191-1203.

Cercopithecine herpesvirus 1 (B virus) infection resulting from ocular exposure. NIOSH Hazard ID 5. <www.cdc.gov/niosh/hid5.html>.

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Primates de las Américas... La Página

Germinación de semillas de Ficus perforata ingeridas por monos aulladores (Alouatta palliata mexicana) y monos araña (Ateles geoffroyi vellerosus). Nicoletta Righini. Departamento de Ecología Vegetal, Instituto de Ecología, A.C., Xalapa, Veracruz, México [righini@ecologia.edu.mx].

Un dispersor de semillas eficiente tiene que dispersar grandes cantidades de éstas, dejarlas en sitios óptimos para que puedan germinar y, sobre todo, no dañarlas durante este proceso. Para conocer la importancia de un animal frugívoro como dispersor, por lo tanto, es indispensable antes que nada conducir pruebas de germinación de semillas después de la ingestión. Los monos aulladores (Alouatta palliata) y los monos araña (Ateles geoffroyi) son frugívoros que consumen grandes cantidades de frutos de Ficus (Moraceae) en la región de Los Tuxtlas, México. Ya existen estudios que recalcan la relación entre Alouatta y los Ficus hemiepífitos, y que reportan el éxito en la germinación de las semillas de Ficus después de la ingestión por los monos aulladores. Sin embargo, la mayoría de los trabajos no sigue procedimientos estándar y, sobre todo, pocos son los experimentos de germinación efectuados en el campo con semillas de plantas hemiepífitas. Además, a pesar de que la ecología de Ateles geoffroyi es bien conocida y que se reporte que el género Ateles se alimenta en gran proporción de frutos de la Familia Moraceae, no se conocen trabajos sobre A. geoffroyi como dispersor de Ficus. Las semillas ingeridas por monos pueden germinar, pero también se ha sugerido que podría ser el ambiente húmedo (como el que se encuentra en el tracto digestivo de un frugívoro) que favorecería la germinación de las semillas. Por lo tanto, se efectuaron experimentos de germinación en laboratorio y en el campo con semillas de Ficus perforata (Urostigma) bajo cinco diferentes tratamientos: semillas extraídas de frutos (tratamiento control), semillas extraídas de las excretas de monos araña cautivos (Ateles geoffroyi vellerosus), semillas extraídas de las excretas de monos aulladores silvestres (Alouatta palliata mexicana), semillas de frutos puestas a remojar en agua por 21 horas y por 4 horas antes de empezar el experimento.

En el experimento de laboratorio (semillas en cajas Petri en una cámara de germinación con luz y temperatura controladas), la germinación difirió significativamente (Modelo Lineal Generalizado, ?295 = 180.02, p< 0.00001) entre tratamientos. Las semillas que germinaron en mayor porcentaje (71.3%) fueron las del tratamiento control (“Ficus”); sin embargo, no hubo diferencias estadísticamente significativas entre los porcentajes de germinación de los tratamientos “Ficus”, “Ficus 21 horas”, “Ficus 4 horas” y “Alouatta”. Las semillas del tratamiento “Ateles” germinaron con un porcentaje muy bajo (10.8%), difiriendo significativamente de los demás tratamientos (?21= 187.4, p< 0.0000001). Los resultados obtenidos en el experimento de campo fueron muy diferentes, aunque también en este caso la germinación difirió significativamente entre tratamientos (?220 = 20.95, p< 0.00001). Las semillas (en charolas colgadas en el interior de la selva) que germinaron en mayor porcentaje fueron aquellas de los tratamientos “Alouatta” (78.8%) y “Ateles” (71.4%). Ambos tratamientos difirieron de “Ficus”, “Ficus 21 horas” y “Ficus 4 horas” (?21 = 23.57, p< 0.000001), cuyos porcentajes de germinación fueron extremadamente bajos (6.8% para “Ficus 4 horas”). Las semillas remojadas en agua tuvieron un comportamiento parecido a las semillas control en ambos experimentos; el hecho de que las semillas estuvieran mantenidas en agua no influyó sobre la germinación y la humedad no les confirió mayor capacidad de germinación que las semillas extraídas directamente de los frutos. Las diferencias encontradas al desarrollar los dos tipos de experimentos señalan la importancia de los experimentos de campo para poder detectar la capacidad germinativa de las semillas que han sido ingeridas por animales potencialmente dispersores. Sin embargo, hay que considerar que las semillas utilizadas para los experimentos de laboratorio y de campo fueron colectadas en tiempos diferentes. A pesar de que la metodología y los árboles de Ficus fueron los mismos, no se puede descartar que las diferentes cosechas hayan sido las responsables de los resultados diferentes obtenidos en las pruebas.

Listado de publicaciones primatológicas en español, Parte II: H-U. Bernardo Urbani. Department of Anthropology, University of Illinois, 109 Davenport Hall, Urbana, IL 61801 U.S.A. [burbani@uiuc.edu]; y Tania Urquiza-Haas, School of Environmental Sciences, University of East Anglia, Norwich NR4 7TJ, Gran Bretaña [t.urquiza-haas@uea.ac.uk]

Haberland, W. (1981). Monos sobre vasijas de barro. En El Salvador Precolombino. San Salvador: Publicación del Sistema de Crédito Rural de El Salvador, II.

Jahme, C. (2002). Bellas y Bestias. El papel de las mujeres en los estudios sobre primates. Barcelona: Editorial Ateles. (Edic. Orig. 2001).

Kohler, W. (1989). Experimentos sobre la inteligencia de los chimpancés. Madrid: Debate. (Edic. Orig. 1921).

Le Gross Clark, W. (1962). Historia de los primates. Buenos Aires: Eudeba.

Linden, E. (1985). Sobre hombres, monos y lenguaje. Madrid: Alianza Editorial.

Muñoz Delgado, J., & Serrano Sánchez, C. (Eds.). (1999). Primates, evolución e identidad humana. México, D.F.: Instituto Mexicano de Psiquiatría.

Pratt, R., & Burnie, D. (2002). Simios y otros primates peludos. Barcelona: Alhambra-Loghman. (Edic. Orig. 2000).

Premack, D., & Premack, A. J. (1988). La mente del simio. Madrid: Debate. (Edic. Orig. 1983).

Rodríguez-Luna, E., Cortés-Ortiz, L., & Martínez-Contreras, J. (Eds.). (1995). Estudios primatológicos en México. Volumen I1. Xalapa: Asociación Mexicana de Primatología/ Biblioteca Universidad Veracruzana.

Saavedra, Carlos J., Mittermeier, Russell A., & Bastos Santos, I. (Eds.). (1989). La primatología en Latino-américa. Minais Gerais, Brasil: Editorial Littera Macoel.

Sabater Pi, J. (1984, 1993). Gorilas y chimpancés del Africa Occidental. México: Fondo de Cultura Económico.

Sabater Pi, J. (1985). Etología de la vivienda humana: De los nidos de gorilas y chimpancés a la vivienda humana. Barcelona: Labor Universitaria.

Sabater Pi, J. (1993). El chimpancé y los orígenes de la cultura. Barcelona: Anthropos.

San Martín Howard, F., & García Podestá, M. (eds.). (2000). La primatología en el Perú: Vol II. Lima: Pro-yecto Peruano de Primatología Manual Moro Sommo.

Sánchez de Zavala, V. (ed.). (1976). Sobre el lenguaje de los antropoides. Madrid: Siglo XXI Eds.

Schaller, G. B. (1967). La vida del gorila. México: Fondo de Cultura Económica (Edic. Orig. 1963).

Schultz, A. H. (1979). Los primates. Barcelona: Destino (Edic. Orig. 1972).

Serrano-Muñoz, M. (1978). El “coy”: Mono araña. (Ateles geoffroyi). Guatemala: Universidad de San Carlos de Guatemala, Edit. Universitarias. Colección Monografias 5: 1-82.

Soini, P., Soini, M., & Moya, L. (eds.). (1990). La primatología en el Perú. Investigaciones primatológicas 1973-1985. Lima: Proyecto Peruano de Primatología.

Trevor, B., & Schwibbe Poole, Michael. (eds.). (1999). Directrices internacionales para la adquisición, cui-dado y reproducción de primates no humanos. Asociacion Primatólogica Española, Orbis Geographica.

Urbani B., Viloria, &AACUTE;. L., & Urbani, F. (2001). La creación de un primate: El “simio americano” de François de Loys (Amer-anthropoides loysi Montandon, 1929) o la historia de un fraude. Anartia, Publicaciones ocasionales del Museo de Biología de la Universidad del Zulia, Venezuela, 16, 1- 56.

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Announcements from Publications

The Primate Foundation of Arizona has announced that Volume 14, number 2, is the last issue of their quarterly Newsletter. From now on, members will be kept up to date via The Primate Foundation of Arizona Annual Report, the first issue of which will be sent in February, 2004. Jo Fritz reminds us that all memberships are tax-deductible donations. Contact her at P.O. Box 20027, Mesa, AZ 85277-0027 [e-mail: JOPFA@qwest.net].

Lancet Back Files Archived on the Web

Researchers and scholars across the globe now can search an historical archive of over 340,000 articles dating from The Lancet’s inception in 1823. The Lancet Backfiles are now available on ScienceDirect as fully searchable PDFs, supported by citations, abstracts and references. For more information visit <www.info.sciencedirect.com/backfiles/collections/lancet>.

Neotropical Primates Articles on the Web

Through the support and cooperation of Anthony Rylands and the staff at Conservation International, the full text of articles published in Neotropical Primates are available through the bibliographic database, PrimateLit: <primatelit.library.wisc.edu>. This means that when you search PrimateLit and find an article published in Neotropical Primates, you will be provided with a URL that will link you to the issue containing that article. You will be able to read the full text on line or print out the relevant publication. With support from NCRR grant RR 15311, Coordinated Information Services for Primate Research, the Wisconsin Primate Center is engaged in a project to scan key primate newsletters so that users of PrimateLit can link directly to the full text of article indexed by the Primate Information Center, Seattle. “We have approximately ten other primate newsletters that we hope to scan and make accessible through the database. As you may know, PrimateLit already includes links to over 65,000 biomedical articles indexed in the National Library of Medicine’s PubMed. Within the limitations of copyright, our goal is make PrimateLit a window to the literature of primatology and accessible, particularly to those in areas where primates are endemic and where print resources may not be readily available. If you have suggestions for titles to include in our scanning project, please contact the scanning project coordinator, Ray Hamel [e-mail: hamel@primate.wisc.edu].”

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Information Requested or Available

The Animal Behavior Society Conservation Committee is creating a database of individuals (professors or scientists affiliated with academic institutions) who conduct research in animal behavior and conservation. The database will be available to the public (particularly to graduate and undergraduate students looking for academic programs, research assistantships, internships, or summer programs) in the ABS-CC Website. If you think that you should be included in this database, please complete the following information and send it at once to Guillermo Paz-y-Mino C. [e-mail: pazymino@unlserve.unl.edu]: * Name * Highest Degree * Title * Research Institution Address * Phone * e-mail address * Personal/Lab Website * A very brief statement of major field of research; mention if you are interested in recruiting graduate and/or undergraduate students to collaborate with you in research conducted in the interface of animal behavior and conservation science.

Animal Welfare Veterinary Syllabus

An international syllabus to assist with the teaching of animal welfare in veterinary faculties has been launched by the World Society for the Protection of Animals (WSPA). The Concepts in Animal Welfare syllabus is the result of a long-standing collaboration with the University of Bristol’s School of Veterinary Medicine. It is composed of 30 interactive modules on CD-ROM and is aimed at encouraging the inclusion of specific welfare teaching within established veterinary syllabi. Printed and audio-visual resources complement the CD-ROM, and updates will be available via the Internet: see <www.wspa-international.org>.

Female-Female Agonistic Interactions

Brandon Wheeler (Dept of Anthropology, SUNY Stony Brook, Stony Brook, NY 11794 [e-mail: bwheeler@ic.sunysb.edu] wrote to Primate-Science: Andreas Koenig and I are working on a project comparing rates of female-female agonistic interactions across primate taxa and are looking for data to add to our database. Specifically, we are looking for rates of aggression, submission, and displacements based on continuous focal animal sampling. Rates should be for individual groups and preferably be in the form of the total number of interactions divided by the total focal time (including all interactions in which the focal female was either showing or receiving the aggressive/submissive behavior). Study groups should be wild and unprovisioned. If you have data that don’t meet these exact specifications (e.g., if you only have an average rate for several groups or rates based on all-occurrence sampling), they may still be of some use to us. To go along with rates of agonism, we would also be interested in other data for the study group (or population), including the proportion of different food items in the diet, the overall activity budget, rates of female dispersal, degree of terrestriality, and rainfall data. Many thanks for your time.

How to Write a Grant Application

The Office of Laboratory Animal Welfare has launched a new Website for investigators, How to Write an Application Involving Research Animals. The tutorial provides a step-by-step guide to the preparation of an application and covers such topics as considering alternatives, obtaining assurances and IACUC approval, NIH review of animal subjects applications, grant awards, IACUC monitoring of awards, and reporting requirements. See <www.niaid.nih.gov/ncn/clinical/researchanimals/tutorial/index.htm>

More Interesting Websites

* 2003 Red List of Threatened Species: <www.redlist.org/>
* Association of Veterinarians for Animal Rights: <www.avar.org>
* Australian Animal Research Review Panel: <www.animalethics.org.au>
* Caribbean Primate Research Center: <ucm.rcm.upr.edu>
* Coalition for Animals and Animal Research: <www.swaebr.org/cfaar>
* Fort Worth Zoo’s “Enrichment Online” database: <www.enrichmentonline.org/browse/index.asp>
* Gibbon Conservation Center: <www.gibboncenter.org>
* Gorilla Workshop, Calgary 2004: <2004gorillaworkshop.tripod.com/>
* Guidance for would-be primate owners: <www.petmonkey.info>
* Guidelines for the Care and Use of Mammals in Neuroscience and Behavioral Research (Institute for Laboratory Animal Resources): <www.nap.edu/catalog/10732.html>
* Journal of Veterinary Pharmacology and Therapeutics: <www.blackwell-synergy.com/links/toc/jvp/>
* Lab Study Group, preparation for the ACLAM Board Exam: <home.comcast.net/~jgmillr11/>.
* Laboratory Animal Refinement and Enrichment Forum photos: <www.awionline.org/lab_animals/LAREF/ LAREFphotos.html>
* Models for replacing animals in education: <oslovet.veths.no/NORINA/>
* Tayna Gorilla Reserve: <www.tayna.org/TCCB/TCCB.html>

* * *

News Briefs

September 23, 2003 - The Primate Foundation of Arizona is pleased to announce that Elaine Videan, MS, has been appointed to the position of Research Director. Elaine is currently a PhD candidate in the Zoology Department at Miami University and will complete her dissertation in the next few months.

Elaine comes to PFA with an outstanding background in primatology, including captive chimpanzee research at the University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Research Center, Bastrop, Texas, and the Southwest Regional Primate Research Center in San Antonio, Texas; and field research at Mahale National Park in Tanzania.

Madagascar Plans to Increase Nature Reserves

DURBAN, South Africa, September 16 (Reuters) - Madagascar has announced that it plans to more than triple the size of its nature reserves to help protect some of the planet’s rarest creatures.

Long isolated from the rest of the world, Madagascar’s wildlife has evolved in unique and startling ways, making it an ecological treasure trove. Its unusual wildlife includes dozens of species of lemurs. Madagascar also has dozens of colorful species of chameleons. The world’s fourth largest island is home to some 10,000 endemic plant species, 316 endemic reptile species, and 109 species of birds found nowhere else in the world.

President Marc Ravalomanana said his government would increase the amount of protected area on the island to six million hectares from 1.7 million. “In five years we’ll do it,” he told journalists at the Fifth World Parks Congress in Durban. Diplomatic sources said the plan would involve about $150 million of donor funds. Ravalomanana also said the government hoped to plough funds from an expected growth in ecotourism back into conservation.

The island has only been inhabited by humans for around 2,000 years but the toll from man’s activities has been huge. It is estimated that the country’s forests have shrunk to nine million hectares from 20 million in 20 years, felled by the timber industry and growth of poor rural communities. Many of Madagascar’s lemur species are on the brink of extinction and many reserves are too small to sustain a large variety of animals. Others are poorly protected and suffer from human encroachment.

Officials Debate Guarding Florida Squirrel Monkeys

Naples, Florida, officials are working with state wildlife officers to try to protect a troop of squirrel monkeys from being trapped or harassed in the city. The monkeys are worth about $1,500 each as pets and many have fallen prey to trappers over the years.

City officials, including Mayor Bonnie MacKenzie, have been trying to find a way to protect the monkeys. However, state policies have slowed the process. Wildlife officers were sympathetic to the city’s efforts to protect the monkeys - which roam mangrove forests along the Gordon River near Naples Bay - but the problem is that the monkeys - which come from South and Central America - aren’t native to Florida. The monkeys have lived in Naples for decades, but no one knows how they arrived. The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission has taken a position of not protecting non-native animals.

The commission has a proposed policy of eradicating from public lands feral cats - the wild offspring of domesticated cats - which are also not considered to be native wildlife. Wildlife officers are concerned that protecting the squirrel monkeys might conflict with their position regarding feral cats.

Attorneys for the wildlife commission and the city are looking to see if this problem can be overcome so that the squirrel monkeys can be protected. The measure - if the state approves - might be in the form of a city ordinance making it illegal to trap or harass the monkeys. The other possibility would be for the wildlife commission to declare a certain part of the city as a no hunting or trapping zone. - Published by <news-press.com>, September 29, 2003, and posted to Primfocus

San Antonio Science Giants at Loggerheads

Shortly before the United States entered World War II, oilman, inventor, author, and adventurer Tom Slick founded what is known today as the Southwest Foundation for Biomedical Research - dedicated to basic biological research, but best known for its vast colony of research baboons. A few years later, Slick established a sister organization, Southwest Research Institute, with a vision of putting a phalanx of scientists to work on profitable contract research for private industry and the government.

Both those visions have borne fruit in what are now two thriving enterprises next door to each other. And both have racked up banner financial years recently, attracting major research grants and industrial contracts. But documents unearthed from an open-air shed near the Foundation’s baboon corral last year suggest Slick wanted the Institute to support the Foundation because he knew there was not a lot of money to be made in unraveling the mysteries of life.

Last week, six decades after their founding and 41 years after their founder’s death, the two sibling science organizations headed for court in a squabble over their parent’s final wishes. The Foundation says it is entitled to substantial cash payments from the Institute, now that the research enterprise is pulling in $339 million worth of contracts a year from government agencies, Fortune 500 companies, and garage-based entrepreneurs with ideas they want to test or develop into products.

The Institute has made payments to the Foundation - a minimum of $50,000 a year and $100,000 last year, according to the Institute. But Foundation trustees are eyeing what they say is a $55 million cash reserve that the Research Institute has accumulated over a number of successful years. They contend the Foundation is obligated to share in that prosperity.

The Foundation’s board of directors has filed a lawsuit saying the Institute “has willfully dishonored Mr. Slick’s philanthropic vision and plan by denying its obligation to provide financial support to the Foundation.” The Institute counters that the fund is more like $45 million at this point and is a critical cash reserve supporting a large and diverse operation.

The Foundation is building its case on 60-year-old legal documents and texts of speeches that Slick made as he established the two entities. Family members and advisers who helped Slick set up the institutions say they remember his intentions and side with the Foundation.

“Tom’s idea was that the Institute would support the Foundation,” said Earl Slick, the founder’s brother, now 82, who remains a trustee emeritus of the Foundation. “There is no question about it; it’s in his will. They (Institute officials) are just going to have to face up to that.”

Slick endowed his Foundation with $500,000 but understood it would need continuous philanthropic support to survive. Leroy Denman, a longtime friend and legal adviser who helped Slick establish his foundations, said that need prompted Slick to establish two other institutions. First came the Institute of Industrial Research to conduct contract research for industry and to foster “new and useful inventions.” A year later he spun off the industrial research division into the separate Southwest Research Institute. “He clearly expected the Institute to make money and to devote, I think as he said, such money as it did not need in its own business to support pure research, which basically was biological and medical,” Denman said.

Slick was involved in both foundations during his life, when both entities struggled to stay afloat. There was no expectation that the Institute would make payments to the Foundation at that point because the revenues were not there, Denman said. In the past decade though, both the Foundation and the Institute have flourished into major components of San Antonio’s research and biomedical industry.

Southwest Foundation’s 2002 annual report spotlights six consecutive years of record totals in grants and contracts. Last year, Foundation scientists had $45.8 million in support from the National Institutes of Health, other government sources, and philanthropic donors.

The Foundation is home to a federally funded primate center, where scientists are searching for genetic roots of atherosclerosis, hypertension, and cholesterol metabolism. Researchers at the Foundation have enrolled 1,400 members from 40 extended Mexican-American families in a hunt for genes related to obesity, diabetes, and heart disease.

But its campus is aging and is undergoing a massive renovation. A $40 million capital campaign to pay for it has raised about $36 million. Past contract research at the Institute has helped bring about consumer products such as Liquid Paper and peanut butter M&Ms.

Nobody relishes the prospects of a potentially ugly and public courthouse feud between the two related entities. Negotiations between the two entities broke off a few months ago, leaving no recourse but the courthouse.

Walter D. Downing, executive vice president, said Institute officials feel they are fulfilling Slick’s wishes to maintain a financially viable entity where government and business enterprises can find scientific solutions they need. - From the San Antonio Express-News, September 29, by Cindy Tumiel

Utah Primate Freedom Project

The Utah Primate Freedom Project is a student group at the University of Utah that was established in October, 2003. “We are a collection of concerned University students, alumni, and laypersons who offer education and advocacy on behalf of primates held in laboratories. The Utah Primate Freedom Project has one simple and direct purpose: to seek an end to all primate experimentation at the University of Utah campus.” See <www.utahprimatefreedom.com/>.

New Director of Chimpanzee Refuge in Congo

Dr. Ken Cameron, an associate veterinarian at the Cincinnati Zoo and Botanical Garden, has quit his post to become director of operations at the Jane Goodall Institute, which has provided a refuge for chimpanzees orphaned by the bushmeat trade in the Republic of Congo for more than a decade. Dr. Cameron will be in charge of general sanctuary operations, which includes the well-being of the sanctuary’s 113 chimps; expansion and future development; supervision of sanctuary personnel; and the development of a veterinary health program.

Most of the chimps in the sanctuary were confiscated from hunters trying to sell them into the pet or entertainment trades. - Cincinnati Enquirer, August 15, 2003

Patricia S. Goldman-Rakic, Neuroscientist, Dies at 66

Patricia S. Goldman-Rakic, a professor of neuroscience at Yale University whose pioneering research on brain and memory functions helped pave the way for understanding schizophrenia and Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s diseases, died July 31 at Yale-New Haven Hospital. She was 66 and lived in New Haven. She died of complications from head and other injuries suffered July 29 when she was struck by a car as she crossed a street in Hamden, Connecticut, said her husband, Dr. Pasko Rakic, a fellow neuroscientist at Yale.

“Pat Goldman-Rakic was one of the most distinguished neuroscientists of her generation,” said Richard C. Levin, Yale’s president. “We grieve her tragic loss in the knowledge that her important contributions will live on.”

Dr. Goldman-Rakic was the first researcher to chart the frontal lobe of the brain, the executive center responsible for personality, reasoning, planning, insight and other high-order cognitive functions. The frontal lobe was once regarded as inaccessible to rigorous scientific analysis, but Dr. Goldman-Rakic used various techniques - drugs, electrical impulses, behavioral responses, and other methods - to explore and describe its structure.

In the 1970’s, Dr. Goldman-Rakic discovered that the loss of dopamine in the prefrontal cortex led to memory deficits. That study changed neuropsychiatry by providing doctors with insights into the symptoms of mental illness and the effectiveness of psychoactive medications.

Patricia S. Goldman was born in Salem, Massachusetts, on April 22, 1937. She earned a bachelor’s degree at Vassar College in 1959 and a doctorate at the University of California at Los Angeles in 1963. After years of research at UCLA, New York University, MIT, and NIH, she joined the Yale faculty in 1979.

While she taught some classes, she concentrated on research at Yale, Dr. Rakic said. She wrote or collaborated on hundreds of scientific papers, and was the recipient of many awards for her work. She was elected to the National Academy of Sciences in 1990, and held honorary degrees from the University of Utrecht and the University of St. Andrews. - From a New York Times obituary by Robert Mcfadden, August 4, 2003

Tulane Primate Center Awarded Large Grant

Tulane University received a $13.6 million federal research grant Tuesday that catapults its Primate Center into an elite group specializing in newly discovered infectious diseases and illness caused by bioterrorism. “This will help us address human illness by treatment, by development of vaccines, and strengthen our capacity to fend off bioterrorism. We’ll play an important role in both of these contexts,” Dr. Paul Whelton, Tulane’s senior vice president for health sciences, said Tuesday.

The award from the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, plus a required match of about $5 million from Tulane, will pay for construction of a 40,000-square-foot laboratory at the Tulane National Primate Research Center near Covington, where treatments and vaccines will be developed, said Andrew A. Lackner, the Center’s director.

The new building at the Primate Center will be one of nine regional biocontainment laboratories that NIH will underwrite. The diseases that scientists are likely to study first represent a mixture of naturally occurring infections and those that could be used in bioterrorism, such as West Nile virus, tuberculosis, botulism, plague, tularemia, brucellosis and severe acute respiratory syndrome.

Standards for biocontainment structures are strict, to ensure that microorganisms stay in the lab. Because of these regulations, construction costs are about $450 per square foot. Among the building’s features will be a biosafety lab rated at high-security level 3, where scientists clad in protective clothing will deal with potentially lethal organisms. The proximity of the organisms should not alarm the Primate Center’s neighbors, Lackner said, because the Primate Center has had a biosafety level 3 lab for the past decade and has operated it without an incident. - from the New Orleans Times-Picayune, October 1, 2003

New Primate Research Facility - China

The Republic of China is establishing a new primate research center at Sun Yat-sen University in the southern part of the country. Tentatively named the Center for Stem Cell Biology and Tissue Engineering, the new facility aims to create transgenic primates for use as models of human disease and as a global source of primate stem cells. The center will start with 100-200 monkeys, but hopes to triple that in the future. Center officials plan to obtain rhesus and cynomolgus monkeys from a nearby breeding facility and are also considering capturing wild monkeys from an island in southern China. - From Nature, July 17, 2003; posted to HSUS’s Animal Research News

Ice Cream Treat for Apes

Workers at a zoo in Germany have started making ice cream for apes as a special summer treat. At Hanover Zoo the apes are being given the cooling dessert made of fruit, sunflower seeds, and raisins all frozen together in a 10-liter bucket.

A spokesperson for the zoo said: "The ice-cream is a special treat for the apes and it also keeps them cool. They are having a lot of fun eating it." - Posted to the Ananova News Site, August 1, 2003

Scientists Count Rare Mountain Gorillas

KAMPALA, Uganda, October 6 (Associated Press) - A team of 100 African scientists is counting rare mountain gorillas living in the range straddling Congo, Rwanda and Uganda - the first such census in 14 years, the Uganda Wildlife Authority (UWA) said. Scientists from the three nations began counting the endangered primates last month in an effort to pinpoint their exact number and determine what factors are affecting the population, UWA said in a statement.

There are believed to be about 670 mountain gorillas living in the wild, based on recent partial censuses. About 350 are believed to live in the Virunga Mountains in Congo. The other 320 gorillas live in Bwindi Impenetrable Park in southwestern Uganda. That figure is based on recent censuses, so scientists will not count the population there again. A census normally should be done every five years, but warfare in the region has made it impossible to conduct a full count in the past 14 years, said Moses Mapesi, director of field operations at UWA.

The scientists began counting the gorillas in Mgahinga Game Park, in southwestern Uganda, and then will move to Virunga Park in neighboring eastern Congo, which has been beset by a 4 1/2-year civil war. They will complete their field work in Volcanoes National Park in northeastern Rwanda, which borders eastern Congo, later this month, UWA said.

The census is funded by the Wildlife Conservation Society, the International Gorilla Conservation Society, and the Dian Fossey Gorilla Fund International, among other organizations.

Confiscated Chimps - from Congo to Sudan to Kenya

NAIROBI, Kenya, Oct 15, 2003 - Six young chimpanzees rescued from smugglers in Sudan were flown to Kenya on Wednesday to be placed in the Sweetwaters Chimpanzee Sanctuary near the town of Nanyuki, a Kenyan Wildlife Service official said. Sudanese officials intercepted a shipment of 10 chimpanzees, which they believed were captured in Congo and were on their way to illegal animal markets, said Ngugi Gecaga, spokesman for the Wildlife Service. Four of the animals died, he said.

Two of the surviving animals will be placed in quarantine. Illegal trade in chimps has been a serious problem in Central and Eastern Africa and animals that cannot be returned to the wild are cared for at sanctuaries. Earlier this year, Sweetwaters accepted four other chimpanzees from Sudan. - posted to Alloprimate

New NIH Steering Committee

NIH Director Elias A. Zerhouni has announced the formation of an NIH Steering Committee - with a rotating membership of ten directors derived from and representing the 27 NIH Institutes and Centers - to give “crisp strategic direction” to the agency and streamline its decision-making processes. See <www.nih.gov/news/pr/jul2003/od-25.htm>.

Barbara Rich Joins AMP As Vice President

Barbara Rich has been appointed Vice President of Americans for Medical Progress, effective immediately. Barbara is well known in the research community from her long service with the National Association for Biomedical Research. “Barbara brings extensive experience, a wealth of knowledge, and a passion for research advocacy to her new role at AMP. Barbara will serve as a spokesperson for AMP with the goals of expanding our active constituency and increasing support for our mission. In addition, she will work to provide core communications and counseling services as well as to encourage positive media coverage of animal research programs. Barbara will offer immediate and valuable assistance to AMP and its supporters in all efforts to communicate animal research benefits, promote laboratory animal welfare programs, participate in public policy deliberations, and meet animal rights challenges.” - August 28 Press Release

Duke Primate Center Gets Four Million Dollars

Duke University renewed its long-term commitment to its Primate Center, officials announced Thursday, promising an investment of more than $4 million to improve its infrastructure over the next few years. In addition to its financial commitment, Duke will also start a search for a leading primatologist to serve as the next director