Biomedical Engineering Reference
In-Depth Information
Large Group Aggressive Behavior
Group formation provides a different set of challenges for
data collection above and beyond the complexities of
having more than two animals deciding dominance ranks.
During a pair formation, when you are collecting data on
one animal, you are also recording a lot of information
about the other. However, in group formations or studies of
aggressive behavior in existing social groups, this is not the
case. Focal animal samples record the most complete
information about a single animal and with whom it
interacts but does not tell you what is happening in other
parts of the group. Instantaneous scan sampling will collect
a lot of information about the whole group but not infor-
mation on the quick responses that do not have an extended
duration.
One compromise to consider in data collection is using
a combination of all-occurrence and instantaneous scans.
Using all-occurrence scans, an observer can collect a lot of
data on a limited set of the quick responses, while the
instantaneous scans would record data on long duration
responses. For example, a 1-hour observation session might
include all recorded occurrences of bite and grab during the
hour while also recording the nearest neighbor, grooming
partner, and traveling every 10 minutes. Using all-
occurrence sampling will limit the number of responses
that you can collect frequency data on because it is not
possible to watch everything all the time. However, careful
thought before the project about which responses are crit-
ical to answering your questions should allow you to
narrow your ethogram sufficiently.
Collecting and analyzing behavioral data are important
for the general management of nonhuman primates in
a captive environment. Daily observations of the animals
by specific personnel are important. The animals become
individuals, and it is possible to develop animal profiles that
can facilitate clinical and experimental decisions. The
behavior sampling and analysis techniques described above
will prove valuable information to husbandry personnel and
may be critical when choosing animals for experimental
use.
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CONCLUSIONS
This chapter is intended to provide a background in the
study of animal behavior, particularly how one should
collect and analyze behavior of primates in captivity. The
single most important adaptation of the nonhuman primates
is their sociality. Although nonhuman primates are not the
only mammalian order to develop highly involved social
mechanisms, they are perhaps the most dependent on joint
action as their primary adaptation. Specific expressions of
sociality vary, and because of the variety of social struc-
tures and organizations within the order Primates, it is
difficult to make general statements. Even within a genus,
species have adopted very different social styles that make
it risky to say one knows how all species behave. The
differences between the social organizations of species
within the same genus, such as baboons, may be just as
great as the differences between macaques and capuchin
monkeys, which each belong to a different suborder of
primates. One should always refer to the primary literature
as a basis of information when handling a new primate
species.
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