The Effects of Enrichment on Zoo-Housed Scarlet Ibis Behavior
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ABSTRACT:
SUBMITTER: Rachinas-Lopes P
PROVIDER: S-EPMC11240375 | biostudies-literature | 2024 Jun
REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature
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Project description:Social learning plays an essential role in all cultural processes, but the factors underlying its evolution remain poorly understood. To understand how socio-ecological conditions affect social learning, we compared peering behavior (i.e., close-range observation of conspecifics' activities) in wild and zoo-housed Sumatran orangutans. Using long-term data describing over 3,000 peering events (performed by 65 individuals across settings), we found similar age trajectories of peering in both settings. Moreover, immatures universally preferred to peer at older individuals and in learning-intense contexts. However, zoo-housed immatures peered more frequently, and more at non-mother individuals than their wild conspecifics, even when social opportunities were controlled for. Therefore, although similarities across settings suggest that the tendency to attend to social information has hard-wired components, the differences indicate that it is also influenced by social opportunities and the necessity to learn. Our comparative approach thus provides evidence that socio-ecological factors and genetic predispositions underlie the dynamics and evolution of culture.
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Project description:Gammaherpesvirus infections are ubiquitous in captive and free-ranging ruminants and are associated with a variety of clinical diseases ranging from subclinical or mild inflammatory syndromes to fatal diseases such as malignant catarrhal fever. Gammaherpesvirus infections have been fully characterized in only a few ruminant species, and the overall diversity, host range, and biologic effects of most are not known. This study investigated the presence and host distribution of gammaherpesviruses in ruminant species at two facilities, the San Diego Zoo and San Diego Zoo Safari Park. We tested antemortem (blood, nasal or oropharyngeal swabs) or postmortem (internal organs) samples from 715 healthy or diseased ruminants representing 96 species and subspecies, using a consensus-based herpesvirus PCR for a segment of the DNA polymerase (DPOL) gene. Among the 715 animals tested, 161 (22.5%) were PCR and sequencing positive for herpesvirus, while only 11 (6.83%) of the PCR positive animals showed clinical signs of malignant catarrhal fever. Forty-four DPOL genotypes were identified of which only 10 have been reported in GenBank. The data describe viral diversity within species and individuals, identify host ranges of potential new viruses, and address the proclivity and consequences of interspecies transmission during management practices in zoological parks. The discovery of new viruses with wide host ranges and presence of co-infection within individual animals also suggest that the evolutionary processes influencing Gammaherpesvirus diversity are more complex than previously recognized.
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Project description:Little is known about the biology of grey-cheeked and black crested mangabeys (Lophocebus albigena and Lophocebus aterrimus, respectively). As these primates face threats in the wild, well-monitored zoo-housed populations with up to date registries are becoming increasingly valuable to acquire species knowledge and to support conservation efforts. We used international studbooks to extract demographic and genetic information on 519 mangabeys to investigate how life history and parent-related variables influence maximum longevity and juvenile mortality. Generalized linear mixed models, as well as survival analyses, were applied. Results showed that females lived significantly longer than males, which is not uncommon in primates. Furthermore, our results indicated that the maximum longevity is lower for individuals living in European zoos versus individuals from North American zoos, which may be due to a combination of environmental differences and potential founder effects. We also show that the maternal maximum longevity is positively related to the maximum longevity of the offspring, which may be explained by the inheritance of "good genes". However, the age of the mother at the moment of birth was negatively related to the maximum longevity of the offspring, which contradicts literature that states that, in primates, more experienced and thus older mothers will raise their offspring better than less experienced mothers. Instead, it is more likely that an "optimal age range" exists for breeding mothers. Our study provides insights into the population biology of captive mangabeys and may be helpful for identifying future research priorities to optimize primate health and welfare directly ex situ, and indirectly in situ.
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Project description:Asian elephants are endangered, and the long-term viability of the species depends on integrative approaches to address the sustainability of in-situ and ex-situ populations. Growing evidence shows that male elephants exhibit extensive and flexible social behavior that rivals the complexity of that of females. Male elephant sociality is expected to change dramatically around the unique sexual state of musth. However, data related to male Asian elephant sociality is lacking. Here, we conducted complementary observations in Wasgamuwa National Park, Sri Lanka, and North American zoos of male Asian elephant social behavior. Age and musth status, along with other factors, were associated with variation in social behavior and group formation of males. In wild male elephants, both musth status and age impacted elephant associations within all-male and mixed-sex groups: non-musth elephants were generally sighted less often in mixed-sex groups as they aged, while the inverse occurred with musth elephants. Musth status interacted with age to predict the number of conspecifics with which a wild male elephant associated: younger males were observed with more females during non-musth (but the opposite was true during musth), and male elephants between 20 and 30 years were observed with the highest number of male conspecifics except during musth. Finally, we found variation in aggression, prosocial behavior, and submissive behavior was influenced by intrinsic (age and musth status) and extrinsic factors (group size and type) in similar ways in both populations; prosocial behavior was most common and was influenced by the number of conspecifics present (both populations), and age, group type, and musth status (zoo population), while aggression was rare, especially among older elephants. We suggest that longitudinal studies of this threatened species will be particularly helpful to promote the reproduction and conservation of Asian elephants in in-situ and ex-situ environments.
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Project description:As a critical aspect of language, vocal learning is extremely rare in animals, having only been described in a few distantly related species. New evidence, however, extends vocal learning/innovation to the primate order, with zoo-housed chimpanzees and orangutans producing novel vocal signals to attract the attention of familiar human caregivers. If the ability to produce novel vocalizations as a means of navigating evolutionarily novel circumstances spans the Hominidae family, then we can expect to find evidence for it in the family's third genus, Gorilla. To explore this possibility, we conduct an experiment with eight gorillas from Zoo Atlanta to examine whether they use species-atypical vocalizations to get the attention of humans across three different conditions: just a human, just food, or a human holding food. Additionally, we survey gorilla keepers from other AZA-member zoos to compile a list of common attention-getting signals used by the gorillas in their care. Our experiment results indicated that Zoo Atlanta gorillas vocalized most often during the human-food condition, with the most frequently used vocal signal being a species-atypical sound somewhere between a sneeze and a cough (n = 28). This previously undescribed sound is acoustically different from other calls commonly produced during feeding (i.e., single grunts and food-associated calls). Our survey and analyses of recordings from other zoos confirmed that this novel attention-getting sound is not unique to Zoo Atlanta, although further work should be done to better determine the extent and patterns of transmission and/or potential independent innovation of this sound across captive gorilla populations. These findings represent one of the few pieces of evidence of spontaneous novel vocal production in non-enculturated individuals of this species, supporting the inclusion of great apes as moderate vocal learners and perhaps demonstrating an evolutionary function to a flexible vocal repertoire.
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Project description:Studies of zoo animal space use typically use ground-level measurements as a proxy for "usable space," but this method ignores above ground areas that are behaviorally relevant to arboreal species. Previous work has proposed different methods to calculate usable above ground space, but each has presented different limitations, ranging from the estimation of areas of dense complexity to the significant manual effort needed to physically measure spaces. To address these limitations, we tested a new, 3D photogrammetry-based method ("3DP method") for calculating usable space in the habitats of two zoo-housed primate species (crowned lemur [Eulemur coronatus], and Bornean orangutan [Pongo pygmaeus]). 3D photogrammetry generates a 3D point cloud and subsequent mesh, using physically captured images, with geometric, measurable properties. Our method was compared to a previously published method, based in SketchUp, ("MSU method") for both quantification of usable space (surface area, volume) and efficiency of model generation (active and passive work required). The 3DP method generated similar results for both usable surface area and volume for the crowned lemur habitat, while requiring 82% less active work from the user. Furthermore, the 3DP method was able to calculate usable space in a habitat (Bornean orangutan) that was 13,274% larger than the crowned lemur habitat, and substantially larger than any habitat where the MSU method has been applied in published work. Overall, the 3DP method decreased the ratio of active to passive work required for calculating usable space in zoo habitats with complex vertical space, and is flexible enough to be applied to habitats of varying sizes.
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