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An examination of various foraging components and their suitability as enrichment tools for captively housed primates
Abstract
A foraging apparatus was designed to simulate three different components of feral foraging, namely food distribution, food predictability, and the vertical component of food placement. Separate foraging tasks were created by placing the food in previously developed foraging racks, and mounting them on the sides of the cage in various arrangements. Three socially housed groups of rhesus monkeys (Macaca mulatta) were exposed to each foraging task as well as to a control condition. Using a pretest - test - posttest design the animals' behavior during rack feeding phases (test) was compared to that observed during the phases in which the standard method of feeding for this laboratory was used (pre- and posttest). Despite the differences in the three experimental conditions imposed by rack feeding, three findings were consistent across the entire set of experiments. Significant behavioral changes were invariably associated with the task of foraging out of the racks. In addition, similar changes manifested themselves across Experiments one, two, and three, despite the different manipulations of the foraging components. Finally, the regular patterns of phase change occurred primarily in the data collected during the feeding period. Locomotion and single pellet feeding increased whenever food was presented in the racks. Furthermore, social contact and hoard feeding decreased during these same test phases. Other behavioral changes occurred during the rack foraging conditions, however these changes tended to be associated with a particular test condition, rather than general rack feeding. The use of this foraging apparatus proved to be advantageous in several ways. The increased distribution of food, utilizing both horizontal and vertical aspects of the cage, allowed the subjects to feed with a lower incidence of social contact. This change may aid in reducing tension within a group. In addition, the increased distribution of food produced an increase in activity (seen as locomotion), which could provide beneficial exercise for overweight, underexercised animals. Finally, given that the monkeys did not appear to habituate to this apparatus, it seems that this method of feeding has great potential as an enrichment device and suggests additional uses for specific foraging tasks, or learning and memory studies.
Subject Area
Zoology|Ecology
Recommended Citation
Beckley, Susan Adair, "An examination of various foraging components and their suitability as enrichment tools for captively housed primates" (1990). Doctoral Dissertations Available from Proquest. AAI9110103.
https://scholarworks.umass.edu/dissertations/AAI9110103