Welfare and Cognition Group, Cognitive Neuroscience Laboratory, German Primate Center-Leibniz Institute for Primate Research, Goettingen, Germany.
Leibniz-ScienceCampus Primate Cognition, German Primate Center, University of Goettingen, Goettingen, Germany.
Am J Primatol. 2020 Oct;82(10):e23189. doi: 10.1002/ajp.23189. Epub 2020 Sep 5.
Limiting opportunities for captive nonhuman primates (NHPs) to express species-specific social behaviors may disrupt the adaptive drive for social companionship and may lead to increases in coping behaviors and inactivity. While captive NHPs show improved welfare when moving to pair-housing from single-housing, the impact of daily separation of pair-mates, as is implemented in intermittent pair-housing, is not fully understood. We compared behavioral indices of welfare exhibited by adult female rhesus macaques (Macaca mulatta) in two conditions: (1) intermittent pair-housing, involving daily overnight separation of pair-mates, and (2) continuous pair-housing, involving little separation of pair-mates. A within-subjects study design tested two groups of females experiencing both pairing conditions in an alternate order, switching either from continuous to intermittent pair-housing, or from intermittent to continuous pair-housing. Behavioral observations, recording activity state, self-directed, abnormal, and social behaviors, were conducted at midday when all females were paired, and in the afternoon when intermittent pairs were separated. Females exhibited higher levels of inactivity and self-directed behavior when separated due to intermittent pair-housing in comparison to continuous pair-housing. In addition, intermittently paired females showed higher levels of grooming and other types of affiliation when paired, than during the same time frame when they were continuously paired. These results suggest that females in the continuous presence of a social partner experience improved levels of activity and do not need to elevate levels of behavioral coping mechanisms (e.g., self-scratching, increased affiliation) as they receive the benefits associated with social companionship consistently throughout the day. Overall, this study provides the first evidence that continuous pair-housing affords better welfare than intermittent pair-housing in adult female rhesus macaques. Pair-housing options, such as continuous pairing, that reduce reliance on behavioral coping mechanisms and promote adaptive social behavior throughout the entirety of the day should be prioritized over husbandry care scheduled for convenience.
限制圈养非人类灵长类动物（NHP）表达特定于物种的社会行为的机会可能会破坏社交伴侣的适应驱动力，并可能导致应对行为和不活动的增加。虽然圈养 NHP 在从单住房转为配对住房时表现出更好的福利，但间歇性配对住房中实施的每日分离配对伙伴的影响尚未完全了解。我们比较了两种条件下成年雌性恒河猴（Macaca mulatta）表现出的福利行为指标：（1）间歇性配对住房，涉及每日夜间分离配对伙伴，以及（2）连续配对住房，涉及配对伙伴的很少分离。采用自身对照研究设计，两组雌性在交替顺序下经历两种配对条件，从连续配对住房切换到间歇性配对住房，或从间歇性配对住房切换到连续配对住房。在中午所有雌性配对时以及下午间歇性配对分离时，进行行为观察，记录活动状态、自我导向、异常和社交行为。与连续配对住房相比，由于间歇性配对住房，雌性在分离时表现出更高水平的不活动和自我导向行为。此外，与连续配对时相比，间歇性配对的雌性在配对时表现出更高水平的梳理和其他类型的社交行为。这些结果表明，在社交伴侣持续存在的情况下，雌性经历了更高水平的活动，并且不需要提高行为应对机制（例如，自我抓挠，增加联系）的水平，因为它们全天都能获得与社交伴侣相关的好处。总的来说，这项研究首次证明，与间歇性配对住房相比，连续配对住房为成年雌性恒河猴提供了更好的福利。应该优先考虑连续配对等配对住房选择，以减少对行为应对机制的依赖，并促进全天适应性社交行为，而不是为了方便而安排的饲养护理。
