Abstract
Stereotyped behaviors in captive primates are often caused by unsuitable conditions. Environmental enrichment has been used to reduce these behaviors, and also to increase the frequency of behaviors appropriate to the species. In this pilot study we evaluated whether behavioral enrichment influences food intake by the black tufted-ear marmoset, Callithrix penicillata (É. Geoffroy Saint-Hilaire, 1812), by calculating energy maintenance requirements. We evaluated 16 individually housed, healthy adult black tufted-ear marmosets, randomly divided into two treatment groups, one with behavioral enrichment and one without. The enrichment techniques included structural aspects, such as placing fixed and mobile objects in the cage and supplying dry foods in an enriched form, in order to stimulate cognition. Based on the metabolic weight of the animals, we calculated the energy requirements for their maintenance. The animals that received behavioral enrichment consumed more food than those that did not. We also observed that the animals that did not receive enrichment consumed 9.85% less food than had been calculated for energy maintenance requirements, while the animals that received enrichment consumed 24.97% more food than had been calculated. Results indicate that the use of behavioral enrichment items raised the energy requirements of the black tufted-ear marmoset and, therefore, the consumption of dry food, suggesting that environmental enrichment plays a role in stimulating food consumption. This conclusion should alert scientists, technicians and primatologists to the importance of controlling body weight of marmosets when introducing environmental enrichment to avoid overfeeding and obesity. To verify this conclusion, a study is needed with a longer time frame and more parameters, such as behavior observation and body weight.
Highlights
Unsuitable captivity conditions are responsible for the development of stereotyped behaviors such as pacing, rocking from side to side, self-mutilation, inactivity (BOORER 1972, HART et al 2009), inappropriate sexual, social and maternal behaviors (DAVENPORT 1979) and hypersexuality (HEDIGER 1969)
Results indicate that the use of behavioral enrichment items raised the energy requirements of the black tufted-ear marmoset and, the consumption of dry food, suggesting that environmental enrichment plays a role in stimulating food consumption
The animals which did not receive behavioral enrichment showed an appropriate adjustment in their consumption of dry food; that is, the values found by calculating the energy requirement for maintenance (ERM) were very close to the real value of consumption
Summary
Unsuitable captivity conditions are responsible for the development of stereotyped behaviors such as pacing, rocking from side to side, self-mutilation, inactivity (BOORER 1972, HART et al 2009), inappropriate sexual, social and maternal behaviors (DAVENPORT 1979) and hypersexuality (HEDIGER 1969). Frequent stereotyped behaviors observed in primates in social isolation include rocking, self-directed orality, beating themselves up, embracing themselves, bizarre postures, walking the same path for long periods, unnecessary repetitive moves, biting, hyperphagia, and polydipsia (ERWIN et al 1973, MASON 1991, BOERE 2001). To reduce these abnormal behaviors, and increase the frequency of behavior appropriate to the species, environmental enrichment has been suggested as an efficient counterbalance (NEWBERRY 1995, BOERE 2001, YOUNG 2003). We expected that the animals with enrichment would consume more dry food than those without enrichment
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