Polgár Zita, Wood Lara, Haskell Marie J
Royal (Dick) School of Veterinary Studies, The University of Edinburgh, Easter Bush Veterinary Centre, Easter Bush, Scotland, UK.
Division of Psychology, Abertay University, Dundee, DD1 1HG, UK, & School of Psychology & Neuroscience, University of St Andrews, St Andrews, KY16 9JP, UK.
Am J Primatol. 2017 May;79(5). doi: 10.1002/ajp.22639. Epub 2017 Feb 2.
Understanding individual differences in captive squirrel monkeys is a topic of importance both for improving welfare by catering to individual needs, and for better understanding the results and implications of behavioral research. In this study, 23 squirrel monkeys (Saimiri sciureus), housed in an environment that is both a zoo enclosure and research facility, were assessed for (i) the time they spent by an observation window under three visitor conditions: no visitors, small groups, and large groups; (ii) their likelihood of participating in voluntary research; and (iii) zookeepers, ratings of personality. A Friedman's ANOVA and Wilcoxon post-hoc tests comparing mean times found that the monkeys spent more time by the window when there were large groups present than when there were small groups or no visitors. Thus, visitors do not seem to have a negative effect and may be enriching for certain individuals. Through GLMM and correlational analyses, it was found that high scores on the personality trait of playfulness and low scores on cautiousness, depression, and solitude were significant predictors of increased window approach behavior when visitors were present. The GLMM and correlational analyses assessing the links between personality traits and research participation found that low scores of cautiousness and high scores of playfulness, gentleness, affection, and friendliness, were significant predictors. The implications of these results are discussed in relation to selection bias and its potential confounding effect on cognitive studies with voluntary participation.
了解圈养松鼠猴的个体差异，对于通过满足个体需求来改善福利，以及更好地理解行为研究的结果和影响而言，都是一个重要的课题。在本研究中，对23只生活在兼具动物园围栏和研究设施功能环境中的松鼠猴进行了评估，评估内容包括：(i) 在三种访客条件下，即无访客、小团体访客和大团体访客时，它们在观察窗旁停留的时间；(ii) 它们参与自愿研究的可能性；以及(iii) 动物园饲养员对其性格的评分。通过弗里德曼方差分析和威尔科克森事后检验比较平均时间发现，与小团体访客或无访客时相比，当有大团体访客时，猴子在窗边停留的时间更长。因此，访客似乎没有负面影响，而且可能会让某些个体受益。通过广义线性混合模型（GLMM）和相关性分析发现，在有访客时，活泼性格特质得分高以及谨慎、抑郁和孤独得分低，是增加靠近窗边行为的显著预测因素。评估性格特质与研究参与之间联系的GLMM和相关性分析发现，谨慎得分低以及活泼、温和、亲和及友善得分高，是显著的预测因素。结合选择偏差及其对自愿参与的认知研究可能产生的混杂效应，对这些结果的意义进行了讨论。
